With the opening tournament of the spring season in less than two weeks for the women's golf team, the players have been doing what every other team across the nations has been doing: practicing.
But with the high amounts of snow Indiana has received during the first few weeks of school, practicing hasn't been an easy task for the Cardinals.
"I try to keep my team as active or inspired as I can," coach Katherine Mowat said. "Even though the heaters are on, it was just so cold that after 20 minutes they can't feel their hands. At that point it's not productive to hit balls anymore."
Although time spent on the driving range has been limited, Mowat said the team has made the most of that 20 minutes before they are forced to retreat to the warmth of heated facilities.
"We do a lot of game-like situations. I have them go through their routines and simulate different situations where we will hit a bucket of balls and put pressure on making a good shot with each club."
The Cardinals will open their season Feb. 22 at the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate in Kiawah, S.C.
With playing outside not being much of an option, Mowat said she has had to come up with some more creative ways of playing 18 holes. Ball State does visualization techniques, but it has also played simulated courses such as Pebble Beach and Dural at MD's Golf Academy. The Muncie business - where the Cardinals have been practicing for two to three hours a day - has golf simulators that allow the players to hit off a tee and predicts where the ball would have ended landed.
In addition to trying to hit a perfect tee shot at Pebble Beach, Mowat said the team makes use of much more common techniques such as hitting into nets or putting on the indoor greens provided by the academy.
With 46 teams competing, the Cardinals' opening tournament will be the biggest golf tournament in NCAA history. Most tournaments are comprised of 12-16 teams.
The tournament will be played on two different courses that have been marked as "equal courses" by the scoring system.
Mowat said she knows what her team is capable of achieving, and her team is looking forward to washing out the bad taste left in its mouth from the fall season.
Ball State won two tournaments in the fall season, including the Hawkeye Invitational, as it defeated three Big Ten teams.
"We know we can be really successful and beat some highly ranked teams," Mowat said. "We know it doesn't come easily. We have to really work hard and count on one another."
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