I apologize I didn't blog last week, but trust me when I say you didn't miss much...  We have still been hitting off of and into our trusty mats and nets.  They take good care of us.  We thought that maybe, just maybe we'd get out early this year and start hitting and playing outside by the 1^st of April, but mother nature made sure that didn't happen.  On the night of Monday, March 30^th, we were the victims of roughly 12 inches of snow!  Since our two campuses are 5 miles apart, a bus called "The Link" drives back and forth to transport us to and from classes.  The snow was so bad that The Link had to shut down and classes were cancelled for most of Tuesday.  While we didn't mind not having class, we'd much rather not had more snow!  Oh well, I guess that's what we get when we decide to go to play golf in college in Minnesota (you think we'd learn better after 18 years of growing up here...)

However, since last Monday and Tuesday, it's been warming up slowly each and every day.  All last week we were still hitting indoors, but last Saturday some of our young guns drove down to "the cities" (Minneapolis/St. Paul and surrounding suburbs) and played outside.  Most of the juniors and seniors attended what we call "Mom Prom."  Mom Prom is a day/night where guys bring their Moms to school for a dinner and a dance; it's a really fun event.

This Monday we were able to hit off of our trusty mats onto our football field.  Usually we have to do this for a week or two before driving ranges start opening, but yesterday we were able to find a driving range and practice outside!  Hitting off of brown, thin, and fairly hard grass has never felt so good.  I think the putting green was rolling about a 2 or 3 on the Stimpmeter (seriously...that's not an exaggeration).  Even so, it was awesome to hear the sound of a golf ball hit the bottom of the cup.  Today we'll be practicing at the same place, and Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we'll get to play our first rounds of the year together as a team.  We've got our first match scheduled for this coming Monday, the 13^th, against Saint Cloud State University; hopefully the weather will cooperate and we'll be able to play.          

Joe and I will probably blog a little more frequently now that we are actually practicing and playing outside, especially with matches and meets in the near future.  While we are definitely happy to be done hitting indoors (knock on wood), we couldn't be more ready and hungry as a result.  Until next time, go Tiger, Happy Easter and God bless.

Keep your head down.

Joe Daly