Iowa women’s golf head coach Megan Menzel has liked what she’s seen, practice-wise, from her team so far this spring. Getting her squad to play as well as it prepares is the issue Menzel is still facing.

Menzel told The Daily Iowan Feb. 8 that her players have committed themselves to practicing efficiently and adopting more confident mindsets.

“We’ve been working a lot, just having a lot of good conversations,” Menzel said. “I think the one thing that [the players] really came up with is wanting to just play with confidence. You know, go out there and believe that they are one of the better teams.”

Menzel believes the consistency with which her team practices will help the Hawkeyes find some success on the course.

“We’ve really been trying to focus on practice, maximize the minutes, and you know, get out there and really stick to our routine,” Menzel said. Then, I think the golf will just, you know, continue to roll from there.”

Iowa played its first tournament of the spring season — the Big Ten Conference Match Play Championship in Florida — Jan. 31-Feb. 1. The Hawkeyes went 1-3 in the four matches they participated in.

The Big Ten Conference Match Play Championship was scored hole-by-hole. The Tulane Classic — which is the next event on the Hawkeyes’ schedule — is a stroke play tournament that will be held at English Turn Golf and Country Club  in New Orleans Feb. 13-15.

Iowa played in the event in 2020. At the time, the tournament was referred to as the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

“I think it’s a really good golf course for us, actually,” Menzel said. “I think strong ball strikers will rise to the top there. I think, overall, that’s something our team does quite well. I’m really excited. We’re excited to get out there and get the [stroke play] season started.”

This year’s Tulane Classic field includes 16 teams. Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, and Rutgers will represent the Big Ten. 

In 2020, then-freshman Lea Zeitler was the only Hawkeye to place inside the top 50 as an individual in New Orleans — finishing in a tie for eighth place.

Zeitler, along with freshman Paula Miranda, junior Morgan Goldstein, and seniors Dana Lerner and Manuela Lizarazu will represent Iowa in Louisiana this weekend. Hawkeye freshman Caroline Gray will compete in the event unattached from the UI.

With two more years of experience under their belts, Menzel and the Hawkeyes expect a much better showing at the 2022 Tulane Classic.

“We kind of had a big chat with one of our mental skills coaches, you know, ‘You can either go out there and look for confidence, or you can go in with confidence,’” Menzel said. Hopefully, they’ve done a lot of work over the break and then they’ve been diligent in their practice here and then you should be confident. Get a good practice round, get a lot of good notes and get a feel for the greens and the grass and then get out of your own way. Go play golf.”

Live results from the Tulane Classic will be available throughout the week on golfstat.com