Crimson Golfers Look Strong, Should Improve on Last Year

Last year the Crimson golfers got off to a flying 4-0 start only to fade in the finish and wind up with a 9-5 record. And, although they did retain the Greater Boston Collegiate Championship, the golfers could only manage a ninth-place finish in the Eastern Intercollegiate Championships.

If preliminary indicators are correct, this year will be different.

For one thing, the golf team's Fall tryouts produced surprising results, with some of last year's varsity golfers failing to make this year's varsity in the face of stiff competition.

In addition, the new squad turned in what may have been Harvard's best golf effort ever when it lost to Penn by a single stroke in the ECAC Fall Golf Championship last October.

Big Gun

Art Burke, a Williams College transfer and two-time New England intercollegiate golf champion, is the big gun for the Crimson golfers. Burke, Quin Smith and Ed Berry, the team captain, form the nucleus of Coach Bob Harrison's varsity which John Lee '53, JV golf coach, calls mabye the best golf team ever to play for Harvard.

Returning letterman John Stoviak and Andy Marks and three members of last year's freshman squad (Tom Yellin, Steve McConnell and Hank Bannister) round out the eight man varsity. Coach Lee said that Berry and Burke are particularly good at hitting the long ball and that Quin Smith has "an excellent short game." He also said that Tom Yellin is "extremely consistent...in rain and shine."

These eight men, however, may not be doing all of Harvard's varsity golfing this year. The seven men to compete in each varsity meet will be chosen based on performances in the previous meet.

Only the top two varsity scorers in a given meet will be exempt from qualifying for the next meet. The other will be replaced if JV golfers out-score them. This is possible because JV and varsity matches are usually run simultaneously, Lee explained.

In this way, the JV squad, which includes two of last year's varsity lettermen, will provide a continual prod to the varsity. Lee explained that Harvard dropped its freshman golf team and replaced it with a JV squad this year when an NCAA ruling made freshmen eligible to compete in varsity golf.

The golfers stiffest competition will probably come from Penn, Princeton and Penn State, who all made good showings in the Fall meet and who are all usually strong in golf.

First Meet

The varsity squad begins practice this Friday in Fort Lucy, Fla. After a week of workouts it will travel to Annapolis, Md., for its first meet of the season with Navy and Penn State.

Tom Yellin explained that one week's practice before the season is standard for Ivy League teams, since the weather usually doesn't allow much practice before that anyway.

The unpredictable New England weather can do more than ruin practices, however. As Coach Lee said yesterday, "The weather's never any bargain....last year it was a fiasco. Most of the matches were played in the rain."

The depth and consistency of this year's Crimson golf team promises that it will avert fiasco--whether it's raining or not.