Summer Game

BILL JOHNSON is one coach who has no complaints about the Dartmouth Plan because the Hanover Country Club, where he is the resident professional, is playable for only about a month and a half during the spring and fall terms. "Because of the Dartmouth Plan, students only have to spend one winter on campus - their freshman year," explains Johnson. "When the students are here during the summer, that's a good time for me to work on their golf swings."

Johnson's goal is for his team to finish first or second in the NCAA District I tournament in May. "I feel we've got a good shot at it," he says, mentioning the team's accomplishments last fall. Dartmouth defeated 17 schools to win the District I, northern division of ECAC, tournament at Hanover and finished third out of 27 schools at the Yale Invitational tournament. "And this winter at the Miami Invitational, the team finished ninth out of 26, defeating schools like lowa, Notre Dame, and everybody from the North, including Yale, Providence, and Salem State. Our team for four days averaged under 78 shots per round per man on the four scores that counted."

The Dartmouth golfers are paced by Joe Henley, a junior from Waban, Massachusetts. The captain has qualified for the NCAA championships twice and was an all-Ivy selection last year. He averages 72.4 shots per round at the Hanover Country Club, and for a whole year his average is about 75 per round. "Considering the conditions he's playing in that's good," says Johnson. "Joe is definitely one of the top players in New England. He's the type of player all coaches would like to have. A real competitor. The tougher things get, the better he plays. He's clearly the best we have."

Johnson, whose teams have logged an 86-28 mark over the last nine years and won an Eastern Championship back in 1970 at Yale, admits the New Hampshire climate works against him in attempts to attract top golfers to Dartmouth. For example, the team's first home match against Boston College was doubtful because of the conditions - and that was scheduled for April 22. "We will never get the all-America-type golfer here, although we've had two in the last eight years [Sandy McWilliams '70 and Jerry Daly '76], It's simply because of the seasons."