Golfers get dream facility

Rob Ockenfuss walks into a bunker 130 yards away from the green and finds his ball plugged deep in the sand. Certainly it's not a scenario any golfer wants to walk into. Rather than getting flustered, the freshman calmly walks into the bunker and attempts to put the ball on the green. \nThat\'s because its one of an extensive number of possible shots that can be played on IU's new golf practice range. \n"The stuff you can do here you couldn\'t practice without dropping a ball on the course," Ockenfuss said. \nThe new range is the crown jewel of the Indiana golf program. Built exclusively for players to work on their short games, the range offers a broad variety of shots from 170 yards away from the pin, to just off the edge of the green. \nWhereas the old practice range consisted of one sand trap and one green, the new offers a bevy of bunkers and greens, increasing the number of different shots that can be attempted by a player.\nAmong the players giving the new practice range rave reviews is senior Rich Thomas. \n"It gives us a lot more options and opportunities to be more creative with our shot selection," Thomas said. "There\'s not a shot that we\'ll see in a tournament that can\'t be practiced here."\nIn addition to holding several well-manicured bunkers, greens, and patches of thick U.S. Open-style rough, the facility boasts bent-grass turf. Bent-grass is considered by many to be the premier turf in golf. IU's course is not made of bent-grass. But, since the majority of courses that the Hoosiers will play are bent-grass, the turf makes the addition of the facility even more significant.\nFor head coach Mike Mayer, the building of the new practice range behind the IU Foundation Building is the culmination of a dream that began when he took over the team in 1998. \n"This has been in the works a long time," Mayer said. "It\'s been a priority since I became head coach."\nNow that he has seen the dream come true, Mayer is one step closer to realizing another dream -- building a perennial Big Ten and national powerhouse golf team at IU. \nThe facility not only has potential to help Hoosiers bring their play around the greens to the next level, but also to attract new talent to keep the program churning forward with new recruits. \n"This is the best (short game practice facility) in the Big Ten, bar none," Mayer said. "We now have everything we need to recruit and build a perennial contender"