Harvard's Rookie Trio Learning on Job

Golf is not an individual sport at Harvard—that much is certain.

Five players from the Crimson are lined up for each tournament, and at the end of each round their scores are added up to determine the team’s finish.

When one player takes a swing from the tee or putts a ball across the green, he is doing so for the four other players around him.

The Crimson men’s team has taken this message to heart, and its three freshmen have shown flashes of brilliance and, more importantly, many rounds of solid golf.

Every fall tournament has seen at least two rookies play, and all three have participated in at least two tournaments.

“I’m really looking forward to where the freshmen can take us,” captain D. J. Hynes said.

“If we can get all three playing at the top of their game,” he added, “I think we have good chance at the [Ivy League Championship].”

MICHAEL SHORE

Known for his ability to drive the ball far off the tee, Shore shot a one-under-par to secure a third-place individual finish in the 59-golfer field at the ECAC Championship three weeks ago. The Crimson finished sixth overall.

“It was a weekend where I just played my game,” he said. “Every time I tee up, I expect to shoot at least even par.”

And, said Hynes, “he doesn’t wate any shots. I don’t expect [that performance] to be a one time thing.”

A Boca Raton, Fla. native, Shore is unfazed by New England weather. He has played in this kind of weather before, and anyway, “the weather is what it is,” he said. “[The bottom line is] the ball has to drop into the hole.”

JOHN CHRISTENSEN

The one thing Christensen’s teammates can agree about is that his quiet kind of humor lends itself to a calm consistency.

“We always have a mid-70 score to rely on,” Hynes said of the freshman.

To Christensen, college golf is a huge commitment, and sometimes it’s been tough to find a balance between golf and academics.

But his teammates are “fun guys to be around,” he said. “They taught me not to take myself too seriously, telling me not to stress out about balancing everything and to relax with golf. I’ve definitely had to make some [academic] sacrifices, but I think I’ve been pretty fortunate in my adjustment.”

At the St. John’s Invitational this fall, Christensen shot a 73-70-77 to finish tied for 39th, only one shot behind Hynes.

Impressive as the display was for the freshman, Christensen was not satisfied.

“I played that one good tournament,” he said. “The others were mediocre.”

But the self-admitted short hitter is working on his patience.

And if he can find improve his length off the tee, he has every right to feel confident.

“I think we can fill the gap left by [last year’s] seniors,” he said. “There is a feeling that we are much better this year and that we can really compete. I don’t know what this means in terms of rankings, but I think we’re not even close to reaching our full potential.”

JOSH ISNER

Isner didn’t even know if he was going to compete this year. Then the captain stepped in.

“D. J., who was a friend of mine in high school, convinced me to play,” Isner explained.

Isner played in the St. John’s Invitational and the MacDonald Cup this fall, and he has occasionally struggled with wildness.

“You have to grind through the bad stretches,” he said. “I’ve also realized that it stresses a good short game.”

After the Toski Invitational this weekend, the men’s golf team will not play again until the spring, when it will open at Yale.

Over the winter, a golf simulator at the Murr Center—which gives the speed of the ball when it hits the screen—will be available for the team to practice with.

“[It was] a gift from the Friends of Harvard Golf,” Isner said. “It’s as legitimate to winter golf as we’re going to get around here.”

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For months, they’ve practiced every Tuesday to Thursday at the Brookline Country Club, from 1:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. On Fridays, they leave campus to play in their tournaments and usually don’t return until Sunday night.

Soon, they will get a chance to get away from it all for a few months.

But they’ve already built something that will keep them together when spring arrives.

They know that golf is not an individual sport.

—Staff writer Tony D. Qian can be reached at tonyqian@fas.harvard.edu.