After graduating eight seniors last year, the Dartmouth High School boys golf team is looking a little different.

This season, only four athletes returned and four freshmen joined, making the team “a little young this year,” Head Coach Michael Frates said.

“They have to go through their growing pains because they just kind of got thrown into the fire,” Frates said. “But they know what they’re doing.”

Frates teaches the mental aspects of the sport, course management and learning what to do if something “negative” happens on the course.

“When you’re faced with [the same] situation the next time, you maybe don’t make the same mistake,” he said.

When the team can, they practice on the course, but this season the athletes are often at the range or practicing their chipping and putting.

Golf is a popular sport and the courses are often crowded, so how often the team can practice on the course is limited, according to Frates.

“Right now, the big thing is to get them out on the course and playing,” he said. “Just because we haven’t had a ton of time.”

On Thursday, Sept. 12, the Dartmouth boys golf team played their fifth match of the season. They played against B.M.C. Durfee High School, winning with a score of 99-83.

This win brings the team’s score this season to three wins and two losses.

Last year, the team won 15 out of 16 matches, as well as their conference championship.

This season, Frates would like the team to make it to sectionals.

For this to happen, the team will either need to win at least half of their matches or win their conference.

“We’ve been lucky most years that we’ve qualified as a team,” Frates said. “That’s the ultimate goal.”