The ISU men’s golf team is coming off of its best fall season ever. The young team, consisting of only one senior in the starting lineup, managed to win both the Wolfpack Classic and Big Four Championship back-to-back – the first time in school history to register successive wins.

Coach Jay Horton hopes to springboard their success into the spring season, which kicks off Sunday in Guadalajara, Mexico.

“We want to continue where we left off,” Horton said.

“For the first time we have expectations. We’ve never been in this position before, so it’s a learning process. I just keep telling my players how good they are.”

Confidence is becoming contagious throughout the team. Chris Baker enjoyed a successful fall season highlighted by three consecutive top-10 finishes.

“I like the direction the team is going. We feed off of each other. We help each other out,” Baker said. “We really trust each other.”

The team not only needs to knock off top-notch competition, but also the rust that comes along with not playing in a tournament for over three months.

However, the addition of an indoor heated bay practice facility to Veenker Memorial Golf Course, 1925 Stange Road, has helped keep the players’ game intact. The team has been hitting in the heated bay since the end of November.

“The biggest advantage is being able to see ball flight,” Horton said. “In the past we had to drive to Des Moines to hit balls in a dome. The thing about that is your ball stops at 60 yards, so it’s hard to tell how well you’re hitting.”

The heated bay is open to the players for practice every day. It is also equipped with a putting surface.

The location is convenient for the team.

Cedric Bertin is entering his first spring season as an ISU golfer.

“The heated bay is a real asset to the team,” Bertin said. “We only can have two practices a week with Coach [Horton], but we all use it a lot more than that on our own time.”

This serves as a good practice facility, but nothing is like the real thing. The players are excited to get tournament play underway.

“You can’t duplicate a tournament,” Baker said.

“There’s always going to be rust, we just have to get out there and play our game. We’ll be fine.”

The 80-degree forecast doesn’t hurt either.

“You couldn’t ask for a better start to the season,” Baker said.