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It’s just a little before noon in Auburn, Alabama and the Virginia Tech golf team is on the course for their practice round for the NCAA Auburn Regional at the Auburn University Club. The word for the morning is: Humidity. Although that word may very well change before we get to the clubhouse this afternoon. The rain is coming. And it may be heavy. But more about that later.

First, a small explanation. Auburn, as is all of the State of Alabama, is in the Central Time Zone, so its an hour behind Blacksburg. All times listed will be local (CDT).

The weather is scheduled to change dramatically once the rain comes. Forecast for Thursday’s first round are for morning storms and a high of 66. Friday and Saturday should be a little warmer, but not oppressive and little chance of rain or storms. That will be welcome, as it can be very warm here this time of year.

The hope is the rain will clear out before the first round begins Thursday morning, as the Hokies are in the first group out, paired with Alabama and Texas. That begins at 8 a.m. CDT (9 a.m. Blacksburg time).

This is the second time the Hokies have played a regional at the AU Club. In 2003, Tech was the 11^th seed (in a different format, as there were three regional sites and 27 teams per site then). Tech did not advance out of Auburn that year. But that trip served the Hokies well, as head coach Jay Hardwick remembers this course and was able to help the players learn the course during the practice round.

As I usually do on this day each year, I’ll spend a moment discussing a Virginia Tech practice round. There is no wasted time when Tech hits the course to practice, whether it’s for a regular season event or an NCAA tournament. This is a learning and teaching opportunity and the Hokies take this time very seriously. Not much gets by the staff and after the round and coaches meeting today, there will be a team meeting where even more knowledge will be imparted. Virginia Tech is always one of the most prepared teams when a tournament tees off.

I hope to have a photo gallery from the first nine holes of today’s practice round posted on the Men’s Golf page of Hokiesports.com later this afternoon. Also, now is a great time to follow the Hokies on Twitter at @VT_MGolf. Tell a friend and lets try and really grow the list of followers on that site. We will use Twitter to offer more timely updates on the tournament.

Keep checking back to the blog on the Men’s Golf page, as this will be updated at various times through the week.

For updates on Virginia Tech men's golf, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_MGolf