The BYU men’s golf team is off to a hot start this season and looks to continue that trend as the temperatures cool down outside.

The team spends much of their practicing time on the putting and chipping greens off of Fox Hollow Golf Course in American Fork. But when the snow hits the ground, the team is forced to do much of their practice in the indoor practice facility on BYU’s campus.

Members of the team have had to make the best out of practicing indoors. Junior, Chad Hardy, said of practicing in the IPF, “We can set up mats. They’ve got nets and everything dropped down and things blocked off, so we can hit balls in there. It’s not the full experience, but you can tell what it’s doing and it at least keeps you warm; you get some decent practice in. So, we’ll do that while there’s snow on the ground.”

The #1 player on the team, Junior, Peter Kuest, also mentioned that practicing indoors takes some getting used to. “Getting the different lies with the different grasses and everything is definitely tough, especially when we go down and play tournaments while we’re still indoors, but you have to adapt and make the best of it.”

Starting next year, the Cougars will have a new practice facility at Fox Hollow where they can hit balls off heated bays when the ground is covered in snow. The new facility will help the team prepare for tournaments all year long.

The team plays in about 10 tournaments each season, beginning in September and going all the way through the end of May with the NCAA championships. These tournaments take place all throughout the country including in Alabama, Arizona, California, Hawaii, and even here in Provo.

With four tournaments and four top five finishes behind them already, the cougars are off to a strong start to this season. Much of the team’s success thus far has come at the hands of Kuest, who is currently ranked the #15 golfer in the NCAA rankings.

The Cougars next tournament begins Monday, November 5th in Pebble Beach, California.

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