Last year, the ISU men’s golf team was not only made up of a young inexperienced group of college golfers. It was also headed by a young interim coach. Now, with Jay Horton firmly planted as the head coach and many of those players returning, the squad looks to improve on last season’s results. “This year, I have a better set in my mind of what it takes [to coach] in college golf,” Horton said. “We spent a lot of time last year towards the back of the pack. This year I want to see us challenge a little more towards the front.” The players themselves are feeling more comfortable with Horton’s style of coaching. “He’s the kind of coach that demands winning,” sophomore Greg Stephanson said. “He’s a good guy to be around.” “He knows how a player thinks around the course,” sophomore Matt Gatchel said. “He’s a really good teaching instructor.” Horton looks to a solid group of golfers to lead his team into battle this year. Along with Gatchel and Stephanson, sophomore Kevin Oswald, who was ISU’s low scorer at last spring’s Big 12 championships and senior Aaron Patton will be called upon to guide a fairly young group. One thing that will help the team’s performance is their good chemistry on and off of the golf course. “We all know each other and hang out together,” Gatchel said. “We are all good friends.” As far as improving from last year, the team stressed that the way they play the “short game” needs to become better. “That’s the one thing I want to emphasize most this year,” Horton said. “We need to try to maximize our birdie efforts and everything that we do out there in the tournament.” “If we learn how to save two or three shots a round from the bunker, then we’re going to have a good year,” Stephanson said. “Chipping and putting was kind of our downfall last year,” Gatchel said. “We never seemed to get the best out of our game.” With improvement of the game around the green, other aspects that the members of the squad expressed concern about might come around. “We’re just looking for more consistently lower rounds,” Stephanson said. “I think everybody on the team knows that they can shoot at least two shots better every round.” With national contenders such as Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Texas, the Cyclones know that the Big 12 has its share of competitive teams. However, this team also knows that it has the talent to compete well. “If we go out every day and just play our rounds without thinking about what anybody else is doing, I think we should be able to go to Regionals,” Stephanson said. With tournaments this fall at Nebraska, Kansas State, Kansas, and Baylor, the team will have many opportunities to see teams from their district and the conference. Other scheduled stops include trips to the states of Illinois and Louisiana, giving the Cyclones a chance to compete with other teams that they don’t get the chance to play against regularly. Overall, there is a sense of optimism and fun heading into the first tournament of the year. “Because of the way guys are playing lately and our closeness as a team, it should be a great year,” Stephanson said.