Tatyana Green signs her letter of intent to continue her golf career at UT-Southern. (Submitted Photo)
Tatyana Greene helped lead Cascade to the first-ever state championship during her senior season. (Post File Photo by Chris Siers)
By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
For years, Tatyana Greene has made her impact on the Cascade Lady Champion golf program.
For four-straight seasons, Greene has played in the TSSAA state golf tournament, culminating with helping win the first-ever state title this past fall.
Having faced some of the best competition every year of her high school career, Greene landed on the recruiting boards of several colleges.
When it came down to it, Greene signed her letter of intent to continue her golf career at UT-Southern.
“Everyone has always said “Taty” you’re going to go play somewhere. Now it’s like a reality,” she said.
When it came down to choosing a school the close-knit atmosphere at UT-Southern, along with the camaraderie built with the team, helped solidify her choice.
“I got to play with their team and that had a lot to do with my decision. And the community with the school. The team was super nice and they were really good golfers. I didn’t want to go anywhere too big, but definitely a small community is more my thing,” she said.
That ability to fit right in with the team was something she became accustomed to at Cascade and among her favorite memories were just hanging out with the team after matches.
“Definitely last year, we had a pretty good sized boys team and we would go out and eat with them after matches and it was just so much fun hanging out,” she said.
Of course, hoisting the first-ever state championship trophy was among the favorite memories Greene had at Cascade as well.
“At state when we won, finally after four years, emotionally it was awesome. It really didn’t hit us at that moment, but right when that trophy hit our arms, we knew we did something bigger than what anyone else has,” she said.
Greene didn’t initially start out with golf as her sport. Following recovery from a surgery, she picked up golf as just a way to stay active.
After a trip to the driving range saw her really hit the ball well, the rest was history.
While she’s still several months from stepping foot on the campus at UT-Southern, Greene plans on continuing to work on her conditioning and just to keep playing.
“For right now, they told me make sure you walk a lot because it’s a big difference going from high school to college and to definitely keep a club in my hands and be dedicated playing in sunshine, snow or rain. They said to go play in it because we’ll be playing in it,” she said .
Having been among the best golfers in the state for the past four years, it’s safe to say Green has left her mark on Cascade golf.
“It’s super rare. When she came here and Anna (Clanton) and all the other girls, I knew we had something special. When I first saw them play, I said if they dedicate themselves, we could have a state championship,” Lady Champion coach Jeremy Bankston said.
“We went undefeated and just had the perfect season.”
“It’s a great feeling. I wish I could give advice to people coming up. It’s not easy going into golf. Golf is very mental. It’s something you’ve got to learn. I think a lot of people think it’s easy until you go out there and play it,” Greene said.
