There’s still snow on the ground, but it won’t bother the ISU men’s golf team this week.

On Monday, the Cyclones will kick off their spring season by taking part in the two-day University of Central Florida/Rio Pinar Intercollegiate Tournament in Orlando, Fla.

Iowa State needs to build on the experience its relatively young team gained during the fall portion of the season. With the ISU roster made up primarily of freshmen and sophomores, there is hope for improvement.

“We didn’t play well in the fall,” said coach Jay Horton. “We had some guys that picked up valuable experience, and, hopefully, that will help us during the spring.”

Although the fall season may not have gone as well as it could have, Horton said he thinks things could start to come together during the course of the spring before the Big 12 Championship in Texas.

“We just need to focus on going out and winning. If you strive for anything less, I think you’re selling yourself short,” Horton said. “Right now our biggest thing is confidence. We just need to start believing in ourselves.”

Horton is also expecting his older players to help set examples for the younger golfers.

“In the fall it seemed like Drew Dalziel and [Chris] Baker were one-two every meet,” Horton said. “But Dalziel and [Curtis] Foster can draw on their past as far as getting it going again after the layoff.”

Dalziel echoed his coach’s sentiments about the key to success.

“A lot of our younger guys have more experience now, and they know what they have to do,” Dalziel said. “It’s just a matter of going out and doing it now.”

Dalziel, who led the Cyclones in stroke average during the fall as well as three out of their five events, said he believes that leading by example is the best way to get things done.

“Hopefully, if they see me go out and accomplish my goals and play well, then it will help their confidence too,” Dalziel said.

Still, Horton said, the Cyclones know that they aren’t very far from making their 2005 campaign successful.

“You know, in [professional] golf, the difference in one stroke can be a million dollars,” Horton said. “One stroke can mean finishing first or finishing in the middle of the pack. It’s just a matter of finding that one extra stroke.”

Another aspect of the team Horton said he hopes to solidify during the spring is consistency. Iowa State never settled into a solid rotation of golfers during the fall. “We don’t have any new golfers for the spring,” Horton said. “During the fall though, we had about eight guys in the rotation, and I’d really like to get that down to around five or six guys, just to get some continuity.”

The Cyclones, who have been limited to indoor practices for the past few months, will be able to take to the links in Orlando and get in practice rounds for their first substantial outdoor work, before beginning the tournament Monday.

The last time the Cyclones played competitively, they finished fourth at the Big 4 Championship in Cedar Rapids in October.

They have five tournaments scheduled for the spring before the Big 12 Championship in April.