Northern Michigan sophomore golfer Abby Luke poses for a university photo. She is a Marquette Senior High School graduate and her brother Joe Luke has been on the Wildcats men’s team, as was their father, Robert Luke. (Photo courtesy NMU)

MARQUETTE — The women’s and men’s golf teams at Northern Michigan University will be competing alongside each other for most of their spring schedule in the next three months, all in locations well to the south that means their seasons may finish before any local courses even open.

Both teams start out in an enviable position for most any golfer or any student in early March — going to Florida.

They travel to Wesley Chapel for the Saddlebrook Spring Kickoff from Tuesday through Thursday, March 3-5.

They continue on just over a week later to the Saginaw Valley State University Spring Invitational, but not anywhere near downstate Saginaw. They’ll be in northern Kentucky on Saturday and Sunday, March 14-15, the men in Lexington at Kearney Hill Golf Links and the women in nearby Georgetown at Cherry Blossom Golf Club.

While the Florida stop will spread three rounds over three days, the SVSU event will try to squeeze in all three rounds in just two days, the first two rounds scheduled for the opening day.

Two weeks later, both Wildcat teams continue north to Chicago and the Bolingbrook Country Club for the Flyer Spring Invite hosted by Lewis University on Monday and Tuesday, March 30-31.

Then the two NMU teams diverge a bit for the final regular-season spring stop before the GLIAC Championships in late April.

Both will go to Ohio Dominican-hosted events in Ohio, the women in Grove City for the ODU NC4K Classic on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 7-8, while the men are in Lancaster for the Bill Blazer Memorial on Saturday and Sunday, April 11-12.

That might be right around the time courses in Marquette County are getting ready to open, dependent on the final severity of winter and early spring.

The Wildcats’ spring season schedule closes out with the GLIAC Championships set for two neighboring courses in downstate Augusta between Battle Creek and Kalamazoo over consecutive weeks in the second half of April.

The men go to Stoatin Brae Golf Club from Wednesday through Friday, April 15-17, and the women will be at Stonehedge North from Wednesday through Friday, April 22-24.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release previewing the schedule. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.