Ask almost any successful collegiate golfer and they will likely tell you the secret to their sustained excellence lies not in any hasty swing fix or sudden driving range epiphany but rather in long hours spent tinkering endlessly under the summer sun, pounding away at driving range balls in hopes of weeding out the slightest of swing imperfections.

In a sport where such a high premium is placed on razor-sharp precision, the right amount of off-season work can go a long way in determining who is left standing at the end of a tournament.

Members of the Falcon men’s golf team seem to have embraced this philosophy, as they have spent the last three months meticulously fine-tuning their craft in hopes of helping the squad improve on a disappointing eighth place finish in last spring’s Mid-American Conference Tournament.

‘Last season ended on somewhat of a sour note for us,’ said coach Garry Winger. ‘We did not perform nearly as well as we wanted to at the MAC Tournament, and I just told our guys on the way back [from the tournament] to work hard and play in as many tournaments as possible over the summer to remain competitively sharp.’

For Matt Schneider, the summer consisted of a full slate of prestigious tournaments in his native Minnesota. The senior, who led the Falcons with a 73.82 stroke average last season, competed in the Minnesota Open, the Minnesota Amateur, and the Western Amateur outside of Chicago.

For the most part, Schneider played well, making the cut in both the Minnesota Open and Minnesota Amateur, however he feels that he could have scored better if not for a bulky putter.

‘All through the summer I hit the ball really well,’ Schneider said. ‘My putting just wasn’t as consistent as it needed to be though.’

Schneider feels confident that daily sessions either on the putting green or out on the course have alleviated most of his flat stick woes and is anxious to get the season underway.

‘I knew after my fifth-place finish at the MAC Championship last year that I was capable of playing with anybody,’ Schneider said. ‘I am ready to go.’

Also hard at work has been senior John Powers. The Bowling Green native, who averaged 74.53 strokes last year, put in ample amounts of time at Stone Ridge Country Club in BG trying to fix a swing that had gotten out of sync due to a wrist injury.

‘I broke my wrist last winter, which caused me to develop some pretty bad habits in my swing during the spring season in order to compensate for the discomfort,’ Powers said. ‘I spent most of June trying to tweak my swing and get it back to where I wanted it. I am pleased overall with where my game is heading into the fall.’

Out of all the Falcons, perhaps no one had quite as eventful a summer as the one experienced by sophomore Drew Preston.

Preston, who averaged 76.06 strokes in 2008-09, captured an eight stroke victory at the Grand Valley (Mich.) Amateur with a superb seven-under-par total. After backing up his win with a pair of top-5 finishes, Preston punctuated his summer by qualifying for the U.S. Amateur (America’s most prestigious amateur championship) with a second place finish at his local qualifying site in Muskegon, Mich.

Preston will travel to famed Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., this weekend to compete in next week’s championship. He attributes his stellar performance to a much improved wedge game.

‘Everyday, after playing 18 holes at my local course, I would hit nothing but wedges on the range all afternoon,’ Preston said. ‘I feel as if all that hard work I put in is really beginning to pay off. I am hitting my wedges very well right now.’

As a whole, the Falcons seemed to be satisfied with the state of their collective games, and are supremely confident heading into the regular season, which gets underway Sept. 14.

‘We are a very young team, but a very talented one,’ Schneider said. ‘I think we should be able to win multiple tournaments.’

Preston agreed with Schneider’s sentiments.

‘I really feel that, with who we have this year, our team has a good chance to make it to regionals and win the MAC Tournament,’ Preston said.