After the fall season came to a close, the ISU men’s golf team has been stuck inside getting stronger in the weight room and hitting shots with a roof over their heads.

So with all the snow-melting weather lately, they are getting the itch to get outside for practice.

“We’re starting to get to that point now,” junior Tom Lathrop said. “The break is good, but now we’re ready to get outside.”

Even with the players getting antsy to get out on the course, they know that they benefit from great facilities. When the Cyclones head inside for the break from December to March, they have a chance to get back to basics.

“We’re on the course almost every day for a long stretch of time,” Lathrop said. “So having a small stretch to just have a break from the golf course helps.”

When they need to be strictly indoors and work on exact distances, the golfers are able to hit at the Bergstrom Indoor Training Facility. They also are able to hit at the Veenker Memorial Golf Course.

At Veenker, they can putt, work on short game and can work on their long game when they want to as well.

“We can work on certain yardage marks in the Bergstrom facility,” said coach Andrew Tank. “And then at Veenker we can see the entire ball flight just like usual and be protected from the elements at the same time.”

When playing indoors and not hitting many long shots or playing actual rounds, things can get boring quick and the coaches work hard at keeping the golfers on their toes.

“The coaches do a good job of changing things up,” Lathrop said. “They have us compete and keep our heads focused even though we’re not out there on the golf course.”

In most sports it’s hard to simulate a real game situation when it isn’t the real thing. That goes for golf too, but with the mixed scenarios the coaches have had the players in and with the facilities they have access to, the ISU men’s golf team has been able to prepare as well as any other school.

Now they’re ready to take it to the other competition out on the golf course.

“Certainly everybody’s itching to get out on the golf course and play,” Tank said. “But I feel we’ll be prepared because of the facilities we have and the type of practice we’ve been doing.”

The Cyclones will be back out on the course on March 17-19 at the Desert Shootout in Phoenix.