Golf practice is far more than just a little bit of driving, chipping and putting on any random golf course. Facilities are a vital part of success in any golf program.

Chris Whitten, the University of Michigan men’s golf coach, believes the most important facilities are those that can adapt to the environment around them.

“It depends on the location of the school and what their weather is like,” Whitten said. “The short-game facilities are most important, if they have a nice putting green and if they can practice their shots from 50 yards.”

Iowa State offers three courses for its players to practice on. Veenker Memorial Golf Course, Coldwater Golf Links and the Harvester Golf Club each provide their own unique experience.

“Being able to play at Veenker and Coldwater close to Ames is nice,” said assistant coach Patrick Datz. “Harvester is also in driving distance about 35 minutes away.”

Veenker provides the players that live on campus a place to play instantly.

“Veenker is great because it’s so close to campus,” Datz said. “It’s a tree-line, old-fashioned golf course. Because it’s old, it tends to be shorter than the courses we play in tournaments.”

Even though it may be outdated in the tournaments they play, Datz sees the advantages the course has for the players.

“Some of the benefits are working on shorter shots,” Datz said. “It’s a little more demanding off the tee from an accuracy standpoint. Greens are faster.”

One of the most unique parts about Veenker is the story behind hosting the Iowa Masters. John Newton, general manager of the course, mentioned the controversy that happened between the tournament they hosted and the other Masters Tournament that takes place in Augusta, Ga.

“There was a little bit of turmoil about that,” Newton said. “In the ’80s, the nationally known Masters was going to stop us from having the Iowa Masters. But then they found out that we were first.”

The Iowa Masters began in 1938 when the course was completed. Even though the Masters was established in 1934, it never adopted its current name until 1939. Between that time, it was known as the Augusta National Invitational.

Coldwater is a newer golf course that was opened in 2002. Its inspiration of golf course style is in the name itself.

“Coldwater is open and more of a Scottish-links style,” said coach Andrew Tank.

Senior golfer Nate McCoy compliments the courses being so close to the university.

“Having Veenker and Coldwater so close makes it easy to get out of school and go play,” McCoy said. “You don’t have to get in your car and drive out of your way.”

Harvester is the course that is furthest away from the players, but it helps them prepare for tournaments the most.

“Harvester is a modern golf course with not as many trees,” Tank said. “It’s open and much longer in distance. It provides a really good test for our guys.”

Tank likes to see his players perform at the course and likes to have qualifying there because of the tournament-like feel. Since there are more than five players on the roster, qualifying is present to decide who plays.

Between the tree-line and link-style courses, Datz likes how the contrast works out for them for all the tournaments that they will be in.

“Harvester is really versatile in how you can set it up,” Datz said. “You can give the guys a bunch of different looks.”

All three facilities give these players a great opportunity for success, and it’s shown in the Cyclones’ tournaments so far. McCoy has the experience and has seen a lot in his career, and believes that as long as there are solid facilities in place, success will happen.

“I’ve seen facilities which are definitely top of the line,” McCoy said. “The only thing that matters, though, is having a place to hit. No matter how big they are or how much money they put into it, you just need places to practice and that’s what we have. Some schools may have more flash, but that’s all right.”