It’s cold. A strong wind whips over the hills at the Dempsey Ridge golf course and cloudy, dark skies foretell of rain and snow.

    Undeterred, Marsh Valley golf arrives at the nine-hole golf course just south of Lava Hot Springs.

    And they’re prepared.

    Fortified with winter gloves, hats, windbreakers, sweatshirts and golf bags in tow, it’s time to practice. While the wind howls and a few flakes begin to fall, there’s never any thought to canceling practice to wait for sunnier days.

    For Marsh Valley golf, champions aren’t made in the sun with a calm, cooling breeze.

    “If it’s snowing, hailing, whatever, we still have to play,” said senior Kayla Tillotson.

    Not that Tillotson minds having to work on her short game while battling the elements. How else could she have gone from a freshman, regularly shooting in the 130s, to taking 10th in the state championships as a junior.

    Tillotson’s marked improvement has helped spark a burgeoning girls golf team at Marsh Valley — a high school program familiar with winning teams.

    Under the guidance of head coach T. Paul Davids, the Marsh Valley boys are the three-time defending state champions.

    Back in 2009, a group filled with sophomores and freshmen went to the state tournament and placed fifth — a full 87 strokes back from first place.

    But for those five young golfers, the experience proved invaluable. Over the next three years the likes of Tanner Hunsaker, Dallin Davids and Forrest Netuschil ripped off back-to-back-to-back state championships.

    In 2012, Marsh lost Gary Davids and Skylar Hatley to graduation — both key parts of the first two titles — but the Eagles seamlessly integrated then-junior Matt Packard and freshman Wiley Losee.

    What sparked Marsh Valley’s run at the top, other than smooth, trained golf swings, the skill to drain 10-foot putts and hard work? The ability to ignore pressure.

    “They drove me nuts because they were so lackadaisical about it out here sometimes,” coach Davids said. “They were able to have fun.”

    Maybe it was easy for the kids to handle the role of favorites, but after the 2010 state championship — the first in coach Davids’ career since taking over Marsh Valley golf in 1993 — he laid down in bed and couldn’t go to sleep. He was already thinking about the next season.

    The players dealt with the weight of expectations by spending long hours on the range, honing their game.

    “That was not a group that just came to the golf course in March and left in May,” coach Davids said. “... They put a lot of work into it.”

    When the wind was howling and nary a sunbeam was squeezing through a thick stack of clouds, the Marsh Valley boys golf team added a few extra layers of clothes and walked out onto the course south of Lava Hot Springs.

    And that brings us to today.

    Tillotson, along with junior Abby Davids and sophomores Shae Davids, Alyssa Kingston and Maycee Belnap strike an eerie resemblance to that 2009 boys squad with a young core that finished fifth at state.

    Last season, led by Tillotson’s 186, Marsh Valley placed third in the state tournament. And with everyone back for 2013, there’s one definitive goal pushing them forward, outside into the cold.

    “We have a really good chance at first place,” Tillotson said. “That’s the goal right now. And there is a lot of work to be done, but it’s not something that’s out of reach.”

    Meanwhile, on the boys side, coach Davids is missing some of the depth and talent of past seasons. Packard and Losee, the unproven duo playing the four and five spots a year ago, are now the experienced leaders. It’s their turn to bring along a new group to the varsity level.

    “You go back and look at those kids and (it’s) just like, ‘How can we live up to them?’” Packard said.

    First step: throw on a hat, a warm sweatshirt, grab a golf bag and get to work.