Playing at home is a big advantage for baseball, basketball, and football teams.

The benefit is thought of so highly that MLB Commissioner Bud Selig believed the All-Star game would be more competitive if the winning league received home-field advantage in the World Series.

Golf is no different, and this weekend the Iowa women’s golf team will host its only tournament of the season — the Hawkeye Invitational at Finkbine Golf Course on Saturday and Oct. 18.

In the three tournaments the Hawkeyes have played this season, the home team has finished no lower than sixth place. On two occasions, the host team placed in the top three.

Michigan State emerged victorious after playing on its own course in September at the Mary Fossum Invitational.

For senior Alison Cavanaugh, the biggest advantage in being the host team lies on the shortest grass on the course.

“Playing at Finkbine is definitely an advantage for our team,” she said. “Practicing on these greens every day is the biggest advantage because they are so challenging.”

The familiarity with the greens puts the Hawkeyes a club length ahead of their competitors, Cavanaugh said, and she thinks the 12 other teams participating will struggle to convert near the pin.

Iowa head coach Kelly Crawford also sees the greens as making a difference. The greens are very difficult and very fast, she said, so if players don’t know where to be, it can lead to challenging putting situations.

With the Hawkeyes having played at Finkbine frequently, Crawford said, they know what sides of the greens to be on.

“They’ve played it so often that they know where to be off the tees, they know where to hit it on the greens, and they know how the greens are going to react to certain putts,” she said. “And just being in your own environment and your own locker room and sleeping in your own bed are certainly an advantage.”

Junior Brianna Coopman said some days of practice this week have been different. The team has played with the pin positions that will be used during the tournament, which should increase the advantage the Hawkeyes have on the greens and help their short games.

Home-course advantage will also give Iowa a confidence boost heading into the tournament.

“We have the experiences of the low rounds we’ve shot at Finkbine in the back of our minds,” junior Laura Cilek said. “Remembering those moments will help give us a lot more confidence when we are playing.”

Coopman agreed with Cilek. Coopman remembers the times she played a hole perfectly, and she said if it can be done once, it can be done twice.

Last year, after finishing no higher than eighth in any of their previous tournaments, the Hawkeyes finished second in their host tournament. Coaches and players are hoping the Hawkeye Invitational can be a turning point for the team, with a little help from the Finkbine advantage.

“This weekend will be a definite turning point,” Cavanaugh said. “I have a good feeling about this tournament. We are so close to being really great, and this will be the perfect stage.”