IGV 965 T85 | Copy 1 NDBOOK ON GOLP FOR BEGINNERS BY R. G. TYLER PRICE 1 5 CENTS A HANDBOOK ON GOLF FOR BEGINNERS BY R. G. TYLER COPYRIGHT 1914 BY R. G. TYLER <$%* » * ©CLA376295 JUN 15 1914 *0, FOREWORD Although the material contained in this hand-book is primarily intended for one endeavoring to master the elementary principles of golf, he who is not a novice will undoubtedly find something that will be helpful to his game. By arranging the essential points in a concise and clear manner, I have attempted to compile the work so methodically, as to avoid any possibility of confusion or ambiguity. It is written on the theory that it will not be simply read and then laid aside, but rather will be studied, practised, and assimilated into one's game. The remedies suggested for "topping" and "slicing," which are the chief faults of beginners, and also of the advanced player, should prove beneficial. For one who is "off his game, " it ought to be of valuable service. Many technical terms which a student of the game may have heard and not understood are explained. As a whole, the informa- tion contained herein is necessary for a true knowledge of the elements of golf. R. G. T. Hanover, N. H., May, 19 14. A HAND-BOOK ON GOLF FOR BEGINNERS I SETTING-UP EXERCISE NOTE: In these dia- grams the figure 1 rep- resents the left foot, and 2, the right. The dot indicates the posi- tion of the ball in rela- tion to the feet. Y STANCE. i. As is indicated by the diagram, place the left toe flush with the line and the right about two inches over it. 2. With the toes turned a little out, place the feet a comfortable distance apart and evenly distribute the weight. 3. Bend the knees slightly so as to keep the weight on the heels where it should be. 4. Let the arms hang naturally at the sides and flexed at the elbows. 5. Keep the body vertical, the head inclined a bit and the eye fastened on the ball throughout this exercise. 6. Test: Lift your toes to see if the weight is on the heels. If it is, you won't find it necessary to lean back first. TURN. i. Being positive that the head is kept in its original position, turn the body to the right, weight shifting from both feet to the right foot (heel). Notice that the weight gets on the right foot by a turning of the body and not by a swaying. 2. As the body turns, the left knee knuckles in toward the right, which becomes straight at the top of the swing. 3. The left heel stays on the ground all the time. Pivoting on the inner edge of the left foot, let the outer edge come up as the left knee knuckles in toward the right. 4. When the turn to the right is reached, the left shoulder is to the front, the weight almost entirely on the right heel, and the eye looking over the left shoulder at the ball. 5. Taking the utmost care that the weight comes off the right heel gradually, turn to the front with the head very steady and the eye on the ball. If turned correctly you will now be in the same position that you assumed when you started, that is, facing the ball, weight evenly divided, etc. 6. Now turn to the left, shifting all the weight on to the left leg, which becomes straight and rigid. During this turning the right heel comes around and up by its own accord, leaving the right toe only on the ground. The body is now in the finish position, facing the supposed flight of the ball, but the eye is still on the spot where the ball was. LEFT HAND EXERCISE. Note : The object of this and the next exercise is to show the functions of each hand separately. It is ad- visable to hold the club by the wrong end as otherwise it would be rather unwieldy . In doing them apply the above. i . This hand takes a good hold with thumb resting on nail of forefinger. The web of the hand is just over the shaft so that you see the back of the hand but not the fingers. 2. As you swing the club back increase gradually the concave in the back of the left wrist by turning the wrist in toward the body. 3. Keep the arm close to the body and as straight as you conveniently can. 4. At the top of the swing you should be able to see the whole back of the hand. 5. For the down swing imagine you are executing the back hand stroke in tennis. 6. The club finishes around the left shoulder. The left elbow is in contact with the left hip and the hand out as far as possible towards the flight of the ball. RIGHT HAND EXERCISE. 1. Grip entirely with the fingers and the end of the thumb, having the hand more over the shaft than under it. 2. During the back swing the right wrist is turning while the right elbow is swinging around close to the body. 3- At the top of the swing the right elbow should be close to your back, but do not tighten any muscles to attain this position. The shaft is now in the web of the hand where it has gradually worked its way during the back swing. 4. During the down swing throw the shaft out of the web back into the original grip at the moment of impact, and then into the web again at the finish, which is around the left shoulder with the right arm fairly straight. 5. Thus the left hand holds the club; and the right fingers and end of the thumb direct it. REMARKS: These exercises may seem like drudgery to the novice, but he can do nothing better for the development of his own good game than to master them thoroughly — the foundation of golf — at this part of his career. To learn to run properly you must learn to walk first. They are not very entertaining, but if the beginner will give them due consideration at this stage his future hours of dis- couragement and moral embarrassment will be many times diminished. Half an hour's practice now is worth a month's practice when your game gets more advanced. II THE DRIVER STANCE. (See directions above). The ball should be about two inches off the left heel, thus putting the stance fairly well behind it. This open stance (open means the right foot advanced) permits a free follow through, gives a more secure feeling that the ball is going where you want it to, and acts as a check to over-swinging. To find the correct distance from yourself to the ball, lay your club-head flat behind it and step up till the end of the shaft touches the left knee. GRIP (known as "the unequal"). i. The left hand grips the shaft as near the end as possible without feeling the end. It is over the shaft and has its thumb coiling around and resting on the nail of the forefinger. The duty of this hand is to hold the club. 2. Gripping snugly to the left are the right fingers and end of the thumb. This finger grip is necessary for three reasons: First, as the right hand grips below the left the right arm must therefore be longer than the left; second, the ability of the fingers to guide the stroke is much more sensitive than that of the palm; third, very little or no wrist action, the driving power of the stroke, is possible with a palm grip. BACK SWING. i. The wrists alone swing the club back one-quarter of the distance, then the arms come into the stroke, then the shoulders, and finally the body. The club-head, which is the very first thing to start on the backward journey, should swing around the right leg and as near the ground as the swing itself will permit. (A test to know whether the club is turning properly is to lower it to the ground at any point in the swing. If correct, it will lie flat.) In the entire swing the wrists should be continually and consistently turning. 2. The right elbow swings around close to the body. This point is very important as an aid for keeping the club down and preventing slicing. 3. The left arm should swing close to the chest and as straight as convenient. 4. The left knee knuckles in towards its fellow, while the left heel remains on the ground and the outer edge is coming up. 5. The head must always be steady and motionless in order to prevent any tendency the body may have to sway. TOP SWING. 1 . When the top of the swing is nearly reached and the wrists have turned all they can, they bend back a little and so "set the trigger." 2. As the club, during the back swing, has worked its way into the webs of both hands, it should be in them now. The knuckles of the hands are facing the sky and both wrists are under the shaft. Pay special attention to the control of the wrists at this point, or they will slacken, and your club-head will become a dead weight. 3. The club has reached the top of the right shoulder by coming from a direction around it and not from above it. The club-head should be hanging from its shaft like a pear from a branch. 4. The right leg is straight and the weight resting mostly on it. 5. The head is still in its original position, eye looking over the left shoulder at the ball. 6. Both elbows are unconsciously close to the body, the left arm is straight, and the hands are out from the body, not quite as high as the shoulders. DOWNWARD SWING. i. First, "pull the trigger"; that is, unbend the wrists, and then keep them turning during the rest of the swing. After they have begun to turn bring the arms into the stroke, then the shoulders, and lastly the body. Don't get the body into the stroke too soon, but let the wrists, arms, shoulders get well started before the body begins. If you will watch this, you won't take the weight off the right heel ahead of time and so avoid, to an appre- ciable extent, the error of topping. 2. In order to let the wrists work properly and to avoid slicing, be sure that the elbows, as they swing, are close to the body. 3. When the club-head on either side of the ball is five or six feet from it, the hands should be as low and close to the body as the arms hanging naturally will permit. 4. As the club approaches the ball, guide it with the right fingers and end of the thumb, and at the impact turn the right wrist quickly over, but of course don't turn the club by so doing. For eight inches from the spot where the ball is hit it is in contact with the face of the club. So while the club is swinging in this space, with the ball on its face, be extremely careful to guide it straight. Turning the right wrist quickly over at the moment of impact means "pep," the seed for distance, in the stroke. 10 FINISH OF SWING. i. The weight is now almost entirely on the left leg which is straight and rigid. 2. Of the right foot the toe only is touching the ground and the only weight that is on it is that of the right leg. 3. The club is around the left shoulder. (The driver and the brassie are the only clubs that swing around it.) 4. The right shoulder is slightly to the front, having got well into the stroke. 5. The left elbow is touching the hip, the right arm, the upper half of which is close to the chest, is fairly straight, and both hands are out from the body. REMARKS. ACCURACY comes from: 1. Keeping the head in one and the same position throughout the swing. 2. Swinging the elbows close to the body. 3. Maintaining an erect poise of body. 4. Swinging easily. CONTROL comes from: 1. Keeping the weight on the heels and holding the shoulders up. 2. Standing up to the ball and not reaching for it. 3. Properly shifting the weight by turning and not by swaying. 4. Swinging the elbows close to the body. DISTANCE comes from: 1. Controlling the wrists. 11 2. Turning the right wrist quickly over at the moment of impact. 3. Swinging the elbows close to the body. 4. Having the left arm straight at the top of the swing. 5. Following through. Ill THE BRASSIE The stance, grip and swing of this club are identically the same as that of the driver. A brassie is a driver with a brass sole and having a trifle more loft on its face so as to pick up a ball from a natural lie more effectively. In using the brassie, grip a bit firmer than you did the driver and slap the ground as you hit the ball; otherwise you may fall into the disastrous habit of topping your shots. The proper place to use your brassie is on the fairgreen when you need considerable distance and the lie is reason- ably good. IV THE CLEEK. 1Z STANCE. i. The right foot is about three inches advanced. 2. Keep the hands low, so that the toe of the club may be slightly tilted up. This will prevent the toe from dig- ging into the ground and making a " foozle" of the shot. SWING. The swing of the cleek is practically the same as that of driver. The only differences are that the finger grip of the right hand is maintained throughout the swing, which is not so full as the driver's, and the club finishes over the left shoulder as do all iron clubs. USE. i. The cleek is used on the fairgreen when distance is required and the lie is not good enough for a brassie. Sometimes when one's play with the wooden clubs is bad, the cleek is used on the tee, but this is not considered good practice and beginners should use the driver on the tee always, unless the hole is too short to warrant it. The cleek is not one of the easiest clubs to manage, but as no golfer can call his game proficient without its mastery, the novice should persevere with its use at the outset. A beautiful club, the cleek. 2. The driving iron and driving mashie are clubs similar to the cleek; but as they are intended for advanced players the beginner should not have them in his bag. RANGE. i. For men: — 175 to 190 yards. 2. For women: — 125 to 140 yards. 13 THE MIDIRON \ STANCE. i. The right foot should be about half its length for- ward, thus making the stance quite open. 2. The ball is off midway between the feet. 3. Grip the same as for the driver, but more firmly. For a half shot, use the overlapping grip; that is, let the little finger of the right hand ride on the forefinger of the left hand. SWING. 1. The style applied in the management of this club is the "up and down." (The wooden clubs sweep the ball off the tee, but the iron clubs hit it.) It is taken directly up, over the right shoulder, down, through the ball, straight out towards its flight, and directly up over the left shoulder. The swing is about seven-eighths as full as that of the driver, so be careful not to overswing. 14 2. Be sure to swing the right elbow around close to the body and keep the finger grip of the right hand throughout. 3. At the moment of impact, be certain that the hands are in front of the body and not in advance of the club- head. Let the club swing, and use your wrists in order to get the club-head through first, thus enabling it to pick up the ball. 4. Follow way through. FINISH OF SWING. 1. The club is over the left shoulder, the hands are well out and higher than they were in the case of the driver or cleek. 2. Because of this "up and down" style, the left knee is slightly bent. RANGE OF MIDIRON. 1. For men: — 125 to 175 yards. 2. For women: — 75 to 125 yards. THE IRON is a midiron with five degrees more loft. VI THE MASHIE "S" 15 STANCE. i. The right foot is well advanced with the ball about opposite its heel. 2. The knees are bent a trifle more than they were with the midiron. GRIP. i. The left hand is well over the shaft and has the thumb lying lengthwise on the top of it. 2. The right hand is also fairly well over the shaft, with the little ringer riding on the forefinger of the left hand, and the end of the thumb on the ball side of the shaft. A rather firm, but by no means rigid, grip is necessary with the fingers and the ends of the thumbs of both hands, especially with the right forefinger and the end of the right thumb. 3. It is not a bad plan in the short mashie shots to grip a little lower on the shaft so as to get a good balance and to lessen the leverage and the strain on the all-impor- tant wrists. ADDRESS. r. The body should be very calm and steady with all its muscles relaxed. The legs are bent and the weight is on the heels. 2. The arms should be well extended down and dose to the body so as to keep them under very careful control and to make sure that the heel of the club is on the ground. The purpose in emphasizing this point is to prevent the club from turning in your hands when it hits the ground. 16 3. Make a special note that the right elbow is close to the body. SWING. i. The back swing never goes beyond the three-quar- ter limit and is accomplished by the wrists, arms and shoulders with scarcely any body at all. As it swings back from the ball, it instantly starts up in the direction of over the right shoulder. Be sure to keep the head motionless and to swing the right elbow around close to the body. Control the wrists. 2. On the down swing the club comes in contact with the ball and then takes a small piece of turf out. The follow through straight after the ball is very essential. When the club has swung out as far as it can, it should come directly up in the direction of over the left shoulder, which, however, it should not quite reach, since the swing with the mashie is only a three-quarter one. 3. Hold your eye on the spot where the ball was for a fraction of time after you have hit it. WRIST SHOT. The object of the wrist shot is to raise the ball so that it will have practically no roll when it drops. It is used to get over bunkers and such obstructions. 1. Take your stance so that the ball will be off midway between the feet. The right foot is well advanced, thus enabling the body to be slightly facing the line of play. 2. The stroke is simple. Bend the wrists back as far as possible and as the club swings through hold the left 17 hand in its original position, with the right push the club and swing the left shoulder around. In this shot take the ball clean with no turf. RANGE OF MASHIE. i. For men: — 5 to 125 yards. 2. For women: — 5 to 75 yards. REMARKS. 1. The club-head should be fairly heavy and the shaft stiff. 2. The mashie, " Queen of clubs," demands continuous study and practice. The only way to master it is to learn its elements and then practise with it as often as you can. A treacherous club, the mashie. VII THE NIBLICK X 18 STANCE. The niblick is a heavy club with a broad, well laid back face used for getting out of sand traps, high grass and other bad places. To get the necessary slugging power, plant the feet rather widely apart and as solidly on the ground as possible. SWING. With the exception that the grip is very tight, and that the finish of the stroke is reached when the club has come out of the sand, the swing is similar to that of the mashie. Aim and hit an inch or so (according to the ground) behind the ball and take some sand with it. In using the niblick, the most tricky club in the bag, strict attention must be paid to keeping a very tight grip, and the head absolutely motionless throughout the stroke. The mashie-niblick is a club half way between a mashie and a niblick. Some golfers, for economical reasons, prefer it. VIII THE PUTTER STANCE. No standard position for putting can be laid down, since no two persons putt alike. The one to adopt is the one that fits your own individual fancy so long as you give heed to the following points. 19 LONG PUTTS. i. Steadiness, which means that nothing in the whole body or legs move, is the first essential. Long putts are made with the wrists helped a little by the arms. Nothing else even quivers. 2. Keep your shoulders fairly well up with the weight on your heels so as to enable your putter to swing through the ball with a nice even sweep as near like a pendulum as possible. 3. Regulate your swing in proportion to the length of the putt and as an aid for direction always follow through. Don't tap or jerk your putts. Practise swinging your putter in your room over a straight line in the carpet design or a crack in the floor. This will do you more good than any amount of outdoor putting. 4. Never try to hole a putt over fifteen feet long, but imagining a circle the size of a barrel head around the cup, simply try to roll your ball into it. Thus you are sure of holing your next, whereas if you had tried to hole the first, you might, from over-anxiety and nervousness, not have come within holing distance. 5. Never up, never in. It's far better to be a foot or two feet past the hole than six inches or a foot on the nearer side of it. The ball then had at least a chance of dropping, in. Be up. SHORT PUTTS. 1. There is nothing that has more to do with one's holing out ability than self-confidence. If you can say 20 to yourself and feel it, "I can," the ball will echo as it drops into the hole, "I knew you could." You can, of course you can. 2. It's a good plan to square your putt before executing it. By this I mean place the putter in front of the ball facing the hole so as to see more easily if it is aimed cor- rectly. 3. Let your right forearm touch, but not lean against your right leg so as to steady the stroke and thus help the pendulum to swing accurately. 4. More short putts are missed from looking up too soon than for any other fault. Avoid this bad tendency by holding your neck stiff during the putt, as this will keep the eye down until the club has passed through the ball. 5. The real key to good putting is confidence and abso- lutely true hitting, coming from steadiness and doing the work entirely with the wrists. 6. While waiting for your opponent to putt, stand behind your own ball, studying the nature of the ground between it and the hole, and judging the distance. Notice whether the green is dry and fast or damp and slow, if it has been lately rolled and, if so, see whether you are putting against the grain of the rolling or with it. By the time it is your play you should have definitely planned just what to do. Walk calmly up to your ball, with all muscles relaxed and without any more thinking (your brains being now in your ringer tips) execute the stroke as quickly as a due amount of care will permit. If you 21 spend more than four or five seconds over the ball, your muscles will unconsciously become tight, resulting in your becoming nervous and unsteady. REMARKS. i. On side slopes it is better to borrow; that is, to allow for the roll, rather than try to put spin on the ball. 2. Whenever a stymie presents itself, play it. You have got to play them in tournaments, so get used to them in your daily friendly matches. 3. Do not concede putts. A player who becomes accustomed to having putts given him will, when he gets in a tournament, undoubtedly miss a couple of short ones and so lose confidence in the rest of his play as well. A six inch putt is a stroke as well as the two hundred and fifty yard drive. Putt them. 4. Practising putting by himself for the first month or two will develop in the beginner the mechanical elements of the swing. After that time putting is a question of nerves, and practice will be beneficial to him only in a competitive sense. 5. Grip the same as you did the mashie, only let two fingers of the right hand overlap the left instead of one. IX HOW TO GET OUT OF DIFFICULTIES BALL ON DOWNWARD SLOPE. 1. Play the ball off the right foot. 22 2. Hold the left knee very firm and the right loose. 3. Grip lightly. BALL ON UPWARD SLOPE. 1. Play the ball off the left foot. 2. Hold the right knee very firm and the left loose. 3. Shorten the grip and swing easily. BALL BELOW PLAYER. 1. Use a wide stance with knees well bent and stand well behind the ball. 2. Turn down the nose of the club. 3. Take only a three-quarter swing and very carefully. BALL ABOVE PLAYER. 1. To prevent the hook that this shot tends to give, stand farther from and a little in front of the ball. 2. Grip firmly and take a short, very accurate swing. BALL IN A CUPPY LIE. The thing to remember in this shot is not to hit hard, but to slacken the grip and muscles and let the club-head do the work. Don't hit hard. MAXIMS FOR ALL CLUBS 1. Keep your eye on the ball. 2. Always let direction be the first consideration, then 23 distance will take care of itself. Especially among be- ginners, direction wins while distance flounders around in traps and the rough. 3. Swing easily and take the ball clean. 4. Keep the body vertical by retaining the weight on the heels and holding the head steady. 5. Always grip with the ringers and the end of thumb of the right hand. Not only is their ability to guide the stroke far keener than that of the palm, but this grip is necessary for the proper wrist action. 6. Eel ax all muscles before taking your stance and then strike without delay. I believe that more flub shots come from standing over the ball too long, thereby un- consciously tightening the muscles, than from taking the eye off too soon. After you have taken your aim, stance and grip in the order named, waggle your club back and forth over the ball two or three times preliminary to hitting it. This will tell whether the grip feels right and if the wrists are flexible and working properly, but better still it keeps the muscles soft and so tends to make the swing smooth. 7. On the back swing move the club slowly. 8. Be sure that the wrists impart the sting to the shot. They perform the same function in the golf swing that the lash of a whip does when it snaps. The arms help swing the club to be sure, but it is the wrists from which comes the life that makes the ball travel. 9. When off your game or nervous, grip shorter, a little firmer and use only a three-quarter swing. 10. It's a good plan in swinging a club to think of 24 throwing the club-head at the ball. This will help you to let the club-head do one-half of the work as it should. If it is cheated of its share of duty a "foozle" results. n. After the club has passed through the ball, con- tinue to hold the eye down while to your self you slowly count one, two, and retain your finish position for a second after this. Good style is necessary for good play. 12. Get in the habit of watching your ball. Mark its line by a tree or something such, and then by judging its distance you ought to be able to walk directly to it. 13. With a wooden club graze the ground, and with an iron take a little turf with the ball. All good players do this in order to avoid topping and to straighten the shot. Don't forget, however, to replace and stamp down the divot. 14. When you grip the club, there should be a slight concave in the back of the left wrist. Unless you gradual- ly increase this hollow during the back swing by turning the wrists, the mainstay of the swing's power is lost. Therein lies the strength. 15. Check overswinging by keeping the left heel down, the right foot advanced, and the left arm straight at the top of the swing. 16. To be consistent in your play, your grip should grow tighter in the same proportion that your swing and your clubs grow shorter. The driver has a rather mild grip, the cleek a little firmer, the midiron still more so, while the mashie's grip is almost rigid. The putter's grip, however, is very soft. A proportion also applies to the stance; the shorter the club or swing, or club and 25 swing, the nearer together should be the feet, the farther advanced the right foot with the ball relatively nearer it, and the more bent the knees. The shorter the swing the more the work is done by the wrists alone. XI DON'TS i. Don't exaggerate any one point at the expense of all others, for if one gets more attention than another the swing will be disproportionate. The correct golf swing is a symmetrical combination of many details and an over development of one will throw the swing out of adjustment. 2. Don't let the head move out of its original position; if it does, the body sways and the swing loses its accuracy and control. 3. Don't slacken the wrists. 4. Don't forget that you can not get a good shot if while in the address you wait and think too much about it, thus making the muscles tight. The whole golfing machine must be in relaxation or one set of muscles will work against another set. 5. Don't tee high. It not only spoils your play on the fairgreen where the ball lies close to the ground, but it also looks bad to others. 6. Don't press. You can not hit a ball accurately if you try to "kill" it, because you can't time the stroke properly. Distance comes from hitting squarely. 7. Don't go on with your, stroke if you don't feel right. Step back, relax, and try again. 26 XII SIX IMPORTANT POINTS These six points are commonly known, but more often forgotten than thought of. Their application is absolutely necessary for every correct golf swing. i. In the stance the shoulders should be up so that most of the weight is. on the heels. This means freedom and control in the swing. 2. See that the heel of the club rests on the ground. This will let the toe be tilted up a hair and reduce to a minimum the possibility of the club turning when it strikes the ground. 3. The upper half of both arms, from shoulder to elbow, should unconsciously touch and rub lightly against the body in the address and swing. This means accuracy. 4. At the top of the swing the left arm should be un- consciously as nearly straight as possible without being !%rt This means a wider swing and therefore distance. 5. Keep the idea in mind that you are going to throw the club-head at the ball. This will make your swing smoother, easier, truer and cleaner. Pat emphasis on letting the club doing the work and not trying to make it. 6. Last, but invaluable to success, at the moment when the club hits the ball the hands should be in the same position; that is, occupy the same space of air that they did in the address. Hold them there for a moment after the impact. This lets the club-head get into the stroke and pick the ball up. 27 XIII HOW TO PREVENT TOPPING i. Put a pound or two more weight on the right foot than on the left. This helps to keep the body somewhat behind the ball and avoids to a large extent the tendency of the body going through in advance of the club, thereby raising it and resulting in anything but a bow-shaped raker. 2. One of the strongest factors for getting under the ball is to keep your eye on it. Not for the fact that you ought to see what you intend to hit, but for the fact that the eye holds the head down, the head holds the shoulders down, the shoulders the arms, the arms the hands, and the hands the club. The very moment the eye goes off the ball, up comes the head, shoulders, arms, hands, and club. Cure this by holding the eye down for a couple of seconds after the ball is hit. 3. Another point for holding the club down is to pay special attention to the hands hanging low and close to the body in the address. During the swing, be sure to keep the elbows unconsciously close to the body. On the back and down swing when the club-head is within, say six feet of the ball, the hands should be close to the body and as low as the arms hanging naturally will permit. Thus, if the arms and hands are kept in to the body when they are under control, the club will describe a certain and the same arc, namely, the correct one, every time it is swung. 4. At the moment when the club hits the ball, the 28 hands should be in front of the body and, of course, close. They should remain in that position until the momentum of the club-head, as it follows on, pulls them out in the direction of the flight of the ball. The mistake, and it is fatal, that is often made is. that the hands pull the club- head through instead of the club-head pulling the hands. If the reader will assume the address position, and without moving the club-head will notice that the farther forward he moves his hands, the higher he simultaneously raises the club-head, he will discover at once a chief reason why many balls are topped. To remedy this, hold the hands back; that is, in front of the body, while the club swings through, gets under, and picks up the ball. 5. Wrist action as an aid to prevent topping is indeed necessary. At the moment of impact when the hands are in front of the body, the wrists should be working harder than anything else, turning in such a way as to send the club-head through first and with a snap. It is from them that comes the ginger that makes the ball get up and travel. XIV HOW TO PREVENT SLICING The cause of slicing: The club while on the down swing and behind the ball gets out from the body too far, making a follow through straight after the ball impossible. In- stead of going straight out after it hits the ball, because the hands are then drawn in, it swings towards the left and so puts a cut on the ball; that is, a left to right spin, — a slice. 29 i. The left hand should be fairly well over the shaft. With the right, grip with the fingers and the end of the thumb and at the moment of impact turn the right wrist quickly over. Be careful that this wrist action doesn't turn the club which at the impact of course should be flat. 2. Keep the weight on the heels, more on the right than left, and hold the shoulders up. Feel that the upper half of both arms are unconciously touching and rubbing lightly against the body during the swing. 3. At the beginning of the back swing, be sure that the wrists start the club-head instantly around the right leg and near the ground. If they start the back swing they will also start the down swing which is very essential in order that the club-head may get the necessary start. If the wrists fail to perform this duty the hands will come through in advance of the club-head and the shot will result in a slice or top, or both. 4. Make sure that the body does not sway. A motion- less head is the key for this. 5. Be positive that the right elbow keeps close to the body as it swings in either direction. 6. During that part of the swing when the club is within five 'or six feet of the ball, the hands should be hanging low and close to the body. When you take your stance get near enough to the ball so that you won't have to reach for it. Stand up to your ball. 7. Too emphatic can not be made the fact that the ball should be met by the club as it comes from the direc- tion around the right leg and fairly near the ground — not 30 from the direction straight behind it. Follow on straight after the flight of the ball. 8. The left elbow swings close to the body and in the finish of the swing is touching the left hip, the club now being around this shoulder. q. It may help to pull the right foot back a little and to play the ball off relatively nearer the left foot, but the real trouble lies in the swing, seldom in the stance. XV FAULTS If your game is not going as it ought to, you are doing something wrong. Stop and think of the significance of each as you ask yourself the following and ascertain to which you are unable to answer no. i. Am I standing in repose over the ball, thus letting my muscles become tight and myself stiff and uncertain? 2. Am I taking my eye off the ball? 3. Am I getting my arms into the stroke before my wrists have begun it? 4. Am I letting my elbows get out from my body? 5. Am I putting my weight on my toes, thus leaning forward and reaching for the ball? 6. Am I gripping my club wrongly? 7. Am I trying to hit too hard and not giving the club a chance to do half the work all by itself? 8. Am I swaying? 9. Am I failing to follow through straight? 10. Am I neglecting to have my left arm straight and 31 close to my chest at the top of the swing? ii. Am I failing to aim correctly? XVI MISCELLANEOUS i. On a windy day it's a good plan to know which way and how hard the wind is blowing. A simple method for obtaining this knowledge is to pull up a few spears of grass and throw them into the air. Their direction and speed will give you a fair idea about how much to allow for the wind. 2. In a match don't wait till you are down before you start playing, hole number one is the place. Win it and put confidence in yourself. 3. Golf does not assimilate with high tees and high heels. 4. Say only such things to your caddy that you would not be ashamed to have your friends overhear. Some caddies like to tell all they know. 5. Whenever your opponent's ball is lost, never fail, for courtesy's sake, to help look for it and be the last person to leave the search. 6. For temporary repairing carry in the pocket of your bag a few small tacks and some winding. It is also well to have with you some sticking plaster to doctor newly worn blisters. 7. Don't play by yourself. Unless you have some one to compete against you won't take pains with your shots and so thoughtlessly grow careless. 8. A high handicap and a cheap bag are not synony- 32 mous. Own a bag with a hood on it and large enough to admit a sweater. 9. For the purpose of always having a stymie measure with you, cut two small nicks six inches apart in the shaft of your putter. 10. Whenever you have a chance to watch a match in which players are competing who are better than yourself, seize it. 1 1 . The Game of Golf is one calling for self-control and study. Don't phonograph all the way around the course. 12. Unless you are so far up that your score permits, take no chances. 13. Every time you hit a ball, do so with care. Unless you try your best, it is doing your game infinitely more harm than good. 14. If your opponent makes an exceptionally good shot, remark to that effect, but say nothing if he makes a poor one. 15. Vary your play by going round now and then simply for the pleasure it gives, indifferent as to your score. Matches every day are bad for your game. 16. As a general rule the cover of a golf ball outlives the resiliency of the ball itself. It may be white and un- cracked and yet be dead. 17. In match play don't be a card and pencil player and get on the nerves of your opponent by trying to keep track of your total. Each hole is a game in itself — play it so. 1 8. A warm ball because it is more elastic goes farther than a cold one. Therefore it is a good plan to change 33 at every tee and put the one not in use in a warm pocket. 19. Practise swinging once in a while and have the sun at your back so that by watching your shadow you can tell whether or not you are swaying. 20. Whether victory does look dubious, you never can tell what your opponent is going to do, so keep on fighting to the end. Remember the man with the bull-dog spirit who was losing heavily and who said, ''It looks as though I'm up against it, but I'll be darned if 111 admit it until I've lost." He won. 21. Adopt the policy of the golden rule. Learn the rules and the etiquette of the game and then by living up to them you may in fairness insist on your opponent and others doing likewise. XVII TECHNICAL TERMS ADDRESS. — A person is in the " address" when he is in a position to strike the ball. APPROACH. — The shot onto the green or the playing of it. BAFF. — -To send the ball into the air by striking the ground with the sole of the club-head. BAFFY or SPOON. — A wooden club with a face well laid back so as to loft the ball. BENT. — Bushes, tangled grass. BOGEY. — Sometimes spoken of as Colonel. It is a phantom which is credited with a certain score for each hole. A score that average good playing, according 34 to local conditions, should make. BRASSIE. — A wooden club with a sole of brass. BREAK-CLUB. — An obstacle of such a nature as might break the club when swinging at the ball. BULGER. — A club which has a convex face. BUNKER. — A long pile of earth with sand before it for the purpose of catching bad shots. BYE. — An adjective applying to a hole or holes re- maining of the original eighteen after the match has ended. I. E., if a player wins 4 up 3 to play, the 3 remaining are called "bye holes" and are played or not as both players agree. CADDIE. — A person carrying, a player's clubs and eligible to give him advice. CLEEK. — - An iron-headed club which sends the ball off at an angle of twenty degrees, thereby getting con- siderable distance. CLUB. — The tool which is used to hit the ball. COURSE. — The part of the links on which the game ought to be played, on either side of which are usually high grass, woods or other rough. CUP. — A small hole on the fair green, generally made by a horse's hoof, a person's heel, or the stroke of a player. DEAD. — When the ball lies so near the hole that the putt is a certainty, it is "dead." When the ball does not roll after landing, it is said to fall "dead. " DIVOT. — A piece of turf taken out in swinging the club. DORMY. — A person is "dormy" when he is as many holes ahead as there are remaining holes to play. DRIVER. — A wooden club sending the ball off at an 35 angle of five degrees. The driver gives the greatest distance of all the clubs. DUFF. — To send the ball higher than desirable. FACE. — That part of the club which comes in contact with the ball. FAIR GREEN. — The space between tee and green. FLAT. — If the angle formed by the club-head and the shaft is very obtuse, the club is said to be "flat. " FOG. — Very poor grass, moss. FORE. — A warning cry to any person who is in danger of being hit by the ball. (A shortened form of 'be- fore.") FOURSOME. — A match in which two players compete against two others. GOBBLE. — A putt running with considerable speed into the hole, going so fast that had it not gone in, it would have rolled some distance beyond. GRASSED. — Said of a club the face of which is slightly sloped backward. GREEN. — (i) The whole golf course; (2) The putting ground on which the various holes are situated. GRIP. — (1) That part of the shaft which is covered with calf skin or the like; (2) The hold of the hands. HALF-ONE. — A handicap of a stroke taken every other hole. HALF-SHOT. — A swing that is not a full swing. HALVED. — When each side takes the same number of strokes to hole out, the hole is "halved." 36 HANGING. — A ball is said to have a "hanging" lie when it rests on a downward slope. HAZARD. — A sand- trap, bunker, road, water or any other place in which it is not allowable to ground the club. HEAD. — The lowest and heaviest part of the club, having a sole, heel, toe or nose, face, back, top, and neck. HEEL. — (i) The part of the club where the neck joins the face; (2) To hit the ball with this part of the club. HOLE. — (1) The four and one-quarter inch hole on the putting green; (2) The surface of fair green between tee and green. HONOR. — The right to drive first from the tee. This right is determined on the first tee as follows : The player will put his hands behind him in one of which he holds a ball. If the opponent guesses which hand the ball is in, he has the "honor"; if not, the player has it. During the round, the "honor," on each seperate tee, belongs to the person who won the hole that was last won. HOOK. — Said of a shot when the ball curves noticeably to the left. HOSE. — The hole in the neck of iron-headed clubs into which the wooden shaft is inserted. IRON. — An iron-headed club that sends the ball off at an angle of thirty degrees. JERK. — In a "jerk-shot", the club hits the ball and then goes into the ground, where it stops. 37 LIE. — (i) The inclination of the club-head when in a position for hitting the ball; (2) The position in which the ball rests on the ground. Both a noun and a verb, the principal parts being "lie, lay, lain." LIKE-AS-WE-LIE. — When each side has played the same number of strokes. LINKS. — A number of golf holes. Small courses have nine, while the larger ones of regular size have eighteen. LOFT. — To raise the ball. LONG ODDS. — To play a stroke more than an opponent whose ball is very much nearer the hole. MADE. — A player, or his ball, is "made" when the ball is so near the green as to enable him to put it on in the next shot. MASHIE. — A club for approaching. Its face is well laid back and sends the ball off at an angle of thirty- five degrees. MATCH. — The game of golf. MISS THE GLOBE. — The failure to hit the ball. NECK. — The part of the club-head which joins with the shaft. NIBLICK. — A wide-headed, heavy iron club which elevates the ball higher than any other club. It is used for getting the ball out of sand-traps, hazards and other bad places. ODDS. — (1) The handicap given by a stronger to a weaker player. It may be a number of holes, or a stroke a hole, every other hole, or every third hole; 38 (2) A player is said to have played the "odd" when he has played one more stroke than his opponent. The opponent's next stroke will be the "like. " If the player has played two more strokes than his opponent, then the op- ponent's next stroke will be "one off two"; if three more, "one off three, " and so on. PAR. — For holes the distance of which is less than 225 yards, "par" is 3, 225-425 "par" is 4, 425-600 "par" is 5, over 600 "par" is 6, regardless of local conditions. PRESS. — To hit harder than one ought. PULL. — Said of a shot when the ball, after sailing straight for some distance, turns very slightly to the left. The best kind of shot for distance, as the ball has a tre- mendous roll after landing. PUTT. — (1) To play a stroke on the putting-ground around the hole with the intention to make it drop into the hole; (2) The name of the stroke itself. PUTTER. — An upright club with which to putt. RIND. — The cloth under the grip to make it thicker. RUB ON THE GREEN. — A deviation of the ball's roll on the green caused by uneven ground, such as a worm- cast. SCARE. — That part of the club-head which is glued to the shaft. SCLAFF. — When the club-head strikes the ground be- hind the ball with a skip and then follows on, taking it clean. Both a noun and a verb. 39 SCRUFF. — To destroy a little grass in striking. Both noun and a verb. SET. — A full equipment of clubs. SHAFT. — The long wooden handle of a club. SINK. — Said of a ball when it drops into the hole. "He sank his putt. " SOLE. — The lower surface of the club-head which is in contact with the ground. SPRING. — The snap and ginger in the shaft. SQUARE or EVEN UP. — When neither side is ahead. STANCE. — The position of a player's feet in relation to the ball. STEAL. — To sink a putt from a distance where it does not seem likely. STROKE. — The act of hitting or the attempt to hit the ball with a club. STYMIE. — When a ball lies in the path of another player's putt. SWTNG. — The oscillation of the club. SWIPE. — A full stroke with a driver. TEE. — (i) The little pinch of sand or grass on which the ball is placed for the first stroke of each hole; (2) The square plot of ground from which the first stroke on every hole is made. THIRD. — The handicap of a stroke taken at every third hole. TOP. — To hit the ball anywhere above its center. Both a noun and a verb. TRAP. — A hole with sand in the bottom for catching bad shots. 40 UPRIGHT. — A club is said to be "upright" when the angle formed by its head with its shaft is not much greater than a right angle. WHINS. — Shrubbery, flowers. WHIPPING. — The black thread-like winding on the shaft. WRIST SHOT. — A shot that is less than half a full one in which the wrists play the chief part. 41 fefe??- 1 )'*-. :ir>?'3»A, ,y.5FA5,y 0F CONGRESS 020 237 046 9