Currently eight of the top-25 teams in the country are from the SEC, and this weekend the No. 11 University of Alabama men’s golf team will attempt to leave the Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia, as SEC champions.

Alabama coach Jay Seawell said this is the deepest the SEC has been in his 14 years with the program. He said that though there are several good teams in the conference, his team will need to focus on what they can control.

Playing at Sea Island Golf Club presents many challenges, none more prevalent than the windy conditions. Seawell took his team to Kiva Dunes Golf Club in Gulf Shores, Alabama, to help prepare his team for the week.

“The biggest part of the week for us and any team will be getting acclimated to the wind,” Seawell said.

Seawell and his team have used last year’s SEC championship outing as motivation this entire year. The Crimson Tide led after the first two rounds of the tournament, but finished fourth after shooting a final round 10-over par 290.

The team learned a valuable lesson after having the lead with nine holes to play. Seawell said the team took its eye off the goal and became a little result oriented.

“We learned they don’t give a trophy out in the middle of the tournament,” Seawell said. “The biggest lesson our guys learned is just to play every hole, and we will see the results when it is over.”

This weekend the team seeks to bring home its fourth, and most important, tournament win of the season.

“We have to be tough mentally and physically because you are playing for the SEC championship, and the only way to get it, is to beat some really great teams,” Seawell said.