The ISU men’s golf team had to suddenly prepare for something it hasn’t experienced yet this season.

“We had a lot of good weather so far,” said coach Andrew Tank. “But [Tuesday was] definitely fall.”

During the team’s off-week from tournament action, the Cyclones will have the chance to play under cool and windy conditions.

Tuesday’s practice was the coldest yet, with winds gusting up to 30 miles per hour and a low temperature of a bitter 39 degrees.

“Normally, when it’s nice out, I will come out a few hours before our team practice begins,” said senior Nate McCoy. “I waited until our normal practice started today.”

When it becomes this cold out, it’s hard to keep that focus of trying to settle down and work on shots.

“It’s hard to always get the shot you want because you’ll have a little bit of movement when it’s cold,” McCoy said. “I just want to get out to the course and warm up walking through the holes.”

While players have their own shots to work on, the coaching staff generally has a plan for the entire team to follow during practice. Pre-shot routine and keeping that stroke constant has been some of the things the team has been working on.

Some of the focus in this week’s practice is getting players comfortable with various experiences they will see on the course in tournaments.

“For example, we will limit the number of birdies that they can make,” said assistant coach Patrick Datz. “That way they can see all the situations and find the best shot.”

The cold weather hasn’t been something the team needed to worry about. In all of the Cyclones’ tournaments so far this fall, they have had pleasant conditions.

“It’s great to have this experience,” Tank said. “Even during the spring, many places will still have colder and windy weather. This will get our team well prepared in those events.”

Whatever weather conditions or practice sessions the team has had, it has helped. The Cyclones have improved from last year, having chances to win each tournament and even having a lead after the first two rounds in one of them.

“I expected this team to be better than last year,” Tank said. “I knew all of the players that were coming in and the talent they had.”

That’s created the big story lines so far this year. While McCoy continues his great play and won the Rees Jones Invitational, freshmen such as Scott Fernandez have competed well in all of the events and won the VCU Shootout.

“As a coach, it’s a great opportunity to have a player like Scott,” Tank said. “He’s just a freshman right now and we will be able to work with him for the next few years.”

Six of the nine players on the roster have competed in a college tournament, and the ones that haven’t yet are right on the edge. Some of them may have an opportunity in the final tournament of the fall season at the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate in Greensboro, N.C., on Oct. 29.