Since the resumption of classes in January, the BG men’s golf team has been hard at work preparing for their spring season.

The Falcons have been practicing at the indoor golf facility each afternoon, supplementing those sessions with trips to a driving range in Maumee. The sustaining fuel for the men throughout the winter has been their disappointing 12th place finish at the Renaissance Invitational to close out the fall season.

“I know I wasn’t happy with the way we finished, and I don’t think anyone else was either,” coach Garry Winger said, “We know we are capable of doing much better, and every player knows deep down what they must do to improve their game.”

Sophomore Drew Preston is focusing on a more balanced practice regimen compared to last year.

“I think last year I concentrated too much on my putting and not enough on my full swing,” Preston said. “This year I have really been swinging the club a lot more. Coach and I noticed that I was cutting the ball way to much in the fall, so I have spent a lot of time trying to improve my tempo and my posture, which hopefully will allow me to draw the ball more when I need to this spring.”

However, the team knows that all the offseason practice in the world cannot completely simulate how their games will translate to actual course conditions. With the Falcons scarcely more than a week away from the season-opener in Puerto Rico, everyone on the team is anxious to finally tee it up for real again.

“I think everyone is really excited to get back out there again,” senior John Powers said. “Late in the fall my driving started to fall apart. I’ve been able to get my swing mostly back into a routine in here, but it’s tough to really get a total feel for where you are at when you swing inside. There really isn’t a lot of feedback besides the impact of the ball and clubface.”

And Winger is ready to start the season just like his players.

“I’m anxious to see what our team can accomplish this spring,” Winger said. “There will certainly be teams we go against that are better than we are, but I think we are more than capable of going out there and competing with everyone on our schedule.”