Makeshift links

A motley crew of Dickinson Trinity boys golfers sat on a bench inside Dickinson's National Guard Armory with apathetic looks on their faces.

After an hour of chipping wiffle balls off a carpet in a gymnasium, senior Brett Lefor's indifference seemed contagious.

"You can't really practice your full swing, it's mainly short game," Lefor said. "And it's hitting off carpet so it's not really ... it's better than nothing, I guess."

So goes the life of area high school and college golfers, desperately trying to keep their swings in tune after being forced indoors by weeks of cold weather and snow.

"Now it's a matter of working on the swings, make sure they have the right swing path and stuff until we can actually get out to the golf course," Dickinson High boys golf coach Mark Fox said.

This week, the Titans headed to the armory while the Midgets have done light swing work and watched golf videos. Fox even gave his golfers a refresher course on golf rules and etiquette.

"It's tough to keep them occupied. They can only hit so many wiffle balls before they get sick and tired of it," said first-year Dickinson Trinity coach Todd Fisher. "It helps just to swing a club. But it doesn't do you any justice. You've got an object that doesn't tell you distance and doesn't tell you accuracy."

While the high schools golfers are struggling to get in any sort of groove, the Dickinson State men's and women's golfers hope to pick up where they left off in the fall season.

The Blue Hawks' are fighting monotony by setting up shop in the Whitney Stadium lobby.

DSU coach Tim Daniel assembled a canvas for the teams to hit into next to the concession stands.

The Blue Hawks will be the first area golf team to hit the grass when they travel to Rapid City, S.D., for the two-day South Dakota School of Mines Tournament on Sunday and Monday.

"We're just trying to get some swings in and get loose," DSU junior Craig Gaube said. "Our short games aren't going to be there but hopefully our long games will be there and we'll hit solid."

Gaube is third in the Dakota Athletic Conference men's golf standings after a strong fall season. The Blue Hawks men are in a fight with Minot State for the conference championship with only two tournaments left before the Region III tournament.

The women have assured themselves a trip to the Region III tournament by building a large lead in the DAC standings after three fall tournaments.

"We're really excited. We were really disappointed to see the fall season end because we were playing well on both sides," Daniel said. "We're kind of champing at the bit like everyone else to get out and play. Hopefully we can get a break in the weather and get going."

Both Dickinson High and Dickinson Trinity had their first tournaments cancelled.

Still, the high school golfers aren't worried about their late start.

They know everyone is in the same boat.

"That's going to shake all the teams up a little bit, not being able to get outdoors as much as they're used to," Dickinson High senior Cody Fox said. "You've just got to get in the right frame of mind."