This weekend will present an opportunity for the Penn State men's golf team that it has not had the luxury of in nearly four months: the opportunity to golf outside.

The team is set to start its 2007 spring campaign with the Cleveland Palmetto Intercollegiate Tournament on March 12 in Aiken, S.C. This will be the first tournament the team has played in more than four months, the last being the Georgetown Hoya Invitational in October of 2006.

The long layoff will likely play a large factor coming into the Palmetto Intercollegiate.

"I expect some rust," Penn State head coach Greg Nye said. "It's been tough to get outside to practice. This always poses a bit of a problem in February and March."

It is apparent that the lack of outdoor play has set the men's golf team back in comparison to their southern opponents who can play golf nearly year round. The team has been confined to Holuba Hall, which restricts the type of golf they can work on.

"We haven't had places to chip or putt much inside Holuba," said junior Robert Rohanna. "It has definitely had a hindering effect on our game."

To make up for its lack of short game practice, the team will be arriving two days early to the tournament to try to get a feel for the greens and to prepare themselves as much as possible for competitive play. This may prove important considering that Penn State has never played here before.

The team will be heading to a more familiar course, however, immediately after the completion of the Palmetto. The Nittany Lions will play in the Pinehurst Intercollegiate Tournament in Pinehurst, N.C. on March 18. Four current Lion golfers competed in the last Pinehurst tournament in the spring of 2006.

The team will arrive three days early to practice the course. This is opposed to a seven-day layoff it suffered previous to the Pinehurst tournament of 2006, in which they finished 15th in a field of 17. Nye believes the lack of down time before the tournament will help the team to play more focused golf.

Freshman player Kevin Foley believes Penn State needs focused play in the first two tournaments of the spring.

"It's pretty important that we get off to a good start and set the tone for the rest of the season," Foley said. "I think we can do well against the rest of the field, and we are ready to go out there and compete."