The Rio Verde Country Club in Arizona is not a bad place for any student to spend a weekend in early March.

The competition at Quail Run, one of two courses at the Rio Verde Country Club, will include 18 schools ? headed by 19th-ranked Notre Dame ? along with host Western Michigan and UW rival Minnesota.

?The competition is going to be a mixed field,? head coach Todd Oehrlein said. ?We expect it to be very competitive.?

?Notre Dame is going to be very good. ? The field is one thing, but we really need to be concerned about what we?re doing.?

The Badgers finished 16th at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic, shooting 313 on both Friday and Saturday but going out with a bang, scoring 300 on Sunday.

Senior Katie Elliot had a solid 228 (77-77-74) in Puerto Rico and placed 55th ? the best on the team.

?In Puerto Rico we finished strong, and it really motivated us to do well this week,? said freshman Carly Werwie, who shot a 235 (79-70-76) and tied for 70th at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic. ?I think it will be a good week for us.?

Oehrlein also talked about how the team hit the ball well two Sundays ago.

?We need to build on that,? Oehrlein said. ?And go into this tournament and make sure we play improved, better golf.

?See a few more greens hit than what we saw in Puerto Rico, something we?ve been focusing on, and hopefully putt a little bit better.?

?As always it?s a case for us when we?re coming off winter,? Oehrlein said. ?Our short games and just some of the stuff right around the greens ? it?s just not in midseason form.?

Lacking nearby golf courses not covered in snow, they must divide up parts of the game and focus on different aspects one at a time and at separate facilities.

At Vitense Golfland, the team is able to get some long distance swings in on the heated driving range, at the McLain Center they work on their short game and wedges, and at the Kohl Center there is an indoor putting green.

While it is not made of actual grass, the indoor putting green gets the job done as best it can.

?It?s comparable,? Katie Elliott said referring to the Kohl Center?s putting surface. ?It rolls ? right now with our setup; we?re able to focus on a lot of different aspects of the game.?

Elliott tied for fifth at the Rio Verde Collegiate Invitational last year. She was also named to the All-Big Ten second team and led the Badgers in scoring, averaging 75.24 in 2006-07.

Elliott was also named Big Ten golfer this past week.

?We?re a little bit all over the place,? Oehrlein said. ?It?s just about repetition more than anything else.?

Indoors in Wisconsin to outdoors in Arizona, the Badgers? ability to take the separate facets of the game and put them together on the course will prove to be more important than ever if they are to roll the ball well this weekend.