The weather -- all the lousy sleet and rain and snow and cold and wet -- has hurt the golf team, and captain Brian McGuinn and his crew simply don't know what to expect when they tee the ball up tomorrow at Pleasant Valley Country Club and take big swipes at it with their drivers.

But the weather has been just as golfless where Holy Cross lives, and the Crusaders should be stiff too. So, with lack of practice being about equal, the Crimson should be headed for its fifth straight win today in Sutton.

Lack of practice means quite a bit to touch men like Tom Wynne, who will probably play number five today. Wynne is a scrambler, a short game expert, and not playing could mean trouble for him.

No Harvard golfer has played or even practiced outdoors since Monday's dual meet victory over Williams and Boston College. And before that there was a long stretch of inactivity.

McGuinn, who plays frequently at Cape Cod, has had more practice than the others, and his game seems to be coming around after a rusty start on the spring trip south. He will probably play four tomorrow, and Wynne, who has seen less action recently, will drop to five.

Wetness

McGuinn, a long hitter, will have an advantage on the long Pleasant Valley course, which stretches over 7000 yards. The wetness will make it even longer and Bruce Lopucki, at number one, and Paul Oldfield, at three, are two more boomers with a definite edge over the Holy Cross men.

Last year Harvard romped over the Crusaders. The match was won early, and the 4-3 final score was not too significant. The year before, however, Holy Cross surprisingly whipped a Crimson team that was headed for an excellent season.

Holy Cross won't be much of a test. Coach Cooney Weiland still won't know what kind of team he has until tomorrow when the Crimson tackles Columbia and Penn in New York. The Quakers have long been an Ivy power. They wallopped Harvard, 5-2, last year. But what is worse, they have had fairly good weather and have been able to practice.

Playing nine squads and one tournament in New England. April is a chancy proposition. And since there is no room at the end of the schedule in May, the matches have to be played. This year the scores have been kept down. McGuinn, Bo Keefe (two), and Lopucki broke 80 in the cold Monday, and the other men have made good showings too.

McGuinn says the spirit is high, and the victories over Williams and B.C. -- teams that beat the Crimson last year -- are encouraging. But the squad is still untested, and whether the sophomore-laden team can stand up against tough Ivy League competition will be clear tomorrow.