Griffins golf teams escape Edmonton's endless winter for annual UFV Spring Invitational

Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – It's hard to believe, but golf season will be in full swing in … INSERT BEST GUESS HERE.

Lucky ducks, those MacEwan Griffins, though, as they hopped on a plane Thursday and escaped Edmonton's endless winter, bound for the beautiful Fraser Valley this weekend.

For the ninth-straight year, the Griffins golf teams will see how quickly they can shake off the rust of not playing in more than four months and test themselves against some of the top post-secondary golf programs in B.C. at the University of Fraser Valley Spring Invitational.

For some, a golf swing is like riding a bike – you never forget how.

The Griffins are in the 'some' category, even if a lot of duffers aren't.

"We've usually competed well even though we haven't played that much," said Griffins golf head coach Jodi Campbell. "I would never say that my expectations are any different than any other tournament that we go to. I think we want to compete, we want to play well.

"I would hope that a lot of the work we've been doing over the winter will contribute to a solid performance. It's not a holiday. We're going out there to go to work."

It has been nearly five months since we last saw the Griffins golf teams in action at the ACAC Championship on a blustery opening weekend of October that sadly foreshadowed the brutal winter to come in the Edmonton area.

Since then?

They've been working on fitness and have had some indoor sessions at the Golf Den.

However, there's truly no substitute for the real thing, which is why they flew out on Thursday to get a couple of practice rounds in before the two-round tournament begins on Saturday at the Chilliwack Golf and Country Club.

"We haven't even hit a golf ball since the middle of October, so it is really about knocking the rust off a little bit," said Campbell.

The weekend will be about redemption for the Griffins men's golf team, who went into the ACAC Championship that they hosted at Red Tail Landing GC as favourites to repeat as champions and left after grinding out a disappointing third under tough conditions.

"I know it's been a while, but I'm actually looking for a bit of a bounce back from the men's team," said Campbell, who will bring seven to the tourney: Josh Gorieu, Christian Solkowski, Noah Lubberding, Justin Berget, Dakota Smith, Brandon Walterhouse and Zac Yurick. "The last time they competed was at the ACAC Championships in October. Obviously, the guys are feeling a little unsatisfied leaving that event.

"What this is going to do is give them one more opportunity to end the season with one more great performance and, in many ways, feel good about going into next year. It was a bit of a letdown placing third at the championship. Maybe it's a luxury we have on our team to feel bad about placing third, but it was a bit of a letdown. We were definitely a favourite.

"They're eager to get back out playing and not leave the season on that note."

Veteran women's players Elizabeth Stewart and Daniela Donnelly both graduated after the fall term, so their Griffins careers are over. That means, the UFV Invitational marks the first tournament in a long time without them. Just Hailey Turcotte and Rachel Wiebe are left on the squad, which will retool in the off-season.

"I look forward to seeing Hailey and Rachel take on more of a leadership role," said Campbell. "It's going to be different not having Lizzy and Dani there because they were five-year athletes and have been the heart and soul of the team.

"I'm kind of looking forward to this passing of the baton on the women's team."

The Griffins will be in tough against some solid competition in the tournament, which ends on Sunday. Host UFV won both the men's and women's Canadian Colleges Athletic Association championships last fall and they might not even be the strongest team there. Canada West titans UBC and Victoria will have their players there, while PACWEST's Langara College will also offer a challenge.