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diff --git a/41149-0.txt b/41149-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1f6efb5 --- /dev/null +++ b/41149-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11952 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41149 *** + + THE SOUL OF GOLF + + + MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED + + LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA + MELBOURNE + + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + + NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO + DALLAS · SAN FRANCISCO + + THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. + + TORONTO + + + + + [Illustration: GEORGE DUNCAN + + The famous young Hanger Hill professional, one of the finest + golfers, and probably the best golf coach, in the world.] + + + + + THE SOUL OF GOLF + + BY + + P. A. VAILE + + AUTHOR OF 'MODERN GOLF,' 'MODERN LAWN TENNIS,' + 'SWERVE, OR THE FLIGHT OF THE BALL,' ETC. + + _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_ + + MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED + + ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON + + 1912 + + + COPYRIGHT + + + TO + + PHILIP REGINALD THORNTON + + MY CO-WORKER IN IMPERIAL POLITICS + + + + +PREFACE + + +It is frequently and emphatically asserted by reviewers of golf books +that golf cannot be learned from a book. If they would add "in a room" +they would be very near the truth--but not quite. It would be quite +possible for an intelligent man with a special faculty for games, a +good book on golf, and a properly equipped practising-room to start +his golfing career with a game equal to a single figure handicap. + +As a matter of fact the most important things concerning golf may be +more easily and better learned in an arm-chair than on the links. As a +matter of good and scientific tuition the arm-chair is the place for +them. In both golf and lawn tennis countless players ruin their game +by thinking too much about how they are playing the stroke _while they +are doing it_. That is not the time to study first principles. Those +should have been digested in the arm-chair, where indeed, as I have +already said and now repeat with emphasis, the highest, the most +scientific, and the most important knowledge of golf _must_ be +obtained. There is no time for it on the links, and the true golfer +has _no time_ for the man who tries to get it there, for he is +generally a dreary bore. + +Moreover, the man who tries to get it on the links is in trouble from +the outset, for in golf he is faced with a mass of false doctrine +associated with the greatest names in the history of golf, which is +calculated, an he follow it, to put him back for years, until indeed +he shall find the truth, the soul of golf. + +This book is in many ways different from any book concerning golf +which has ever been published. It assumes on the part of the reader a +certain amount of knowledge, and it essays to bring back to the truth +those who have been led astray by the false teaching of the most +eminent men associated with the game, teaching which they do not +themselves practise. At the same time it seeks to impart the great +fundamental principles, without which even the beginner must be +seriously handicapped. + +It does not concern itself with showing how the golfer must play +certain strokes. That certainly may be done better on the links than +in the smoking-room; but it concerns itself deeply with those things +which every golfer who wishes really to know golf, should have stowed +away in his mind with such certainty and familiarity that he ceases +almost to regard them as knowledge, and comes to use them _by habit_. + +When the golfer gets into this frame of mind, and not until then, will +he be able to understand and truly appreciate the meaning and value of +"the soul of golf." + +This he will never do by following the predominant mass of false +teaching. This book is a challenge, but it is not a question of Vaile +against Vardon, Braid, Taylor, Professor Thomson, and others. The +issue is above that. It is a question of truth or untruth. Nothing +matters but the truth. It rests with the golfing world to find out for +itself which is the truth. This it can do with comfort in its +arm-chair, and afterwards it can with much enhanced comfort, almost +insensibly, weave that truth into the fabric of its game, and so +through sheer practice, born of the purest and highest theory--for +there is no other way--come to the soul of golf. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAP. PAGE + + PREFACE vii + + I. THE SOUL OF GOLF 1 + + II. THE MYSTERY OF GOLF 15 + + III. PUTTING 47 + + IV. THE FALLACIES OF GOLF 95 + + V. THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEIGHT 117 + + VI. THE POWER OF THE LEFT 140 + + VII. THE FUNCTION OF THE EYES 162 + + VIII. THE MASTER STROKE 178 + + IX. THE ACTION OF THE WRISTS 202 + + X. THE FLIGHT OF THE GOLF BALL 222 + + XI. THE GOLF BALL 283 + + XII. THE CONSTRUCTION OF CLUBS 316 + + XIII. THE LITERATURE OF GOLF 334 + + AFTERWORD 350 + + INDEX 353 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + PLATE FACE PAGE + + GEORGE DUNCAN _Frontispiece_ + + I. HARRY VARDON'S GRIP 16 + + II. HARRY VARDON. STANCE AND FRONTAL ADDRESS IN SHORT PUT 38 + + III. HARRY VARDON AT THE TOP OF HIS SWING 60 + + IV. HARRY VARDON AT THE TOP OF HIS SWING IN THE DRIVE 82 + + V. J. H. TAYLOR AT THE TOP OF HIS SWING IN THE DRIVE 104 + + VI. HARRY VARDON. THE FINISH OF HIS DRIVE 124 + + VII. HARRY VARDON. THE FINISH OF THE DRIVE 146 + + VIII. EDWARD RAY. FINISH OF DRIVE 168 + + IX. JAMES BRAID. FINISH OF STROKE 190 + + X. HARRY VARDON. FINISH OF A DRIVE 212 + + XI. JAMES BRAID. FINISH OF DRIVE 234 + + XII. GEORGE DUNCAN. A CHARACTERISTIC FINISH 256 + + XIII. J. SHERLOCK. STANCE AND ADDRESS FOR IRON-SHOT 278 + + XIV. J. SHERLOCK. TOP OF SWING IN IRON-SHOT 304 + + XV. J. SHERLOCK. FINISH OF IRON-SHOT 330 + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE SOUL OF GOLF + + +Nearly every one who writes about a game essays to prove that it is +similar to "the great game, the game of life." Golf has not escaped; +and numberless scribes in endeavouring to account for the fascination +of golf have used the old threadbare tale. As a matter of fact, golf +is about as unlike the game of life as any game could well be. As +played now it has come to be almost an exact science, and everybody +knows exactly what one is trying to do. This would not be mistaken for +a description of the game of life. In that game a man may be +hopelessly "off the line," buried "in the rough," or badly "bunkered," +and nobody be the wiser. It is not so in golf. There is no double life +here. All is open, and every one knows what the player is striving +for. The least deflection from his line, and the onlooker knows he did +not mean it. It is seen instantly. In that other game it may remain +unseen for years, for ever. + +Explaining the fascination of anything seems to be a thankless kind of +task, and in any case to be a work of supererogation. The fascination +should be sufficient. Explaining it seems almost like tearing a violet +to pieces to admire its structure; but many have tried, and many have +failed, and there are many who do not feel the fascination as they +should, because they do not know the soul of golf. One cannot +appreciate the beauty of golf unless one knows it thoroughly. + +Curiously enough, many of our best players are extremely mechanical in +their play. They play beautiful and accurate shots, but they have no +idea how or why they produce them; and the strange thing about it is +that although golf is perhaps as mechanical a game as there is, those +who play it mechanically only get the husk of it. They miss the soul +of the game. + +Golf is really one of the simplest of outdoor games, if not indeed the +simplest, and it does not require much intelligence; yet it is quite +one of the most difficult to play well, for it demands the greatest +amount of mechanical accuracy. This, on consideration, is apparent. +The ball is the smallest ball we use, the striking face of the club is +the smallest thing used in field sports for hitting a ball, and, most +important, perhaps, of all, it is farther away from the eye than any +other ball-striking implement, except, perhaps, the polo stick, in +which game we, of course, have a much larger ball and striking +surface. + +In all games of skill, and in all sports where the object is +propelling anything to a given point, one always tries, almost +instinctively, to get the eye as much in a line with the ball or +missile and the objective point as possible. This is seen in throwing +a stone, aiming a catapult, a gun, or an arrow, in cueing at a +billiard ball, and in many other ways, but in golf it is +impracticable. The player must make his stroke with his eye anywhere +from four to six feet away from his little club face. One may say that +this is so in hockey, cricket, and lawn-tennis. So, in a modified +degree, it is, but the great difference is that in all these games +there is an infinitely larger margin of error than there is in golf. +At these games a player may be yards off his intended line and yet +play a fine stroke, to the applause of the onlookers; while he alone +knew that it was accident and not design. + +The charm of golf is in part that its demand is inexorable. It lays +down the one path--the straight one. It must be followed every step, +or there is trouble. + +Then there is in golf the sheer beauty of the flight of the ball, and +the almost sensuous delight which comes to the man who created that +beauty, and knows how and why he did it. There is at any time beauty +in the flight of a golf ball well and plainly driven; but for grace +and the poetry of flight stands alone the wind-cheater that skims away +from one's club across the smooth green sward, almost clipping the +daisies in its flight ere it soars aloft with a swallow-like buoyancy, +and, curving gracefully, pitches dead on the green. + +Many a man can play that stroke. Many a man does. Not one in fifty +knows how he puts the beauty into his stroke. Not one in fifty would +be interested if you were to start telling him the scientific reason +for that ball's beautiful flight. "The mechanics of golf" sounds hard +and unromantic, yet the man who does not understand them suffers in +his game and in his enjoyment of it. That wind-cheater was to him, +during its flight through the air, merely a golf ball; a golf ball +'twas and nothing more. To the other man it is a faithful little +friend sent out to do a certain thing in a certain way, and all the +time it is flying and running it is sending its message back to the +man who can take it--but how few can? They do not know what the soul +of golf means. So, when our golfer pulls or slices his ball badly, and +then--does the usual thing, he cannot take the message that comes back +to him. He only knows the half of golf, and he does not care about +the other, because he does not know what he is missing. He is like a +man who is fond of music but is tune-deaf. There are many such. He may +sit and drink in sweet sounds and enjoy them, but he misses the linked +sweetness and the message which comes to his more fortunate brother +who has the ear--and the knowledge. + +There is in England a curious idea that directly one acquires a +scientific knowledge of a game one must cease to have an interest in +it so full as he who merely plays it by guesswork. There can be no +greater mistake than this. If a game is worth playing well, it is +worth knowing well, and knowing it well cannot mean loving it less. It +is this peculiar idea which has put England so much in the background +of the world's athletic field of late years. We have here much of the +best brawn and bone in the world, but we must give the brain its +place. Then will England come to her own again. + +England is in many ways paying now for her lack of thoroughness in +athletic sports. Time was when it was a stock gibe at John Bull's +expense that he spent most of his time making muscle and washing it. +Then it was, I am afraid, sour grapes. England had all the +championships. The joke is "off" now. The grapes are no longer sour. +The championships are well distributed throughout the world--anywhere +but in England; and we say it does not matter; that the chief end of +games is not winning them. Nor is it; but we did not talk like that +when we _were_ winning them, and the trouble is not so much that we +are losing, as the manner in which we are losing. The fact is that we +are losing because our players do not, in many sports, know the soul +of the game. The ideal is lost in the prosaic grappling for cups or +medals, in the merely vulgar idea of success. Thus it comes to pass +that many will not be content to get to the soul of a game in the +natural way, by long and loving familiarity with it. + +Hordes of people are joining the ranks of the golfers, and their +constant cry is, "Teach me the swing," and after a lesson or two at +the wrong end of golf, for a beginner, they go forth and cut the +county into strips and think they are playing golf. Is it any wonder, +when our links are cumbered with such as these, that those who have +the soul of golf are in imminent daily peril of losing their own? + +One who would know the soul of golf must begin even as would one who +will know the soul of music. There is no more chance for one to gather +up the soul of golf in a hurry than there is for that same one to +understand Wagner in a week. + +It is this vulgar rushing impatience to be out and doing while one is +still merely a nuisance to one's fellows, which causes so much +irritation and unpleasantness on many links; that prevents many from +starting properly, and becoming in due course quite good players; for +it is manifest that the "rusher" is starting to learn his game upside +down, as, indeed, most professionals and books teach it. There can be +no doubt that the right way to teach anything is to give the beginner +the easiest task at first. About the easiest stroke in golf is a +six-inch put. That is where one should start a learner. The drive is +the stroke in golf that offers the greatest possibility of error, so +he is always started with it. It is his own fault. "Teach me the +swing" is the insistent cry of the beginner, who does not know that he +is losing the best part of golf by turning it upside down. He will +never enjoy it so much, or play so good and confident a game as he +would were he to work his way gradually and naturally from his putter +to his mashie, to his niblick, his iron, his cleek, his brassy, and +his driver. Such a one may come to an intimate knowledge and love of +the game. The rusher may play golf, but it will be a long time before +he gets to the soul of the game. + +A very good golfer in reviewing a golf book some time ago stated that +he did not care in the least what happened while the ball was in the +air, that all he cared about was getting it there. He has played golf +since he was five years old, but he has clearly missed the soul of the +game. + +It is not necessary to dilate upon the wonderful spread of golf +throughout the world. An industrious journalist some time ago marked a +map of England wherever there was a golf club. It looked as though it +had been sprinkled with black pepper. It is not hard to understand +this marvellous increase in the popularity of the great game, for golf +is undoubtedly a great game. The motor has, unquestionably, played a +great part in its development. Many of the courses, particularly in +the United Kingdom, are most beautifully situated. Many of the +club-houses are models of comfort, and some of them are castles. The +game itself is suitable for the octogenarian dodderer who merely wants +to infuse a little interest into his morning walk, or it may be turned +into a severe test of endurance for the young athlete; so no wonder it +prospers. + +There is a wonderful freemasonry among golfers. This is not the least +of the many charms of the game, and to him who really knows it and +loves it as it deserves to be loved, the sign of the club is a +passport round the world. + +Many a time and oft I see golfing journalists, when writing about the +game, stating that something "is obvious." It has always seemed to me +that it is impossible to say what is obvious to anyone in a game of +golf. Writing of George Duncan, the famous young professional golfer, +during the first half of the big foursome at Burhill, a great sporting +paper said that a certain mashie shot was a "crude stroke." The man +who wrote that article did not know the soul of golf. He saw the +mashie flash in the air, some turf cut away, and a ball dropping on to +the green. Just that and nothing more, and it was "obvious" to him +that it was a crude stroke. + +One who knew the soul of golf saw it and described it. It was a tricky +green, with a drop of twenty feet behind it. To have overrun it would +have been fatal. There was a stiff head-wind. The player would not +risk running up. He cut well in under the ball to get all the +back-spin he could. He pitched the ball well up against the wind, +which caught it and, on account of the spin, threw it up and up until +it soared almost over the hole, then it dropped like a shot bird about +a yard from the hole, and the back-spin gripped the turf and held the +ball within a foot of where it fell. It was obvious to one man that it +was a crude shot. It was equally obvious to another, who knew the +inner secrets of the game, that it was a brilliantly conceived and +beautifully executed stroke. One man saw nothing of the soul of the +stroke. He got the husk, and the other took the kernel. + +Much has been made of the assumption that golf is the greatest +possible test of a man's temperament. This has to a great extent, I am +afraid, been exaggerated. It is one of those things in connection with +the game that has been handed down to us, and which we have been +afraid to interfere with. I cannot see why this claim should be +quietly granted. In golf a man is treated with tragic solemnity while +he is making his stroke. A caddie may not sigh, and if a cricket +chirped he would be considered a bounder. How would our golfer feel if +he had to play his drive with another fellow waving his club at him +twenty or thirty feet away, and standing ready to spoil his shot?--yet +that is what the lawn-tennis player has to put up with. There is a +good deal of exaggeration about this aspect of golf, even as there is +a good deal of nonsense about the interference of onlookers. What can +be done by one when one is accustomed to a crowd may be seen when one +of the great golfers is playing out of a great V formed by the +gallery, and, needless to say, playing from the narrow end of it. Golf +is a good test of a man's disposition without doubt, but as a game it +lacks one important feature which is characteristic of every other +field sport, I think, except golf. In these the medium of conflict is +the same ball, and the skill of the opposing side has much to do with +the chances of the other player or players. In golf each man plays his +own game with his own ball, and the only effect of his opponent's play +on his is moral, or the luck of a stymie. Many people consider this a +defect; but golf is a game unto itself, and we must take it as it is. +Certainly it is hard enough to achieve distinction in it to satisfy +the most exacting. + +When one writes of the soul of golf it sounds almost as though one +were guilty of a little sentimentality. As a matter of fact, it is the +most thorough practice which leads one to the soul of golf. Many a +good professional can produce beautiful shots, such as the +wind-cheater and the pull at will, but he cannot explain them to you; +and no professional ever has explained clearly in book or elsewhere +what produces these beautiful shots. + +A famous professional once asked me quite simply, "How do I play my +push-shot, Mr. Vaile?" I explained the stroke to him. He is as good a +sportsman as he is a golfer, and would be ashamed to pretend to a +knowledge which he has not. When I had told him, he said, "Thank you. +Of course, I can play it all right, but I never could understand why +it went like that. Now I shall be able to explain it better to my +pupils." + +Now it may in some measure sound incongruous, but I repeat that unless +one knows the mechanics of golf one has missed the soul of the game. +It is simply an impossibility for the blind ball-smiter to get such +joy and gratification from his game as does the man who from his +superior knowledge has produced results which are in themselves worth +losing the game for. Many a golfer, or one who would like to be a +golfer, will wonder at this. Many a game at billiards has been lost +for the poetry of a fascinating cannon when the win was not the main +object of the game; but in this respect billiards and golf are not +alike. One is not, in golf, penalised for putting the soul and the +poetry of the game into his shots, for they come of practice, and +simply render one's strokes more perfect than they would otherwise be. +So in the end it will be found that he who knows the game most +thoroughly will have an undoubted advantage. + +Therefore it behoves every golfer to strive for the soul of golf. + +And now, as we must for a little while leave the soul of golf, let us +consider its body, that great solid, visible portion which is the part +that appeals most forcibly to the ordinary golfer. It is this to which +the attention of players and writers has been most assiduously +directed for centuries, yet it is safe to say that no game in the +whole realm of sport has been so miswritten and unwritten as golf. + +This is very strange, for probably there is no other game that is so +canvassed and discussed by its followers. The reason may possibly be +found in the fact that golfers are a most conservative class of +people, and that they follow wonderfully the line of thought laid down +for them by others. This at its best is uninteresting; at its worst +most pernicious. + +Another contributing cause is the manner in which books on sport are +now produced. A great name, an enterprising publisher, and a +hack-writer are all that are now required. The consequence is that the +market is flooded with books ostensibly by leading exponents of the +different sports, but which are, in many cases, written by men who +know little or nothing of the subject they are dealing with. The +natural result is that the great players suffer severely in +"translation," and their names are frequently associated with quite +stupid statements,--statements so foolish that one, knowing how these +things are done, refrains from criticising them as they deserve, from +sympathy with the unfortunate alleged author, who is probably a very +good fellow, and quite innocent of the fact that the nonsense alleged +to be his knowledge is ruining or retarding the game of many people. +This is a most unscrupulous practice, which should be exposed and +severely condemned, for it must not be thought that it is confined to +any one branch of sport. + +While we are dealing with the slavish following of the alleged thought +of the leading golfers of the world, we may with advantage consider a +few of the most pronounced fetiches which have been worshipped almost +from time immemorial, fetiches which are the more remarkable in that +they receive mental and theoretical worship only, and are, in actual +practice, most severely despised and disregarded by the best players; +but unfortunately the neophyte worships these fetiches for many years +until he discovers that they are false gods. + +Perhaps one of the silliest, and for beginners most disastrous, is the +ridiculous assertion that putters are born, not made. In the book of a +very famous player I find the following words:-- + + It happens, unfortunately, that concerning one department of + the game that will cause the golfer some anxiety from time to + time, and often more when he is experienced than when he is + not, neither I nor any other player can offer any words of + instruction such as, if closely acted upon, would give the + same successful results as the advice tendered under other + heads ought to do. This is in regard to putting. + +Now this idea is promulgated in many books. It is, in my opinion, the +most absolute and pernicious nonsense. The best answer to it is the +fact that the writer of the words was himself one of the worst +putters, but that by careful study and alteration of his defective +methods, he became a first-class performer on the green. Also it will +be obvious to a very mean intelligence that there is no branch of golf +which is so capable of being reduced to a mechanical certainty as is +putting. + +The importance of removing this stupid idea will be more fully +appreciated when one remembers that quite half the game of golf is +played on the green, leaving the other half to be distributed among +all the other clubs. It is well to emphasise this. A good score for +almost any eighteen-hole course is 72. The man who can count on +getting down in an average of 2 is a very good putter. Many +professionals would throw away their putters if they were allowed to +consider it down in 2 every time. This gives us 36 for puts. With this +before us we cannot exaggerate the pernicious effect of the false +doctrine which says that putting cannot be taught, that a man must +just let his own individuality have full play, and similar nonsense; +whereas the truth is that one might safely guarantee to convert into +admirable putters many men who, from their conformation and other +characteristics, would be almost hopeless as golfers. I must emphasise +the fact that there is no department of the game which is so important +as putting; there is no department of the game more capable of being +clearly and easily demonstrated by an intelligent teacher; and there +is no department of the game wherein the player may be so nearly +reduced to that machine-like accuracy which is the constant demand, +and no small portion of the charm, of golf. + +Another very widely worshipped fetich, which has been much damaged +recently, is the sweep in driving a ball. Trying "to sweep" his ball +away for two hundred yards has reduced many a promising player to +almost a suicidal frame of mind. Fortunately the fallacy soon +exasperates a beginner, and he "says things" and "lets it have it." +Then the much-worshipped "sweep" becomes a hit, sometimes a very +vicious one, and the ball goes away from the club as it was meant to. +It is becoming more widely recognised every day that the golf-drive is +a hit, and a very fine one--when well played. + +Perhaps the most pernicious fetich which has for many years held sway +in golf, until recently somewhat damaged, is that the left arm is the +more important of the two--that it, in fact, finds the power for the +drive. Anything more comical is hard to imagine. There is practically +nothing in the whole realm of muscular exertion, from wood-chopping to +golf, wherein both arms are used, that is not dominated by the right, +yet golfers have for generations quietly accepted this fetich, and it +has ruined many a promising player. The votaries of this fetich must +surely find one thing very hard to explain. If we admit, for the sake +of argument, that the left arm is the more important, and that it +really has more power and more influence on the stroke than the right, +can they explain why the left-handed players, who have been provided +by a benevolent providence with so manifest an advantage, tamely +surrender it and convert their left hand into the right-handed +players' right by giving it the lower position on the shaft? If this +idea of the left hand and arm being the more important is correct, +left-handed players would use right-hand clubs and play like a +right-handed player, with the manifest advantage of being provided by +nature with an arm and hand that fall naturally into the most +important position. I think that this consideration of the subject +will give those who put their faith in the fetich of the left, +something to explain. + +Almost from time immemorial it has been laid down by golfing writers +that at the top of the swing the golfer must have his weight on his +right leg. A study of the instantaneous photographs of most of the +famous players will show conclusively that this is not correct. It is +expressly laid down that it is fatal to sway, to draw away from one's +ball during the upward swing; the player is specially enjoined on no +account to move his head. A very simple trial will convince any +golfer, even a beginner, that without swaying, without drawing his +head away from the hole, he cannot possibly, if swinging correctly, +put his weight on his right leg, and that at the top of his swing it +must be mainly on his left--and so another well-worn belief goes by +the board. + +So it is with the exaggerated swing which for so many years dominated +the minds of aspiring golfers to such an extent that many of them +thought more of getting the swing than of hitting the ball. It is +slowly but surely going. + +The era of new thought in golf has dawned. It will not make the game +less attractive. It will not make it any more exacting, for the higher +knowledge cannot become an obsession. It sinks into a man, and he +scarcely thinks of it as something beyond the ordinary game. It brings +him into closer touch with the best that is in golf. He is able to +obtain more from it than he could before. He is able to do more than +he could formerly, for a man cannot get to the soul of golf except +through the body, and love he not the body with the love of the truest +of true golfers he will never know the soul. + + This chapter originally appeared in _The Fortnightly Review_ + in the United Kingdom, and in _The North American Review_ in + the United States of America. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE MYSTERY OF GOLF + + +There is no such thing as "the mystery of golf." One might reasonably +ask, "If there is no such thing as 'the mystery of golf,' why devote a +chapter to it?" But "the mystery of golf" should really be written +"the mystery of the golfer," for the simple reason that the golfer +himself is responsible for all the mystery in golf--in short, "the +mystery of golf" may briefly be defined as the credulity of the +golfer. Notwithstanding this, at least one enterprising man has +produced a book entirely devoted to elucidating the alleged mystery of +golf, wherein, quite unknown to himself, he proves most clearly and +conclusively the truth of my opening statement in this chapter, that +the mystery of golf is merely the credulity of the golfer; but of that +anon. + +There really is no mystery whatever about the game of golf. It is one +of the simplest of games, but unquestionably it is a game which is +very difficult to play well, a game which demands a high degree of +mechanical accuracy in the production of the various strokes. It is +apparent from the nature of the implements used in the game that this +must be so. All the foolishness of nebulous advice, and all the quaint +excuses which have been gathered together under the head of "the +mystery of golf," are simply weak man's weaker excuses for his want +of intelligence and mechanical accuracy. Until the golfer fully +understands and freely acknowledges this, he is suffering from a very +severe handicap. If, when he addresses his ball, he has firmly +implanted in his mind the idea that he is in the presence of some +awesome mystery, there is very little doubt that he will do his level +best to perform his part in the mystery play. + +We do not read anywhere of the mystery of lawn-tennis, the mystery of +cricket, the mystery of marbles, squash racquets, or ping-pong. There +are no mysteries in these games any more than there are in golf, and +the plain fact is that the demand of golf is inexorable. It insists +upon the straight line being followed, and the man who forsakes the +straight line is immediately detected. In no game, perhaps, is the +insistent demand for direction so inexorable as in golf. Perhaps also +in no game is that demand so frequently refused, and, naturally, the +erring golfer wishes to excuse himself. It is useful then for him to +be told of the mysteries of golf--the wonderful mysteries, the +psychological difficulties, the marvellous cerebration, the incredibly +rapid nerve "telegraphing," and the wonderful muscular complications +which take place between the time that he addresses the ball and hits +it, or otherwise. + +Now, as a matter of fact, this is all so much balderdash, so much +falseness, so much artificial and indeed almost criminal nonsense. It +would indeed almost seem as if the people who write this kind of stuff +are in league with the greatest players of the world, who write as +instructions for the unfortunate would-be golfer things which they +themselves never dreamed of doing--things which would quite spoil the +wonderful game they play if they did them. + + [Illustration: PLATE I. HARRY VARDON'S GRIP + + Showing the overlapping of the first finger of the left hand + by the little finger of the right. This is now the orthodox + grip.] + +If there may be said to be any mystery whatever about golf, it is +that in such an ancient and simple game there has grown up around it +such a marvellous mass of false teaching, of confused thought, and of +fantastic notions. No game suffers from this false doctrine and +imaginative nonsense to the same extent as does golf. It is +magnificently played. We have here in England the finest exponents of +the game, both amateur and professional, in the world. If those men +played golf as they tell others by their printed works to play it, I +should have another story to tell about their prowess on the links. + +Golf, in itself, is quite sufficiently difficult. It is quite +unnecessary to give the golfer, or the would-be golfer, an additional +handicap by instilling it into his mind that golf is any more +mysterious than any other game which is played. The most mysterious +thing about golf is that those who really ought to know most about it +publish broadcast wrong information about the fundamental principles +of the game. Innocent players follow this advice, and not unnaturally +they find it tremendously difficult to make anything like adequate +progress. Naturally, when some one comes along and explains to them in +lengthy articles, or may be in a book, about the psychological +difficulties and terrific complications of golf, they are pleased to +fasten on this stuff as an excuse for their want of success, whereas +in very truth the real explanation lies simply in the fact that they +are violating some of the commonest and simplest laws of mechanics. + +Here, indeed, I might almost be forgiven if I went back on what I have +said about the mystery of golf, and produced, on my own account, that +which is to me an outstanding mystery, and labelled it "the mystery of +golf." This really is to me always a mystery, but I should not be +correct in calling it "the mystery of golf," for it is more correctly +described as the simplicity of the golfer. This mystery is that +practically every writer about golf, and nearly every player, seems to +labour under the delusion that there is a special set of mechanical +laws for golf, that the golf ball flying through the air is actuated +by totally different influences and in a totally different manner from +the cricket ball, the ping-pong ball, or the lawn-tennis ball when +engaged in a similar manner. That is bad enough, but the same +delusions exist with regard to the conduct of the ball on the green. + +Now it is impossible to speak too plainly about this matter, because I +want at the outset to dispel the illusion of the mystery of golf. +There is no special set of mechanical laws governing golf. Golf has to +take its place with all other games, and the mechanical laws which +govern the driving of a nail, a golf ball, or a cricket ball are fixed +and immutable and well known, so that it is quite useless for any one +to try to explain to intelligent persons that there is any mystery in +golf or the production of the golfing strokes beyond that which may be +found in other games. Some people might think that I labour this +point. It is impossible to be too emphatic at the outset about it, for +the simple reason that it is bad enough for the golfer to have to +think at the moment of making his stroke about the things which +actually do matter. If we are going to provide him with phantoms as +well as solid realities to contend with, he will indeed have a sorry +time. As a matter of fact, about seven-tenths of the bad golf which is +played is due to too much thinking about the stroke _while the stroke +is being played_. The golf stroke in itself may be quite easily +learned; I mean the true golf stroke, and not the imaginary golf +stroke, which has been built up for the unfortunate golfer by those +who never played such a stroke themselves, and by those who write of +the mystery of golf; but it is an absolute certainty that the time for +thinking about the golf stroke, and how it shall be played, _is not +when one is playing the stroke_. + +As a matter of fact the golf stroke is in some respects a complicated +stroke. Certain changes of position in the body and arms take place +with extreme rapidity during the execution of the stroke. It is an +utter impossibility for any man to think out and execute in proper +order the component parts of a well-executed drive during his stroke. +When a man addresses his ball he should have in his mind but the one +idea--he has to hit that ball in such a manner as to get it to the +place at which he wants it to arrive; but between the time of his +address and the time that the ball departs on its journey his action +should be, to use a much-hackneyed but still expressive word, +practically sub-conscious; in fact, the way he hit that ball should be +regulated by habit. If the result was satisfactory--well and good. If +otherwise, he may analyse that shot in his armchair later on; but when +once one has addressed the ball it is absolutely fatal to good golf to +indulge in speculation as to how one is going to hit that ball, and if +to that speculation one adds a belief in what is called "the mystery +of golf," one had better get right away back to marbles at once, +because it is a certainty that any one who believes in nonsense of +this sort and practises it can never be a golfer. + +The bane of about eighty-five per cent of golfers is a pitiful attempt +to cultivate style. The most contemptible man at any game is the +stylist. The man who cultivates style before the game is not fit to +cumber any links. Every man should strive to produce his stroke in a +mechanically perfect manner. A good style is almost certain to follow +when this is done. Style as the result of a game produced in a +mechanically perfect manner is most desirable, but style without the +game is simply despicable. One sometimes sees misguided golfers, or +would-be golfers, practising their follow-through in a very theatrical +manner. It should be obvious to a very mean intelligence that a +follow-through is of no value whatever, except as the natural result +of a correctly executed stroke. If the stroke has been correct up to +the moment of impact, the follow-through will come almost as naturally +as a good style will be born of correctly executed strokes. +Self-consciousness is the besetting sin of the golfer. It is hardly +too much to say that the ordinary golfer devotes, unfortunately, too +much thought to himself and "the swing," and far too little to the +thing that he is there for--namely, to hit the ball. + +In golf the player has plenty of time to spare in making his stroke, +and he occupies too much of it in thinking about other things than the +stroke. The essence of success at golf is concentration upon the +stroke. The analysis has no right whatever to intrude itself on a +man's mind until the stroke has been played. The inquest should not be +held until the corpse is there. If this rule is followed, it will be +found that the corpse is frequently wanting. + +Golf is a very ancient game. Lawn-tennis is an absolute parvenu by its +side, and there are many other games which, compared with golf, are +practically infants. Golf stands alone as regards false instruction, +nebulous criticism, and utter disregard of the first principles of +mechanics. I have always been at a loss to understand this. It is not +as though golf had not been played and studied by some of the keenest +intellects in the land. We have had, as we shall see later on, men of +the highest scientific attainments devoting their attention to the +game, writing about it, lecturing about it, publishing things about it +which exist solely in their imagination. This truly may be called a +mystery. + +I cannot leave the mystery of golf without giving some illustrations +of the things which are published as instruction. For instance, I read +lately that a good style results in good golf. This is the kind of +thing which mystifies a beginner. The good style should be the result +of the good golf, and not the golf of the style. I read elsewhere: + + As a matter of fact most of the difficulties in golf are + mental, not physical, are subjective, not objective, are the + created phantasms of the mind, not the veritable realities of + the course. + +I find these things in Mr. Haultain's book entitled _The Mystery of +Golf_. + +There is no game where there are fewer mental difficulties than in +golf. The game is so extremely simple that it can practically be +reduced to a matter of physical and mechanical accuracy. The mental +demand in golf--provided always, of course, that the man who is +addressing the ball knows what he wants to do--is extremely small and +extremely simple. "The created phantasms of the mind" are supplied by +fantastic writers who have proved for themselves that these phantasms +are the deadliest enemies of good golf. In another place I read the +following passage: + + You may place your ball how or where you like, you may hit it + with any sort of implement you like; all you have to do is to + hit it. Could simpler conditions be devised? Could an easier + task be set? And yet such is the constitution of the human + golfing soul that it not only fails to achieve it, but + invents for itself multiform and manifold ifs and ans for not + achieving it--ifs and ans, the nature and number of which + must assuredly move the laughter of the gods. + +Probably this is meant to be satirical, but it is merely a libel on +the great body of golfers. It is not the "human golfing soul" which +"invents for itself multiform and manifold ifs and ans for not +achieving it." He who invents these ifs and ans is the author of the +ordinary golf book on golf, written ostensibly by some great player, +and the "ifs and ans" most assuredly, if they do not "move the +laughter of the gods," are sufficient to provoke the derision and +contempt of the golfer who feels that nobody has a right to publish +statements about a game which must act in a detrimental manner upon +those who attempt to follow them. + +It is not the "human golfing soul" or the human golfing body which is +so prone to error. Those who make the errors are those who essay to +teach, and the time has now come for them to vindicate themselves or +to stand back, to stand out of the way of the spread of truth; for one +may be able to fool all the golfers some of the time and some of the +golfers all the time, but it is a sheer impossibility to fool all the +golfers all the time; and if the teaching which has obtained credence +in the past were to be left unassailed, the result would be untold +misery and discomfort to millions of golfers. + +It is for this reason that I am dealing in an early chapter with the +alleged mystery of golf, for I want to make it particularly clear that +in the vast majority of cases those who attempt to explain the mystery +of golf proceed very much on the lines of the octopus and obscure +themselves behind clouds of inky fluid which are generally as +shapeless in their form and meaning as the matter given off by the +uncanny sea-dweller. In fact, the ordinary attempt to explain the +mystery of golf generally resolves itself into the writer setting up +his own Aunt Sally, and even then exposing how painfully bad his aim +is. + +Nearly every one who writes about golf claims for it that above all +games it is the truest test of character, and in a degree unknown in +any other game reveals the nature of the man who is playing it, and +they proceed on this assumption to weave some of the most remarkable +romances in connection with the simple and fundamental principles of +the game. In the book under notice we are asked + + ... and yet why, _why_ does a badly-played game so upset a + sane and rational man? You may lose at bridge, you may be + defeated in chess, you may recall lost chances in football or + polo; you may remember stupid things you did in tennis or + squash racquets; you may regret undue haste in trying to + secure an extra run or runs in cricket, but the mental + depression caused by these is temporary and evanescent. Why + do foozles in golf affect the whole man? Humph! It is no use + blinking matters--say what the scoffers may--to foozle at + golf, to take your eye off your ball, cuts down to the very + deeps of the human soul. It does; there is no controverting + that.... Perhaps this is why golf is worth writing about. + +It certainly is mysterious that any "sane and rational man" can write +such stuff about golf. This is a fair sample of the kind of thing one +gets from those who attempt to treat of golf from the physiological or +psychological standpoint. I can hardly say too often that there is no +such thing as the mystery of golf, any more than there is, in reality, +such a thing as the soul of golf, but the mystery of golf is a +meaningless and misleading term. The soul of golf means, in effect, +the heart of golf--a true and loving understanding of the very core of +the game. + +It would be bad enough if the persons essaying to explain the alleged +mystery of golf knew the game thoroughly themselves, but, generally +speaking, they do not--in the case under consideration, the writer +himself admits that he is "a duffer." Now taking him at his own +valuation, it does indeed seem strange that one whose knowledge of the +game is admittedly insufficient, should attempt to explain to players +the super-refinements of a game at which he himself is admittedly +incompetent. It may seem somewhat cruel to press this point, but in a +matter such as this we have to consider the greatest good of the +greatest number, and we must not allow false sentiment to weigh with +us in dealing with the work of anyone who publishes matter which may +prejudicially affect the game of an immense body of people. + +The attempts to deal with the psychology and the physiology of golf +are a mass of confused thought and illogical reasoning, but it is when +the author proceeds to deal in any way with the practical side of golf +that he shows clearly that his estimate of himself, at least in so far +as regards his knowledge of the game, is not inaccurate. Let us take, +for instance, the following passage. He says that William Park, +Junior, has informed us that + + ... pressing, really, is putting in the power at the right + time. You can hit as hard as you like if you hit accurately + and at the right time, but the man who presses is the man who + puts in the power too soon. He is in too great a hurry. He + begins to hit before the club head has come anywhere near the + ball. + +This quotation, I may say, is not from William Park's book, but is +taken from the volume I am quoting, and the last sentence--"He begins +to hit before the club head has come anywhere near the ball"--shows +clearly that the author has no idea whatever of even a mechanical +analysis of the golf stroke, for it is impossible to begin the hit too +soon. The main portion of the power of the drive in golf is developed +(as indeed anyone with very little consideration might know) _near the +beginning of the downward swing_. This is so simple, so natural, so +apparent to any one who knows the game of golf that I feel it is +almost unnecessary to support the statement; but there are so many +people who follow the game of golf, and are willing to accept as +gospel any remarkable statement with regard to the game, that I may as +well refer doubters to James Braid's book on _Advanced Golf_ wherein +he shows clearly that anyone desiring to produce a proper drive at +golf must be hard at it from the very beginning of the stroke. The +author continues: + + If in the drive the whole weight and strength of the body, + from the nape of the neck to the soles of the feet, are not + transferred from body to ball, through the minute and + momentary contact of club with ball, absolutely surely, yet + swiftly--you top or you pull or you sclaff, or you slice, or + you swear. + +It is almost unnecessary to tell any golfer that the whole weight of +his body is not thrown at his golf ball, for this, in effect, would +produce a terrific lunge and utterly destroy the rhythm of his stroke. + +Here is another remarkable passage--"and as to that mashie shot where +you loft high over an abominable bunker and fall dead with a back-spin +and a cut to the right on a keen and declivitous green--is there any +stroke in any game quite so delightfully difficult as that?" and my +answer is "Certainly not, for there is no such stroke in golf." When +one puts a cut to the right or to the left, one has no back-spin on +the ball. The back-spin is only got by following through after the +ball in a downward direction, and as to a mashie approach with a cut +to the right--well, the cut on a golf ball in a mashie stroke is in +practical golf _always_ a cut to the left, which produces a run to the +right. The shot as described by Mr. Haultain simply does not exist in +golf. It probably is a portion of the mystery of golf which he has not +yet solved. + +Then we are told + + ... not only is the stroke in golf an extremely difficult + one--it is also an extremely complicated one, more especially + the drive, in which its principles are concentrated. It is, + in fact, a subtile combination of a swing and a hit, the + "hit" portion being deftly incorporated into the "swing" just + as the head of the club reaches the ball, yet without + disturbing the regular rhythm of the motion. + +This again is another of the mysteries of golf, and a mystery purely +of the inventive brain of the author. The drive in golf is played with +such extreme rapidity that the duration of impact does not last more +than one ten-thousandth of a second, yet we are asked to believe that +the first portion of the stroke is a swing, but in, say, the +five-thousandth of a second it is to be changed to a hit. Could the +force of folly in alleged tuition go further than this? + +We now come to an absolutely fundamental error in the golf stroke, an +error of a nature so important and far-reaching that if I can +demonstrate it, any attempt on the part of its author to explain +anything in connection with the golf stroke mechanically, +physiologically, psychologically, logically, or otherwise, must +absolutely fall to the ground. We are told "the whole body must turn +on the pivot of the head of the right thigh bone working in the +cotyloidal cavity of the _os innominatum_ or pelvic bone, the head, +right knee and right foot remaining fixed, with the eyes riveted on +the ball." + +Now, put into plain English this ridiculous sentence means that the +weight of the body rests upon the right leg. It is such a fundamental +and silly error, but nevertheless an error which is made by the +greatest players in the world in their published works, that I shall +not at the present moment deal with the matter, but shall refer to it +again in my chapter on the distribution of weight, for this matter of +the distribution of weight, which is of absolute "root" importance in +the game of golf, has been most persistently mistaught by those whose +duty it is to teach the game as they play it, so that others may not +be hampered in their efforts to become expert by following false +advice. + +Further on we are told, "in the upward swing the vertebral column +rotates upon the head of the right femur, the right knee being fixed, +and as the club head nears the ball the fulcrum is rapidly changed +from the right to the left hip, the spine now rotating on the left +thigh-bone, the left knee being fixed." Of course, I do not know on +what principle the man who writes this is built, but it seems to me +that he must have a spine with an adjustable end. None of the famous +golfers, so far as I am aware, are able to shift their spines from one +thigh bone to another. Moreover, to say that "the vertebral column +rotates upon the head of the right femur" is merely childish +unscientific nonsense, for it is obvious to any one, even to one who +does not profess to explain the mystery of golf, that one's spine +cannot possibly rotate within one, for to secure rotation of the spine +it would be necessary for the body to rotate. This, it need hardly be +pointed out, would be extremely inconvenient between the waggle and +the moment when one strikes the ball. + +We are told that in the downward swing "velocity of the club in the +descent must be accelerated by minute but rapid gradations." For one +who is attempting to explain the mystery of golf there could not +possibly be a worse word than "gradations." The author, in this +statement, is simply following an old and utterly obsolete notion. +There is no such thing as accelerating the speed by minute gradations. +Quoting James Braid in _Advanced Golf_, from memory, he says that you +must be "hard at it" from the very moment you start the stroke, and +even if he did not say so, any golfer possessed of common sense would +know that the mere idea of adding to the speed of his golf drive by +"steps," which is what the word "gradations" implies, would be utterly +futile. The futility of the advice is, however, emphasised when we are +told that these gradations come from "orders not issued all at once, +but one after another--also absolutely evenly and smoothly--at +intervals probably of ten-thousandths of a second. If the curves are +not precise, if a single muscle fails to respond, if the timing is in +the minutest degree irregular--the stroke is a failure. No wonder it +is difficult." + +It would indeed be no wonder that the golf drive is difficult if it +really were composed as indicated, but, as a matter of fact, nothing +of the sort takes place in the ordinary drive of a sane golfer. There +is one command issued, which is "Hit the ball." All these other things +which are supposed to be done by an incredible number of efforts of +the mind are practically performed sub-consciously, and more by habit +than by any complex mental directions. The drive in golf is not in any +respect different from numerous other strokes in numerous other games +in so far as regards the mental portion of it. + +Now so far as regards the complicated system of mental telegraphy +which is claimed for golf in the production of the stroke, absolutely +the same thing happens in practically every game, with the exception +that in most other games the player is, so far as regards the +production of his stroke, at a greater disadvantage than he is in +golf, for he has nearly always a moving ball to play at and much less +time wherein to decide how to play his stroke. In golf he has plenty +of time to make up his mind as to how he will play his stroke, and the +operation, to the normal golfer, in so far as regards the mental +portion of it, is extremely simple. His trouble is that he has so much +nonsense of this nature to contend with, so much false instruction to +fight. If he were given a correct idea of the stroke he would have no +difficulty whatever with regard to his "gradations." + +Braid has explicitly stated that this idea of gradually and +consciously increasing the speed is a mistake, and I have always been +especially severe on it as one of the pronounced fallacies of golf. I +shall deal with it more fully in my chapter on "The Fallacies of +Golf," but I may here quote Braid, who says: + + Nevertheless, when commencing the downward swing, do so in no + gentle, half-hearted manner such as is often associated with + the idea of gaining speed gradually, which is what we are + told the club must do when coming down from the top on to the + ball. It is obvious that speed will be gained gradually, + since the club could not possibly be started off at its + quickest rate. The longer the force applied to the down + swing, the greater do the speed and momentum become. But this + gradual increase is independent of the golfer, and he should, + as far as possible, be unconscious of it. What he has to + concern himself with is not increasing his speed gradually, + but getting as much of it as he possibly can right from the + top. No gentle starts, but hard at it from the top, and the + harder you start the greater will be the momentum of the club + when the ball is reached. + +Now this is emphatic enough, but it should not be necessary to quote +James Braid to impress upon any golfer of average intelligence that +this idea of consciously increasing his speed gradually as he comes +down to the ball is the most infantile and injurious tuition which it +is possible to impart. To encumber any player's mind with such utterly +stupid doctrine is most reprehensible. + +As an illustration of how little the author of this book understands +the true character of the golf stroke, I may quote him again. In a +letter recently published over his signature he says: "Mind and +muscle--both should act freely and easily _till the moment of impact_; +then, perhaps, the mind should be concentrated, as the muscles must be +contracted, to the utmost." Now this is such utterly fallacious +doctrine that I certainly should not notice it were it not that this +book, on account of its somewhat original treatment of the subject, +has obtained a degree of notice to which I do not consider it +entitled. + +This is so far from what really takes place in the drive at golf that +I must quote James Braid from _Advanced Golf_, page 56. It will be +seen from Braid's remarks that the whole idea of the golf drive from +the moment the club starts on its downward course until the ball has +been hit is that of supreme tension and concentration. It seems almost +a work of supererogation to deal with a matter of such apparent +simplicity, but when one sees matter such as that quoted published in +responsible papers, one realises that in the interests of the game it +is necessary to deal with statements which really, in themselves, +ought to carry their own refutation. + +Braid says: "Look to it also that the right elbow is kept well in +control and fairly close to the side in order to promote tension at +the top." Again at page 57 he says: "Now for the return journey. Here +at the top the arms, wrists, body--all are in their highest state of +tension. Every muscle and joint in the human golfing machinery is +wound up to the highest point, and there is a feeling that something +must be let go at once." On page 58 we read again: "No gentle starts, +but hard at it from the very top, and the harder you start the greater +will be the momentum of the club when the ball is reached." At page 60 +again: "Keep the body and wrist under tension a little longer." At +page 61 we read: + + Then comes the moment of impact. Crack! Everything is let + loose, and round comes the body immediately the ball is + struck, and goes slightly forward until the player is facing + the line of flight. + + If the tension has been properly held, all this will come + quite easily and naturally. The time for the tension is over + and it is allowed its sudden and complete expansion and quick + collapse. That is the whole secret of the thing--the bursting + of the tension at the proper moment--and really there is very + little to be said in enlargement of the idea. + +Now here it will be seen that Braid's idea, which is undoubtedly the +correct one, is that the golfer's muscles, and it follows naturally +also his mind, are in a state of supreme tension until the moment of +impact, _when that tension is released_. On the other hand, we are +told by our psychologist that the moment which Braid says is the +moment of the collapse of the tension is the moment for introducing +tension and concentration. The statement is, of course, an extremely +ridiculous one, especially coming, as it does, from one who presumes +to deal with the psychology and physiology of golf, because nothing +could be further from the truth than the statement made by him. It +proves at the very outset that he has not a correct idea of the golf +stroke, and therefore any attempt by him to explain the psychology of +golf, if golf may be said to have such a thing as a psychology, is +worthless. + +Our author has also explained how, in the downward swing, the speed of +the club is increased by extremely minute gradations. I have elsewhere +referred to this fallacy, but the matter is so important that I shall +quote James Braid again here. At page 57 Braid says: + + Nevertheless, when commencing the downward swing, do so in no + gentle, half-hearted manner, such as is often associated with + the idea of gaining speed gradually, which is what we are + told the club must do when coming down from the top on to the + ball. It is obvious that speed will be gained gradually, + since the club could not possibly be started off at the + quickest rate. The longer the force applied to the down swing + the greater does the speed of the momentum become, but this + gradual increase is independent of the golfer, and he should, + as far as possible, be unconscious of it. What he has to + concern himself with is not increasing his speed gradually, + but getting as much of it as he possibly can right from the + top. + +I am very glad indeed to be able to quote Braid to this effect, for if +we may accept his statement on this matter as authoritative, it +completely refutes one of the greatest and stupidest fallacies in +golf, which is this particular notion of gradually increasing one's +speed by any conscious effort of muscular regulation. Now if Braid's +statement with regard to the muscular work in the downward portion of +the drive is correct, it follows naturally that the explanation of the +"mystery of golf" offered by the author is merely an explanation of a +mystery which he has evolved from the innermost recesses of his +fertile imagination; but it is needless for me to say that unless such +an idea as this is absolutely killed, it would have a most pernicious +effect upon the game of anyone who came within its influence. + +It may seem, perhaps, that I attach too much importance to the writing +of a gentleman who describes himself as "a duffer." It is not so. No +one knows better than I do the influence of printed matter. I have +lived amongst print and printers and newspapers for very many years, +and needless to say I know as well as any man that not everything +which one sees in print is true, but the remarkable thing about the +printed word is that even with one who is absolutely hardened and +inured to the vagaries and extravagances and inaccuracies of those who +handle type, the printed word carries a certain amount of weight. + +We can easily understand, then, that to those who are not so educated +the printed word is much more authoritative. Therefore, even if the +circulation of a book or a paper may be very little, it is always +worth the while of one who has the interests of the game at heart to +do his best not only to scotch, but absolutely to kill false and +pernicious teaching of this nature, for the simple reason that even if +a book circulates but a hundred copies, or a newspaper two hundred and +fifty, which is giving them both a remarkably small circulation, it is +impossible, or at least extremely improbable, that any man will be +able, by his influence, _to follow each copy of that book or that +newspaper_. There is a great fundamental truth underlying this +statement. If one gives a lie a day's start, it takes a terrible lot +of catching. This is particularly so in connection with printed +matter, and I have had some very remarkable illustrations of the fact. +So strongly, indeed, do I realise this fact, that although I believe +that I am as impervious to adverse criticism as any one, I will never, +if I can prevent it, allow criticism of that nature which I consider +inimical to the interests of any subject with which I am dealing, to +get the slightest possible start. Indeed, I have, on occasions, +carried this principle still further, and when I have known that +matter was to appear which I considered of a nature calculated to +produce wrong thought in connection with a certain subject I have +taken means to see that it did not appear. + +It will be readily understood that I am not now referring to matters +of personal criticism. I refer particularly to matters of doctrine +published and circulated, even in the smallest way. If, for the sake +of argument, the paper which spreads that false doctrine circulates +only twenty copies, _one cannot follow every copy_, and to do one's +work thoroughly and effectively it would be necessary to follow every +copy of that paper in order to counteract the pernicious influence +which it might otherwise exercise. Taking this view of the effect of +printed matter, it should be apparent that I consider the time devoted +to refuting injurious and false teaching well spent. + +In the attempted explanation of the mystery of golf there are some +amazing statements which tend to show clearly that the author of that +work has not that intimate knowledge of sport generally which is +absolutely essential to any man who would even essay satisfactorily to +do what the author is trying to do. Let us examine, for instance, such +a statement as this: "Indeed, the difficulties of golf are innumerable +and incalculable. Take, for example, that simple rule 'Keep your eye +on the ball.' It is unheard of in tennis; it is needless in cricket; +in golf it is iterated and reiterated times without number, and +infringed as often as repeated." Can anyone imagine a more wonderful +statement than this? In tennis, by which from subsequent remarks it is +clear that the author means lawn-tennis, and also indeed in tennis, it +is, of course, a fundamental rule that one must keep one's eye on the +ball. It is repeatedly drilled into every player, and even the most +experienced players by neglecting it sacrifice points. + +Lifting one's eye is one of the most prolific causes of missed smashes +and ordinary volleys, while the half volleys which are missed through +not attempting to follow out this universal rule are innumerable. We +are told that it is "unheard of in cricket." This indeed is a +marvellous statement. No coach who knows his duty in tennis, +lawn-tennis, cricket, racquets, or in fact any game where one plays at +a moving ball, could possibly have gone more than about half a dozen +lessons, if so many, without impressing upon his pupil the extreme +importance of endeavouring to watch the ball until the moment of +impact. This, of course, is a counsel of perfection, and is not often +perfectly carried out, for various reasons which I shall deal with in +my chapter on "The Function of the Eyes." + +For one who has attempted a critical analysis of the psychology of +golf the author makes some wonderful statements. Speaking about +"looking" _versus_ "thinking," and keeping one's eye on the ball, the +author says: "As a matter of fact, instead of _looking_, you are +_thinking_, and to _think_, when you ought to _play_, is the madness +of mania." It should be fairly obvious to anyone who does not even +profess to be capable of analysing the emotions of a golfer that to +look it is necessary to be thinking--to be thinking about looking, in +fact; that it would be impossible to look without thinking; that +indeed the looking is dependent upon the thinking, or, as our author +would probably put it, he must will to look--not only must he will to +look, but he must will to hit. Those are the two important things for +him to will--to look and to hit. Now those things cannot be done +without thinking, and yet we are told that to _think_ when you ought +to _play_ is "the madness of mania." + +The author goes on to give what he calls a very "simple and anatomical +reason" for this inability to see one's ball when one is thinking +instead of looking. He says: + + Everybody has heard the phrase "a vacant stare." Well, there + actually is such a thing as a vacant stare. When one's + thoughts are absorbed in something other than the object + looked at, the eyes lose their convergence--that is to say, + instead of the two eyeballs being turned inwards and focussed + on the thing, they look straight outwards into space, with + the result, of course, that the thing looked at is seen + indistinctly. I am convinced that this happens to many a + grown-up golfer. He thinks he is looking at his ball, but as + a matter of fact he is thinking about looking at his ball (a + very different affair), or about how he is going to hit it, + or any one of a hundred other things; and, his mind being + taken off that supreme duty of doing nothing but _look_, the + muscles of the eye are relaxed, the eyeballs resume their + natural position and stare vacantly into space. + +It will probably not be news to most of us that there is such a thing +as "a vacant stare." We probably remember many occasions when, "lost +in thought," our eyes have lost their convergence, but it will indeed +be news to most of us that it is the supreme duty of the eyes to do +nothing but _look_. + +We are now face to face with this fact according to this analysis. The +author quotes the great psychologist, Höffding, as saying, "We must +will to see, in order to see aright." We now, by a natural and +logical process of reasoning, have the golfer settled at his ball, his +address duly taken, his eye fixed on the ball, and he is in the act of +"willing" to see as hard as he can. So far so good. Let us presume +that he _is_ seeing. Now we are told that to think when he ought to +play is the madness of mania. We must presume that it will now be +impossible to proceed with his stroke unless he "wills" to move. How +will he "will to move" without thinking? If anybody can explain to me +how a golfer can play a stroke without willing to hit as well as to +look, I shall indeed consider that he has explained at least one +mystery in golf. + +We are told that + + ... if during that minute interval of time which elapses + between the commencement of the upward swing of the club and + its impact with the ball, the golfer allows any one single + sensation, or idea to divert his attention--consciously or + unconsciously--from the little round image on his retina, he + does not properly "perceive" that ball; and of course, by + consequence, does not properly hit it. + +Notwithstanding this statement, we see that the author tries to +implant in the mind of the golfer the idea that during his downward +stroke arms and hands are receiving innumerable orders "at intervals +probably of tens of thousandths of a second," and that at the moment +of impact with the ball the mind has to become suddenly concentrated +and the muscles suddenly contracted. He surely will allow that in this +advice he is trying to impart at least one single sensation or idea +which is sufficient to ensure that he will "not properly perceive that +ball, and of course, by consequence, that he will not properly hit +it." + +Here is another paragraph worthy of consideration: "But if one tautens +any of the muscles necessary for the stroke, the stroke is spoiled." +I think I have already quoted James Braid on the subject of tension in +the drive, to show that this statement is utterly fallacious, and that +without very considerable tautening of the muscles it would be +impossible to produce a golf drive worthy of the name. + +The strangest portions of this alleged explanation of the mystery of +golf are always when it comes to the question of practical golf. Let +us consider briefly such a statement as the following:-- + + Both sets of stimuli must be intimately and intricately + combined throughout the whole course of the swing; the wrists + must ease off at the top and tauten at the end. The left knee + must be loose at the beginning, and firm at the finish, and + the change from one to the other must be as deftly and + gently, yet swiftly wrought, as a crescendo passage from + pianissimo to fortissimo on a fiddle. + +We have already seen what James Braid says about the golf stroke--that +from the top of it right to the impact the muscles must be in a state +of the fullest tension; while it is of course well known now that the +left knee is never at any time in the stroke what is described as +loose, for from the moment that a properly executed golf drive begins, +the weight proceeds towards the left foot and leg, and therefore it +would be impossible to play a proper drive with the left knee "loose." +I deal fully with this subject in my chapter on "The Distribution of +Weight." + + [Illustration: PLATE II. HARRY VARDON + + Stance and frontal address in short put.] + +As we proceed with the consideration of this work we find that golf is +indeed a mystery to the author. We are informed that "the golf stroke +is a highly complex one, and one necessitating the innervation of +innumerable cerebrospinal centres; not only hand and eye, but arms, +wrist, shoulders, back, loins, and legs must be stimulated to action. +No wonder that the associative memory has to be most carefully +cultivated in golf. To be able, without thinking about it, to take +your stance, do your waggle, swing back, pause, come forward, hit +hard, and follow-through well over the left shoulder, always +self-confidently--ah! this requires a first-class brain, a first-class +spinal cord, and first-class muscles"; and--if I might be pardoned for +adding it--a first-class idiot. Nobody but a first-class idiot could +possibly do all these things without thinking of them, except probably +that brilliant follow-through "well over the left shoulder!" + +I have heard many things enunciated by people who considered +themselves possessed of first-class brains, but this is absolutely the +first time that I have ever heard of a good follow-through "well over +the left shoulder." A good follow-through "well over the left +shoulder" generally means a most pernicious slice. Any follow-through +at any game goes after the ball. What happens when that is finished is +merely a matter of individual style and the particular nature of the +stroke which has been played. The club, in some cases, may come back +over the left shoulder; in other cases it may point right down the +course after the ball; in another it may swing practically round the +body. It is little touches such as these which show the lack of +practical acquaintance with the higher science of the game. No one +acquainted with the inner secrets of golf could possibly refer to that +portion of a stroke which is coming back from the hole as "the +follow-through." + +As an instance of absolutely ridiculous nonsense I may quote the +following: + + What the anatomists say is this, that, if the proper orders + are issued from the cortex, and gathered up and distributed + by the corpora striata and the cerebellum, are then + transferred through the crus cerebri, the pons varolii, the + anterior pyramid and the medulla oblongata, down the lateral + columns of the spinal cord into the anterior cornua of grey + matter in the cervical, the dorsal and the lumbar region, + they will then "traverse the motor nerves at the rate of + about 111 feet a second, and speedily excite definite groups + of muscles in definite ways, with the effect of producing the + desired movements." + +Of course this to the ordinary golfer is absolute nonsense, but to the +skilled anatomist and student of psychology, who may also be a golfer, +it is worse than nonsense, for the simple reason that assuming that +the measurement of the speed at which these orders travel has been +even approximately measured as proceeding at the rate of "about 111 +feet a second," it is obvious that such a rate of progression would +be, by comparison with the speed at which the golf stroke is +delivered, merely a gentle crawl. + +One might be excused if one thought that this book was merely a +practical joke perpetrated by a very ingenious person at the expense +of golfers, but I do not think we should be justified in assuming +that, for then we should have to speak in a very much severer manner +than we are doing; for when one reads about such things as "the twirl +of the wrists, the accelerated velocity, and the hit at the impact," +one is justified in assuming that even if the psychology of the author +were sound, his knowledge of the mechanical production of the golf +drive is extremely limited. He says: + + Psychologists are, I believe, agreed that there is in the + mind a faculty called the Imagination. Indeed, there has been + a whole essay written and printed on "The Creative + Imagination." + +Even if psychologists are not agreed on this subject we could, I +think, take as irrefutable evidence of the existence of the "creative +imagination" the work under notice. + +It is curious to find one who is endeavouring to analyse matters which +are psychologically abstruse exhibiting the greatest confusion of +thought. Let us take an illustration. He says: "We misuse words; we +construct an artificial and needless barrier between mind and matter. +By 'matter' we simply mean something perceptible by our five senses." +Let us consider this statement. It would be impossible to imagine a +more sloppy definition of matter. According to this definition of +matter, glass is not matter, for it is not perceptible by our sense of +hearing, smelling, or tasting. It is evident that the author +means--which in itself is erroneous--to define matter as something +which is perceptible by one of the five senses, but in an analytical +psychologist so overwhelming an error is inexcusable. It is manifest +that he is not equal to the task which he has set himself in any way +whatever. He says that "The golfer, strive as he may, is the slave of +himself." Here again we have a gross libel on the poor golfer. The +ordinary golfer is not the slave of himself. He is the slave of +thoughtless persons who write about things which they do not +understand, and, in some cases, the bond-servant of those who write +without understanding of the things which they do very well. + +Elaborating this idea, the author proceeds: "It is not a matter of +want of strength or want of skill, for every now and again one proves +to oneself by a superlative stroke that the strength and the skill are +there if only the mind could be prevailed upon to use them." This +truly is a marvellous statement from one who essays a critical +analysis of anything. It is undoubtedly possible that a player might +be set at a tee blindfolded, and provided his caddie put down +sufficient balls for him to drive at and he continued driving long +enough, he would unquestionably hit "a superlative stroke." Would this +prove that the strength and the skill are there? I wonder if our +author has ever heard of such a thing as "a ghastly fluke"? + +A little later on we read: "Time and time again you have been taught +exactly how to stand, exactly how to swing," and he then proceeds to +wonder how it is that the unfortunate golfer is so prone to error. The +reason is not far to seek. It is found in the work of such men as our +author, and others who should know much better than he; it is found in +the work of men who teach the unfortunate golfer to stand wrongly, to +swing wrongly. These, in company with our author, will be duly +arraigned in our chapter on "The Distribution of Weight." That is the +plain answer why golfers do not get the results which they should get +from the amount of work and thought which they put into their game, +for golfers are, unquestionably, as a class, the most thoughtful of +sportsmen. If they were not, a book such as I am dealing with could +not possibly have secured a publisher. Continuing his argument on this +subject he says: + + ... and yet how often it has taken three, four, and even five + strokes to cover those hundred yards! It would be laughable + were it not so humiliating--in fact, the impudent spectator + does laugh until he tries it himself; then, ah! then he, too, + gets a glimpse into that mystery of mysteries--the human + mind--which at one and the same time wills to do a thing and + fails to do it, which knows precisely and could repeat by + rote the exact means by which it is to be accomplished, yet + is impotent to put them in force. And the means are so + simple. So insanely simple. + +To which I say, "And the means are indeed so simple, so sanely +simple." It is writers who do not understand the game at all who make +them insanely complex. As a definite illustration of what I mean let +me ask the man who writes that the golfer who desires to drive +perfectly "could repeat by rote the exact means by which it is to be +accomplished" where, in any book by one of the greatest golfers, or in +his own book, the golfer is definitely instructed that his weight must +not at any time be on his right leg. In fact the author himself, in +common with everybody who has ever written a golf book, _deliberately +misinforms the golfer in this fundamental principle_. + +How, then, can a man who claims to be possessed of an analytical mind +say that the ordinary golfer could repeat by rote the exact means by +which anything is to be accomplished when it is now a matter of +notoriety that practically the whole of the published teaching of golf +is fundamentally unsound? + +Speaking of the golfer's difficulties in the drive the author says, +"The secret of this extraordinary and baffling conflict of mind and +matter is a problem beyond the reach of physiology and psychology +combined." Yes, there is no doubt that it is; but it is a matter which +is well within the reach of the most elementary mechanics and common +sense. + +It will probably seem that I am dealing with this attempt to explain +the mystery of golf very severely, but I do not feel that I am +treating the matter too strictly. Golf is enveloped and encompassed +round about with a wordy mass of verbiage. All kinds of men and some +women, who have no clearly defined or scientific ideas, have presumed +to put before the unfortunate golfer directions for playing the game +which have landed him in a greater maze of bewilderment than exists in +any other game which I know. It is obvious that if a man is both "a +duffer" and a slow thinker it will be unsafe for him, until he has +improved both his game and his mental processes, to attempt to explain +the higher science of golf for anyone. It should be sufficient for him +to study the mechanical processes whereby he may improve his own game +until at least he has been able to take himself out of the class which +he characterises himself as the duffers. To explain golf +scientifically in the face of the mass of false doctrine which +encumbers it, it is necessary that one should be, if not at least a +quick thinker, an exact thinker, and that one should know the game to +the core. + +It seems to me that there is possibly a clue to the remarkable +statements which we get in this book in the following quotation, which +I take from the chapter on "Attention": + + When I first rode a bicycle, if four or five obstacles + suddenly presented themselves, these to the right, those to + the left, I found I could not transfer my attention from one + to the other sufficiently quickly to give the muscles the + requisite orders--and I came a cropper ... and so with the + golf stroke. + +It seems to me that here we have the key of the author's difficulty. +His mind was fixed on the obstacles--some to the right and some to the +left. In similar circumstances most budding cyclists, and I have +taught many, confine their attention to the clear path right ahead, +and consequently the obstacles "these to the right, those to the left" +do not trouble them. This, psychologically speaking, is a curious +confession of the power of outside influences to affect the main +issue. It seems to me that right through the consideration of this +subject the author, like many other golfers, has been devoting his +mind far too much to the things which he imagines about golf, instead +of to the things which are, and they are the things which matter. No +wonder, then, that he has "come a cropper." + +There is a chapter called "The One Thing Necessary," which starts as +follows: "But, since I stated that my own belief is that only one +thing can be 'attended' to at a time, you will probably be inclined to +ask me what is the most important thing? what precisely ought we to +attend to at the moment of impact of club with ball? Well, if you ask +me, I say _the image of the ball_." This is really an astonishing +statement. "At the moment of impact of club with ball" the image of +the ball does not really matter in the slightest degree. As I shall +show later on, the eye has fulfilled its functions long before the +impact takes place. Also, of course, to the non-analytical mind it +will be perfectly obvious that _the image of the ball_ could be just +as well preserved if the golfer had lifted his head three to six +inches, but his stroke would have been irretrievably ruined. + +Now, as a matter of fact, by the time the club has arrived at the ball +it is altogether too late to attend to anything. All the attention has +already been devoted to the stroke, and it has been made or marred. As +we have clearly seen from what James Braid says about the stroke the +moment of impact is the time when the attention and the tension is +released, so it will obviously be of no service to us to endeavour +forcibly to impress upon our minds in any way the image of the ball. +If there is any one thing to think of at the moment of impact, the +outstanding point of importance must be that the eyes should be in +exactly the same place and position as they were at the moment of +address. + +Here is a most remarkable sentence:-- + + It is a pity that so many literary elucidators and + explicators of the game devote so many pages to the + subsidiary circumstances.... I wonder if they would pardon + me if I said that, as a matter of simple fact, if one + _attended to the game_ (with all that that means), almost one + could stand and strike as one chose, and almost with any kind + of club. + +There is a large amount of truth in this; but it comes most peculiarly +from the author of this book, for of all the literary obfuscators whom +I have ever come across I have never met his equal in attention to the +"subsidiary circumstances" and neglect of the real game. Much time is +wasted in an analysis of the nature of attention. Now, attention, +psychologically, is somewhat difficult to define from the golfing +point of view, but as a matter of simple and practical golf there is +no difficulty whatever in explaining it. Attention in golf is merely +habit acquired by practice and by starting golf in a proper and +scientific manner. I shall have to deal with that more fully in my +next chapter, so I shall not go into the matter here. Suffice it to +say that lifting the eye at golf is no more a lack of attention than +is lifting the little finger in the club-house. It is merely a vice in +each case--a bad habit, born probably of the fact that in neither case +did the man learn the rudiments of the game thoroughly. + +We are told that "the arms do not judge distance (save when we are +actually touching something), nor does the body, nor does the head. +The judging is done by the eyes"; but we must not forget that the arms +accurately measure the distance. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +PUTTING + + +The great mystery to me, not about golf, but about the work of the +greatest golfers, is the attitude which they all adopt with regard to +putting. Now, putting may quite properly be said to be the foundation +of golf. It really is the first thing which should be taught, but, as +a matter of fact, it is generally left until the last. Practically all +instructors start the player with the drive. It is beyond question +that the drive is the most complex stroke in golf, and it is equally +beyond question that the put is the simplest. There can be no shadow +of doubt whatever that the only scientific method of instructing a +person in the art of playing golf is one which is diametrically +opposed to that adopted by practically all the leading players of the +world. Instead of starting the beginner at the tee and taking him +through his clubs in rotation to the putting-green, the proper order +for sound tuition would be to start him six inches from the hole and +to back him through his clubs to the tee. + +This is so absolutely beyond argument that I need not labour the point +here, except in so far as with it is bound up the important question +of attention--that is, of riveting one's eye and one's mind on the +ball for the whole period employed in making the stroke. As I said in +the preceding chapter, attention is habit. Attention includes the +habit of keeping the eye on the ball and the head still until the +stroke has been played. The best way of inculcating the vices of +lifting the head and the eye during the stroke is to teach the player +the drive first. It stands to reason that if a player is started, say, +with a six-inch put, that he has at the moment of making his stroke +both the ball and the hole well within the focus of his eyes, so that +it is absolutely unnecessary for him to lift his eye in order to +follow the ball. It therefore follows that he is not tempted to lift +his eye. + +Now, no player should be allowed to go more than two or three feet +from the hole until he has learned to hole out puts at that distance +with accuracy and confidence. By the time he is allowed to leave the +putting-green, he will have acquired the habit of attention. + +It will be clearly seen that, starting now from the edge of the green +with his chip shot, he is much more certain of striking the ball and +getting it away than he would be were he put on to the more uncertain +stroke in the drive; so by a gradual process of education the player +would come in time to the drive, and by the time he arrives at the +most complicated stroke in the game--the stroke wherein is the +smallest margin of error--he has cultivated the habit of attention, +which includes keeping one's head still. + +Of course, this is a counsel of perfection which one does not expect +to find carried out, although a similar course is followed by all good +teachers in every trade, profession, science, or game, but as I have +said before, in golf there is a tremendous amount of false teaching +which is generally followed. It is, however, a certainty that any +beginner who has the patience, perseverance, and moral courage to +educate himself on these lines, will find golf much easier to play +than it would be if he had started, as nearly everybody wants to +start, with "the swing." It is bad enough that putting should be +relegated to the position it is, but the attitude of the great +writers, or perhaps I should say the great golfers who have written +books about golf, aggravates the offence, and forms what is to me the +greatest mystery in connection with golf literature. + +I shall give here what Braid, Vardon, and Taylor have to say about +putting. Let me take Vardon first. At page 143 of _The Complete +Golfer_ he says: + + For the proper playing of the other strokes in golf, I have + told my readers to the best of my ability how they should + stand and where they should put their feet. But except for + the playing of particular strokes, which come within the + category of those called "fancy," I have no similar + instruction to offer in the matter of putting. There is no + rule and there is no best way. + + The fact is that there is more individuality in putting than + in any other department of golf, and it is absolutely + imperative that this individuality should be allowed to have + its way. + +And now comes a very wonderful statement: + + I believe seriously that every man has had a particular kind + of putting method awarded to him by Nature, and when he putts + exactly in this way he will do well, and when he departs from + his natural system he will miss the long ones and the short + ones too. First of all, he has to find out this particular + method which Nature has assigned for his use. + +Again on page 144 we read that when a player is off his putting + + ... it is all because he is just that inch or two removed + from the stance which Nature allotted to him for putting + purposes, but he does not know that, and consequently + everything in the world except the true cause is blamed for + the extraordinary things he does. + +Let us now repeat what James Braid has to say on the important matter +of putting. On page 119 of _How to Play Golf_ he says: + + It happens, unfortunately, that concerning one department of + the game that will cause the golfer some anxiety from time to + time, and often more when he is experienced than when he is + not, neither I nor any other player can offer any words of + instruction such as, if closely acted upon, would give the + same successful results as the advice tendered under other + heads ought to do. This is in regard to putting. + +Further on we are informed that "really great putters are probably +born and not made." + +So far we must admit that this is extremely discouraging, but there is +worse to follow. + +Let us now see what Taylor has to say about putting. At page 83 in his +book, _Taylor on Golf_, and in the chapter, "Hints on Learning the +Game," he says: + + Coming back to the subject of actual instruction. After a + fair amount of proficiency has been acquired in the use of + the cleek, iron, and mashie, we have the difficulty of the + putting to surmount. And here I may say at once it is an + absolute impossibility to teach a man how to putt. + + Even many of the leading professionals are weak in this + department of the game. Do you think they would not improve + themselves in this particular stroke were such a thing within + the range of possibility? Certainly they would. The fact is + that in putting, more than in aught else, a very special + aptitude is necessary. A good eye and a faculty for gauging + distances correctly is a great help, indeed, quite a + necessity, as also is judgment with regard to the requisite + power to put behind the ball. Unfortunately, these are things + that cannot be taught, they must come naturally, or not at + all. + + All that is possible for the instructor to do is to discover + what kind of a putting style his pupil is possessed of, + offer him useful hints, and his ultimate measure of success + is then solely in his own hands. + + It is easy to tell a pupil how he must needs hold his clubs + in driving or playing an iron shot, but in putting there is + hardly such a necessity. The diversity of styles accounts for + this, and in this particular kind of stroke a man must be + content to rely upon his own adaptability alone. + +Now in the same book on page 240, in the chapter on "The Art of +Putting," we read: + + The drive may be taught, the pupil may be instructed in the + use of the cleek, the iron, or the brassie, but in putting he + must rely upon his own powers of reducing the game to an + actual science. The other strokes are of a more or less + mechanical character; they may be explained and demonstrated, + but with the ball but a few feet distant from the hole there + are many other things to be considered, and hints are the + only things that can be offered. The pupil may be advised + over the holding and grip of the putter, but as far as the + success of the shot is concerned it remains in his own hands. + +In passing, I may remark that it seems to me that in this latter +respect the put is not vastly different from any other stroke in golf, +or indeed, for the matter of that, in any other game. + +Continuing, Taylor says: + + Putting, in short, is so different to any other branch of the + game that the good putter may be said to be born, not made. + + That this is really the case is proved by the fact that many + of the leading players of the day, professionals and amateurs + alike, are very frequently weaker when playing with the + putter than when performing with any other of their clubs. + Speaking solely of professionals, is it at all probable that + this would be so were they capable of improving themselves in + this particular department? Certainly not. + +Now it will be admitted that this is a very gloomy outlook for him who +desires to learn how to put. He is thrown entirely on his own +resources. I must quote Taylor once again with regard to putting. He +says: + + And yet it is none the less true that to putt perfectly + should be the acme of one's ambition. Putting is the most + important factor of success, for it happens very frequently + that a man may meet a stronger driver, or a better performer + with the iron clubs, and yet wrest the leadership from him + when near the hole. + +There can be no doubt whatever of the truth of what Taylor says in +this last paragraph--"Putting is the most important factor of +success"; yet we are confronted with the amazing statement made by the +three greatest masters of the game, men who between them have +accounted for fourteen open championships, men whose living depends +upon playing golf and teaching it, that "the most important factor of +success" cannot be taught. There is no possible doubt about their +ideas on this subject. They deliberately tell the unfortunate golfer, +or would-be golfer, that good putters are born and not made, that +putting cannot be taught, and that each person must be left to work +out his own salvation. + +It is admitted that putting is practically half the game. It has been +well illustrated in the following way:--Seventy-two strokes is a good +score for almost any course. The man who gets down in two every time +is not a bad putter. This allows him thirty-six strokes on the green, +which is exactly one-half of his score. Now what does this statement +which is made by Braid, Vardon, and Taylor amount to? It is an +assertion by them that they are unable to teach half of the game of +golf, and _that_ the most important half, for, as we have seen, Taylor +says that it is "the most important factor of success." Now surely +there is something wrong here. As a matter of fact it is the most +absolute nonsense which it is possible to imagine. Putters are not +born. They are made and shaped and polished to just as great an extent +as any metal putter that ever was forged. Putting is the simplest and +easiest thing in golf to learn and to teach, and it is positively +wrong for men of the eminence in their profession which these players +enjoy to append their names to statements which cannot but have a +deleterious effect on the game generally, and particularly on the play +of those who are affected by reading such absolutely false doctrine. + +There are certain fundamental principles in connection with putting +which cannot be disregarded. It is quite wrong to say that the first +thing to consider is some particular idiosyncrasy which a man may have +picked up by chance. The idea of Nature having troubled herself to +allot any particular man or men, or, for the matter of that, women or +children, any particular styles for putting is too ridiculous to +require any comment. Needless to say, very many people have +peculiarities which they exhibit in putting, as well as in other +matters, but in many cases it is the duty of the capable instructor +not to attempt to add the scientific principles of putting to a +totally wrong and ugly foundation. The first duty of one who knows the +game and how to teach it is to implant in the mind of his pupil the +correct mechanical methods of obtaining the result desired. If, after +he has done this, it be found that his natural bent or idiosyncrasy +fits in with the proper mechanical production of the stroke, there is +no harm in allowing him to retain his natural style; but if, for the +sake of argument, it should be found that his natural method is +unsuitable for the true production of the stroke, there is only one +thing to do, which is to cut out his natural method, and make him put +on the lines most generally adopted. + +Nor is this difficult to do, for it stands to reason that anyone who +is a beginner at golf has not already cultivated a style of his own. + +The statements of these three great golfers are absolutely without +foundation--in fact, they are indeed so far from the truth that I have +no hesitation whatever in saying that in at least ninety per cent of +the cases which come before a professional for tuition, if the subject +is properly dealt with by an intelligent teacher, putting is, without +any shadow of doubt, the easiest portion of golf to teach and to +learn. In the face of the mischievous statements which have been so +widely circulated in connection with the difficulty of learning the +art of putting, one cannot possibly be too emphatic in stating the +truth. In doing this, let it be understood that I am not stating any +theory or publishing any idea which I am not prepared fully to +demonstrate by practical teaching. It is a curious thing, but one to +which I do not wholly object, that those who read my books seem to +consider that they have a personal claim on my services as well, and +it is no uncommon thing for me to receive visits from men who are in +trouble about their putting, their drive, or their approach, and I +have not, as a rule, any very great trouble in locating the seat of +the difficulty. + +The pernicious influence of such teaching as that which I have just +quoted repeatedly comes before me. I know men who seem to consider +that the chief art of putting in golf is bound up in another art, +namely, the art of the contortionist, whereas, of course, nothing +could be further from the truth. Putting, as I shall show later on, is +an extremely simple operation. In fact its simplicity is so pronounced +that little children, almost without instruction, do it remarkably +well, because they do it naturally. It is only when people come to the +game possibly rather late in life, and perhaps with habits acquired +from other games, and in addition to this are told that they must +evolve their own particular style, that we find the difficulty, for +the style which is evolved is, in the vast majority of cases, no style +at all, and the stroke is played unnaturally. + +That is what I have to say with regard to the "difficulty" of putting. +I shall, later on, deal with the principles involved in putting. It +will, in the meantime, be sufficient for me to consider and criticise +these statements generally. If this were my own uncorroborated +opinion, it is possible that the definite statements of three men like +Braid, Taylor, and Vardon might outweigh what I have said, although I +do not believe that even in that case they would; for what I have +quoted is such obvious nonsense that it would indeed be to me a +mystery if any golfer possessed of ordinary common sense could accept +any view of the matter other than that which I put forward. + +However, when dealing with names like these, it is worth while to +reinforce oneself. Let us see what James Braid has to say about the +matter in _Advanced Golf_. At page 144, chapter x., dealing with +"Putting Strokes," Braid says: "Thus practically any man has it in his +power to become a reasonably good putter, and to effect a considerable +improvement in his game as the result." Here is the message of hope to +the putter. It will be remembered that Taylor states that the good +putter may be said to be born, not made, and that Braid practically +said the same thing. This, of course, is nonsense, and if any +refutation were necessary, James Braid himself is the refutation. The +first time I saw Braid putting, he was trying a Vaile putter for me +at Walton-on-Heath. He came down on the ball before he had come to the +bottom of his swing, and finished on the green quite two inches in +front of the spot where the ball had been. Before I had reflected in +the slightest degree, I came out quite naturally with the question, +"Do you always put like that?" "Yes," said Braid in his slow, quiet +way, "and it is the best way." By this time I had remembered who Braid +was, and I did not pursue the subject any further, but I thought a +good deal. I thought that Braid would, in due course, find out that it +was not the best way, and I fully understood why he was such a bad +putter. + +Since then Braid has found out that his method was wrong. He has +altered it, and now plays his puts in the only proper way, which I +shall refer to later on. As everybody knows, Braid is now a very fine +putter--_but he was not born so_. If ever there was an illustration of +a fine putter made out of a bad putter, James Braid is the outstanding +example, and James Braid is the answer to Taylor's question as to +whether a professional can improve his putting or not. Any +professional whose putting is bad can improve it by using his brains, +because when a professional puts badly it is rarely a question of his +hands, his eye, or his wrist being wrong. The seat of the deficiency +is much deeper than that. + +Let us now see what James Braid has to say about putting. At page 146 +of _Advanced Golf_ he practically eats his own words. This is what he +says: + + Of course, they say that good putters are born and not made, + and it is certainly true that some of the finest putters we + know seem to come by their wonderful skill as a gift, and + nowadays constantly putt with an ease and a confidence that + suggest some kind of inspiration. But it is also the fact + that a man who was not a born putter, and whose putting all + through his golfing youth was of the most moderate quality, + may by study and practice make himself a putter who need fear + nobody on any putting green. I may suggest that I have proved + this in my own case. Until comparatively recently there is no + doubt that I was really a poor putter. Long after I was a + scratch player I lost more matches through bad putting than + anything else. I realised that putting was the thing that + stood in the way of further improvement, and I did my best to + improve it, so that to-day my critics are kind enough to say + that there is not very much wanting in my play on the putting + green, while I know that it was an important factor in + gaining for me my recent championship. + + So I may be allowed the privilege of indicating the path + along which improvement in this department of the game may + best be effected; and what I have to say at the beginning is, + that putting is essentially a thing for the closest + mathematical and other reckoning. It is a game of + calculations pure and simple, a matter for the most careful + analysis and thought. + +Now here at least we have common sense with regard to putting. Braid +holds himself out as an example of the bad putter turned into the good +putter. He does not, it is true, tell us why he was a bad putter and +how he changed his bad methods to his present excellent method, but I +have already given the key to that. I shall, however, deal with it +more fully when I come to the question of the practice of putting. +Braid says on page 147 of _Advanced Golf_, still speaking of putting, +that "the mechanical part is comparatively simple." He continues: +"Putts most generally go wrong because the strength or the line, or +both, were misjudged, and they were so misjudged because the different +factors were not valued properly, and because one or two of them were +very likely overlooked altogether." + +I think very few golfers will be inclined to dispute the opening +statement that "Putts most generally go wrong because the strength or +the line, or both, were misjudged." I may say that I never heard of a +put which went wrong for any other reason. If the strength and the +line are both right, one always has an excellent chance of ending in +the tin! Braid tells us again on page 148 + + ... that what I call the mechanical part of putting--the + hitting of the ball--is simple and sure in comparison with + the other difficulties that are presented when a long putt + has to be made; yet it is hardly necessary to say to any + experienced golfer that there are absolutely thousands of + players who fail in their putting, not because of any lack of + powers of calculation or a good eye, steady hand, and + delicacy of touch, but simply because they have fallen into a + careless way of performing this mechanical part, and of + almost feeling that any way of hitting the ball will do so + long as it is hit in the right direction and the proper + degree of strength is applied. + +Again Braid says on page 149: + + Absolutely everything depends on hitting the ball truly, and + the man who always does so has mastered one of the greatest + difficulties of the art of putting. A long putt can never be + run down except by a fluke when the ball has not been hit + truly, however exactly all the calculations of line and + strength have been made. + +Now the point which I am making, and I hope making in such a manner +that no one will ever dare even to attempt to refute it, is the fact +that the mechanical operation of putting is one of extreme simplicity, +entirely devoid of mystery, and capable of acquirement by persons even +of a very low order of intelligence. I want to make it plain beyond +the possibility of doubt that putting is the foundation of golf and +that it can be very easily learned, provided always that the +instructor has a proper idea of the mechanics of the put. Generally +speaking, when one uses the word "mechanics" a golfer is afraid that +he is about to receive some abstruse lecture illustrated by diagrams +and mathematical formulæ, but it is not so. It is essential to a +thorough knowledge and enjoyment of the game of golf that the golfer +should understand the mechanics of putting. + +James Braid says that it is a matter of mathematics and calculation, +and he is not far wrong; but the mechanics of the put are of such +extreme simplicity that no golfer or would-be golfer need be +discouraged because one refers to the elementary science which is +involved in the making of the perfect put. Rather let him be thankful +that he has James Braid's corroboration of the fact, which I have for +many years past tried to impress upon golfers, that the main thing to +strive at in connection with improving their game is a proper +understanding of the mechanical principles involved in producing the +strokes. Until the ordinary golfer has this he will not progress so +rapidly as he may desire. + +I think that we may now consider that it _is_ possible to teach people +how to put; so, having disposed of this fable, let us consider the +most important features of putting. I do not propose here to +illustrate the manner in which the stroke is to be played. I have done +that fully in _Modern Golf_ and in other places. I am here concerning +myself mainly with the fundamental principles. When these are properly +grasped, and these I may say are practically all arm-chair golf, any +person of ordinary intelligence should be able to go on to a putting +green, and by carrying them out become quite a good putter. + +Let us first consider the manner of propulsion of the ball. Provided, +for the sake of argument, that the putting-green were an enlarged +billiard table with a hole in the middle of it, and one were given a +penny to put into that hole from the edge of the table, how would one +endeavour to do it? There can be but little doubt one would try to +_roll_ the coin into the hole. Now that is the way one must try to +put. The ball must be rolled up to the hole. At first sight this seems +an entirely superfluous direction. The reader may say: "In what other +way may puts be sent into the hole than by rolling?" Practically, +there is no other way. It was the idea that there was another and a +better way of holing puts than by rolling them into the hole which +made James Braid in the old days such a bad putter, for in those days +James Braid putted with what is commonly called "drag." It is no +uncommon thing to hear men who play a very fine game of golf advise +players to "slide" their long puts up. Put in another way this simply +means--advice to play a long put with what is known as "drag." + + [Illustration: PLATE III. HARRY VARDON + + At the top of his swing, showing his weight mainly on the left + leg. This characteristic is very marked in Vardon's play.] + +It is well known that at billiards one can hit very hard and direct +one's ball very well by playing with a large amount of drag, and +golfers have carried this notion on to the putting-green, but, it must +be admitted, in a very thoughtless manner. In billiards the ball is +very heavy in proportion to its size. It moves on a perfectly level +and practically smooth surface, the tip of the cue is soft and covered +with chalk, which gives a splendid grip on the ball, and the blow is +delivered very far below the centre of the ball's mass, and is +concentrated on a particular point. In golf it is impracticable in +putting to get very much below the centre of the ball. It can be done, +of course, with a club which is sufficiently lofted, but the moment +this is done there is a tendency to make the ball leave the green, +which is not calculated to make for accuracy. Moreover, be it +remembered that the contact here is between two substances which +are not well calculated to enter into communion, namely, the +comparatively hard and shiny surface of a golf ball, and the hard and +frequently unmarked face of a putter. Moreover, the golf ball is +frequently marked with excrescences called brambles or pimples. + +It is obvious that in many cases the first impact will be on one of +these pimples, and also in many cases certainly not in a line dead +down the centre of that bramble and in a line coinciding with the +intended line of run of the ball. When the impact takes place in this +manner it is obvious that, according to the simplest laws of +mechanics, the put must be started wrongly. It is also obvious that if +there is this tendency to go crookedly off the face of the club the +ball will have more opportunity of getting out of the track, which it +makes for itself in the turf, if it is lifted in any degree from the +turf by a lofted club. + +It is apparent that a golf ball on a putting green sinks into the +turf. It is equally apparent that it will, on its way to the hole, +make for itself a track or furrow of approximately the same depth as +the depression in which it was resting when stationary. That furrow, +to a very great extent, holds the ball to its course and minimises +very much the faulty marking of a great many of the golf balls of +to-day, so that it will be seen that the object of the player should +be not in any way whatever to lift his ball from the green in the put, +which is the invariable and inevitable tendency of attempting to put +with drag by means of a lofted club. It is an extremely common error +to suppose that a put played with drag hugs the green more than one +played in the ordinary way, or with top. As a matter of +incontrovertible fact, no put hugs the green more than a topped put. +It would be easy enough to demonstrate this were it necessary to do +so, but it is a matter which comes in more in the dynamics of golf, +and possibly I shall have the space to treat of it further there. We +may, for our immediate purpose, content ourselves with the fact that +James Braid has abandoned putting with drag, and now rolls his ball up +to the hole with, if anything, a little top, although, be it clearly +understood, there is no apparent intention on his part to obtain this +top, nor does he in _Advanced Golf_ advocate that any attempt should +be made to obtain top; but there can be no doubt whatever that the +manner in which he plays his put tends to impart a certain amount of +top to the ball, and this, of course, causes it to run very freely. + +Now with regard to putting drag on a long put, it should be obvious to +any one that, considering the roughness of the green, the extreme +roughness of the ball and its comparatively light weight in proportion +to its size, it would be impossible to make that ball retain any +considerable measure of back-spin over any appreciable distance of the +green. The idea is so repugnant to common sense and practical golf +that it has always been a matter of astonishment to me to think that +it could have prevailed so much as it has. However, there can be no +doubt that putting under this utterly wrong impression has done a very +great amount of harm to the game of players who might otherwise have +been many strokes better. Let our golfer understand that there is one +way, and one way only, in practical golf to put the ball, and that is +to roll it up to the hole. + +There is generally an exception to prove the rule, and if I can find +an exception to this rule, it must be when one is trying to bolt short +puts. Practically every one has experienced the difficulty of holing +short puts, especially when the green is extremely keen. It is here +that the delicacy of the stroke allows the ball and the inequalities +thereof and any obstructions on the turf to exercise their fullest +power to deflect the ball from the line to the hole. James Braid, in +these circumstances, advises bolting one's puts. Needless to say, he +explains that one should put dead for the middle of the hole, and by +bolting, of course, is meant that one should put firmly so as to give +the ball sufficient strength of run to overcome its inequalities or +those of the turf. + +This, unquestionably, is good advice; but if one puts at the hole in +this manner and does not get it cleanly enough to sink into the tin at +once, the ball with top will run round the edge of the tin and remain +on the green. This is the only case in golf that I can call to mind +where there is any use in putting drag on a put, and the reason for +this is that the distance from the ball to the hole and the nature of +the green is such that the ball is able to retain a very considerable +portion of its backward spin, and upon contact with the rim of the +hole, instead of having a forward run on it which enables it to hold +up and so get away from the hole, the back-spin gets a grip on the +edge of the hole and the ball falls in. + +So far as I can remember, this is absolutely the only case in which +drag of any sort may be considered useful in a put. When I say drag of +any sort I am not, of course, referring to cutting round a put, or +negotiating a stymie with back-spin, for neither of these strokes +comes within the scope of my remark. + +Having arrived at a decision as to the best method of sending the ball +on its journey to the hole, we have now to consider a point of supreme +importance in golf, and one which is not sufficiently insisted upon +by instructors. This is, that at the moment of impact the face of the +putter shall form a true right angle with the line of run to the hole. +That is the fundamental point in connection with putting; but it is of +almost equal importance that the right angle shall be preserved for as +long a time as possible in the swing back, and also in the +follow-through--in other words, the head of the putter should be in +the line of run to the hole as long as possible both before and after +the stroke. With this extremely simple rule, and it will be apparent +that this can be just as well learned in an arm-chair as anywhere +else, almost anyone could put well. + +There is another point of outstanding importance. I have said that the +head of the putter should form a right angle to the line of run to the +hole. I shall be more emphatic still. Let us consider the line of run +to the hole as the upright portion of a very long letter T laid on the +ground. The top of the letter T will then be formed by the front edge +of the sole of the putter, so that it will be seen that not only does +the putter face form a dead right angle to the line of run to the +hole, but that the line of run to the hole hits the putter face dead +in the centre. For all ordinary putting, that is the one and only way +to proceed. One reads in various books about putting off the heel, +putting off the toe, and putting with drag. This is, comparatively +speaking, all imbecility and theory. There is no way to put in golf +comparable with the put that goes off the centre of the club's face. +If we may treat the face of the putter as a rectangle, bisect it by a +vertical line and also by a horizontal line, the point where these two +lines cross each other will be the portion of the putter which should +come into contact with the ball. + +These are extremely elementary matters; but it is impossible, +although they are so elementary, to exaggerate their importance, and +it is amazing, considering their simplicity, how much neglected they +are in all books of instruction, and, generally speaking, by all +instructors. For instance, James Braid, at page 149, tells us: + + Hitting the ball truly is simply a question of bringing the + putter on to it when making the stroke to exactly the same + point as when the final address was made, and of swinging the + putter through from the back swing to the finish in a + straight line. + +This statement would be correct if the address had been made correctly +in the first instance, but unless one has it in one's mind to make +one's putter the top of the T--that is, the completion of the right +angle to the line of run to the hole--the chances are that one's +original address was wrong. Then it will be clearly seen that it is +not "simply a question of bringing the putter on to it when making the +stroke to exactly the same point as when the final address was made." +The important point is to see that the final address is correctly +made; but in no book which I have read--and I have read practically +every book on golf which deserves to be read--do I find any simple and +explicit directions for the mechanical portion of the put, which, as +James Braid truly observes, is extremely simple. + +Now for the idea of the stroke: The player will, of course, have +learned his grip from some of the books on golf, or from a +professional. He will in all probability have adopted the overlapping +grip, for that grip tends, more than any other, to bring both wrists +into action together; and there can, I think, be little doubt that for +most people it is the better grip. Having obtained a good general idea +of the simple mechanical operations involved in the contact of the +club with the ball, the player now has to consider how that club +moves where it is, if we may so express it, bound to him. Well, if he +has even a rudimentary idea of mechanics, he will know that if he +wishes to swing that club so that it may hit the ball in an exactly +similar manner every time, he should suspend it on a single bearing, +so that it would swing in a similar manner to the pendulum of a clock. + +The perfect put, from a mechanical point of view, is made by a motion +which is equivalent to the swinging of a pendulum. If, instead of +allowing the weight of the pendulum to be, as it generally is, in the +plane of the swing, it were turned round so that the flat side faced +towards the sides of the clock, we should have a rough mechanical +presentment of the golf club in the act of making a put. This is, of +course, a counsel of absolute perfection. It is an impossibility to +the golfer, both on account of his physical and physiological +imperfections, and on account of the fact that the golfer practically +never puts with an upright putter. + +We are frequently told that a put is the only true wrist stroke in +golf. As a matter of fact there is no true wrist stroke in golf, for +it is evident that if one played the put as a true wrist stroke with a +club whose lie is at a considerable angle to the horizontal, the +centre of the circle formed by the club head will be away from the +ball to such an extent that the instant the club head leaves the ball +it must leave the line of run to the hole, and equally as certainly +will it leave the line of run to the hole immediately after it has +struck the ball. + +Now this is not what we require, so it has come to pass that the put +at golf is to a very great extent a compromise. It must, above +everything, be a deliberate stroke with a clean follow-through. There +must be no suggestion of reducing the put to a muscular effort. The +idea of the pendulum must be preserved as much as possible, and the +strength of the put regulated to a very great extent by the length of +one's backward swing. + +It is of the first importance that the body should be kept still +during the process of putting, and it stands to reason that the wrists +must also be kept as much as possible in the same place. If one finds +that one has a marked tendency to sway or to move the body about, +standing with one's feet close together will frequently correct this. + +I have referred to the fact that the put is not a wrist stroke. As a +matter of fact, the wrists must in all good putting "go out after the +ball." By this is meant that at the moment of impact the wrists must +in the follow-through travel in a line parallel with the line of run +to the hole, and they must finish so that the club head is able, at +the finish, to stay over the line of run to the hole. To do this, it +is obvious that the wrists, after impact, must move forward. No true +follow-through in the put can be obtained from stationary wrists. This +may sound a little complicated. As a matter of fact it is nothing of +the sort, and the action is very simple, very natural, and when +properly played the ball goes very sweetly off the club and with +splendid direction. + +There is one good general rule for regulating the distance which one +should stand from the ball in putting. When one addresses one's ball, +one should be in such a position that the ball is right underneath +one's eyes. To put it so that there can be no possible mistake as to +what I mean, I may say that in most cases the eyes, the ball, and the +hole should form a triangle in a plane at a right angle to the +horizon. Now I know how hard it is for some people to follow a remark +which refers to planes and right angles and horizons, so as this is a +matter of extreme importance, and a matter where many beginners go +absolutely wrong, I shall make it so plain that there is no +possibility of misunderstanding what I mean. + +Let us imagine a large, irregularly shaped triangle with the apex at +the hole. We shall suppose, for the sake of argument, that this +triangle is composed of cardboard, that it is a right-angled triangle, +and that its base is 4' 6" wide. This triangle, then, is laid on the +green so that its base is vertical, and the corner which is remote +from the hole represents the ball, the upper corner of the base being, +of course, the player's eyes. + +I believe this to be a matter of very great importance, for here it +will be seen that we have the eyes, the ball, and the hole all in the +same plane. Some people like putting with very upright putters. For +the purpose of experiment I had a perfectly upright putter made, but +upright putters are, I think, open to this objection--one's body hangs +too far over them, so that at the moment of striking the ball one is +looking inwards towards the ball, for one's head projects beyond the +line of run to the hole for a considerable distance. It will thus be +seen that one is looking down one line to the hole, and putting over +another. Needless to say, this cannot be good for direction. The eye, +the ball, and the hole should undoubtedly be in the same plane, and +that plane at right angles to the horizon. + +As regards the position of the ball in relation to the feet there is +some slight difference of opinion, but generally it may be said that +about midway between the feet is the best position. If anything, the +ball should perhaps be a little nearer to the left foot than to the +right, but this is a matter upon which we cannot lay down any hard and +fast rule. The main point for the player to consider will be how he +can best secure the mechanical results which I have stated as being +the fundamental requisites of good putting. The matter of an inch or +two in his stance, nearer the hole or farther from it, is not of very +great importance compared with this. Some players have an idea that +they can secure a better run on their ball when putting by turning +over their wrists at the moment of impact. This is one of the most +dangerous fallacies which it is possible to conceive. The idea is +absolutely and fundamentally erroneous. + +If one desires to put any run on one's ball more than is obtained by +the method of striking it which I have stated, it is always open to +one to play the put a little after the club has reached the lowest +point in its swing,--that is to say, as the putter is ascending, but +this is practically unnecessary. If one requires a little more run on +the ball it is best obtained by making the stroke a little stronger. +Any attempt whatever to do anything by altering the angle of the face +of the club during impact is utterly beyond the realm of practical +golf. + +There are many refinements in the art of putting which go somewhat +beyond the fundamental principles laid down in this chapter, in that +they call for cut of a particular kind; but for about ninety-five per +cent of the puts which one has to play, practically nothing more need +be known by the golfer than is here set out. + +I am not here going to describe the method in which one cuts round a +stymie, for I have done that very fully elsewhere; and, moreover, this +does not so completely come within the scope of this work, for it +enters much more into the region of practical stroke play than do the +matters which I have treated of and which I intend to treat of in this +book. + +There is, however, one stroke which is played on the putting-green, +yet is not truly, of course, a put. It is a stroke which I myself +introduced into the game several years ago. This is the stroke which +is now known as the Vaile Stymie Stroke. It is unique among golf +strokes in that it is not an arc. Every known golf stroke before I +introduced this stroke into the game was an arc of a more or less +irregular shape, but it was an arc. The essence of my stroke is that +it is produced in practically a straight line. For all ordinary +stymies it is without doubt the most delicate and accurate stroke +which can possibly be played, and the manner of playing it, after a +golfer has once conquered the force of habit which tends to make him +raise his club from the earth immediately he leaves his ball, is very +simple. The mashie is drawn back from the ball in a perfectly straight +line, and with the sole of it practically brushing, or no more than +just clearing the green. It is then moved sharply forward, but instead +of coming up with the ball after it has hit it, it passes clean +forward down the intended line of flight in a perfectly horizontal +line, provided always, of course, that the green is level, so that it +finishes some inches down the line to the hole and practically +touching the green. No attempt must be made to strike the ball or to +take turf. The idea in one's mind should be to divide the ball from +the green with the front edge of the sole. + +Many mashies are not suitable for this shot, because the sole is not +cut away enough on the back edge, as indeed the sole of every mashie +should be; so it will frequently be found that the best club for +negotiating stymies is the niblick, for its sole being cut away so +much enables the front edge of the club to get well in underneath the +ball. This is a matter of the very greatest importance in playing +stymies, for the simple reason that it enables the player to put so +much more of his force into elevation than is possible when the front +edge of his mashie is cocked up, as it frequently is, by the breadth +of the sole of the mashie; for in many cases when one is trying to +play a stymie the rear edge of the sole of the club makes contact with +the green first and tilts up the front edge, so that it is at least a +quarter of an inch higher than it should be, and instead of striking +the ball almost at the point where it is resting on the turf, it gets +it fully a quarter of an inch to half an inch higher up. The +consequence of this is that too much of the force of the blow goes +into propulsion instead of elevation. + +This means that if the stymie is close to the hole and there is only a +very short run after the ball has got over the obstacle, the player +invariably finds that with his imperfectly constructed mashie he +cannot put enough stop on the ball, nor play the shot delicately +enough to give it a chance to get into the hole, because the run is in +many cases far too strong. Every golfer who desires to play a stymie +well should see to it that he has a mashie with a very fine front +edge, and that the sole is not flat in any part, but begins to curve +away immediately it leaves the front edge. With the mashie constructed +on these lines all ordinary stymies absolutely lose their terror if +the shot is played as described. + +The delicacy and accuracy of this stroke are remarkable. The direction +is an astonishing illustration of the importance of the rule for +putting which I have laid down, of keeping the front edge of the +putter at a right angle to the line of run to the hole, both before +and after impact. As the whole essence of playing this stymie stroke +correctly consists of the straight movement of the face of the club +sharply down the intended line of flight and run to the hole, the +wrists have naturally to follow the head of the club in a line +parallel with that made by the head of the club, and so accurate is +the result that in any ordinary stymie if a wire were stuck on the top +of the intervening ball, I would guarantee to hit the wire every time. + +This stroke was a revelation to me of the importance of the principles +which I am now enunciating, although, of course, I was well aware of +their soundness before I discovered this stroke. + +The usefulness of this stroke is not confined merely to playing +stymies, but it makes a magnificent and accurate chip shot; or if one +has a bad portion of green to put over one can, with this stroke, rely +upon going as straight through the air as one can in the ordinary +course over the green. + +Lest anyone should think that this is merely a theoretical stroke, let +me tell how I came to introduce it into the game of golf. I had used +the stroke myself for some time. One afternoon I was in the shop of +George Duncan, the famous young Hanger Hill professional. It was +raining heavily, and to pass the time I was knocking a ball about on +the mat. Presently I set up a stymie and said to Duncan: + +"Show me how you play your stymie, George." + +"Oh, just in the usual way," said Duncan. + +"Well, show me," I said. + +Duncan took his mashie and played the stymie shot perfectly, "just in +the usual way." + +"There is a much better way of playing a stymie than that," I said, +and I set up the shot and showed Duncan how I played it by my method. +Very few people can give George Duncan any points with the mashie. He +got hold of the stroke at once, and he would hardly wait for the rain +to stop before he went out on to the green to try it there. He plays +the shot perfectly now, and maintains, as indeed I show in _Modern +Golf_, that there is no stymie stroke to compare with it, and of that +I have myself absolutely no doubt. In fact, so accurate is the stroke +that if I found myself badly off my game with my putter, I should take +my mashie and play this stroke, for as regards the fundamental +principle of putting it is a wealth of instruction in itself. + +Cutting round a stymie is nearly always included in the chapter on +putting, but it is practically always a mashie stroke, and in the +majority of cases is a very short pitch with a large amount of cut. On +account of the loft of the mashie the club gets well in underneath the +ball, and as the head of the club at the moment of impact is +travelling in a line which runs at a fairly sharp angle across the +intended line of flight and run of the ball it imparts a strong _side +roll_ to the ball. The cut on a golf ball in such a stroke as I am now +describing resembles almost exactly the off-break spin in cricket. +This means that the ball has a strong side-spin, so that the moment it +hits the earth it endeavours to roll sideways, but the force of +propulsion fights this tendency, and the resulting compromise is a +curve which enables the ball to get round the intervening obstacle, +and, if the stroke is well executed, to find the hole. + +Almost all golf books instruct the player wrongly about this stroke. +He is told to draw his hands in towards him at the moment of impact, +and in some cases, even where the author calls his book _Practical +Golf_, he is told to draw his hands in after impact. Both of these +instructions are utterly wrong. There must be no conscious drawing in +of the hands at the moment when one is trying to cut a put. All the +cut must be done by the natural swing of the club across the intended +line of run of the ball: in other words, the cut is a continuous +process from the time that the club begins its swing until the time +that it ends it. The fact that the ball is in the way of the face of +the club as it crosses the intended line of run to the hole may be +said to be merely an incident in the passage of the club head. Any +attempt whatever to interfere with the natural swing of the club or to +juggle with the ball during impact, or, more futile still, after +impact, must result in irretrievably ruining the stroke. + +The stymie shot which I have described will also be found of use a +little farther from the green, and by means of it an excellent run-up +shot, with most accurate direction, can be played. There is another +way of negotiating a stymie which I have never seen described. It is +pulling round a stymie. It will be obvious to any one acquainted with +the game that cutting round a stymie is merely another form of slice; +although of course the run of the ball is obtained in a different +manner from the curve of the slice in the air, yet the method of +production of the stroke is practically similar. So is it with pulling +a put. There is no doubt that this can be done; but I think there is +also no doubt that it is the most difficult method of negotiating a +stymie which there is. The stroke is played, to all intents and +purposes, as is the pulled drive. Some people imagine that it may be +obtained by turning over the wrist at the moment of impact. This is +quite an error, and is absolutely destructive of accuracy. As, in the +cut put, the head of the club is travelling from outside the line +across it, towards the player's side of the line at the moment of +impact, so, in the pull, the head of the club must be travelling from +the player's side of the line across and away to the far side of the +line at the moment of impact. That is the secret of the pull either in +the drive or the put. + +I cannot refrain from quoting Vardon again. He says on page 148: + + There should be no sharp hit and no jerk in the swing, which + should have the even gentle motion of a pendulum. In the + backward swing, the length of which, as in all other strokes + in golf, is regulated by the distance it is desired to make + the ball travel, the head of the putter should be kept + exactly in the line of the putt. Accuracy will be impossible + if it is brought round at all. There should be a short + follow-through after impact, varying, of course, according to + the length of the putt. In the case of a long one, the club + will go through much further, and then the arms would + naturally be more extended. + +This is wisdom as regards the put. There can be no doubt whatever +about this being practical golf of the highest order, but Vardon +rather spoils it by the following sentence in which he says, "In the +follow-through the putter should be kept well down, the bottom edge +scraping the edge of the grass for some inches." + +Now, if that means anything at all, it means that although Vardon's +conception of the put and its execution in many ways is excellent, yet +he has been making for years the error which made James Braid a bad +putter--in other words, he has been putting with drag. It is well +known that for a very long time Vardon's weakness was his putting; and +I firmly believe that the secret of his bad putting was this low +follow-through with his put. I think that Vardon's follow-through in +his put is now not so low as it was, and the consequence is that his +putting has improved. + +Vardon continues: + + It is easy to understand how much more this course of + procedure will tend towards the accuracy and delicacy of the + stroke than the reverse method, in which the blade of the + putter would be cocked up as soon as the ball had left it. + +What is more natural, then, than that the blade of the putter should +be cocked up immediately after the ball has left it? That is exactly +what should happen in the perfectly played put. Vardon has already +told us that the put is to be played with the "even gentle motion of a +pendulum." Let us suppose for a moment that it was the weight of the +pendulum turned side-wise which had struck the golf ball. It stands to +reason that immediately the weight, which in this case answers to the +face of the golf club, has struck the ball and sent it on its way to +the hole, the face begins to "be cocked up." + +Vardon here makes a totally erroneous claim. He claims greater +delicacy and accuracy for the put played with drag as against that +played as Braid now plays his puts. There can be no shadow of doubt +that the put played with drag, or with a low follow-through "scraping +the top of the grass for some inches," partakes much more of the +nature of a tap than does the put which is played with top or a +perfectly horizontal blow. If Vardon has not completely realised this, +as I think he has, he will, ere long, do so, as James Braid already +has done. + +I need not here deal with complicated puts; that is to say, puts of +such a nature that one has to traverse one, two, or more slopes on +the way to the hole. These puts do not, in themselves, contain any of +the fundamental principles of golf. Each one stands entirely by +itself, and these are absolutely matters in which nothing but practice +on the green can be of any use. It will be obvious to any schoolboy +that if he has to run across five little hills on his way to the hole, +and that three of these slant one way and two the other; and if we say +for the sake of example that they are all practically equal in their +width and slope, that it will be a case of four of them cancelling out +on the good old plus and minus system of our schoolboy days, and we +shall then be left practically to calculate how much we will have to +allow for putting across the incline of one slope. This is not a case +which I should think of giving myself. I merely give it because I came +across such an illustration given in a book which is supposed to cater +for those who desire the higher knowledge of golf, but as a matter of +practical golf these situations but seldom occur. + +Allowing for the drop in a green when one is putting across the slope, +requires a lot of practice, and is most absolutely and emphatically +not a thing that can be learned in an arm-chair, or in any golf +school. It must be learned on the green itself. + +Although James Braid has remodelled his putting with such success, he +still, to a certain extent, clings to his own idea of putting with +drag. On page 154 of _Advanced Golf_ he says: + + For general use I am a strong believer in a putter having + just a little loft. I know that some players like one with a + perfectly straight face which does not impart the slightest + drag to the ball, their theory being that such putters are + capable of more delicate work than others, and that the ball + answers more readily to the most delicate tap from them. + There may be considerable truth in this, though, obviously, + great skill and confidence on the part of the player are + taken for granted. + +And again he says: + + The strength of long putts can generally be more accurately + regulated with a lofted putter than with a straight-faced + one. + +He continues: + + This is the kind of putter that I might recommend for what + might be called a medium or average green, if there can be + said to be such a thing; but I wish to point out that the + putter that is the best suited to such a green is not so well + suited to either a very fast green or a very slow one, and + that in each of the latter cases the club best adapted to the + circumstances is one with considerably more loft on it. + +On page 56 he says: + + Now in both these cases, when the greens are very slow and + when they are extremely fast, the best putter for them is one + with very considerable loft on the face, and it will often be + found that there is nothing better than a fairly + straight-faced iron, or an ordinary cleek, if it is big + enough in the face to suit the player. With this club and its + great dragging power, the effect seems to be practically to + reduce the distance between the ball and the hole. Such is + the drag that the ball is simply pushed over a considerable + part of the way, and it is only when it is quite near to the + hole that it begins, as it were, to run in the usual way. The + fact is that for the first part of the journey the ball does + not revolve regularly upon its axis, as it does when + approaching the hole, but simply skates over the turf, and it + will be found that with a little practice the point at which + it will stop skating can be determined with very considerable + exactness. When it does so stop there is still so much drag + on it that it is very quickly brought to a standstill. Thus + in both cases, of the very fast and the very slow green, the + ball can be played without fear right up to the hole when the + putter is so well lofted as I have recommended. + +Here we are told that the ball "simply skates over the turf." As I +have shown before, this is one of the greatest fallacies in golf. It +is impossible to obtain any results by drag in a long put, which are +not better obtained by simply rolling the ball up. Braid says that +"with a little practice the point at which it will stop skating can be +determined with very considerable exactness," and he goes on to say +that "when it does so stop there is still so much drag on it that it +is very quickly brought to a standstill." + +This is obviously nonsense. It is the drag on the ball which makes it +do any skating which may take place. It is obvious that when the +skating has ceased the drag has stopped exerting its influence. How, +then, is it going to stop the ball from rolling in a natural manner? + +We see here the mistake of importing into golf the well-known +phenomena of billiards, but one would have thought that the experience +of the billiard-table would have been sufficient to show the fallacy +of this statement. The billiard player uses drag to enable him to play +his ball fast and accurately, and there is no doubt that by means of +this drag he does obtain very considerable accuracy, but directly the +ball has ceased to "skate" he knows that that is the time when the +drag has entirely departed from it, and that the momentum has +conquered the friction caused by the back-spin; in other words, the +drag having accomplished its work has gone out of business, and all +the run that is on the ball is derived from the remains of the +momentum imparted to it. + +I cannot say too emphatically that in my opinion this idea of putting +with drag, or with any club having a loft more than that which barely +enables one to see the face of it when it is properly soled, is +dangerous and calculated to produce bad putting on the part of anyone +who attempts it, even as it did in the case of James Braid himself. + +There is one remark which James Braid makes about stymies which I +should like to refer to here. Braid says: "Given complete confidence, +the successful negotiation of a stymie is a much less difficult matter +than it is imagined to be, though in the nature of things it can never +be very easy." I must say that I differ entirely from Braid in this +respect. I maintain that in the nature of things most ordinary +stymies, when played in the manner which I advocate, are very easy. +The difficulty of the stymie, provided one's club is properly +built--and later on I shall refer to the construction of the +mashie--is much exaggerated. Eight of ten stymies should present no +more difficulty than an ordinary put. The only time a stymie should +present a difficulty to the golfer is when the intervening ball is +much nearer to the hole than to the ball which is stymied, so that the +force required to get over the obstacle is so much that the player, +after landing on the far side of the stymie, has too much power in his +ball to give it a chance to settle in the hole, but even such a stymie +as this may, if the ground be suitable, be overcome by lofting one's +ball so as to drop on the hither side of the stymie, bound over it on +its first bound, and continue on its way to the hole. This, probably, +is one of the most difficult ways of negotiating a stymie; but as +showing that it is eminently a matter of practical golf, I may say +that I was illustrating the shot one day to a man who had practically +just started golf. I showed him how to obtain the shot, and he did it +at his first attempt. I advised him not to try again that day. + +Braid continues: + + I need not say that the pitching method is only + practicable--and then it is generally the only shot that is + practicable--when both balls are near the hole, and are so + situated in relation to each other and to the hole that the + ball can reach the latter as the result of such a stroke as + enabled it to clear the opponent's ball. + +Braid is, I think, referring to a clean pitch into the hole, although +the photograph leaves this open to doubt. The pitching method is +practicable when one is stymied in almost any position on the green, +provided always, as I have said, that one has any chance whatever of +pulling up in time to get into the hole after having got over the +stymie. Let me give an example:--Supposing my ball were fifteen yards +from the hole, that the green was absolutely level, and that I had a +stymie ten inches or ten feet in front of me. I should not hesitate +for a moment to use the shot which I have described as the best stymie +stroke in the game. The ball in front of me, so far from being an +obstruction, or in any way whatever putting me off, would, if +anything, serve as a good line to the hole. I am aware that to many +golfers who do not know this stroke, and comparatively few do, this +will sound like exaggeration. I am prepared at any time to demonstrate +the practical nature of what I am writing to any one of my readers who +cannot obtain the results which I get with this stroke. + +At the time that I introduced this stroke there was much controversy +about it, and it was claimed that it was not a new stroke, but that it +was exactly the same as the stroke played by all golfers when stymied. +This, however, is quite an error. Speaking of the stymie shot, James +Braid says + + ... it is just an ordinary chip up, with a clean and quick + rise, the fact being remembered that the green must not be + damaged. To spare the latter the swing back should be low + down and near to the surface, which will check the tendency + to dig. The thing that will ensure the success of the shot, + so far as the quick and clean rise is concerned--and often + enough success depends entirely upon that--is the + follow-through. Generally, if the club is taken through + easily and cleanly, all will be well. + +It is obvious from this description that the stroke in Braid's mind is +totally different from my stymie stroke. With the stroke as I play it, +it is an absolute impossibility to "dig" into the green. One has no +need to have any anxiety whatever about the green, for as the club +travels parallel with the surface of the green all the time, it is +obvious that no damage can ensue. If there is any deflection whatever +from the straight line, it would be at the moment of impact, but even +here it stands to reason that there is practically no deflection +whatever; for even in a stroke played, relatively speaking, so slowly +as is this shot, any alteration of the line of the stroke after it has +once been decided upon, is quite improbable, but the dominant idea in +the player's mind must be to insert the front edge of his mashie +between the ball and the grass, and above everything to keep his +follow-through as straight and as low along the surface of the green +as was his swing back. It is this straight and low follow-through +which gives the ball its "quick and clean rise," as Braid calls it. +Curiously enough, the follow-through which Braid shows for his stymie +shot, wherein the head of the club is raised from the green, will not +give anything like so quick a rise or such delicacy of touch as will +the stroke played in the manner which I have described, and, above +everything, with the very low follow-through insisted upon by me. + + [Illustration: PLATE IV. HARRY VARDON + + At the top of his swing in the drive. This is a fine + illustration of Vardon's perfect management of his weight, + which is mainly on his left foot. Observe carefully the + wrists, which are in the best possible position to develop + power.] + +I may mention that George Duncan never uses any other stroke than this +when playing a short stymie. Indeed, he went so far as to say, when I +was having him photographed for my illustrations in _Modern Golf_, +that it was useless to take any exposures of the ordinary stymie shot, +for the stroke introduced and described by me had practically put it +out of the game. + +Speaking of cutting round a stymie, James Braid says: "Whichever way I +wish to make the ball curl, either round the other ball from the +left-hand side, or from the right, I hit my own with the toe of the +club, drawing the club towards me in the former case so as to make a +slice, and holding the face of it at an angle--toe nearer the hole +than the heel--in the latter, in order to produce a hook." And he +adds: "You cannot do anything by hitting the ball with the heel of +your putter," to which I would rejoin, nor can you do anything by +hitting the ball with the toe of your putter, that you cannot do +better by hitting it absolutely in the middle, which is the only +proper part wherewith to hit a golf ball. + +In the illustrations Braid is shown cutting the put with an aluminium +club. One has no more chance of cutting round a stymie with a club of +this nature than one would have with a bar of soap, for the simple +reason that on account of the breadth of its sole--for if it be not an +aluminium club, it is at least shaped on the same lines--it is +impossible to get the face of the club sufficiently underneath the +ball for the loft to get to work so as to impart that side roll which +is of the essence of cutting round. Braid says at page 171: "But +remember that you can never get any work on the ball if the green is +stiff." Now if this is so, I should like to know what use there is in +attempting to put with drag? + +I quite agree with Braid that it is practically impossible to get any +work whatever on the ball with the club he is shown using. With such a +club it would be still more difficult, if not absolutely impossible, +to obtain any appreciable drag, but if, as Braid says, "you can never +get any work on the ball when the green is stiff," how can he advise +one to attempt to put with drag on a stiff green? To my mind this is +absolutely bad and misleading advice. + +In my chapter on the "Construction of Clubs" it will be seen that I +advocate a short putter for short puts. In _Advanced Golf_ James Braid +has some interesting things to say about gripping low down. He says: + + Many golfers grip very low down, even half-way between the + leather and the head. If their putting when done this way is + first class, nobody can say anything to them, but if it is + not first class it may be pointed out to them that the system + is absolutely bad. It may be allowed to pass for holing-out + purposes; but for a putt of any length it cannot be good, for + the club is not swung in the ordinary easy manner by which + distance can be so accurately gauged. The ball is more or + less poked along. When a man putts in this way he is putting + largely by instinct, and even though he may generally putt + well, his work on the greens cannot be thoroughly reliable. + No putting is so good and consistently effective as is that + which is done with a gentle even swing, which can be + regulated to a nicety, and such putting is only possible when + there is enough shaft left below the grip to swing with. + +I am quite in accord with what James Braid says about this method of +putting, and I do not for one moment think that the short grip should +be used for approach puts, but I am sure the nearer one gets to the +hole the closer one should get down to the ball. Braid deals further +on with the question of shortening one's putter. He says: + + As to the length of the shaft, many players, because they + find that they always grip their putters a foot or so from + the end of it, proceed in due course to have the best part of + that foot cut off, or in purchasing a new putter they have + the shaft cut very short. Are they quite satisfied that it is + not better to have a fair amount of shaft projecting up above + the place where they grip when that place is very low down? + +The answer to this is that in many cases the wood which projects above +the grip is very much in the way of true putting. Any golfer who is +foolish enough to cut anything like a foot off any club without any +compensation to the head in the way of balance must be expected to pay +the penalty for his ignorance, and anyone having a club constructed +for him on such a principle, or, rather, want of principle, will +inevitably pay for it. Braid goes on to say: + + Often enough no consideration is given to this point; it is + not imagined that the shaft above the grip can serve any + useful purpose. Yet it is constantly found that a putter cut + down is not the same putter as it was before, not so good, + and has not the same balance; and, again, many players must + have been surprised sometimes, when doing some half-serious + putting practice with a cleek, iron, or driving mashie, each + club with its long shaft, to find out what wonderfully + accurate work could be done in this way. The inference from + all experience, having theoretical principle to back it, is + that the top or spare part of the shaft acts as a kind of + balance when the putter is gripped low down, and tends + materially to a more delicate touch and to true hitting of + the ball. A very little reflection will lead the reader to + believe that this is so, and in some cases it may lead him + towards a revision of his present methods. + +Personally, I should not think that even "a very little reflection" +would be necessary to induce anyone to believe that the top part of +the shaft acts "as a kind of balance" when the putter is gripped low +down, but it is quite obvious that it is possible to build a putter, +let us say, for the sake of example, two-thirds of the length of an +ordinary putter, which is just as perfectly balanced as the long +club. This is not any question of theory--it is a matter of absolutely +proved and tried practice in golf. One may have a perfect putter which +will be ruined by taking a few inches off the shaft. The balance of +that putter is probably irrevocably destroyed, unless, perchance, the +owner is lucky in adding weight to the head in some way, but dealing +with a putter like this is tricky work for one who does not understand +it. The main point in connection with this matter of Braid's, which I +have quoted, is that he gives a kind of qualified approval to the idea +of the short putter for short puts. Personally, I think it is the +soundest of sound golf, and I am inclined to think that before many +years we shall see the shorter clubs used in their proper place when +their value is more clearly understood. + +Vardon has some very interesting things to say in his book, _The +Complete Golfer_, on "Complicated Putts," while dealing with what he +calls "one of the most difficult of all putts--that in which there is +a more or less pronounced slope from one side or the other, or a +mixture of the two." As he truly says, "In this case it would +obviously be fatal to putt straight at the hole." He continues: "I +have found that most beginners err in being afraid of allowing +sufficiently for the slope"; and I have found that nine champions of +ten make exactly the same error. It is as bad a fault at golf as it is +at bowls to be "narrow," by which, in golf, is meant not to allow +enough for the slope of the green, for it is obvious that if one is +narrow one does not give the hole a chance any more than one does when +one is short; so we may add to the stock maxim in putting "Never up, +never in," another one, which is just as sound, "Never be narrow." + +Vardon goes fully into the general principles underlying these +complicated puts, but as I have already indicated, this is +unquestionably a matter which can only be settled by practice on the +green; but he also goes into the question of the manner in which the +stroke should be played, and here we have a subject which legitimately +comes within the scope of this work. He continues: + + But there are times when a little artifice may be resorted + to, particularly in the matter of applying a little cut to + the ball. There is a good deal of billiards in putting, and + the cut stroke on the green is essentially one which the + billiard player will delight to practise, but I warn all + those who are not already expert at cutting with the putter + to make themselves masters of the stroke in private practice + before they attempt it in a match, because it is by no means + easy to acquire. The chief difficulty which the golf student + will encounter in attempting it will be to put the cut on as + he desires, and at the same time to play the ball with the + proper strength and keep on the proper line. It is easy + enough to cut the ball, but it is most difficult, at first at + all events, to cut it and putt it properly at the same time. + For the application of cut, turn the toe of the putter + slightly outwards and away from the hole, and see that the + face of the club is kept to this angle all the way through + the stroke. Swing just a trifle away from the straight line + outwards, and the moment you come back on to the ball draw + the club sharply across it. It is evident that this movement, + when properly executed, will give to the ball a rotary + motion, which on a perfectly level green would tend to make + it run slightly off to the right of the straight line along + which it was aimed. + +There are one or two points in this statement which are of very great +importance. Vardon says: "For the application of cut turn the toe +slightly outwards and away from the hole, and see that the face of the +club is kept to this angle all the way through the stroke." This is +absolutely unsound golf, for Vardon is advising his reader to play the +put with the toe of the putter slightly outwards and away from the +hole. It stands to reason that following this advice will put the face +of the club in such a position that at the moment of impact it will be +impossible for it to be at a right angle to the intended line of run +to the hole, and this rule is, for all purposes of practical golf, +invariable. It is obvious that coming on to the ball in the manner +suggested must tend to push it away to the right--that is to say, it +would have a strong tendency to go away to the right from the very +moment of impact, which is not what is generally wanted in a good put; +also playing the put in this manner tends quite naturally to decrease +the amount of cut put on it. The idea that cut mashie shots and cut +puts are played in this manner has arisen from the fact that very +frequently the golfer addresses the ball with the toe of his club laid +back a little, but by the time he has come on to the ball again he has +corrected this. In many cases, if it were not for laying the toe of +the club back a little in this manner, golfers would be inclined, +although as a matter of strict and accurate golf they should not be, +to drag the ball across towards the left of the hole. + +Vardon says: "Swing just a trifle away from the straight line +outwards, and the moment you come back on to the ball draw the club +sharply across it." Now here again we see this outstanding error of +practically every man who ever put pen to paper to write about golf, +which is that in producing the cut, whether it be in a put or a sliced +drive, something is done intentionally to the ball during the period +in which the ball and the club are in contact. This is absolutely +wrong. I have explained before that the cut put, and indeed all cut +strokes at golf, are produced by the club swinging across the intended +line of flight or run at the moment of impact, and the amount of cut +depends entirely upon the angle and the speed at which the club head +is travelling across the intended line of flight or run. It is obvious +that the amount of cut must also, to a certain extent, depend on the +amount of loft of the club, for the greater the loft of the club the +greater assistance will the golfer who is applying the cut obtain from +the weight of the ball. + +Vardon goes on to say: "It is evident that this movement, when +properly executed, will give to the ball a rotary motion, which on a +perfectly level green would tend to make it run slightly off to the +right of the straight line along which it was aimed"; but as I have +already shown, the unfortunate part of it is that a put so played +would not go down the straight line which every golfer desires that +his put shall go on; nor indeed on anything like it. + +Also it is a delusion that it is possible with any of the ordinary +putters to obtain a cut of a sufficiently pronounced degree to remain +on the ball, especially on the bramble balls, for any appreciable +distance. Vardon supposes a case of a steep but even slope all the way +from the ball to the hole, and he gives instructions as to how to put +across this slope with cut so as to hold the ball up against the +slope. He says: + + But we may borrow from the slope in another way than by + running straight up it and straight down again. If we put cut + on the ball, it will of itself be fighting against the hill + the whole way, and though if the angle is at all pronounced + it may not be able to contend against it without any extra + borrow, much less will be required than in the case of the + simple putt up the hill and down again. + +In the first place, I may remark that we do not generally borrow from +a slope "by running straight up it and straight down again." The path +of the ball is generally, almost from the time it is hit, a curve, and +a gradual curve, in which one sees to it that the ball is at its +farthest from the straight line to the hole somewhere about midway to +the hole. But this idea of putting cut on the ball with a putter, +which is sufficient to hold the ball up against the hill for any +appreciable distance, is practically a delusion. I can easily +understand that if Vardon plays the cut put as he himself directs it +to be played, that he thinks that cut administered to a ball by an +ordinary putter may have a very great effect in holding the ball up +against the side of a hill for a considerable distance, but this +really is not so. Putting, however, as Vardon instructs one to put for +obtaining cut, would in itself punch the ball up against the slope of +the hill, and I can easily believe that anybody who plays the put like +this, thinking that he is obtaining cut by so doing, will be under the +impression that cut is a very useful thing for holding the ball up +against the slope in this manner, whereas he is in effect simply +punching the ball up against the slope--in other words, he is playing +a put, which if the green were perfectly level, would be yards off his +line to the hole and to the right of it. + +Vardon goes on to say: + + Now it must be borne in mind that it is a purely artificial + force, as it were, that keeps the ball from running down the + slope, and as soon as the run on the ball is being exhausted + and the spin at the same time, the tendency will be, not for + the ball to run gradually down the slope--as it did in the + case of the simple putt without cut--but to surrender to it + completely and run almost straight down. + +There is a fundamental error here, for Vardon states that practically +the spin on the put and the run on the ball will be exhausted at the +same time, but it is an utter impossibility to calculate with any +exactness whatever as to what happens in such a case. Vardon knows no +more about it than any other golfer, and all that any golfer knows +about this is extremely little, so that to advise anyone to attempt to +hold his ball up against a slope by the application of cut with any +ordinary putter, particularly a broad-soled putter, is to invite him +to play his shot blindfolded. + +Vardon does not mention the length of the put which he considers it +possible to play with this cut, but in his diagram he shows a put +which would conceivably be quite a long put, let us say for the sake +of argument fifteen or sixteen feet, but the theory would be just as +bad if it were much less. He says: + + Our plan of campaign is now indicated. Instead of going a + long way up the hill out of our straight line and having a + very vague idea of what is going to be the end of it all, we + will neutralise the end of the slope as far as possible by + using the cut and aim to a point much lower down the + hill--how much lower can only be determined with knowledge of + the particular circumstances, and after the golfer has + thoroughly practised the stroke and knows what he can do with + it. And instead of settling on a point half-way along the + line of the putt as the highest that the ball shall reach, + this summit of the ascent will now be very much nearer the + hole, quite close to it in fact. We putt up to this point + with all the spin we can get on the ball, and when it reaches + it, the forward motion and the rotation die away at the same + time, and the ball drops away down the hill, and, as we hope, + into the hole that is waiting for it close by. + +Vardon may well say "as we hope," for the put described by him has no +more chance of being brought off on a putting-green than Vardon has of +winning another open championship from an aeroplane. To speak of +putting a ball in this manner, and treating it with such magic that +when it gets up by the hole the forward motion and the rotation die +away at the same time, is not practical golf, but absolute moonshine, +for it would be an utter impossibility to persuade any golf ball which +has ever been made to receive from any known form of golf club +sufficient cut to make it behave in the manner described. The theory +of the thing on paper is to a very great extent right, with the +exception that the cut described would require to be obtained by a +club with a much greater loft than any ordinary putter; but it is +evident that putting with putters such as those which Braid or Vardon +use, it would be an utter impossibility to get cut on the ball which +would stay with the ball during a long put and exert much influence in +holding the ball up against any appreciable slope, for with these +putters, which have not much loft, it is evident that any spin +whatever which is imparted to them by drawing the putter across the +line of run at the moment of impact will be mainly about a vertical +axis which is, in effect, the spin of a top. It is evident that as the +ball progresses across the green there will be a very strong effort +indeed on the part of the ball, following its friction on the green, +to wear down this vertical motion and convert it into the ordinary +roll of a naturally hit put. + +Even when one is putting with a highly lofted club and with a +tremendous amount of drag on a perfectly flat green, the drag goes off +the ball in a wonderfully short space of time, and here, of course, +one is using a spin which is analogous to the drag of the billiard +player, for it is pure back-spin which is fighting in the same plane +the forward roll of the golf ball. Therefore it is reasonable to +suppose, and indeed it is undoubted that the ball would be more likely +to retain this pure back-spin for a much longer time than would the +ball with the side-spin imparted by the putter, for the spin which is +imparted by the putter does not directly fight the forward progress of +the ball as it is spinning across the plane of the roll which the ball +desires to take, whereas, as I have before pointed out, the ball +played with drag is absolutely fighting the forward roll of the golf +ball. It therefore would for a very short distance skid over the +putting-green, but those who only theorise about these matters have a +ridiculously exaggerated idea of the influence of drag on the golf +ball. + +I have made it very plain, and I cannot emphasise the matter too +strongly, that any attempt whatever in long puts to use drag or cut of +any kind is to be deprecated. + +There is another matter which Vardon refers to that I should like to +notice here. He says: + + One of the problems which strike most fear into the heart of + the golfer is when his line from the ball to the hole runs + straight down a steep slope and there is some considerable + distance for the ball to travel along a fast green. The + difficulty in such a case is to preserve any control over the + ball after it has left the club, and to make it stop anywhere + near the hole if the green is really so fast and steep as + almost to impart motion of itself. In a case of this sort I + think it generally pays best to hit the ball very nearly upon + the toe of the putter, at the same time making a short, quick + twitch or draw of the club across the ball towards the feet. + Little forward motion will be imparted in this manner, but + there will be a tendency to half lift the ball from the green + at the beginning of its journey, and it will continue its way + to the hole with a lot of drag upon it. It is obvious that + this stroke, to be played properly, will need much practice + in the first place, and judgment afterwards, and I can do + little more than state the principle upon which it should be + made. + +I need hardly do more here than repeat what I have said in the case of +the other puts. Any attempt to jump a ball at the beginning of the +put on a steep, fast green is about as bad a method of starting it as +one could possibly imagine. There is nothing for it but the smooth, +steady roll. Few greens, of course, are so steep that the ball will +run off them unless it has been very violently played, so the ordinary +principles of putting still hold good here--there is one way to play +that put, and that is not from the toe, but from the centre, of the +club, and as straight as may be for the hole, having due regard to the +slope or slopes of the green. Of course, as I have before indicated, +if one is very near to the hole, certainly not more than two to three +feet at the utmost, one may be excused for putting straight at the +hole with drag, because a ball can be made to carry its drag for about +this distance. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE FALLACIES OF GOLF + + +The fallacies of golf, as it has been written, are so numerous and so +grave that it would be impossible to deal with them fully in a +chapter, so I must here content myself with dealing generally with +them, and specifically with a few of the minor mistakes which are so +assiduously circulated by authors of works on golf. I shall take them +as they come, in their natural order. We shall thus have to deal with +them as follows: slow back, the distribution of weight, the sweep, the +power of the left hand and arm, the gradually increasing pace of the +sweep, the action of the wrists, and the follow-through. + +We have then to consider, in the first place, the oft-repeated and +much-abused instruction to go "slow back." The rhythm of many a swing +is utterly spoilt by this advice, for the simple reason that, +generally speaking, it is tremendously overdone. Anyone who has ever +seen George Duncan's swing could surely be excused for thinking that +slow back must be a delusion. It is not, however, given to everybody +to be able to swing with the rapidity and accuracy which characterise +Duncan's wonderful drive. In fact, the most that can be said in favour +of going slowly back is that all that is necessary in the way of +slowness is that the player shall not take his club up to the top of +his swing at such a rate that in his recovery at the top of the swing +he will have any unnecessary force to overcome before he begins his +downward stroke. + +It stands to reason that there must be at the top of the swing a +moment wherein the club is absolutely stationary. The whole object of +slow back is to ensure that at this moment, which is undoubtedly a +critical portion of the swing, there shall be no undue conflict of the +force which brought the club head up to the top of the swing and that +force which the golfer then exerts to start the club on its downward +journey. When this has been said, practically all that need be said +about slow back has been said. + +It is almost a certainty that slow back, as one of what Vardon calls +the parrot cries of the links, has done more to unsettle the drives of +those who follow it, and the tempers of those who follow them, than +any other of the blindly followed fetiches of golf. Let it be +understood then, once and for all, that undue slowness is almost as +great a vice as undue quickness. What the player must, in every case, +strive after is the happy medium. It is an absolute impossibility to +preserve the rhythm of a swing that goes up with the painful slowness +and studied deliberation which we so frequently see as the precursor +of a tremendous foozle. + +Incorporated in this overdone injunction, "slow back," we have the +idea of swinging the club away from the ball. In various places we are +told plainly that the club is not to be lifted away from the ball, but +that it must be swung back, whereas, of course, there can be no doubt +whatever that the club is lifted back, and is started on its journey +by the wrists. + +It is obvious that no swing can be started from the lowest point in an +arc. If, for example, we take the pendulum of a clock which is +hanging motionless, it will be impossible to swing it one way or the +other without lifting it. Equally obvious is it that the golf club +must be lifted away from the ball. + +"As you go up, so you come down" is another revered fallacy. We are +clearly, and probably rightly, instructed, when driving, to take the +club away from the ball in the line to the hole produced through the +ball. + +We do this going back comparatively slowly until we are compelled to +leave the line, or rather the plane, of the ball's flight. So at the +moment of making our first divergence from the straight swing back, we +import into our arc a sudden and pronounced curve. On the return +journey, the downward swing, we travel all the way at express speed. +He would indeed be credulous and unanalytical who could believe that +the arc of the downward swing coincides with that of the upward, when +the upward swing is carried out according to the generally published +theory, which, of course, it generally is not. The theory is only good +in so far as it goes to inculcate the idea of remaining in the line to +the hole both before and after impact as long as possible. + +The next fallacy which we have to deal with is the matter of the +distribution of weight in the drive. Practically every book that has +been published misinforms the golfer on this point, which is a matter +of fundamental importance in the game; in fact, it is of such great +importance that I shall not deal with it fully here, but shall reserve +it for my next chapter wherein I shall give the views of the leading +exponents of the game on this all-important subject, and shall then +show wherein I differ from them. + +Let us consider that we have now arrived at the top of the swing. +Every author of a golf book insists upon the fact that the drive at +golf is a sweep and not a hit. James Braid, in chapter viii. of _How +to Play Golf_, writing of "The Downward Swing," says: + + The chief thing to bear in mind is that there must be, in the + case of play with the driver and the brassie, no attempt to + _hit_ the ball, which must be simply swept from the tee and + carried forward in the even and rapid swing of the club. The + drive in golf differs from almost every other stroke in every + game in which the propulsion of a ball is the object. In the + ordinary sense of the word, implying a sudden and sharp + impact, it is not a "hit" when it is properly done. + +The impact in the golf drive has been measured by one of our most +eminent physicists to occupy one ten-thousandth of a second. I think +we may take this as "implying a sudden and sharp impact." Braid goes +on to say, "when the ball is so 'hit' and the club stops very soon +afterwards, the result is that very little length, comparatively, will +be obtained, and that, moreover, there will be a very small amount of +control over the direction of the ball." + +This might be right, but it seems almost unnecessary to point out that +when a ball has been struck at the amazing speed which such a brief +contact indicates, there is extremely little probability that the club +will stop "very soon afterwards"--in fact, it would be almost a matter +of impossibility to induce a club which had been used for delivering a +blow at the rate which this brief time indicates, to stop very shortly +afterwards. The head of a golf club at the moment of impact with the +golf ball is travelling so rapidly that a camera timed to take +photographs at the rate of one twelve-hundred-and-fiftieth of a +second's exposure, gets for the club head and shaft merely a vague +swish of light, while the ball itself, if it is caught at all, appears +merely to be a section of a sperm candle, so rapid is its motion. I +am speaking now of a photograph taken at this extremely rapid rate +when the photographer is facing the golfer who is making the stroke, +but so rapid is the departure of the ball from the club that even when +the photographer is standing in a straight line directly behind the +player, the ball still presents the appearance of a white bar. + +It should then be sufficiently obvious to anyone that so far as +regards the stroke "implying a sudden and sharp impact," the golf +stroke, probably of all strokes played in athletics, is, at the moment +of impact, incomparably the most rapid. It has, therefore, always +seemed to me a matter for wonder to read that this stroke is a sweep +and not a hit. + +Braid here says one thing which is of outstanding importance as +exploding another well-known fallacy. It is as follows: + + While it is, of course, in the highest degree necessary that + the ball should be taken in exactly the right place on the + club and in the right manner, this will have to be done by + the proper regulation of all the other parts of the swing, + and any effort to direct the club on to it in a particular + manner just as the ball is being reached, cannot be attended + by success. + +This is so important that I must pause here to emphasise it, because +we are frequently told, and even Braid himself, as I shall show later +on, has made the same mistake, that certain things are done during +impact, by the intention of the player during that brief period, in +order to influence the flight of the ball. There can be no greater +fallacy in golf than this. No human being is capable of thinking of +anything which he can do in this minute fraction of time, nor even if +he could think of what he wished to do, would it be possible for his +muscles to respond to the command issued by his mind. + +To emphasise this, I must quote from the same book and the same page +again. Braid says: + + If the ball is taken by the toe or heel of the club, or is + topped, or if the club gets too much under it, the remedy for + these faults is not to be found in a more deliberate + directing of the club on to the ball just as the two are + about to come into contact, but in the better and more exact + regulation of the swing the whole way through up to this + point. + +That is the important part in connection with this statement of +Braid's. Many a person ruins a stroke, as, for instance, in +endeavouring to turn over the face of the putter during the moment of +impact, through following, in complete ignorance, the teaching of +those who should know better, and they then blame themselves for their +want of timing in trying to execute an impossibility, whereas the +remedy is, as Braid says, not in trying to do anything during the +moment of impact "but in the better and more exact regulation of the +swing the whole way through up to this point." + +Braid is here speaking of the drive, but what applies to the drive +applies to every stroke in the game, with practically equal force. He +continues: + + The object of these remarks is merely to emphasise again, in + the best place, that the despatching of the ball from the tee + by the driver, in the downward swing, is merely an incident + of the whole business. + +"Merely an incident of the whole business." It is impossible to +emphasise this point too much. The speed of the drive at golf is so +great that the path of the club's head has been predetermined long +before it reaches the ball, so that, as I have frequently pointed out +in the same words which Braid uses in this book, the contact between +the head of the club and the ball may be looked upon as merely an +incident in the travel of the club in that arc which it describes. + +The outstanding truth of this statement will be more apparent when we +come to deal with the master strokes of the game. Braid's remarks here +are so interesting that I must quote him again: + + The player, in making the down movement, must not be so + particular to see while doing it that he hits the ball + properly, as that he makes the swing properly and finishes it + well, for--and this signifies the truth of what I have been + saying--the success of the drive is not only made by what has + gone before, but it is also due largely to the course taken + by the club after the ball has been hit. + +In this paragraph Braid is making a fallacious statement. It will be +quite obvious to a very mean understanding that nothing which the club +does after it has hit the ball and sent it on its way, can have any +possible effect upon the ball, and, therefore, that the success of the +drive cannot possibly in any way be "due largely to the course taken +by the club after the ball has been hit." The success of the stroke +must, of course, be due entirely to the course taken by the club head +prior to and at the moment of impact. What Braid would mean to +express, no doubt, is that if the stroke has been perfectly played, it +is practically a certainty that what takes place after the ball has +gone, will be executed in good form. + +I have frequently seen misguided players practising their +follow-through without swinging properly, whereas it is, of course, +obvious that a follow-through is of no earthly importance whatever +except as the natural result of a well-played stroke; and provided +that the first half of the stroke was properly produced, it is as +certain as anything can be that the second half will be almost +equally good, but it is certain that nothing which the club does after +contact with the ball has ceased can possibly influence the flight or +run of the ball. It is, for instance, obvious that if a man has played +a good straight drive clean down the middle of the fair-way, his +follow-through cannot be the follow-through of a slice, because the +pace at which he struck that ball must make his club head go out down +the line after the ball. Similarly, if a man has played a sliced +stroke, it stands to reason that after the ball had left his club, his +club head could not, by any possible stretch of imagination, follow +down a straight line to the hole. + +These things are so obvious to anyone who is acquainted with the +simplest principles of mechanics that it is strange to see them stated +in the fallacious manner in which Braid puts them forth. Braid here +says: + + The initiative in bringing down the club is taken by the left + wrist, and the club is then brought forward rapidly and with + an even acceleration of pace until the club head is about a + couple of feet from the ball. + +Now here we see that Braid subscribes to the idea of "the even +acceleration of pace," but it will be remembered that in a previous +chapter I quoted him as saying that there must be no idea of gaining +speed gradually; that one must be "hard at it from the very top, and +the harder you start the greater will be the momentum of the club when +the ball is reached." Here there is no notion whatever of even +acceleration of pace. It is to get the most one can from the absolute +instant of starting, but notwithstanding this, Braid tells us on page +57 of _How to Play Golf_: "When the ball has been swept from the tee, +the arms should, to a certain extent, be flung out after it." + +We observe here that Braid speaks of the ball as having been "swept +from the tee," notwithstanding that in _Advanced Golf_ at page 58 we +read: "But when he has got all his movements right, when his timing is +correct, and when he has absolute confidence that all is well, the +harder he _hits_, the better." I have italicised the word "hits." + +Now here we have the practical golf of the drive, and I cannot do +better, in disposing of the fetich of the sweep, than re-echo Braid's +words that for a golfer who wants to get a good drive, when he has +everything else right, "the harder he hits the better." + +As a matter of simple practical golf, provided always that a golfer +executes his stroke in good form, it is impossible for him to hit too +hard. This amazing fallacy of the sweep ruins innumerable drives, and +renders many a golfer, who would possibly otherwise play a decent +game, merely an object of ridicule to his more fortunate +fellow-players who know that the golf drive is a hit--a very palpable +hit--and not in any sense of the word a sweep. + +Taylor also subscribes to the fetich of the sweep. At page 186 of +_Taylor on Golf_ he says: + + In making a stroke in golf the beginner must feel sure that + the correct method of playing is not the making of a hit--as + such a performance is understood--but the effort of making a + sweep. This is an all-important thing, and unless a player + thoroughly understands that he must play in this style I + cannot say I think the chance of his ultimate success is a + very great one; it is an absolute necessity this sweep, and I + cannot lay too much stress upon it. + +He continues: + + As a more practical illustration of my meaning, I will + suppose that the player is preparing to drive. His position + is correct, he is at the exact distance from the ball. All + that is then necessary is that with a swinging stroke he + should sweep the ball off the tee. But, if in place of + accomplishing this sweep, the ball is _hit_ off the + tee--well, that may be a game, but it certainly does not come + under the heading of golf. + +Now we have already seen that James Braid in _Advanced Golf_, which +was published after _How to Play Golf_, has abandoned the idea that +the golf drive is a sweep. Taylor is wonderfully emphatic about the +sweep, but I think it will not require much to convert any golfer, who +is in doubt about the matter, to my views, for the comparative results +obtained will speak for themselves. Moreover, if there is any one man +more than another who is a living refutation of the sweep notion that +man is J. H. Taylor. It is impossible to watch him driving, and to +know the power which he gets from his magnificent forearm _hit_, +without being absolutely convinced that the true nature of the golf +drive is a hit and not a sweep. + +I do not find that Vardon subscribes to this idea of the sweep so +definitely as does Taylor, and as did Braid in _How to Play Golf_, but +he does unquestionably subscribe to the notion of the club gradually +gathering speed in its downward course, for he says at page 69 of _The +Complete Golfer_: + + The club should gradually gain in speed from the moment of + the turn until it is in contact with the ball, so that at the + moment of impact its head is travelling at its fastest pace. + +This, of course, in itself is correct, but there should be no +conscious effort of gradually increasing the pace. As Braid says, "one +must be 'hard at it' right from the beginning." The gradual and even +acceleration of pace must unquestionably be left to take care of +itself, and it has no more right to cumber the golfer's mind than has +the idea when he is throwing a stone that his hand should be moving at +its fastest when the stone leaves it. + + [Illustration: PLATE V. J. H. TAYLOR + + At the top of his swing in the drive. Note here the position + of Taylor's wrists. This is a matter of the utmost importance. + Taylor is at times inclined to get a little on to his right + leg, but probably here the weight is at least equally + distributed, if not mainly on the left.] + +One of the most pronounced and harmful golfing fallacies is what I +call "the fetich of the left." All of the leading writers and players +do their best to instil into the minds of their pupils the idea that +the left hand is the more important. This is a fallacy of the most +pronounced and harmful nature, but it is of such great importance to +the game that I shall not deal with it particularly here, but shall +reserve it for a future chapter. + +We now have to deal with the question of gradually increasing the pace +in the drive. I have already, to a certain extent, dealt with this +matter. Nearly all writers make a strong point of this fallacy. James +Braid at page 54 of _How to Play Golf_ says: + + The initiative in bringing down the club is taken by the left + wrist, and the club is then brought forward rapidly, and with + an even acceleration of pace until the club head is about a + couple of feet from the ball. + +Here it will be seen clearly that Braid gives the idea that the player +is, during the course of the downward swing, to exercise some +conscious regulation of the increase of the speed of the head of the +club. + +Braid then goes on to say: + + So far, the movement will largely have been an arm movement, + but at this point there should be some tightening-up of the + wrists, and the club will be gripped a little more tightly. + +Anyone attempting to follow this advice is merely courting disaster. +To dream of altering the grip, or of consciously attempting in any way +to alter the character of the swing, or to introduce into the swing +any new element of grip, touch, control, or anything else whatever, +must be fatal to accuracy. Braid is much sounder on this matter in +_Advanced Golf_ where he makes no assertion of this nature, but tells +the golfer that he must not bother himself with any idea of gradually +increasing his pace. + +This is what Braid says. It is worth repeating: + + Nevertheless, when commencing the downward swing, do so in no + gentle, half-hearted manner, such as is often associated with + the idea of gaining speed gradually, which is what we are + told the club must do when coming down from the top on to the + ball. It is obvious that speed will be gained gradually since + the club could not possibly be started off on its quickest + rate. The longer the force applied to the down swing, the + greater do the speed and the momentum become, but this + gradual increase is independent of the golfer, and he should, + as far as possible, be unconscious of it. What he has to + concern himself with is not getting his speed gradually, but + getting as much of it as he possibly can right from the top. + No gentle starts, but hard at it from the very top, and the + harder you start the greater will be the momentum of the club + when the ball is reached. + +That, I take it, is absolutely sound advice, for herein there is no +stupid restriction whatever, nor should there be, for the golfer, from +the time his club leaves the ball till it gets back to it, should have +nothing whatever wherewith to cumber his mind but the one idea, and +that is to _hit_ the ball. Braid is surely wide of the mark when he +says "but this gradual increase is independent of the golfer, and he +should, as far as possible, be unconscious of it." + +Firstly, it seems to me that this gradual increase is entirely +dependent on the golfer, and secondly, that he should be extremely +conscious of it, and the necessity for the production of it; but this +is one of the many things in golf which, when once it is thoroughly +learned, becomes so much a matter of second nature that the golfer +does it instinctively. He knows perfectly well that he _will_ +gradually increase his pace until he hits the ball, but he will not +have it in his mind that he _has_ to do so. All this is bound to be +in the hit. The man who drives the nail does not worry himself about +gradually increasing the pace of the hammer head until it encounters +the head of the nail. He knows he is doing it, but he does not worry +himself about it as the golfer does about his similar operation. If +the golfer would remember that nothing matters much except to hit the +ball hard and truly, and would disregard a lot of the absolute +nonsense about the domination of either one hand or the other, the +gradual acceleration of speed, and many other items of a similar +nature, he would find that his game would be infinitely improved. + +I could quote pages from leading authors dwelling upon this matter of +the gradual increase of speed, but I shall content myself with the +passage which I have here quoted from James Braid, together with the +remarks that I have made in former portions of this book, and may make +in later chapters. Braid, in _Advanced Golf_, is sufficiently emphatic +about this matter, and I think we may take it that in _Advanced Golf_ +he has given up the idea expressed in his smaller and less important +work _How to Play Golf_, that one should trouble oneself with the even +acceleration of speed. Whether he has or not, it is an absolute +certainty that any idea of consciously regulating the speed of the +club's head in the drive, will result in a very serious loss of +distance, for it will be found an utter impossibility for anyone so to +regulate the speed of the club without seriously detracting from the +rate at which the head is moving through the air, and as every golfer +knows, or should know, the essence of the golf stroke is, that the +club shall be travelling at the highest possible speed when it strikes +the ball. I am, of course, now speaking with regard to the drive, and +obtaining the greatest distance possible, for that is generally the +object of the drive. + +The point which must be impressed upon the golfer is, that from the +moment he starts his downward swing until he hits the ball, he has +nothing whatever to think of except hitting that ball. Everything which +takes place from the top of the swing to the moment of impact should +practically be done naturally, instinctively, sub-consciously--any way +you like, except by the exercise of thought during that process as +especially applied to any particular portion of the action, for it is +proved beyond doubt that the human mind is not capable of thinking out +in rotation each portion of the golf drive as it should be played, +during the time in which it is being played. + +Probably there is more ignorance about the action of the wrists in +golf than about any other portion of the golf stroke, yet this is a +matter of the utmost importance, a matter of such grave importance +that I must in due course deal with it more fully and examine the +statements of the leading writers on the subject. + +It is laid down clearly and distinctly by nearly all golf writers and +teachers that the golfing swing must be rhythmical, that there must be +no jerking, no interruption of the even nature of the swing--in fact, +we have seen that according to many of them the stroke is a sweep and +not a hit, yet we are told distinctly that at the moment of impact a +snap of the wrists is introduced. This must tend, of course, to +introduce a tremendous amount of inaccuracy in the stroke at a most +critical time, and it is therefore a matter worthy of the closest +investigation. + +We have already dealt with the fallacy of the sweep. It is a curious +thing that although the leading golfers and authors pin their faith to +the sweep as being the correct explanation of the drive in golf, yet +nearly all of them, when it comes to a question of the stroke with the +iron clubs, say that it is a hit. Now the stroke with the iron clubs +is identical with the stroke with the wooden clubs, with the +exception, of course, in many cases, that it has not gone back so far; +but the action of the wrists is, or should be, the same. The club head +travels, stroke for stroke, relatively in exactly the same arc; the +beginning of the stroke and finish of the stroke is the same, and all +the other laws, _mutatis mutandis_, apply. It would, indeed, be hardly +too much to say that there is at golf only one stroke, and that every +other stroke is a portion of that stroke, that stroke being, of +course, the drive. If we take the drive as the supreme stroke in golf, +and examine the nature of the stroke, we shall find that in that +stroke is included practically every stroke in the game. That being +so, it seems to me extremely hard to differentiate between a cleek +shot and a drive--in fact, in so far as regards the production of the +shot it is impossible to differentiate between them. If the one is a +hit, the other is, and as a matter of fact, every stroke in golf, with +the possible exception of the put, is a hit. + +While we are speaking of hits and fallacies, it will not be out of +place to devote a little attention to a point of extreme importance, +and at the same time one which is very much neglected in most books +dealing with the game. It is the ambition of many a golfer to get what +he imagines to be "the true St. Andrews swing." They try this in +numberless cases, where, from the stiffness of their joints and their +build generally, it is impossible in the nature of things that they +can obtain a very full swing. It is bad enough in these cases, for I +speak now of people who have taken to the game when their frames have +become so set that it is practically an impossibility for them to +obtain anything in the nature of a full swing, but the attempt to +obtain a long swing is not, however, confined to those who have taken +to the game late in life, although it is with them naturally a greater +error than it is with those who started the game when their limbs were +more supple and their frames more easily adapted to the stroke. + +If I allow myself to take my natural swing, I can nearly always see +the head of the club at the top of my swing, and at the finish it is +hanging nearly as far over the right shoulder as it was at the top of +the swing over the left shoulder. There can be no doubt that with a +swing like this, when one can control it sufficiently, one gets a very +long ball, and there is a very delightful feeling in getting a perfect +drive with such a swing, but from the very nature of the stroke it +stands to reason that it must be less accurate than a much shorter and +less showy effort. + +Harry Vardon, in _The Complete Golfer_, asks: "Why is it that they +like to swing so much and waste so much power, unmindful of the fact +that the shorter the swing the greater the accuracy?" There can be no +doubt whatever that in the very full swing, such as I have described, +there is a waste of power and a sacrifice of accuracy. The rule which +is true of the put, "Keep the head of the club in the line to the hole +as long as you can, both before and after impact," is, _mutatis +mutandis_, just as applicable to the drive. + +Vardon continues: + + Many people are inclined to ask why, instead of playing a + half shot with the cleek, the iron is not taken and a full + stroke made with it, which is the way that a large proportion + of good golfers would employ for reaching the green from the + same distance. For some reason, which I cannot explain, + there seems to be an enormous number of players who prefer a + full shot with any club to a half shot with another, the + result being the same or practically so. + +This is a curious remark to come from a golfer of the ability of Harry +Vardon. I should have thought that the reason is sufficiently obvious. +In playing a full shot the ordinary golfer feels that he has simply to +get the most that his club is capable of. He therefore has no +necessity to exercise any conscious muscular restraint. He plays the +shot and trusts the club for his regulation of distance, but on the +other hand, in playing a half shot he knows that he must exercise a +good deal of judgment in applying his strength. It seems to me that +there can be very little doubt that this is the reason why most +golfers prefer the full shot. However that may be, it is beyond doubt +that the desire, as Vardon puts it, "to swing so much" is the root +cause of a vast amount of very bad golf. + +"The shorter the swing, the greater the accuracy." This statement is +as true of one's wooden clubs as it is of the iron. It should be +printed as a text and hung in every golf club-house in the world, for +there can be very little doubt that if the value of this advice were +thoroughly realised, it would make golf pleasanter and better for +every one. The blind worship of the full swing has been carried to a +lamentable extent, and golfers who devote any thought to their game +are beginning to understand that beyond a reasonable swing back, the +surplus is so much waste energy, and, which is more important still, +simply imports into the stroke a very much greater risk of error. + +Many years ago I had a very remarkable illustration of the value of +the short swing. A club mate of mine who was an adept at most games, +and a champion at lawn-tennis and billiards, took it into his head to +play golf. He was in the habit of thinking for himself. Of course, +directly he started to learn golf, every one wished to make him tie +himself into the usual knots, but he refused to be influenced by other +people's ideas. He was content to work out his own salvation. He had +watched many of the unfortunate would-be golfers contorting themselves +in their efforts to reproduce what they took to be "a true St. Andrews +swing," but determined that he would not follow their example. + +He had conceived the idea that a drive was only an exaggerated put, +and he made up his mind that he would proceed to exaggerate his put by +degrees until he had reached the limit of his drive, and had found +that no further swinging back would give him extra distance. He found +that he got no farther with his drive when he carried his club right +round to what is known as the full swing, than he did when his club +head came from about the same height as his lawn-tennis racket did in +playing the game which he knew so well. + +When he had ascertained this he resolutely refused to increase the +length of his swing. His club mates laughed at him and told him that +it was not golf, that he was playing cricket, and many other pleasant +little things like this. It had no effect whatever on him, for he knew +that he was producing the stroke, in so far as he played it, exactly +according to the best-known methods of the leading golfers of the +world. He was content, in this respect, to follow known and accepted +methods, but he would not in any way adopt the prevalent idea of a +long swing. + +Of course, he was laughed at and told that it was extremely bad form, +but before long he "had the scalps" of his detractors. Then they were +unable to say much about his golf, and he had very much the best of +the argument when within a remarkably short space of time he won the +championship of his Province. He proved quite conclusively to his own +satisfaction, and to the great chagrin of many of the other players, +the truth of Vardon's statement, "The shorter the swing the greater +the accuracy." + +There can be very little doubt that for those who take to golf late in +life, especially if they have not played other games, the orthodox +swing is a trap. A very great number of them get the swing, but not +the ball. Many of them are, I am afraid, under the impression that the +swing is of more importance than getting the ball away. Needless to +say, they do not improve very much. + +For those who take to golf late in life, I am sure that the great +principle which makes for length and direction in any ball game that +is, or ever was played, namely, keep in the line of your shot as long +as you can both before and after impact, will be found as sound to-day +as it always has been. Probably it will be found, and before very long +too, that what is true for the late beginner is equally true for the +greatest experts. As a matter of fact, some of our leading +professionals are beginning to realise this already, particularly with +regard to their iron play. + +There are several very important points in connection with the short +swing--points which, I believe, are of very great advantage to the +golfer when once he has thoroughly grasped them. It is obvious that +the shorter the swing is, the less necessity will there be for +disturbing the position of one's feet. This naturally means that there +is less likelihood of any undue swaying. Secondly, the shorter swing +is naturally much more upright than the orthodox swing, and it comes +more natural to a player to hit downwards at his ball when using it. + +The first point which we have made is that the shorter swing produces +less disturbance of the feet, because it is generally more upright +than a corresponding length of the orthodox swing. In the flat swing +there is less need to move the feet than there is in the upright +swing. It is in the latter that one feels _soonest_ the necessity for +lifting the heel of the left foot, but in the short swing there is not +the same necessity for balancing and pivoting on the toes as there is +in the orthodox drive, for the swing back is not extended enough to +require it. It should be apparent then that with the short swing much +of the complexity of the golf drive is taken away. + +I must make this a little clearer: practically all the golf books tell +us that the left heel must come away from the earth when the arms seem +to draw it. Anyone who follows this out in practice will find that it +is impossible to preserve the rhythm of his swing. As a matter of +practical golf the left heel must come away from the earth as soon as +the head of the club leaves the ball. The motions are practically +simultaneous. This matter of the management of the feet is probably +the greatest contributing cause to the complexity of the golf drive, +and the many erroneous descriptions of it which are given by our +leading players. The principal reason for this is that it is the +latitude given to the body by this shifting of the heels which +accounts for the wrong transference of the weight to the right foot, +and the equally wrong _lurching_ on the left foot. + +One would not, of course, for a moment advocate that the golfer's +heels should be immovable, although James Braid does maintain, quite +wrongly, I think, that the position of the feet at the moment of +impact should be exactly the same as at the moment of address--that +is, that the heels should be firmly planted on the ground. Although he +says this, the instantaneous photographs of him in the act of driving +show conclusively that he does not carry his theory into practice. +Many of our greatest golfers are beginning now to see that the firmer +the foundation, the more fixed and immovable the base, the steadier +must be the superstructure--to wit, the chest and shoulders--and +therefore the more constant will be the centre, if I may use the word +in a general sense, of the swing. + +The importance of preserving this "centre" cannot be overestimated, +for golf is a game which demands a wonderful degree of mechanical +accuracy, and it is only by observing the best mechanical principles +that the best results can be obtained. + +In the ordinary drive of the ordinary golfer there is usually an +excessive amount of foot and ankle work, and, generally speaking, this +foot and ankle work is not carried out in the best possible manner. +There is, as a matter of fact, imported into the drive far too great +an opportunity for the player to move his weight about. He takes full +advantage of this, and the usual result is that he transfers his +weight, when driving, to his right leg, which, as we shall see later +on, is a very bad fault for the golfer to acquire. In the shorter +swing there is much less temptation for the golfer to make the errors +which are usually attendant on faulty footwork. + +The other point of importance which I have mentioned in connection +with the short swing, is that it comes much more naturally to the +player to hit downwards. Probably not one golfer in a hundred +realises that the vast majority of his strokes are made in a manner +wholly opposed to the best science of golf. They are, generally +speaking, _hit upwards_, whereas the most perfect golf drive should be +hit downwards, and this statement is, in perhaps a less degree, true +of nearly all golf strokes which are not played on the green. + +The best way to get any ordinary ball into the air is to hit it +upwards, but this general rule does not apply to the golf ball, for it +is always stationary and is generally lying on turf. However, few +players will trust the loft of the club to perform its natural +function. They seem to forget that each club has been made with a loft +of such a nature that, given the ball is struck fairly and properly, +the loft may be relied on to do its share of the work. Consequently, +as they will not trust the club to get the ball up, they hit upwards, +and so, to a very great extent, minimise the amount of back-spin which +might come from the loft, were the club travelling in a horizontal +line at the moment of impact. + +It is very much harder, however, to hit upwards with a short swing, or +perhaps it would be more correct to say that there is a much greater +tendency to hit the ball before the club head has got to the lowest +point in its swing. We must emphasise this point, for it is of great +importance, as back-spin is of the essence of the modern game, and +particularly of the modern drive. If, therefore, we can show that the +short swing tends more naturally to produce back-spin than does the +full St. Andrews swing, and at the same time to give greater accuracy +as regards direction, it need hardly be stated that it will not be +long before we have the scientific players giving the stroke the place +to which it is undoubtedly entitled in the game of golf. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEIGHT + + +The distribution of weight is of fundamental importance in the game of +golf. If one has not a perfectly clear and correct conception of the +manner in which one should manage one's weight, it is an absolute +certainty that there can be no rhythm in the swing. One often sees +references to the centre of the circle described by the head of the +club in the golf swing. It will be perfectly apparent on giving the +matter but little thought that the head of the golf club does not +describe a circle, but it is convenient to use the term "centre of the +circle" when referring to the arc which is described by the head of +the club. + +The all-important matter of the distribution of weight has been dealt +with by the greatest players in the world. Let us see what Taylor, +Braid, and Vardon have to say about this subject, for it is no +exaggeration to say that this is a matter which goes to the very root +of golf. If one teaches the distribution of weight incorrectly, it +does not matter what else one teaches correctly, for the person who is +reared on a wrong conception of the manner in which his weight should +be distributed, can never play golf as it should be played. It is as +impossible for such a person to play real golf as it would be for a +durable building to be erected on rotten foundations. + +Now let us see what the greatest players have to say about this. +Vardon, at page 68 of _The Complete Golfer_, says: + + The movements of the feet and legs are important. In + addressing the ball you stand with both feet flat and + squarely placed on the ground, the weight equally divided + between them, and the legs so slightly bent at the + knee-joints as to make the bending scarcely noticeable. This + position is maintained during the upward movement of the club + until the arms begin to pull at the body. The easiest and + most natural thing to do then, and the one which suggests + itself, is to raise the heel of the left foot and begin to + pivot on the left toe, which allows the arms to proceed with + their uplifting process without let or hindrance. Do not + begin to pivot on this left toe ostentatiously, or because + you feel you ought to do so, but only when you know that the + time has come, and you want to, and do it only to such an + extent that the club can reach the full extent of the swing + without any difficulty. + + While this is happening it follows that the weight of the + body is being gradually thrown on to the right leg, which + gradually stiffens, until at the top of the swing it is quite + rigid, the left being at the same time in a state of + comparative freedom, slightly bent in towards the right, with + only just enough pressure on the toe to keep it in position. + +That is what Vardon has to say about this important matter. + +At page 53 of _Great Golfers_, speaking of the "Downward Swing," +Vardon further says: + + In commencing the downward swing, I try to feel that both + hands and wrists are still working together. The wrists start + bringing the club down, and at the same moment, the left knee + commences to resume its original position. The head during + this time has been kept quite still, the body alone pivoting + from the hips. + +It is obvious that if the pivoting is done _at the hips_ it will be +impossible to get the weight on the right leg at the top of the swing +without some contortion of the body, yet we read at page 70 of _The +Complete Golfer_ that "the weight is being gradually moved back again +from the right leg to the left." Thus is the old fatal idea persisted +in to the undoing of thousands of golfers. + +I have already referred to the wonderful spine-jumping and rotating +which is described in _The Mystery of Golf_. Many might not understand +the jargon of anatomical terms used in this fearful and wonderful +idea, so I shall add here the author's corroboration of my +interpretation of his notion. + +At page 167 he says: "The pivot upon which the spinal column rotates +is shifted from the head of the right thigh-bone to that of the left." + +I have always been under the impression that the spinal column is very +firmly embedded on the os sacrum--that, in fact, the latter is +practically a portion of the spinal column, and that it is fixed into +the pelvic region in a manner which renders it highly inconvenient for +it to attempt any saltatory or rotatory pranks. + +We are, however, told that the pivot on which the spinal column +rotates "shifts from the right leg to the left leg." If the spine were +"rotating," which of course it cannot do in the golf stroke, on any +"pivot," which, equally of course, it does not, that "pivot" must be +the immovable os sacrum. What then does all this nonsense mean? + +James Braid, at page 56 of _Advanced Golf_, says: + + At the top of the swing, although nearly all the weight will + be on the right foot, the player must feel a distinct + pressure on the left one, that is to say, it must still be + doing a small share in the work of supporting the body. + +Taylor, in _Taylor on Golf_, at page 207, says: + + Then, as the club comes back in the swing, the weight should + be shifted by degrees, quietly and gradually, until when the + club has reached its topmost point the whole weight of the + body is supported by the right leg, the left foot at this + time being turned, and the left knee bent in towards the + right leg. Next, as the club is taken back to the horizontal + position behind the head, the shoulders should be swung + round, although the head must be allowed to remain in the + same position with the eyes looking over the left shoulder. + +At page 30 of _Practical Golf_ Mr. Walter J. Travis says: + + In the upward swing it will be noticed that the body has been + turned very freely with the natural transference of weight + almost entirely to the right foot, and that the left foot has + been pulled up and around on the toe. Without such aid the + downward stroke would be lacking in pith. To get the + shoulders into the stroke they must first come round in + conjunction with the lower part of one's anatomy, smoothly + and freely revolving on an axis which may be represented by + an imaginary line drawn from the head straight down the back. + Otherwise, the arms alone, unassisted to any appreciable + extent, are called upon to do the work with material loss of + distance. + +At page 88 of _Golf_ in the Badminton Series, Mr. Horace G. Hutchinson +says: + + Now as the club came to the horizontal behind the head, the + body will have been allowed to turn, gently, with its weight + upon the right foot. + +We here have the opinions of five golfers, whose words should +undoubtedly carry very great weight. The sum total of their considered +opinion is that in the drive at golf the weight at the top of the +swing must be on the right leg. I have, however, no hesitation in +saying that this idea is fundamentally unsound and calculated to +prove a very serious hindrance to anyone attempting to follow it. So +far from its being true that the weight of the body is supported by +the right foot at the top of the swing, I must say that entirely the +opposite is true, and that at the top of the swing the weight of the +body is borne by the left foot and leg in any drive of perfect rhythm. + +This may possibly be going a little too far, so we shall, in the +meantime, content ourselves with _absolutely denying_ that the weight +at the top of the swing goes on to the _right_ leg, and with +_insisting_ that at the top of a perfectly executed swing _the main +portion of the weight must be borne by the left foot and leg_. In so +positively making this statement I am confronted by a mass of +authority which would deter many people from essaying to disprove such +a well-rooted delusion in connection with the game, but I think that +before we have finished with this subject we shall be able to show +very good reason for doubting the statements of these eminent players. + +There is no possible doubt as to the rooted nature of this belief in +the minds of these players. James Braid, in fact, emphasises it in +some places. He says in _How to Play Golf_: + + When the swing is well started, that is to say, when the club + has been taken a matter of about a couple of feet from the + ball, it will become impossible, or at least inconvenient and + uncomfortable to keep the feet so firmly planted on the + ground as they were when the address was made. It is the left + one that wants to move, and consequently at this stage you + must allow it to pivot. By this is meant that the heel is + raised slightly, and the foot turns over until only the ball + of it rests on the ground. Many players pivot on the toe, but + I think this is not so safe, and does not preserve the + balance so well. When this pivoting begins, the weight is + being taken off the left leg and transferred almost entirely + to the right, and at the same moment the left knee turns in + towards the right toe. The right leg then stiffens a little + and the right heel is more firmly than ever planted on the + ground. + +It seems to me that these famous golfers are confronted by a +mechanical problem in this matter. The veriest tyro at golf is +familiar with the axiom that it is absolutely necessary for him to +keep his head still. Many authors tell one that the swing is conducted +as though the upper portion of the body moved on an axis consisting of +the spine. All golfers, authors, and professionals, who know anything +about the game, will tell one that the habit of swaying, which means +moving the head and body away from the hole, is fatal to accuracy. + +Harry Vardon, at page 67, says: "In the upward movement of the club +the body must pivot from the waist alone and there must be no swaying, +not even to the extent of an inch." A little further down on the same +page, we read: "In addressing the ball you stand with both feet flat +and securely placed on the ground, the weight equally divided between +them." + +Now it seems fairly obvious that if one starts the golf drive with the +weight practically evenly distributed between the right foot and the +left foot, and seeing that it is an axiom of golf that one must not +move one's head, it is impossible for one to get the weight of the +body on to the right foot and leg without absolutely contorting one's +frame. Let us make this clearer still. We have our golfer set at his +ball, his address perfect, and his weight evenly distributed between +his two feet. As he knows that it is wrong for him to move his head, +we can, without interfering with his drive in the slightest degree, +stretch tightly a wire at a right angle to the line of flight to the +hole and pass it across within a quarter of an inch of his neck, +below his right ear. + +The position of this wire will not in any way hamper the golfer in his +drive, but in order to fulfil the instructions which are laid down +with the utmost persistence by every golf book, that it is of +fundamental importance to keep the head absolutely still, it will be +necessary for our golfer to play his drive without allowing his head +or neck to touch this wire; but if he can do this, and at the same +time get the weight of his body, at the top of his swing, on to his +right leg, as advised by Taylor, Braid, and Vardon, and by Messrs. +Hutchinson and Travis, without making himself both grotesque and +uncomfortable, he will indeed have performed an unparalleled feat in +the history of golf, for, to put the matter quite shortly, it is +nonsense to suppose that it can be done. The thing is mechanically +impossible. + +If a man starts with his weight equally distributed between his legs, +and then uses his spine or any other imaginary pivot to turn his body +upon in the upward swing, it will be impossible for him to shift his +weight so that it goes back on to his right leg. I am not, of course, +allowing for a person who has an adjustable spine, such as that +described by Mr. Arnold Haultain in _The Mystery of Golf_, which +rotates, according to the author, first on one thigh bone and then on +another. This spine is of such a remarkable nature that I must devote, +later on, a little time to considering its vagaries. At present I am, +however, dealing with a matter of practical golf and simple mechanics, +about which there is absolutely no mystery but a vast amount of +misconception. + +When I first stated in _Modern Golf_, which, so far as I am aware, was +the first book wherein this fundamental truth was laid down, that the +left was the foot which bore the greater burden, it was regarded as +revolutionary teaching, but there is not a professional golfer of any +reputation whatever who now dares to teach that at the top of the +swing the weight is to be put on the right. There is, however, no harm +in fortifying oneself with the opinion of at least one of the +triumvirate expressed elsewhere. Personally, I think that the +mechanical proposition is so extremely simple and incontrovertible, as +I have stated it, that it is unnecessary to go further, but such is +the veneration of the golfer for tradition that as a matter of duty to +the game I shall leave no stone unturned, not only to scotch, but +absolutely to kill, this mischievous idea which is so injurious to the +game. + +In _Great Golfers_, Harry Vardon says, speaking of his address and +stance: "I stand firmly, with the weight rather on the right leg." At +page 50 of the same book he says, speaking of the top of the swing: +"There is distinct pressure of the left toe and very little more +weight should be felt on the right leg than there was when the ball +was addressed." We see clearly here that Vardon's statement in _Great +Golfers_ that at the top of the swing "very little more weight should +be felt on the right leg than there was when the ball was addressed" +does not agree with his statement in _The Complete Golfer_ wherein he +states that "the weight of the body is being gradually thrown on to +the right leg." The unfortunate part about this contradiction is that +_Great Golfers_ was published before _The Complete Golfer_, so that we +are bound to take it as Vardon's more mature and considered opinion +that the weight at the top of the stroke is thrown mainly on the right +leg. + + [Illustration: PLATE VI. HARRY VARDON + + The finish of his drive, showing how the weight goes forward + on to the left foot.] + +This leaves us apparently as we were, but seeing the contradiction in +Vardon's statement, we may with advantage turn to action +photographs of him taken whilst actually playing the stroke. Here we +see most clearly in such photographs as those shown on pages 86 and 87 +of _Great Golfers_, that the body, instead of going away from the +hole, has, if anything, gone forward. This is sufficiently marked in +the photographs which I am now referring to, but in _Fry's Magazine_ +for the month of March 1909 there appeared a remarkable series of +photographs showing ten drives by Harry Vardon. These photographs are, +unquestionably, of very great value to the game, for they show beyond +any shadow of doubt whatever, that Vardon's weight is never, at any +portion of his drive, mainly on his right leg. The first photograph +showing him at the top of his swing is a wonderful illustration of the +fact that at the top of the swing in golf the main portion of the +weight goes forward on to the left foot. + +Before leaving this portion of our consideration of the distribution +of weight, I must refer again to the description given of this matter +in _The Mystery of Golf_. The author says: + + The whole body must turn on the pivot of the head of the + right thigh bone working in the cotyloidal cavity of the "os + innominatum" or pelvic bone, the head, right knee, and right + foot, remaining fixed, with the eyes riveted on the ball. In + the upward swing the vertebral column rotates upon the head + of the right femur, the right knee being fixed; and as the + club head nears the ball, the fulcrum is rapidly changed from + the right to the left hip, the spine now rotating on the left + thigh bone, the left knee being fixed; and the velocity is + accelerated by the arms and wrists in order to add the force + of the muscles to the weight of the body, thus gaining the + greatest impetus possible. Not every professional instructor + has succeeded in putting before his pupil the correct stroke + in golf in this anatomical exposition. + +For which we may be devoutly thankful, for if ever there was written +an absolutely ridiculous thing about golf which could transcend in +stupidity this description, I should like to see it. + +As a matter of fact, the statement does not merit serious notice, but +the book is published by a reputable firm of publishers, and no doubt +has been read by some people who do not know sufficient for themselves +to be able to analyse the alleged analysis of the author. + +Let us now subject his analysis to a little of the analysing process. +We are told that "the whole body must turn on the pivot of the head of +the right thigh bone working in the cotyloidal cavity of the 'os +innominatum' or pelvic bone." This is merely another way of saying +that the right leg and foot is supporting the whole weight of the +body, although the head must remain fixed. We have already considered +the similar statements expressed in _The Mystery of Golf_, and by much +more important people in the golfing world than the author of this +book, so we need not labour this point, but he goes on to reduce his +directions to the most ludicrous absurdity. We are told that in the +upward swing the vertebral column rotates upon the head of the right +femur. + +Of course, I am not personally acquainted with Mr. Haultain, and he +may be speaking from his own practice, but assuming for the sake of +argument that he is a normally constructed man, the base of his +vertebral column never gets anywhere near his right femur, nor is it +possible for anybody's vertebral column to rotate unless the person is +rotating with it, which one is inclined to think would prove rather +detrimental to the drive at golf if indulged in between the stance and +address and impact. + +As though we had not already had sufficient fun for our money, we are +told that "as the club head nears the ball the fulcrum is rapidly +changed from the right to the left hip, the spine now rotating on the +left thigh bone." + +So far as one can judge from our author's description he must have +been in the habit of playing golf amongst a race of men who have +adjustable spines, the tail end of which they are able to wag from one +side of the pelvic bone to the other. Personally, I have yet to meet +golfers of this description. One feels inclined to ask the author of +this remarkable statement what is happening to the os coccyx whilst +one is wagging one's spine about in this remarkable manner. + +This statement is about the funniest thing which has ever been written +in golf, and it has absolutely no relation whatever to practical golf. +It is merely an imaginative and absolutely incorrect exposition of the +golf drive, not only from a golfing, but from an anatomical, point of +view; and it is to me an absolute wonder how anyone, even one who +labels himself "a duffer," can attach his name to such obviously +inaccurate and foolish statements. One really would be inclined to be +much more severe than one is in dealing with such a book were it not +for the amusement which one has derived from a perusal of such fairy +tales as a rotating spine which, during the course of the golf drive, +jumps from one thigh bone to the other, steeplechasing the pelvic bone +as it performs this remarkable feat. + +I have referred in other places to the looseness of Mr. Haultain's +descriptions in all matters of practical golf. At page 89 he confirms +one's impression, if confirmation were required, that his idea of the +fundamental principle of the golf swing is as ill-formed as are his +notions of anatomy, for he says: "The left knee must be loose at the +beginning and firm at the finish." At no time during a stroke in golf, +of any description whatever, should there be any looseness of the +body. During the production of the golf stroke the body is practically +full of tension and attention. It is the greatest mistake possible to +imagine that because one portion of the body is doing the work, any +other portion may "slack." One who makes this statement has not a +glimmering of the beginning of the real game of golf. I can readily +believe that to such an one golf is a "mystery." + +The left knee is in harness from the moment the ball is addressed +until long after it has been driven, and it is a certainty that the +left knee has far more work to do than has the right, so for anyone to +cultivate an idea that the left knee may, at any time during the +production of the golfing stroke, "be loose," is a very grave error. + +While we are considering the matter of the distribution of weight, it +will be advisable for us to devote our attention to the disposition of +the weight at the moment of impact. Speaking of the management of the +weight at this critical time, Vardon says: + + When the ball has been struck, and the follow-through is + being accomplished, there are two rules, hitherto held + sacred, which may at last be broken. With the direction and + force of the swing your chest is naturally turned round until + it is facing the flag, and your body now abandons all + restraint, and to a certain extent throws itself, as it were, + after the ball. There is a great art in timing this body + movement exactly. If it takes place the fiftieth part of a + second too soon the stroke will be entirely ruined; if it + comes too late it will be quite ineffectual and will only + result in making the golfer feel uneasy, and as if something + had gone wrong. When made at the proper instant it adds a + good piece of distance to the drive, and that instant, as + explained, is just when the club is following through. + +It is evident from this statement, that Vardon is under the +impression that the timing of this body movement should be so +performed as to come in when the club is following through. I have +shown before that the follow-through of a stroke is of no importance +whatever except as the result of a perfectly executed first half of +the stroke, if one may so describe it. It must be obvious to anyone +who knows but little either of golf or mechanics that nothing which +the body or the club does after contact between the ball and the club +has ceased can have any influence whatever upon the flight of the +ball, either as to distance or direction. Practically everything which +takes place after the ball has left the club is the natural result of +what has been done before impact. This cannot be too forcibly +impressed upon golfers, for it is not at all uncommon to find men +deliberately stating that the follow-through exerts a tremendous +influence on the stroke. It should be perfectly manifest that this +cannot be so. It is no doubt of very great importance to have a good +follow-through, but the good follow-through must be the result of a +good stroke previously played, otherwise it will be worthless. + +Harry Vardon states that this timing of the body movement takes place +immediately after impact, for that is "just when the club is following +through." He has himself provided the best possible refutation of this +obviously erroneous statement. The timing of the body on to the ball +in the manner mentioned by him practically commences, in every drive +of perfect rhythm as are so many of Vardon's, from the moment the +stroke starts, for the body weight which is put into the golf drive +comes largely from the half turn of the shoulders and upper portions +of the body from the hips in the downward swing. This half turn and +the slight forward movement of the hips are practically one and the +same. If they are not, something has gone wrong with the drive. + +Absolute evidence of the correctness of this statement is provided by +Vardon himself in _Fry's Magazine_ for March 1909. Here we see the +remarkable series of ten drives by Vardon which I have already +referred to. The first photograph shows most clearly that at the top +of the swing the main portion of his weight is on his left foot. As a +matter of carrying golf to the extreme of scientific calculation it is +quite probable that there is much more than Vardon's physical weight +on his left leg, for the rapid upward swing of his club is suddenly +arrested when considerably nearer the hole than his left shoulder, so +that the leverage of the head of the club will have thrown more weight +than that which the left actually bears on it as its share of Vardon's +avoirdupois. This, of course, is undoubted as a matter of practical +mechanics, but it is not of sufficient importance to enter into fully +in any way here. + +It is, however, of importance for us to consider the photographs which +follow, for here we see quite clearly that very early in the downward +swing Vardon raises his right heel and bends his left knee slightly +forward, and in the third, fourth, and fifth photographs we see very +clearly that he is executing that turn of his body which carries his +weight forward on to the ball in a very marked degree. This point is +very clearly brought out in the instantaneous photographs of both +Vardon's driving, and in that of George Duncan's. It is positively +futile to say that the timing of the body weight in the follow-through +is done when the club is following through, because it is obvious that +this would not be "at the proper instant," and that it could not, by +any stretch of imagination, add "a good piece of distance to the +drive." + +It is curious to note in this connection that on page 53 of _Great +Golfers_ Harry Vardon says: + + Almost simultaneously with the impact, the right knee + slightly bends in the direction of the hole, and allows the + wrists and forearms to take the club right out in the + direction of the line of flight, dragging the arms after them + as far as they will comfortably go, when the club head + immediately leaves the line of flight and the right foot + turns on the toe. This allows the body to turn from the hips + and face the hole, the club finishing over the left shoulder. + +Here it will be seen that Vardon brings the timing of this very +important forward movement back a little to "almost simultaneously +with the impact." Now this phrase may mean immediately prior to, or +immediately after, impact, and there can be no possible doubt which it +is. It must be _prior_ to impact if it is to exert any beneficial +effect whatever upon the stroke. To add any distance to the drive, it +is obvious that what was done in the way of timing the body on to the +ball must have been done _prior to impact_, and merely continued after +the ball had gone away, so that the finish was perfectly natural. + +Now Vardon shows quite clearly in his drive that in his follow-through +his weight goes forward until it is practically all on his left leg. +So, for the matter of that, do the instantaneous photographs of nearly +every famous golfer, but some of them have a very peculiar +misconception of the disposition of weight at the moment of impact. + +Let us, for instance, see what James Braid has to say about the matter +at page 53 of _Advanced Golf_. Dealing with this all-important moment, +he says: + + I would draw the reader's very careful attention to the + sectional photographs that are given on a separate page, and + which in this form show the various workings of the + different parts of the body while the swing is in progress + as they could not be shown in any other way. They have all + been prepared from photographs of myself, taken for the + special purpose of this book. In some cases, in order to show + more completely the progress of the different movements from + the top of the swing to the finish, the position at the + moment of striking is included. Theoretically, that ought to + be exactly the same as the position at the address: and even + in practice it will be found to be as nearly identical as + possible, in the case of good driving, that is. Therefore, + for the sake of precision, the third photograph in each + series of four is a simple repetition of the first, and is + not a special photograph. + +I may mention that this is a common idea of illustrating a golf +stroke. The author of the book shows the stance and address. He then +shows the top of the swing, and after that the finish, and he thinks +that he has then done his duty by his reader. As a matter of fact, +these are all positions in the swing where there is practically +"nothing doing" as the American puts it. + +To illustrate the various movements in the drive, I took for _Modern +Golf_, and used, eighteen different positions, and there was not one +too many. It is quite impossible to illustrate the drive in golf by +three positions; and it is absolutely erroneous to attempt to +illustrate the moment of impact by a repetition of the photograph +taken for stance and address. From the golfing point of view it is +almost impossible to imagine two positions which are so entirely +dissimilar. From the point of view of a mere photographer there may be +some slight similarity, as indeed there is in all photographs of +golfers, but to compare stance and address with the position at the +moment of impact with the ball, is mere futility. + +Let us quote Braid's remarks with regard to stance and address: + + When in position and ready for play, both the legs and the + arms of the player should be just a trifle relaxed--just so + much as to get rid of any feeling of stiffness, and to allow + of the most complete freedom of movement. The slackening may + be a little more pronounced in the case of the arms than with + the legs, as much more freedom is required of them + subsequently. They should fall easily and comfortably to the + sides, and the general feeling of the player at this stage + should be one of flexibility and power. + + Everything is now in readiness for making the stroke, and the + player prepares to hit the ball.... While he is doing this he + will feel the desire to indulge in a preliminary waggle of + the club just to see that his arms are in working order, + waving the club backwards and forwards once or twice over the + ball.... Obviously there is no rule in such matters, and the + player can only be enjoined to make himself comfortable in + the best way he can. + +Now we see here that the main idea of the player at the moment of +address is to make himself comfortable--in other words, to get into as +natural a position as he possibly can in order to execute his stroke. +The whole idea of the stance and address is to get into a perfectly +natural position, and one that is quite comfortable and best +calculated to enable one to produce a correct stroke. We see clearly +that this is what Braid considers to be necessary at the moment of +address. + +Let us turn now to _Advanced Golf_ at page 61, which we have already +quoted. Braid, at that page and on the preceding pages, explains +clearly that the whole idea of the golf stroke is supreme tension, and +that at the moment of impact the tension is greatest. He says: "Then +comes the moment of impact. Crack! Everything is let loose, and round +comes the body immediately the ball is struck and goes slightly +forward until the player is facing the line of flight." Is it possible +to imagine two more diametrically opposed conditions of the human +frame than those which I have described in Braid's own words? Yet we +find this fine player producing, for the guidance of golfers as to +what takes place at the moment of impact, the same photograph which he +shows them for stance and address! + +Moreover, Braid himself clearly shows in his action photographs that +such a statement as this is quite wrong. If we had any doubt at all +about the matter, we might examine the photographs of Braid himself, +which show clearly that the positions taken up by him when addressing +the ball and when hitting it, are, as might easily be believed, widely +different, for at the moment of impact there is the supreme tension +and power which he advises as being a necessity for the production of +a long drive. It is true that James Braid's feet, particularly his +right foot, do not move from the ground so much as do those of Harry +Vardon or George Duncan; but it is nevertheless true that the movement +of his legs, arms, and shoulders show, at the moment of impact, a +position totally different from that taken up by him during his stance +and address. + +It might seem that these things are not of sufficient importance to +warrant the critical analysis to which I am subjecting them, but there +can be no doubt that there are a vast number of people to whom golf is +of infinitely more importance than political economy, and to these it +is a matter of most vital importance that they should know what they +are doing and what they ought to do at this critical period; and in +dealing with the books which have been produced in connection with the +game of golf they have such a mass of contradictory and fallacious +teaching to wade through, that it is small wonder that they are, as a +rule, utterly befogged as to the proper principles upon which to +proceed. + +Let us, for instance, examine these two statements with regard to the +follow-through. At page 55 of _How to Play Golf_, in his chapter on +"Finishing the Stroke," James Braid says: + + The second that the ball is hit, and not before, the player + should begin to turn on his right toe, and to allow a little + bend of the right knee, so as to allow the right shoulder to + come round until the body faces the line of flight of the + ball. When this is done properly the weight will be thrown on + to the left foot, and the whole body will be thrown slightly + forward. The whole of this movement needs very careful + timing, because it is a very common fault with some players + to let the body get in too soon, and in such cases the stroke + is always ruined. Examine the photographs. + +Let us now turn to page 62 of _Advanced Golf_. Here we read: + + As for the follow-through, there is very little that can be + said here, which is not already perfectly understood, if it + is not always produced. After impact, and the release of all + tension, body and arms are allowed to swing forward in the + direction of the flight of the ball, and I would allow the + right knee to give a little in order to remove all restraint. + But the weight must not be entirely taken off the right foot. + That foot must still be felt to be pressing firmly on the + turf, showing that although the weight has been changed from + one place to another, the proper balance has not been lost. + +Braid here says that the weight must not be entirely taken off the +right foot. Well, to all intents and purposes, it is entirely taken +off the right foot, as will be shown by photographs of any of the +leading players in the world at the finish of the stroke, and, indeed, +of James Braid himself. Braid says: "Examine the photographs," and I +have examined them. At pages 57 and 59 of _How to Play Golf_ Braid is +shown finishing a full drive or brassy shot. Here, without any +possible doubt, his weight is all on his left foot. At page 61 of +_Advanced Golf_ there are some photographs of Braid's boots and +trousers from the knee downwards, entitled "Leg action in driving." +One of these is entitled "Finish." Here it will be seen that the whole +of the weight is unmistakably on the left leg. + +If one looks at the instantaneous photographs of James Braid in this +book and in _Great Golfers_ one will see quite clearly that in all +finishes his weight goes unmistakably on to his left leg. + +Braid makes a very wonderful statement in _Great Golfers_ at page 175. +Writing there of the downward swing, he says: "My body does not +commence to turn till the club head is about two feet from the +ball--namely, at the point when the wrists come into the stroke." As a +matter of fact James Braid's body begins to turn almost simultaneously +with the beginning of the downward stroke, and as another matter of +practical golf the wrists also come in at the very beginning of the +stroke. With this latter point I shall, however, deal later on. + +Let me here emphasise the fact that the body turn must commence very +early in the stroke, as indeed is quite natural. It is obvious that if +anyone were to postpone the turning of the body until the club head +"is about two feet from the ball" the rhythm of the stroke would be +utterly destroyed. In this matter I am contradicting Braid flatly +about his own practice. Therefore, I must refer any reader who doubts +the accuracy of my statement, and Braid himself, if he cares to +challenge it, to _Fry's Magazine_ for May 1909, wherein are shown +eight drives by James Braid. No. 1 shows Braid at the top of his +swing; No. 2 shows him before his club head has travelled a foot, and +even in this short distance we see that his body has already turned +very considerably. Any attempt whatever to follow out what Braid says +here and to postpone the turn of the body until the club head is two +feet from the ball, must prove disastrous. + +Braid continues on the same page: + + At this moment the left knee turns rather quickly, as at the + moment of striking, I am firm on both feet; the quickness of + the action makes it difficult to follow with the eye, but I + am convinced this is what happens. Immediately after impact I + commence turning on the right toe, bending the right knee + slightly. This allows the right shoulder to come round till + the body is facing the hole. It is most essential that this + should be done, and then no thought will be given as to how + the club will finish, as the speed at which the club head is + travelling will naturally take it well through. + +Here we have, at least, very important corroboration of the fact that +one need not worry about the follow-through if the first portion of +the stroke has been correctly played. Braid says that at the moment of +striking "the player is quite firm on both his feet and faces directly +to the ball, just as he did when he was addressing it before he began +the upward swing. Anyone who thinks out the theory of the swing for +himself will see that it is obviously intended that at the moment of +impact the player shall be just as he was when he addressed the ball, +which is the position which will afford him most driving power and +accuracy." + +This statement is so amazing that I must give definite instructions as +to where to find it. It is on page 54 of _How to Play Golf_, and I +think it proves conclusively that the idea which Braid is endeavouring +to impart to his pupils and readers is entirely wrong, and is not the +method which he himself follows in practice. Confirmation of my +opinion can be obtained from a study of the third picture in the +series of drives by James Braid in the May number of _Fry's Magazine_ +for 1909, which I have just referred to. Here we see clearly that the +positions, from a golfing point of view, are utterly dissimilar, as +indeed is most natural. + +Braid states that immediately after impact he commences "turning on +the right toe, bending the right knee slightly." I think it will be +found that even with James Braid, who certainly uses his legs in a +somewhat different manner from many of the leading professionals, the +right foot begins to lift before impact with the ball. I am inclined +to think that both Braid and Taylor are more flat-footed at the moment +of impact than most of the other professional golfers; but there can +be little doubt that the body is swung into the blow before impact, +otherwise it would be a matter of practical impossibility for them to +obtain the length which they do; while it is a certainty that for the +ordinary golfer it would be fatal to attempt to keep his weight in any +way whatever on his right leg at the finish of his drive. + +This rooted fallacy with regard to the distribution of weight so that +at the top of the swing it shall be on the right foot, has obtained +its hold in a very peculiar manner. At the top of the swing the right +leg is practically perfectly straight, and, naturally, as the foot is +firmly planted on the ground and therefore held at both the heel and +the toe while the leg has turned with the body, there is a very +considerable amount of torsional or twisting strain on the leg. This +torsional strain, added to the fact that the leg is perfectly +straight, has led to the idea that a great deal of the weight is on +the right leg. + +This idea has been confirmed to a very great degree by the manner of +contact of the left foot with the earth. At the top of the swing the +golfer pivots on the left foot, practically from the ball of the big +toe to the end thereof, or on that portion of his boot representing +this space. This naturally makes his contact with the earth _appear +light_. These two causes, taken together, have produced the fallacy +with regard to having the weight on the right foot and leg at the top +of the swing. In the one case it is a physical cause, namely, the +stiffness and torsional strain on the right leg, and in the other case +it is a visual deception. It stands to reason that, provided the two +surfaces will bear the strain, as much weight could be borne on a +point as on a surface immeasurably greater, but in the second case +there would be a greater _appearance_ of weight. This is exactly what +has happened with regard to the golf drive. It is executed extremely +quickly, and those who have attempted to explain it have not been able +to follow the motions with sufficient rapidity and intelligence, nor +have they been able to explain them accurately either from a +mechanical or anatomical point of view. + +Until we can get some golfer who can pass the test suggested by me, +and play his stroke without touching the wire strained within a +quarter of an inch of his neck, after having taken his stance with his +weight evenly distributed between his legs, and at the same time play +it without contortion with his weight on his right leg, we may take it +that this tremendous fallacy with regard to the distribution of weight +at the top of the swing has been exploded. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE POWER OF THE LEFT + + +The fetich of the left is, amongst golfers, only second, if indeed it +is second in its injurious nature, to the idea that the weight should +be put on the right foot at the top of the swing. It is very hard +indeed to trace the origin of the idea that the left hand and arm is +of more importance in the golf stroke than the right, but that it is a +very rooted idea there can be no doubt whatever. + +To those who are not acquainted with the literature of golf and the +remarkable ideas which many golfers have of the nature of their game, +it would seem almost superfluous to go very fully into this matter, +for one would think that it is sufficiently obvious that the right +hand and arm are the dominant factors in producing the golf stroke. It +is, however, useless to deny that there is a large body of opinion, +backed by most influential authority, in favour of the left hand and +arm being more important than the right. + +Let us see, before we go any further in the matter, what the leading +professionals have to say about it. + +Harry Vardon, it is true, does not explicitly state that the right +hand is the more important, but by implication he does assert so right +throughout _The Complete Golfer_. Let me quote a few of his remarks +with regard to the left hand. On page 61 Vardon says: + + The grip with the first finger and thumb of my right hand is + exceedingly firm, and the pressure of the little finger on + the knuckle of the left hand is very decided. In the same way + it is the thumb and first finger of the left hand that have + most of the gripping work to do. Again, the palm of the right + hand presses hard against the thumb of the left. In the + upward swing this pressure is gradually decreased, until when + the club reaches the turning point there is no longer any + such pressure; indeed, at this point the palm and the thumb + are barely in contact. + +We see here clearly that, as indeed Vardon has stated elsewhere, at +the top of the swing the grip of the right has opened up until it may +almost in a measure be said to have ceased to direct operations. + +Vardon continues: + + This release is a natural one, and will or should come + naturally to the player for the purpose of allowing the head + of the club to swing well and freely back. But the grip of + the thumb and first finger of the right hand, as well as that + of the little finger upon the knuckle of the first finger of + the left hand, is still as firm as at the beginning. + +From this it will be seen that the grip at each side of the hand is +apparently as firm as it was at the beginning of the stroke, but in +some mysterious manner it has eased up in between the forefinger and +the little finger. We need not, however, go any further into that +matter at the present time, but we may continue the consideration of +Vardon's statement here. He goes on to say: "As the club head is swung +back again towards the ball, the palm of the right hand and the thumb +of the left gradually come together again. Both the relaxing and the +retightening are done with the most perfect graduation, so that there +shall be no jerk to take the club off the straight line. The easing +begins when the hands are about shoulder high and the club shaft is +perpendicular, because it is at this time that the club begins to +pull, and if it were not let out in the manner explained, the result +would certainly be a half shot or very little more than that, for a +full and perfect swing would be an impossibility. This relaxation of +the palm also serves to give more freedom to the wrist at the top of +the swing just when that freedom is desirable." + +We might, for a moment, leave this statement, and turn to page 126. +Speaking here of the approach shot with the mashie Vardon says: "This +is one of the few shots in golf in which the right hand is called upon +to do most of the work, and that it may be encouraged to do so the +hold with the left hand should be slightly relaxed"; and again at page +147 in dealing with putting Vardon says: "But in this part of the game +it is quite clear that the right hand has more work to do than the +left." + +In these statements it is quite evident that Vardon wishes to express +the idea that, generally speaking, the left hand is in command of the +stroke. + +Reverting for a moment, and before I proceed to consider what the +other authorities have to say on this subject, to Vardon's remark that +"This is one of the few shots in golf in which the right hand is +called upon to do most of the work," I may say that Vardon does not, +in the whole of _The Complete Golfer_, explicitly describe any one +stroke wherein he shows that the left hand "is called upon to do most +of the work," nor, for the matter of that, does any other professional +golfer or author, although the statement is common to nearly all books +on the game. + +James Braid, on page 55 of _How to Play Golf_, says: + + A word about the varying pressure of the grip with each hand. + In the address the left hand should just be squeezing the + handle of the club, but not so tightly as if one were afraid + of losing it. The right hand should hold the club a little + more loosely. The left hand should hold firmly all the way + through. The right will open a little at the top of the swing + to allow the club to move easily, but it should automatically + tighten itself in the downward swing. + +Here again we see the idea that the left is in charge, because +although we are told that in the address the left hand should "just be +squeezing" the club, yet we are told clearly and definitely that "the +left hand should hold firmly all the way through." It is somewhat +difficult to reconcile these directions, and it is obvious that if the +right is going to "open a little at the top of the swing" the club +will certainly move easily--in fact it will move so easily that the +accuracy of the stroke will be very considerably interfered with. + +Let us for a moment turn to _Advanced Golf_. There, James Braid, +speaking of the top of the swing, says: "Now for the return journey. +Here at the top, arms, wrists, body--all are in their highest state of +tension." Let me pause here for a moment to ask how it is possible for +"arms, wrists, body" all to be "in their highest state of tension," if +the right hand is to "open a little at the top of the swing to allow +the club to move easily"; and how is it possible for the right hand to +"automatically tighten itself in the downward swing" if it was already +in its "highest state of tension" when it was at the top of the swing? + +It will be apparent that it is utterly impossible for the arms and +wrists to be tighter than they are when they are "in their highest +state of tension." Therefore, we must take it that James Braid's +advice at page 55 of _How to Play Golf_ is over-ridden by his advice +at page 57 of _Advanced Golf_, for I think that we are entitled to +consider that _Advanced Golf_ represents Braid's last word with regard +to the science of golf. + +Quoting still from the same passage, page 57 of _Advanced Golf_, Braid +says: "Every muscle and joint in the human golfing machinery is wound +up to the highest point." It is impossible to get away from that. We +are told that at the beginning of the downward swing "every muscle and +joint in the human golfing machinery is wound up to the highest +point." + +Now the student of golf who desires to start his swing on a firm and +sure foundation must mark this statement well. I repeat it for the +third time: "Every muscle and joint in the human golfing machinery is +wound up to the highest point," and let it be remembered that Braid is +now speaking _of the start of the downward swing_. + +We will now turn to _Taylor on Golf_. At page 193 Taylor says: + + My contention is simply this: that the grasp of the right + hand upon the club must be sufficiently firm in itself to + hold it steady and true, but it must not be allowed on any + account to over-power the left. The idea is that the latter + arm must exercise a predominant influence in every stroke + that may be played. As regards my own position in the matter, + my grip with either hand is very firm, yet I should hesitate + before I told every golfer to go and do likewise. + +Here we see that Taylor distinctly says that "the idea is that the +latter arm (_i.e._ the left) must exercise the predominant influence +in every stroke that may be played," and although he says explicitly +that his own grip with both hands is very firm, he puts the utterly +false idea of the predominance of the left into the minds of those who +are influenced by his teaching. + +Taylor, at page 107 of _Great Golfers_, says in dealing with the +"Downward Swing": + + The club is brought down principally by the left wrist, the + right doing very little until the hands are opposite the + right leg, when it begins to assert itself, bringing the full + face of the club to the ball. + +It is almost unnecessary to say, especially in view of Taylor's +statement that he holds very firmly with both hands, that he does not +carry out this dangerous teaching. Harry Vardon says to attempt it is +fatal, and I am pleased to add my corroboration. + +This amazing fallacy is wonderfully deeply rooted. A friend of mine +some time ago was in trouble about his iron shots. He consulted a +professional, who endeavoured to cure him by telling him when playing +his stroke to hold so lightly with his right hand that at any time +during the stroke he could slide it up and down the shaft. + +Oh no! He is not a duffer, nor is he mentally unbalanced. He is merely +a professional golfer who plays for England and suffers from the +hallucination handed on to him by more famous players than he. + +What could be stronger than this? Let me quote Taylor again. At page +90 of _Taylor on Golf_ he says: + + The right hand is naturally the stronger of the two--much + more powerful in the average man than the left--and the + learner is just as naturally prone to use it. But in the game + of golf he must keep in front of him at all times the fact + that the left hand should fill the position of guide, and it + must have the predominating influence over the stroke. + + That this is rather unnatural I am perfectly willing to + admit. Its being unnatural is the basis of its great + difficulty, but it is a difficulty that must needs be + grappled with and overcome by any man who desires to play the + game as it should be played. + +But Taylor will not give in to this idea himself! Is not this +wonderful? + +Harry Vardon says of the grip that one should "remember that the grip +with _both_ hands should be firm. That with the right hand should not +be slack as one is so often told." This is valuable corroboration, for +it must be remembered that Vardon only subscribes to the fetich of the +left _by implication_. Nowhere, I think, can we convict him of +actually preaching it. + +Now let us turn to the volume on _Golf_ in the Badminton Library +contributed by Mr. Horace G. Hutchinson. At page 85 Mr. Hutchinson +says: + + Since, as will be shown later on, the club has to turn in the + right hand at a certain point in the swing, it should be held + lightly in the fingers, rather than in the palm, with that + hand. In the left hand it should be held well home in the + palm, and it is not to stir from this position throughout the + swing. It is the left hand, mainly, that communicates the + power of the swing; the chief function of the right hand is + as a guide in direction. + +At page 87 Mr. Hutchinson continues: + + So much, then, for the grip. Now, when the club, in the + course of its swing away from the ball, is beginning to rise + from the ground, and is reaching the horizontal with its head + pointing to the player's left, it should be allowed to turn + naturally in the right hand until it is resting upon the web + between the forefinger and the thumb. + +We see here that this distinguished amateur is an out and out adherent +of the fallacy of the left. He tells us distinctly that it is the +"left hand, mainly, that communicates the power of the swing, and that +the chief function of the right hand is as a guide in direction," but +notwithstanding the fact that "the chief function of the right hand is +as a guide in direction," we see that at the top of the stroke it +turns loosely in the hand until it is "resting upon the web between +the forefinger and the thumb." + + [Illustration: PLATE VII. HARRY VARDON + + The finish of the drive--a little later than in Plate VI., + showing the weight completely on the left foot.] + +Of course, in the circumstances, it will be very hard indeed for us to +follow out James Braid's idea of everything at this point being in +supreme tension, but it is interesting to see what Mr. Hutchinson +thinks about the matter. + +We have here the opinions of the three most distinguished +professionals in the world, backed by that of one of the distinguished +amateurs in the game, a man who has distinguished himself both by his +play and his writing. In the face of this weight of authority it may +seem rash to venture to state plainly and explicitly that as a matter +of practical golf the right hand and arm is the dominant partner, and +that it is the duty of every normal golfer to have this idea firmly +implanted in his mind when he settles down to his address. + +As the right is the dominant partner in the golf drive, so must the +predominance of the right be the dominant idea in one's mind, but the +domination of the right must not be abused, as we shall show later on. + +It is, of course, proper for a golfer to have clearly fixed in his +mind the fact that the right is the more important member of the two, +but when he has once got that fact carefully and well stowed away in +his mind, it will be no more trouble to him than it is at present to +every normal person to use his knife in his right hand with which to +cut his meat, for it is an absolutely natural proceeding. The trouble +with the fetich of the left is that not only is it a perfectly +unnatural proceeding, but it is also, on that account, something extra +for the golfer to cumber his mind with during his swing. If he plays +his stroke naturally and without any thought of the mismade maxims of +unpractical persons, he will inevitably let the right hand and arm +take charge of the stroke, but the right will not at any time +endeavour to do more than its proper share, and therefore the left +will be given every chance to do a fair amount of the work. It is the +interference with Nature by putting the left forward into a place +which it has no right to occupy, which ruins so many golf strokes. + +Let us now turn to _The Complete Golfer_. Here, at page 60, Harry +Vardon says: + + We must now consider the degree of tightness of the grip by + either hand, for this is an important matter. Some teachers + of golf, and various books of instruction, inform us that we + should grasp the club firmly with the left hand and only + lightly with the right, leaving the former to do the bulk of + the work and the other merely to guide the operations. + + It is astonishing with what persistency this error has been + repeated, for error I truly believe it is. Ask any really + first-class player with what comparative tightness he holds + the club in his right and left hands, and I am confident that + in nearly every case he will declare that he holds it, + nearly, if not quite, as tightly with the right hand as with + the left. Personally, I grip quite as firmly with the right + hand as with the other one. When the other way is + adopted--the left hand being tight and the right hand simply + watching it, as it were--there is an irresistible tendency + for the latter to tighten up suddenly at some part of the + upward or downward swing, and, as surely as there is a ball + on the tee, when it does so there will be mischief. + +If we sum up the advice of Vardon and Taylor, and of Braid as shown in +his latest work _Advanced Golf_, we see clearly that although they +subscribe to the idea of the predominance of the power of the left +hand and arm, they do not themselves carry it out in practice. Taylor +says that his grip with both hands is very firm, yet he should +hesitate before recommending other people to follow his methods. I +think we may take it for granted that a method which has resulted in +four open championships may be considered good enough to follow. + +Vardon, as we have seen, only subscribes to this notion inferentially, +and nobody could be more emphatic than he is with regard to the +distribution of force in the grip. His words "Ask any really +first-class player with what comparative tightness he holds the club +in his right and left hands, and I am confident that in nearly every +case he will declare that he holds it, nearly, if not quite, as +tightly with the right hand as with the left," present the case +exactly. Any man who plays golf properly will find it impossible to +tell you how he distributes the force of his grip on his club, and +what proportion of power the grip of the left bears to the right. As a +matter of fact, the man who plays golf properly has no time to think +of such nonsense as this. This is a matter which is regulated for him +by common sense and nature. + +The trouble steps in when he is advised to interfere with the ordinary +course of Nature, and to put the left hand in a position of authority +which it has no right whatever to try to exercise. I say advisedly +"try" to exercise, because it never can exercise the power which it is +supposed to have. It stands to reason, therefore, that any attempt +whatever to make it exercise a power superior to the more powerful arm +must result in interfering with the proper functions of the hand and +arm which should be naturally in command of the stroke. + +We have seen that James Braid in _Advanced Golf_ has quite altered the +opinions which he expresses in _How to Play Golf_, and he also agrees +that at the top of the swing, and until the stroke is played, it is +right to grip the club as hard as one can with both hands--in fact, +he says as plainly as it is possible for anyone to say anything, that +during the whole of the downward swing the muscles are in a state of +supreme tension, and fortunately he does not repeat the common error, +the error which he himself makes in _How to Play Golf_, of advising +the player to encumber his mind with any idea of regulating the +increase of speed of the club head. + +Vardon puts the matter splendidly when he says: + + Personally, I grip quite as firmly with the right hand as + with the other one. When the other way is adopted--the left + hand being tight and the right hand simply watching it, as it + were--there is an irresistible tendency for the latter to + tighten up suddenly at some part of the upward or downward + swing, and, as surely as there is a ball on the tee, when it + does so there will be mischief. + +This is such an important statement that I must, in passing, emphasise +it, although I hope to deal with it again later on, for Vardon here +strikes a deadly blow to the absurd nonsense which most books lay down +about regulating the grip during the upward and downward swing. As +Vardon truly says, any attempt to apportion the respective power of +the grip of the left and right during the golf swing must inevitably +result in disaster, for there will unquestionably be, as he well +remarks, a pronounced tendency to tighten up at some part of the swing +in a jerky manner. The only way to guard against this is to be, as +James Braid says in _Advanced Golf_, in a state of supreme tension +from the moment the downward swing starts. + +It must be remembered that Vardon himself advocates easing up with the +grip of the right at the top of the swing, although he says that he +grips as firmly with the right as the left. It stands to reason that +if Vardon does ease up with his right at the top of the swing, he +must during his downward stroke restore the balance of power. It seems +perfectly clear that in doing this there is a very great danger of +what he describes as an "irresistible tendency for the latter," that +is the right hand, "to tighten up suddenly." + +I cannot see that, because Vardon starts with his grip equally firm +with each hand, and then relaxes the firmness of his grip with his +right hand at the top of the stroke, trusting to regain his firmness +by the time he has reached the ball again, he removes from his swing +the danger of the sudden tightening-up which he shows will threaten +the swing of anyone who attempts to let the left hand have the +predominant grip. It seems to me perfectly clear that this danger must +be even in Vardon's downward swing, but we know quite well that +Vardon, as a stroke player, is a genius, and that even if it is not a +danger for him, it would be for ninety-five of every hundred golfers. + +The truth is, with regard to the golf grip, although none of the +leading professionals or authors are courageous enough to state it, +that for the ordinary golfer--aye, and even for the extraordinary +golfer--there is only one way to apportion the force of the left and +right in the grip, and that is _not to think about it at all when one +is doing it_, but to grip very firmly with both hands, and leave any +apportionment of force which may be necessary to Nature, and the +golfer who follows this advice and instruction will find that Nature +can attend to it infinitely better than he can. + +In golf we frequently find that one fallacy is built up on another, +and it is quite an open question if the fallacy of the power of the +left hand and arm is not founded on another fallacy, namely, the +fallacy of the present overlapping grip. Now this sounds like rank +heresy, and I may as well say at once that I am not prepared to +assert that the present overlapping grip is a fallacy, but it is at +least open to argument if it is the best grip which can be taken of a +golf club. + +There is no such thing as standing still in golf or any other +game--either we are progressing or we are going backwards. In golf, +notwithstanding the vast amount of false teaching which is published, +we are unquestionably advancing. It must not be thought from this that +it is of no importance that most of the matter which is published +about golf is entirely misleading, for that is not so. This misleading +matter is followed by an enormous army of golfers who are not able to +think out the matter for themselves, but there are a very great number +of golfers who absolutely disregard the published tuition of the +greatest experts in the world and play golf as it should be played, +and in no case is this more pronounced than in the persons of leading +professional golfers, for they write one thing, but do absolutely the +other themselves. + +In the old days, when Vardon and all the other champions used the +two-handed grip, it would have been rank folly for any person other +than Vardon to have asserted that it was better to get the grip of the +right hand off the club, as the overlapping grip does to a very great +extent, but this grip was tried by Vardon, and it very soon became +almost universal. However, I think we are justified in asking if this +grip is undoubtedly the best that it is possible for us to get. Before +the overlapping grip became fashionable both hands had their full grip +on the shaft of the club, and in those days men played great golf, and +there are many of them who still play great golf with the same hold, +which they have refused to alter. + +At page 194 of _Taylor on Golf_, speaking of the grip, Taylor says: + + To sum up the matter, I should describe the orthodox manner + of gripping with the right in the following words: The + fingers must close around the club in such a way that + provision is made for the thumb to cover and cross the shaft, + the first joints of the fingers, providing this is done, + being just in sight. Nothing more or nothing less. This is + the grip generally accepted as being orthodox, and the one + generally favoured by the majority of those who decide to + follow up the game properly. But, as is the case with + everything which is favoured by any considerable number of + enthusiasts, there are those who, untrammelled by tradition, + break away and hold the club differently, with one hand at + least. + + Take, as for instance, the case of Mr. John Ball, jun. This + gentleman--one of the leading golfers of the day--holds the + club firmly, not to say tightly, in the palm of his right + hand. Well, he has discovered that this does not + detrimentally affect his play, so I presume that may be taken + as a satisfactory proof that the orthodox way may sometimes + be departed from. Then, after Mr. Ball, I might mention the + name of Mr. Edward Blackwell. He is almost certainly the most + consistently good long driver we possess now, and his + unorthodox method of grip with the right hand has not + affected his play. + +Taylor, of course, uses the overlapping grip, which is to-day the +orthodox grip. + +Taylor speaks here of "those who, untrammelled by tradition, break +away and hold the club differently, with one hand at least," but it +seems to me that the two golfers quoted are not those who are breaking +away from the traditional hold. Rather does it seem to me that it is +we of the orthodox grip of to-day who have broken away from the best +traditions of golf, and taking best and best of those who have adopted +the modern grip and those who have maintained the old grip, there is +practically "nothing in it." Looking at the grip of men like Mr. H. H. +Hilton, Mr. John Ball, and Mr. Edward Blackwell, it would, I think, +to-day, require a person almost bereft of intelligence to imagine for +one moment that the power of the stroke in the play of these golfers +is obtained from their left arms and hands, and I do not suppose for a +single moment that any one of these players would dream of asserting +that he gets his length or direction from the left arm. + +We are now confronted with the fact that one at least of these players +with the two-handed grip is at practically no disadvantage against the +best golfers in the world, and we must take it for granted in the face +of what we have said, that his power of stroke and his command thereof +is obtained from his right hand and arm. Now that being so, let us say +for the sake of argument that he desires to improve his play by +bringing the action of his wrists into greater harmony by adopting the +overlapping grip. Surely one is confronted with this question--should +one overlap the left hand with the right, or should one overlap the +right with the left. In the present overlap the left hand takes the +first grip of the club, and the right hand overlaps it, and in so +doing is taken, to a very great extent, off the shaft of the club. + +The question now arises, Should not one first take one's grip with the +right hand, the dominant hand, the guiding hand, and the hand which is +operated by the stronger arm, and having got this grip, proceed to +overlap with the left, always allowing, of course, for the necessary +insertion of the thumb of the left between the shaft and the palm of +the right hand? + +This may sound revolutionary, but I assure my readers that it is not +one half so revolutionary as the change from the old two-handed grip +to the present overlapping grip, for in that change the right hand +was, to a very great extent, deprived of its pride of place. I think +there is very little doubt that a player who became accustomed to the +right-handed grip with the left overlap, would find that he produced a +better game than he was able to do with the present overlapping grip. +The fact is that we are inclined to take a much too complimentary and +optimistic view of our exploits. Golf has now come to such a pass that +it is played almost perfectly by a few of the best players, so that we +have come to consider a five by a leading player as a serious lapse; +but we must not judge the great body of golfers by the perfect +players. These men would probably play very well under any conditions +which could exist in the game. We have to consider the greatest good +of the greatest number--in other words, the object of our search is to +ascertain and understand perfectly what is the best way, and although +I am stating this proposition with regard to the golf grip quite +tentatively, and am laying it down as a subject for argument, I have +very little doubt indeed that it will be found in the future that the +right-handed grip is the best grip for playing golf. + +I think there is very little doubt that the most important change in +the next decade will be in the right hand and arm coming into their +kingdom. It need not be thought that this will happen in a day, or a +month, or a year. For very many years the great game of golf was +played, and was well and truly played by men who never dreamed of +putting part of one hand beneath the other--who would have scouted the +overlapping grip and the levering of the right hand off the shaft as +sacrilege--but some one introduced the idea, because it brought the +wrists closer together so that they worked more in harmony than with +the old grip. Harry Vardon tried it and found it good, and it went +into the game of golf and the history thereof. + +And to see Vardon use it, one might well say, "What more can you +want?"; but that is not argument. Probably the one who asked that +question would have asked the same question had he seen Vardon playing +when he was using the old grip, when one wrist was fighting the other; +so we must not be deterred from our speculation, from peering into the +future. Of course, the essence of the overlapping grip is that it +reduces the conflict of the wrists, and so conduces to greater +accuracy and to less interference with the rhythm of the swing. It +stands to reason that in the old days of the two-handed grip this +conflict was worse than it would be now, for then the fetich of the +left had not been weakened, and it was a distressful thing to have a +hefty left in possession of the end of one's shaft and interfering +with the proper functions of the right in an unwarrantable manner. + +Scientific golfers have, however, now come to the conclusion that the +right hand and arm are the dominant partners in the production of the +golf stroke, although there are many of the old school who still +pathetically retain and exhibit their allegiance to the old tradition +of the left being the master. + +If we have established the fact that the right is the dominant factor +in the production of the drive, it seems to me that it follows quite +naturally that the place of honour on the shaft should be allotted to +it, and that it should be allowed the full grip, and not as it is at +present, pushed off the shaft so that the grip of the dominant hand is +practically reduced to that of the thumb and the first and second +fingers. If this point is conceded the right hand obtains the full +benefit of its undoubtedly superior power, for it obtains a firm and +natural grip, whereas the present overlapping grip is a most unnatural +hold and a difficult one for beginners to acquire, although very few +players who have once used it return to the old grip. + +Not only is the proposed grip more solid and natural, and productive +of greater power and accuracy than the present overlapping grip, but +it unquestionably carries the main idea of the overlapping grip to its +logical conclusion, as it reduces the stroke much more to a one-wrist +shot than does the present grip. + +There will always be found many people who are prepared to condemn +utterly anything which they do not understand. Some of these are sure +to exercise themselves on this subject, so I shall give them some +additional food for thought. Some time ago, a golfer who was capable +of removing Mr. John Ball from the Amateur Championship Competition, +lost his left thumb at the second joint. After his misfortune he took +to driving a much longer ball than he had been in the habit of doing +before his accident. + +Now there must have been some reason for this. The only one which I +can suggest is that his accident put the right hand more into its +proper and natural place on the shaft than it had been before. +Curiosity led me to try to reproduce this grip as much as possible. I +used the ordinary overlapping grip, with the exception that I allowed +my thumb to remain out and to rest on the back of my right hand in a +line with the knuckle of the little finger. I was astonished to find +how closely it seemed to bring the wrists together. The injured golfer +would probably have the ideal golf grip if he overlapped his right +with his left forefinger instead of using the ordinary overlap, for he +would have a perfectly free and full right-hand grip, no interference +by the thumb of the left hand, and a natural overlap with the left +forefinger on the little finger of the right hand. + +There is surely food for thought in these considerations, and I am +sure that many who take to golf late in life could do much better with +this grip and the short swing than they do with the grip which is most +in vogue, and with much striving after an exaggerated swing. It is not +wise for us to think that there is nothing to discover or to improve +on in the grip. There is in this suggestion much room for experiment +and argument, and unless I am very much mistaken we shall, in the +future, see the relative position of the hands on the shaft altered. + +I may here refer again to the remarks made on the power of the left by +Mr. Horace Hutchinson. It will be remembered that he said: + + Since, as will be shown later on, the club has to turn in the + right hand at a certain point in the swing, it should be held + lightly in the fingers, rather than in the palm, with that + hand. In the left hand it should be held well home in the + palm, and it is not to stir from this position throughout the + swing. It is the left hand, mainly, that communicates the + power of the swing; the chief function of the right hand is + as a guide in direction. + +Notwithstanding Mr. Horace Hutchinson's statement with regard to the +function of the right hand, there is given on page 86 of the Badminton +_Golf_ an illustration entitled "At the top of the swing (as it should +be)." Here we see a player in about as ineffective a position for +producing a drive as one could possibly imagine, for the right elbow +is considerably above the player's head and is pointing skyward. It +would be an impossibility from such a position to obtain either +adequate guidance or power from the right hand, and it is a matter of +astonishment to find the name of such a fine player and good judge of +the game as Mr. Horace Hutchinson attached to an illustration which +must always be a classical illustration of "The top of the swing (as +it should _not_ be)." + +We may here for the time being disregard the fundamentally unsound +position of the right arm, for Mr. Horace Hutchinson has apparently +altered his mind since, as we find him in _Great Golfers_ photographed +at the top of his swing with the right elbow in an entirely different +position. We see there clearly that he had come to realise the +importance of keeping his elbow well down and as much as possible in +the plane of force indicated by the swing and the shaft of the golf +club. These photographs are very interesting. Mr. Horace Hutchinson +says that the golf club "should be held well home in the [left] palm, +and it is not to stir from this position throughout the swing," yet at +the top of Mr. Horace Hutchinson's swing illustrated on page 296 of +_Great Golfers_ we see clearly that at the top of his swing the club +is barely held in the fingers of the left hand--as a matter of fact +the forefinger of the left hand is raised and the club is merely +resting in the three other fingers, which appear to be curved on to +the club and hardly exerting any pressure whatever. + +It is abundantly clear from this photograph that Mr. Hutchinson, who +is the most pronounced adherent to the fetich of the left, is driving +his ball with a grip which is, to all intents and purposes, a +right-handed stroke. This photograph was taken in action and at the +rate of about one twelve-hundred-and-fiftieth of a second, so that +there cannot be much doubt as to the fact that Mr. Horace Hutchinson +is merely another exemplification of the fact that the golfers who +write for the public tell them one thing, while they themselves +practise another. + +Before concluding this chapter on the power of the left, I may mention +that Mr. H. H. Hilton in Mr. John L. Low's book _Concerning Golf_, +subscribes to the idea of attempting to regulate the force of the +grips taken by the hands. He says on page 78 of that book: + + When the main object of a shot is to obtain length, hold + tight with the left hand. The left hand will then do most of + the work in taking up the club. The right hand comes in on + the down swing to add force to the shot, and all parts of the + player's anatomy cohering together, the impetus will carry + his shoulders round, and unless he arbitrarily checks the + motion, he will finish his shot with his arms and club thrown + forcibly away from him; in short, he will have followed + through. + +It will be seen that this fine player distinctly advises a stronger +grip with the left than with the right hand when one's object is +distance. In the drive the object, of course, generally is distance, +and we are distinctly advised by Mr. Hilton to play our stroke in a +manner which Harry Vardon has clearly laid down as almost certain to +lead to irretrievable disaster, for starting with a firm grip with our +left, which we are to put practically in command of the club on the +upward swing, we are then to bring the right into play "on the down +swing to add force to the shot." + +It will be clearly seen here that Mr. Hilton is under the impression +that the left is performing the more important portion of the work, +for he speaks of the right hand as coming in to add force to the shot, +whereas, in fact, the main portion of the force is provided by the +right, and if there is any question of either hand and arm _adding_ +force to the shot, that will be done by the left hand and arm, and not +by the right. + +I do not think it is necessary for me to go any further in order to +show how deeply rooted and how widespread is this delusion about the +power of the left. It is another one of those pernicious fallacies +which absolutely strike at the root of the game of the great body of +golfers, and it is impossible for one to take too much trouble in +discrediting it to such an extent that it will soon be recognised as +not being practical golf. + +I can hardly close this chapter better than by a quotation from a +letter received by me from the professional of an American club as far +afield as San Antonio, Texas. He writes: + + It has taken me years of persistent effort to bury the many + prejudices against the proper use of the right arm, but they + must go, and I am glad to see you voiced sentiments strong + enough to make men stop and think over the situation. Let us + hope they will act. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE FUNCTION OF THE EYES + + +One of the commonest of the many excuses advanced for missing one's +drive is, "I lifted my eye." If the player only knew it he could lift +his eye with impunity. That is not what matters. It was lifting his +head which caused the trouble. + +"Keep your eye on the ball" is, without question, the soundest of +sound golf maxims, but it is both abused and misused. We need not +waste time arguing the question as to whether or not keeping one's eye +on the ball at the moment of impact is absolutely essential to success +in driving. Every golfer knows that for all purposes of practical golf +one absolutely must keep one's eye on the ball, and that to do any +other thing with the eyes at the moment of striking the ball is, to +put it mildly, quite inconvenient. + +The trouble in connection with lifting one's eye is that one's eyes +are in one's head. The seat of the machinery which works the golf +drive is in the same place. If one relaxes for a moment the mental +effort which has to be made whilst the golf stroke is being executed, +the eyes quite naturally wander in the direction in which the ball is +about to go. That in itself would not be so bad. The eyes +unfortunately do not wander without carrying the head with them. The +head is attached to the portion of the body where, roughly speaking, +the centre of the swing is situated. Immediately the head moves, the +centre of the circle, if it may for purposes of illustration be so +called, is affected. Hopeless inaccuracy is the result. It is a matter +of the most vital importance in golf that the eyes must not move. +Keeping the eyes in the one position from the moment when one has +finally addressed the ball until the moment of impact practically +ensures the proper management of one's weight; for it stands to reason +that if the eyes do not move it is impossible for the head to move, +and if the head does not move it will be impossible to sway, and +therefore to get the weight on to the right leg at the top of the +swing, as do so many golfers who follow the misleading directions +given with regard to the distribution of weight in the golf drive. + +Keeping one's head perfectly still is a matter of far greater +importance than keeping one's eye on the ball; for it will be obvious +that it is quite possible for a golfer, after having taken his +address, to keep his eye on the ball until he has driven it, but he +may in the meantime have lifted his head three or four inches. Lifting +his head three or four inches will not have caused him to take his eye +off the ball for an instant, but it will have been sufficient to have +ruined his drive. Therefore, we see that the really important thing is +to keep one's head and eyes in the same position for the impact as +they were at the moment of address. When I say the same position it is +manifest that there will be a fractional alteration, but it must be +the aim of the scientific golfer to have his eyes, at the moment of +impact, almost exactly in the same position as they were at the moment +of address. + +Keeping one's eyes steady in this manner means, as has already been +pointed out, that one preserves the centre, if it may be so called, of +the swing much better than if one allows one's weight to move from one +leg to the other. Preserving the centre of the swing in this manner +means that the rhythm of the swing must be very much better than if it +has a moving "centre." A moving centre must import into the stroke of +any golfer far greater inaccuracy than there would be if his centre +had remained constant, as it will do if he keeps his head in the same +place. + +Some time ago a good professional golfer asserted that the well-known +maxim "Keep your eye on the ball" was a delusion, and that it was +possible to play perfectly good golf blindfolded, provided one had +first taken one's stance and judged one's swing at the ball. In due +course a match was arranged between this professional, blindfolded, +and an amateur, and the professional was very badly beaten, as he did +not, I believe, win a single hole. This result naturally tended to +discredit his ideas very considerably. + +As a matter of practical golf, what he wished to establish is +perfectly correct. Although "Keep your eye on the ball" is the +soundest of sound practical golf, it is to a very large extent +preached in a manner which is in itself entirely fallacious--for two +reasons: Firstly, the player is told that it is absolutely essential +to his stroke that he must keep his eye on the ball up to the moment +of impact, and not only must he keep it there until the moment of +impact, but that he should keep on gazing at the turf where the ball +had lain after the ball has gone on its way. + +Now our professional golfer, who essayed the task of playing +blindfolded golf, was perfectly correct in stating that it is not +necessary to keep one's eye on the ball in playing golf, for the +simple reason that the eye has fulfilled its function and has gone +out of business, so far as regards that stroke, long before the head +of the club has come into contact with the ball. It is this fact which +makes us so prone to lift our eyes, and with them our heads, which of +course is fatal to good golf. I go so far as to say that if Vardon in +his drive could be automatically blindfolded when his club was two +feet from his ball, and that he could accustom himself to keeping his +head still after he was blindfolded, it would not affect his drive in +the slightest degree, for the very simple and all-sufficient reason +that the eye has finished its function in connection with the golf +stroke for a very considerable period before impact takes place. It +has assisted the golfer to take his proper stance and address, and has +aided him in judging his distance, but the arc of the golf stroke is +practically settled almost from the instant that it starts on its +downward path. + +The duration of impact in a drive at golf has been measured by the +most competent authority to be one ten-thousandth of a second. +Photographs of the impact of the golf club with the golf ball taken at +the one twelve-hundred-and-fiftieth of a second, are merely blurs. +There is no clear definition of the club whatever. We can see from +this that the rate of speed at which the golf club is travelling is +extreme, even had we not the scientific measurement of the exact +amount of time consumed during the contact. It will be obvious to a +very ordinary understanding that when a club is travelling at this +terrific pace it would be impossible for anyone to impart into the +line of travel of the club head a new direction at, say, two feet from +the ball, without ruining both the force and the direction of the +ball. Therefore, it is evident that if one could close one's eyes when +the club head was two feet from the ball and still keep one's head in +exactly the same position, the impact would be practically not +affected at all. + +This is the undoubted fact in so far as regards the work of the eye. +It fulfils its duty very early in the stroke; but although the +explanation of the function of the eye is so incorrectly given, still +"Keep your eye on the ball" is, and ever will be, a sound golfing +maxim, for it is not given to golfing man to be able to lift his eye +and at the same time to keep his mind concentrated on his stroke, and +to keep his head in the same place as it was in when he addressed his +ball. Therefore, although it is not so absolutely necessary to keep +one's eye on the ball as is generally laid down, it is expedient to +preach to the fullest extent and to insist on what Harry Vardon calls +"the parrot cry of the links." + +Most writers who deal with the matter of keeping one's eye on the ball +are not satisfied with exhorting the player to keep his eye on the +ball until after the moment of impact; they go further still and +insist upon the fact that he must continue to gaze at the piece of +turf whereon the ball lay, long after the ball has departed to the +hole. This, again, is an absolute fallacy. It is only excusable on the +principle that the greater includes the less, and that by insisting on +one gazing at the turf long after the ball has sped on its way, one +may be able to make the player do what he should do, and that is just +to keep his eye on the ball until the moment of impact, for if we +follow the advice given by many notable men of continuing to gaze at +the turf after the ball has been driven, there can be no doubt +whatever that we do much to spoil the rhythm and effectiveness of the +drive. + +To preserve these we have been told that the head must be kept +immovable throughout the golf drive, and that one must keep one's eye +on the ball until it has been driven, and on the place where it was +after it has been driven. However, following Vardon's explanation of +the drive and taking what we know of this stroke ourselves, it will be +remembered that at the moment of impact, "simultaneously," Vardon +says, the body moves down the line of flight to the hole. It follows, +therefore, that if one continues turf-gazing after one has hit the +ball, that one's body is going on its way towards the hole whilst +one's head is being held backward in the opposite direction to the +travel of the body. This is absolutely bad golf, and Vardon does not +do this himself. + +The truth with regard to the proper management of the eye in the golf +stroke is that it should move simultaneously with the ball, for if +there be any attempt whatever to drive the ball and to keep the head +in the same position as it was at the moment of address, this will +inevitably result in preventing the right shoulder getting through and +the body following it as it ought to do, for a rigid head and neck +will prevent any follow-through. + +Vardon is very explicit about the value of timing the body so that it +goes forward down the line of flight towards the hole at the moment +the stroke is made. He shows us, as a matter of fact, that this +forward movement is practically simultaneous with the impact of the +club on the ball. It will be obvious, then, to anyone, that this +turf-gazing after one has hit the ball, which is recommended by the +leading authorities of the game, is absolutely bad golf, for it must +inevitably interfere with the follow-through. + +At page 174 of _The Complete Golfer_ Vardon says: + + Keep your eye on the ball until you have hit it, but no + longer. You cannot follow through properly with a long shot + if your eye remains fastened on the ground. Hit the ball and + then let your eye pick it up in its flight as quickly as + possible. Of course this needs skilful timing and management, + but precision will soon become habitual. + +It was by the merest chance that I saw this passage after I had +written my chapter on "The Function of the Eyes," although I am now +incorporating it herein. + +I am very glad to have Vardon's authority to back me up in +discrediting the silly idea about turf-studying; but although I have +him with me I cannot hold him guiltless of spreading the error, for he +has been photographed _repeatedly_ illustrating it in a style which he +never uses in actual play. This may be seen in the series of +photographs in _Fry's Magazine_ already referred to, and also at pages +89 and 97 of _Great Golfers_, wherein this great player is shown in +positions which in actual play he would not understand how to get +into; but people who know no better, and have not the real power of +comparative analysis and close thinking, are led away and suffer for +this kind of foolishness merely because it is associated with a great +name. + + [Illustration: PLATE VIII. EDWARD RAY + + This plate shows the champion's tremendous finish in the + drive. Ray, at the top of his stroke, gets much of his weight + on his right foot, but does not advise others to do so.] + +In connection with this matter of the function of the eye there is an +interesting point which I have not seen mentioned in any golf book--a +point which makes it, if anything, more necessary for one to insist +upon the vast importance of the maxim "Keep your eye on the ball," +although it is fallaciously preached both before and after impact. +This point is that there is just before impact a very considerable +portion of the travel of the head of the golf club during which the +ball is practically never seen by the golfer. This is what I may +call the golfer's "blind spot." It exists in practically all ball +games where the ball is struck by a bat or other implement of that +kind. Its existence, of course, is well known in cricket. I have +played lawn-tennis for twenty years, and I do not believe that I have +at any time during that period seen my racket hit the ball when +actually playing. I have seen it do it when I have made up my mind to +watch the ball and forget other matters, but in actual play one does +not do this. One plays the stroke with the utmost naturalness. The +ball is coming towards one and one gauges the distance and strikes. +One knows that whatever happens one's stroke is made for good or ill, +and there is in many strokes a blind spot of fully six to nine inches +in length. + +I have had some wonderful photographs of this blind spot wherein it is +shown most clearly that the lawn-tennis player is looking right away +from his ball long before he has struck it. I think it is beyond +question that this same blind spot exists in golf. I have no doubt +whatever that, perfect player as he is, there is in Harry Vardon's +stroke a blind spot of at least five inches. Few people who have not +studied this question can realise the incredible rapidity with which +the head of a golf club travels. I am well aware that there are many +photographs of Harry Vardon in existence, which show him carefully +studying the turf after the ball has gone on its way. I am also well +aware that these photographs were taken to illustrate the fact that he +does engage in turf-studying after the ball has gone on its way. I am +also well aware that in actual play he does nothing of the kind, and +that his beautiful, free, and natural finish is as different from the +stiff and constrained photographs shown when he does not lift his +head, as chalk is from cheese. + +I have watched Harry Vardon many and many a time, and I am absolutely +certain that in his natural play he has no thought whatever in his +mind of gazing at the turf after his ball has gone away. There is +nothing whatever to be gained by doing so, and there is much to be +lost. Any attempt whatever to anchor the head by gazing at the turf +after the ball has gone away, and then afterwards to allow it to +resume its place, together with the shoulders, in the swing of the +follow-through, is mere futility, and must result in absolutely +spoiling the rhythm of the swing and a proper follow-through. + +There is no player in the world who could be taken as a finer example +than Harry Vardon, of the fact that in the golf swing and at the +moment of impact there must be no restraint whatever on the movement +of the shoulders and the head. They must work together with the club +head and the ball. If they do not all move at the same time something +is out of gear. + +In the game of blindfolded golf which I have referred to, the +professional player took his stance, addressed his ball, and was then +blindfolded with a handkerchief, an operation which naturally took +some considerable time, but even as it was, he played some +astonishingly good shots even when his whole swing was blindfolded. He +should have had a pair of spectacles lined with cotton wadding or some +similar material and fastened with an elastic band, which could have +been lifted up whilst he was taking his address and closed down the +moment he was ready to make his stroke. This would have given him a +better chance to demonstrate what he desired to, which, as I have +already said, was in itself practically sound. + +I have spoken of Harry Vardon's blind spot, and I have said that it is +a matter of five inches. As a matter of fact it may quite well often +be double that; but it seems to me perfectly plain that nothing +whatever that Vardon can do when his club is within a foot of the +ball, so long as he keeps his head steady or still, is likely to alter +the path of the club head--I am speaking now, of course, of any normal +golf stroke. This consideration of the matter brings us back to the +statement which I have made time and time again, and in which I am +supported by James Braid, that once the golf stroke is commenced, the +fact of it connecting with the ball is merely an incident in the path +of the club head; and that after the club head has proceeded a certain +distance on the way to the ball it is beyond the power of the player +to alter the character of that stroke, for his force has been +irretrievably directed, in so far as regards that particular stroke, +in a particular manner. + +Speaking of the position of the head in driving, Taylor says: + + The head is maintained in exactly the same position as the + arms are brought down again, and so it remains until the ball + has been swept from the tee. The arms and body for all + practical purposes go through the same action, but in the + reverse way as in the upward swing, the body being held in a + similar position, but with the head turned and eyes looking + over the right shoulder at the finish of the stroke. + + During the progress of this downward movement the weight of + the body is again transferred, passing from the right leg to + the left, until when the finish arrives the whole of the + weight has been placed upon the left foot, while the right + has assumed the position previously held by its neighbour. + +We see here in a very marked degree the fallacy of the distribution of +the weight so that at the top of the swing the greater portion of it +is on the right leg; for Taylor, although he tells us that "the head +is maintained in exactly the same position," says that "during the +progress of this downward movement the weight of the body is again +transferred, passing from the right leg to the left." + +It is a very natural question for us to ask, "How can all this +shifting of the body be going on if the head is to be kept perfectly +still?" As a matter of fact it is a physical impossibility; and it is +also obvious that it would be impossible to keep the head still, +rigidly fixed, as we are told it should be, at the moment of impact, +and yet to get a true follow-through. + +Let us read a little farther on, and we see that Taylor says: "If the +ball has been struck there must be no semblance of checking or +snatching at the club. The player must not check himself or allow +premonitory symptoms of a check to make themselves felt even in the +slightest degree. He must allow the club head to follow the line of +flight of the ball as straight and as far as is possible." It stands +to reason that if one's head remains fixed for an instant after the +impact of the club with the ball, that instant the club head must feel +the tendency to be drawn out of the straight line to the hole, and the +follow-through down the line to the hole, which is so properly +insisted on by all great golfers, is ruined. + +Taylor continues: "The arms must be thrown forward freely and +naturally, and as a consequence the right shoulder must be allowed to +swing forward too." This should effectually dispose of the idea of +holding the head still after the ball has left the ground, for the +simple reason that if the head and neck be held still, it will be a +matter of utter impossibility for the right shoulder to go through and +down the line to the hole as it should. + +I must emphasise this matter a little more strongly by Taylor's own +words, for it is of very great importance in the golf drive. +Continuing, he says, in reference to the fact that the arms must be +allowed to go forward freely and naturally and that therefore the +right shoulder must be allowed to swing forward: + + By doing this the involuntary checking of the swing is + rendered impossible; but if arms and shoulders were to be + held tightly under control and as rigid as steel, the stroke + would be finished as soon as the head of the club had been + brought into contact with the ball. Every stroke in golf must + be played freely, every muscle of the body must be allowed to + do its full share of the necessary work. + +That is undoubtedly so; but if one arbitrarily fixes the position of +one's head as a stationary point in the golf swing after the ball has +gone on its journey, one prevents the right leg doing its share of the +work in shifting the weight forward down the line towards the hole, +and therefore one, to a very great extent, ruins one's follow-through. +This is a point which, in my mind, is of very great importance to the +drive, and it is, in so far as regards the function of the eyes, one +of the most pronounced fallacies of the many fallacious statements +with which unfortunate golfers are loaded. + +This blind spot which I have referred to, exists, as I have already +said, in practically every game wherein the ball is struck with an +implement. It is found in lacrosse, racquets, tennis, cricket, +lawn-tennis, polo, base-ball, hockey, ping-pong, and even in +billiards; but the probability is that the farther the striking +surface of the club or other implement is from the eye, the less is +the blind spot; and this is very fortunate for the golfer, for his +margin of error is so small that it is of great importance to him to +reduce this blind spot to a negligible quantity. But on the other +hand, as a matter of scientific and accurate golf, he will make nearly +as great a mistake in his golf if, in his endeavour to follow out the +well-known and useful maxim, "Keep your eye on the ball," he acquires +the habit of turf-gazing after the ball has gone on its way to the +hole. + +I have before had occasion to refer to the book entitled _The Mystery +of Golf_, and I have already, in part, touched upon some of the +author's curious ideas with regard to the analysis of the golfing +stroke. At page 159 he tells us that "the arms do not judge distance +(save when we are actually touching something) nor does the body, nor +does the head. The judging is done by the eyes." I am afraid that we +cannot deny that the judging is, in all cases, done by the eye, +because it is obvious that if we had not the use of our eyes, we +should not be able to see the ball; but the author seems to overlook +the somewhat important fact that although the arms do not judge +distance, yet they _measure_ it, and this matter of measurement is a +matter of extreme importance, as is exemplified in the case of play +out of a bunker where one has to measure the distance without +grounding the club. + +On the same page the author says: "If the eyes look up before the ball +is hit, the muscles do not receive the proper orders to hit, and the +most important part of the stroke is done blindly. That is my theory"; +and a most remarkable theory it is too. The muscles received their +proper orders to hit at the moment the stroke was begun, and lifting +the eyes a moment before impact would not affect the stroke if the +head remained in the same position. Lifting the eyes is in nearly +every case, as I have already pointed out, an action following on +lifting the mind. The mind has been allowed to come off the stroke +because the player's mental picture of the stroke has been completed +long before the physical act. In other words, he has got ahead of his +stroke. Then his head comes up, which of course is fatal to good +golf. + +It is a very remarkable circumstance that the attempted analysis by +the author of _The Mystery of Golf_ shows clearly that he has entered +upon his task with but a very faint idea of sport generally, and he is +in this respect much handicapped in his efforts. Let us consider what +he has to say with regard to lifting the eye in golf. We read on page +164: + + I have sometimes thought that there are two simple and + especial reasons for this difficulty of keeping one's eye on + the ball: first, because there is nothing to stimulate the + attention; second, because one has to attend so long. In + cricket, tennis, racquets, as I have shown, the stimulus is + extreme; by consequence, your eye follows the ball like a + hawk. In billiards there is no stimulus, but you rarely, if + ever, take your eye off your ball in billiards. Why? I think + because (1) the ball is so near to the eye--and, therefore, + the stimulus strong; (2) because the period of time requisite + for the stroke is so short. In golf there is no stimulus and + the period is always long: you have to look at your ball for + more than the whole period of the upward and downward swings. + +This remarkable statement shows very clearly, as I have before said, +that the author is not practically acquainted with games generally, +for lifting the eye is common in practically every game where a ball +is used. And it is amazing to find anyone attempting to analyse such a +stroke as the golf stroke and at the same time making the statement +that "you rarely, if ever, take your eye off your ball in billiards"; +and he proceeds to give reasons why one rarely takes one's eye off +one's ball in billiards, whereas the game of billiards is an +outstanding illustration of the fact that one does take one's eye off +the ball. To a very great extent one plays one's stroke at billiards +with a most pronounced blind spot every time, in that, just prior to +the moment of striking the cue ball, one always looks at the object +ball and practically one never sees one's cue on to one's own ball. + +Also, it is open to doubt if the golf stroke takes, on the average, +from the time the club leaves the ball in its upward swing until the +moment of impact, any longer than the billiard player takes in playing +his stroke. If it does, the difference is not a matter which need +enter into any practical comparison of the strokes. + +The curious thing is that in the game instanced by the author as +possessing the greater stimulus, that is those games wherein the ball +is moving, as in cricket, tennis, racquets, the tendency to lift the +eye from the ball is much more pronounced than in those games where +the ball is stationary, and this, I think, is by no means unnatural. +The operation of the eye is incredibly swift. It catches the flight of +the oncoming ball and one plays the stroke to meet it. In playing a +stroke at a moving ball, it stands to reason that one has, all other +things being equal, less time between the beginning of the stroke and +impact than one would have in executing a similar blow where the ball +is stationary, for here we have merely the pace of one moving object +to deal with, whereas we have in the other case the pace of the two +moving objects added together. + +It seems to me clear, therefore, that the eye has been able to +ascertain much more rapidly what will happen in the case of the two +moving objects, and having decided definitely that the stroke must be +played in a certain way, the mind has given to the muscles the +necessary orders, and the eye has then gone out of business so far as +regards that particular stroke, and we get the astonishing result that +we find famous players at lawn-tennis playing their strokes with a +blind spot of, in many cases, as much as nine inches. This is beyond +the region of doubt, and can be proved to demonstration by numerous +photographs, so it will be seen that even if there were anything +whatever in the suggested comparisons, they are fundamentally unsound +in their premises, and therefore absolutely useless for any purposes +of practical golf. + +We are told at page 166: "If you _don't_ keep your eye on the ball, +your stroke is cut short the moment you take your eye off." This is +obviously an error. Let us imagine that the golfer has played his +stroke perfectly accurately up to within three inches of his ball and +then takes his eye away from it, will any practical golfer believe +that if he keeps his head still the fact of moving his eye is going to +alter that stroke in any way whatever? I think not. + +Again we are informed at page 167 that: "It is at all events +indisputable that any photograph showing a good follow-through shows +the player looking at the spot where the ball was, after the ball had +left it; proving that he was really looking at the ball when he hit." +Personally, I may say that I have never yet seen a photograph of a +good follow-through which did show the player looking at the spot +where the ball was after the ball had left it, for photographs of that +nature which I have seen showed most clearly that if one desires to +absolutely prevent oneself from following through, one of the best +methods of doing it is to cultivate the habit of studying the turf +after the ball has gone on its way to the hole. + +In this we know that we have Vardon entirely with us. His +corroboration is valuable for the point is of great and practical +importance to the game. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE MASTER STROKE + + +In his chapter on "Special Strokes with Wooden Clubs" Vardon discusses +the question of the master stroke in golf. At page 86 of _The Complete +Golfer_ he says: + + Which, then, is the master stroke? I say that it is the ball + struck by any club to which a big pull or slice is + intentionally applied for the accomplishment of a specific + purpose which could not be achieved in any other way, and + nothing more exemplifies the curious waywardness of this game + of ours than the fact that the stroke which is the + confounding and torture of the beginner who does it + constantly, he knows not why, but always to his detriment, + should later on at times be the most coveted shot of all and + should then be the most difficult of accomplishment. I call + it the master shot, because to accomplish it with any + certainty and perfection, it is so difficult, even to the + experienced golfer, because it calls for the most absolute + command over the club and every nerve and sinew of the body, + and the courageous heart of the true sportsman whom no + difficulty may daunt, and because, when properly done, it is + a splendid thing to see, and for a certainty results in + material gain to the man who played it. + +Here we have a very definite statement by one of the greatest stroke +players in the world, that the master stroke at golf is "the ball +struck by any club to which a big pull or slice is intentionally +applied for the accomplishment of a specific purpose which could not +be achieved in any other way." + +It is to me a most extraordinary thing to find a golfer of the ability +of Harry Vardon classing the pull and the slice as practically equal +in order of merit. Anyone who is acquainted with golf must know that +the pull is an infinitely more difficult stroke to play correctly than +the slice. The slice is a stroke which is comparatively easy, but no +one can truthfully say the same thing of the pull. + +Before we proceed to a consideration of the question of the master +stroke, it will be interesting to quote what Taylor has to say on the +subject. At page 88 of _Taylor on Golf_ he says: + + Still it is not advisable, neither do I look upon it as being + golf in the truest sense of the word, for the knack of + pulling or slicing to be cultivated, as I am afraid it is by + a great many players. No compromise should be made with a + fault. + +Here we see that what Harry Vardon regards as the master strokes of +the game, are looked upon by Taylor as faults. + +I may say at the outset that I am not inclined to agree with Vardon at +all in this matter of the master stroke in golf. If there is one +stroke which stands out above and beyond all others in its demand for +accuracy, and a perfect knowledge of the method of applying spin, also +a supreme ability perfectly to apply that knowledge, it is the stroke +which is commonly called a "wind-cheater"; that is to say a long low +ball which flies very close to the earth for the greater portion of +its journey, and rises towards the end of its flight to its greatest +height. + +Although this ball is called the wind-cheater, it is just as effective +and just as useful on a perfectly still day as it is against a +howling gale, for this stroke is, in my opinion, without any doubt +whatever, the master stroke in golf, and if a man has this stroke he +should be very willing to allow anybody else to have all the pulls and +slices in golf. The supreme importance of this stroke is so pronounced +that I have always wondered at the comparatively unimportant position +which has been given to it in every book on golf, with the exception +of my own works. Pulling and slicing, as golfing shots, may be said to +be practically unnecessary if a man has full command of the plain +drive without back-spin and the wind-cheater. + +Very frequently when a man is called upon to pull or to slice, it is +to remedy a previous error, and there can be no doubt that with the +pull and the slice it is an utter impossibility to keep on the line in +the same manner as can one who uses back-spin in the drive. The secret +of the greatest golf of the future lies, in my opinion, in the proper +application of back-spin in the drive. + +I do not intend here to go fully into the effect of spin on the flight +of the ball, as I shall do that at length in my chapter on "The Flight +of the Golf Ball." Suffice it to say that the tremendous advantage of +the ball with back-spin is, that being hit as the club is descending, +and the hands at the time of impact with the ball being a little in +front of the ball, the loft of the club is, to a certain extent, +minimised, so that the ball is, in effect, struck with a club which +has much less loft than would be the case if it were driven in the +ordinary manner. This means that for the first part of the carry, the +flight of the ball is very low, and as the club was not at the lowest +portion of the swing when it struck the ball, the wind-cheater +acquires a large amount of back-spin which asserts itself later on, +and causes the ball to reach the highest point in its trajectory +towards the end of its flight. + +One of the greatest of the many merits of this ball is that the method +of producing it almost commands a follow-through down the intended +line of flight. This in itself tends to give better direction than any +of the ordinary golf strokes. The pull and the slice, as is well +known, curve very much in their flight, and especially in a wind. It +is utterly impossible for the best golfer in the world to say within +twenty yards as regards direction, and that, of course, means much +more than twenty yards--in fact, practically double that--where the +ball will come to rest; but this is not so with the wind-cheater, for +although the ball has been sent on its way with a very heavy +back-spin, so much of it has been exhausted in lifting the ball at the +end of its flight, that by the time the ball strikes the earth there +is little, if any, retarding power in the back-spin, so that the ball +is frequently a very good runner. I must, however, devote a little +attention here to the method of production of the pull and the slice. + +There is a wonderful amount of misconception about these strokes, even +in the minds of the greatest golfers. Let me, before I proceed to +examine what Harry Vardon has to say about the production of the pull, +state the general principles upon which the production of all spin is +produced. Spin is imparted to a golf ball, as we shall see more +clearly later on, merely by the fact that the face of the club, +instead of following through after the ball in the intended line of +flight, crosses the line of flight at a more or less acute angle; for +the slice the club head comes from the far side of the line of flight +across towards the player's side of the line of flight; for the pull +the process is reversed, and the club head, coming from the player's +side, swings right out across the line of flight; in the wind-cheater +the club passes downwards along the intended line of flight. There is, +of course, no such thing in practical golf as top-spin, so we need not +consider that. + +There is one other important point which I must mention here. At the +moment of impact the face of the club must be, to all intents and +purposes, at a right angle to the intended line of flight. For +instance, in a slice, any attempt to produce the slice by laying back +the toe of the club, or any tricks of this nature, must result in +disaster. It is impossible for the person playing the stroke _to time_ +anything to be done by him _during impact_, and it stands to reason +that nothing will affect the ball except what takes place during +impact. This, then, resolves the stroke into the fact that the contact +between the ball and the club is, as I have frequently insisted, and, +as we have seen, James Braid declares, merely an incident in the +travel of the club's head in the arc which it is describing. + +Although I have said that the face of the club must be at a right +angle to the line of flight of the ball, this is not exactly correct, +although it is so for all purposes of practical golf. The reason I say +that it is not correct, is that practically every well played slice +starts off on the line to the hole a little to the left of the true +line of flight, so that it is probable that at the moment of impact +the face of the club is not at a dead right angle to the initial +portion of the flight of the ball. However, it is unquestionably +necessary that the face of the club should be as nearly as possible at +a right angle to the intended line of flight at the moment that the +impact takes place. If this point is not attended to as carefully in +the pull and the slice as it is in other strokes, the result must be +inaccuracy of direction, and very pronounced inaccuracy too. + +Let us now turn to Harry Vardon's directions as to how to play the +pull. He says: + + Now there is the pulled ball to consider, for surely there + are times when the making of such a shot is eminently + desirable. Resort to a slice may be unsatisfactory, or it may + be entirely impossible, and one important factor in this + question is that the pulled ball is always much longer than + the other--in fact, it has always so much length in it that + many players in driving in the ordinary way from the tee, and + desiring only to go straight down the course, systematically + play for a pull and make allowances for it in their + direction. + +He then gives instructions for the stance, and proceeds: + + The obvious result of this stance is that the handle of the + club is in front of the ball, and this circumstance must be + accentuated by the hands being held even slightly more + forward than for an ordinary drive. Now they are held forward + in front of the head of the club. In the grip there is + another point of difference. It is necessary that in the + making of this stroke the right hand should do more work than + the left, and therefore the club should be held rather more + loosely by the left hand than by its partner. + +We may pause for a moment here to remark that this is another one of +those very noticeable instances wherein Vardon infers that it is usual +for the left to do more work than the right, and we may also note that +he here gives advice which he has in other portions of his book +condemned--that is, attempting to hold more loosely with one hand than +with the other, for it is obvious that if, as he has told us will be +the case, we attempt to give the right hand a watching brief over the +left, the right will come in too suddenly at some portion of the +swing, and it is also equally obvious that if we follow out Vardon's +advice here and allow the left to hold the watching brief, it will +similarly misconduct itself. + +I must emphasise again, before I pass on, the very pronounced +inference which Vardon here makes that, generally speaking, the left +is the dominant partner. Vardon then continues: "The latter," that is +the right hand, "will duly take advantage of this slackness," that is +the slackness of the left hand, "and will get in just the little extra +work that is wanted of it. In the upward swing carry the club head +just along the line which it would take for an ordinary drive." + +This, I may say, is remarkable advice, for it is well known that in +playing the pull the club head begins to move away from the ball, +inwards, the moment it is lifted from the ground. This, of course, is +natural, for generally speaking, the club goes back to the ball in the +way in which it comes up, and as the ball is played by an outward +glancing blow, it stands to reason that it will not be taken back +straight from the ball as Vardon states here. That, however, is by the +way. + +Let us now continue with what Vardon has to say: + + The result of all this arrangement, and particularly of the + slackness of the left hand and comparative tightness of the + right, is that there is a tendency in the downward swing for + the face of the club to turn over to some extent, that is, + for the top edge of it to be overlapping the bottom edge. + This is exactly what is wanted, for, in fact, it is quite + necessary that at the moment of impact the right hand should + be beginning to turn over in this manner, and if the stroke + is to be a success the golfer must see that it does so, but + the movement must be made quite smoothly and naturally, for + anything in the nature of a jab, such as is common when too + desperate efforts are made to turn over an unwilling club, + would certainly prove fatal. + +We have here Vardon's description of how to obtain a pulled ball which +he regards as one of the master strokes of the game, but his +conception of this stroke is absolutely erroneous. We are told by +Vardon that in making this stroke "in the upward swing" we are to +carry the club head just along the line which it would take for an +ordinary drive. Now, at page 88, Vardon refers to "the inflexible rule +that as the club head goes up so will it come down." + +It is now established beyond any doubt whatever that the pull is +played by an outwardly glancing blow, the converse of the inwardly +glancing blow of the slice, but if to obtain a pull we are to follow +Vardon's advice and take the club straight back away from the ball, +how are we going to come back by the same track as we went up, which +is straight down the line of flight, and at the same time to obtain an +outwardly glancing blow? The thing is a manifest impossibility, and, +as a matter of fact, is not practical golf. This idea of turning over +the wrists at the moment of impact is an utterly erroneous notion +which I must deal with somewhat more fully. I shall show that James +Braid originally had this idea himself, but that he has now, in all +probability, abandoned it. + +It is evident that Vardon has but a hazy idea of the correct method of +production of the pull, although, as we well know, he is a master of +the art of producing this stroke. At page 92 of _The Complete Golfer_ +he gives his description of the manner in which he thinks one of the +master strokes of the game is produced. I must quote him again fully, +for it is necessary to do this in order that my readers may follow the +trend of his mind: + + It is necessary that in the making of this stroke the right + hand should do more work than the left, and therefore the + club should be held rather more loosely by the left hand than + by its partner. The latter will duly take advantage of this + slackness, and will get in just the little extra work that is + wanted of it. In the upward swing carry the club head just + along the line which it would take for an ordinary drive. The + result of all this arrangement, and particularly the + slackness of the left hand and comparative tightness of the + right is, that there is a tendency in the downward swing for + the face of the club to turn over to some extent, that is for + the top edge of it to be overlapping the bottom edge. This is + exactly what is wanted, for, in fact, it is quite necessary + that at the moment of impact the right hand should be + beginning to turn over in this manner, and if the stroke is + to be a success the golfer must see that it does so. + +It will be seen from this quotation that Vardon is under the +impression that in playing the pull the club goes straight back from +the ball in the same manner as it would be taken were one playing an +ordinary drive. We notice, too, that he commits himself to the +statement, that it is necessary that the top edge of the face of the +club should be practically overlapping the bottom at the moment of +impact. This, in effect, means that the club is actually deprived of +its loft at the moment of impact. + +It will be apparent to anyone who understands very little about the +ordinary principles of mechanics that it would be an impossibility to +play an effective shot in this manner. Indeed it would be impossible +to raise the ball from the ground, and any attempt whatever to give +this turn over of the wrists at the moment of impact would inevitably +result in a very large proportion of foundered balls. + +It must be remembered that Vardon is advising the player to +consciously attempt to regulate the loft of his club during an impact +which lasts for no more than the ten-thousandth of a second. Golf is +at all times a game calling for a remarkable degree of mechanical +accuracy, but it is obviously asking, even of the most perfect player, +far too much when we request that he shall, by the action of his hands +and wrists, regulate the loft of his club in an impact which lasts for +such an extremely short time. We must remember that if the shot were +played as Vardon describes it, the loft of the club face is +continually changing during, let us say, the foot before it gets to +the ball and the foot after it has passed it. + +The whole idea of the stroke in golf, in so far as regards loft, ought +to be that at the moment of impact the player has nothing whatever to +do with the loft, his duty being confined to hitting the ball in a +certain way and allowing the loft to do its own work, and to take the +angle at which it will naturally come down, but any attempt +consciously to regulate the loft of the club during impact, especially +on the lines laid down by Vardon, must inevitably result in disaster. +Vardon tells us that at the moment of impact it is necessary that the +club face should be turning so that it will be practically overlapping +at least the moment after the ball is struck. + +His error is by no means an uncommon one. The same thing exists in +lawn-tennis in the lifting drive, where about ninety per cent of the +players who try the lifting drive under the impression that it is got +by a turn over of the wrist, do the turn too soon and founder the +ball--in other words, put it into the net. If the pull were to be +played in the way Vardon describes it, the result would be exactly the +same. The ball would simply be topped or absolutely foundered. + +I cannot emphasise too strongly the fact that this turn over of the +wrists in the pull has nothing whatever to do with the production of +the stroke, although Vardon says that it has. This turn over of the +wrists will, if it precedes the moment of impact, ruin the stroke. It +must come naturally long after the ball has gone on its way, and it +must come not by any voluntary or conscious effort on the part of the +player, but as the natural result of the correctly played first +portion of the stroke. + +In my chapter on "The Flight of the Ball," I shall go more fully into +the mechanical principles of the production of the pull. It will be +sufficient for me to say here that the pull is produced by an upward, +outward, glancing blow, but there must be no attempt whatever to alter +the loft of the club at the moment of impact. + +In so flatly contradicting such a master of stroke play as Harry +Vardon, it may be as well for me to fortify myself by evidence taken +from the work and photographs of another famous golfer who was himself +originally under the impression that the pull was obtained in this +manner, but who has apparently since abandoned this idea. I feel sure +that for the great majority of players who know anything whatever of +elementary mechanics, it will be unnecessary for me to do this, but +there is a vast number of players who are not well acquainted with +even simple mechanical problems, and it is for these that I take the +trouble to bring forward James Braid to give evidence against this +idea of turning over the wrist at the moment of impact. + +We must remember that Braid himself has stated in _How to Play Golf_ +that the striking of the ball is merely an incident in the travel of +the club's head, and we must remember that this book _How to Play +Golf_ was written long after the quotation which I am now about to +give from _Great Golfers_ at page 175. There James Braid tells us +that "in playing for a _pulled ball_ the right wrist turns over at the +moment of impact." This is emphatic enough, and Braid here commits +himself to the same statement as Vardon does, that is to say, that the +right wrist turns over _at the moment of impact_. This is what I +absolutely deny. + +It is natural to suppose that Braid's book, _Advanced Golf_, contains +the author's last word with regard to the science of playing the +pulled ball, one of the balls, let us remember, which Harry Vardon +considers the master stroke in the game. Let us therefore turn to +Braid's illustration of playing for a pull in the four photographs +following page 78. Braid here fortunately illustrates the actual +moment of impact in the pull, and it will be seen on examining his +club that it is apparently perfectly soled, that is to say that the +club is lying as truly and flatly as it is at the moment of address. +This is very important and quite incontrovertible as being Braid's +considered opinion, because this stroke is a posed photograph for the +purpose of illustrating the impact in the pull. We see quite clearly +from this photograph that there is absolutely no turning over of the +wrists, but that on the contrary, the right hand is, if anything, well +back on the shaft, and showing no sign whatever, as I have already +said--not even a symptom--of beginning to turn over. Nor, as a matter +of fact, should it do so. The club does not begin to turn over in the +manner described until it has reached practically the full extent of +its outward swing on the far side of the line of flight. + +This photograph is, in itself, quite sufficient evidence to show us +that Braid has abandoned his idea with regard to the necessity for +turning over the right wrist at the moment of impact in the pull, but +it is instructive to note that there is in the whole of _Advanced +Golf_ not one word about turning over the wrists at the moment, of +impact in the pull, so that we may take it as definitely settled that +James Braid has, since the publication of _Great Golfers_, found out +his error in this matter, for, against his one sentence in _Great +Golfers_ that "in playing for a _pulled ball_ the right wrist turns +over at the moment of impact," we have not only his statement in _How +to Play Golf_ that the impact is a mere incident in the travel of the +club head, but the still more eloquent fact that in _Advanced Golf_ he +says no word whatever in support of this theory, and that he most +expressly and emphatically by his own photographs contradicts the +idea. + +We need not consider what Taylor has to say in connection with the +production of the pull, for we see clearly that his idea of both the +slice and the pull is that they are merely errors in golf and not to +be encouraged. + +Let us turn now to a consideration of the slice. The same +misconception which is so prominently shown by nearly every writer +about golf with regard to the pull obtains also in connection with the +slice. This is clearly shown by James Braid in _Great Golfers_, for +following the quotation which I have already given with regard to the +pulled ball, he says: "But for a sliced ball I cut a little across the +ball, the wrist action being the reverse of that for a pull, viz., the +right hand is rather under than over." + + [Illustration: PLATE IX. JAMES BRAID + + Here, in spite of what Braid says, it will be seen that his + weight at the finish goes almost entirely on to the left + foot.] + +Braid tells us that for a pulled ball he turns his right wrist over +_at the moment of impact_. Well, as the wrist action for the slice is +the reverse of this, it follows that _at the moment of impact_ he +turns his right wrist under. This is a very common misconception. It +is one which is held by an astonishing number of practical players. +Mr. Walter J. Travis in his book on _Practical Golf_ repeatedly makes +the error of thinking that this turn under of the wrist has any +effect whatever on the stroke, but it is just as great an error to +think that this turn under of the wrist has anything to do with the +production of the slice, as it is to think that the turning over of +the wrist has anything whatever to do with the pull. Both of these +actions quite naturally _follow_ the correct production of the strokes +referred to. + +The slice is an inwardly glancing blow, if anything, with a suspicion +of downward action, whereas, as I have already explained, the pull is +an outward, upward, glancing blow. There must be no attempt whatever +to turn the right wrist under or downward at the moment of playing the +slice, as Braid says he does in _Great Golfers_, although I have not +been able to find the same statement in _Advanced Golf_, where we +should naturally expect to see it if Braid still has this idea. The +curious thing is that in James Braid's illustrations in _Advanced +Golf_ for playing a slice the right hand is much further forward on +the club than it is in those showing the grip for the pull; in fact +were it not that the stance shows clearly that the photographs are +correctly marked, one would be much inclined to think that they had +been wrongly entitled. In playing for the slice, Braid's hand is well +over the club, whereas in the pull it is almost underneath it. In +_Advanced Golf_ this grip for a slice is extremely pronounced, in fact +very much more so than in his illustrations of the stance and address +for this stroke which he gives in his book _How to Play Golf_. + +The popular misconception about the slice is well instanced by what +Harry Vardon has to say in connection with the cut mashie approach. He +says at page 129 of _The Complete Golfer_: + + It is also most important that at the instant when ball and + club come into contact the blade should be drawn quickly + towards the left foot. To do this properly requires not only + much dexterity, but most accurate timing, and first attempts + are likely to be very clumsy and disappointing, but many of + the difficulties will disappear with practice, and when at + last some kind of proficiency has been obtained, it will be + found that the ball answers in the most obedient manner to + the call that is made upon it. It will come down so dead upon + the green that it may be chipped up in the air until it is + almost directly over the spot at which it is desired to place + it. + +I have no hesitation whatever in saying that this is absolutely bad +golf. In all cases where cut is applied to the golf ball there must be +no attempt whatever to introduce anything into the stroke during the +period of contact between the ball and the club. I am here dealing +with Vardon's statement with regard to the mashie approach, but it is +apparent that all cut shots are, in effect, slices, and if one gets +the idea into one's mind that the slice is obtained by anything which +is done consciously during impact and timed by the player to be done +in that space of time, it must militate severely against one's chance +of producing a successful shot. + +A little farther down on the same page Vardon says: + + At the moment of impact the arms should be nearly full length + and stiff, and the wrists as stiff as it is possible to make + them. I said that the drawing of the blade towards the left + foot would have to be done quickly because obviously there is + very little time to lose; but it must be done smoothly and + evenly, without a jerk, which would upset the whole swing, + and if it is begun the smallest fraction of a second too soon + the ball will be taken by the toe of the club, and the + consequences will not be satisfactory. I have returned to + make this the last word about the cut, because it is the + essence of the stroke and it calls for what a young player + might well regard as an almost hopeless nicety of perfection. + +Here it is quite evident that Vardon thinks that the cut on a mashie +approach is played by something imported into the stroke _during +impact_, whereas the truth is that the club in a good shot properly +played never alters from the line of the arc mapped out by the mind +from the very beginning of the stroke. Vardon says that the cut "must +be applied smoothly and evenly without a jerk, which would upset the +whole swing." It is obvious that if the head of the club has travelled +in a certain line down to within a fraction of an inch of the ball, +and is then suddenly pulled across the ball, _there must be a jerk_. + +This, however, is not what happens when the stroke is well played. The +club face simply passes across the intended line of flight of the ball +with the front edge of the sole approximately at a right angle to such +intended line of flight, but the club head proceeds across the line in +an uninterrupted arc. If what Vardon, Mr. Travis, and many other +people lay down, were correct, a drawing of the stroke would show the +club head proceeding to the ball in a curve, then a sudden jump +inwards towards the player with a continuation approximating to the +follow-through of the first half of the stroke, but it is almost +needless to say that nothing of this kind takes place either in this +modified slice or the true slice at golf, which we shall have to deal +with more particularly later on. + +Speaking of this shot--the cut mashie stroke--Vardon says: "It will +come so dead upon the green that it may be chipped up into the air +until it is almost perfectly over the spot at which it is desired to +place it." + +This may be so. I have played the shot myself repeatedly, and I have +repeatedly seen perhaps the greatest master in the world of the cut +mashie approach, to wit J. H. Taylor, playing this shot, and there +cannot be any doubt whatever that this particular class of mashie +approach nearly always gives the ball a considerable run from left to +right. This, indeed, is perfectly natural, for one goes right in +underneath the ball and gives it a tremendous side roll tending to +make it swerve in the air from left to right, and when it strikes the +green, to run in the same direction. So pronounced indeed is the +swerve and run of this ball that I have seen J. H. Taylor playing at +Mid-Surrey when the green was practically completely obstructed by a +large tree, play this shot so that it curved round the tree on to the +edge of the green and then ran in almost to the pin. + +The shot which stops so dead at the hole, as Harry Vardon mentions, +must of necessity have much more in the nature of back cut which +produces back-spin than has the ball played by the stroke which he +describes. + +Vardon refers to the pull and the slice as being the master strokes in +golf. I have already said that if I had to pick any one stroke which +could be called the master stroke in golf, it would be the +wind-cheater, and it is open to question if the long plain drive is +not entitled to greater respect than either the pull or the slice. Be +that as it may, there is in my mind very little doubt about the +respective merits of the wind-cheater and the other strokes referred +to. The wind-cheater is the ball which is produced with a large amount +of back-spin. Harry Vardon describes it at page 105, and he explains +that in order to make the push shot perfectly "the sight should be +directed to the centre of the ball, and the club should be brought +directly on to it (exactly on the spot marked on the diagram, page +170)." I may remark here that the spot shown on the ball at page 170 +of _The Complete Golfer_ for a push shot is absolutely above the +centre of mass of the ball, and that at page 106 Harry Vardon gives a +diagram of "The push shot with the cleek." In this diagram he shows +that the face of the cleek at the moment of impact is perpendicular. + +It is quite certain that even if one could hit the ball above the +centre of its mass with a perpendicular face, it would be impossible +to get the ball off the ground in this manner. The push shot with the +cleek must be played with loft on the club, and indeed it does not +matter what club is used for this shot, there must be _loft_ on the +face of the club _at the moment of impact_ if one is to obtain a +satisfactory result, and not only must there be loft on the face of +the club, but it is a certainty that the impact of the club with the +ball must be _below_ the centre of the ball's mass, and not as Vardon +shows it at page 170 of _The Complete Golfer_, above it. + +Vardon, for playing this push shot, uses a cleek with a shorter handle +and with more loft than his ordinary cleek. This, indeed, is quite +natural, for the shot is, in the nature of it, a very straight up and +down shot in the line to the hole, and also as it is desirable that +the ball shall be hit by the club before the club head has reached the +lowest point in its swing, Vardon naturally has his hands forward of +the ball at the moment of impact. This, of course, to a certain +extent, counteracts the loft of the cleek, but in no case does it +counteract it to the extent shown by Vardon in the diagram at page 106 +of _The Complete Golfer_, for were the blow made as shown by these +diagrams, it would be a mechanical impossibility to obtain the result +described by Vardon. + +The reason for keeping the hands forward of the ball is, as I have +indicated, that the club head may make impact with the ball before it +has reached the bottom of its swing, and Vardon's reason for playing +with a club of greater loft than is usually employed is that this +greater loft helps to make up for the fact that his hands are forward +of the ball at the moment of impact. Playing this stroke with an +ordinary cleek would rob the cleek of so much of its loft that the +probability is that the flight of the ball would in its initial stages +be too low to give a satisfactory result. + +Vardon says at page 106: "The diagram on this page shows the passage +of the club through the ball as it were, exactly," but the trouble is +that it does not show the passage of the club through the ball "as it +were, exactly," because at the moment of impact with the ball the club +must have sufficient loft on its face to lift the ball, and, moreover, +the face of the club must make its first contact at a point at most as +high as the centre of the ball, but preferably much lower, so that the +force of the blow has an opportunity of exerting itself upwardly +through the centre of the ball's mass. Vardon plays this shot +perfectly, but he does not describe it as well as he plays it. He says +at page 106 of _The Complete Golfer_: + + I may remark that personally I play not only my half cleek + stroke, but all my cleek strokes in this way, so much am I + devoted to the qualities of flight which are thereby imparted + to the ball, and though I do not insist that others should do + likewise in all cases, I am certainly of opinion that they + are missing something when they do not learn to play the half + shot in this manner. The greatest danger they have to fear is + that in their too conscious efforts to keep the club clear of + the ground until after impact, they will overdo it and simply + top the ball, when, of course, there will be no flight at + all. + +There can be no doubt that this stroke is an extremely valuable one, +particularly with the cleek, and it is a stroke which will well repay +anyone for the time spent in practising it. There is, indeed, as +Vardon says, a great danger of the player topping the ball if he tries +to keep too far away from the ground until after the impact, but he +must at all costs get out of his mind the idea of hitting the ball +where Vardon says it should be hit, viz. above the centre of the +ball's mass. This never was golf. It is not golf now, and it never +will be golf. + +It is almost incredible, but is a fact, that a golf journalist who +presumed to say that he knew what was "at the back of his (Harry +Vardon's) head" stated in an article in a sporting magazine in London, +that this push shot, one of Vardon's most beautiful and accurate +strokes, is obtained by thumping the ball on to the earth--in fact +that the stroke is almost what one might term a "bump ball," to use +the cricket term. Any idea more abhorrent to the true golfer than the +notion of producing his finest cleek shots and approach shots by +banging the ball on to the earth can hardly be imagined, nor anything +more incorrect. + +The wind-cheater is an invaluable stroke, but there can be no doubt +that it is a stroke calling for a very considerable degree of skill in +order to play it perfectly, or indeed very well, and in connection +with this matter there was a very peculiar but entirely mistaken idea +that for the production of this stroke it was necessary at the moment +of impact to turn over both wrists. This idea obtained for years, and +notwithstanding my repeated explanations, the deeply rooted notion was +persevered in and used in such a manner by many players that it +seriously interfered with their game. + +Some of the criticism which I had to put up with at the time that I +was instructing golfers in these matters was very remarkable. I must +give one instance which seems almost incredible. I had explained in +the pages of _Golf Illustrated_, the leading golfing journal of +London, how the pull is produced, and I had therein indicated as +clearly and decidedly as I now do that it was impossible to produce +the pull by the method indicated by Harry Vardon. Mr. A. C. M. Croome, +the well-known international player, solemnly asserted in the _Morning +Post_ that he had himself seen Harry Vardon produce the shot in the +manner which I said was an impossibility, and that in effect an ounce +of practice was worth a pound of theory. + +I took the trouble to explain that a cinematograph with about 400 +pictures, or perhaps a good many less per second, was sufficient to +deceive an ordinary man into thinking that he saw a continuous picture. +I explained that the camera which took the photographs for my purpose +was timed to give an exposure of one twelve-hundred-and-fiftieth of a +second, and that this was, therefore, at least three times as rapid as +the machine which deceives an ordinary man into thinking that he sees a +single picture, but notwithstanding that the camera was so tremendously +rapid in its exposure, the golf club beats it to such an extent that at +the moment of impact the club is represented by a swish of light or +movement on the plate, and the ball immediately after impact is +represented by something resembling a section of a sperm candle. So +extremely rapid is its flight that it is impossible to obtain even by so +short an exposure anything resembling clear definition. + +I showed clearly that an implement which was moving so fast as to +absolutely beat the machine which was three times as fast as the +machine which deceived the human being, was not likely to be able to +be followed accurately by the human eye unaided in any way whatever. +Still, that was the kind of criticism which I had to undergo. + +I was told exactly the same thing when I explained that in the push +shot there must be no attempt whatever to turn over the wrists at the +moment of impact, that in this shot as in all other strokes at golf, +there must be no attempt whatever made to interfere with, or alter, +during impact, the angle of the loft taken at the time of address, for +any such attempt as this must end in trouble. + +It was some years after this controversy that Mr. A. C. M. Croome +produced a column in the _Morning Post_ entitled "Justice," in which +he referred to the matter as follows: + + + MR. VAILE RIGHT + + It is common talk that Sherlock has improved a great deal + since he migrated from Oxford to Stoke Poges, and for once + common talk is right. His driving, at least when the ground + is hard, is distinctly longer than it used to be, but the + increased length has not been purchased at the expense of + steadiness. The ball still flies from his wooden clubs along + a line ruled straight to the hole. Even more valuable to him + than the gain in length is the acquisition of all that range + of shots which, if correctly played, leave the striker posed + with his arms straight out and the back of his right hand + uppermost. + + A few years ago I, in common with many other misguided + golfers, believed that the movement of the right hand was the + cause, not the consequence, of correct execution. + Consequently a large percentage of the shots attempted to be + played in this way went anywhere but to the desired place. We + turned the key in the lock too soon. So far as I know Mr. P. + A. Vaile was the first publicist to set forth the truth. I + have differed from him on many points and found myself unable + to follow the more abstruse of his treatises. It is a + pleasure to acknowledge a debt to him, and it is a heavy + debt, for a misconception of the work done by the right hand + in holding the ball up against a left hand wind is fraught + with disastrous consequences. Sherlock was performing this + feat most exactly on Tuesday and hitting the ball monstrous + far with his irons forbye. + +I was very pleased to see this statement by Mr. Croome, for several +reasons. It was a sportsmanlike acknowledgment of error, and a fine +instance of what I call "the detached mind," which is extremely rare +in England. The majority of controversialists are too much taken up +with the personal aspect of the controversy, to remember that the +controversy if it is worth entering upon, must always be of more +importance than the controversialists, but beyond this, it is always +of importance, especially for one who is in the habit of writing golf, +to know the game to the core, for such an one can do much to spread a +correct knowledge of the game, and this misconception of the action of +the wrists has been responsible for millions of foundered shots. + +I cannot help thinking, however, that in Mr. Croome's generous +acknowledgment of error, he was, to a certain extent, committing +another error, for when he spoke of "all that range of shots, which if +correctly played, leave the striker posed with his arms right out and +the back of his right hand uppermost" he referred naturally to balls +which have been played in the main with back-spin, but a little later +on he proceeded to say: + + It is a pleasure to acknowledge a debt to him, and it is a + heavy debt, for a misconception of the work done by the right + hand in holding the ball up against a left hand wind is + fraught with disastrous consequences. + +Here it will be evident that Mr. Croome is referring to a pulled ball, +but at no time when one has obtained a pulled ball by a stroke +properly played, will the finish be such as that described by Mr. +Croome. The finish described by him is the characteristic finish of +the wind-cheater type of ball, but, notwithstanding this, the point is +that Mr. Croome has acknowledged the error with regard to the turn +over of the wrists; as he very well puts it, "we turned the key in the +lock too soon." That very succinctly summarises the matter, and it +will be sufficient for our purpose in this chapter. + +I must quote again a passage in Mr. Croome's article. He says: "Even +more valuable to him than the gain in length is the acquisition of all +that range of shots which, if correctly played, leave the striker +posed with his arms straight out and the back of the right hand +uppermost." This is a somewhat curious sentence. As a matter of fact, +anyone who acquires this range of shots will acquire with it extra +distance, for the finish, as I have already stated, but cannot state +too often or too emphatically, is the characteristic finish of the +wind-cheater--a ball which carries the beneficial back-spin of golf, +the secret at once of length and direction. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE ACTION OF THE WRISTS + + +There is no doubt that a proper wrist action in the drive is of very +great importance, and it is just as undoubted that the real secret of +wrist action has been enshrouded in mystery by anyone who has in any +way attempted to deal with it. Indeed, so great a master of the game +as James Braid, absolutely confesses that he does not know where the +wrists come in during the drive. As Braid has already stated that it +is almost impossible to teach putting, it really looks as though there +is quite a considerable gap in golf which must be left to his pupils' +imagination, but this is not really so. These great golfers really +know golf and teach it much better than their published works would +lead one to believe, and as a matter of fact in very many instances +the matter which I am criticising so plainly is, I believe, not their +own. I cannot believe that much of the ridiculous nonsense which is +published in association with the greatest names of the world would be +upheld by them in an ordinary lesson--in other words, I am firmly +convinced that they suffer in the interpretation by persons whose +knowledge of golf is extremely limited. + +It will, however, be interesting to see what the great golfers have to +say with regard to wrist work. Let us turn first to Harry Vardon at +page 70 of _The Complete Golfer_. There he says: + + Now pay attention to the wrists. They should be held fairly + tightly. If the club is held tightly the wrists will be + tight, and _vice versa_. When the wrists are tight there is + little play in them and more is demanded of the arms. I do + not believe in the long ball coming from the wrists. In + defiance of principles which are accepted in many quarters, I + will go so far as to say that, except in putting, there is no + pure wrist shot in golf. Some players attempt to play their + short approach with their wrists as they have been told to + do. These men are likely to remain at long handicaps for a + long time. Similarly there is a kind of superstition that the + elect among drivers get in some peculiar kind of "snap"--a + momentary forward pushing movement--with their wrists at the + time of impact, and that it is this wrist work at the + critical period which gives the grand length to their drives, + those extra twenty or thirty yards which make the stroke look + so splendid, so uncommon, and which make the next shot so + much easier. Generally speaking, the wrists, when held + firmly, will take very good care of themselves; but there is + a tendency, particularly when the two V-grip is used to allow + the right hand to take charge of affairs at the time the ball + is struck, and the result is that the right wrist, as the + swing is completed, gradually gets on to the top of the shaft + instead of remaining in its proper place. + +There are several important statements in this paragraph. Vardon says, +"I do not believe in the long ball coming from the wrists," and I say +that there is no doubt whatever that in the ordinary acceptation of +the term the long ball no more comes from the wrists than it does from +the feet, for as Vardon indicates here, in a drive of perfect rhythm +there is no such thing as getting the wrists into the work at, or +about, the moment of impact, as is so frequently advocated by authors +who preach what they do not themselves practise. + +Vardon says that "except in putting there is no pure wrist shot in +golf." I have already shown that not even in putting is there such a +thing as a pure wrist shot in golf, unless, indeed, the player should +be playing with a putter which has an absolutely perpendicular shaft. +In this case, and in this only, is it possible to play a pure wrist +shot in golf if one follows out correctly the instructions which are +recognised as being the soundest guide in good putting. + +Before quoting from James Braid in _Advanced Golf_ I must draw +particular attention to what Vardon has said about the "snap" of the +wrists at the moment of impact. He says that "there is a kind of +superstition that the elect among drivers get in some peculiar kind of +'snap'--a momentary forward pushing movement--with their wrists at the +time of impact, and that it is this wrist work at the critical period +which gives the grand length to their drives." It is surely not to be +wondered at that this, as Vardon terms it, "superstition" exists, when +we read in a book such as _Advanced Golf_, which was published several +years after Vardon's _Complete Golfer_, statements to this effect: + + Then comes the moment of impact. Crack! Everything is let + loose, and round comes the body immediately the ball is + struck, and goes slightly forward until the player is facing + the line of flight. The right shoulder must not come round + too soon in the downward swing but must go fairly well + forward after the ball is hit. If the tension has been + properly held all this will come quite easily and naturally; + the time for the tension is over and now it is allowed its + sudden and complete expansion and quick collapse. That is the + whole secret of the thing--the bursting of the tension at the + proper moment--and really there is very little to be said in + enlargement of the idea. At this moment the action of the + wrists is all-important, but it cannot be described. Where + exactly the wrists begin to do their proper work I have never + been able to determine exactly, for the work is almost + instantaneously brief. Neither can one say precisely how they + work except for the suggestion that has already been made. It + seems, however, that they start when the club head is a + matter of some eighteen inches from the ball, and that for a + distance of a yard in the arc that it is describing they have + it almost to themselves, and impart a whip-like snap to the + movement, not only giving a great extra force to the stroke, + but, by keeping the club head for a moment in the straight + line of the intended flight of the ball, doing much towards + the ensuring of the proper direction. It seems to be a sort + of flick--in some respects very much the same kind of action + as when a man is boring a corkscrew into the cork of a + bottle. He turns his right wrist back; for a moment it is + under high tension, and then he lets it loose with a short, + sudden snap. Unless the wrists are in their proper place as + described, at the top of the swing, it is impossible to get + them to do this work when the time comes. There is nowhere + for them to spring back from. + +Here it will be seen that in a work of James Braid which is entitled +_Advanced Golf_ and which was published several years after Harry +Vardon's _Complete Golfer_ and by the same firm, we have advice and +information given to us which is diametrically opposed to the ideas of +Harry Vardon. There can be no doubt whatever that Vardon's opinion +with regard to this matter is much sounder than Braid's, and in order +that I may assist anybody who is in doubt as to which opinion to be +influenced by, I shall analyse Braid's statement. + +We must, before we begin to consider Braid's advice, remember that he +himself admits that he does not know where the wrists come in. + +This reminds me of an incident which occurred a short time ago. An +unfortunate golfer who had an idea that a golf ball should be hit in +much the same manner as a cricket ball, or any other common sort of +ball, came to me in my office one day and asked me to show him what +was wrong with his swing. I put down a ball for him on a captive +machine, handed him a golf club and said: "Let me see you hit it?" He +proceeded to hit it, but the instant his club head moved away from the +ball it was apparent to me that he had not a rudimentary idea of the +golf stroke. His left wrist began to turn outwards instead of inwards +and downwards. I showed him at once how wrong he was in the +fundamental principles of the golfing stroke, for, as is quite usual, +he had no idea whatever of the proper distribution of his weight, +having been taught by his professional that it must, at the top of the +swing, be on his right leg. But the main point to which I want to draw +attention is contained in his plaintive remark to me: + +"Yes, that is all right now you show it to me, and I can feel that it +is better, but it is when I come to play the ball and have to remember +all these things that I make a mess of it." + +My reply to him was: "My dear fellow, the man who understands how to +teach golf does not teach you how to remember all these things. He +teaches you how to forget them--in other words, he so instructs you +that everything you do between the moment that you address the ball +and the time that you hit it, is done practically without any strain +on your mind whatever. It is done by habit or second nature. Anyone +who teaches you in such a manner that you have to remember each of the +things which you think go to make up a perfect drive _while you are +making that drive_ is no use whatever to you as a teacher," and he was +immensely relieved even at the bare idea of this revolutionary +teaching. + +Nevertheless, in effect, this is the only true and scientific tuition +for the golfing drive. We want to make the golfer handle his club in +such a manner that all these things which the ordinary book tells him +about as being necessary to be done and to be considered seriatim, +fall into their places as naturally as one foot comes after another in +a walk. To do this we have, unquestionably, to go through an enormous +amount of elimination of utterly false doctrine, and the quotation I +have just given from _Advanced Golf_ is an excellent illustration of +what a true teacher has to do in the way of beating down and clearing +away harmful doctrine. + +Here we have published with the authority of a great player like James +Braid, and in absolute opposition to the advice of an equally great +player, Harry Vardon, a statement to the effect that the wrists come +into the drive and influence the stroke for eighteen inches before and +after impact. We are told that "at this moment the motion of the +wrists is all-important, but it cannot be described." We need not +wonder that the action of the wrists cannot be described, for at the +moment referred to by James Braid, there is, as a matter of practical +golf and undoubted fact, no wrist action whatever. If one had any +doubt whatever about this, one would only have to look at Braid's +photographs in _Advanced Golf_ showing how he plays for a pull and a +slice respectively. + +In both of these strokes Braid uses identically similar photographs to +show his stance and address. Personally, as I have already stated, I +consider that he is, from a golfing point of view, utterly wrong in +doing such a thing, for there can be no doubt that the positions are +extremely different. Indeed, it would be quite ridiculous to suppose +that they were not so, but taking these photographs as Braid's mental +picture of what he does at the moment of impact, we see there clearly +that the wrists are, at the moment of impact, in exactly the same +position as they were at the moment of address. + +Taking this in conjunction with the fact that Braid says in the +extract which I have just quoted "Where exactly the wrists begin to do +their proper work I have never been able to determine exactly, for the +work is almost instantaneously brief," we are quite justified in +coming to the conclusion that Braid himself does not, in this critical +portion of the swing, use any wrist work whatever. + +Now Braid says that he has never been able to determine exactly where +the wrists begin to do their proper work, so I must explain for his +benefit, and for the benefit of the great body of golfers, where the +wrists really begin to do their work, and where they do the most +important part of their work, and that is absolutely at the beginning +of the downward stroke. It is here that the wrists have the greatest +life and "snap" in them, for the weight of the club and the strain of +the development of the initial velocity fall across the wrist-joints +in that position which gives them their greatest resistance--that is, +in the way in which the wrists bend least; but it must not be +forgotten that although the wrist bends least sideways, still, the +bend that the wrist is capable of in that direction provides a +tremendous amount of strength. This is particularly evident in all +games which are played with rackets. + +I must here give an illustration of the power that is obtained in this +position. I have before referred to Mr. Horace Hutchinson's +illustration of the proper position at the top of the drive which he +gives in the Badminton volume on _Golf_. Here the player is shown with +the right elbow pointing skywards, and the left, if anything, too much +out the other way. + +An unfortunate golfer who had tried to put these principles into +execution came into my office one day, and told me that he could get +no length whatever in his drive. I handed him a club and said: "Let me +see you swing?" At the top of his swing he got into this position +which is now considered the classical illustration of how it should +not be done, and after I had allowed him to swing several times from +this position I said to him: "Now swing again, but stop at the top of +your swing." He stopped at the top of his swing, and I then went and +stood behind him almost in a line with his right shoulder and the hole +and about a club's length from him, and I addressed him as follows: +"Will you kindly forget for the moment that that thing which you have +in your hands is a golf club, and will you also consider, ridiculous +as it may seem, that for the nonce my head is a block of wood, and +that you have in your hands now an axe instead of a golf club, with +which you desire to split my head in two. Would you now, if you had to +strike this block of wood, use your arms as you are doing?" + +"Why, no," came the answer instantly. "I should do this," and down +dropped both elbows underneath the club. Then I said to this searcher +after the truth: + +"I do not think I shall ever again have to tell you where to put your +elbows," and he answered, apparently overwhelmed by my supernatural +cleverness: + +"That is a wonderful illustration. I never thought of it like that +before." + +I am giving this as an illustration of the vagueness with which people +treat an utterly simple proposition such as this. This man was a +chartered accountant, and really, in his way, a particularly clever +fellow, but he was overwhelmed with admiration because I was able to +show him that with his golfing club he was doing, or trying to do, a +thing which no one but an idiot would have dreamed of trying to do +with a hammer or an axe. This is the kind of thing for which we have +to thank the people who write vague generalities about things which +they do not understand. + +Let us analyse this most important pronouncement of Braid's a little +further. He continues: + + Neither can one say precisely how they work, except for the + suggestion that has already been made. It seems, however, + that they start when the club head is a matter of some + eighteen inches from the ball, and that for a distance of a + yard in the arc that it is describing they have it almost to + themselves and impart a whip-like snap to the movement, not + only giving a great extra force to the stroke, but, by + keeping the club head for a moment in the straight line of + the intended flight of the ball, doing much towards the + ensuring of the proper direction. + +The real truth of this matter is that there is no portion of the arc +of the drive wherein the wrists exert less influence, or are _so +completely out of business_ as they are in that portion of the drive +wherein James Braid _says they are predominant_. + +The wrists have a tremendous amount to do with the development of the +speed of the stroke, but particularly in the initial stage of the +downward stroke. This will be most clearly seen by a study of George +Duncan's wrist action at plate 64 of _Modern Golf_, wherein the wrists +are shown turning over when the club has gone about half-way on its +downward swing. Of course, they begin to turn over much sooner than +this, but the truth is that the turn-over of the wrist or, more +correctly speaking, the roll of the forearms in the downward swing is +such a wonderfully gradual and natural process that it would be +utterly impossible for anyone to say at what particular period in the +downward swing it happens, and if anyone can say, or, rather, does +say, at what particular period the wrists come in to the downward +stroke, he is not only an ignorant golfer, but an enemy to golf, for +it is a matter which cannot be described except to say that the wrist +action begins absolutely with the beginning of the stroke, and is then +a continuous and natural turn until the club gets very close to the +ball, by which time there is practically nothing left for the wrists +to do, as the club has reverted to the position in which it was at the +moment of address, or perhaps I should say that it ought to have +reverted to that position, as indeed, in so far as regards the club +itself, is properly shown by James Braid in his photographs of stance +and address and impact. + +We have now to deal with the space of eighteen inches in the +follow-through, wherein James Braid asserts the wrists still have it +all to themselves. This eighteen inches is in all properly executed +straight drives, and by straight drives, I mean drives which are not +intentionally pulled or sliced, taken up by a clean follow-through +down the line of flight after the ball, and this follow-through is, of +course, associated with the forward movement of the body on to the +left leg which is so well and clearly shown in the instantaneous +photographs of James Braid and Harry Vardon, but is, by Braid in +_Advanced Golf_, stated to be inadvisable in his text, but clearly +shown as advisable in his photographs. + +There can be no doubt whatever that any attempt to introduce into the +drive for eighteen inches before and after impact, anything whatever +in the nature of a "whip-like snap" would absolutely ruin the rhythm +of the swing, for it is evident that the introduction of a "whip-like +snap" into something which we have been told is "a sweep," would +absolutely upset the general character of that "sweep." It is +impossible to have a sweep, and in that sweep to sweep the ball away +and at the same time to get the ball away by a "whip-like snap." +Either we have the sweep or we have the whip-like snap, admitting for +the sake of argument that either of these statements is correct, which +is not the fact, as the ball is hit away and neither "swept" nor got +away with a "whip-like snap," but the would-be learner is presented +with this mass of confused thought, instead of having nothing whatever +to think of with regard to hitting the ball more than he would have in +his mind if he stood still in the road and tried to smite an acorn +with his walking-stick. + +Let me make this matter perfectly plain. We will consider that the +beginner has taken his stance and addressed his ball perfectly. Let +him now take his club back from the ball in the manner which the +text-books describe for an ordinary drive. Let him swing it thus back +from the ball for a foot and let him swing it back against that ball +and for a foot on the way to the hole. Let him do this once, twice, +ten times, a hundred times, aye a thousand times, if so many be +necessary for him to get absolutely and firmly settled in his mind the +fact that this swing of one foot back and one foot forward is almost +an exact replica of what happens every time he hits a good straight +drive in actual play; that it is approximately a correct sample of the +club action in that section of the swing back, downward swing, impact, +and follow-through. This idea, and this idea only, is what the golfer +must have in his mind, and when he has got this into his mind he will +see clearly that the whole importance of using the wrists properly in +golf is to get them to do their chief work in the early development of +the power of the golf drive, but that by the time the ball is reached +by the club head they have absolutely gone out of business and do not +again come into operation until in the natural order of things they +turn the club over, and pull it off the line of flight to the hole in +the follow-through. + + [Illustration: PLATE X. HARRY VARDON + + Finish of a drive, showing Vardon's perfect management of his + weight.] + +Braid is wonderfully hazy in this matter. He continues: "It seems to +be a sort of flick, in some respects very much the same kind of action +as when a man is boring a corkscrew into the cork of a bottle. He +turns his right wrist back; for a moment it is under high tension and +then he lets it loose with a short sudden snap." This really is very +sad. We are repeatedly told that the golf stroke is a swing or a +sweep, and that it must be of an even character from beginning to end, +and yet we have James Braid in _Advanced Golf_ telling us that the +impact in the drive "seems to be a sort of flick." Well, all I can say +is that I wish any golfer who goes into the flicking business much joy +and great improvement, but I have not much hope that he will get it +until he finds out that flicking is no portion of the game of golf. + +Braid's idea of this most important portion of the drive is most +remarkable. His haziness in connection with the matter extends even to +his illustration. He says that this wrist action is "in some respects +very much the same kind of action as when a man is boring a corkscrew +into the cork of a bottle. He turns his wrist right back; for a moment +it is under high tension and then he lets it loose with a short sudden +snap." + +This is, mechanically, a marvellous statement. I do not profess to be +a great authority on the subject of corkscrews, bottles--or their +contents, but even in this respect I may confess to being a trifle +more than theoretical, and I may say that I have inserted many a +corkscrew into many a cork, but I have never yet used a corkscrew +wherein I turned my wrist over as the right wrist turns over in the +downward swing of the golf club. As a matter of fact, I never inserted +a corkscrew into a cork where I did not turn my wrist from left to +right. All the tension in putting a corkscrew into a cork is on the +backward journey, or that which corresponds to the upward swing in +golf. There is no tension whatever on the return, or that portion of +the screwing process which corresponds to the downward swing in golf, +whereas in golf the main portion of tension is in the downward swing; +but I believe Braid is a teetotaller, so we may forgive him if in this +respect his theory is unsound, and I think we can say that although he +may be entirely theoretical in this, his theory is, in this instance, +not more unsound than it is in regard to what he professes to describe +as the wrist action in the golf drive. + +Braid says that "unless the wrists are in their proper place, as +described, at the top of the swing, it is impossible to get them to do +this work when the time comes. There is nowhere for them to spring +back from." This is correct and absolutely sound; the wrists must, +unquestionably, be in their right place at the top of the swing, the +right place being, as I have already indicated, and as indeed +practically every respectable book on golf, with the exception of the +Badminton volume, shows, underneath the shaft of the club at the top +of the swing, but it is quite wrong to speak of any such thing as +there being no place "for them to spring back from." + +There must be no "spring." It is more a question of swinging than +springing, although, as my readers know, I am opposed even to the idea +of a swing in the golfing stroke. The stroke in golf is one of the +finest hits in the whole realm of athletics, and I object entirely to +it being called a swing or a sweep, or anything but that which it is +legitimately entitled to be called. + +Braid says at page 62: "After impact and the release of all tension, +body and arms are allowed to swing forward in the direction of the +flight of the ball." This sentence gives us pause. We have seen, +according to Braid, that for the space of a yard, that is for eighteen +inches before and after impact in the drive, the wrists come into the +swing and do something with a "whip-like snap"--something that is a +sort of a "flick." We see that this "whip-like snap," and this "sort +of a flick," are kept up for eighteen inches after impact, but we are +told a little farther on that at the moment of impact "everything is +let loose, and round comes the body immediately the ball is struck." + +How is it possible to imagine this kind of thing taking place within a +swing of perfect rhythm? It is evident that Braid has a very rooted +notion about this wrist movement. I must quote again from him, this +time from _How to Play Golf_. On page 54 he says: + + The initiative in bringing down the club is taken by the left + wrist, and the club is then brought forward rapidly and with + an even acceleration of pace until the club head is about a + couple of feet from the ball. So far the movement will + largely have been an arm movement, but at this point there + should be some tightening-up of the wrists, and the club will + be gripped a little more tightly. This will probably come + about naturally, and though some authorities have expressed + different opinions, I am certainly one of those who believe + that the work done by the wrists at this point has a lot to + do with the making of the drive. + +Personally, I believe that Braid is wrong in speaking about the +initiative in bringing down the club being taken by the left wrist. I +believe that the left wrist has no more to do with it than the right +wrist, and I do not believe that one practical golfer in a hundred +could tell which wrist he uses, and the chances are that if he could +tell he would not be a very good golfer, for these are things with +which a golfer has no right to cumber his mind. They are things which +can quite well be left to Nature. It is an act of supreme folly for +the ordinary man to think in the slightest degree of apportioning to +either hand the share of its work in the drive. That absolutely must +never be on his mind when beginning his stroke. + +Braid here emphasises his idea that the wrists come into the golf +drive at about two feet from the ball. In _Advanced Golf_ he says +eighteen inches. In this matter I must unhesitatingly be with Harry +Vardon, and if I had not Harry Vardon's support,--if I stood against +the authority of the world of golfers--I should still be just as +positive as I am with the important corroboration which Vardon gives +me, for there can be no doubt that as a matter of practical golf, +there is no portion of the stroke in golf wherein the wrists are more +quiescent than in the impact. I must not be misunderstood when I say +this. It is obvious that the wrists at the moment of impact will be +braced to receive the shock of the blow, but the speed of the blow has +been developed long before impact, and the wrists have approximately +resumed their normal position as at the moment of address. + +Although Harry Vardon is so positive in combating the notion of the +wrists coming into the drive at the moment of impact, I find him at +page 53 of _Great Golfers_ saying, when writing of the downward swing +with the driver and brassy: + + In commencing the downward swing I try to feel that both + hands and wrists are still working together. The wrists start + bringing the club down, and, at the same moment, the left + knee commences to resume its original position. The head + during this time has been kept quite still, the body alone + pivoting from the hips. When the left knee has turned, I find + I am standing firmly on both feet and the arms are in + position as in the upward swing, before the left knee started + to bend. From this point the speed of the wrists seems to + increase, and the impact is thus made with the club head + travelling at its highest velocity. + +I would here draw attention to the fact that Harry Vardon says: "The +wrists start bringing the club down." This, I consider, is very +important. I have already referred to Braid's statement about the left +wrist taking the initiative. It is of very great importance for the +golfer or would-be golfer to know that the left wrist has not any +right whatever to claim precedence of the right wrist at this critical +moment in the development of the power in the drive. + +The other point in this extract to which I desire to draw attention is +that Vardon says, speaking of a point in the swing which he describes, +and which is practically the same spot wherein Braid says the wrists +exert their influence, that is to say, two feet from the ball: "From +this point the speed of the wrists seems to increase, and the impact +is thus made with the club travelling at its highest velocity." It is +quite possible--in fact, it is nearly certain that the speed of the +wrists will increase from that point, and that the impact will be made +with the club travelling at its highest velocity, but in describing it +in this manner Vardon is very nearly guilty of falling into the same +error as James Braid has; for this reason, that he is directing the +mind to the speed of the wrists at a critical portion of the stroke, +whereas there is only one point whose speed has to be considered, and +that is the point that does the business, which is the centre, if one +may call it so, of the face of the golf club, and it stands to reason +that if this is coming down at an ever-increasing speed, what Vardon +says of this point would be as true of any other point in the downward +swing, but it is bad golf to direct the attention of the student or +the golfer to the speed of his connecting link instead of to the +business end of the club, at any period during his swing. The golfer's +mind must be centred on his ball and his club head. + +Taylor, so far as I remember, does not fall into this very grave +error, but he, in common with most of the great professionals, is +under the impression that the wrists are largely used at the moment of +impact to influence the stroke. This is one of the gravest errors in +golf. Speaking of lofting a stymie Taylor says: "Then, exactly as the +club strikes the ball, the wrists must be turned in an upward +direction smartly. The result of this is that the ball is lofted over +the other, and if hit properly it will run on and go out of sight as +intended." It is a very curious thing that nearly every author or +great golfer thinks that in lofting a stymie the best way is to turn +the wrists upwards, whereas in fact, and in practical golf, absolutely +the best and most certain way of lofting a stymie is to turn neither +the wrists, nor, as naturally follows, the face of the club, upwards, +at the moment of impact. That must always tend, in a stroke of very +great delicacy, which is a natural characteristic of many stymies, to +put too much power into propulsion instead of elevation. The best +stymie stroke which can be played, is played without lifting the +mashie or the niblick by so much as a fraction of an inch after the +ball has been hit. I have illustrated this stroke very fully, both by +diagram and photograph in _Modern Golf_, and it is unquestionably +superior in every way to the ordinary method of playing a stymie. + +Let us now glance at the Badminton _Golf_ and see what Mr. Horace +Hutchinson has to say with regard to this wrist action. At page 90 we +read: + + Now as the club comes near the ball, the wrists, which were + turned upward when the club was raised, will need to be + brought back, down again. It is a perfectly natural movement, + but where many beginners go wrong with it is that they are + too apt to make this wrist-turn too soon in the swing, and + thereby lose its force altogether. The wrists should be + turned again, just as the club is meeting the ball--otherwise + the stroke, to all seeming perhaps a fairly hit one, will + have very little power. + +It is quite evident that Mr. Hutchinson is an adherent of the +"whip-like snap" and the "flick" theory at the moment of impact, for +he tells us that the wrists must be turned again just as the club is +meeting the ball. + +I need not deal fully with this statement, for I have already +sufficiently analysed the same idea which is held by James Braid. The +only difference is that Mr. Horace Hutchinson's is very much worse +than Braid's, in that he thinks the turn-over of the wrists should be +executed at the moment of impact, which of course would import into +the golf stroke a very much greater risk of error than already does +exist in it, and it is unnecessary for me to assure golfers that there +is already quite sufficient chance of error without our endeavouring +to add to it in any way whatever. But I should like to pause to raise +one question. + +Mr. Hutchinson, like nearly every other writer on golf, is a disciple +of one of the most pronounced fallacies in the game, viz.: "As you go +up, so you come down," naturally, of course, all things being +reversed. Let us then consider this point. We are informed by Mr. +Horace Hutchinson that the wrists should be turned again just as the +club is meeting the ball. Following our hoary fallacy of "As you go +up, so you come down" I presume from this that immediately the club +leaves the ball, the wrists begin to turn backwards. This would indeed +give us a peculiar start for our drive. + +From an anatomical point of view I think there is very little doubt +whatever that the wrists have finished their distinctive function much +earlier in the production of the golf stroke than is generally thought +to be the case, and what is commonly miscalled wrist action is, in +effect, merely the natural roll of the forearm, as it is, I believe, +called, at any rate in the case of the left arm, its supination. There +can be no doubt that in the majority of cases where writers refer to +wrist action, they are confusing the natural turn of the forearms with +wrist action. + +Before closing this chapter I may perhaps be excused if I refer again +to that remarkable volume _The Mystery of Golf_. At page 167 we are +told: + + At the bottom of the swing, therefore, the club head is, or + should be, moving in a straight line. Probably it is when the + greatest acceleration in the velocity of the club, and the + strongest wrist action in the swing of the arms occur in this + straight portion of the stroke, that the follow-through is + most efficacious. + +For one who essays to explain the mystery of golf, this is a very +marvellous statement. Probably at no portion whatever of the golf +stroke is the club head proceeding in a straight line. It may be taken +for an absolutely settled fact that it is always proceeding in an arc. +Also it is quite clear that the author is making the sad mistake, +which has been made by so many other people, of thinking that the +wrist action is most in evidence immediately before and after the +period of impact. Most of the leading golfers fall into the error of +stating that cut is obtained by something which is done by the wrists +at the moment of impact, but this is unquestionably an error. I have +dealt with that already in other places so fully that I think that it +will not be necessary for me to do more here than to state that in all +good shots the cut is decided upon practically the moment the club +begins its downward journey, for the amount of cut which is +administered to any ball depends entirely upon the speed, and the +angle at which the club head passes across the intended line of flight +of the ball, provided always, of course, that the club is properly +applied. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE FLIGHT OF THE GOLF BALL + + +The flight of the ball, and particularly of the golf ball, exercises a +strange fascination for many people to whom the phenomena of flight +exhibited by a spinning ball travelling through the air, are not of +the slightest practical importance. That is to say, there is an +immense number of people who take merely a scientific, and one might +almost say an artistic interest in the effects produced by the +combined influence of spin and propulsion. Scientific men have been +for many years well aware of the causes which produce the swerve of a +ball in the air. By swerve I mean, of course, a curve in the flight of +the ball which is due to other causes than gravitation, and in the +word swerve I do not include the drift of a ball which has been +perfectly cleanly hit, but which, in the course of its carry, has been +influenced by a cross wind. This does not legitimately come under the +heading of swerve. It is more correctly described as drift, and will +be dealt with in due course. + +In the _Badminton Magazine_ of March 1896, the late Professor Tait +published an article on "Long Driving." Professor Tait was a practical +golfer and a very learned and scientific man. He proved most clearly +that a golf ball could not be driven beyond a certain distance. He +proved this absolutely and conclusively by mathematics, but, so the +story runs, his son, the famous Freddie Tait, proved next day with his +driver, that his father's calculations were entirely wrong, for he is +alleged to have driven a golf ball over thirty yards farther than the +limit which his learned parent had shown to be obtainable. Naturally, +Professor Tait had to reconsider his statements, and he then arrived +at the conclusion that there must have been in the drive of his son, +which had upset his calculations, some force which he had not taken +into consideration. He soon came to the conclusion that this was +back-spin, and he dealt with this matter of back-spin, which is a +matter of extreme importance to golf, in a most erudite article, which +is much too advanced for the ordinary golfer, so I shall content +myself here with referring to just a few of the most important points +in connection with it. It is necessary that I should, in dealing with +the flight of the ball, give those of my readers who are not already +acquainted with the simple principles of swerve, some idea of what it +is which causes the spinning ball to leave the line of flight that it +would have taken if it had been driven practically without spin. + +The explanation is very simple. If a ball is proceeding through the +air, and spinning, the side which is spinning _towards the hole_ gets +more friction than the other side which is spinning _away from the +hole_. It is well known that a projectile seeks the line of least +resistance in its passage through the air. It follows that the greater +friction on the _forward spinning_ half causes the ball to edge over +towards the side which is spinning away from the hole. This, in a very +few words, is the whole secret of swerve. + +Professor Tait stated in his article that Newton was well aware of +this fact some 230 years before the publication of the professor's +article, and that he remarked when speaking of a spinning tennis ball +with a circular as well as a progressive motion communicated to it by +the stroke, "that the parts on that side where the motions conspire +must press and beat the contiguous air more violently, and there +excite a reluctancy and reaction of the air proportionately greater." + +This really is an extremely simple matter and a very simple +explanation. I have taken care to explain it so simply, for swerve is, +by a very great number of people, looked upon as an abstruse +problem--in fact, my book on _Swerve, or the Flight of the Ball_, is +catalogued as a treatise on applied mathematics, instead of, as I +intended it to be, simply a practical application of the ascertained +facts to the behaviour of the ball in the air. + +Professor Tait's article has enjoyed a wonderful vogue. Although it +was published nearly twenty years ago it is quite frequently quoted at +the present time. There are, however, in it some errors which one +would not have expected to have found in such a scientific article. +Speaking of the golf ball shortly after it has left the club, +Professor Tait said: + + It has a definite speed, in a definite direction, and it + _may_ have also a definite amount of rotation about some + definite axis. The existence of rotation is manifested at + once by the strange effects it produces on the curvature of + the path so that the ball may skew to right or left; soar + upwards as if in defiance of gravity, or plunge headlong + downwards instead of slowly and reluctantly yielding to that + steady and persistent pull. + +There is, in this statement of Professor Tait's, a fundamental error +in so far as regards the flight of the ball. He said: "The existence +of rotation is manifested at once by the strange effects it produces +on the curvature of the path." This is incorrect from a scientific +point of view, and it is also badly stated. The existence of rotation +is not manifested "at once"; in very many cases, practically in all, +the ball proceeds for quite a long distance before the effect of +rotation is seen. This is more particularly so when it is a matter of +back-spin, but it is equally true of the pulled ball or the sliced +ball. Both of these proceed for a considerable distance before the +effect of spin is noticeable. In fact it is well known to all golfers +that the spin begins to get to work as the velocity of the ball +decreases. Also it seems as though it is incorrect to refer to the +strange effects it (rotation) produces on the curvature of the path, +for it is the rotation itself which produces the curvature. + +Professor Tait then said: + + The most cursory observation shows that a ball is hardly ever + sent on its course without some spin, so that we may take the + fact for granted, even if we cannot fully explain the mode of + its production. And the main object of this article is to + show that long carry essentially involves under-spin. + +I shall deal with these two statements later on. + +Professor Tait said: + + To find that his magnificent carry was due merely to what is + virtually a toeing operation--performed no doubt in a + vertical and not in a horizontal plane, is too much for the + self-exalting golfer! + + The fact, however, is indisputable. When we fasten one end of + a long untwisted tape to the ball and the other to the ground + and then induce a good player to drive the ball + (perpendicularly to the tape) into a stiff clay face a yard + or two off, we find that the tape is _always_ twisted in such + a way as to show under-spin; no doubt to different amounts by + different players, but proving that the ball makes usually + from about one to three turns in six feet, say from forty to + a hundred and twenty turns per second, this is clearly a + circumstance not to be overlooked. + +It is wonderful how easily a scientific man, as Professor Tait was, +can be led astray when he sets out to find the thing he has imagined. +Professor Tait, by a footnote to his article in the _Badminton +Magazine_, to my mind entirely discounts the value of his experiments. +His footnote is so important that I must quote it fully. He says: + + In my laboratory experiments, players could not be expected + to do _full_ justice to their powers. They had to strike as + nearly as possible in the centre, a ten-inch disc of clay, + the ball being teed about six feet in front of it. Besides + this pre-occupation, there was always more or less concern + about the possible consequence of rebound, should the small + target be altogether missed. + +It will be apparent even to anyone who is not possessed of a +scientific or analytical mind that Professor Tait _compelled_ his +players to endeavour to play their strokes in such a manner that the +ball had to travel down a line decided on by Professor Tait. I do not +know at what height Professor Tait placed his clay disc from the +earth, but it is evident that if he put it very low down it would +involve the playing by the golfer of a stroke which would naturally +produce back-spin, and in any case the trajectory was arbitrarily +fixed. In experimenting with such a stroke as this, and in such a +manner as this, it should be evident that there should have been no +restriction whatever as to the player's trajectory. If it was decided +that it was necessary to catch the ball in a clay disc, that disc +should have been so large that it was impossible for the golfer's ball +to escape it. It should not have been necessary for the golfer _to +aim_ at the disc. The mere fact of his aiming at the disc and the +ball being teed so near as six feet to the disc, all tended to produce +the shot which would give the results which Professor Tait was looking +for, but that does not prove that the ordinary stroke at golf is +produced in a similar manner, and I do not for one moment believe that +it is. + +In speaking of _the stroke proper_ Professor Tait said: + + The club and the ball practically share this scene between + them; but the player's right hand, and the resistance of the + air, take _some_ little part in it. It is a very brief one, + lasting for an instant only, in the sense of something like + one ten-thousandth of a second. + +We may note here that Professor Tait said: "_The right hand and the +resistance of the air_ take _some_ little part in it." One would be +inclined to think from this that Professor Tait was, as indeed was +probably the case, an adherent of the fetich of the left, for there +can be no doubt that in "the stroke proper" the right hand does much +more than take "_some_" little part in it. + +I think that Professor Tait is wrong in his idea that under-spin, or, +as I prefer to call it, back-spin, is essential to a long carry. I +firmly believe that a ball which is hit with practically no spin +whatever, can have a very long carry. However, as the paper which I am +now about to consider follows in many ways very closely on the lines +of Professor Tait's article, I shall leave this matter for +consideration when I am dealing with that paper. + +The paper which I am now referring to is one which was read at the +weekly evening meeting of the Royal Institution of Great Britain on +Friday, 18th March 1910, by Professor Sir J. J. Thomson, M.A., LL.D., +D.S.C., F.R.S., M.R.I., O.M.; Cavendish Professor of Experimental +Physics, Cambridge; Professor of Physics, Royal Institution, London; +Professor of Natural Philosophy, Royal Institution, and winner of the +Nobel Prize for Physics, 1906. The title of this paper was "The +Dynamics of a Golf Ball." It will be observed that neither the +Institution under the auspices of which this lecture was delivered, +nor the lecturer, is inconsiderable. Professor Thomson is, without +doubt, a very distinguished physicist, and we must therefore receive +anything he writes with a certain amount of respect. There are, +however, in this paper, so many remarkable statements that it is +necessary for me to deal with it quite fully. + +Professor Thomson tells us very early in the lecture that Newton was +well aware of the cause of swerve which I have already set out, some +250 years ago, and that he remarked that in a spinning tennis ball the +"parts on that side where the motions conspire, must press and beat +the contiguous air more violently, and there excite a reluctancy and +reaction of the air proportionately greater." + +Professor Thomson says at the beginning of his lecture: + + There are so many dynamical problems connected with golf that + a discussion of the whole of them would occupy far more time + than is at my disposal this evening. I shall not attempt to + deal with the many important questions which arise when we + consider the impact of the club with the ball, but shall + confine myself to the consideration of the flight of the ball + after it has left the club. + +I may say here that Professor Thomson, although he announces his +intention of doing this, is later on in his paper, as we shall see, +tempted into considering the questions of impact, and, in my opinion, +making several grave errors therein. We may, however, in the meantime, +pass this by. + +Professor Thomson continues: + + This problem is in any case a very interesting one, which + would be even more interesting if we could accept the + explanations of the behaviour of the ball given by some + contributors to the very voluminous literature which has + collected around the game. If this were correct, I should + have to bring before you this evening a new dynamics and + announce that matter when made up into golf balls obeys laws + of an entirely different character from those governing its + action when in any other condition. + +This, at the outset, is an extremely remarkable statement to come from +so eminent a physicist, for I may say that Professor Thomson, after +making a remark of this nature, proceeds to explain the phenomena of +swerve on exactly the same links which I have set out fully and +explicitly in my book _Swerve, or the Flight of the Ball_. That, +however, is a matter of small importance. It may be that Professor +Thomson has not had the opportunity of perusing this book. It may +indeed be that Professor Thomson has been unfortunate enough only to +have read articles wherein an erroneous explanation of the well-known +phenomena of the flight of the ball is given. Be that as it may, there +can be no doubt that the explanation which has been given of the +causes of swerve has been adequate and accurate, and there would not +have been any necessity whatever for Professor Thomson to bring before +the learned Institution whose fellows listened to his address "a new +dynamics." It would have been sufficient if he had correctly explained +the phenomena of the flight and run of a golf ball according to the +well-recognised laws which govern the flight and run of all balls. +This, however, he quite failed to do. + +Professor Thomson says: "If we could send off the ball from the club +as we might from a catapult, without spin, its behaviour would be +regular, but uninteresting." It is quite possible to send a golf ball +off a club without spin. It is just as possible, from a practical +point of view, to send a golf ball away without spin from the face of +a driver as it is from the pouch of a catapult. The catapult is a +machine, and it is a certainty that it can be made to propel a golf +ball without any initial spin whatever. A machine can be made to drive +a golf ball with just as little spin, and as a matter of practical +golf, by far the greater number of golf balls are driven without +appreciable spin--that is to say, without spin which has any definite +action on the flight of the ball. + +The learned lecturer says: "A golf ball when it leaves a club is only +in rare cases devoid of spin." It is impossible to prove or disprove +this statement, for practically no ball goes through the air with the +same point always in front. We may see this quite clearly if we care +to mark a lawn-tennis ball, and to hit it perfectly truly, and slowly, +so that it goes almost as a lob across the net. We shall see even then +that the marked part of the ball moves from one place to another. In +fact, even if a golf ball were driven by a machine which did not +impart to it any initial spin, it is almost a certainty that that ball +would not have proceeded far before it had acquired sufficient motion +to justify one in technically calling it spin. Spin, however, is a +delightfully indefinite word, but this much one may at least say, and +it is, in effect, a contradiction of Sir J. J. Thomson's assertion, +namely that in the vast majority of balls hit with golf clubs, +especially by skilled players, the effect of spin on the stroke +_unless designedly applied_, which is comparatively rare, is +practically negligible. + +Professor Thomson says that + + ... a golf ball, when it leaves the club, is only in rare + cases devoid of spin, and it is spin which gives the + interest, variety, and vivacity to the flight of the ball; + it is spin which accounts for the behaviour of a sliced or + pulled ball; it is spin which makes the ball soar or "douk," + or execute those wild flourishes which give the impression + that the ball is endowed with an artistic temperament and + performs these eccentricities, as an acrobat might throw in + an extra somersault or two for the fun of the thing. This + view, however, gives an entirely wrong impression of the + temperament of a golf ball, which is, in reality, the most + prosaic of things, knowing while in the air only one rule of + conduct which it obeys with an intelligent conscientiousness, + that of always following its nose. This rule is the key to + the behaviour of all balls when in the air, whether they are + golf balls, base-balls, cricket balls, or tennis balls. + +The idea of a spherical object having a nose is so unscientific and so +inexact that it is not necessary for me to dwell very strongly on it +here, and I should not do so were it not that this looseness of +description is of considerable importance in dealing with Professor +Thomson's ideas. He continues: + + Let us, before entering into the reasons for this rule, trace + out some of its consequences. By the nose on the ball we mean + the point on the ball furthest in front. + +It will be obvious to my readers that this description is +scientifically extremely inaccurate, for if we take a line through the +ball from the point of contact with the club to the point on the ball +farthest in front, which Professor Thomson calls its nose, we shall +find that the flight of that ball will always be in that same line +produced, whereas in the spinning ball it is nothing of the sort. The +whole trouble here is that Professor Thomson wants to have the "nose," +as he calls it, of the ball, both a fixed and a moving point. This, +obviously, is most unscientific. If the nose of the ball is the point +that is farthest in front, I cannot say too emphatically that it +stands to reason that the ball in flight will go straight out after +that point, but the fact is that the point in front is continually +changing; moreover, the fact that the ball goes the way it is spinning +is not explained by any tendency of the ball to wander that way on +account of the spin irrespective of the friction of the air. + +It will thus be seen that Professor Thomson's explanation in this +matter is incorrect and misleading. This is about the most +unscientific explanation which could be given of this matter, and it +is one which is calculated to mislead people who would otherwise +understand the matter quite clearly, so we shall drop Professor +Thomson's idea of giving the ball a "nose" which is always in the +front of it, but which is also supposed to be continually travelling +sideways. It is obvious that Professor Thomson cannot have it both +ways. + +It is very clear indeed that Professor Thomson is not well acquainted +with the method of applying spin to balls which are used in playing +games. He says: + + A lawn-tennis player avails himself of the effect of spin + when he puts "top-spin" on his drives, _i.e._ hits the ball + on the top so as to make it spin about a horizontal axis, the + nose of the ball travelling downwards as in figure 4; this + makes the ball fall more quickly than it otherwise would, and + thus tends to prevent it going out of the court. + +I have played lawn-tennis for more than twenty years, and I am the +author of three books on the game, one of which is supposed to be the +standard work on the subject, and I can assure Professor Thomson that +no lawn-tennis player would dream of doing anything so silly as to hit +a lawn-tennis ball "on the top" in an attempt to obtain "top-spin." + +The scientific method of obtaining top-spin is to hit the lawn-tennis +ball on what Professor Thomson, if he were driving the ball over the +net to me, would call its nose--that is to say, I should hit the ball +on the spot which was farthest from Professor Thomson. I should hit it +there with a racket whose face was practically vertical, but I should +hit it an upward, forwardly glancing blow which would impart, as +Professor Thomson expresses it, "spin about a horizontal axis to the +ball." + +Professor Thomson goes so far as to show by diagram the travel of a +ball which has been hit so as to impart top-spin to it, but even in +this diagram he is absolutely wrong, for he shows that immediately the +ball has been hit with top-spin it begins to fall, but this is not so. +In lawn-tennis the ball travels for a long distance before the spin +begins to assert itself, and to overcome the force of the blow which +set up the spin. + +Professor Tait makes this same error in his article on "Long Driving," +and it is quite evident to me that Professor Thomson is following, in +many respects, the errors of his eminent predecessor. + +Professor Thomson also says: + + Excellent examples of the effect of spin on the flight of a + ball in the air are afforded in the game of base-ball. An + expert pitcher, by putting on the proper spin, can make the + ball curve either to the right or the left, upwards or + downwards; for the side-way curves the spin must be about a + vertical axis; for the upward or downward ones, about a + horizontal axis. + +There are no particular laws with regard to the curves of a base-ball. +The same laws regulate the curves in the air of every ball from a +ping-pong ball to a cricket ball, and Professor Thomson, in saying +that "for the side-way curves the spin must be about a vertical axis," +is absolutely wrong. Every lawn-tennis player who knows anything +whatever about the American service, will know that Professor Thomson +is utterly wrong in this respect, for the whole essence of the swerve +and break of the American service, which has a large amount of +side-swerve, is that the axis of rotation shall be approximately at an +angle of fifty degrees, and any expert base-ball pitcher will know +quite well that he can get his side-curve much better if he will, +instead of keeping his axis of rotation perfectly vertical, tilt it a +little so that it will have the assistance of gravitation at the end +of its flight instead of fighting gravitation, as it must do if he +trusts entirely to horizontal spin about a vertical axis for his +swerve. + +Professor Thomson says: + + If the ball were spinning about an axis along the line of + flight, the axis of spin would pass through the nose of the + ball, and the spin would not affect the motion of the nose; + the ball, following its nose, would thus move on without + deviation. + +The spin which Professor Thomson is describing here is that which a +rifle bullet has during its flight, for it is obvious that the rifle +bullet is spinning "about an axis along the line of flight," and that +the axis of spin does pass through the nose of the bullet, but we know +quite well that in the flight of a rifle bullet there is a very +considerable amount of what is called drift. It is, of course, an +impossibility to impart to a golf ball during the drive any such spin +as that of the rifle bullet, although in cut mashie strokes, and in +cutting round a stymie, we do produce a spin which is, in effect, the +same spin, but this is the question which Professor Thomson should set +himself to answer. He states distinctly that a ball with this spin +would not swerve. If this is so, can Professor Thomson explain to +us why the rifle bullet drifts? As a matter of fact, a ball with this +spin _would_ swerve, but not to anything like the same extent as would +a ball with one of the well-recognised spins which are used for the +purpose of obtaining swerve. + + [Illustration: PLATE XI. JAMES BRAID + + Finish of drive, showing clearly how Braid's weight goes on to + the left leg.] + +Professor Thomson proceeded to prove by the most elaborate experiments +the truth of those matters stated by Newton centuries ago, but it will +not be necessary for me to follow him in these, because these +principles have been recognised for ages past. + +It is curious to note that in the reference to Newton, who was aware +of this principle of swerve so long ago, we are shown that Newton +himself did not quite grasp the method of production of the stroke, +although he analysed the result in a perfectly sound manner. Writing +to Oldenburg in 1671 about the Dispersion of Light, he said in the +course of his letter: "I remembered that I had often seen a tennis +ball struck with an oblique racket describe such a curved line." The +effect of striking a tennis ball with an oblique racket is, generally +speaking, to push it away to one side. The curve, to be of a +sufficiently pronounced nature to be visible, must be produced by the +passage of the racket across the intended line of flight of the ball. + +This matter of the different pressure on one side of the ball from +that on the other is very simple when one thoroughly grasps it. +Professor Thomson gives in his paper an illustration which may perhaps +make the matter clearer to some people than the explanation which is +generally given. He says: + + It may perhaps make the explanation of this difference of + pressure easier if we take a somewhat commonplace example of + a similar fact. Instead of a golf ball let us consider the + case of an Atlantic liner, and, to imitate the rotation of + the ball, let us suppose that the passengers are taking their + morning walk on the promenade deck, all circulating round the + same way. When they are on one side of the boat they have to + face the wind, on the other side they have the wind at their + backs. Now, when they face the wind, the pressure of the wind + against them is greater than if they were at rest, and this + increased pressure is exerted in all directions and so acts + against the part of the ship adjacent to the deck; when they + are moving with their backs to the wind, the pressure against + their backs is not so great as when they were still, so the + pressure acting against this side of the ship will not be so + great. Thus the rotation of the passengers will increase the + pressure on the side of the ship when they are facing the + wind, and diminish it on the other side. This case is quite + analogous to that of the golf ball. + +Even in this simple illustration it seems to me that Professor Thomson +is wrong, for he is pre-supposing that which he does not state--a head +wind. It is quite obvious that these passengers might have to face a +wind coming from the stern of the ship, and in this case the analogy +between the passengers circulating round the deck of a ship, and his +golf ball would receive a serious blow. In stating a matter which is +of sufficient importance to be dealt with before such a learned body +as the Royal Institution of Great Britain, it is well to be accurate. +If Professor Thomson had stated that his Atlantic liner was going into +a head wind, or, for the matter of that, even proceeding in a dead +calm, his analogy might have been correct, but it is obvious that he +has left out of consideration a following wind of greater speed than +that at which the liner is travelling. + +Professor Thomson has not added anything to the information which we +already possessed with regard to the effect of back-spin on a ball; +rather has he, as I shall show when dealing with the question of +impact with the ball, clouded the issue. At page 12 of his remarkable +lecture he says: "So far I have been considering under-spin. Let us +now illustrate slicing and pulling; in these cases the ball is +spinning about a vertical axis." We here have a very definite +statement that in slicing and pulling the ball is spinning about a +vertical axis, but it is not doing so. + +Professor Thomson has "an electromagnet and a red hot piece of +platinum with a spot of barium oxide upon it. The platinum is +connected with an electric battery which causes negatively electrified +particles to fly off the barium and travel down the glass tube in +which the platinum strip is contained; nearly all the air has been +exhausted from this tube. These particles are luminous, so that the +path they take is very easily observed." + +These particles, I may explain, take, in Professor Thomson's mind, the +place of golf balls, and by an electromagnet he shows us exactly what +golf balls do, but it seems to me that if Professor Thomson is not +absolutely clear what is happening to the sliced ball and the pulled +ball, there is a very great chance that, like Professor Tait, he may +induce his particles to do the thing that he wishes them to do, and +not the thing that a real golf ball with a real pull or a real slice +would do. This, as a matter of fact, is exactly what Professor Thomson +does, for, as I shall show quite simply and in such a manner as +absolutely to convince the merest tyro at golf, Professor Thomson is +utterly wrong when he states that in the slice and the pull the ball +is spinning about a vertical axis. + +I shall not need any diagrams or figures to bring this home to anyone +who is possessed of the most rudimentary knowledge of mechanics. It +should be quite evident to anyone that to produce spin about a +vertical axis it would be necessary to have a club with a vertical +face, or to strike a blow with the face of the club so held that at +the moment of impact the face of the club was vertical. Now this does +not happen with the slice at golf, for the very good reason that if +one so applied one's club, the ball would not rise from the earth. The +club which produces the slice is always lofted in a greater or less +degree, and quite often the natural loft is increased by the player +designedly laying the face back during the stroke. It is evident that +in the impact with the driver or brassy, the ball, especially the +modern rubber-cored ball, flattens on to the face of the club and +remains there whilst the club is travelling across the line of flight. +This naturally imparts to the ball a roll--in other words, as the club +cuts across the ball it rolls it for a short distance on its face. + +It is obvious that this rolling process will, to a greater or less +extent, give to the ball a spin about an axis which is approximately +the same as that of the loft on the face of the club. Therefore, it is +clear that in all sliced balls the axis of spin will be inclined +backward. It seems likely, also, that as the axis of spin is inclined +backward and the ball is rising, there will be some additional +friction at the bottom of it which would not be there in the case of a +ball without spin. This probably helps to produce the sudden rise of +the slice. In all good cut shots with lofted clubs, the angle of the +axis of spin is to a very great extent regulated by the amount of loft +on the face of the club. + +Professor Thomson's error with regard to the slice being about a +vertical axis is beyond question, but his error in saying that the +axis of rotation of the pull and the slice is identical, is, from a +golfing point of view, simply irretrievable. Print is a very awkward +thing--_it stays_. The merest tyro at golf knows quite well that the +pulled ball and the sliced ball behave during flight and after landing +on the ground in a totally different manner from each other. If +Professor Thomson knows so much, it should unquestionably be evident +to so distinguished a scientist that there must be a very considerable +difference in the rotation of these balls. The slice, as is well +known, rises quickly from the ground, flies high, and is not, +generally speaking, a good runner. The pull, on the other hand, flies +low and runs well on landing. + +It is not merely sufficient to contradict Professor Sir J. J. Thomson +in these matters, so I shall explain fully the reason for the +difference in the flight and run of the slice and the pull. The slice +is played as the club head is returning across the line of flight, and +therefore is more in the nature of a chop than is the pull. Frequently +the spin that is imparted to the ball is the resultant of the downward +and inwardly glancing blow. This not only leaves the axis of rotation +inclined backward, but sometimes inclined also slightly away from the +player, but it is obvious that even if the ball had, as Professor +Thomson thinks it has, rotation about a vertical axis, which is the +rotation of a top, such rotation would, on landing, tend to prevent +the ball running, for, as is well known, every spinning thing strives +hard to remain in the plane of its rotation, but the slice is more +obstinate still than this, for the axis of rotation being inclined +backward, frequently at the end of the flight, coincides with the line +of flight of the ball, so that the ball is spinning about an axis +which, to adopt Professor Thomson's term, runs through its "nose." +This means that the slice frequently pitches in the same manner as +might a rifle bullet if falling on its "nose," and the effect is, to +a very great extent, the same. The ball tries to stay where it lands. + +Let us now consider the flight and run of the pull. The pull is played +by an upward, outward, glancing blow. The ball is hit by the club as +it is going across the line of flight away from the player and this +imparts to the ball a spin around an axis which lies inward towards +the player. This means that the pull goes away to the right, and then +swerves back again towards the middle of the course if properly +played, and upon landing runs very freely. The reason for this run has +not been clearly understood by many, and it is quite evident that +Professor Thomson does not know of it, so I shall give an extremely +plain illustration. + +Nearly every boy has at some time played with a chameleon top, or some +other top of the same species, that is to say, a disc top. Every boy +who has played with such a top will be familiar with the fact that +when the spin is dying away from the top, it rolls about until one +edge of it touches the earth or whatever it is spinning on. +Immediately this happens the top runs away as carried by the spin. + +That is about the simplest illustration which it is possible to give +of the plane of spin of the pulled ball during its flight and of its +run after it has touched the earth, but from this very simple +explanation it will be perfectly obvious to anyone who gives the +matter the least consideration that not only is the axis of rotation +of the pull and the slice dissimilar, but as a matter of fact the +rotation of the pull and the slice is almost diametrically opposed the +one to the other. + +Professor Thomson says: + + Let us now consider the effect of a cross wind. Suppose the + wind is blowing from left to right, then, if the ball is + pulled, it will be rotating in the direction shown in figure + 26 (from right to left); the rules we found for the effect of + rotation on the difference of pressure on the two sides of a + ball in a blast of air show that in this case the pressure on + the front half of the ball will be greater than that on the + rear half, and thus tend to stop the flight of the ball. If, + however, the spin was that for a slice, the pressure on the + rear half would be greater than the pressure in front, so + that the difference in pressure would tend to push on the + ball and make it travel further than it otherwise would. + +I have not given this aspect of the question a great amount of +thought, but it seems obvious that in playing for a slice in the +circumstances mentioned by Professor Thomson, it is extremely unlikely +that the greater pressure would be, as he says, on the rear half. If, +indeed, this were so the slice would, in my opinion, not take effect; +also on account of the tremendous speed of the golf ball it seems to +me utterly improbable that in any ordinary wind which one encounters +on a golf links it would be possible to obtain on the rear half of a +golf ball a greater pressure than that on the forward spinning half, +or, to be more accurate, quarter of the ball. I cannot help thinking +that Professor Thomson in saying that in such a case as this the +greater pressure would be on the rear half of the ball is falling into +an error, for it seems to me that he is overlooking the tendency of +the ball to set up for itself something in the nature of a vacuum +which will undoubtedly tend to protect the rear portion of the ball +from the force which must assail it in front during its passage +through the air. + +Professor Thomson says that "the moral of this is that if the wind is +coming from the left we should play up into the wind and slice the +ball, while if it is coming from the right we should play up into it +and pull the ball." + +That is Professor Thomson's theory. I shall give my readers the +benefit of my practice, which is that whenever there is a cross wind +of any description whatever, hit the ball as straight as it is +possible for you to do it, right down the middle of the course from +the tee to the hole, and forget all about pulls or slices. On a windy +day avoid anything whatever in the nature of side-spin because once +you have applied it to a ball you never know where that ball is going +to end, and if you want any confirmation for this practice you may get +it from Harry Vardon in _The Complete Golfer_, for there can be very +little doubt that a side wind has nothing like the effect on the ball +that golfers seem to imagine, provided always, of course, that the +ball be hit cleanly and without appreciable spin. It is not given to +one golfer in a thousand to know how to use the pull and slice to +obtain assistance from the wind and also to be capable of executing +the strokes. As a matter of practical golf these strokes should, for +at least ninety-five per cent of golfers, be rigidly eschewed. + +At the beginning of Professor Thomson's article he said: + + I shall not attempt to deal with the many important questions + which arise when we consider the impact of the club with the + ball, but confine myself to the consideration of the flight + of the ball after it has left the club. + +It would, indeed, have been well if Professor Thomson had carried out +his expressed intention of leaving this matter alone, for in dealing +with it he has shown most conclusively that he has no practical grip +of the question which he has attempted to deal with. At page 15 of his +article he says: + + I have not time for more than a few words as to how the ball + acquires the spin from the club, but if you grasp the + principle that the action between the club and the ball + depends only on their _relative_ motion, and that it is the + same whether we have the ball fixed and move the club, or + have the club fixed and project the ball against it, the main + features are very easily understood. + +I can readily believe that this statement of Professor Thomson's is +absolutely accurate. The only thing which troubles me about it is that +I think the person of ordinary intellect will find it absolutely +impossible to "grasp the principle" which Professor Thomson lays down. +If we have the club fixed and project the ball against it, we know +quite well that the ball will rebound from the club, but if we are to +have the ball fixed and move the club against it, nothing will happen +unless we move the club fast enough, in which case we should simply +smash the club. + +This is a most amazing illustration of looseness of thought--such an +astonishing illustration that I should not have believed Professor +Thomson capable of it if it had not been published broadcast to the +world with his authority. Of course, I know perfectly well what +Professor Thomson means to say, but I have not to deal with that, and +as a matter of fact what he means to say is quite wrong, but it will +be sufficient for me to show that what he _does_ say is wrong. + +Professor Thomson then goes on to say: + + Suppose Fig. 27 represents the section of the head of a + lofted club moving horizontally forward from right to left, + the effect of the impact will be the same as if the club were + at rest and the ball were shot against it horizontally from + left to right. + +Here Professor Thomson shows that he is quite under a misapprehension +as to the production of the golf stroke. He pre-supposes that the +club is moving in a horizontal direction at the moment it hits the +ball. In a vast majority of instances, probably in about ninety per +cent of cases, the club is not moving in a horizontal direction--in +fact, it would be hardly too much to say that it never moves in a +horizontal direction. It is nearly always moving either upwards or +downwards in a curve at the moment it strikes the ball, so that it +stands to reason, especially when the club face is travelling upwards, +which is what it does in the great majority of cases, that the blow is +never delivered horizontally, but is always struck more or less upward +through the ball's centre of mass. + +Practical teachers of golf know how extremely hard it is to induce the +beginner, and for the matter of that many people who are far beyond +beginners, to trust the loft of the club to raise the ball from the +earth; so many players never get out of the habit of attempting to hit +upwards. + +It stands to reason that if the blow in golf were delivered as with a +billiard cue, any blow struck in that manner, provided the face of the +club had sufficient loft, would tend to produce back-spin, but +practically no blow in golf is struck in the manner described by +Professor Thomson; nor is the beneficial back-spin of golf obtained in +this manner, in fact the loft of the club has comparatively little to +do with producing the back-spin which so materially assists the length +of the carry. There can, of course, be no doubt that loft does assist +a person in producing this back-spin, or, as Professor Thomson calls +it, under-spin, but to nothing like the extent which is imagined by +the worthy Professor. The beneficial back-spin of golf is obtained by +striking the golf ball before the head of the club has reached the +lowest point in its swing; in other words, the back-spin is put on a +golf ball by downward cut--by the very reverse to that cut which is +put on a ball when a man tops it badly. In the one case it is up cut, +or, as it is called in lawn-tennis, top, which is a misleading term +which has led many people, besides Sir J. J. Thomson, astray, and in +the other case it is downward cut, which is exactly similar in its +effect to the chop at lawn-tennis. + +Professor Thomson, for the purpose of illustrating the fact that the +golf ball obtains the beneficial spin, which influences its carry so +materially, from the loft of the club, shows us a club face with a +loft much greater than that of a niblick, and proceeds to demonstrate +from this loft, which it is unnecessary to tell a golfer does not +exist on any club which is used for driving, that the ball acquires +its back-spin from the loft of the face of the club. + +I have already referred to the Professor's fundamental fallacy that +the golf stroke is delivered in a horizontal line--in effect that the +force of the blow proceeds horizontally, but he is guilty of another +very great error from the point of view of practical golf when he +shows a club such as he has done, in order to explain how the +beneficial back-spin of golf is obtained. Such a club as he shows +might be useful for getting out of a bunker, but it certainly would be +of no use whatever in practical golf for driving. As every golfer +knows, the face of the driver is, comparatively speaking, very +upright, and firing a ball at a wall built at the same angle as the +loft of a driver would certainly not produce on that ball much in the +way of back-spin. The idea of a modern golf ball which flattens very +considerably on the face of the club, rolling up the face of a driver +on account of its loft, is too ridiculous to be considered seriously +by a practical golfer. + +The trouble is that Professor Thomson always takes for his hypothesis +something which does not exist in golf, so that in the great majority +of cases it does not really matter to us what he proves. As a matter +of fact, there is in golf only one horizontal stroke, and that is the +stymie stroke introduced into the game by me, and which I have +hereinbefore fully described. This stroke shows us conclusively how +the power goes mostly into elevation instead of into propulsion. It is +an absolute answer, if one were required, to Professor Thomson's +theories. Professor Thomson's error is of such a fundamental nature +that I must quote his sentence again in giving my readers the full +paragraph wherein he exposes the delusion under which he is suffering. +He says: + + Suppose Fig. 27 represents the section of the head of a + lofted club moving horizontally forward from right to left, + the effect of the impact will be the same as if the club were + at rest and the ball were shot against it horizontally from + left to right. Evidently, however, in this case the ball + would tend to roll up the face, and would thus get spin about + a horizontal axis in the direction shown in the figure; this + is under-spin and produces the upward force which tends to + increase the carry of the ball. + +This is the rock upon which Professor Thomson has split. He is under +the impression that the beneficial back-spin of golf is obtained by +loft, whereas it is perfectly possible to obtain the beneficial +back-spin of golf with a club having a vertical face, and being at the +moment of impact in a vertical plane, but in order to do this it would +be necessary that the ball should be teed very high, as indeed one of +the most famous professionals in the world is in the habit of doing +when he is playing for a low ball against the wind. + +When in _Modern Golf_ I stated that a high tee for a low ball was +practical golf, it was considered revolutionary, if not incorrect, +doctrine, but players now understand that by using the high tee for a +low ball they are enabled to cut down beyond the ball more than they +could do if the ball were lying on the earth, and that they are, in +this manner, enabled to obtain much more of the back-spin which gives +the ball its extra carry, and also to play it with less loft. + +This is a very serious error for a man of Professor Thomson's +attainments to make, and indeed it is to me a wonder how he could +possibly make the mistake of thinking that the force in the blow at +golf is administered horizontally. This is one of the worst errors +which he has made, but the idea that the back-spin of golf is obtained +mainly by the loft of the club is utterly unsound and pernicious. It +is so unsound, and the correct understanding of the method of +producing this stroke is so important to golf, especially to the golf +of the future, that I must explain fully how this stroke is obtained. + +I have already shown that it is played by a downward glancing blow +which hits the ball before the club reaches the lowest point in its +swing, and I have already shown the delusion under which many players +labour, even including so eminent a player as Harry Vardon, that the +ball is struck down on to the earth. Although the ball is struck a +descending blow, there is in the blow much more of the forward motion +than the downward, so that all the ordinary principles with regard to +getting the ball up into the air, apply with equal force to this +stroke as to any other, and it is a matter of prime importance that +the ball must be struck below the centre of its mass--that the loft of +the club must get in underneath what is popularly called the middle of +the ball. If this does not take place the ball will not rise from the +earth, and to show as Harry Vardon does, at page 170 of _The Complete +Golfer_, that the ball must be struck at or above the centre of its +mass, and with, as he indicates at page 106, a vertical face, is +utterly unsound golf. + +I cannot emphasise too strongly that in this miscalled push shot, +which is answerable for all back-spin, the loft must be allowed to do +its work in the ordinary manner, otherwise the stroke will be a +failure. + +Having now made it perfectly clear how this stroke is obtained, I must +explain a little more clearly the wonderful character of this ball +which is without any doubt whatever, in my mind, the king of golf +strokes in so far as regards obtaining distance and accuracy and +direction. On account of the downward glancing blow the ball has been +struck, it leaves the club with a very great amount of back-spin. The +hands are always forward of the ball at the moment of impact in this +stroke when it is properly played. It stands to reason that this, to a +certain extent, decreases the loft of the club with which the stroke +is played. The result is that the ball goes away on the first portion +of its journey with a very low flight, keeping very close indeed to +the earth. All the time it is doing this, however, the ball, as we +know, is spinning backwards, which means that the lower portion of the +ball is spinning towards the hole, and that it is on the lower portion +of the ball that the motions of progression and revolution conspire. + +It is equally obvious that on the upper portion of the ball the +progression through the air is at the same rate, but in so far as +regards its frictional-producing result on the air, it is lessened by +the fact that the upper portion of the ball is revolving or spinning +backwardly towards the player. The result of this is that the ball is +getting much more friction on the lower portion than it is on the +top, but as speed can always dominate spin, this is not very apparent +until about two-thirds of the carry. + +As the speed of the ball begins to decrease, the friction of the spin +gets a better grip on the air, and the result is that with the +continual rubbing of the air on the lower portion of the ball, it is +forced upward and so it continues until the lifting power of the +combined propulsion and revolution is exhausted. By this time the ball +has arrived at the highest point of its trajectory and it then begins +in the natural order of things to fall towards the earth. + +It is obvious that by this time much of the back-spin will have been +exhausted, but there still remains a considerable amount of rotation, +and as the ball begins to fall towards the earth this back-spin which +has hitherto been used for forcing the ball upwards into the air, +still exerts its influence, and as it is travelling towards the earth +the remnant of the back-spin exerts its influence to extend the carry +of the ball, because the main frictional portion of the ball has, to a +certain extent, on account of the dropping of the ball, been altered +and shifted probably a little more towards the lower side of the ball. + +The result of all this is that by the time this ball, in a well played +drive, comes to earth, most of the beneficial back-spin which obtained +for it its long flight, will have been exhausted, and that portion +which remains and has not been exhausted will, in all probability, be +killed on impact, for the ball pitches on one point, and naturally the +top portion tends to throw forward so that the ball will run along the +course. It stands to reason that it would require an enormous amount +of back-spin to stay with the ball during the period of its low +flight, to lift the ball then to the highest point in its trajectory +near the end of its carry, to stay with it still in its descent, and +then to be strong enough to resist the shock of landing so as to check +the run of the ball. The result is that on account of the low +trajectory of this ball and of the phenomena explained by me, it is +frequently, when well played, and particularly in dry weather, a good +runner, so that we see that in this ball we have practically the ideal +golf drive; a drive with which no other can compare; a drive which is +as good, although it is called the wind-cheater, for a still day as in +a gale. + +From this explanation it will be seen what a poor chance anyone would +have who follows Professor Thomson's ideas of obtaining the beneficial +back-spin of golf from the loft of the club and a horizontal blow. + +Professor Thomson gives some illustrations of the pull and the slice. +In two of his figures he shows horizontal blows being produced in a +straight line with the line of flight. Both of these, I may say, are +absolutely impossible in golf. He shows a slice in Fig. 29 which would +be much more likely to result in a pull, and he shows a pull in Fig. +31 which would almost certainly result in a slice even if the shots +were possible, which, as he shows them, they are not. + +Professor Thomson shows by diagram an ordinary slice which he says is +produced by "such a motion as would be produced if the arms were +pulled in at the end of the stroke." This in itself is an utterly +loose definition. What Professor Thomson evidently means is if the +arms were pulled in during the stroke or at the moment of impact, but +as I have shown the slice is not produced by the arms being pulled in +at the moment of impact. It is produced by the club head travelling +across the ball at an angle to the intended line of flight of the +ball. Professor Thomson shows the slice in this case by diagram, and +correctly, but he says that if the club were fixed rigidly and the +ball were fired at the club down the same line as the club made in its +previous stroke, the ball would come off the club in exactly the same +manner as when it was hit by the club, but in this he is making a very +grave error, as I think I shall be able to show. + +I shall quote Professor Thomson with regard to this matter. His +proposition is so simple that although I give his indicating letters +it will not be necessary for me to reproduce his diagram. He says: + + Suppose, now, the face of the club is not square to its + direction of motion, but that looking down on the club its + line of motion when it strikes the ball is along P Q (Fig. + 28), such a motion as would be produced if the arms were + pulled in at the end of the stroke, the effect of the impact + now will be the same as if the club were at rest and the ball + projected along R S, the ball will endeavour to roll along + the face away from the striker; it will spin in the direction + shown in the figure about a vertical axis. This, as we have + seen, is the spin which produces a slice. + +This, as we have already seen, is not the spin which produces a slice, +but we need not waste any further time going into that matter. We can, +however, deal with what Professor Thomson meant to say when he wrote + + ... but if you grasp the principle that the action between + the club and the ball depends only on their _relative_ + motion, and that it is the same whether we have the ball + fixed and move the club or have the club fixed and project + the ball against it, the main features are very easily + understood. + +For the purpose of analysing what Professor Thomson evidently meant +when he wrote this, let us take the ordinary case of a slice. We all +know now quite well that a slice is produced by a glancing blow +coming inwardly across the intended line of flight, and Professor +Thomson tells us it is exactly the same thing whether we hit the ball +with the club or fire the ball against the club. Let us see how this +works out in the slice. + +We will consider, for the sake of argument, that the slice has been +produced by a stroke which has come across the intended line of flight +at an angle of 30 degrees. We shall now fasten our club rigidly and +fire the golf ball out of a catapult against its face so that it hits +it dead in the centre, and so that it travels down a line at an angle +of 30 degrees to the face. Now most of us know enough elementary +mechanics to know that in hitting a still object such as the face of +the golf club, the ball will come off it at the same angle at which it +hit it--in other words that the angle of reflection is the same as the +angle of incidence, allowing always, of course, for the slight +alteration which will be made by the loft of the club. In this case, +of course, we have one object which is absolutely still, and all the +motion during impact is confined to the ball. + +Now let us consider the impact in the slice. In this case the club +strikes the ball a violent blow. The ball, to a very great extent, +flattens on the face of the club, and both the ball and the club +travel together for a certain distance across the direct line of +flight to the hole, and during the time that they are thus travelling +together the club is imparting spin to the ball and influencing its +direction, so that instead of the ball doing anything whatever in the +nature of spinning off the face of the club at a natural angle, it is +driving, during its initial stages, very straightly for a long +distance before the spin begins to take effect. + +It seems to me that the slice may be taken as a very good illustration +showing that what Professor Thomson meant to explain is quite +incorrect from a golfing point of view. It is quite evident that +before we could accept as authoritative the explanations which have +been given by Professor Thomson of these somewhat abstruse problems, +it would be necessary for us to have, as he puts it, "a new dynamics." + +I have already dealt very fully both in England and America with this +remarkable lecture by Professor Thomson. I have criticised it in the +leading reviews and magazines of the world, and the authoritative +golfing paper of England--_Golf Illustrated_--in a leader, invited +Professor Thomson to make good his assertions, but he has not been +able to do so. One can understand fallacious matter being published +under the names of professional golfers when one knows quite well that +the majority of the work is done by journalists hired for the purpose, +but it is almost impossible to understand how such utterly false +doctrine could be put out by so eminent a man, and under the auspices +of the Royal Institution of Great Britain. + +The flight of the ball has always been a fascinating and for most +people a very mysterious subject, but except in one or two matters +there is no mystery whatever about the flight of the golf ball, but +even amongst practical golfers there is an amazing lack of accurate +information. For instance, we find Mr. Walter J. Travis, in _Practical +Golf_ at page 139, saying: + + With a very rapid swing, the force or energy stored up in the + gutta ball is greater than in the Haskell. The latter, by + reason of its greater comparative resiliency does not remain + in contact with the club head quite so long, and therefore + does not receive the full benefit of the greater velocity of + the stroke in the same proportion as the less resilient + gutta. It flies off the face too quickly to get the full + measure of energy imparted by a very swift stroke. This + responsiveness or resiliency, however, asserts itself in a + greater and more compensating degree in the case of the + shorter driver. It makes up, in his case, for the lack of + speed, and he finds his distance very sensibly increased. + +This is a remarkable error for a golfer like Mr. Travis to make. It is +abundantly plain that the rubber-cored ball stays on the face of the +club much longer than the old gutta-percha ball did. Provided that +there were such things in the world as incompressible balls, the +impact in the drive would be of the least possible duration with them, +but the more compressible the ball becomes the longer it will dwell on +the face of the golf club. + +That the rubber-cored ball does dwell for a greater period on the face +of the club is responsible, to a great extent, for the fact that the +modern ball swerves much more when sliced or pulled than did the old +guttie in similar circumstances, and the reason seems to be that on +account of the fact that the ball stays longer on the face of the club +during the time that the club is going across the intended line of +flight, it is able to impart to the ball a much greater spin. This +spin, as we know, exerts its influence principally towards the end of +the ball's flight, and in all probability it gets to work now +approximately at the same place where the spin in the old gutta-percha +ball began to assert itself, but probably a little further in the +carry. + +We all know that once the spin has begun to assert itself so as to +make the ball swerve, its deflection from the line, particularly with +a suitable wind, is extremely rapid, and we all know equally well that +the carry of the rubber-cored ball is much longer than that of the old +gutta-percha. It stands to reason that the ball having a much greater +distance wherein to swerve will execute a correspondingly larger +swerve than it would if its carry were shorter. + +We find some amazing statements made by authors who profess to deal +with golf. For instance at page 167 of _The Mystery of Golf_, we are +informed that + + ... another important thing about the follow-through, surely, + is this. As Mr. Travis has pointed out, such is the + resiliency of the rubber ball that club and ball are in + contact for an appreciable period of time--the impact, that + is, is not instantaneous. It is highly probable that the + trajectory of the ball is largely influenced by this period + of contact. If you follow through your club head travels in + precisely the same line as the ball, and the flight of the + ball is by this rendered straighter, steadier, and longer. + +This, truly, is a wonderful instance of analytical thought by one who +is attempting to explain the mystery of golf. He has come to the +conclusion that "it is highly probable that the trajectory of the ball +is largely influenced by this period of contact." + +I have seen many goals kicked at Rugby football, and have kicked a few +myself, and I am almost sure that in every case when a goal was scored +the boot had a good deal to do with the direction. Marvellous +_analysis_ this! + +We may, however, discard these wonderful efforts of analysis and deal +with the remark made by the author that "if you follow through, your +club head travels in precisely the same line as the ball," for this is +absolutely incorrect in the case of many strokes wherein one desires +to influence the flight of the ball by applying spin. For instance, at +practically no time of its travel, no matter how good the stroke is +and how perfect one's follow-through, is the club head in the slice or +the pull "in precisely the same line as the ball." This is merely one +of hundreds of instances of confused thought for which the poor golfer +has to suffer. + +I have before referred to the idea of pulling and slicing to +counteract wind. It is astonishing how deeply rooted this idea is. At +page 53 of _Concerning Golf_ Mr. John L. Low says: "There is no shot +which produces such straight results as the sliced shot against a +right hand breeze," to which I reply that there is no shot which gives +such straight results as the straight shot in itself without slice or +pull of any description whatever, and that as a matter of fact it is +practically impossible to calculate within twenty yards, and that +means double the distance, where one will land if one starts pulling +and slicing in a cross wind. + + [Illustration: PLATE XII. GEORGE DUNCAN + + A characteristic stroke, showing Duncan's perfect finish in + the drive.] + +This is a matter of such importance that I must quote Harry Vardon in +support of my statement. He says at page 92 of _The Complete Golfer_: + + Now, however, that this question is raised, I feel it + desirable to say, without any hesitation, that the majority + of golfers possess vastly exaggerated notions of the effect + of strong cross winds on the flight of their ball. They + greatly over-estimate the capabilities of a breeze. To judge + by their observations on the tee, one concludes that a wind + from the left is often sufficient to carry the ball away at + an angle of 45 degrees, and indeed sometimes when it does + take such an exasperating course and finishes on the journey + some fifty yards away from the point from which it was + desired to despatch it, there is an impatient exclamation + from the disappointed golfer, "Confound this wind! Who on + earth can play in a hurricane!" or words to that effect. Now + I have quite satisfied myself that only a very strong wind + indeed will carry a properly driven ball more than a very few + yards out of its course, and in proof of this I may say that + it is very seldom when I have to deal with a cross wind that + I do anything but play straight at the hole without any + pulling or slicing or making allowances in any way. + + If golfers will only bring themselves to ignore the wind, + then it, in turn, will almost entirely ignore their straight + ball. When you find your ball at rest the afore-mentioned + forty or fifty yards from the point which you desired to send + it, make up your mind, however unpleasant it may be to do so, + that the trouble is due to an unintentional pull or slice, + and you may get what consolation you can from the fact that + the slightest of these variations from the ordinary drive is + seized upon with delight by any wind, and its features + exaggerated to an enormous extent. It is quite possible + therefore that a slice which would have taken the ball only + twenty yards from the line when there was no wind, will take + it forty yards away with the kind assistance of its friend + and ally. + +These are, unquestionably, words of wisdom. There can be no doubt +whatever that the straight ball is the ball all the time in golf, and +it is absolutely certain that what Vardon says about the effect of the +wind on the golf ball is true. Wind has remarkably little effect on +the golf ball which is driven without spin. I have had no doubt on +this subject for at least seventeen years. I had my lesson in one ball +during the course of a match played over my home links in New Zealand. +One of the holes was on top of a volcanic mountain at a place where +New Zealand is only a few miles wide, and there was a howling gale +raging from ocean to ocean right across the island. I can remember as +if it were yesterday, the champion of New Zealand, as he was then, +playing this hole. He drove a very high and perfectly straight ball +from tee to green, and the ball travelled to all appearances as +directly as if there had been no wind whatever, whereas had there been +the least slice on the ball it would have been picked up by the wind +and carried away into the crater which lay sixty or a hundred yards +off the course. + +Speaking of Mr. Low reminds me that he makes some extraordinary +statements with regard to spin. At page 35 of _Concerning Golf_ he +says: "I have said that a ball with left to right spin swings in the +air towards the left in exactly the opposite direction from a sliced +ball and from contrary causes." It is obvious that this is wrong, for +the spin of the slice is from left to right, and of course, as every +one knows, that spin makes the ball swerve towards the right, which is +the swerve of the slice. + +At page 32 Mr. Low makes the same error. He says there: "Now a pulled +ball comes round to the left because the sphere is rotating from left +to right, or in the direction contrary to the hands of a watch." This, +of course, is a contradiction, for the hands of a watch as we look at +them do rotate from left to right, but in any case Mr. Low's +explanation is quite incorrect, because the spin of the ball is not in +a direction contrary to the hands of a watch laid face upwards on the +ground, as Mr. Low affirms. + +Mr. Low says at page 31: + + Every child nowadays seems to know how to slice a ball; you + have only to ask the question and the answer will come + quickly enough, "Oh, draw the hands in when you are hitting," + or, in other words, spin the ball in the direction of the + hands of a watch laid face upwards on the ground. The ball + advancing with this spin finds it is resisted most strongly + by the atmosphere on its left side, and therefore goes + towards the right in the direction of least resistance. The + converse is the case with a pulled ball in the sense of a + ball which curves in the air from right to left. + +We have already shown in dealing with Professor Thomson's article that +this statement is quite incorrect. In passing I may also refer to the +fact that Mr. Low's idea of the production of the slice, viz. by +drawing the hands in when one is hitting, is also wrong. There is no +drawing in of the hands at the moment of impact in the properly +played slice. It is the drawing in, if we may use the term, of the +head of the club in its travel across the intended line of flight, but +not anything which is done intentionally during impact. However, that +is by the way. + +Mr. Low is evidently under the impression, as was Professor Thomson, +that the spin of the ball in the slice is about a vertical axis. This +is an error in itself, as we have shown, but it is not nearly so bad +an error as it is to say that the pull is the converse of the slice in +this respect, for, as we have seen, if the ball were merely spinning +about a vertical axis it could not possibly have the running powers +which it possesses, to say nothing of its low flight. Although Mr. Low +has got somewhat mixed in describing his rotation, it is evident from +his reference to the hands of the clock that his ideas are correct in +so far as regards the general direction of spin, but where he is at +fault is in stating the axis of rotation of his ball. + +If we accept Mr. Low's statement about the axis of rotation we shall +have the pulled ball, when it lands, striking the earth with a spin +equivalent to a sleeping top, but that is not what we want in the +pulled ball, for neither would it give us the low trajectory which we +desire so much, nor would it give us, on landing, the running which we +desire, if anything, still more. The spin which we desire to produce +and which we must have in our minds to produce when we are playing the +stroke, is such a spin as will give us, when the ball lands, +approximately the spin of a disc top as it falls to earth when its +spin is nearly exhausted. I am speaking now, of course, not of the +question of degree, but of the plane of spin. We must have our ball +spinning in such a plane that when it touches the earth it will behave +in the same manner as the disc top does when its side comes into +contact with the floor. + +In dealing with "The Science of the Stroke," James Braid in _Advanced +Golf_ goes into an analysis of the effect of spin on flight. He says +early in the chapter: + + At the present time most players know how they ought to be + standing, and what the exact movements of their arms, wrists, + and body should be in order to swing the club in the right + way and make the ball travel as far as possible, but they do + not all know, and in few cases one suspects have ever + troubled to think, what is the process by which these + movements, when properly executed, bring about the desired + effect. + +I do not know how Braid can truthfully say that at the present time +most players know how they ought to be standing, when we are +confronted with the fact that his own book, _Advanced Golf_, and +practically every book which has been published on the game, tells the +unfortunate golfer to stand as he ought not to be standing instead of +giving him the simple truth and sound golf, and it is incomprehensible +to me how Braid can say that they know "what the exact movements of +their arms, wrists, and body should be in order to swing the club in +the right way," when he himself has confessed in _Advanced Golf_ that, +particularly with regard to the wrists, which unquestionably have a +most important function to fulfil in the golf drive, he absolutely +does not know where they come in. It is useless in a work on _Advanced +Golf_ to assume on the part of one's readers a knowledge superior to +that which the author of the book himself has given as his own +limitations. Braid says: + + They have the cause and also the effect, but they do not + often see the connection between the two. Of course, the ball + in a ball game moves always according to scientific laws, but + it has seemed to those who have studied these matters that + the scientific problems involved in the flight of the golf + ball are more intricate, but at the same time more + interesting, than in many other cases. + +Of course this is quite stupid, because, as I have frequently +explained, there is no special set of mechanical laws for golf--or the +golf ball. + +The golf ball follows in all respects exactly the same laws as those +which govern the flight and run of any other ball. The only difference +in connection with the golf ball is that it is probably the most +unscientifically constructed ball in the world of sport. Braid +continues: + + The chief matter of this kind that it is desirable the golfer + should understand is that concerning the character and effect + of the spin that is given to the golf ball when it leaves the + club. This spin is at the root of all the difficulties and + all the delights of the game, and yet there are some + players--one might even say many--who do not even know that + their ball spins at all as they hit it from the tee. + +I may pause here to note that James Braid says that spin is at the +root of all the difficulties and all the delights of golf. This is in +many respects quite an exaggeration, but I am giving it exactly as he +says it, for the simple reason that it emphasises the fact which I +have always insisted on, that a proper knowledge of the application of +spin to the golf ball is essential for one who would attain to the +greatest success or who would obtain the greatest enjoyment from the +game. + +Braid quotes the work of the late Professor Tait very extensively. +Referring to the most important subject of back-spin, he says: + + It appears to be the proper regulation of the under-spin + given to the ball when applying it from the tee and through + the green, at all events when length is what is most + required, that makes success, and it is in this way that + players of inferior physical power must make up for their + deficiency and drive long balls. + +I may say at once that any idea whatever of the proper regulation of +back-spin in the drive is, from the point of view of practical golf, +merely nonsense. In so far as regards obtaining extra distance by +driving a low ball with back-spin, whose properties I have already +fully described, there is nothing whatever to be done but to get +back-spin and as much of it as one possibly can. The golfer has yet to +be born who in driving can obtain too much back-spin. Braid says: + + It is in the long drive that the principles of spin are most + interesting and important, but it must be remembered also + that they are very prominent in their action upon the flight + of the ball in the case of many other shots, and the + peculiarities of different trajectories can generally be + traced to this cause after a very little thought by one who + has a knowledge of the scientific side of the matter, as + explained by Professor Tait. This is particularly the case + with high lofted approach shots. + +One may remark here, perhaps, that there is no more unsuitable stroke +in which to study the peculiarity of the application of back-spin to +the trajectory of the ball than in the high lofted approach shots, for +it is in such shots as these practically an impossibility, if one may +so express it, to locate the influence of the spin on the flight of +the ball. It is quite a different thing in the wind-cheater class of +stroke where one sees the ball travelling low across the turf and can +absolutely mark the place where the back-spin begins to get to work +and give the ball its upward tendency towards the end of the drive, +and, when the velocity of the ball has become sufficiently reduced, to +allow the back-spin to exert its lifting power. + +I now come to a matter which is of very great importance in the +application of back-spin to the ball. It is quite evident to me that +Braid is falling into the same error as that which was originally made +by Professor Tait, and followed fifteen years later by Professor Sir +J. J. Thomson. On page 226 he says: + + Therefore the great authority concluded that good driving + lies not merely in powerful hitting, but "in the proper + apportionment of quite good hitting with such a knack as + gives the right amount of under-spin to the ball"; and one of + his calculations was to the effect that, in certain + circumstances, a man who imparted under-spin to his ball when + driving it might get a carry of about thirty yards more than + that obtained by another man who hit as hard but made no + under-spin. There would, of course, be a great difference in + the comparative trajectories of the two balls. In the case of + the short one there is no resistance to gravity, and + consequently, in order to get any sort of flight at all, the + ball must be directed upwards when it is hit from the tee, + or, to use a scientific term, there must be "initial + elevation." This may be only very slight, but it is quite + distinguishable, and in fact a player, who is only at the + beginning of his practice, and has little knowledge of the + principles of the game, will generally be found trying to hit + his ball in an upward direction, and by that means will make + it travel farther than it would have done otherwise. On the + other hand, the ball that is properly driven by a good player + is not only not consciously aimed upwards, but, according to + Professor Tait, is not hit upwards. For some distance after + it has left the tee it follows a line nearly parallel with + the ground, and eventually rises as the result of the + under-spin which is forcing it upwards all the time. + +We may pause here to consider a few of the statements in this +remarkable passage. I may say again that the idea of driving a ball +with the "proper apportionment of quite good hitting with such a knack +as gives the right amount of under-spin to the ball" is simply a wild +guess at what takes place during the execution of a correct drive with +back-spin. The proper playing of this stroke is a matter of very +considerable difficulty, and it is practically a certainty that no +golfer has ever lived or ever will live who could regulate his +back-spin in the drive to any appreciable extent; all that he ever +thinks of doing--all that he is ever likely to do--is to obtain his +back-spin, _and as much of it as he can_. + +It is, of course, quite wrong to say that in the ball hit without +back-spin there is "no resistance to gravity," for if there were no +resistance to gravity the ball would be on the earth. However, we know +quite well what is meant, although, when we are dealing with a matter +which is absolutely a matter of science, we do not expect such loose +statements as these. I should probably have passed this remark, but +for the fact that it is emphasised by the statement that in order to +get any sort of flight at all the ball must be directed upwards when +it is hit from the tee, which again, as a matter of practical golf, is +what nine of ten golfers do, although we are told that "a player who +is only at the beginning of his practice, and has little knowledge of +the principles of the game, will generally be found trying to hit his +ball in an upward direction." + +It is astonishing how few players, even of quite a good class, are +content to leave the question of elevation entirely to the club. It +probably would be no exaggeration to say that quite ninety per cent of +the players make an attempt, however extremely slight it may be, to +assist the club in lifting the ball from the earth. According to the +best theory in golf, this is quite wrong, for the blow should be at +least in a horizontal direction, which practically it never is, and +preferably in the line of the arc formed by the club head in its +travel through the air on its downward path. The latter case, of +course, would produce back-spin, and a considerable amount of it. The +former would probably produce slight back-spin, but a very slight +amount. However, the very great majority of golfing hits are at the +moment of impact proceeding upwardly, and it is this fact which puts +any idea whatever of the unconscious application of back-spin by the +ordinary golfer quite beyond serious consideration. The amount of +back-spin which is unconsciously applied to the golf ball is +practically negligible. + +We see that, according to Professor Tait, the ball which is properly +driven by a good player is not only not consciously aimed upwards, but +that it is actually not hit upwards. Indeed we are told that for some +distance after it has left the tee it follows a line nearly parallel +with the ground and eventually rises as the result of the under-spin +that is forcing it upwards all the time. This statement is not in +accordance with the experience of practical golfers. It is evident +that Professor Tait was under the impression, in which, as I have +stated before and now emphasise, he has been followed by Professor Sir +J. J. Thomson, that the beneficial back-spin in golf is obtained by +the loft of the club. There can be no doubt whatever that if a golf +ball were struck a blow by a golf club having any considerable degree +of loft and proceeding at the moment of impact in a straight line, the +result would be to impart some degree of back-spin, but this is not +what happens in practical golf. At no portion of the travel of the +head of the club in the golf drive is it proceeding in a horizontal +direction, and in the vast majority of cases, at the moment of impact, +even with the very best of stroke players, the club is going upward. +If this were not so it would be impossible for many of our greatest +drivers to get the trajectories they do with the comparatively +straight-faced clubs which they use. + +Braid quotes an experiment which was made by Professor Tait in the +course of his investigations with regard to the qualities of +under-spin. It appears that the Professor laid a ball to the string of +a crossbow, the string being just below the middle of the ball, so +that when it was let go it would impart a certain amount of under-spin +to it. When he shot the ball in this way he made it fly straight to a +mark that was thirty yards distant; but when he shot it a second time, +pulling the string to the same extent and laying it to the middle of +the ball so that no under-spin would be given to it, the ball fell +eight feet short of the same mark. + +It is impossible to accept such a rough and crude experiment as this +as evidence in any way whatever of the influence of back-spin in the +drive; rather it would seem to show beyond a shadow of doubt that the +extra carry was obtained because the power of propulsion was applied +to the ball at a lower portion, and therefore tended to give it a +greater trajectory. It should be obvious that this result would be +obtained even disregarding the question of back-spin, which in such an +extremely short flight as thirty yards would certainly not have any +opportunity whatever to make such a difference in the length of carry +as that suggested. + +It is, however, when we come to deal with questions of practical golf +that we find that the ideas of the late Professor Tait will not bear +looking into. + +Braid says: + + However, it is well to bear in mind one thing that the + Professor said, "The pace which the player can give the club + head at the moment of impact depends to a very considerable + extent on the relative motion of his two hands (to which is + due the 'nip') during the immediately preceding two-hundredth + of a second, while the amount of beneficial spin is seriously + diminished by even a trifling upward concavity of the path of + the head during the ten-thousandth of a second occupied by + the blow." + +Here we have plain evidence of the fact that Professor Tait is under +the impression that there is some particular snap which he calls "nip" +imported into the stroke immediately before impact. We have already +dealt fully with this matter. We remember what Vardon has said in +condemning the idea, and we know that Braid himself has confessed that +he knows nothing about the matter, so it will not seem disrespectful +if we come to the conclusion that we can disregard this vague +statement about the "nip" in the blow. We can then proceed to notice +the really important remark made that "the amount of beneficial spin +is seriously diminished by even a trifling upward concavity of the +path of the head during the ten-thousandth of a second occupied by the +blow." It seems to me that this last statement is absolutely accurate, +and it is the thing which I have always contended for in dealing with +the practical side of golf driving, as contradistinguished from the +purely theoretical, which has been put before us by Professor Tait, +and following him, by Professor Sir J. J. Thomson. It will be observed +that Professor Tait said that the amount of beneficial spin is +"seriously diminished by even a trifling upward concavity of the path +of the head during the ten-thousandth of a second occupied by the +blow." + +Some of my readers may remember that when I was dealing with Professor +Sir J. J. Thomson's lecture before the Royal Society in an article +which appeared in _The English Review_ in February 1911, I stated that +what actually did happen was that there took place in practically +every drive at golf exactly this "trifling upward concavity of the +path of the head during the ten-thousandth of a second occupied by the +blow," and that therefore the amount of beneficial back-spin obtained +from the loft of the club was practically negligible. + +It is quite clear that Professor Tait was under the impression that +back-spin was got from the loft of the club proceeding in a horizontal +direction, but it is well known now to golfers who give the science of +the game any attention whatever, that back-spin is not obtained in +this manner, and that back-spin so obtained would be practically +ineffectual as an aid to distance, for the loft of the driver and the +brassy is not sufficient, even if the golf drive were played in the +manner suggested, to produce any considerable amount of back-spin. As +we have already seen, the beneficial back-spin in the golf drive is +obtained by the club striking the ball _long before the beginning_ of +the "upward concavity of the path of the head," that is to say, in its +arc _as it is proceeding downwards_ to the lowest point in the swing +from which it then starts that "upward concavity." + +I have emphasised and re-emphasised this matter, for it is evident +that when famous men like Professors Tait and Thomson start out with +an absolutely erroneous idea, an idea which is _fundamentally_ wrong, +it is quite natural for less gifted men to be led astray. Braid says, +and it must be remembered that this is in _Advanced Golf_ (page 229): +"So far as I know, it cannot be stated in accurate scientific terms +and figures, and by lines drawn on paper, what is the proper +scientific swing in order to get the best drive." This seems to me, +especially in a book like this, to be a wonderful statement, +particularly when we are dealing with the scientific results arrived +at by men of the greatest eminence, results which I may say have been +known for more than two hundred and fifty years. + +There is no doubt whatever which is the best way to swing in order to +get the best drive, and it can be explained in scientific language +and shown by diagram and by figures, and in fact it has been so shown +again and again. + +Braid says: + + What golfers have done, therefore, in the past has been to + find out gradually which is the best way in which to hit the + ball in order to make it travel far, and thus they have + groped their way to the stances and swings which, if the + truth were known, would probably be set out by science as the + best possible ones for the purpose. + +This very well expresses what has taken place. The golfers have +"groped their way" to what they have found out, without a glimmering +of the scientific reasons for doing it, and the consequence is that, +as they got their practice first, and were not informed of what they +were doing by that theory which is the best of all theory, the +concentrated essence of the practice of experts, they have signally +failed to impart their science to those who have come after them. + +At page 229 Braid says: + + However, there are certain things that the player should know + about his drive when it is right, and which he should aim at + producing, and they have been very well set forth by + Professor Tait as the result of his investigations into the + trajectories of golf balls hit under varying conditions of + club-force, wind, and so forth. One of the first things to + say, and this is really important in estimating their chances + of making certain carries that are constantly set to them in + the course of their play, is that some golfers have a + delusion to the effect that the ball is at its highest point + in the middle of its flight--that is to say, they think that + just about half-way between the point from which it was hit + and the point at which it will touch the ground again, the + ball is at its highest, and after that commences to fall + again. In this belief when they have, say, a 140 yards' carry + to make, they will reckon that their ball must then be coming + down very fast towards the turf, having been at its highest, + some 50 or 60 yards before. They may think in such + circumstances that they ought to hit up a little more and try + to hit harder to make up for doing so. They would be wrong + entirely, and that because they did not know what the + under-spin was that they gave to the ball, or what effect it + had on its flight. Thus in the case just quoted, assuming + that the ball had a total carry of from 150 to 160 yards, it + would be at its highest point when it had travelled about 130 + yards, and there would be no occasion to hit up, unless the + object to be carried were very high. + +It is obvious that in such a case as that given no practical golfer +would in any way whatever consider the question of the _amount_ of +back-spin on his ball, for he would know that he has no possibility +whatever of gauging its effect in the air in such a shot, and he will +leave that to regulate itself and to act when the ball strikes the +earth. + +It is unquestionable that theoretically this may be done, and it is +well known that I am a strong advocate of the use of back-spin, but in +the case quoted by Braid there is nothing whatever to show that the +ball has been played in such a manner as to produce an appreciable +quantity of serviceable back-spin, or that such a method of play is +necessary or advisable. + +Braid continues: + + The fact is that a well-driven ball that has a total + carry--that is, from the tee to the point where it touches + the turf again, and not the distance of the obstacle that it + clears--of about 165 yards, under normal conditions of wind + and weather, is at its highest about 135 yards from the point + where it was struck, and after that it begins to fall + rapidly. This is chiefly the result of the under-spin which + is given to it when it is struck by the driver in the proper + way, and it shows the importance of under-spin to the golfer, + for if there were none, then all our courses would have to be + shortened, hazards brought closer to the tee, and the + principles upon which the game is played would have to be + altered in many respects. If there were no under-spin, then + the ball would have no help against the force of gravity, and + the result would be that the highest point of its flight + would be half-way between the point from which it was driven + and that at which it alighted. + +We see here again strong evidence of the fact that Braid is under the +same impression as Professor Tait, and that is that the back-spin of +golf is obtained from the loft of the club, whereas the loft of the +club has one function, and that is to raise the ball from the earth, +and there will be no particular necessity to alter our courses, for in +ordinary every-day golf, back-spin is practically not used, except +when it is intentionally applied by the golfer by means of the stroke +suitable for its production. + +Braid gives a series of diagrams taken from Professor Tait's lecture +which illustrate various trajectories of golf balls driven in varying +circumstances. Many of these are so entirely theoretical that I need +not consider them, but in referring to one of them Braid says: + + The ball which has travelled farthest, or rather the one that + has been given most carry, is that which has been hit in the + right way, and to which has therefore been imparted the right + amount of under-spin. This is, in fact, the ideal trajectory + of a well-driven ball. It starts low, rises very slowly and + gradually, the line of flight bending upwards slightly, and + does not come down too quickly after the vertex has been + reached. + +This is, on the whole, a sound but very general description of an +accurately played wind-cheater, but the remarkable thing is that +although Braid expresses himself in such terms of admiration for this +particular ball he does not anywhere in _Advanced Golf_ show us how to +produce the stroke which gives this beneficial back-spin. This surely +is a very great oversight. Nor so far as I have been able to see does +he explain clearly how the beneficial back-spin of golf is obtained. + +Braid shows clearly by his quotation from Professor Tait's article +that in the Professor's mind was the deep-rooted idea that it was +possible to drive golf balls by a stroke delivered at the moment of +impact in the same manner as is a blow from a billiard cue, but, +needless to say, this is in the golf drive utterly impracticable. +Professor Tait, in his paper, used a considerable number of diagrams +to show that too much back-spin is bad in the drive, but as I have +already pointed out, although this is very well in mere theory, it +does not work out in the slightest degree in golf. It is easy to take +light balloons and give them back-spin and show that it influences +their trajectories to such an extent that they will go behind the +point where they were struck, but a golf ball is a very small, hard, +and heavy thing, and by the time that its back-spin begins to exert +its influence in a marked manner on its flight it has travelled a +considerable distance and the rate of spin will have materially +diminished, so that no golfer need ever be afraid of applying too much +back-spin to his drive. + +Braid proceeds: + + Of course, as already indicated, the golfer does not know, + and in one sense does not care exactly how much under-spin he + gives to his ball when he drives it, only being aware that he + has given too much or too little according to results, and + knowing also that in either case excess or otherwise was due + to faulty stance or swing--most frequently this--or both. In + the present case of this high trajectory, the exact amount of + under-spin given to the ball is half as much again as that + given to the properly driven ball, and under the same normal + conditions these would be the relative flights of the two + balls. + +Now it is obvious that if Professor Tait was under the impression +that the beneficial back-spin of golf was obtained merely from the +horizontal blow delivered through the centre of the ball's mass, so +that the ball took some slight spin by its roll up the face of the +club, he had no very accurate idea of the rate of spin of that ball at +the moment it left the face of the club, so that any attempt whatever +on his part to measure the respective rates of spin of the different +flight of these balls must be received with very great caution. As a +matter of fact the rate of spin of the golf ball at the moment it +leaves the club in a well-played drive with back-spin would be +immeasurably faster than anything supposed by Professor Tait, who +based his calculations on the ball obtaining this back-spin _from the +loft of the club_, which is undoubtedly a grave error, and Braid +wholly subscribes to this error, which is not to be wondered at, for +Professor Sir J. J. Thomson, one of the most eminent scientists, has +fallen into the same trap. + +Professors Tait and Thomson and James Braid talk much about the +possibility of obtaining too much back-spin in the drive. This is +scarcely theoretically possible in golf, and it is practically +impossible. I will give an example taken from practical golf which +will, I believe, quite convince any golfer that the possibility of +obtaining too much back-spin in the drive need never be considered. + +Let us imagine a very badly sliced ball. By a badly sliced ball I do +not necessarily mean an extremely quick slice where the ball leaves +the line of flight to the hole quite suddenly, nor do I mean a ball +pushed away to the right of the line to the hole; what I do mean is a +ball which has been so sliced that it takes a tremendous curve from +left to right, beginning to develop that slice in a pronounced manner +at, say, half to two-thirds of its carry, which is quite bad enough +for a slice. We frequently see in such a case, particularly on a windy +day, and even on a still one, the great power which the spin has to +deflect the ball from the line to the hole. It must be remembered that +in this curve the spin is assisted by gravity--the ball is falling +much of the time as it is being edged away--and even then it will be +apparent that it is easy to get much greater spin in the slice than it +is in the wind-cheater, for the simple reason that in the slice one +has an unrestricted cut across the ball, whereas one has not this +opportunity with the wind-cheater, for one hits the ground immediately +one passes the ball. + +Now although it is possible to apply an infinitely greater cut to the +slice than one can possibly do to the wind-cheater, the deflection +from the line, except on a very windy day, is, comparatively speaking, +gradual. That is to say that if, for the sake of argument, the +trajectory of the slice could be turned upwards there would be no +possibility whatever of the ball showing such a thing as a curl +backwards towards the hole, which is shown by Professor Tait and, +following him, by Professor Thomson. This is clearly so in any slice +which is not an extremely exaggerated specimen, so it stands to reason +that in the wind-cheater, where one's opportunity for applying cut is +so restricted, and where the ball in its effort to climb upwards has +to fight the direct pull of gravity, there is no possible chance of +applying too much back-spin to the ball. + +At page 239 Braid says: "It may be of interest to mention that +Professor Tait found that a well-driven ball turns once in every 2-1/2 +feet at the beginning of its journey." If Professor Tait found that a +golf ball, obtaining this back-spin in the way in which he thought it +did, turns "once in every 2-1/2 feet at the beginning of its +journey," he would probably have found, if he had realised how +back-spin really is obtained, that the number of revolutions at the +moment that the ball is leaving the club are at least three or four +times as many as he asserted. It is unnecessary to enlarge upon the +fact that this would mean a lifting capacity infinitely beyond +anything that Professors Tait and Thomson ever ascribed to back-spin +in the drive. + +Braid continues: + + We have so far only been considering the effect of the + spinning of the ball in the case of long shots with wooden + clubs. As a matter of fact, and as suggested at the outset, + it has also very great influence on the play in the case of + the shorter shots with iron clubs, as may be understood after + a very little consideration of the circumstances. It is the + excessive under-spin that is given to the ball by the angle + at which the face of the club is laid back, and the peculiar + way in which the stroke is played, that make the ball rise so + quickly and so high in the case of a short pitched approach, + and then make it stop comparatively dead when it comes to the + ground again. + +It is obvious here that Braid is under the impression that the loft of +the club is largely responsible for the back-spin in the approach +shots, but this is quite an error, for not one player in a hundred +does apply back-spin to his lofted approaches unless he has been +specially taught how to do it, for, curiously enough, the more lofted +the club is, the greater chance is there that the player will at the +moment of impact impart into his stroke that little bit of "upward +concavity" which Professor Tait says, and truly says, is the enemy of +back-spin. The fact is that very little under-spin, or, as I always +prefer to call it, back-spin, is obtained from the loft of the club +unless the blow is delivered as the club is travelling downward. That +is the whole essence of the secret of back-spin, but it is not +mentioned by Professors Tait or Thomson, or by James Braid. Any +attempt whatever to obtain back-spin from the loft of the club will be +practically useless. It must be obtained by the method of playing the +shot, and the only way to obtain it effectually is to hit the ball +before the club has arrived at the lowest point in its swing. By this +means, and this means alone, is it possible to obtain the beneficial +back-spin of golf, and I cannot say too often or too emphatically that +anyone who trusts to the loft of the club to produce back-spin will be +disappointed. + +Braid seems to have a glimmering of this, for he says: + + However much a club were laid back it would be impossible to + play these shots properly if no under-spin were given to the + ball, and it seems to be a great advantage of having the + faces of iron clubs grooved or dotted that it helps the club + to grasp the ball thoroughly while this under-spin is being + imparted to it, so that the full amount is given to it, and + none is wasted through the ball slipping on the face. + +This is unquestionably sound mechanics. But even here, although Braid +is so close to the heart of the matter--although he says, as I have +shown repeatedly in many places, that "however much a club were laid +back it would be impossible to play these shots properly if no +under-spin were given to the ball," thus stating explicitly that +something more remains to be done to produce back-spin than merely to +hit the ball with a lofted club,--he does not get really to the +essence of the stroke and show that it must be played by the club _as +it is descending_. + +There is a very important matter which Braid refers to in this chapter +on the science of the stroke. Speaking of the follow-through and the +impact, he says: + + One or two other calculations that were made by Professor + Tait may be briefly mentioned at the close of this chapter, + each of them seeming to convey an idea to the golfer. The + first is, that owing to the speed at which the ball leaves + the club, the total length of time during which ball and club + are in contact with each other is between one five thousandth + and one ten thousandth of a second, and the total length of + that part of the swing when the two are together--the length + of impact--is half an inch. It has been pointed out that it + by no means follows from this that because the time and space + of impact are so short that follow-through is of no real + account, after all, in the making of the drive. When the + follow-through is properly performed it shows that the work + was properly done during that half an inch of the swing that + was all-important. If the follow-through were short and wrong + it would indicate that the work during the impact was wrong + too. What it comes to is this, that it is impossible for any + man to swing his club round with so much force and regulate + exactly what he will do, and be conscious of the fact that he + is doing it as he regulated, during such a short space of + time as from one five thousandth to one ten thousandth of a + second. That is quite clear. What the golfer has to do, then, + is to make sure that his swing is right at the beginning, + that is, in the back-swing and the down-swing, and also in + the follow-through. He knows from instruction and experience + that if all these things are properly done the ball will go + off well; and what it amounts to is that the beginning being + right and the end being right, control being exercised over + each, the middle is right also, though in this case there is + no control over it. + +This quotation emphasises strongly the fact which I have always +insisted on, that the matter of impact with the golf ball is an +incident in the travel of the head of the club, and that it is +practically impossible for the player to consciously perform anything +which will affect the flight of the golf ball during impact. Braid has +insisted upon this in other places, and it should quite settle any +idea which many people have, of juggling with the golf ball during +impact, but it is a remarkable thing to see James Braid claiming that +at the moment of impact there is "no control over" the swing although +there is both in the downward swing and the follow-through! I need not +criticise this. + +The point, however, which I wish to refer to here specifically is in +connection with the follow-through. Braid says, finally: + + What the golfer has to do, then, is to make sure that his + swing is right at the beginning, that is, in the back-swing + and the down-swing, and also in the follow-through. He knows + from instruction and experience that if all these things are + properly done the ball will go off well; and what it amounts + to is that the beginning being right and the end being right, + control being exercised over each, the middle is right also, + though in this case there is no control over it. + +This, it seems to me, is a very bad presentment of the case. Although +we admit that the impact is merely an incident in the travel of the +club head, it is the most important incident, and it is on that +incident that the mind should be concentrated, so that the idea of +cumbering one's mind with any thought of the follow-through is very +bad golf. The only portion of the stroke which should be on the +player's mind at all is that which leads up to impact, for it is +obvious that if that has been correctly performed, one need not +trouble much about the follow-through, as that will come quite +naturally. Also we will observe that Braid says here "control being +exercised over each." This, of course, includes the follow-through +over which Braid now speaks of exercising control, but it will be +fresh in our minds that in describing the moment of impact, he says +"Crack! everything is let go," and that really is what should happen +after impact has taken place. There should be no thought whatever of +the follow-through. That should produce itself, if one may so +express it, and the player who encumbers his mind by any thought +whatever as to how his club is going to end is simply adding another +anxiety to his game. + + [Illustration: PLATE XIII. J. SHERLOCK + + This plate shows Sherlock's stance and address in his + favourite iron-shot. He addresses the ball so that it is + nearly opposite his right heel.] + +Braid explained most graphically how the follow-through should be +allowed to take care of itself, so that I cannot understand why he +should now endeavour to split his pupils' mental idea of the golf +stroke into halves with the golf ball in between. This is surely a bad +conception of the stroke, and one which is likely to lead the pupil +into grave error, for it shifts his mind forward on to the finish of +the stroke, whereas it has no business to be anywhere else but on the +ball. + +Before concluding this chapter I must refer to what Braid has to say +with regard to a topped stroke. At page 238 he says: + + A final thing to remember in connection with this question of + the rotation of the ball is, that when the ball is what we + call topped, the stroke is applied in such a way that a + motion exactly the reverse of under-spin is applied to it, + that is to say, the front part of the ball is made to move in + a downward direction. On the principle already explained, + there is then an extra air-pressure upon that ball from the + top, pressing it down, so that even if the ball that is + topped is somehow got up into the air from the tee, as + happens, it cannot stay there long, but comes down very + suddenly--"ducks," as it is called. However, a ball that + ducks for this reason nevertheless gets some benefit from + this over-spin when it does come down, for the spin acts in + just the same way as "top" does in the case of a billiard + stroke, that is to say, it makes the ball run more. If there + were no rough grass and no bunkers between the tee and the + hole this over-spin might be an exceedingly useful thing, and + the principles upon which the game of golf is played might be + entirely different from what they are; but as there is rough + in front of the tee, and generally a bunker at no great + distance from it, topping and over-spin are more frequently + fatal than not, the ball coming to grief either in the rough + or the bunker. + +This quotation makes it quite evident, I think, that James Braid is +not very well acquainted with the principles which govern the flight +and run of the golf ball. If this were his "knowledge" which we are +considering, I should be more loath to deal with it so plainly as I am +doing, but as he expressly states that he is indebted to another for +much of his "knowledge" on this subject I have no hesitation whatever +in criticising it and showing that it is absolutely impracticable from +a golfing point of view. + +It is not too much to say that top-spin has absolutely no place in +golf, for it is there utterly useless, and would be so were golf links +like billiard tables, for no ball with top on it can travel any +appreciable distance through the air, and to speak of a ball being +driven with top is simply to show one's utter ignorance of the game, +for even if there were no rough grass and no bunkers between the tee +and the hole, this over-spin could never be "an exceedingly useful +thing," nor could it ever, by the greatest stretch of one's +imagination, alter the principles upon which the game of golf is +played, for no stroke in golf could ever supplant the drive with +back-spin. + +It is nonsense such as this which does much harm to the game. To speak +of the possibility of over-spin being such that the "principles upon +which the game of golf is played might be entirely different from what +they are if the course had no rough grass and no bunkers" is one of +the greatest absurdities which I have ever seen put in any book, and +when one finds matter of this sort in a book called _Advanced Golf_, +it calls for the severest possible criticism. + +The nearest approach to top-spin which exists in golf is the spin of +the pull, and there because the axis of spin is turned over to a +certain extent, we get the beneficial run at the end of the drive, +but anyone who knows the first principles of the flight and run of the +ball would know that if the golfer in his drive obtained pure top +instead of this much modified over-spin, his drive would be entirely +ruined, for the thing which produces the low flight of the ball is +that the ball does its ducking sideways, if we may so express it, and +the chances are that quite frequently the shock of landing alters the +plane of its spin, so that it is converted into pure running, but this +latter point, of course, is a matter which we can only theorise about +and regard as almost proved from the nature of the run of the ball on +many occasions. + +We need not here bother about top-spin. The only place where top (not +top-spin) is of any use in golf, so far as I can remember, is on the +putting-green, and there it is unquestionably useful, and it is not +used so much as it should be. The point of outstanding importance, +which I venture to think is made fairly clear by this chapter on the +flight of the ball, is that the beneficial back-spin of golf is by far +the most important spin which it is possible for a golfer to apply to +his ball, and that that spin is not obtained in the manner stated by +Professor Tait and, after him, by Professor Thomson, but is obtained +by the method which I have indicated, viz. by a downward glancing +blow, and, so far as regards this statement, we have the corroboration +of James Braid to the extent that he says that "no matter what the +loft is upon the club, it is impossible to obtain by loft alone the +back-spin which one requires in golf." + +It may seem that I have been unnecessarily emphatic in dealing with +this question, but as a matter of practical golf it is absolutely +impossible to lay too much stress upon the value of a complete +understanding of the method of obtaining this most valuable and +serviceable spin, and unless a player most perfectly understands the +theory of the stroke, it is the greatest certainty possible that he +will waste many years of his life endeavouring to acquire the +practice, whereas if he knows perfectly well what he is trying to do, +he may acquire it in as many months as he would otherwise waste years +in not getting it. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE GOLF BALL + + +It is remarkable, when one considers the vast number of scientific men +who play golf, how little attention has been directed by them to the +form and make of the golf ball. Many golfers are under the impression +that the golf ball which is now used represents the limit of man's +inventive genius. Probably the leading maker of the best feather ball +in the days before the gutta-percha ball was known would have thought +the same. As a matter of ascertained fact the vast majority of golf +balls which are made to-day are imperfect in a variety of ways. There +can be no doubt whatever that the ball which is marked by what are +commonly called pimples, or bramble marking, is a most imperfect +production. + +If one were to suggest to a billiard player that it would improve the +run of the balls if they were covered with little excrescences similar +to those which are on many golf balls, he would be pitied or +maltreated, yet Mid-Surrey greens are not many removes from a billiard +table, and putting is quite half the game of golf, as I think has been +remarked by a great number of people, but is nevertheless not +sufficiently considered by golfers, especially in the matter of +choosing golf balls. + +It is not necessary, in considering the question of the golf ball, to +bore people, as is usually done, with the history of the evolution of +the golf ball, from the time when prehistoric men used a knuckle bone +or something like that, right down through the feather ball period up +to the present time. It will not be necessary for me to go back any +further than the period of the gutta-percha ball. Most golfers will +remember that the guttie was not a perfectly smooth ball; it was +marked with grooved lines running round it. These crossed each other +at various angles, producing, generally speaking, squares, although, +naturally, some of the markings, where the lines did not cross at +right angles, were irregular, but the principle of the marking was by +indentation. + +The bramble marking, or marking by excrescence, is an idea which has +obtained a hold more recently, and it is certain, from a practical and +scientific point of view, that it is a very imperfect marking. + +It is a curious thing that in golf, where a very great amount of +accuracy is demanded, particularly when one is playing a short put on +a fiery green, the ball should be, so far as I am aware, the only ball +which is deliberately constructed on principles which if applied to a +billiard ball would make the ball what billiard players call "foul," +that is, a ball which runs untruly. + +It is unquestionable that sufficient thought has not been given to +this matter. Very few people understand that it is practically +impossible to place a ball with bramble markings on a perfectly true +surface so that it will remain in the exact place where it was put, +even if it were deposited on this spot by mechanical means. It is not +hard to understand that this is natural when we remember that a golf +ball which is marked by the excrescences called pimples or brambles +comes to rest on a tripod of excrescences, and indeed it sometimes +requires to find a base of four of these excrescences before it +settles down. + +Any thinking golfer will be able to understand very easily that this +must make for instability, and he will see clearly what it means when +a ball is rolling very slowly. Let us imagine, for instance, that a +golfer is playing an approach put of twenty yards. It is evident that +while the main force of the blow is behind the ball it will enable it +to overcome much of the untrueness of the ball, but it is equally +apparent that as the force is dying away at the critical time when one +wishes the ball to run truly on its course to the hole, it is most +prone to waver. It is at times like this that the golfer blames the +"beastly green," whereas if he knew as much as he should about the +make of a golf ball he would know that he had only himself to thank +for playing with such an extremely imperfect thing as the golf ball +which is marked by excrescences. + +It is of course clear that on a putting-green the ball with +excrescences sinks into the turf, and whilst it is running with any +considerable force behind it, it makes for itself what may be termed a +trough to run in, which is equivalent in depth practically to the hole +which the ball would make when lying at rest on the green. This is the +only thing which saves the ball marked with excrescences from being a +much worse failure than it is. It is, however, when one comes to put +with it over a hard, keen, or bare green that its wonderful +imperfection is shown. + +Many golfers, on account of the fact that an ordinary putting-green +does assist this imperfect ball to this extent, are inclined to +maintain that the ball is sufficient for the needs of golf. They +forget, of course, that a ball with these excrescences must +necessarily be more inaccurate off the face of the putter than would +be a ball marked by indentation, for when a ball is marked by +indentation, either of the dimple pattern, which has come into vogue +more recently, or of the lines which were used in the old days, it +undoubtedly will run more truly than if marked by excrescences, for +the reason that the indentation is bridged in such a manner that it is +not felt to the same extent as is an excrescence. + +I may illustrate this by applying the marking of an old guttie to a +billiard ball. Let us consider for a moment that the billiard ball has +been marked by having lines sawn in it similar to those on a +gutta-percha ball; these lines would not affect the trueness of the +running of a billiard ball to a very great extent. But let us, on the +other hand, imagine that instead of lines being sunk in the ball, +these lines had been put in a network on the ball, so that they were +raised from the surface of the billiard ball. It is obvious that such +a ball would be absolutely impossible, and it would be an extremely +foul-running ball. + +There is another point to be considered in connection with this matter +of marking by indentation or by excrescences. It would be almost a +matter of impossibility to stand a ball marked by excrescences so that +it balanced on the point of one of the pimples. On the other hand it +would be perfectly natural for a ball marked by a dimple of +corresponding diameter to the base of the pimple, to come to rest on +the "ring" formed by that dimple. We have already seen that the ball +marked by excrescences requires three or four of those excrescences to +rest on before it becomes stationary. Roughly, therefore, the +instability of the ball marked by excrescences is at least three times +as great as that of the ball marked by indentation, and if we +contrast the ball marked by excrescences with the ball marked by the +old gutta-percha marking, the difference would probably be very much +greater against the bramble marking. + +We have already seen that the putting-green assists, to a certain +extent, to make up for the defects of the ball with bramble marking, +but it must not be forgotten that although the putting-green does +this, the greater tendency to instability is there the whole time, and +must put the golfer who uses the bramble-marked ball at a +disadvantage. + +Putting, especially near the hole, is a very delicate operation, and +it is apparent that in many cases the blow will be delivered on the +point of one of these excrescences. It is equally apparent that in +many cases that excrescence will not be in such a line with regard to +the putter that the force of the blow will pass clean through the +centre thereof, and also through the centre of the ball's mass in a +line to the hole. When it does not do this it is certain that there is +an element of inaccuracy introduced into the put (particularly the +short put) which the wise golfer will not have in his stroke, for not +only is the ball with excrescences more inaccurate off the face of the +putter, but it is, particularly for short puts and on keen greens, +much more inaccurate in its run than is the ball which is marked by +indentations. + +This question of hitting one of the pimples of the golf ball might be +considered to be theoretical, but it is a matter of the most +absolutely practical golf, and I have seen the force of it exemplified +not only in golf, but in lawn-tennis. I must give here a very +interesting illustration of the point which I am making. + +Some time ago a lawn-tennis racket was produced which had a knot at +the intersection of the strings. The idea of this knot was that it +would enable the racket to get a better grip on the ball, and so to +produce a much greater spin. This, to a certain extent, was correct. +There was no doubt that the racket did get a very good grip on the +ball, although personally, as a matter of practical lawn-tennis, I +never regarded the invention very seriously; but it was useful in +emphasising the point which I am now making with regard to the marking +by excrescences of the golf ball. It was found that when one attempted +to play delicate volleys with this racket that it was impossible to +regulate the direction, for the simple reason that the ball, on many +occasions, was struck by one of the knots on the racket, and this +frequently spoilt the direction of the stroke. + +What happened with that racket and the lawn-tennis ball is what is +happening every day on hundreds of greens with the golf balls which +are marked by excrescences, and the golfer who is wise will have +nothing whatever to do with any ball which is marked otherwise than by +indentations. + +It was in the year 1908 that I first put forward these ideas in an +article in _The Evening Standard and St. James's Gazette_. I had +written many articles which were of much greater importance to the +game from the scientific point of view, but this particular article +eclipsed them all in interest. I had started the idea that the golf +ball should be made much smoother than it was at that time, and for +four months the controversy as to the merits of the rough ball or the +smoother raged. I caused the leading manufacturers of golf balls to be +interviewed. The manager of Messrs. A. G. Spalding & Bros., the +well-known manufacturers, gave it as his opinion that the idea was +perfectly ridiculous. He was quite convinced that the rough ball was +the better ball. The manager of another company was of opinion that +the smoother ball would not drive straight. Many of them traced this +to the fact that a smooth ball would not fly straight, but we were not +concerned with the question as to whether the smooth ball would fly +straight or not; golfers, generally, are well aware of the fact, and +even in 1908 were well aware of the fact, that a perfectly smooth ball +will not fly straight. The whole point of the discussion was to +ascertain if it would not be better to have a much smoother ball than +that with the bramble marking. + +I was interested in having the opinion of the golf ball manufacturers, +for I have never thought that they have dealt with the matter in a +scientific manner. It seemed to me that the evolution of the marking +of the golf ball had been entirely haphazard, and it is, I believe, +still in the same condition, but it certainly shows some signs of +improving. + +In order to put the matter beyond doubt I asked Mr. Rupert Ayres, of +the famous firm of F. H. Ayres, Ltd., to have made for me a golf ball +with an extremely fine marking; in fact I gave instructions for the +ball to be marked with what I considered the least possible +indentations which were likely to be serviceable. Mr. Ayres took a +very great amount of trouble in connection with this matter, and he +produced for me a ball similar, in all respects, to that which I +wanted, with the slight exception that the marking was finer than I +had desired. The result was that when the ball was painted the +interstices were filled up to a very considerable extent, so much so +indeed that I doubted if the ball was sufficiently marked to ensure +its flying correctly. I tried this ball at Hanger Hill, both +personally and by submitting it to a considerable number of drives by +George Duncan, and it always gave unsatisfactory results--indeed its +flight was so remarkable that it might well have been christened "the +butterfly." It zigzagged and soared and ducked in a most remarkable, +and to a very great extent, inexplicable manner. + +I knew, of course, that what I had to do was to increase the +indentations a little in depth, for my object was to obtain the mean +between no marking whatever and the ridiculously exaggerated marking +by excrescences which is now so common, and my experiments were not in +the direction of obtaining any marking whatever by excrescences, for I +was following on the lines which were accidentally discovered by those +who found that the old feather balls, and particularly the +gutta-percha balls, flew better after they had been indented by the +golf clubs. My idea, therefore, was, starting from the least possible +indentation, to proceed by marking the ball more deeply and yet more +deeply until I found that it would fly as accurately as a ball marked +by excrescences. + +Mr. Ayres helped me in my experiments with remarkable patience and +ability. I found that there are a hundred and one different markings, +all of which are practically of equal service in so far as regards +affecting the flight of the ball, but in every case I came to the +conclusion that the marking by indentation is the best. This led me to +get Mr. Ayres to produce for me a ball which he ultimately put on the +market under my name, which was marked in identically the same manner +as the old guttie. I believe "The Vaile" was the first rubber-cored +ball with the old guttie marking to be placed on the market, and this +marking was found to be satisfactory in every respect. The ball, as +indeed one might imagine, both flew and ran perfectly, but it was met +by golfers with a strange objection. They said it was too much like +the old guttie. Personally, I did not care what they said about it. I +had not caused the ball to be made from any commercial interest I had +in the matter. + +It had been stated that a ball marked like this would not be so good +for golf as a ball marked with excrescences. I had proved beyond a +shadow of doubt that the ball was better for golf than the ball which +was marked by excrescences, and I was content to leave it at that, +although as a matter of fact later on Messrs. Ayres did produce for me +a ball with a more distinctive marking which gave us equally good +results in so far as regards flight and run, but which I did not like +nearly so well as the old guttie marking. + +At the time this ball was produced I stated emphatically that I +believed that the result of the agitation and discussion would be to +knock the pimples off the golf ball. This statement was, of course, +ridiculed by the makers of golf balls, and quite wisely too, for they +had tens of thousands of pimply golf balls which they had to dispose +of, and it was not their business to agree with my ideas of altering +the make of the golf ball until they had disposed of their stock. They +have, however, now no prejudice whatever in the matter, and the +leading manufacturers both here and in America are pushing balls which +are marked by indentation. They certainly were a long time after my +manufacturers in realising the importance of the principle, but they +are now endeavouring to make up for lost time. One firm, Messrs. A. G. +Spalding & Bros., is pushing three balls as their leading lines. These +are the Glory Dimple, the Midget Dimple, and the Domino Dimple. All +these balls are what are now called dimple balls, and they meet with +great favour in many quarters, although there are still a number of +golfers who swear by the bramble-marking. + +During the course of this long controversy I suggested that it would +be a good idea if the balls which were marked by excrescences and +those which were marked by indentations were subjected to a test by +being mechanically propelled. Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey, the famous +wild-fowler and author of _The Projectile Throwing Engines of the +Ancients_, wrote to me and very kindly volunteered to carry out the +experiment if I would send him the balls I wished him to test. I +naturally accepted his very kind offer, and sent him a variety of golf +balls to be tested. Sir Ralph is the possessor of some very remarkable +catapults built on the principles of the old Roman engines of war, and +with these he conducted a series of experiments, which were so +interesting that they deserve to be permanently recorded for the +benefit of future generations. His conclusions were published in two +articles which occupied about three columns of _The Times_, and they +are of such an instructive nature that I propose to quote somewhat +fully from them. + +Sir Ralph showed quite clearly that in a very great number of cases +the centre of gravity of the ball is untrue. Quite a number of golfers +would think that it is not a matter of very great importance if the +centre of gravity of a golf ball is untrue. Anyone who thinks this may +speedily undeceive himself by a small experiment suggested by Sir +Ralph. Let him cut a hole in the side of a golf ball, insert a piece +of lead or half a dozen shot and fill the hole up with wax or soap and +then put with that ball. He will be astonished to find what a peculiar +course it takes. + +Of course, not many golf balls are loaded like this, but it is beyond +any doubt whatever that in many cases the gutta-percha covering of +the rubber-core is of very uneven thickness. This in itself and quite +apart from the defect of marking by excrescences which I have already +referred to, is sufficient to account for the very bad running of many +golf balls. + +I may say, too, that I believe this untrueness of the centre of +gravity is responsible for the double swerve which one frequently sees +in a truly hit golf ball. A swerve which is obtained from the +application of spin to the golf ball, almost invariably is continuous +and in the one direction, but I have frequently seen well-hit drives +by the most famous players swerve to the right, back again to the left +and resume their original course. This has happened with such perfect +regularity in many cases that there must unquestionably be a definite +reason for it, apart from rotation applied by contact with the club, +and the only explanation which I can give of it in any way at all is +that it is caused by an untrue centre. + +The shape, resiliency, and centre of gravity of the golf ball are of +vital importance to the player, but the golfer accepts all these +matters with a blind faith which is touching in the extreme. A golfer +should not accept from a golf ball manufacturer a ball which is not +truly spherical, or one which does not fly truly when truly hit, but +as a matter of fact almost fifty per cent of the golf balls supplied +by the leading makers come within this category. One may take fifty +golf balls of any specific sort, and test these for shape, centre of +gravity, and weight, and it is an even chance that twenty-five of them +will be quite different from the other twenty-five. + +It is very easy indeed to test the rubber-cored balls as regards the +correctness of their centre of gravity. Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey found +that none of the rubber-cored balls was correct as to its centre of +gravity, though some were much more incorrect than others, and he +found that not one of them was truly spherical in shape. I may say +that in a large number of cases I have verified his experiments. Sir +Ralph Payne-Gallwey's method of testing them for correctness of centre +of gravity is so simple that I may give it here for the benefit of any +player who desires to see that he is getting a ball which will serve +him truly in so far as regards this important particular. + +Sir Ralph placed the ball which he desired to test in a basin of water +and waited until it came to rest. When the ball had come to rest, +there was naturally a small portion of it protruding from the water. +Sir Ralph marked the centre of this spot with a pencil dot and he +found that however carelessly he put the same ball into the water, +however much it was rolled about, that the portion of the ball marked +with the pencil dot always came upwards out of the water again, and +that the actual spot with the pencil mark on it always came to exactly +the same place. It was evident from this that the centre of gravity of +the balls tested in this manner was considerably untrue. + +Sir Ralph found, as might be expected, that the old guttie ball was +much truer as regards its centre of gravity than the rubber-cored +balls. He tested the gutta-percha ball and the miniature ball which +would not float in plain water, in a solution of salt and water. + +The experiments which he conducted in connection with these balls were +really quite exhaustive. He found that with some of the balls, +especially the smaller ones, the dot appeared in two seconds, while +some of the others took from four to six seconds to come upward. He +arrived at a comparative idea of the error in centre of gravity by +placing the dot downwards in the water, and then noting with a +stop-watch the time occupied by it in appearing out of the water on +top of the ball. He thus took the time in each case from the moment of +release to the moment that the pencil dot again came uppermost, and by +these means he obtained as accurately as he could with a stop-watch +the comparative error of one ball with another in regard to its centre +of gravity. + +The testing of the balls for true spherical shape was, of course, +easy, and was done by means of callipers. It can be done either by +callipers or by a parallel vice which may be opened just wide enough +to allow a ball to be passed between its jaws. If one has not a vice +or callipers available, it is, of course, easy to cut a circle in a +piece of cardboard and gradually increase the size of the circle until +a ball will just get through. The circle, of course, must be made +truly, but this can easily be done by a pin and a string if compasses +are not available. + +Of course, it would be advisable in testing a golf ball through a ring +such as this to obtain in the first case a ball which is as near a +true sphere as any rubber-cored ball can be. This may be done by +fixing any two objects in a similar position to that suggested for the +jaws of a vice, as for instance the opening of a drawer. One may open +a drawer and fix the drawer firmly so that the ball can just pass in +at the opening. Once this is done, it is almost as effectual as either +callipers or the jaws of a vice. + +Sir Ralph found that the gutties were as near true spheres as +possible, and also that these balls showed very slight error in centre +of gravity. This, of course, from the solidity of the matter and their +original formation in the mould might naturally have been expected, +for in the nature of the modern ball it stands to reason that its +centre of gravity could never be so consistent as that of a ball which +is made entirely in the one piece as was the old gutta-percha ball. + +Sir Ralph has some remarkable projectile engines which gave him +exceptional facilities for testing the flight of the golf balls which +I sent him. He has one engine which weighs about two tons and is +capable of casting a stone ball of twelve pounds a distance of a +quarter of a mile. The catapult which he used for the purpose is a +small reproduction of this big engine. His small model of this engine +weighs about forty pounds and will pitch a golf ball from 180 to 200 +yards, the distance of course depending upon the amount of tension +used and the angle of elevation. + +The power of the engine is obtained from twisted cord, and the arm of +the machine used by Sir Ralph is two feet eight inches long, and is +provided with a cup at its upper end to hold the ball. It is so +arranged that the balls can be thrown any intermediate distance +required up to 200 yards, and at any elevation. Sir Ralph conducted +experiments with balls thrown by the catapult, and also with balls hit +away by it in a manner similar to a golf club, and, as might be +expected, no spin whatever was imparted to the ball. It was thrown in +a straight line every time with unvarying accuracy, and there was not +the slightest sign whatever of slice, pull, or cut. This, of course, +is exactly what one who knows the principle of the catapult would +expect. + +Sir Ralph found, however, that the accuracy of flight of the ball was +very remarkable, and he gives as an instance the fact that a ball +which had been marked as having a particularly accurate flight was +pitched twenty times in succession within a few feet of a stick stuck +in the ground 180 yards from the machine. + +It is interesting to note the weights of the balls used in these +experiments. They varied from 22 drachms to 23 drachms avoirdupois, +and their diameters from 53 to 54 thirty-seconds of an inch. The +guttie ball used by Sir Ralph weighed 24-1/2 drachms, and one of the +miniature balls 24 drachms 6 grains. Sir Ralph threw a dozen balls of +various makes from his small engine at a mark 160 yards distant, and +he threw each ball twenty times before another was tried. He employed +a fore-caddie to mark the indentations each ball made where it fell. A +peg was put in at the spot where each ball landed, and these distances +were all subsequently measured, and the records kept for purposes of +comparison. + +After this had been done with one ball the same was done with another, +and it is almost unnecessary to say that the angle of elevation and +the force used in each case was the same. Sir Ralph found that in +propelling the balls with the wind there was very little difference in +the length of carry or the steadiness of the flight, though, as might +have been expected, the guttie beat all of them in distance, being six +times in its first series of twenty throws a few yards farther than +the longest carry made by any of the other balls. This, of course, was +quite natural, for the old guttie was heavier, harder, a more correct +sphere and more correctly marked than the ball which is now in common +use. Therefore it was quite reasonable to expect that it would go +farther when propelled from the catapult. It is, of course, just as +easy to understand that this superiority would not exist when the +ball was struck with a golf club, for then the question of resiliency +comes into the matter. + +It is interesting to note that Sir Ralph found that the miniature golf +ball more nearly approximated to the guttie than to the rubber-cored +balls. The miniature being harder and heavier than the other +rubber-cores, when thrown by the engine gave the longest flight of all +the rubber-cores, although it did not get so far as the guttie. Its +superiority, however, when struck from the engine in a manner as +nearly as possible resembling the blow with a golf club, was +non-existent, and its carry was then found to be the shortest of all +the rubber-cores, and the guttie ball was, when hit away by the +machine, shorter yet than the miniature golf ball. + +Sir Ralph found, as I had confidently asserted would be the case, that +against the wind the balls with the roughest markings always carried +the shortest distance, and that they tended to rise too much in their +flight. This was most apparent at about two-thirds of the carry. Sir +Ralph found that there was a distinct difference in this matter of +soaring between the very roughly marked balls and those which were a +little less so. He proved to demonstration the fact which I had +confidently maintained, that the less roughly marked balls, owing to +the small amount of air friction which they set up, and naturally in +consequence thereof, their lower parabola, always carried farther +against the wind. + +I have referred elsewhere to Harry Vardon's remark about not +attempting to regulate the flight of the ball in a cross wind, or +indeed, for the matter of that, in any other wind by applying spin to +it. Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey's experiment put this matter beyond a +shadow of doubt, so that we may be absolutely certain that the idea of +trying to slice against a wind to get a straight ball, or to pull into +a wind to get an extra run, is for ninety-five per cent of players not +practical golf. Sir Ralph found that with a fresh side wind from the +left, all the balls, except the guttie, landed from eight to twelve +yards to the right of the mark at a range of 130 yards. He states +emphatically that in this case it was clearly shown that the more +roughly marked balls consistently showed the greatest deviation from +the correct line of flight. We have, however, gained a very strong +argument in favour of the ball with the less pronounced marking. + +Sir Ralph also discovered another thing which is of very great +importance indeed to the practical golfer, but a thing which is not +considered in the slightest degree by one golfer in ten thousand, and +that is that the balls which were most untrue in regard to their +centre of gravity, not only always dropped the farthest to the right, +that is, were most affected by the cross wind, but that they also ran +at a more acute angle in the same direction after contact with the +ground. Thus we see that in 130 yards the most roughly-marked ball in +a cross wind is deflected twelve yards. We see also that this ball was +the one which was most incorrect as regards its centre of gravity. We +therefore have a specimen of the worst ball which could be used for +this purpose being carried twelve yards off its line, and we may +reasonably take this to be the extreme of error for that distance. + +It is easy to understand when we consider such an illustration as this +what a tremendous handicap the golfer is suffering from when he uses +the ball which allows the wind to get such a grip of it as the +bramble-marked ball does, and moreover one with a centre of gravity +which is so bad that it assists the work of the wind in carrying the +ball away as it does, and not only assists the wind to this extent, +but even carries its vices to the extent of still further fighting +against the player by exaggerating its error when it lands by running +away from the line. + +These are all bad enough, but we must remember that there is also to +be considered the error which is unquestionably a matter to be +reckoned with, which inevitably takes place when the ball marked by +excrescences is struck by a club. + +I had sent Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey the ball which I had had made for +experimental purposes with very slight marking, and he was good enough +to experiment with this for me. He says of it: "This ball was quite +smooth, as smooth indeed as a billiard ball, the idea being that +having no markings on its outside it would not present so frictional a +surface to the air in its flight, as a ball with markings, and that +being without this it would also be very accurate from the putter. I +tried this smooth ball from the engine, and it 'ducked' every time in +an extraordinary manner, its length of carry being seldom more than +eighty yards." + +Sir Ralph is most accurate, generally speaking, but he is in error by +stating that this ball is as smooth as a billiard ball. The ball which +I sent Sir Ralph was called by me "The Ruff," merely as a distinctive +name, for it was the nearest approach to a perfectly smooth ball that +I could make. It is evident from Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey's description +of it that it is, as compared with the golf balls now in use, very +smooth, but it is pitted all over with remarkably small indentations +so that it appears to be chased, but, as I explained, the paint to a +certain extent covered up the interstices so as to prevent the ball +giving me the test which I expected to get from it. It is, however, +not accurate to say that this ball is perfectly smooth. + +It is obvious that from this I was trying to work to the mean which I +felt perfectly certain existed between the old golf ball, whose +erratic flight was well known, and the modern golf ball with its +exaggerated marking. + +Sir Ralph thought that the form of this ball might not, for some +unknown reason, suit a projectile engine. He continues: + + ... and as I could not drive it further than about eighty + yards with a golf club, I engaged the well-known + professional, Edward Ray, to play a round of the green with + this ball at Ganton. As Ray is an exceptionally long and + accurate player with driver and cleek I felt the ball would + have a fair chance of going, if it could go. From the first + tee the ball did not carry a hundred yards, though, to all + appearances, struck clean and hard. I thought that for once + in a way Ray had missed his drive, but as the same thing + occurred from every tee and through the green for the next + six holes, there was no disputing that a smooth ball was + quite useless for golf. + + I then proceeded to nick the ball slightly with the point of + a knife, spacing the small raised nicks about one-third of an + inch apart, the ball being still a very smooth one in + comparison to any of the usual kinds. After this slight + alteration the ball flew splendidly, whether off wood or iron + clubs, neither too high nor too low, but quite straight, and + with the very slight rise towards the end of its carry that + is the essence of perfect flight in a golf ball, some of the + carries when measured from the tee being well over two + hundred yards. + +Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey continues that when he returned home he shot +this ball from the small engine, and it then several times +out-distanced the best records made by any of the balls previously +tested. After this he chipped up many more little raised nicks on the +same smooth ball as a further experiment, but he then found that this +not only reduced its length of flight by several yards, but also +caused it to soar too much upwards when projected against a head wind +as is the case with the ordinary rough-marked golf ball. + +It will be seen here that Sir Ralph continued with the ball sent by me +to him, the experiment, which I had started, as it was my intention to +proceed from a ball as nearly as could be, smooth, towards the present +exaggerated ball, by the least possible steps, so that the moment that +I had arrived at a ball so marked that it would not give me any extra +carry, I should desist at once. + +Sir Ralph's summing up is as follows. He says: "From such practical +tests it is evident that the surface of a golf ball is far too rough, +and that it would fly with more accuracy and farther, especially with +a head or a side wind, had it much less numerous and prominent +markings on its cover." This is exactly what I contended for in my +original article on the subject, and it is exactly what has to be +realised by the makers of the golf ball of the future. Many of the +balls which are now being produced with the dimple marking are moving +in the right direction, but they still have the grave errors of bad +centre of gravity and excessive marking. When these two matters have +been adjusted we shall have a very much better ball. + +It will be interesting now to refer to the results which Sir Ralph +Payne-Gallwey obtained when he fitted his catapult with an arm +provided with an enlarged head similar in shape to the head of a golf +driver. Sir Ralph says: + + This striking arm hit the ball away just as it is hit by a + golf club. The ball I suspended by gossamer silk from the + projecting beam of a little gallows fixed over the engine, + and so positioned that the enlarged upper end of the arm + struck the ball fair and true and with its full force and at + the same angle every time. + +I was not present when Sir Ralph made these experiments. He, however, +was kind enough to send me a copy of his most interesting work +entitled _The Projectile Throwing Engines of the Ancients_. This book +gives many illustrations of the catapults used by the Romans and +others. + +I find it somewhat difficult to follow Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey when he +says: "This striking arm hit the ball away just as it is hit by a golf +club," for it seems to me that as the ball was suspended above the +striking face of the club which was fixed to the upper end of the arm, +that the arc described by the arm of the catapult would be exactly +opposite to that described by the head of the golf club, and it is of +course conceivable that this would in some way affect the carry of +golf balls struck by the machine in this manner. + +I need not, however, go into that here, for whatever the results +obtained by Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey were each ball was hit in exactly +the same manner, and therefore we have, in so far as regards distance +and the effect of the side wind, fairly accurate comparative tests. +Sir Ralph says: "Though I could not obtain the same length of carry by +making the engine strike the ball as I could when the ball was thrown +by it--not by about fifteen yards--yet the individual results in +distance and in deviation with a side wind exactly corresponded with +the behaviour of the various balls when they were thrown and when +carries of from 180 to 200 yards were obtained from them." + +Sir Ralph found that in this experiment the carry of the guttie was +invariably about eighteen yards shorter than that of the ordinary +rubber-cored balls. He therefore carried out an interesting experiment +by fixing a pad of rubber on the face of the head of the arm, and the +guttie, when struck by this, travelled as far as any of the balls. He +found, as I have previously indicated, that of the rubber-cored balls +the small one carried the shortest distance when struck by the engine, +and he found also that its length of flight was not increased by using +the rubber pad. This, of course, is what we might have expected. + +There is one very interesting matter which Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey +notes. He says: "Another curious thing, the ball with the most untrue +centre of gravity usually made one, and occasionally even two, swerves +in the air when hit against the wind, though this eccentricity in its +line of flight was less noticeable when it was thrown from the +engine." This is a very interesting statement to anyone who devotes +attention to the flight of the ball, and it goes very far indeed to +confirm my own impression that the double swerve of the golf ball +which I have noticed so frequently, is produced by defective centre of +gravity. + + [Illustration: PLATE XIV. J. SHERLOCK + + Top of swing in iron-shot. Note the position of the ball, and + the upright swing of the club.] + +These experiments are of very great value, and should be carefully +noted by golf ball makers, but Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey was not content +with testing the golf balls for their flight. After having put in +several days doing this, and having fired fully 500 shots, he +continued his experiments with these balls with the object of +ascertaining their relative merits on the putting-green. He says: + + I obtained a piece of lead three-quarters of an inch thick, + two inches wide, and three feet long, in which I cut a + straight and smooth groove one inch wide. One end of this + piece of lead I rested on the cushion at the baulk end of a + billiard table, and directed its other end towards the spot + on which the red ball is placed in the game of billiards. + The forward end of the grooved lead I tapered off so that a + ball ran evenly and smoothly from the groove on to the table + without any drop or deviation as it left the piece of lead, + which from its weight, when once set, could not change its + position. I now placed a thimble on the spot at the far end + of the table and rolled an accurately-turned wooden ball the + same size as a golf ball down the sloping groove. After a + little adjustment of the lead piece its line of fire was + correct, and I was able to knock the thimble off the spot + fifty times in succession. The ball travelled with sufficient + speed just to reach the cushion beyond the thimble when the + latter was moved aside, and the shot at the thimble nicely + represented a slow put of eight feet in length. + +This is a most interesting way of testing the golf ball. I may say +that I have myself carried out experiments on similar lines, and that +the results which I obtained practically confirm the accuracy of those +which Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey got. He found that on testing various +golf balls the results were widely different. He tried each ball +several times in a series of twenty tries at the thimble. He found +that individually they seldom hit it more than three or four times in +a series, and that some of the balls, particularly those which he had +found to be incorrect so far as regards their centre of gravity, +rolled away from the thimble as much as two feet to the right or left, +and that they sometimes actually went into the corner pockets of the +table. This would seem to be incredible, but I can vouch for the +accuracy of Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey's statements. + +It is an amazing thing to think of, but it is perfectly true, that the +modern golf ball is so badly constructed that in a straight roll down +the middle of the table such as that described by Sir Ralph +Payne-Gallwey, the ball will absolutely roll as far off the line as +the corner pockets, and indeed sometimes farther even than this. That +is what the golfer has to contend with when he tries to put with a +bramble ball on a golf green, but, of course, as he does not know it, +he blames himself for an off day, or the green for being "beastly," +but he never by any chance whatever gives a thought to his horribly +defective golf ball. + +Sir Ralph says that the guttie was a notable exception to the +inaccuracy of the rubber cores. He found that in its different series +of twenty tries it often struck the thimble from fourteen to fifteen +times, and when it missed was usually within an inch of the mark. This +shows clearly the wonderful difference which I have already emphasised +between marking by indentation and marking by excrescence. Sir Ralph +also emphasises a point to which I had already directed attention as +to the ball marked by excrescences running truly when hit hard. It is +when the ball has no great propulsive force behind it that its +inherent vice is most surely shown. Sir Ralph says: + + Any of the balls if played fairly hard from a cue could be + made to strike the thimble every time; but then such a hard + hit ball would go far beyond the hole in golf, and probably + overrun the putting green! The smooth billiard-table cloth + may be taken to represent the hard, bare and fast putting + green of a dry summer. + +That is a very fair comparison, with the exception that the hard, bare +and fast putting-green of a dry summer would present infinitely +greater inaccuracies to the already sufficiently inaccurate golf ball +than would the billiard table. Let the unthinking golfer ruminate a +little on this subject, and the day is not far distant when we shall +never see such a thing as an excrescence on a golf ball. + +Sir Ralph was very ingenious and thorough in his experiments. He +desired to obtain the nearest possible approximation which he could to +a natural putting-green, so he stretched a strip of rough green baize +on the billiard table and tested the balls on this. He made a chalk +mark on which to place the thimble, and its distance from the lead +gutter was the same as in his other experiments. He then found that +the balls, with the exception of those which had been marked as having +their centre of gravity much out of place, ran with far greater +accuracy. Most of them hit the thimble from eight to ten times in +their individual series of twenty shots, but the guttie was, as usual, +an easy winner. Sir Ralph found that on the billiard table if the +balls were played fairly hard from a cue, although too hard for golf, +the thimble could be knocked over every time. + +I consider that these experiments prove beyond a shadow of doubt, as I +personally never doubted, that the ordinary bramble-marked golf ball +will not run truly unless it has a considerable amount of force behind +it, and that for short puts, and particularly on anything like a fast +green, it is a most treacherous ball. Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey says: + + All this goes to prove that, although a ball may be of + inaccurate make, it keeps its line to near the end of its + course when hit hard along the ground, as for instance, in a + long running up approach to the hole from the edge of a + putting green. It is also clear that a ball with an incorrect + centre of gravity will very seldom run true off the putter if + the ground is hard, fast and smooth and the distance it is + required to travel is only a few feet. For this reason + manufacturers should consider the accuracy of a ball for + short puts--accuracy that can only be gained by making it a + perfect sphere with its centre of gravity in the exact centre + of the ball; for short puts must lose many more matches than + short drives. + +As Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey truly says, with a badly balanced ball the +easiest of short puts may fail, especially on a downward slope, though +the player rarely suspects that his ball and not his skill is to +blame. + +It is not, as I have already pointed out, only the question of the +badly balanced ball which is of such vital importance in short puts, +but it is the question of the untrue running of the ball marked by +excrescences; also there is the equally important matter, which I have +referred to, of the untrueness of the ball marked by excrescences in +coming off the face of the putter. I am firmly convinced that there is +no more perfect marking for a golf ball than that used for the old +guttie ball, that is a marking by indented lines, but even here I +believe that equally good results, both in flight and run, would be +obtained if the gutta-percha ball were marked in a similar manner but +with fewer lines. + +Some of Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey's conclusions are important. He +suggests that a golfer should carefully test a ball before using it in +an important match, and this is, unquestionably, from a scientific +point of view, a very sound and good suggestion. I have already +indicated his method of testing a ball for its centre of gravity, and +I have shown how the ball may be tested for its spherical shape. There +is no necessity to apply any test whatever to the ball in so far as +regards its marking. There is one maxim with regard to that--avoid +anything in the shape of a golf ball marked by excrescences. + +Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey's advice to golfers with regard to the balls +need not be given here in full, valuable as I believe it to be in the +main. But there is one matter which is worth repeating. He says: + + Select a ball with as smooth a cover as you can find, for + though all golf balls require to be roughened in order to + steady their flight, those most deeply scored travel the + shortest distance, and are most affected by a head or side + wind. + +This is very sound and important advice, and it should receive the +attention not only of golfers, but of the golf ball manufacturers, for +even those balls which are now marked by indentation are, in my +opinion, too freely marked, and I am inclined to think that the +dimples on the golf balls which are so marked, are, if anything, too +large and too frequent. I think it is extremely probable that the +balls which are so marked would fly and run better than they do now if +they were marked by lines as the old guttie was marked, but with fewer +of these lines. Probably if they were marked with one-third of the +number of lines which were used on the old guttie, we should have a +perfect flying and running ball. + +Before closing this chapter on the make of the golf ball, it will be +interesting to refer once again to the results obtained by Sir Ralph +Payne-Gallwey when throwing the smooth ball from his machine and also +when having it driven by Edward Ray. He obtained results similar in +all respects to those which George Duncan and I obtained when trying +"The Ruff." It is very curious indeed that so far there have not been +any definite scientific experiments made to show exactly where the +serviceable degree of roughness ends and the prejudicial begins, +though much has certainly been done since I started the controversy +about the relative merits of a smoother ball. + +Some golf ball makers have gone so far as to produce a dimple ball +with a small pimple in the dimple. This, in effect, reduced the dimple +to a ring, and these balls have been found to fly and run very well, +but all that has been so far done has been a matter of experiment, of +rule of thumb work. I do not think that there is a firm of golf ball +makers in England which is in possession of a proper mechanical +driver. We are assured that at least one firm in America is in +possession of such a machine, but so far as I am aware there is no +efficient machine of such a nature in England. This is very +remarkable, as with such a machine a firm of golf ball manufacturers +could obtain results which would probably give them a big advantage +over their competitors. + +I was quite astonished to see it stated by a firm of golf ball makers +the other day that, although they were making a ball marked by +indentations, they had come to the conclusion after much experimenting +that the bramble pattern was the best for all-round excellence. In the +face of the remarkably conclusive experiments conducted by Sir Ralph +Payne-Gallwey, whose results I may say bore out up to the hilt +everything which I had said about the defective construction of the +golf ball, I should like to know how this manufacturer comes to the +conclusion that the bramble marking is the best. + +One point which has not been made very strongly is that it was not +necessary for the old balls to be badly knocked about before they +would fly well. Comparatively little damage improved the flight of the +ball. This, in itself, should be sufficient to convince manufacturers +that they are still in many ways marking their balls excessively. It +is quite evident that no particular kind of marking is required on the +golf ball, although it is conceivable that a certain kind of marking +might possess some slight advantage over another. It would be +interesting if an exhaustive set of experiments on the lines of those +already conducted by Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey could be carried out +under proper supervision by some eminent scientist or by a leading +firm of golf ball makers, or by some prominent paper interested in +golf. The matter would undoubtedly be of very great interest to +golfers generally, and would probably result in a great improvement of +the balls at present on the market. + +The phenomenon of the uneven flight of the smooth golf ball has never, +so far as I am aware, been satisfactorily explained. We all know, of +course, that practically nothing which has not a tail flies well. A +tail is necessary for an arrow, for an aeroplane, for a bird to steer +itself with, and even the rifle bullet would not fly well until it +was, in effect, provided with a tail. It has always seemed to me that +there was a possibility of an explanation of the defective flight of +the smooth golf ball in this fact. It stands to reason that in the +passage of the ball through the atmosphere there is a considerable +compression of the air in front of the ball, and it is equally obvious +that this compressed air is, if we may so express it, flowing +backwards over the ball, and therefore running between the bramble +markings. Of course, we are aware that it is not really a question of +the air flowing backwards, but of the ball driving through the +atmosphere, but we have merely to consider what may possibly be the +effect of this action. + +It seems to me that the air, in passing back and round the ball in the +manner described, is also in a state of compression until it has +passed backwards and, to a slight extent, behind the golf ball, so +that we have, if we may so express it, attached to the ball a tail of +compressed air which is constantly striving to resume its normal +density at a slightly varying distance behind the ball in its passage +through the air. + +If my idea, which is expressed now in an extremely unscientific and +popular form, is correct, it would seem that the roughened ball holds +more straightly into this tail of compressed air than it would be +possible for a smooth ball to do; in other words, it seems to me that +there would be a greater possibility of the smooth ball slipping the +pressure which would be accentuated on that portion of the ball which +Professor Thomson describes as its nose, and it seems feasible, +although I do not care to be dogmatic on this point, that if the +centre of gravity of the smooth ball were untrue, as indeed the centre +of gravity of nearly every smooth ball is, the effect of the pressure +of the condensed air on the front of the ball would be much more +pronounced with the smooth ball than it would in the case of the ball +marked by excrescences or indentations. + +I am aware that this idea of mine is open to argument, and I do not +say for one moment that it is absolutely correct. It is undoubted that +there is much uncertainty in the minds of extremely scientific men as +to the cause for the uncertain flight of the smooth golf ball. Even so +distinguished a scientific inquirer as Professor Sir J. J. Thomson +assured me that he did not understand the reason for the erratic +behaviour of the smooth ball. There is possibly another explanation, +but again I put this forward tentatively. Even when a ball is driven +by a golf club without appreciable spin, as indeed most golf balls +are, it seems to me quite possible, especially in the case of the +balls with defective centres, that before they have gone far on their +journey they will proceed to acquire spin on account of the tendency +of one side to lag more than the other. + +It seems, then, that if this spin is set up in the manner which I +described, it may, and indeed quite likely will, influence the path of +the ball sufficiently to deflect it from the original line of flight, +but as this spin has no very great power behind it, it seems quite +likely that when it has deflected the ball from the line of flight it +may be checked to such an extent that the atmosphere has a chance to +get to work on the ball again and produce that which is practically a +reverse spin. In this way, and in this way alone, can I see any reason +for the double swerve which I have already referred to, in the carry +of the golf ball. It must be understood that in the case of double +swerve which I am referring to, the deflection from the straight line +has always occurred at a point in the carry where one would not expect +to see it if it had been occasioned by spin administered by the club, +and it is always very much less indeed than the swerve would be if it +had been obtained by spin produced by the club. + +Also there is this other fact against the hypothesis that the swerve +is produced by spin imparted at the moment of impact. In the swerve +which I am referring to, both the first swerve and the return swerve +which takes the ball back again into the line of flight are very +slight, and in most cases practically of the same length and degree. +If the original deflection from the straight line were due to rotation +of the ball acquired at the moment of impact, the swerve and return to +the straight line, if there were any such return, would never be so +symmetrical as they are. + +I can quite easily understand the double swerve of a golf ball from +spin produced by the contact between the club and the ball, although I +must admit that I have never seen a swerve of this nature in golf +which I could put down unhesitatingly to spin acquired at the moment +of impact. I must, however, when I say this, except one instance. This +was in the case of a ball hit with back-spin, and although it is in a +sense improper to refer to it as double swerve because it only +affected the trajectory and did not alter the plane of the ball's +flight in any way, it was, in a sense, a case of double swerve. It was +a wind-cheater struck by a very good player at Hanger Hill. The ball +flew very low and looked as though it was about to hit a bunker, when +suddenly, on account of the tremendous amount of back-spin which the +player had put on his ball, it rose with the ordinary rise of the +wind-cheater and soared straight away for thirty or forty yards, when +it began to tower in the ordinary manner of the wind-cheater. This was +such an extraordinary shot that I illustrated it in _Modern Golf_, but +I have never, in the course of fifteen years' acquaintance with the +game, seen another shot of the same description. + +There is no doubt whatever that double swerves may be obtained by the +axis of rotation of the ball altering during the flight of the ball. I +can remember quite clearly at a meeting of the All-England Lawn-tennis +Club at Wimbledon, a player informing me quite seriously that a +lawn-tennis ball would swerve two ways in the air. At that time I was +under the impression that I knew all there was to be known about the +flight of the ball. I did not contradict him, but inwardly I pitied +him; but at the same time I made up my mind to watch for this +phenomenon, little as I expected to see it, for in the course of at +least seventeen years' practical acquaintance with the game of +lawn-tennis wherein one has a splendid opportunity of observing the +action of spin on the ball, I had never seen, or perhaps it would be +more correct to say I had never observed, any ball swerve two ways. + +It was not many days after this that I distinctly saw an American +service, delivered by one of the players in the All-England +Lawn-tennis Championship, swerve two ways. Since then I have looked +for this phenomenon, and I have seen it happen both in lawn-tennis and +golf, but I am satisfied that in golf it is not due to spin acquired +at the moment of impact, as undoubtedly it is in lawn-tennis. It seems +to me that with the lawn-tennis ball, which offers a very large +frictional area in proportion to its weight, that it is quite feasible +that during its travel, particularly in the American service, it may +alter its axis of rotation on account of encountering a heavier bank +of air, or for some other reason. It naturally follows that +immediately this takes place the arc of the original swerve is +interfered with, but in no case have I seen in lawn-tennis, as I have +in golf, the original swerve of the ball exactly compensated for by +the swerve back into the straight line, which is the peculiarity of +the double swerve at golf. + +There is no doubt that there is a considerable amount of mystery in +this matter. It may appear that it is not of much importance to +golfers, from a practical point of view, whether it is solved or not, +but it is hard indeed to say how useful a proper understanding of the +higher science of the game may be in the practice of it; and in the +experiments carried out by Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey with so much +patience and ability we have a very good example of the value to +golfers of the scientific investigation and consideration of matters +appertaining to the various implements of the game. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE CONSTRUCTION OF CLUBS + + +In my last chapter I dealt with the construction of the golf ball. In +many respects the golf club is more perfectly made than the golf ball, +although it is, of course, hard to compare two objects so entirely +dissimilar. In making the comparison I am, however, thinking mainly of +the amount of exactness which has been brought to bear on the +manufacture of the respective articles in so far as they have +developed in accordance with the best of modern thought. It cannot be +denied, however, that from a mechanical point of view, the golf club +is still a very imperfect implement, for the simple reason that the +striking point of the club is not in a line with the handle. This, of +course, is, from the point of view of one who desires to obtain the +maximum of strength and accuracy, a glaring fault. It has been +remedied to a very considerable extent in the Schenectady putter, to +which I shall have occasion again to refer. + +Golf is a very old game, and, as I have shown, it has been simply +festooned with the cobwebs of tradition, and in no respect, probably, +is this truer than it is in regard to the golf club. Originally, +almost every implement made for playing a game by striking a ball was +curved or so crooked that the ball was struck off the line of the +shaft. The cricket bat was originally a crooked implement, so was the +lawn-tennis racket, lacrosse, and even the billiard cue, but these +have all been straightened, so that at the moment of impact the ball +is in a straight line with the handle or shaft of the striking +implement. It would indeed seem exceedingly strange to see a batsman +furnished now with a curved bat, but that, in effect, is what we have +in golf. It is certain that to obtain the best result from one's +strength, it is necessary that the forearm, the ball, and the shaft of +the striking implement shall be, at the moment of impact, in one and +the same straight line or plane. This is a fundamental rule in +athletics which is too much ignored by many players, both at +lawn-tennis and in golf. + +Ignoring this principle in lawn-tennis has cost England her +supremacy--not only, indeed, has it cost her her supremacy, but it has +relegated her to the back ranks of the world's lawn-tennis players; +for instead of having the handle of the racket and the forearm in one +and the same straight line at the moment of impact, the English +player, both with the forehand and the backhand, introduces between +his racket and his forearm a considerable angle. He thus, instead of +confining his force to one line, diffuses it over a triangle, and +causes the weight of the blow to fall on his wrist in such a way that +it offers least resistance. + +The golf club, although naturally to a less extent, embodies this +fundamental error in mechanics, for instead of hitting the ball dead +in a line with the shaft, it gets it in the middle of the face which +projects from one side of the shaft. A moment's reflection will show +that this is a very imperfect method of striking the ball. + +It will, of course, be said by the slaves of tradition that it is a +horribly revolutionary thing to suggest any alteration in the shaft of +the golf club, but it must be borne in mind that the golf club has to +go through a process of evolution before it will become perfect, also +that it has for generations past been going through a process of +evolution which has materially altered its structure. Originally the +head of the golf club was much longer than it is now. Gradually the +head has been shortened so that the point of impact has come nearer to +the shaft, and no less an authority than Harry Vardon has said that +this tendency is well justified, for one can undoubtedly obtain +greater power and accuracy the nearer the blow is brought to the +shaft. + +Following Vardon's reasoning to its logical conclusion, we have very +little difficulty in arriving at a decision that we could undoubtedly +obtain better results if we struck the ball in a line with the shaft. +This seems at first glance a revolutionary idea, but, as a matter of +fact, it is nothing new in the game of golf. The old St. Andrews +putter, which had a pronounced curve in its shaft, was so built that +if the line of the upper half of the shaft were continued it would run +practically on to the centre of the face of the club. The lower +portion of the shaft curved very considerably. Sometimes, indeed, this +curve was spread over almost the full length of the shaft. The object +of this curve, which I may say is even now in the handle of all +scientifically constructed wooden putters, is to bring the hands in a +line with the point of impact at the moment of striking, but in this +year of grace, 1912, we find the Royal and Ancient Golf Club barring +on its own links, but, as it states now, _nowhere else_, such a well +known and proved club as the Schenectady putter. + +The Schenectady putter is not a centre shafted putter, and in my +opinion is open to several grave objections, for it is made with a +head shaped on the general principle of the wooden putter, which it +resembles more than it does the ordinary metal putter. I have a rooted +objection to any putter which has a broad sole, for it is simply +importing into the stroke an unnecessary element of error. If the +swing is untrue, there is much greater risk of soling with a +broad-soled putter than there is when one is using one of the metal +putters. + +I have besides this two other objections to the Schenectady putter. It +does not go far enough, in that it is not a centre shafted putter, and +therefore the point of impact and the shaft are not in the same +straight line; and thirdly, the shaft enters the head of the club some +distance back from the face of the club. + +Some years ago, when in America, I invented and patented the "Vaile" +clubs. These are centre shafted clubs and they are built exactly on +the principle of the time-hallowed St. Andrews putter. For example, +the only difference between the "Vaile" putter and the revered St. +Andrews putter in principle is that in my club, instead of spreading +the curve over the full length of the handle, I have gathered it all +at the neck, and instead of allowing the shaft to run into the head of +the club, as in the Schenectady, some distance from the face of the +club, I have turned the neck away in a curve to the heel of the club, +so that the club is much more like the ordinary golf club than is a +putter built on the lines of the Schenectady. The same principle is +used in the wooden clubs. + +Now it is absolutely incontestable that this principle is +scientifically more accurate and will deliver a stronger blow than the +golf clubs which are at present used. James Braid in 1901 said of this +putter: + + I consider this putter very good for direction, as, the shaft + being practically centred, you get the effect of the driver + headed putters with inserted shafts, without losing the + advantages which the ordinary putter head possesses over the + large headed clubs. The principle, from a scientific point of + view, is certainly right, and I have no doubt that any player + who suffers from bad direction will find this a valuable + club. + +In passing, I may draw attention to the fact that James Braid himself +considers that the ordinary putter possesses advantages over the large +headed clubs, and I think myself that there is very little doubt that +this is so for the vast majority of golfers. Arnaud Massy, in his +recent book _Le Golf_, says of my clubs: "Certes, au point de vue +scientifique, cette théorie est inattaquable." Notwithstanding the +opinion of three such men as Vardon, Braid, and Massy on a matter of +practical golf like this, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. +Andrews has declared that my clubs are illegal on their links, but in +response to questions which they have been asked with regard to this +matter they assert that the club is barred only on the links of the +Royal and Ancient Club! + +It seems a very great pity that this famous Club should have taken +this action with the Schenectady and the Vaile, for it has undoubtedly +led, as I pointed out in _The Contemporary Review_ for August 1910, +would be the case, to the passing of the great Club as a world power +in golf. It is impossible for any club or body of persons to stand in +the way of the progress of a great game such as golf, and anybody or +any club endeavouring to do so must inevitably, as I clearly indicated +at the time, pay the penalty for doing so. + +I have very little doubt that in the future, and at a by no means +distant date, golf will be played with clubs constructed on an +infinitely more scientific principle than those which are now used. +It is quite plain to anyone who gives the matter a little thought that +the longer the head of the club the greater must be the inaccuracy in +the stroke. It stands to reason that the inertia at the toe of the +club is greater than at the heel, and every fraction of an inch which +one goes farther from the shaft must increase the inertia in the head +of the club. It follows quite naturally that if one is using a whippy +shaft, the tendency must be for the head of the club, especially if it +is at all long, to exert a very considerable amount of torsional or +twisting strain on the shaft of the club in the downward swing. It has +been asserted that this torsional strain, by reason of the recovery of +the shaft at the moment of impact, adds something to the force of the +drive in golf, but this is quite an error, as at the moment of impact +the club is travelling at its fastest. It follows, therefore, that if +there is any inertia in the toe of the club, it will be very apparent +at the time when the club is travelling at its fastest, and the result +is that the torsional strain, instead of providing any beneficial +spring at the moment of impact, only tends to lay back the face of the +club and contribute materially towards slicing. It will, therefore, be +seen that it is very inadvisable to have a long head when one is using +a whippy shaft. + +I may, perhaps, illustrate this question of keeping the impact in a +line with the striking implement by instancing the sword cut. Most +people have seen at military tournaments the competition known as +lemon-cutting. In this event a mounted man gallops past a certain +number of lemons suspended on strings, and as he passes he endeavours +to sever them with his sword. It will be seen that at the moment when +his sword enters the lemons his forearm and the sword are, in both +cuts, in the same plane, and it seems so obvious as to need no +emphasising that if the line of his blade were even an inch or two off +the line of his forearm there would be introduced into his stroke a +very great degree of inaccuracy, but although this may be so obvious, +it is practically what we are doing every day in golf. + +If the golf club were made in such a manner that the point of impact +was absolutely in a line with the forearms at the moment of impact, +tradition, instead of being outraged, would really be honoured. Not +long ago a friend of mine came to me and showed me an old driver, +saying, "I cannot understand how it is, but I can always get twenty or +thirty yards farther with this driver than I can with any other." I +took the club and ran my eye down the shaft. I noticed at once that it +was warped considerably so that it threw the shaft inwards in such a +manner that it resembled very much the shaft of an old St. Andrews +putter--in other words, it put the golfer's hands and forearms in a +line with the shaft of his club and the shaft of his club in a line +with the point of impact at the moment the stroke was played. I +pointed out to him that his club was, in effect, a centre-shafted +club, and that this was the reason why he was getting a longer and, as +he stated, a straighter ball with this club than with any other club +he used. + +While I am on this question of the construction of clubs, I may as +well state that under the recent ruling of the Royal and Ancient Golf +Club there is not a legal golf club in use in England to-day, for one +of the essentials of a legal club now is that the head must be all on +one side of the shaft of the club. Passing by, as too technical an +objection, the question as to whether a circular object may be said to +have a side, we are confronted with the fact that many of the +best-known clubs have the shaft inserted in the head. All the socketed +clubs technically are illegal, because the head is certainly not all +on one side of the shaft. Many cleeks are illegal because the shaft +goes through the socket and right through the heel of the club to the +sole thereof, so that a considerable portion of the head of the club +is on the hither side of the shaft, and every ordinary golf club is so +constructed that it is more correct to say that the head of the club, +instead of being all on one side of the shaft, is either at the foot +of the shaft, or at least that there is, without any doubt, a +considerable portion of the head which goes beyond the one side of the +club whereon the head is supposed to be. + +It is a very great mistake indeed to attempt to introduce any standard +golf club or to lay down any regulation whatever as to how the golf +club shall be made. The good sense and sportsmanlike instincts of the +golfer should be sufficient to govern the question of what may and +what may not be used. It is an absolute certainty that if any man were +to endeavour to use an implement which was not in accordance with the +best spirit of the game, he would speedily provide his own punishment, +but it is a wonderful thing to find the greatest Club in the world +barring on its own links clubs which embody in their formation the +well-recognised principles of the most revered implements of the game. + +The principle which I have referred to of endeavouring to get the +point of impact as near to the shaft as possible is being shown also +in the hockey stick, which has not now anything like so great a curve +in it as it originally had, and the striking-point has been brought +much nearer to the shaft. The tennis racket, as distinct from the +lawn-tennis racket, has stood for many years as a lob-sided +instrument, but about eighteen months ago I was with a tennis player +who ordered from Messrs. F. H. Ayres, Ltd., six straight tennis +rackets, saying that he believed the soundness of the principle which +I am now advocating to be absolutely incontestable and of universal +application in ball games. + +I mention this matter because I believe it is of historical interest, +for I do not think that prior to the time mentioned by me, tennis +rackets were ever made straight. We all know how, when aiming a stone, +playing a billiard ball, firing a gun, shooting an arrow, or pulling a +catapult, one instinctively tries to get one's eye into the line of +flight of the object to be propelled. It is evident that one can aim +better thus. This is denied one in golf, where the ball is practically +the smallest played with, to a greater extent than in any other game. +It follows that a greater degree of mechanical accuracy is called for +in golf than is required in other games. Very few golfers realise that +they are deliberately handicapping themselves by playing with the +clubs at present used. The weight and leverage of the head of the club +is on one side of the shaft, and the angle of error is there. True, it +is small, but a very slight initial error in the flight of a golf ball +becomes in 200 yards serious, perhaps fatal. The golf club of the +future will inevitably follow the march of scientific construction, +and fall into line with the straight-handled implements wherewith the +ball is struck in a line with the shaft. + +It is clear that at the moment of impact with a golf club, as they are +now constructed, there is a very great tendency for the club to turn +in the hands. This is shown very clearly when one happens to hit with +the toe of the club a little lower than it ought to be, so that the +toe strikes the earth. This is absolutely fatal for the club will be +turned in the hand, but it is otherwise if by chance one happens to +strike the ground with the heel, for as the force of the club is +transmitted in a straight line down the shaft, the blow is very +frequently, particularly with iron clubs, not interfered with to any +very great extent. It is clear that if the club is centre shafted, +greater strength and accuracy are obtained, for the club has an equal +weight on each side of the shaft. There is thus no torsional or +twisting strain on the shaft as there is at present with every golf +club, and, as I have already shown, this torsional strain cannot be +considered as a negligible factor in a club. I must repeat, however, +that it is an error to think that this torsional strain can, by its +recovery, contribute anything to the length of the drive, for the +recovery from the torsional strain does not take place until long +after the impact has ceased and the ball has gone on its way. This, it +seems to me, even from a theoretical point of view, is undoubted, but +I have proved by practical experiment that one can obtain a longer +ball with a centre-shafted club than one can with an ordinary golf +club. + +There is another matter in connection with the construction of clubs +which should receive the attention of manufacturers. We know that the +clubs are of varying lengths, descending from the driver to the putter +according to the length of the shot which is required of them. The +difference between a driver and a mashie is frequently as much as six +inches. The difference between a mashie and a putter is roughly, say, +three inches. It has always seemed to me that in proportion to the +work demanded of it the putter does not continue in the decreasing +scale of length as it should, particularly for short puts. Many very +fine putters get quite low down to their put and grip the putter a +long way down the shaft. It is undeniable that for short puts there +is some advantage in this method, but it is open to the objection that +it leaves too much of the shaft free above the hands, thus not only +destroying the balance of the putter, but risking striking some +portion of the player's body with the free end of the shaft. + +I believe that the putter should, generally speaking, be made much +shorter, but, if this is not done for approach puts, I am sure that it +would be worth one's while to experiment with a short putter for short +puts. I have had such a putter made for me, and I have no hesitation +whatever in saying that it is a very valuable club and one that should +be better known than it is. It is necessary, of course, to readjust +the balance in such a club, but when that has been done, I firmly +believe that one is very much more accurate with this club than with +an ordinary putter when playing short puts. The putter which I am +referring to is, if I remember, little, if any, more than twenty-six +inches. + +While I am on the question of the construction of putters, I may say +that I am inclined to think that all these putters which are made with +heads such as the Schenectady, the ordinary wooden putter, or those +putters with aluminium heads, are a mistake. The sole of the club is +too broad, and to use such clubs as these is simply providing a +greater chance of error. There is nothing which can be done with one +of these large-headed putters which cannot be done as well, or better, +by an ordinary metal putter. + +There are many fearful and wonderful putters on the market at the +present time. Lately there has been produced a putter with a very +shallow face, which is now being largely used because a man who has +won the open championship frequently is using it. For ninety per cent +of golfers a putter with a narrow face is a very great mistake, and I +believe that in saying ninety per cent I am fixing the percentage low. +I do not think that any putter should be built whose face is so narrow +that at the moment of striking the ball properly with the putter the +top edge of the putter is below the top of the ball. I am firmly of +opinion that a putter which is so built that it delivers the main +portion of its force below the centre of the ball's mass is absolutely +defective. I go even so far as to say that I believe that in a +scientifically constructed putter the face should be made much broader +than the face of the average putter, and that the weight, instead of +being massed at or near the bottom of the putter, should be reversed, +and put, if anything, nearer the top. The whole essence of true +putting is that the ball shall be rolled up to the hole, and not at +any portion of its journey played with drag, or as one is sometimes +told to do, slid along the green. Any attempt whatever to put with +drag, or by tapping the ball, must cause inaccuracy. + +I saw, a short time ago, one of the finest golfers in England, Mr. A. +Mitchell, lose an important match on the putting-green, or, to be a +little more accurate, on quite a number of putting-greens. He was +then, and I believe still is, making the same mistake as James Braid +made when he was such a bad putter, viz. tapping his puts, and +finishing low down on the line after the ball. It is almost impossible +for anyone to be a good putter with this stroke, and his chance of +being a good putter is rendered remoter still if he attempts to do +putting of this nature with a shallow-faced putter. + +A putter should have very little loft indeed, if any. It is +questionable, from a scientific point of view, if the putter should be +lofted at all, but in practice a very slight degree of loft is +generally used, and there may be something to be said in favour of +this slight loft if one is playing the put as it should be played, as +nearly as possible by the wrists, for if that is done it stands to +reason that the putter with a very slight loft will tend, in, of +course, an extremely small degree, but still to such a degree as to be +perceptible, to deliver its blow upwardly through the ball's mass, and +this naturally tends to give the ball a truer roll off the club than +would be the case if the putter were perfectly vertical. + +If one were using a putter with a vertical face, it seems fairly clear +that at the moment of impact, when one is endeavouring to roll the +ball forward, it is held simultaneously at two points. There must +then, it seems, be some slight dragging on the face of the club and +also on the green, but when the putter has some small loft on it and +the blow is delivered, to a certain extent, upwardly, the ball will +naturally get a truer roll from it, and for this reason perhaps the +smallest degree of loft on a putter is advisable. + +Shallow faces and broad soles in putters have nothing whatever to +recommend them, and there is very little doubt that golfers will, in +due course, find this out, and will use a putter so made that it will +carry the weight where it is most wanted, and that certainly is not at +the base of the ball, for, unnecessary as it may seem to mention the +fact, the put is the one stroke in golf which we always desire to keep +as close to the green as possible. We know quite well that in all +other clubs, when we want to get the ball off the ground quickly, we +take a club which has its weight thrown into the sole, but as we want +exactly the opposite thing on the putting-green, it seems reasonable +to think that we should alter the adjustment of our weight when +constructing a putter which has any claim whatever to being +considered a scientifically made club. + +I have referred to the defect of the broad sole, and I have in a +previous chapter of this book indicated that the perfect put should +bear as close a resemblance to the swing of a pendulum as the player +can give it. Let us now for a moment imagine that we have as the +weight on the pendulum the head of an ordinary metal putter, and let +us so adjust this metal head that in the swing of the pendulum it will +barely clear a marble slab placed underneath it. Let us now remove the +metal putter and substitute in its place such a club as one of the +ordinary aluminium-headed clubs, or a Schenectady, and hang this club +on the end of the pendulum so that when the pendulum is absolutely +vertical the front edge of the sole of the club clears the slab by +exactly the same space as the metal putter did when at rest. We shall +now find that this club will swing freely back in the same manner as +the metal putter did, but we shall get a very striking exemplification +of the fact that the breadth of the sole of this club will prevent it +swinging forward at all, for the rear portion of the sole will foul +the marble slab. This, of course, is sufficient to absolutely prevent +a proper follow-through, for even when this happens on a good green +the delicacy of the put is such that it is more than likely the stroke +will be ruined. + +This is an illustration of what I mean when I say that the golfer is +importing into his game an unnecessary risk when he uses a broad-soled +club. It will be seen from the example which I have given that there +is an infinitely greater danger of soling with such a club than there +is when one is playing with an ordinary metal putter. + +The same error with regard to breadth of sole is very frequently seen +in the mashie. Indeed, the sole of the mashie is so broad and taken +back at such an unscientific angle that very frequently the player +strikes with the back edge of the sole before the front. It stands to +reason that when he does this he is cocking up the front edge of his +club, and so robbing himself of a great portion of the loft of the +club. Many players lay the face of the mashie back in order to +increase the natural loft of the club. In nine cases of ten when they +do this, instead of increasing the usefulness of their clubs they +diminish it, for they insist then upon the front edge of the face of +the mashie striking the ball higher up than would be the case if they +played with the club in the ordinary way. + + [Illustration: PLATE XV. J. SHERLOCK + + Finish of iron-shot. Note carefully the upright finish + following the swing back, and the position of the hands, a + characteristic of the finish of this shot. Sherlock gets a + lower ball than the ordinary iron-shot.] + +Most mashies are constructed in a very unscientific manner. It is the +function of the mashie to get as far underneath the ball as possible. +To do this a mashie should always have its front edge very clearly +defined, and almost immediately the sole leaves the front edge it +should begin to curve upwardly--in other words, a mashie should +practically never have a sole. When the mashie is made like this it is +astonishing how much easier and more accurate it makes one's work with +the club. Not only does the curving sole to the mashie allow one to +get more in underneath the ball and prevent any jar of a square edge +behind the front edge of the sole, but if it is a question of taking +turf, which involves cutting down behind the ball, one is able to do +this with a mashie having the sharp edge and the curved sole such as I +describe, much more easily than one could with the flat sole, for the +simple reason that one is enabled to pass the ball on the downward +stroke much more rapidly than one could possibly do with the +broad-soled mashie. It is obvious that in playing a ball with heavy +back cut, the essence of obtaining that cut must be the speed at +which the mashie passes down behind the ball, and it must be also +equally apparent that if one is playing that shot with a club whose +sole is as broad as is that of the ordinary mashie, that the pace of +the blow must be arrested to a very great extent long before the club +has had an opportunity of absolutely clearing the ball. This means +that the club is hampered in the execution of its natural duty. + +While I am on the subject of the construction of the mashie, and +particularly with regard to the curving sole, I may mention that I +have such a club. It was made for me in accordance with a +specification which I furnished, but it did not in any way carry out +what I wanted; in fact, my instructions were very much exaggerated, +but the moment I saw that club I knew that it would be, for short +approaches and for playing stymies, a wonderful club; and so it has +proved. It would take a good deal more than its weight in silver to +induce me to part with it, for that club led to the making of history +in golf--in other words, its construction caused me to see the great +advantage which could be got by using it in playing the stymie shot +which I have described in a previous chapter, and it was while playing +this particular stymie shot that I came to the conclusion that for the +usual stymie shot at or about the hole the ordinary mashie is far too +long, as in the case of the short putter, because when one tries to +get down on the club as low as one really ought to do for playing a +shot of the delicacy required in these strokes, one finds that one has +too much free shaft above one's hands. If I had any doubt whatever as +to the advisability of having a short putter for short puts, I have +absolutely none with regard to the benefits which are to be obtained +from having a short mashie for playing close stymies, and I may say +that at the time of writing I have never handled such a club--I have +never seen such a club, nor have I ever heard of such a club, but +before this book is published I shall have one. + +Stymies were once upon a time a perfect terror to me, but with the +club which I have referred to, and whose construction was practically +an accident, they are no trouble, and I firmly believe that nine +stymies of ten would be no trouble to a golfer of ordinary skill if he +had the proper club with which to play them, but it seems not +unreasonable, when we consider the descending scale of the clubs which +I have before referred to, to think that a club which we use +frequently to get eighty yards with should not be the most suitable +implement for playing a stroke of nine inches to a foot. + +While I am on the subject of iron clubs, there is another matter which +I should like to refer to, and that is that, in my opinion, the +communion, if I may use the word, between the club and the ball is not +as intimate as it should be. In the lawn-tennis ball and racket one +gets a wonderfully firm grip, and it is astonishing with what accuracy +one can place a lawn-tennis ball by means of cut, but the vast +majority of iron clubs which are used are insufficiently and +unscientifically marked. I can remember the time when iron clubs, +generally speaking, were innocent of any indentation whatever on their +faces. Marking is fairly general now on iron clubs, but it is done in +an utterly unscientific manner. It is frequently done by great deep +straight lines, and, particularly in the mashie, nearly always by +lines which run from heel to toe. Now in the great majority of mashie +shots when one is putting on cut one requires lines running in an +exactly opposite direction. We do sometimes see, of course, lines on +these iron clubs running at right angles to each other, but in nearly +every case the marking is too large and too coarse to be of the +practical benefit which it ought to be. + +Quite recently I saw a very skilful golfer playing with rusty clubs, +and somebody who did not understand what it meant commented rather +strongly on his untidiness. He did not understand until he was told +that the idea of the man who was using these clubs in keeping them +rusty was that he got a better grip on his ball, and there can be no +doubt whatever that this is the case, but a scientific maker of iron +clubs would not be satisfied to leave it to his customer to make up +for his deficiency by allowing his clubs to become unsightly. He would +produce a club marked as nearly as might be in a similar manner to a +club which was heavily rusted. + +I have experimented with various means for establishing a better grip +between the club and the ball, and I have, I believe, found an almost +perfect medium for establishing effective contact. Let us consider for +a moment how little use the cue would be to us at billiards were it +not for the medium of contact which is commonly used; to wit, the +chalk. Now it is inconvenient, and, moreover, would be ineffective to +a great extent, to chalk one's iron clubs in golf, but it is an +absolute certainty that something which answers to the chalk should be +on the face of every iron used in golf. What that is to be we must +leave to the ingenuity of our scientific club makers, but it is an +absolute certainty that we shall see a very great improvement in this +particular matter within quite a short time. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE LITERATURE OF GOLF + + +It will be readily understood by those who have followed me that I +consider that golf has been badly served by those who have essayed to +teach it by books. The main, if not indeed the whole, cause of the +trouble is the manner in which writer after writer has allowed himself +to be influenced by the work of those who have preceded him. This is +neither amusing nor instructive. The essence of progress is research. +We cannot progress in anything by repeating parrot-like the fallacies +of those who have preceded us. + +I want to make it particularly plain that this book aims at absolutely +dispelling the fog and mist, the obscurity and the falseness which now +clusters about the game of golf. One dear old chap was explaining to +me how he tries to drive. He said, "When I get to the top of the swing +I have so many things to remember that I get all of a dither and mess +it up hopelessly." Could anyone express it better? + +About seventy-five per cent of the golfers who follow the usual +tuition are "all of a dither." The whole trouble is that they are +given too much to think of _during the stroke_. I am certain that the +secret of success in golf is to eliminate the necessity for thinking +_and theorising_ on the links. This, I contend, can be done by +_knowing_, not merely by _reading_, the contents of this book. + +So strongly do I feel in this matter that I consider that every +beginner who desires to succeed at golf should know what is here set +out, while every misguided golfer who has been jumping from his right +leg to his left, and putting his left hand in command instead of his +right, should lose no time in getting the truth and so revolutionising +his game. + +I have stated in my Preface that this book is a challenge. So, in +effect, it is. It stands for truth and practical golf, instead of the +nonsense which is generally published about one of the greatest and +simplest of games. + +I must here refer to a book entitled _Practical Golf_, published by +Mr. Walter J. Travis, the Australian who perfected his golf in America +and won the Amateur Championship of England. + +Mr. Travis' book is very interesting in many ways. He calls it +_Practical Golf_, and it ought to be, coming from him, but Mr. Travis +falls into nearly all the mistakes of those who have followed the +time-worn fetiches of the people who handed down to us "the traditions +of golf." I was much astonished at this, for Mr. Travis tells us +himself that he worked out his own salvation, at the same time as he +remarks that "as a general rule the average professional, while he may +be a good player, lacks the faculty of imparting proper information to +beginners." + +This, unquestionably, is true, but one cannot expect too much theory +from the professional, who is not, generally speaking, a very well +educated man, but from a man in Mr. Travis' position one has a right +to expect a fairly good grip of fundamental principles. He says that +"All good players work practically on the same basic principles." This +is, of course, right. The trouble is that most good golfers, like Mr. +Travis, work on the same correct basic principles, but advertise to +their unfortunate readers and pupils those which are utterly opposed +to their practice. + +Mr. Travis absolutely subscribes to the fundamental but common error +with regard to the distribution of weight. He says at page 30: "In the +upward swing it will be noticed that the body has been turned very +freely, with the natural transference of weight almost entirely to the +right foot." At page 7 he says: "The ease and rapidity with which the +weight of the body and arms is transferred from the left leg to the +right and back again, joined to wrist action--concerning which +reference will later be made--are largely, if not wholly, responsible +for long driving." + +It is obvious from this that Mr. Travis thinks that one's weight ought +to be on one's right leg at the top of the swing. It is also obvious +that he thinks he throws his weight about from one leg to another when +he is playing. It is, notwithstanding this, certain that he tells us, +as does every man who writes a book about golf, that the head must be +immovable during the operation of driving. We must wait for Mr. Travis +to tell us how this conundrum can be solved, as none of the famous +golfers of the world have yet been able to do it. If the stance has +once been taken with the weight equally distributed between the legs, +it is impossible, if the head be kept still, as Mr. Travis and +everybody else says it should be, to get the weight on to the right +leg at the top of the swing, but it is not impossible to get it on to +the left leg, where it should be, and where, indeed, it goes quite +naturally. + +In speaking about the palm grip Mr. Travis says: "This style is more +affected by cricketers and base ballers, but it is open to the +objection that it introduces a tendency to hit the ball with tautened +muscles, and discourages the proper follow-through." + +Personally, I cannot see that there is any objection whatever to +hitting the ball with tautened muscles--in fact, it absolutely must be +done in that way, and in no other, or the result will be dire failure. +James Braid himself says that at the moment of impact the muscles are +in a state of supreme tension, and as a matter of practical golf there +can be no doubt whatever that this is so. Mr. Travis also comes into +line with the general body of golfing opinion with regard to the +fetich of the left. He says on page 14: "As a general rule the left +hand should grip somewhat more firmly than the right." I may say that +Vardon and Taylor do not agree with Mr. Travis, and the mere idea of +putting the left to exert a firmer hold on the shaft is a reversion to +primeval fables. + +Mr. Travis tells us, speaking about the waggle: "Do not on any account +in this preliminary address _lift_ the club up. Lifting the club +pre-supposes stiffness and rigidity of muscles and the resultant +stroke cannot be thoroughly satisfactory." + +It will be obvious that as the club is at the lowest portion of its +arc it is necessary to lift the club. This is done by an easy action +of the wrists, and the waggle, of course, then becomes a swing worked +almost entirely from the wrists, but it is absolutely essential to +lift the club for the ordinary waggle. + +At page 19 Mr. Travis says: "When the top of the swing is reached, +without pausing, bring the arms and body around as swiftly as possible +and _swish_ the ball away." We see here that Mr. Travis is also an +adherent of the fetich of the sweep, but we must in his case call it +the fetich of the "swish." In golf it is now realised that the golf +drive is a hit of the very finest order. + +Mr. Travis says at the same page "Do not seek to artificially raise +the left foot on the toe. Strive rather to keep it rooted--the natural +turn of the shoulders and body rotating to the right will bring it up +and around. Keep the right leg as stiff and as straight as possible. +And whatever you do, do not move the head." If one is going to pivot +on the left toe in any way whatever, it is fatal to the rhythm of the +swing to wait until the arms pull the left heel off the earth. The +left heel should leave the earth almost simultaneously with the club +leaving the ball. If this is not done it will be impossible to +maintain the rhythm of the swing. Mr. Travis shows himself in nearly +every case pivoted on the _point_ of his left toe at the top of the +swing. This is now universally admitted to be bad form, as one should +put the weight on the ball of the toe, and forward from that at the +side of the shoe. + +It is, of course, possible to play the drive practically flat-footed, +in which case one's swing will naturally be much flatter than the +ordinary swing, but this is not generally done. For those who pivot on +the left toe, Mr. Travis' advice to wait for the arms to pull the heel +up is, I think, absolutely bad. His advice to keep the right leg stiff +and straight is quite good, and, of course, there can be no doubt of +the correctness of his advice when he says "do not move the head," but +will he tell us how, with a perfectly stiff and straight right leg, +and no movement whatever of the head, he is going to transfer his +weight to his right leg? for, as he truly says on page 20, "If the +head is kept still, no swaying of the body can be indulged in." + +There is a very remarkable statement on page 20. Mr. Travis says: "Any +doubt as to whether the head is moved may easily be satisfied by the +player assuming a position with the sun immediately at the back of +him, and watching the shadow of the head during the swing. If the +head is shown to move, the swing should be persistently practised +until this fault is remedied." If I were not now writing practical +golf myself, I might suggest putting in a peg on the ground to watch +whether one's shadow impinged on this peg or not, but as a matter of +practical golf if I considered anything of this nature necessary, I +should prefer a string stretched across by my right ear so that +swaying would be bound to make me touch it, but as a matter of +_intensely practical golf_ neither of these expedients is in the least +degree necessary if the player will only get it firmly rooted in his +mind that his weight must be on his left leg at the top of his swing, +and he will then find that he has no temptation whatever to sway. + +On page 23 Mr. Travis says: "It is not really the length alone of the +downward swing that contributes distance so much as the rapidity with +which the club head is moving at, and just after the moment of +impact." It is almost unnecessary to draw attention to the fact that +what happens "just after the moment of impact" does not much matter to +the ball. It is what happens during the impact which is of importance, +although it stands to reason that if the speed during impact has been +sufficient, just after impact it will still be the same, minus the +force expended on the golf ball. + +Mr. Travis makes a terrible error in _Practical Golf_ when he says, +speaking of the downward swing: "Let him resolve to centralise the +power of the stroke immediately the ball is reached." + +This is an idea fatal to good golf. As I have frequently pointed out, +and as James Braid in _How to Play Golf_ also emphasises, the meeting +between the ball and the club should be _merely an incident_. Any +attempt to try to do anything during impact in the drive is futile. + +Mr. Travis at page 24 makes the same error with regard to the speed of +the club after the ball has been hit. He says: "A great deal more +depends upon the maintenance of speed after the ball is struck than is +commonly supposed. This part of the stroke is known as the +follow-through, and plays a very important part in the length of the +drive as in straightness." Mr. Travis evidently does not perfectly +realise that the follow-through is of no importance whatever except as +the natural result of the correctly played first part of the stroke, +and the maintenance of speed after the ball has been struck is of no +importance provided that the first portion of the stroke has been +properly executed and at a sufficient pace. The only importance of the +maintenance of speed in any way whatever is that this indicates that +the first half has been correctly performed. + +Mr. Travis seems to be very hazy as to the causes of slicing and +pulling. A ball being hit slightly to the right of its centre would +not necessarily produce a slice, although it would probably deflect it +from its intended line of flight. A slice is produced by the amount of +rotation which is imparted to the ball by the glancing blow. He says: +"With a pulled ball it is just the opposite--the ball is hit to the +left of its centre, that is, nearer the player, producing a spin from +right to left." This is not in any way necessary. The ball may be hit +absolutely at the point farthest from the hole, and with the club at a +perfect right angle to the intended line of flight, but the point +which Mr. Travis does not mention is that the club is travelling +upward across the intended line of flight and outward from the player. +This it is which produces the beneficial spin of the ball in the +pull. + +At page 31, Mr. Travis says: "Every golfing stroke describes a circle, +or a segment of a circle." This is an egregious error, for the golf +stroke, quite naturally from the method of its production, bears a far +greater likeness to an oval than to a circle. Anyone endeavouring to +produce the golf stroke as a circle would certainly not get either a +very graceful or a very accurate result. Mr. Travis falls into the +astonishing error for a man who plays golf so well as he does, of +thinking that it is possible to juggle with the golf ball by means of +a golf club during impact. Speaking of brassy play, he says: "The +lofted face, joined to the slight whipping up of the hands at the +proper time--that is after the club meets the ball--will produce the +desired result. Don't on any account seek to bring the hands up too +quickly, otherwise a top will assuredly result." + +Mr. Travis here falls into the common error with regard to using the +wrists during impact. It will be observed that he avoided it in +dealing with the follow-through, but in this matter he makes the usual +error. This turning up of the wrists which he refers to comes long +after the ball has been hit, and is the natural turn up which follows +any slice or any cut played to raise a ball suddenly. + +At page 41 he makes the same error, for he says: "By striking the ball +slightly towards the heel of the club, and immediately after bringing +the arms somewhat in and finishing well out, a slight spin is imparted +to the ball which causes it to rise more quickly." Here it is clear +that he thinks that one may, after impact, do something with the hands +to affect the manner in which the ball leaves the club. There could +not possibly be any greater fallacy in golf than this. That this is a +rooted fallacy of Mr. Travis I shall show later on when I deal with +his remarks about bunker play. + +Mr. Travis says at page 49: "Hitting with the heel of the club meeting +the ground after the ball is struck will cause the ball to rise more, +and, joined to the spin imparted by drawing in the arms and turning +the wrists upward, will produce a very dead ball with hardly any run. +The science of the stroke consists in hitting very sharply, and +turning the wrists upward immediately after the ball is struck." + +Here we see the same delusion. The essence of this stroke is purely a +matter of practical golf which I have not seen mentioned in any book +or essay on golf. When one plays a ball off the heel of one's mashie, +it stands to reason that one gets the ball on the very narrowest +portion of the blade, and that therefore one hits the ball as far +beneath the centre of the ball's mass as it is possible to do--so much +so, in fact, that a very considerable portion of the ball overlaps the +top of the face of the club. This puts a tremendous amount of undercut +or stop on the ball. This is the practical golf of the shot which Mr. +Travis is attempting to describe, but his idea of putting cut on it by +juggling with it during impact is fatal. + +In speaking of approach puts, Mr. Travis gives some wonderful advice. +He says: "You should aim to hit the ball as if it were your intention +to drive it into the ground.... This will cause the ball to jump, due +to its contact with the ground immediately after being struck." This +is practical golf of a nature which we may very well pass without +discussion. I think that there are very few golfers who will desire to +bounce the ball off the earth when they can play it off the face of +the club. + +This is Mr. Travis' advice as to how to cut the put. At page 65 he +says: "Put cut on the ball by drawing the arms in a trifle just at the +moment of striking." The drawing of the arms across the ball is not to +be done at the moment of striking. It starts at the beginning of the +swing and finishes at the end thereof. This is how cut is put on a put +by practical golf. Mr. Travis advises for putting that people should +select "a particular blade of grass" on the line to the hole. He then +says: "Take your stance and square the face of the putter at perfect +right angles to the blade of grass you have picked out." As a matter +of practical golf I may remark that blades of grass have a remarkable +family likeness. + +Mr. Travis says: "Close observation of all missed puts discloses the +interesting fact that by far the large majority go to the left of the +hole, thereby indicating the presence of the pull, due to the arms +being slightly drawn in just after striking." This is what is called a +sliced put in England, but again as a matter of practical golf I may +say that many of these puts are simply misdirected, such misdirection +being due to the turning over of the wrists _too soon_ in the action +of striking the ball. Unless one determinedly follows through well +down the line the natural tendency is to hook one's put across the +line, but this does not indicate any pull. It merely indicates, if of +frequent occurrence, ignorance or carelessness. + +Speaking of stymies, Mr. Travis says: "Occasionally you will be +confronted with an absolutely dead stymie by having your opponent's +ball just on the edge of the cup, your own being so close, say seven +inches to a foot away, that it is impossible to negotiate the stroke +by either curling around or lofting. In such extremity there is only +one way of getting your ball in the hole unaccompanied by your +opponent's, and that is by what is technically known in billiards as +the follow shot." As a matter of practical golf the stymie stroke +introduced by me is far more likely to prove successful in this case +than the follow shot, for we are dealing with very tricky things when +we try to play billiards with golf balls covered with numerous +excrescences or dimples. If the stymie described by Mr. Travis is +played by my stroke, it should be got five times out of six, and I +very much doubt if Mr. Travis or anybody else could get anything like +this with the run through stroke. + +Writing of "Playing out of hazards," Mr. Travis says: "Then bring it +down again on the same line with all the force you can controllably +command, consistent with accuracy. As it sinks into the sand its +course may then, but not until then, be slightly directed towards the +ball." + +Coming from a practical golfer this is an absolutely amazing +statement. The idea of attempting to deflect one's niblick from the +line originally mapped out for it as it enters the sand is too amazing +and too utterly unsound to merit any further comment or notice, except +to say that it would be impossible to deflect the club head from the +line of travel mapped out for it at this moment without materially +reducing the force of the blow, and when one is hitting into heavy +sand, to get underneath the ball and in many cases to get it out of +the bunker without even touching it with the club, every pound of +force that can be put into the club is necessary. + +There is another thing which Mr. Travis tells us that certainly is not +practical golf, and it does not seem to me to be practical carpentry, +but he says at page 126, speaking of the brassy: "The screws which +hold the blade sometimes work loose. This trouble may easily be +remedied by putting glue in the holes before inserting the screws." +One is never too old to learn, and I think that in any future efforts +I may make at amateur carpentry, I shall glue my nails! + +Mr. Travis makes a very remarkable statement at page 139, speaking of +the guttie ball as opposed to the Haskell: "The latter, by reason of +its greater comparative resiliency does not remain in contact with the +club head quite so long, and therefore does not receive the full +benefit of the greater velocity of the stroke in the same proportion +as the less resilient guttie"; but surely the greater the resiliency +of the ball the longer it will remain in contact with the club. It +should be obvious that one of the reasons for the greater swerve in +the sliced or pulled rubber-cored ball as compared with the guttie, is +that on account of the longer period of impact the ball acquires a +greater amount of spin. + +Speaking of the waggle, Mr. Travis is delightfully indefinite. He says +"With the club gripped pretty firmly with both hands in the manner +already described, it is well to see that the whole machinery is in +good working order by waggling the club a few times over the ball, +allowing the wrists to turn freely, without, however, relaxing the +grip. The waggle should be entirely free from any stiffness, which +simply means that the wrists should be brought into active play." + +This is certainly delightfully vague, and is not, I am afraid, of much +use to anyone as a matter of practical golf. The waggle is +unquestionably of importance in the game of golf, otherwise it is +quite improbable that we should see it employed by so many of the +famous players. The curious thing about this waggle is that it seems +to be confined to games wherein one plays a stationary ball. The same +operation is gone through at billiards with the cue, but is there +known as cueing at the ball. With a very great number of players the +waggle may be described as moral cowardice--an excuse for putting off +the evil moment. Many players convert the waggle into a performance +which is both tedious and stupid, and which instead of giving them a +better chance of hitting the ball, has a very great chance of +absolutely putting them off their stroke. + +I do not know that I have ever seen the necessity for the waggle +explained, nor have I seen the waggle of any of the famous players +illustrated. There can, however, be very little question that in the +majority of cases the address and waggle is unnecessarily exaggerated +and prolonged. + +In _Modern Golf_ I have illustrated George Duncan's waggle. So far as +I am aware, this is the only time that such a thing has been done. +Duncan is probably the quickest player living, so that it will not be +necessary for us to assume that every one will be satisfied with so +little preliminary work as Duncan puts in before hitting the ball. His +method of playing is to take his line to the hole as much as he can as +he approaches the ball. He then marches straight up to it and takes +his stance, at the same time swinging his club head out so that it is +roughly on a level with his waist and pointing towards the hole, but +being at the same time almost above the line of flight to the hole. He +then brings his club back to the ball, and addresses it in the usual +way, soling his club close behind the ball. Now he lifts the club +practically straight up for six or nine inches and carries it forward +of the ball in a gentle curve for about six inches. From here he +carries the club head back along the plane of flight produced through +the ball as far as it will go without turning his wrists over. The +club then is swung easily and naturally back to the ball almost in the +same manner as it would come to it in the drive, until it arrives +close behind the ball, but about two inches from the turf, when it +sinks to rest by dropping straight down behind the ball. It is now +soled again as in the original address. + +This sounds like a somewhat lengthy process, but as a matter of fact +it is probably the shortest waggle used by any golf player who is in +the front rank. In fact, so rapid is Duncan in his play, that very +frequently spectators who are not accustomed to his methods, do not +see him play the ball, as they allow for the more deliberate style +generally followed by the other leading professionals. In Duncan we +have a player who in my opinion is as good a golfer as anyone in the +world. We see clearly that he wastes very little time in addressing +his ball, either through the green or on the putting-green. On the +other hand, we see some men of greater fame than Duncan whose +deliberation is tedious in the extreme, although it must be admitted +that in so far as regards the waggle in the drive, the great players +do not overdo this nearly so much as do amateurs of an inferior class. + +I am not aware that anybody has yet explained the reason for the +waggle. It seems that it is a natural movement, or in some cases a +very unnatural movement, which players fall into in endeavouring to +readjust their distance from the ball and their position with regard +to the line of flight. Very many players who waggle, produce most +remarkable flourishes with their club. The club is made to describe +curves in the air which it could not possibly do in any other +operation at golf than the waggle. The whole object of the waggle +seems to be to allow the player to get his eye in, as it is commonly +called, at the ball, to loosen his joints, and, which is a point that +I have not seen previously made, in a measure to produce in +anticipation the motions of his wrists and club immediately before, +at, and after impact with the ball. + +If this view of the object of the waggle be accepted as correct, it is +obvious that in nine cases of ten the attempted waggle is force +hopelessly wasted--in fact, worse than wasted, for it has been +occupied in describing weird geometrical figures in the air, figures +which can have no possible reference whatever to the work which the +club is expected to do. In Duncan's waggle it will be observed that +firstly he swings his club head out down the line towards the hole, +and secondly that he carries it back for a considerable distance from +the ball in the plane of flight produced through the ball. It will be +seen from this that to a great extent he produces in the waggle the +same motions as his forearms and wrists go through immediately before, +at, and after impact with the ball. On examining the photographs of +Duncan's hands in the drive, we find that for the space of nearly two +feet before he reaches the ball, and probably for quite that distance +after the ball has been struck and he has continued the +follow-through, there is no turning over of the wrists--that during +this space of roughly three feet, the space wherein James Braid says +that the wrists _have it all their own way_, Duncan's wrists are +practically quiescent, and that during the whole of this time the club +is travelling at almost its maximum speed, but the arms and wrists are +doing very little more to it than to withstand the centrifugal force +developed in the earlier part of the swing and to keep themselves +braced to withstand the shock of impact. + +These are merely a few instances taken haphazard from a book called +_Practical Golf_ by one who is, undoubtedly, in so far as regards his +own play, a practical golfer. This does not, however, prevent him from +furnishing another and a very striking example of the curious fact +that nearly all good golfers teach the game in a manner entirely +different from that in which they play it, and that their tuition, if +followed out, must result in their followers learning to play in very +bad form, and probably also learning much which has to be painfully +unlearnt later on when they have discovered the truth. + + + + +AFTERWORD + + +It would be very easy for me now to begin to explain in the ordinary +manner of golf books how the game is played, but to do so would be +going outside the scope of this work, and interfering either with the +proper functions of the professional, or the proper practice of the +intelligent golfer. + +I have, in this book, taken my readers through all those matters which +are of the most vital importance to the game, and practically +everything which is contained between the covers of this book may be +better studied and digested by the golfer, be he a champion or a +beginner, in his arm-chair than on the links. He who wishes to know +golf to the core, must know what is in this book, all of which he can +thoroughly understand without taking a club in his hands. + +The whole fault of the false doctrine which has been so plentifully +published about golf in the past, is that it has given the unfortunate +people who have taken notice of it an incalculable number of things to +think about. The truest and best tuition in golf is that which +advances by a process of elimination and so proceeds that it gives the +learner a minimum number of separate circumstances to think about +during his game; in fact, if the tuition has been properly carried out +the golfer will have astonishingly little to think of at the moment +when he is making his stroke. This is the ideal condition of mind. +The remark which the puzzled golfer made to me that when he started on +his downward swing he had so many things to think of that he was "all +of a dither" expresses marvellously accurately the condition of mind +of about ninety per cent of golfers who think they have studied golf. + +The golfer who studies this book soundly and intelligently will learn +what he will learn from no other book on golf, and that is what a vast +number of things there are in connection with the golf stroke which it +is expedient to forget at the moment one is making it. + +Let me give an illustration of what I mean. The golfer is told now +that at the top of his swing he must get his weight on to his right +foot, and that he must keep his head still. The merest attempt to do +this produces a conflict at once. Then he is told that his left hand +must dominate the right: here is conflict again. But when he learns +that in order to keep his head still he must put his weight at the top +of his swing on his left foot, the conflict vanishes, he finds that it +is natural and easy to do; and he forgets to encumber his mind with +the fact that it has to be done, so that it becomes just as habitual +with him to put his weight in the right place as it is when he is +walking. The same thing applies with regard to the instructions which +he has always had drilled into him to allow the left hand and arm to +usurp the position of the right. Here again he is distinctly exhorted +to encourage these two members to enter into conflict during the +stroke. Although I explained to him most clearly that this idea about +the left being the more important member of the two is utterly wrong, +and that the right is, and always must be, the dominant member in the +golf swing, I did not tell him to remember this during the golf swing, +and he is indeed a very foolish person if he attempts to remember it. +All he has to do is to cut the false doctrine out of his mind, and +nature will attend to the rest. So it will be seen that when one has +grasped the truth in connection with golf one has advanced by such a +process of elimination that there is left for the happy golfer when he +addresses his ball very little to think of but hitting that ball. + +Golf in the past has suffered from the multiplicity of false +directions. It is by recognising these for what they are, and by +forgetting them that the golfer will ultimately arrive at _The Soul of +Golf_. + + + + +INDEX + + + Accelerating speed, Vardon on, 104 + + Address and impact similar, Braid on, 137 + + Address, Braid on, 133 + + Apportionment of back-spin, 263, 270, 271 + + Arm roll in stroke, 210 + + Arms measure distance, 46, 174 + + As you go up so you come down, 97, 219 + + Ayres, F. H., Ltd., 289, 324 + + Ayres, Mr. Rupert, 289-291 + + + Back-spin at impact, rate of, 272 + how obtained, 247 + Professor Tait's experiment, 225 + Professor Thomson's error, 246 + + Badminton _Golf_, 120, 158, 214, 218 + + _Badminton Magazine_, 222, 226 + + Ball, Mr. John, 153, 157 + + Ball, action of, during impact, 237 + brambly, inaccuracy off putter, 287 + centre of gravity, 292 + centre of gravity, test for, 294 + effect of marking, 302 + effect of untrue centre, 299 + flight parallel with earth, 265 + guttie, truth of, 294 + Haskell, 253 + indented or dimpled, 286 + instability of the golf, 284 + smooth, flight of, 289, 311 + tests, 296 + the golf, 283 + track of, on green, 286 + unscientifically made, 261 + + Balls, dimpled, 291 + + Base ball, spin in, 233 + + Beauty of flight, 3 + + Billiard balls, excrescences on, 283 + + Billiards, blind spot in, 175 + + Blackwell, Mr. Edward, 153 + + Blindfold golf, 164 + + Blind spot, 168, 169, 173 + + Blow in golf horizontal, Professor Tait, 265 + upward, 265 + + Body movement after impact, 167 + + Braid on distribution of weight, 119, 135 + on influence of club after impact, 101 + on putting, 50, 55, 58, 77 + + Braid's putting, 75, 76 + uncertainty about wrist work, 208 + + Bullet, drift of, 235 + + + Catapults, Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey's, 296 + + Cleek, push stroke with, 194 + Vardon's push shot with, 194 + + Clubs, all illegal, 322 + construction of, 316 + rusty, 333 + + _Contemporary Review_, 320 + + Corkscrew action in stroke, Braid on, 213 + + Croome, Mr. A. C. M., 198, 199 + + Cross-bow, Professor Tait's experiment, 266 + + Cross wind, Professor Thomson on, 240 + Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey on, 298 + Vardon on, 256 + + Cut, principles of, 89 + + Cutting round a stymie, 73 + + + Direction, demand for, 3 + + Downward swing, control of, 133, 278 + + Downward swing, Duncan and Vardon, 130 + + Drag for bolting puts, 62, 63 + in putting, 60 + + Drive, tension of muscles during, 38 + + Duncan, George, 7, 82 + and mashie stroke, 72, 82 + and smooth ball, 289, 309 + + Dynamical problems, Professor Thomson on, 228 + + + Elimination the secret of coaching, 352 + + English mental attitude towards games, 4 + + _English Review, The_, 267 + + _Evening Standard and St. James's Gazette_, 288 + + Eye, lifting the, 34, 35 + + Eyes, effect of, on weight, 167 + function of, 162, 163 + movement of, 166 + Vardon on movement of, 168 + + + Fallacies of golf, 95 + + Feet, movement of, Duncan, Vardon, and Braid, 134 + + "Flick" in golf stroke, 213 + + Flight of ball, 222 + + Follow-through, 128, 129 + control of, 278 + + Forearms, action of Duncan's, 210 + in stroke, roll of, 210 + + Freemasonry of golf, 6 + + _Fry's Magazine_, photographs in, 125, 138 + + + Golf books, unscrupulous practices, 10 + + _Golf Illustrated_, 197 + and Professor Thomson, 253 + + Golfers groping their way, Braid, 269 + + Grip, apportionment of power in, 150 + old, 152, 153 + overlapping, 152 + suggested new, 151 + + Gutta ball, Walter J. Travis on, 253 + + + Haskell ball, 253 + + Head, keeping still, 162, 163 + Taylor on position of, 171 + + High tee for low ball, 246 + + Hilton, Mr. H. H., 153 + + Hilton, Mr. H. H., in _Concerning Golf_, 160 + + Horizontal stroke, Professor Thomson's idea, 244 + + Hutchinson, Mr. Horace G., on distribution of weight, 120 + on top of swing, 158 + + + Impact, action during, 182 + and address similar, Braid on, 137, 277 + an incident of stroke, 45, 99, 100 + arc during, 244 + duration of, 165 + length of, 277 + muscles at time of, 30, 31 + "no control over," Braid, 278 + Professor Thomson on, 242 + Walter J. Travis on, 253 + + Impatience to play, 5 + + Instruction by elimination, 352 + + + Knee, left, Braid's action, 137 + left, not loose, 127 + right, and Vardon, 131 + + + Laws of swerve of universal application, 234 + + Left and right wrists together, Vardon, 216 + + Left arm, power of, 12, 140 + Braid on, 142, 143, 148 + Mr. Hutchinson on, 146 + Taylor on, 144, 145, 148 + Vardon on, 140, 141, 148, 149 + + Left hand, regulating grip, Vardon on, 150 + + Left wrist starts club down, Braid, 215 + + _Le Golf_, Arnaud Massy, 320 + + Literature of golf, 10, 334 + + Low, Mr. John L., _Concerning Golf_, 159, 256, 257 + + Low ball, high tee for, 246 + + + Mashie, cut shot, 26 + cut stroke, Vardon on, 191 + for stymies, 70 + stroke, Taylor's cut, 193 + + Mashies, short, for stymies, 330 + + Massy, Arnaud, 320 + + Master stroke, the, 178 + + Matter, definition of, 41 + + Mechanical accuracy demanded, 2 + + Mechanics of golf, 3 + + Mitchell, A., 327 + + _Modern Golf_, 59, 73, 83, 133, 210, 246 + + _Morning Post_, 198 + + Mystery, none in other games, 16 + + _Mystery of Golf_, 15, 125, 220 + + + Newton, on principles of swerve, 223, 235, 228 + + "Nip" at impact, Professor Tait, 266 + + "Nose" of golf ball, 231 + + + Palm grip, Mr. Horace G. Hutchinson on, 159 + + Payne-Gallwey, Sir Ralph, 292 + tests, 296 + + _Practical Golf_, 120, 335 _et seq._ + + Press, influence of, 33 + + Professionals and journalists, 10 + lacking in theory, 9 + + _Projectile Throwing Engines of the Ancients_, 292 + + Pull, the, 179 + axis of vertical, Professor Thomson on, 237 + Braid on, 188 + explanation of spin, 240 + Mr. John L. Low on, 258 + true axis of, 240 + Vardon on, 183 + + Push stroke, Vardon's, 194 + + Put, Braid on cutting the, 83 + not a wrist stroke, 67 + position of ball, 67 + run on, 69 + short grip for, 84 + Vardon on cutting the, 87 + + Put, short, the easiest stroke, 48 + Braid on the, 50 + should be taught first, 48 + Taylor on the, 50 + Vardon on the, 49 + + Putter, short, 326 + + Putting, 11, 47 + chief point in, 64 + fundamental principles of, 53 + importance of address in, 65 + mechanically simple, 57 + most important factor, 52 + off heel or toe, 64 + pendulum action in, 66 + tests, 304 + with drag, 60 + + + Ray, Edward, 301, 309 + + Roll of ball on club, 238, 245 + + "Ruff," the, golf ball, 300, 309 + + + St. Andrews, Royal and Ancient Golf Club of, 322 + + Schenectady putter, 320, 326 + + Self-consciousness, 20 + + Shaft, torsional strain of, 321 + + Simplicity of golf, 2 + + Slice, the, 179 + axis of, vertical, Professor Thomson, 237 + impact in, 252 + Mr. John L. Low on, 258 + pressure on rear of ball, Professor Thomson, 241 + Professor Thomson on, 250 + true axis of, 238 + Walter J. Travis on, 190 + + Slow back, 96 + + Smooth ball, uneven flight of, 311 + + Snap of wrists in drive, 205 + + Soles, broad, of clubs, 328 + + Spalding, A. G., & Bros., 291 + + Speed, gradually increasing, 29 + + Spin, 181 + effect on flight, Braid on, 260 + + Spread of golf, 6 + + Style, 19 + + Stymie, cutting round, 73 + run-through, 343 + + "Sweep," a hit with iron clubs, 109 + + Sweep, the, 12, 98 + + _Swerve, or the Flight of the Ball_, 224 + + Swerve, principles of, 223, 233 + + Swerve, double, 293 + Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey on, 305 + + Swing, premature teaching of, 5 + the short, 110 + top of, Mr. Horace G. Hutchinson on, 158 + + + Tait, late Professor, 223 + + Taylor on distribution of weight, 120, 171 + on putting, 50 + on the sweep, 103 + + Teaching by elimination, 352 + of golf unsound, 43 + + Temperament, golf the test of, 7 + + Tension during stroke, Braid on, 133 + of muscles during stroke, 38 + + Thomson, Professor, and smooth ball, 312 + + Thomson, Professor Sir J. J., 227 + + _Times, The_, 292 + + Topped ball, 279 + + Top-spin, alleged possibilities of, 280 + how obtained, 233 + in lawn-tennis, Professor Thomson on, 232 + nearest approach to, 280 + not used in golf, 280 + + Travis, Walter J., fallacies of, 335 _et seq._ + on distribution of weight, 120 + + + Under-spin not essential to long carry, 227 + Professor Thomson's error, 246 + properties of, 248 + + Upward concavity against back-spin, 267, 275 + + + Vaile golf ball, 290 + putter, 55 + stymie stroke, 70 + + Vardon and blind spot, 169 + on cross wind, 256 + on cutting a put, 87 + + Vardon on distribution of weight, 118, 124 + on follow-through, 131 + on putting, 50, 75 + + Vardon's weight in follow-through, 131 + + Vertical axis of slice and pull, Professor Thomson on, 237 + + + Waggle, the, 346 + Duncan's, 346 + + Waist, pivoting from, 122 + + Weight, distribution of, 13, 25, 27, 97, 117, 171 + + Weight distribution, Vardon on, 118, 124 + Braid on, 119, 121 + fallacy, origin explained, 138 + Horace Hutchinson on, 120 + Mr. Haultain's explanation, 125 + Taylor on, 120 + W. J. Travis on, 120 + + Weight on right leg, test for, 122 + + Wind-cheater, 3, 179 + + Wind, cross, 242, 256, 257 + + Wrists, action of, 202 + Mr. Horace Hutchinson on, 219 + speed of, 217 + turn over of, 107 + Vardon on action of, 203 + + + _Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_. + + + * * * * * + + + THE MYSTERY OF GOLF + + BY ARNOLD HAULTAIN + + Second and Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. net. + + + Mr. HENRY LEACH in the _EVENING NEWS_.--"Mr. Haultain's book + answers to all the tests to which it may be submitted, and I + am strongly disposed to regard it as the best book of its kind + that has ever been written." + + Mr. J. SUTHERLAND in the _DAILY NEWS_.--"A short time ago I + was asked by a young aspirant ... to point out the book I + liked best. 'That wee one?' he inquired, and on my nodding + assent he ... took the book down and read ... _The Mystery of + Golf_ (Haultain)." + + _THE PROFESSIONAL AND GREENKEEPER._--"The book is undoubtedly + one of the best ever written dealing with the Royal and + Ancient Game." + + "LOOKER-ON" in _GOLF ILLUSTRATED_.--"In my opinion, the best + book that has ever been written on golf.... On every page + there scintillates a jewel of golfing wisdom." + + _GOLFING._--"A book in which every golfer must delight.... + There is not a stale word in the book from beginning to end." + + + * * * * * + + + THE ART OF PUTTING. By W. J. TRAVIS and JACK WHITE. Crown 8vo. + 1s. + + GREAT LAWN TENNIS PLAYERS. Their Methods Illustrated. By G. W. + BELDAM and P. A. VAILE. With 229 Action-Photographs. Medium + 8vo. 10s. 6d. net. + + GREAT BATSMEN: THEIR METHODS AT A GLANCE. By G. W. BELDAM and + CHARLES B. FRY. With 600 Action-Photographs. 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Globe 8vo. 1s. net. + + IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA. Further Adventures in British East + Africa. By Lieut.-Colonel J. H. PATTERSON, D. S. O. + Illustrated. 8vo. 7s. 6d. net. + + A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS IN AFRICA. Nine Years amongst the Game + of the Far Interior of South Africa. By FREDERICK COURTENEY + SELOUS. Illustrated. Fifth Edition. Extra crown 8vo. 7s. 6d. + net. + + AFRICAN NATURE NOTES AND REMINISCENCES. By FREDERICK COURTENEY + SELOUS. With a Foreword by THEODORE ROOSEVELT, and + Illustrations by E. CALDWELL. 8vo. 10s. net. + + NOTES ON SPORT AND TRAVEL. By GEORGE KINGSLEY. With + Introductory Memoir by his Daughter, MARY H. KINGSLEY. Extra + crown 8vo. 8s. 6d. net. + + AN ANGLER'S HOURS. By H. T. SHERINGHAM. Extra crown 8vo. 6s. + net. + + + MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD., LONDON. + + * * * * * + +Transcriber's Notes: + +Obvious printer errors were repaired. + +Hyphenation variants retained as in original. + +Copyright page showed no date. + +Both "putts" (in quoted material) and "puts" (in author's voice) were +present in the original. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Soul of Golf, by Percy Adolphus Vaile + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41149 *** |