Feb. 15, 2016
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Editor’s Note: The following first appeared in the University of Iowa’s Hawk Talk Daily, an e-newsletter that offers a daily look at the Iowa Hawkeyes, delivered free each morning to thousands of fans of the Hawkeyes worldwide. To receive daily news from the Iowa Hawkeyes, sign up HERE.
By MEGAN ROWLEY
IOWA CITY, Iowa — After practicing indoors throughout the winter, the University of Iowa women’s golf team heads to Arizona for a preseason training trip prior to the official start of the spring season.
“To be able to get out on some green grass will be exciting,” said UI head coach Megan Menzel. “It is supposed to be over 85 degrees every day, so the team is excited to get outside and play. They have done a great job training indoors and now it is a matter of getting into that competition mode and getting ready to go for the season.”
The trip gives the Hawkeyes an opportunity to play with alumna like Shelby Phillips on a variety of courses in the area.
“For our training trip, we are heading down to Arizona,” said senior Amy Ihm. “We have the opportunity to play with alumni and on some great courses. It is going to be great for us to get some reps in the warm weather.”
While the team is excited for the warm climate, the Iowa chill hasn’t kept them from putting the work in during the winter months.
“They have been playing a lot of the courses indoors on the Trackman,” said Menzel. “It has been helpful for them to get some familiarity with the layout before we play them.”
The team has utilized equipment at the Hoak Family Golf Complex to not only explore courses, but to fine tune the details of their swings with each club in their bag.
“We have been working a lot with the Trackman, trying to get our numbers down,” said Ihm. “We also have been figuring out exactly how far we hit each club. That is something we want to make sure we have down before we start the spring.”
While the Hawkeyes have big goals for the season, their strategy is to take it one day at a time.
“We have done a great job of taking it one week at a time and that is going to be the key,” said Menzel. “We aren’t going to win any championships tomorrow, so our motto is just to win the day.
“That motto starts with this training trip. We have put in the work during the winter and have done a good job with staying focused every day, working on getting better. Now it is time to take that outside and continue with that same attitude.”
The Hawkeyes open the spring season on Feb. 21-22, when they travel to Peoria, Arizona, for the Westbrook Spring Invite.
