Course management is paramount if the University of Idaho men's golf team is going to master the challenging Rio Secco Golf Course and have a shot at the Western Athletic Conference title.

“Rio Secco is a desert golf course so you've got fairway, a little bit of rough and then you have rock-filled desert,” coach John Means said. “If you miss the fairway, the chances are you're going to have an unplayable lie in the rocks so ball-striking is at a premium.”

Means gave the Vandals a bit of a taste of what to expect at the Winchester Classic – a tournament 10 days ago that senior Jarred Bossio won and in which the Vandals finished second. They layout of the Winchester Country Club course is, Means says, similar to Rio Secco and a good prep.

“They didn't play great golf but they played solid golf,” Means said. “If they can build on that and remember how to think when it comes to making tough decisions on what kind of shot to hit, then we'll have a great conference.”

Means is drilling the Vandals with the one-shot-at-a-time mentality, which could come in handy given the treachery Rio Secco possesses.

“Course management, which is what we've worked so hard on, is going to be so important,” Means said. “They have to be able to throttle back, stay in the moment, hit the right club off the tee and try not to press so much to make something happen. If they can do that, they can be successful.”

Live scoring is available at www.golfstat.com.