Well, it’s fall again, and that means the Cyclone men’s golf team will be teeing off soon.

One thing this year’s team has over last year’s is experience, according to first-year head coach Jamie Bermel.

“We have very good depth this year, something that was lacking somewhat last year,” Burmel said. “We have five seniors on the squad and two returning All-Big 12 players last year in Jon Brackmann and Matt Lewis.”

Also returning is Jason Knutzon, a senior who red-shirted last year and who is taking this week off to compete in the U.S. Amateur against some of the United States’ most outstanding young golfers.

Bermel noticed a great deal of consistency in his players when they played over the summer. He thinks that the team’s consistency is a key ingredient they didn’t really have last year, especially during the spring season.

“Last year, we played really well in the fall, but in the spring we were not playing well,” Bermel said. “With more depth and experience this year, we could be pretty good.”

Bermel has some very talented freshmen coming to ISU to play golf. Phil Slovitt from Illinois; Joe Christensen, a state champion while in high school in Minnesota, and Josh Clay.

However, none of the players may be more important than Lewis, a senior this year who led both on and off the course last season when he was selected Academic All-Big 12.

Lewis, from Dubuque, played in every tournament last season, carding five top-5 finishes and one medalist finish, which came at the Red Raider Tournament last spring, when he shot rounds of 68-72-67 for a 54-hole total of 207.

As for last fall, the Cyclone team took home the D.A. Weibring Invitational in Normal, Ill. and had three runner-up finishes.

Amid the highs of the last season, the low points were the losses in sudden death at the Pepsi/SMS Challenge and the tenth place finish at the Big 12 Championship last spring when the best performance was a tie for 15th by Brackmann.

“The Big 12 Championship was definitely the worst performance of the year,” Bermel said. “There is still the sour taste in the mouths of the players who participated.”

Despite the ups and downs of a season ago, Bermel maintains a realistic, yet positive attitude when discussing this season.

“With the talent, depth, and experience we have as opposed to last year, we could finish anywhere from first to about eighth,” Bermel said. “Besides playing in the NCAA finals, our goal is certainly to finish in the top half of the conference this year.”