“It was really electric,” Pollak said. “All of [Williams’] teammates went kind of crazy. It was a lot of fun, even though it didn’t go our way.”

This weekend marked the first time that Harvard had played match play golf in over forty years, according to Wentzell. Match play means that holes are scored individually and that the matches of all five players count toward the final score. In the more common stroke play, the top four matches are counted toward the final score, which is an accumulation of all the strokes at each hole.

“Match play works for people who are more erratic,” Shuman said. “Every hole is a new match.”

In stroke play, one bad hole could ruin an entire match. In match play, a golfer could shoot a ten on a hole to another player’s three, and it would be no worse than if he had shot a four.

“In match play, you can make high numbers,” Shuman said. “All in all, you’re still trying to play the best golf you can. I play with a lot more ease. I’m not worried about the final score. The one shot you hit is all that matters. What happened on the hole before, what’s going to happen on the next hole doesn’t matter. You’re playing for one hole. It’s just an entirely different game.”

Another way match play alters the game is that it forces a player to think about his own score in relation to his competitors.

“It’s more personal, much more competitive,” Pollak said. “In stroke play, you’re just playing the course. How other people do doesn’t matter until you get to the clubhouse. In match play, you really feel like you’re in the competition. You attack the course in a different method based on what your opponent is doing. There’s always a winner and a loser. You always have competition to judge your performance against. It’s more akin to football and basketball.”