m Iffem iCK No. 7' UNIVERSITY LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN r e nZ;r.t„tKrr * r ponsib,e *• M * nS 0, , b °° te «"> '« s „„ s the University. Please note ■ in d,smiss al from torn pages and lift some inks ~ S n ° t6S ™ y result in SErS http ://w ww. I i bra ry. u i uc.ed u/ca ta!og/ C ° ° option at: MAD€ IN U.$ HE following index from Spalding’s latest Catalogues will give an idea of the great variety of Athletic Goods manufactured by A. G. Spalding & Bros. Ankle Brace, Skate Archery Ash Bars Athletic Library Attachments, Chest Waiqht Bag* Bathing Suit Bagri’f Caddy Bag s, Cricket Bag-»» Uniform Balls, Base Balls, Basket Ball Cleaner, Golf Balls, CrickVt Balls, Golf' \ BaHs, Playground Balls, Squash k Balls, Tennis Bandages,- Elasti^ Bar Bells Bar Stalls Bars, Parallel Bases, Base Ball Bases, Indoor Basket Ball Wear Bathing Suits Bats, Base Ball Bats, Cricket Bats, Indoor Batting Cage, Base Ball Belts Bladders, Basket Ball Bladders* Foot Ball Bladders, Striking Bags Blades, Fencing Blouses, Umpire Boxing Gloves Caddy Badges Caps, Base Ball Caps, University Caps, Skull Center Forks, Iron Center Straps, Canvas Chest Weights Coats, Base Ball Collars, Swimming Combination Uniforms Corks, Running Cricket Goods Croquet Goods Cross Bars "discus, Olympic Discs, Marking Discs, Rubber Golf Disks, Striking Bag Dumb Bells Emblems Equestrian Pold Exerciser, Home Exhibition Clubs Fencing Sticks Field Hockey Finger Protection Flags, College Flags, Marking Foils, Fencing Foot Balls, Association Foot Balls, Rugby Foot Ball Goal Nets Foot Ball Timer Foul Flags Gloves, Base Ball Gloves, Cricket Gloves, Fencing Gloves, Golf Gloves, Handball Gloves. Hockey Glove Softener Goals, Basket Ball Goal Cage, Polo Goals, Foot Ball Goals, Hockey Golf Clubs Golf Counters Golfette Grips, Athletic Grips, Golf Guy Ropes and Pegs Gymnasium, Home Gymnasium Board, Home Hammers, Athletic Handballs Handle Cover, Rubber Hangers for Indian Clubs Hats, University h J ead Harness He alth Pull Ho b Nails Hock-ey Slicks Hole Cotter, Golf Hole Rim Golf Horizontal Pars Hurdles, Safety' Indoor Base Ball- Indian Clubs Inflaters, Foot Ball Inflaters, Striking l£flg Jackets, Fencing Jackets, Foot Ball Jackets, Swimming Jerseys Knee Protectors Knickerbockers, Foot Ball Lace, Foot Bill Lanes for Sprints Lawn Bowls Leg Guards, Cricket Leg Guards, Foot Ball Leg Guards, Hockey Leg Guards, Polo Letters, Embroidered Letters, Woven Lockers, Durand-Steel Mallet, Cricket Markers, Tennis Masks, Base Ball Masks, Fencing Masks, Nose Masseur, Abdominal Mattresses Medicine Balls Megaphones Mitts, Base Ball Mitts, Handball Mitts, Striking Bag Mocassins Mouthpiece, Foot Ball Needle, Lacing Nets, Tennis Net, Volley Ball Numbers, Competitors Pad, Chamois, Fencing Pads, Foot Ball Paint, Golf Pants, Base Ball Pants, Basket Ball Pants, Boys’ Knee Pants, Foot Ball Pants, Hockey Pants, Roller Polo Pants, Running Pistol, Starter’s Plastrons, Fencing Plates, Base Ball Shoe Plates, Home Plates, Marking Plates, Pitchers’ Box Plates, Teeing Platforms, Striking Bag Poles, Ski Poles, Vaulting Polo, Roller, Goods Protector, Abdomen Protector, Elbow Protector, .Polo Protection for Running Shoes Pucks, Hockey Push Ball Pushers, Chamois Puttees, Golf 8 uantity Prices uoits Racket Covers Rackets, Lawn Tennis Racket Presses Rackets Restrung Rapiers Reels for Tennis Posts Referees’ Horns Referees' Whistle Rings, Exercising Rings, Swinging Rowing: Machines Roque Scabbard's fbr Skates Score Board, Golf Score Books, Base Ball Score Books, Basket Ball Score Books, Cricket Score Books, CJolL Score Books, Tennis Scoring Tablet:*, Base Ball Seven-Foot ’e Shin Guards,-, sedation Sinn Guards, * agby ShhvGuards, Hockey Shin Guards, Polo Shirts, Base Ball Shirts, Basket Ball Shirts, Sleeveless Shoes, Base Ball Shoes, Basket Ball Shoes, Bowling Shoes, Cross Country Shoes, Cricket Shoes, Fencing Shoes, Foot Ball, Association Shoes, Foot Ball, Rugby Shoes, Golf Shoes, Gymnasium Shoes, Jumping Shoes, Running Shoes, Skating Shoes, Squash Shoes, Tennis Shot, Indoor Shot, Massage Skate Bags Skates, Hockey Skate Holders Skates-, Ice Skates, Racing Skates, Rink, Ice Skate Rollers Skates, Roller Skates, Tubular Skate Straps Skis Sleeve Bands, College Slippers, Bathing Snow Shoes Squash Goods Standards, Vaulting Standards, Volley Ball Starters’ Pistol Steel Cable Sticks, Polo Stockings Stop Boards Striking Bags Studs, Golf Stumps and Baits Suits, Union, Foot Ball Supporters Supporters, Ankle Supporters, Wrist Suspensories Sweaters Swimming Suits Swivel Striking Bags Swords, Fencing Swords, Duelling Tackling Machine Take off Board Tapes, Adhesive Tapes, Marking Tapes, Measuring Tees, Golf Tennis Posts Tether Tennis Tights Toboggans Toboggan Cushions Toboggan Toe Caps Toe Boards Toques Trapeze, Adjustable Trapeze, Single Trousers, Y. M. C. A« Trunks, Bathing Trunks, Velvet Trunks, Worsted Umpire Indicator Uniforms, Base Ball Varnish for Gut Volley Balls Water Polo Ball Wands, Calisthenic Watches, Stop Water Wings Weights, 5&lb. . Whistles, Referees* / Whitely Exerciser 1 , Wrist Machine 1/ miR?ndafig£ iCK No. 752 1/3 0 0 0 MADE IN USA gteaa ■ ■■ sea =JQ ■ == gas T HE following index from Spalding’s latest Catalogues will give an idea of the great variety of Athletic Goods manufactured by A. G. Spalding & Bros. Ankle Brace, Skate Archery Ash Bars Athletic Library Attachments, Chest ht Bag? Bathing Suit Bagi’> Caddy Bag i s « Cricket Bag'*. Uniform Balls, Base Balls, gasket Ball Cleaner, Golf Balls, Cricket Balls, Golf' \ Balls, Playgr ound Balls, Squash Balls, Tennis Bandages,- Elastic Bar Bells Bar Stalls Bars, Parallel Bases, Base Ball Bases, Indoor Basket Ball Wear Bathing Suits Bats, Base Ball Bats, Cricket Bats, Indoor Batting Cage, Base Ball Belts Bladders, Basket Ball Bladders, Foot Ball Bladders, Striking Bags Blades, Fencing Blouses, Umpire Boxing Gloves Caddy Badges Caps, Base Ball Caps, University Caps, Skull Center Forks, Iron Center Straps, Canvas Chest Weights Coats, Base Ball Collars, Swimming Combination Uniforms Corks, Running Cricket Goods Croquet Goods Cross Bars discus, Olympic Discs, Marking Discs, Rubber Golf Disks, Striking Bag Dumb Bells Emblems Equestrian Pold Exerciser, Home Exhibition Clubs Fencing Sticks Field Hockey Finger Protection Flags, College Flags, Marking Foils, Fencing Fodt Balls, Association Foot Balls, Rugby Foot Ball Goal Nets Foot Ball Timer Foul Flags Gloves, Base Ball Gloves, Cricket Gloves, Fencing Gloves, Golf Gloves, Handball Gloves. Hockey Glove Softener Goals, Basket Ball Goal Cage, Polo Goals, Foot Ball Goals, Hockey Golf Clubs Golf Counters Golfette Grips, Athletic Grips, Golf Guy Ropes and Pegs Gymnasium, Home Gymnasium Board, Home Hammers, Athletic Handballs Handle Cover, Rubber Hangers for Indian Clubs Hats, University I/ead Harness He alth Pull Hr b Nails HocK'ey Sticks Hole Gutter, Golf Hole Rim Golf Horizontal Bars Hurdles, Safety* Indoor Base Bali’ Indian Clubs Inflaters, Foot Ball Inflaters, Striking ISitog Jackets, Fencing Jackets, Foot Ball Jackets, Swimming Jerseys Knee Protectors Knickerbockers, Foot Ball Lace, Foot Bill Lanes for Sprints Lawn Bowls Leg Guards, Crihket Leg Guards, Foot Ball Leg Guards, Hockey Leg Guards, Polo Letters, Embroidered Letters, Woven Lockers, Durand-Steel Mallet, Cricket Markers, Tenni3 Masks, Base Ball Masks, Fencing Masks, Nose Masseur, Abdominal Mattresses Medicine Balls Megaphones Mitts, Base Ball Mitts, Handball Mitts, Striking Bag Mocassins Mouthpiece, Foot Ball Needle, Lacing Nets, Tennis Net, Volley Ball Numbers, Competitors Pad, Chamois, Fencing Pads, Foot Ball Paint, Golf Pants, Base Ball Pants, Basket Ball Pants, Boys’ Knee Pants, Foot Ball Pants, Hockey Pants, Roller Polo Pants, Running Pistol, Starter’s Plastrons, Fencing Plates, Base Ball Shoe Plates, Home Plates, Marking Plates, Pitchers’ Box Plates, Teeing Platforms, Striking Bag Poles, Ski Poles, Vaulting Polo, Roller, Goods Protector, Abdomen Protector, Elbow Protector, .Polo Protection for Running Shoes Pucks, Hockey Push Ball Pushers, Chamois Puttees, Golf Quantity Prices Quoits Racket Covers Rackets, Lawn Tennis Racket Presses Rackets Restrung Rapiers Reels for Tennis Posts Referees’ Horns Referees' Whistle Rings, Exercising Rings, Swinging Rowing? Machine* Roque Scabbards for Skates Score Board, Golf Score Books, Base Ball Score Books, Basket Ball Score Books, Cricket Score Books, GolL Score Books, Tennis Scoring Tablets, Base Ball Seven-Foot G ’e Shin Guards,-, sociation Sinn Guards, » ugby ShfrvGuards, Hockey Shin Guards, Polo Shirts, Base Ball Shirts, Basket Ball Shirts, Sleeveless Shoes, Base Ball Shoes, Basket Ball Shoes, Bowling Shoes, Cross Country Shoes, Cricket Shoes, Fencing Shoes, Foot Ball, Association Shoes, Foot Ball, Rugby Shoes, Golf Shoes, Gymnasium Shoes, Jumping Shoes, Running Shoes, Skating Shoes, Squash Shoes, Tennis Shot, Indoor Shot, Massage Skate Bags Skates, Hockey Skate Holders Skates-, Ice Skates, Racing Skates, Rink, Ice Skate Rollers Skates, Roller Skates, Tubular Skate Straps Skis Sleeve Bands, College Slippers, Bathing Snow Shoes Squash Goods Standards, Vaulting Standards, Volley Ball Starters’ Pistol Steel Cable Sticks, Polo Stockings Stop Boards Striking Bags Studs, Golf Stumps and Baits Suits, Union, Foot Ball Supporters Supporters, Ankle Supporters, Wrist Suspensories Sweaters Swimming Suits Swivel Striking Bags Swords, Fencing Swords, Duelling Tackling Machine Take off Board Tapes, Adhesive Tapes, Marking Tapes, Measuring Tees, Golf Tennis Posts Tether Tennis Tights Toboggans Toboggan Cushions Toboggan Toe Caps Toe Boards Toques Trapeze, Adjustable Trapeze, Single Trousers, Y. M. C. A. Trunks, Bathing Trunks, Velvet Trunks, Worsted Umpire Indicator Uniforms, Base Ball Varnish for Gut Volley Balls Water Polo Ball Wands, Calisthenic Watches, Stop Water Wings Weights, 56-lb. . Whistles, Referees* Whitely Exerciser Wrist Machine THE SPAUDING TRADEMARK i/L pROT ECT s PREVENTS \k LW THE 4 FRAUDULENT f 1 CONSUMER SUBSTITUTION ^9 THE SPALDING TRADE-MARK PROTECTS PREVENTS THE 4° FRAUDULENT . CONSUMER SUBSTITUTION JgOvTT.' The Nondescript Manufacturer says to the Dealer: The Substitute Dealer says to the Con- sumer i “Why pay 15 to 20 ■■ ITMI-SJI H9 1« SH " We are just out per cent, more for ■mill °* Spalding SpaldingTrade Marked article asked for. Athletic Goods, when I MARK b . ut here is . son ?^* am prepared to furnish *^ ust as good* you *Just as good* articIes^(Z®^B^j^3^at 25 P er cent less for so much less price? 1 ■ Spalding Cautions' the Consumer td make proper allowances for these **Just as Good" manufacturers ^and substitute-dealers* statements, but see to It that the Spaldl-4 Trade-Mark Is on, or attached, to each Spalding Athletic article, * Trade-Mark they are not gennlne Spalding Goods, without this We are prompted to issue this Caution to users of Spalding's Athletic Goods, for the reason that many defective articles made and sold by these *Just as Good* manufacturers and dealers are returned to us as defective and -un- satisfactory, and which the consumer, who has been thus deceived, has asked us> ta repair or replace under our broad Guarantee, which reads as follows: We Guarantee to each purchaser of an article hearing the Spalding Trade-Mark that such article will give satisfaction and a reasonable amount of service, when used for the purpose for which It was intended and under ordinary conditions and fair treatment- We Agree to repair or replace free of charge any such article which proves. defective In material or workmanship: PROVIDED such defective article Is returned to us, transportation prepaid, during the season In which It was purchased, accompanied by the name, address and a letter from Jhe .user explaining the claim. Beware of the 'Just as Good' manufacturer, who makes "appearance* first and * Quality * secondary, in 'order to deceive the dealer; and beware of the substitute-dealer, who completes the fraud by offering the consumer the ■Just as Good* article when Spalding's Goods are askecLfor,. m mn isTEsCM n m"m: ml m m W-M-M-jaLW" M M. I SPALDING’S ATHLETIC LIBRARY Red Cover Series, 25c. Blue Cover Series. 10c. Green Cover Series..' 10c. Group XV. Gymnastics “ Blue Cover ” Series, each number 10c. No. 124 How to Become a Gymnast No. 254 Barnjum Bar Bell Drill No. 287 Fancy Dumb Bell and March- ing Drills “ Red Cover ” Series . each number 25c. No. 14R. Trapeze, Long Horse and Rope Exercises No. 34R. Grading of Gym. Exercises No. 40R. Indoor and Outdoor Gym- nastic Games No. 52R. Pyramid Building No. 56R. Tumbling for Amateurs and Ground Tumbling No. 67R. Exercises on the Side Horse; Exercises on Flying Rings No. 68R. Horizontal Bar Exercises ; Exercises on Parallel Bars Group XVI. Home Exercising " Blue Cover ” Series , e'ich nu fiber 10c . No. 161 Ten Minutes’ Exercise for No. 185 Hints on Health [Busy Men No. 325 Twenty-Minute Exercises "Red Cover” Series, eCch number 25c . No. 7R. Physical Training Simplified No. 9R. How to Live 100 Years No. 23R. Get Well ; Keep Well No. 33R. Tensing Exercises No. 51R. 285 Health Answers No. 54R. Medicine Ball Exercises, Indigestion Treated by Gymnastics, Physical Education and Hygiene No. 62R. The Care of the Body No. 64R. Muscle Building ; Health by Muscular Gymnastics Spalding Score Books, Competitors’ Numbers, Etc. BASE BALL SCORE BOOKS. Made in three styles — Morse (Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5 and M) ; A. G. Spalding style (Nos. 2 and S) ; John B. Foster style (No. F). The Spalding style has diamond shaped spaces for scoring. POCKET SIZE. No. 1. Paper cover, Morse style, 7 games Each $0.20 No. 2. Board cover, Spalding style, 22 games “ .50 No. 3. Board cover, Morse style, 46 games “ 1.00 No. F. Board cover, Foster (reporters’) style, 79 games “ 1.50 No. M. Board cover, Morse style, 79 games “ 1.50 No. S. Board cover, Spalding style, 79 games “ 1.50 CLUB SIZE. No. 4. Morse style, 8%xl0% in., 30 games Each $2.00 No. 5. Morse style, 8%xl0% in., 79 games “ 3.00 Score Cards, 1 game Dozen .10 BASKET BALL SCORE BOOKS. No. 10. Paper cover, 10 games Each $0.20 No. 11. Board cover, 25 games “ .50 No. A. Collegiate, paper cover, 10 games “ .20 No. B. Collegiate, board cover, 25 games “ .50 No. W. Women’s Basket Ball Score Book, 25 games ** .50 TRACK AND FIELD. TENNIS AND GOLF SCORE CARDS. No. TF. Olympic Score Card; for outdoor and indoor track and field athletic meets; used in A.A.U. championships Each $0.05 No. H. Tennis Score Card, endorsed by leading umpires; used in national championships, new and improved design; for five sets: in two colors Dozen .75 No. L. Golf Score Sheets; used in ieading tournaments; size 22x28 in.; match play or medal play (specify which is wanted). Each .30 COMPETITORS’ NUMBERS. Used in A.A.U. , intercollegiate and interscholastic championship events. Made up in sets (1 to 50. 1 to 100, etc.). Manila paper Per number $0.02 Linen backed Per number $0.12 Letters, A, B, C, D, etc., on manila paper, for relay races. .Per letter .05 Any of the above mailed postpaid on receipt of price. American Sports Publishing Company* 45 Rose St., New Y ork mnv f! *\ rut i f* RftjMj ■'Uort u Tames Braid. Open Champion. CONTENTS PAGE I. Beginners’ Wrong Ideas . . . . 4 11. Method of Tuition . . . . II III. Choosing the Clubs . . 14 IV. How to Grip the Club . . 0 . 22 V. Stance and Address in Driving . 28 VI. The Upward Swing in Driving . 45 VII. The Top of the Swing • 49 VIII. The Downward Swing . 5i IX. Finishing the Stroke • 54 X. The Long Ball . . • . 58 XI. Pulling and Slicing „ . 69 XII. Playing in a Wind 72 XIII. Brassey Play . 74 XIV. Play with Iron Clubs 79 XV. Cleek Shots ..... - . 85 XVI. The Iron ..... , - . 89 XVII. The Running-up Shot 0 91 XVIII. The Mashie 94 XIX. The Niblick . . ■ . 98 XX. Putting 103 XXI. Playing the Round .... , 0 0 100 ANNOUNCEMENT In this issue of Spalding’s Athletic Library, we publish with the consent of the British Sports Publishing Company, Ltd., of London, England, their copyrighted book, “Golf Guide and How to Play Golf, ,, by James Braid, Open Champion of 1905, 1906, 1908 and 1910. Braid's book has had an enormous sale through- out Great Britain and on the Continent, and is admitted to be by golf experts the best book of its kind ever published. “Golfing," the leading British publication on the game of golf, says : “ Simply and straightforwardly written, Champion Braid’s book contains more solid and useful information to the square inch than you will find in nine out of ten treatises on golf brought out at a much higher price. Though Braid himself would probably be the first man to disclaim any literary style for his little effort, the style is there, nevertheless, direct, honest, and to the point, like the game of golf played by the man who wrote it. * * * It is a plain and lucid book of practical instructions, penned without a suggestion of literary frills, and illustrated with some capital photographs and diagrams.’’ American Sports Publishing Co. Spalding's Athletic Library , i. BEGINNERS’ WRONG IDEAS. When a man first decides that he will devote himself to the game of golf he has generally something to unlearn at the very outset, even though he has never attempted to strike a ball with a driver in his life. In nine cases out of ten he must abandon all his preconceived notions about the game. He must realise that so far from being the easy thing to play that it seems when one watches a capable exponent driving long balls and placing short shots quite near to the hole almost every time, it is an exceedingly difficult thing, and that pro- ficiency, even in the case of the most athletic and adaptable persons, is only to be acquired as the result of years of the most patient and painstaking practice and of the most careful thought and study of the scientific side of the game. No game demands more scientific accuracy than golf, and there is no game in which shots that are not well played more surely meet with their just punishment. In the reverse there is no game in which small degrees of skill count more regu- larly in favour of the man who possesses them. The things that look easiest in golf are generally the hardest, and it some- times takes a man years to learn properly how to raise his club upwards in the swing back before striking the ball — in fact some players go through a lifetime without acquiring the proper method, and their game throughout suffers accordingly Spalding's Athletic Library . 5 If the beginner can be brought to realise this simple truth about the difficulty of the game, and of the necessity of taking it most seriously, he will have gained a great deal. One may then tell him that despite all the drudgery of painstaking practice that he will have to undergo, and the thousands of severe disappointments that he must inevitably endure, it does not follow that all the period of his studentship will be dull and uninteresting. It will be far from that. The game will interest him and fascinate him almost as much after his first few lessons as it will do in many after-years. He will find that it is its disappointments and difficulties that make it a game so well worth the playing ; and that, while he will be intensely aggravated on some days because he can do nothing right and because it seems that he has forgotten everything that he had learned in months before, he will be corre- spondingly elated when the skill that he has acquired comes . back to him, as it always does, with a little bit added to it as the reward of his persistence. The golfer finds himself so constantly and keenly ambitious as does the player of no other game. He may be indifferent as to how well or badly he plays other games in which he con- stantly takes part so long as he can play them in such a manner as “ not to make a fool of himself,” as he would put it, and when he first thinks he will take up golf that may be his attitude cowards it, and he may say to himself that if he gets the exercise and the fresh air that is all that he wants. But he will speedily find, as every one before him has done, that in spite of himself he will soon be yearning for more and more skill, and that never throughout his golfing life will he ever be satisfied. The men who have won championships still 6 Spalding's Athletic Library . realise their weaknesses and long for more skill just as muci as the beginner who even finds it to be a matter of difficulty to hit the ball at all when taking a full swing at it with a driver. As I have just said, the man who has brought himself under advice to this attitude towards the game at the outset of his career on the links will have gained something, and he will have done it in two ways. He will come to understand that it would be rather too dangerous for him to try to learn the game alone and unaided by any competent teacher, as do many grown-up people, who ought to know better. Un- directed in their choice they buy a few clubs for themselves, and with very little notion about how to address and hit the ball they go out on to the links, and flounder about for months with very little improvement in their play, and with far less satisfaction to themselves than if they were making some kind of progress or were conscious that even now and again they made a shot properly. In due course they challenge other players to have matches with them, and when these engagements are confined to opponents who have learned their game in the same way all is well ; but nothing is more annoying to a careful and thorough golfer who goes about his golf in the right way and takes some sort of a pride in it, than to be matched with a man who is palpably ignorant of the most elementary principles of the game, though he would not admit it ; and he takes care that, so far as he has control over such matters, he will avoid such a match in the future. In his after-life this haphazard player, who taught himself and makes it his boast that he had only one lesson in his life, will probably come to wish that he had Spaldings Athletic Library . 7 had more and that he had built his game on a sound founda- tion. These regrets are inevitable. The golf world is over- populated with persons who wish they had commenced to play in the proper way. Consequently the wise man who has respect for the game before he plays it will take as much advice and coaching as he can get, and he will be content to begin in the most elementary way, and will not mind any amount of drudgery in the way of practising swings and particular shots before he tries to make a complete round of the links. Nothing is more important than this complete practice of the smallest details at the very beginning, for it is generally the case that habits made at this stage, whether good or bad, will keep to the player for long afterwards, if not for ever. Therefore it is of the utmost importance that the style that he cultivates now should be as good and correct as possible. There is a variety of other preconceived fancies of which the beginner will do well to get rid before he goes to the links for the first time. A clear understanding of the prin- ciples involved in their rejection will help him considerably. For example, in most other games that one can call to mind it is the case that the harder the ball is struck the farther will it travel. This is not nearly such a general principle in golf. If the stroke is absolutely accurate in every respect, and it is a plain, simple drive that is being attempted, then, no doubt, the more power that is put into the drive, if it is put in at the right time and in the right way, the farther will the ball travel. But except in the case of players of many years’ experience and of great proficiency it seldom happens that the driving strokes, which are very complicated, are S Spalding's Athletic Library . made so accurately, and when they are not it is the most dan- gerous thing to hit hard with all one’s strength at a ball, or to “ press” as it is called. Nobody who has not had to deal with one can imagine what a wayward thing is a golf ball. It has capacities that nobody would suspect or even believe until after experience of them, and it has especially an enor- mous one for going in a different direction from that in which the stroke was aimed and in which it was desired to despatch the ball. Sometimes it is to the right and some- times to the left, and in either of these cases it will happen that the harder the ball is hit the shorter will be the distance that it will travel in the desired line. Therefore let the beginner realise that this is not a game for the display of his strength, and even after he has acquired great proficiency — as we hope he will — he will find that the gentler stroke per- fectly made and timed will pay quite as well for all practical purposes as the one that was made with all the force at the disposal of the player — in fact, in the course of a long and hard match it will probably pay much better. Often enough it will get the ball farther down the course, and it will be infinitely more reliable. In saying this I must not be under- stood to mean that the very longest driving, which is undoubtedly useful and necessary if one covets the high honours of golf, is not to be obtained without the application of considerable physical strength ; but not one young player in a hundred can apply that strength with safety to his game, and he must wait for length in his driving to come of its own accord, as it will do if it ever comes, meanwhile being content with the comparatively gentle game which is so sure. Spalding’s Athletic Library . 9 VARIETY OF THE GAME. Another thing that the beginner must be brought to under- stand on his first day on the links, is that with the exception of tee shots, and not always then, there are no two shots in the game that are exactly similar in all respects, and that a man may play a whole round and find it necessary to make a pronounced difference in every stroke played in it if he is capable of such a thing. No game affords more variety in this respect, though to the eye of the uninitiated the process of working the ball from the tee to the hole seems to contain no variety at all except in the degree of force which is applied to the stroke. He must then understand that the method of playing with the various clubs differs in each case. When he has mastered one club he will still be profoundly ignorant of how to manipulate another. Generally speaking, there is a certain amount of similarity with the play of all wooden clubs, which are chiefly intended to despatch the ball great lengths, and also there is some similarity between the play with different iron clubs which are principally, though not always, used when accuracy in approaching the hole is required more than any great length of the stroke. But there are very wide differences between the play with the wooden clubs and that with the iron ones, and any attempt to use them according to a uniform system, as the untutored beginner would be naturally inclined to do, would be certain to end in nothing but disaster. In the play with wooden clubs the ball is swept from its resting-place in the course of the long swing of the club, and A is. so to speak, merely an incident of the stroke that the ball is there to be carried along with the club-head. The face of 10 Spalding's Athletic Library . the driver or brassey is carefully aimed at it, and of course the utmost care has to be taken that it is brought into proper and accurate contact with it ; but this is done by the regulation of the other parts of the swing before the club gets anywhere near the ball, and it is of the utmost importance that after striking the ball, the club should be allowed to go through to the finish of the stroke, in a sense as if nothing had happened. In the general understanding of the term the ball is not hit ; it is simply swept away. But in the case of the play with the iron clubs the stroke is distinctly a hit, and, excepting so far as it shows whether the stroke was properly made or not, it matters very little what happens after the ball has left the club. There is, then, this great difference between the two classes of shots, and there are other differences of a minor but still important character between the play with the various clubs in each class. For example, the play with the mashie, which is the tool generally employed when it is desired to lift the ball fairly high up into the air so that when it drops it will not run very far and so that therefore its final resting-place can be most accurately judged, is a whole art and science in itself. The beginner will have gained something when he properly appreciates these points. Spalding's Athletic Library . II. METHOD OF TUITION. It is evident that like all other players of my experience I attach the greatest possible importance to being properly taught from the beginning, and the only exception that I make is in the case of young boys, who, to my mind, really need no tuition at all, despite all the difficulties of the game, and the intricate character of the shots that are played in it. Boys are very adaptive, and if they have the opportunity of seeing good players on the links they very soon imitate them and play in the same way. I should think it is the best thing to let them fall into their own natural style in this way rather than force any particular system on them. If a young boy has got any golf in him he will be able to get it out unaided in the ordinary course. But when he has left school before he first begins to play the case is different, and he must then put himself in the hands of a tutor who will do the best that is possible with him. In a general way the later in life a man begins to play the more artificial and forced is his style, and therefore the more remote are his prospects of ever attaining the hall-mark of proficiency which is indicated in being a scratch player. But it does not by any means follow that a player must begin early in order to play a fine game, for championships have been won by players who never saw a golf ball until they were approaching middle age. In any 12 Spalding's Athletic Library ;ase, whether they begin early or late in life, players derive In almost equal enjoyment from the game, and in most cases jhat is everything. One might add that great skill at other games does not necessarily indicate bright prospects of success at golf. To be sure the man who is athletic and adaptable ought to have a pull over others ; but it is surprising in what a large number of cases he fails to show that he has. Most people come to golf from cricket, and it is imagined that cricket is a first- class training for it. So it is up to a certain point ; but the cricketer has to make up his mind that when he is on the links he is no cricketer and knows nothing of any other game than that which he has in hand at the moment. If he applies any of his cricket methods to golf he will find himself in trouble, and the cricket stroke in the drive is one of the worst things ever seen on the links, and one of the hardest faults to get out of. One often finds that a good billiard player makes a good golfer, because he has such a full appreciation of the different effects upon a little ball according to the precise manner in which it is struck. And the superior training of his eye stands him in very good stead on the putting greens. There are two other things for the beginner to bear in mind. The first is that though golf may not be a violent exercise like cricket or football or tennis, it is nevertheless a game which makes many demands on a man’s physique, that is if he plays it to any considerable extent. Let it be borne in mind that a man who plays two matches of eighteen holes in a day has necessarily walked the best part of ten miles in doing so, and that he has made somewhere about a couple of hundred body movements in the swinging of his clubs. He will not be able 13 Spalding 9 s Athletic Library to do this with the greatest amount of pleasure to himself unless he takes ordinary precautions to keep himself fit and in the best condition of body and nerve. The last piece of advice I have to give to the beginnei before sending him out with his clubs is to make it a principle «vith himself in his early days to play a little and to think a lot. Golf is a game requiring an enormous amount of thought, and unless the player can always ascertain exactly what is the reason for his faults and what is the reason for his method of remedying them he will never make much progress. The more he thinks out the game for himself the better he will get on at it, and it is when he is doing so that this little volume will be most useful as containing the main principles of correct play set down with as much simplicity and lucidity as I am capable of. I think that every player who is not a boy should take his lessons from a teacher ; but a sound book on golf will be of great use to him for study when he is off the links and is reflecting on the things that happened the last time he was there. Short and simple as it is, the man who can bring himself to do everything just as I tell him in this book will have arrived at that stage when he will require very little instruction from any one. I am not going into the fine points of the game, such as intentional slicing, pulling, and so forth, because it may be years before the beginner is ready for such advanced instruction, and at the outset he will find his time quite sufficiently occupied in preventing that pulling and slicing which are not intentional and which threaten to spoil his game. 14 Spalding's Athletic Library . III. CHOOSING THE CLUBS. My first word of advice is to buy no clubs at all, except under the most competent advice, until you know something about the game, and to buy as few as possible until you feel that you know a great deal about it, and really understand what it is that you are buying. The professional or other instructor who gives you your first lessons in the game will be the best man to fit you out; but at some of the best golf stores there are very competent golfers in charge, who have a sufficient sense of the responsibility of their business not to thrust upon the beginner tools that will be of very little use to him even if they will not prove harmful. But the intending player must be very careful as to whom he deals with in this way. It is a great mistake to join a golf club and buy a set of clubs, as so many people do, before the first visit to the course is made, with the mistaken idea that they will be all ready and fitted out on their arrival at the links. The professional will very soon size up his man, and supply him with what is most adapted to his requirements. There are, however, some general principles governing the selection of clubs for different players which I may set down here. First I would say that for any class of player I do not favour featherweight clubs. A golf-club, after all, is not a very heavy thing, and even the very lightest players, and those who have 15 Spalding's Athletic Library . the least physical strength must be quite capable of swinging a tolerably heavy club with a good deal of effect. Mind, I am not advocating really heavy clubs for all sorts and conditions of players ; but I am merely urging that because a man is physically slender it does not follow that he must have lighter clubs than other men. As a general rule they are not so steady and reliable in the hands of a player as heavier clubs are. To some extent opinion in the golf world changes from time to time as to which is the better, short clubs or long ones. Sometimes there is a craze for clubs with very long shafts, and this fancy reached a very exaggerated stage a little while ago, when some players went in for what were called fishing-rod drivers. In my opinion they gain very little, if anything, in length, and it is inevitable, no matter how clever they are, that they must lose something in accuracy. However, in these matters much depends on fancy, and I will only say that for my own part I rather advocate a club on the short side, because I think it is very much safer in the hands of all classes of players, and ensures far more accuracy than can be gained with the long- shafted tools. Most particular attention should be paid to what is called the lie of the clubs that are chosen. By this is meant the angle which the bottom of the blade, or the sole of the club, makes with the shaft. It will be evident that according to the angle at which the shaft of the club is held by the player when he is preparing to make his stroke, so will the sole of the club lie evenly on the ground, or with either its toe or its heel raised up above it as the case may be. Now in all cases except one — which I shall point out in due course — it is essential for the proper making of the stroke that the club should be laid thus 1 6 Spalding's Athletic Library. evenly on the ground ; if it is not the ball will not be taken properly, and something is sure to go wrong with the stroke. The question is as to whether the player must move himself nearer or farther from the ball so as to get his club to the right angle, or whether he must have different clubs to suit the distance at which he feels most comfortable. The latter is the only prope course. Every player will find that he feels more comfortable and in a better working position when he stands at a particular distance from the ball, having regard to the kind of club which he has in his hands at the time, and he should have clubs chosen for him so that when he stands at this distance their soles lie evenly on the turf. Generally a tall man, who will not want to lean out very far in making his stroke, will find that in the natural order of things he will hold his club very upright, and consequently he will want clubs with what we call upright lies, that is clubs which have the angles formed between the soles and the shafts rather sharper — a little nearer to right angles — than in the case of others. Short men, on the other hand, will want clubs with flat lies, as they are called, that is to say clubs in which the angle just referred to is very much wider. The selection of clubs with proper lies is of great importance, and it is above all necessary that the different clubs in a set should have lies to match, and should not be all different from each other. When the latter is the case, as so often happens with inexperienced players, either the player has constantly to accommodate himself to his various clubs and change his position according to each of them, when it should not be necessary to do so (a course of procedure which will spoil all the confidence and accuracy of his play), or else for many of his shots he will be playing his clubs in a way that does Position of Hands and Fingers for the Ordinary two “V*’ Grip. See Chapter IV. Another view of the Hands and Fingers in the Overlapping unp. See Chapter IV. Position of Hands and Fingers for the Overlapping Grip. See Chapter IV. and Position of Ball for a Full Drive See Chanter V. Spalding's Athletic Library. 21 not suit them and from which good results are next to im- possible. Players very often blame clubs for their own inferior play when they are not justified in doing so; but it does frequently happen that players have clubs with lies which dc not suit them, and this is often the unsuspected cause of constant failure with implements which look to be the very perfection of their class. . Questions as to the length of the face, and the depth of it, and the amount of loft on the various clubs, can only be satis- factorily settled after a little experience, as what will suit one player in this way will not suit another. I may say, however, that I am not very much of a believer in the very short faces on wooden clubs which have been so fashionable during the last few years. I don't see that there is any gain in them, and if there is no gain it is more than likely that there is some loss. Much depends on the build of a man as to what kind of clubs he should be fitted out with. An entirely different kind of club should be placed in the hands of the free-limbed, athletic man from that which is given to the stiffly built man to play with. The latter plays more from his shoulders, and is unable to twist his body round so easily for the purpose of swinging the club. It follows, therefore, that he usually makes a much shorter swing — a kind of half swing — and when that is the case it is advisable to give him a rather heavier club than usual, in order that he may get a full amount of force into his stroke. On the other hand, the loosely built man, who will naturally go in for a very free and full swing, may have rather lighter clubs. 22 Spalding's Athletic Library. IV. HOW TO GRIP THE CLUB. The first thing the beginner will have to learn is. how to grip his club properly preparatory to making a stroke, and this is not quite the simple matter that it may appear at the first glance. There are many golfers of considerable experience who do not grip their clubs in the right manner, and they are suffering accordingly. During the last few years a new kind of grip has been making itself exceedingly popular, and it is now used by most of the players who have attained championship honours. It is what they call the overlapping grip. In taking hold of the club the two hands are brought so close together that the right one, which is the lower of the two, actually partly overlaps the left one, that is to say some of the fingers of the former ride on the top of the fingers of the other. For those who can use it properly this grip has many advantages, the chief of which is that there is never any doubt as to the proper amount of work to be done by each hand, since, to a very large extent, the two hands work together as one. When he gets on in the game the player will find that one of his chief difficulties from time to time is properly to apportion the amount of work and responsibility to each hand, and when the business is not properly shared the stroke goes wrong. Sometimes it is necessary that the right hand should be the controlling factor, and sometimes the left, that is when the two hands are held apart as in the ordinary Spalding's Athletic Library . 23 grip. Most of the difficulties arising from this state of affairs are obviated in the case of the overlapping grip, and when one has become accustomed to its use it is very easy and comfortable and never gives any trouble. Taylor, Harry Vardon, and I all use this kind of grip. Those who have started golf with the other one, and now, perhaps later on in their careers, are desirous of making a change to the overlapping grip because they have heard so much about it and because the idea of it appeals to them, should bear one thing in mind, and that is that it will not suit every one — a warning which it seems to me has not been given often enough. Excellent as are the advantages of this way of holding the club, there are some players in whose case it would be mere folly and waste of time trying to cultivate it, and in fact one sometimes sees players persevering with it in the most diligent manner and all the time playing a much worse game than usual in consequence, because of a vain hope that they will sometime reap great benefits from it. What it is absolutely essential the player should have for this grip are very strong fingers, which are at the same time probably a little above the average in length. With fingers of medium strength good results cannot be achieved with the overlapping grip, and it will at the same time be far more comfortable and satisfactory to keep to the old-fashioned system to which many of the best players still adhere and to which there are no objections when it is not abused in any way. But if there is no reason on this score why the player should not adopt the overlapping grip, and he desires to do so, it may be recommended with all possible confidence, and by way of introducing it to the reader he may be referred to the ■24 Spalding's Athletic Library . photographs of it, which will give him a very clear idea of what it is and how it is made. It will be noticed that my left hand grips the club well over the top of the shaft, and it grips it firmly with all the fingers. My thumb rests against the side of the shaft, and I might remark here that in the case of the right hand also the thumb is more against the side of the shaft than on the top of it, this con- stituting a slight difference from the grips taken by other well- known players. It is largely a matter of fancy, and some people maintain that by keeping their thumbs almost, if not completely, on the top of the shafts they keep a better control during the swing ; but I have found the opposite to be the case. Having got my left hand in position to begin with, I apply the right hand to the club so that the latter lies in the joint of the first finger. The two first fingers grip well hold of this club, the third finger does very little, and the little one rests on the top of the first finger of the left hand, thus effecting the coupling of the two hands. When the grip is complete the left thumb is pressed against the side of the shaft by the ball of the right hand. The whole grip must be very firm and such as to ensure a complete command over the club in every respect ; but the player must be cautioned against making it too tight, so that the muscles of the wrist and forearm are stiffened up as they are when unusual pressure is employed by the hands in gripping. It is these muscles which have to do much of the work in swinging the club, and it would be fatal to make them so taut as to be more or less unworkable. The other kind of grip, which is the one most generally in use, is very easily explained. The club is gripped in the simplest possible manner, the left hand above the right, and when this is Spalding's Athletic Library . 25 done and both hands are brought quite close together so that there is not a fraction of space between them, there is only one particular in which the novice can possibly go wrong. His first instinct would, no doubt, be to take hold of the club in the same way that he would seize anything else that he wanted to wield,, and this way would generally consist of each hand being applied sideways to the handle, as it were, so that both sets of finger- nails would come up on the top. This would be quite wrong,, and a proper swing would be quite impossible with such a grip. The right-hand should be brought much more round on to the top of the shaft, and the left hand should be turned in to meet it as it were, so that the arch formed by the join of the first finger with the thumb in each case is almost directly over the centre of the shaft. Because of this being the guide to the proper way of gripping, the old-fashioned method as thus described is often called the two-V grip. In this case again different players have different fancies as to . where the thumbs should be, and in different cases you find one or other, or both of them, on the top of the shaft ; but as before I am of opinion that the best place for them is the side. Make the grip as nearly as possible in the middle of the- leather on the handle of the club, with about the same amount of it projecting at each end. One does not get the proper balance of the club and cannot employ it with the same effect if the grip is made right at the bottom, as players sometimes make it when they are off their game and go groping about in all directions for a remedy for the faults that they commit. In such cases it sometimes happens that temporarily a very low grip effects a great improvement ; but it is altogether wrong and will sooner or later bring trouble on the pla} 7 er. I would earnestly 26 Spalding's Athletic Library . advise him therefore to avoid such expedients. In the same way you should not grasp the leather right at the top end, as then you feel a complete loss of control over the club. It should be remembered that the surface of the leather should be kept in such a state as to afford a perfectly secure grip to the hands. For this reason it should not be soft and smooth, but should have a little bite. If it should be made of ordinary leather it will need to be rubbed occasionally with pitch or wax ; but latterly a kind of American cloth has been largely used for these handle coverings, and very delightful it is for such use, giving a cool and very firm grip. Its only disadvantage is that it does not wear very well. Rubber grips are popular with some players, though not so much so as they used to be. They often split and give way at the ends, and then shrink up all at once so that the club is practically useless for the rest of the round, which may sometimes be a very serious matter. Also they are very dangerous in wet weather, for then they become very slip- pery, and it is next to impossible to keep the hands tight on them. There are tales of championships having been lost through this cause. I might add that the same system of gripping the club should be carried out uniformly in the case of all the different clubs which the player employs, and the only variation is in the degree of tightness with which the right hand is held. These variations I will explain in their proper place. Some players, however, who cannot master the overlapping grip for their other strokes where force is required more or less, use it in putting, and there is no objection to their doing so if they think it helps them, as it may very conceivably do. Showing comparatively the different positions of each foot for play with different clubs. The figures on the left of the vertical line each represent positions of the left foot, and those on the right side the corresponding positions of the right foot. The strokes indicated are as follows : — 1, i Ordinary drive. 2, 2 Playing for a pull with driver. 3, 3 Playing for a shie with driver. 4, 4 Full cleek shot. 5, 5 Full iron shot. 6, 6 Full mashie shot. 7, 7 Putting. 28 Spalding's Athletic Library . V. STANCE AND ADDRESS IN DRIVING. The way in which a golfer stands to his ball, and the dis- tance which his feet are from each other and from the ball are called the stance, and the stance varies with each different kind of shot that it is desired to make. When a player has taken up his stance and is preparing to hit the ball he is said to be addressing it. The first shot that is played in the round is the drive, and it is needed from the teeing ground at most of the holes on the way round. In many respects it is the most fascinating shot in the whole of golf, and there is none which gives the golfer so much pleasure as a fine drive, in which the ball is sent along in a dead straight line, or with just such a suspicion of pull on it as to help its length. The golfer always knows when the ball has gone quite sweetly off his club, and when every ounce and grain that he put into the stroke were taken by the ball. It has become the fashion in some quarters to try to make out that long driving is not of so much importance as it has been made out to be, and that players need not make any great efforts to attain it. To that statement one has to reply that while long driving is certainly not everything, and that a player should never sacrifice such accuracy and steadiness as he is capable of in order to accomplish it, still it makes every remaining stroke in the playing of the hole easier and Spalding's Athletic Library . 29 more certain, and consequently it must necessarily happen that now and again a whole stroke is saved. I therefore say that while short drivers have done great things, and that while there is no reason why they should not do them again, especially now that they are so much helped by the rubber*, cored balls, still I think a man can rarely become a really great player unless he is at all events a fairly long driver. As I suggested in the opening pages of this little work, it is more likely to come through great accuracy and the most perfect timing combined with a reasonable exertion of strength than as the result of muscular effort pure and simple. When the player makes his drive from the tee he is allowed to have most things in his favour, and consequently it is per- mitted to him to place his ball on a tiny eminence, usually made of sand, which is called teeing it. His club-head, there- fore, has a clean sweep at the ball with no obstructions sur- rounding it. He can make his tee anywhere on the teeing ground within the recognised limits, and he should take advan- tage of this latitude in selecting a place where his feet will have a secure hold from heel to toe, where the feet will be level with each other, and where the ball will be as nearly as possible on a level patch of ground. A slight inclination one way or the other so as to cause a hanging lie, as it is called, will materially affect the stroke. It is not always a good thing to tee in just the same place as others have done before you, as indie ited by the sand they have left behind. The tee in that place is often rough and slippery after such constant use. Care should also be taken to tee the ball in a place where everything about it is smooth and even. A cigarette stump a piece of paper, or a match stalk might be 30 Spalding's Athletic Library, quite sufficient to distract the eye when the downward swing was being made, with the result that the stroke would be almost certainly spoiled. For the same reason it is not a good thing to tee up very near to the teeing-box. Tee in such a place that the very narrow field of vision which is afforded to the eye when it is fixed on the ball includes nothing except the tee and the bare turf. The tee should be as low as is consistent with the club taking the ball without any impedi- ment. Many players make the mistake of teeing too high. Then comes the great question as to how exactly the player shall stand when he is getting ready for his stroke and while he is making it. This is a matter of vast importance, inas- much as the success or failure of the stroke depends largely on it, and it is surprising what an effect a variation of an inch or two in the position of one or other of the feet will have upon the way in which the ball is hit and the subse- quent flight of it. The player should take the greatest pains to find out exactly what stance suits him best for the different strokes, and should be sure that this stance is theoretically justifiable. No very hard-and-fast rule can be laid down, and there is some margin for individual peculiarities, for almost all the leading players vary to some slight extent in this respect. Still there are certain general principles to be obeyed, and if the golfer attempts to defy them because he thinks he can do better in his own way, he is sure to be sorry for it before he has had any very lengthy experience on the links. When he has found the right stance for each stroke he should stick to it, even when he is temporarily off his game and is inclined to try all sorts of dodges in order to get back to it, and he should not give up his stance for Spalding's Athletic Library . 31 another one until after the gravest consideration, and having quite satisfied himself that what he is doing is for the best. Now it is impossible to give any definite instruction as to how far in feet and inches the player should stand from the ball, as it is obvious that this must largely depend on his height and the length of his reach. As I am six feet two in height it would be little use for me to tell a player who was only five feet seven how far my feet are from the ball when I am addressing it, because it would be wrong for him to stand so far away, and even in the case of players of the same stature and length of reach there are slight variations which are permissible. As a general rule, however, the player should stand just so far from the ball that when the face of the club is laid against it the end of the shaft just reaches to his left knee when the latter has just the suspicion of a bend in it. Standing at this distance he will be able to make his stroke freely and comfortably and with accuracy, not having to overreach himself on the one hand or cramp himself on the other. Then as to the relative positions of the feet, there are two distinct systems. The stance, according to one of them, is called the open stance. When this is adopted the right foot is placed considerably nearer to the ball than the left — perhaps eight or nine inches nearer, or even more than that. By this system it will be seen that as the club is being brought on to the ball, and afterwards when it is following through, the passage, so to speak, is quite clear, and the left foot is well out of the way. With this stance, which is very popular with some of the best players, very fine and powerful play is possible. The other stance is rather more old-fashioned, but is still played 32 Spalding's Athletic Library . with and thoroughly believed in by many of the best amateur and professional players, particularly those belonging to the old Scottish schools. In this case the right toe is either just on a level with the left one or even some inches behind it. To the uninitiated this difference may seem a very small matter ; but it means everything to the style of the player. In the case of the open stance the weight for the greater part of the stroke is on the right foot, and therefore we say that the man is playing off the right foot. With the square stance it is rather more on the left. The general opinion seems to be that the open stance is the easier of the two to work with ; but I am not in agreement. My own stance is a partially square one, for my toes are almost dead level with each other, as may be seen by reference to the accompanying photographs. Aftei much consideration, and as a result of my experience with hundreds of pupils, I have come to the conclusion that it is easier for the beginner to learn to play off the left foot, that is to say with the toes either level with each other or the right one slightly behind the other. He will get quite as good results with this stance as he would with the other ; it is really quite as easy to follow-through with the club when the stroke is being made, and the player is not so liable to fall into the error of getting his hands and body in front of the club. Moreover, one of the commonest and most trying faults of the beginner is slicing with his wooden clubs. A stroke is sliced when the club-head is — imperceptibly to the eye or even to the feel — drawn across the ball at the moment of contact It may be only a sixteenth of an inch, but the result is to impart a curious motion to the ball, as the result of which, after starting off in a straight line, it suddenly wheels round to the right, and Spalding's Athletic Library . 32 sometimes towards the end of its flight it is actually travelling at right angles to its original and proper direction. The con- sequence, of course, is that much of the desired length is lost, and in addition the ball, by wheeling round in this Way, is almost certain to land itself into a bunker, or the rough grass or other trouble on the side of the fairway, so that a whole stroke, or the best part of one, is lost. When the golfer plays off the left foot with the square stance, although he is not immune from slicing he is very much less liable to it than with the open stance. Concerning the position of the ball with respect to the feet, there is not much room for variation or difference of opinion. In some abnormal cases one finds a player teeing up the ball .almost opposite his left toe, while a few others bring it back to a point almost midway between the feet, or even a shade more to the right. But undoubtedly a mistake is made in each instance. The commoner practice, and that which I have always adopted myself, and which I recommend to all others-, is to place the ball, or place the feet, so that the former is in a line about six inches to the right of the left heel. This allows of the full force of the swing being brought on to it, of the club taking it at the time which is likely to be most effective, and of the follow-through being executed in the easiest and most complete manner. Both the toes should be turned slightly outwards. 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 move- ment. The slackening may be a little more pronounced in the case of the arms than with the legs, as much more freedom 34 Spalding's Athletic Library. 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. If he does not possess it the chances are that there is something wrong somewhere. He should take care that the weight of his body is now well down on his heels and not on the balls of his feet. An almost imperceptible movement will make all the difference in this respect, and it is quite impossible to drive well or accurately unless the weight is on the heels. There may be a little more weight on the right heel than on the left in the case of the address. In passing it may be remarked that the player should never neglect the precaution of having plenty of good hobnails in the soles of his boots or shoes to prevent him from slipping. Despite the fact that his attitude is constituted for comfort and power, the player should guard against any tendency to stoop or to let his head fall down. Both these faults are very serious in some cases, and are very difficult to get rid of. The head should be kept well up throughout the stroke, and the body should be held up as well as circum- stances will permit. The right shoulder may be dipped a little at this point, but care has to be taken that it is not let down any more while the stroke is in progress. When all these arrangements have been made, and the club-head is laid to the ball, the sole of the club, as I have already indicated, must lie flat upon the turf. Everything is now in readiness for making the stroke, and the player prepares to hit the ball. He takes his last look or two in the direction of the hole to satisfy himself thoroughly about what exactly it is that he wants to do, and what it is necessary to do, and to make a final mental note of the par- Spalding's Athletic Library . 35 ticular dangers that are in front of this tee shot, and how they may be avoided. 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-head backwards and forwards once or twice over the ball. Different players have all kinds of waggles, some slow and deliberate, others quick and energetic, and others again make all kinds of fancy movements. But each adheres to his own system which grows up with him, and without a practice of which he would never feel quite safe in attempting a stroke. 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. But it is better that, during the last waggle at any rate, the eyes should have ceased to regard that point in the distance to which it is intended to despatch the ball, and should have settled down to looking steadily at the ball itself. This brings me naturally to a repetition of the most justly celebrated maxim in golf — “ Keep your eye on the hail'd There is no other rule which is half so valuable and necessary, because it is quite certain that if you do not keep your eye on it fi om the moment that you commence your swing until it has been sent from the tee no good whatever can come of the stroke, and the chances are greatly in favour of its being foozled and generally ruined. Even players of long experience . and con- siderable skill, sometimes, as the result of over-confidence, get into the way now and again of temporarily allowing their eyes to wander, though they are unconscious that they are doing so, and the result is that their strokes go wrong and they cannot think why. It seems such an easy thing to keep one’s eye on the ball, and yet it is not quite so. easy as it looks. The time 36 Spalding’s Athletic Library . when it is most frequently taken off is just when the club is coming down on to it, and it is just the time when the mistake is likely to prove the most expensive. The fact seems to be that the mind, and the optic nerves through it, work rather more quickly than the arms and body, and they anticipate the flight of the ball and consequently look up in the direction in which it is to travel, eager to see what has become of the stroke. Consequently the impulse is a natural one to some extent, and as such will have to be very carefully guarded against. Some players who find themselves in constant trouble in this matter have forced on themselves a rule that they shall always take care to see the place where the ball was after it has been struck by the club before they look up to see what has happened, and this is not by any means a bad rule in such circumstances, although it involves keeping the eyes fixed on the spot really rather longer than is necessary. If an instantaneous photograph is taken of a good player just at the moment when the ball has started on its journey, and the club is following through, it will be noticed that his gaze is still directed to the spot where the ball was teed, although he would not be conscious of the fact. Like a good many other things, this business which may be rather troublesome at first becomes habit after a while. There is only one other injunction to make, and that is that the gaze should be fastened on to the side of tne ball and not on the top of it, that is to say you must look at the point that you mean to hit. Beginning of the Upward Swing for Full Drive or Brassey Shot, showing how the First Movement comes almost entirely from the Wrists. See Chapter VI. Finish of a Full Drive or Brassey Shot. See Chapter IX. Another View of the Finish of the Full Drive or Brassey Shot, showing the Position of the Hands and Arms, and how the itody is brought round to Face the Hole. See Chapter IX, Stance for Drive with Pull. See Chapter XI. Stance for Drive with Slice, See Chapter XT. Braid “letting out at it” in his Drive. A characteristic finish by the Champion. Address with the Cleek, See Chapter XV. Finish of Swing for a Full Cleek Shot. See Chapter XV. Spalding's Athletic Library. 45 VI. THE UPWARD SWING IN DRIVING. If I were asked to say what is the most important movement in the whole of golf, I should say the upward swing when it is intended to make a full shot with either the driver or the brassey. This upward swing comprises a great deal of the style of a player, and it generally surprises the beginner to be told that everything as to the way in which the ball is hit and despatched on its journey depends on this backward movement with the club. Even many old players do not seem to have sufficiently grasped the truth of the statement, or if they have they constantly neglect the moral. Although the up-sw 7 ing has nothing to do with the hitting of the ball, and it is only in the down-swing that the latter is struck, the up-swing is much the more important movement of the two inasmuch as whatever it is the down-swing is almost sure to be. This is to say that if the up-swing is made in a mechanically and theoretically proper manner, it is unlikely that anything will go wrong at all events until the ball has been hit. On the other hand, if the up-swing is badly made it is practically impossible for the down-swing to be right, and therefore the stroke will be badly played and in one way or another the ball will refuse to travel properly. The first business of the young golfer, therefore, must be to take immeasurable pains to make his up-swing perfect, and it is an exercise that he should never be tired of practising. 4 6 Spalding's Athletic Library . Three important rules about the up-swing may be set down to begin with, and to break any of them will be fatal. In the first place, it must, be conducted very slowly — moderately “slow back” is another of the golden rules of golf. Secondly, the head of the player must be kept as motionless as possible ; in fact, to all intents and purposes it must be quite rigid and motionless. Thirdly, the body also must be kept quite still; that is, so far as sideways movements or swaying backwards or forwards is concerned. Unless the strictest attention is given to each of these points the whole movement will go out of gear, and anything like uniformity and accuracy will be impossible. The object is to bring the club backwards to a certain point — generally until it is behind the shoulders and about horizontal — in the smoothest and easiest manner possible. With beginners there may be a natural impulse, particularly when they feel fairly confident about what they are going to do and how they are going to do it, to swing back very suddenly and quickly in the partly unconscious belief that the quicker the thing is done the harder they will be able to hit the ball. As a matter of fact they will find that speed in the backward swing rather takes it off the forward one on to the ball instead of increasing it, and, besides that, tends to make the player lose all control of his movements and of the command of his club. If either the head or the body are guilty of any perceptible movement, there can be no rhythm or accuracy of the stroke. Of course the body has to turn while the up-swing is being made, but it should do this from the hips alone, so that the whole of the human machinery seems to work upon an axis at this point. Bearing these things in mind, you begin the swing. The 47 Spa/ding’s Athletic Library . first movement must come from the wrists, and it is the left one which makes the initiative. They, and they alone, start the head of the club moving back from the ball, the left one giving the first gentle pressure to the club, while, as soon as the latter begins to move, the left elbow begins to bend slightly so as to accommodate itself to the movement. One of the commonest mistakes seen on the links is the breaking of this rule by players who at the commencement of their swings, instead of letting their wrists begin the work in the manner indicated, swing away both arms to the right from the shoulder. This completely disturbs the whole arrangement, for the wrists, which will still have their work to do, will begin it at a wrong and inconvenient position, and a great deal of power and sure- ness will have been wasted. This fault is sometimes committed in the belief that a very wide outward and backward sweep of the club is necessary to the making of a good long drive, but such is not the case. I don’t believe at all in those long sweeps. 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 uncom- fortable, 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 48 Spalding's Athletic Library . a little, and the right heel is more firmly than ever planted on the ground. The continuation of the up-swing is a simple matter so long as it is not too rapidly executed. Keep the right, elbow fairly well into the side of the body. In far too many cases players let it go away from them as soon as the swing gets under way, partly, perhaps, with the idea of getting that wide sweep to which reference has just been made. The only real result, however, is to destroy accuracy and power and the whole beauty of the movement — because the swing for the drive is really a beautiful movement — is spoiled. The club has to be brought round to the back of the body and not over the head. As the club begins to get round there the left wrist must be allowed to turn inwards and underneath the shaft. This is very important, because when the wrist is kept alongside or over the shaft the position is very cramped, the head of the club is not in the proper position for commencing the down- ward swing, and all manner of evils arise as the result. If a player tries the swing both ways he .will feel at once the great difference in the comfort and feeling of control that he has over the club when he works that left wrist in the proper manner. The black patch represents the part of the sole on which the player should balance or pivot during the upward swing instead of on the toe as is commonly done. Spalding's Athletic Library . 49 VII. THE TOP OF THE SWING. When the club has been brought back in the way I have directed, and when the wrists have been allowed to do their work in the proper manner* it will be found that at the farthest point of the backward swing, or the top of the swing as we call it, the toe of the club is facing the ground. If it does not do so it is an absolutely certain sign that there is something seriously wrong — generally with the wrist work — and it is quite necessary that the player should find out what is the matter, and set it right. The question arises as to how far this backward swing should be prolonged. No very strict rule can be laid down in the matter, as it largely depends on the peculiarities of the style r another is played by most of the leading professionals, and one which they find extremely useful in many emergencies. It is a shot that is generally only played in fairly advanced golf, and I would recommend all beginners to leave these refinements of the game severely alone until they have mastered the more elementary shots. At the same time this is one which will be extremely useful to them when they have got fairly going, and then they may take an early opportunity . of prac- tising it. Spalding's Athletic Library . Bg XVI. THE IRON. With many players the iron is a very favourite club, and one which in their hands is made to serve all kinds of useful purposes. Moreover, it is true that the approaching distance for which the iron is specially suited is constantly being pre- sented in the course of a round of the links, and, taking it all round, it has to be admitted that the iron is one of the most valuable occupants of the golfer’s bag. It is certainly a beginner’s club, because play with it is not generally found so difficult as that with either the cleek or the mashie, and it is probably the first of the iron clubs with which the young golfer exhibits any sign of proficiency. Therefore he will do well to give it special attention at the outset. I say this, although it is often found that the more a man gets on in the game the less does he require his iron, often because he finds its work a little too crude and too inexact for his liking. He frequently gets the same result in a better way from other clubs. I myself have no particular fondness for the iron, and it is very seldom that I play a full ordinary shot with it. When the distance seems to call for such a shot I generally prefer to take my cleek and play an easy half-shot with that, finding that when I do so I can keep a much straighter ball than when I have to make a full swing with the less powerful club. However, the beginner would not be well advised to Spalding's Athletic Library . try experiments with half-swings at the outset, and therefore he may be recommended to give careful study to the play with the club under discussion. When he has learned to play his cleek shots he will have no particular difficulty with the iron, for it is used in a very similar manner. As the shaft of the club is shorter it will usually be necessary to stand a little nearer to the ball, and in the case of this shot it is also better to take a more open stance, that is to play with the right foot a little nearer to the ball than in the case of the shots that have already been described. Apart from this, the feet should be placed so that the ball is nearer to the line of the right heel. Grip the club very tightly, and make the upward swing in the same manner as with the full shot with the cleek, taking care not to prolong the upward movement too far. In all shots of this kind a short swing is much better and much more reliable than a long one. The stroke is a hit stroke, as with other iron clubs, and this is to be remembered when coming down on to the ball so that the wrists are stiffened and prepared for the sharp impact. After the ball has gone I finish the stroke with the hands well up and the club turned round to the back, though it is not essential that this should be done. It merely shows that the stroke has been cleanly and freely made. At the finish of the stroke, according to the way in which I make it myself, the player should be entirely on his left leg with the right foot on its toe, and, as in the case of most other full shots, his body should have come round so that it is now facing the hole. Spalding's Athletic Library . 51 XVII. THE RUNNING-UP SHOT. The iron is also very frequently used for another and entirely different kind of stroke, that is to say a short running-up approach of anything up to fifty or sixty yards. On most courses there is usually a more or less formidable bunker guarding the green, and when this is the case and the golfer is approaching the hole from short range the bunker becomes a serious matter for consideration. The only shot that is possible in the circumstances is a lofted shot, and the proper thing to do this with is the mashie, as will be described shortly. But it sometimes happens that there is either no bunker, or that the previous shot has just cleared it but has still left a fair amount of ground to be covered before the pin is reached. Many players in these days have got so accustomed to the belief that the mashie is the only thing to do any kind of approach work with that they still use it in circumstances of this kind ; but a running-up shot with a less lofted club is far preferable and, executed by a man who knows what he is doing, is likely to give far better results. There is a much better chance of laying the ball near to the hole when running-up than when pitching with the mashie, and it is a shot which gives scope for any amount of skill, so that the tendency in these days is to make holes with fewer bunkers in front of them so as to give more opportunities for this running-up. 92 Spalding's Athletic Library The object of the stroke is just to lift the ball clear of the ground until the putting green is reached, or nearly, and then to let it drop there and finish with a little run up to the pin. It is obvious that for this purpose very little loft is needed on the club, and indeed the less there is on it the better, so that while the iron is often used — perhaps more generally so tfthn any other club — many players get better results and are able to gauge the shot with much more accuracy by using a club with a straighter blade, such as a straight-faced iron, which they may carry in their bags, or even a cleek. The method of making the stroke is very simple. The player must stand very straight up and take a firm and fairly open stance, with the ball rather more in a line with the right heel than usual. The swing will be a very short affair, since very little propulsion is necessary in order to make the ball travel such a short distance. Exactly what length of swing to give will naturally vary with the distance to be traversed, and the player must be left to find out in practice what swing to give for each particular shot, and need only be recommended always to try to get his distance exactly by swinging exactly instead of by swinging almost the same distance each time and regulating the force that he puts into the stroke. In a general way it will be found that even for a fairly long run up it will not be necessary to swing the blade of the club more than elbow high ; and, this being so, the body should be kept very stiff and steady, and the left knee should bend in towards the right but a very little, the heel scarcely coming off the ground. In finishing the stroke the wrists should be kept fairly stiff, and after impact the right hand should turn over slightly while the head of the club should sweep along close to the ground and finish low down Spalding's Athletic Library . pointing to the hole. Of course for a shot of this character no turf is to be taken. The ball should be hit as cleanly and accurately as possible, and the player must guard against a tendency that will assert itself to look up towards the hole before he has actually struck the ball ; in fact, the rule about keeping the eye on the ball has to be insisted upon more than ever when the short game is being played, because it is then that it is most commonly broken. In many respects this delicate running-up shot is a miniature of the three-quarter forcing shot witn the cleek as already described. 94 Spalding's Athletic Library. XVIII. THE MASHIE. This is a club that generally gives the young golfer a good deal of trouble, though there is no great reason why it should do so, and the cause as a rule is merely over-anxiety. The hole is close at hand, and there is commonly a hazard of some kind intervening which will catch the ball if the least thing goes wrong, and thus spoil the whole of what may have been very good play up to that point. I need say no more con- cerning the club than that it should have a fair amount of weight in it, and should have a strong shaft in which there must be no tendency to whip. Spring in the shaft is all very well in the case of some clubs, but it is quite out of place in a mashie. There are many different patterns of blades, and it is not much use recommending any particular one of them to the player, because as soon as he gets on in the game he is almost certain to exhibit a preference of his own in this respect. However, one may recommend him not to overdo the loft on his club, as, however much it may be necessary to get the ball up, it must not be forgotten that it is also necessary to take well hold of it, and there may be a difficulty in doing this when the face of the club is laid back at too great an angle. There are generally understood to be two kinds of shots with the mashie — a very full mashie which is similar to an iron Spalding's Athletic Library . 95 ihot, and only differs from it in that the ball is carried a Shorter distance and goes up higher, so that it comes down with less run — all this being mostly due to the club — and the Short-pitching shot, in which the ball is just lifted straight flp into the air to come down again a very little distance in iront with next to no run on it. The former may be employed when the ball is somewhere about eighty yards from the hole, sind the latter usually comes in most frequently at about forty Dr fifty. In reality there is not much difference between the Strokes except in degree — that is to say in the length of the swing and consequently the force with which the ball is hit. The stance for the mashie shot differs slightly from that which was taken in the case of the iron. It should always be very open, and the right foot is consequently well advanced, while the ball is placed in a line about midway between the feet. For my own part I believe in holding the hands very low down — at practically the full stretch of the arms — so that the heel of the club is on the turf and the toe is slightly raised. This course of procedure seems to help the club to get under the ball better. At the same time the player should stand very close to the ball, and he should grip the club very tightly. It is essential that throughout this stroke he should have a very firm grip. In making the upward swing it has to be borne in mind that as it is required to pitch the ball up, and as one of the means of doing this is to come down very straight on to it, the club should be carried very straight up when it is being taken away from the ball. The best way of doing this, and at the same time of preserving that semi-rigidity which is essential to good mashie play, is to allow the wrists and 9 6 Spalding's Athletic Library . forearms to do nearly all the work ; and this is generally recognised to be the proper method. The arms are allowed to bend slightly from the elbows, and the right elbow is kept well in to the body. While there should be a fair amount of slackness and play in the legs to begin with, the knees being allowed to bend considerably, there should be very little move- ment in either feet or legs while the stroke is being made. The left knee may bend in very slightly towards the right toe, but the heel should scarcely be raised from the ground, and there should be nothing in the nature of pivoting. In this way the body will not be allowed to turn very much, and it is important that it should not be allowed to do so. The more rigidly it is held the better. As for the distance to which the club is taken back, this must necessarily depend on the length of the shot which it is required to make, but it should be very seldom necessary when using the mashie to go much beyond the perpendicular, and when a player does so he is probably asking rather more of the club than he ought to do. As usual the downward swing is a repetition of the upward one, and there is little to say about it that will not be evident to the player by this time. He must take care to carry the club well through in the direction of the hole, and not to hug it in towards him just after impact — a fault which is very much in evidence with some players and which completely ruins the shot. In finishing one does not allow the body to turn round towards the hole quite so much as with other shots with iron clubs, and consequently the right knee does not turn in so much. The club should finish about as high up as it was taken in the backward swing. It is of great im« 97 Spalding's Athletic Library . portance to impress upon the young golfer who is not thoroughly acquainted with mashie play that it is not neces- sary for him to do anything in particular except obey the simple instruction for swinging the club as here laid down in order to make the ball pitch up in the required manner. If the club is swung properly the loft on its face will get the ball up quite sufficiently for any purpose, and when the player gets trying to assist the club in this direction by wriggling his hands about when making the stroke and endeavouring in some peculiar manner to jerk the ball up there is sure to be trouble. In itself mashie play is not so very difficult after all, but many players contrive to make it so. There are one or two other kinds of approach shots, chiefly that in which a little cut is applied to the mashie stroke in order to make the ball stop more dead than usual when it alights on the green, but the beginner had better not attempt them. They are not easy, and it will be quite time enough for him to try his skill at this sort of thing when he has had at least a year or two's practice. Besides they are not often wanted. Remember that with all mashie shots a little turf should always be taken. It is next to impossible to play them well without, but the turf must be taken at the right time and in the right place. gS Spalding's Athletic Library. XIX. THE NIBLICK. This is a heavy club with a deep face and much laid back for the special purpose of making the ball rise very quickly over some obstruction immediately in front. The use to which the niblick is most frequently applied is to get the player out of bunkers and other difficult places to which his bad shots have taken him, and as a rule it is about the only club that is practicable in the circumstances. The golfer should make a point, however, of asking himself when he has got into a bunker whether any other club than the niblick is possible in the situation that is presented. Some players get so much into the habit of taking their niblick quite mechanically when in bunkers that they miss many good opportunities of making far better recoveries than is possible with it, for it occasionally happens that the ball is lying quite well and at a fair distance from the face of a low bunker, in which circumstances it might be quite easy to get in a good snot with a mashie, or even now and then with an iron or driving mashie. However, while pointing out this possibility, it is never to be forgotten that after all the first thing to be thought of when one has got into a bunker , is to make sure of getting out in one stroke, and therefore a club should never be taken which the player is not quite certain is equal to the task in hand. Spalding' s Athletic Library . 99 The method of playing the niblick for a bunker shot is very similar to that of the mashie. It will often happen that the player has not very much choice in the matter of stance, and will at times have to put up with c:me very unorthodox positions ; but when he has as much choice as he wants, he will take a medium open stance and have the ball fairly well towards his right foot. In the upward swing he should hold the club very tightly and take it up very straight and rather high. In the case of this shot he must not keep his eyes on the ball during the swing, but on the sand an inch or so behind it, and he must bring the club down on to this place m the sand so that it will drive its way through it and under- neath the ball, giving it such a lift up as would be possible in no other way. Generally when a ball is played out ot a bunker in this way the ciub does not even touch it. There need be no attempt to finish the stroke, which naturally comes to an end when the club is ploughing its way through the sand underneath the ball. The player may be recommended not to lose sight of any advantage that is to be gained by playing the ball at an angle across the face of the bunker instead of straight in front. When this can be done it will be seen that the shot is rendered much less difficult through its not being necessary to make the ball rise so quickly, and the player may be spared the exasperation of seeing the ball rise to within an inch of the top of the bunker, but then hit it and come flopping back into the sand very probably in a worse lie than before. Bunker shots are worth far more practice than is given to them. No player is ever so perfect that he does not get into bunkers sometimes, and it will be an enormous gain to him if he cultivates the power of getting ioo Spalding's Athletic Library . well out of them in one shot when these misfortunes occur to him. Although the average player so seldom thinks of them, there are other uses for the niblick besides bunker shots, and one of them is for short approaches to which it is desired to apply a considerable amount of loft and when it is necessary to stop the ball very dead indeed, as soon as it comes down to the turf. For this kind of work the heavy head of the niblick with its large amount of loft is very well suited, and in the hands of some players some perfectly marvellous work can be got out of it. In many respects the niblick shot played in this way fulfils all the functions of the cut mashie. For some time past I have been using a niblick with an unusually large face, which I find better than the ordinary niblicks for all purposes. Braid’s Stance and Address when Putting. See Chapter XX, Finish of Putting Stroke, indicating an easy Follow-through Styte See Chapter XX. Spalding's Athletic Library. 103 SQL PUTTING. It happens, unfortunately, that concerning one department ot 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. In one respect putting is the simplest thing in golf, inasmuch as there is no complicated swing to make and to be continually getting out of order ; but, as everybody of experience knows, the making of the final strokes on the putting green in the endeavour to get the little white ball into the hole at last, is the most difficult and trying task imaginable, and the one which is most constantly disappointing. It is impossible to tell a man what to do in order to putt the ball into the hole. He must find out for himself, and make himself into as good a putter as he can by constant practice. Much may be done by this constant practice, and bad putters have been turned into good ones ; but really great putters are probably born and not made, and some astonishing results have been obtained by the veriest beginners. It is quite possible that many people may putt better in the early part of their experience than later on, for they may think it 10 d Spalding's Athletic Library . easier than it really is, and thus have plenty of confidence, and there is nothing like confidence in putting. However, while one cannot tell a player how exactly to putt a ball into the hole from any given distance, and while also it would be unwise to direct him to take any particular stance for putting, believing that the man is best off in this department who does things in that way which comes most natural to him and in which he is most comfortable, there are certain general principles which it would be very dangerous and possibly disastrous to disobey, and which may be mentioned here. In the first place, putting is an extremely delicate operation, and calls for the most careful gauging of strength and direction in the stroke. This being so, it is obvious that if the body moves in the least the whole of the delicate calculation must necessarily be upset, and really fine putting be made an impossibility- Therefore the body must be kept absolutely still, and the head also quite motionless Generally it must be done by the hands and wrists only, and the right hand is the one to putt with, the other merely holding and steadying the club. It is palpably necessary that the very utmost steadiness in swinging the club must be constantly displayed. Nervous, shaky, wobbly taps are useless. Also, the stroke must be a smooth and easy one, just as much so as any other stroke in the game, and the player must guard against getting into the habit of stabbing his ball. This is a common mistake ; but when it is made the regulation of strength and direction is most difficult. The club must be brought on to the ball in a nice even sweep, and it should follow-through properly. As in other strokes the swing should be regulated precisely according to the distance to which it Spalding' s Athletic Library . 105 is desired to putt the ball. A great deal depends on hitting the ball quite truly on the proper place on the club, and to ensure this, care must be taken to keep the eye on the ball until the stroke has been made. The tendency to take it off and look up at the hole before the ball has been started on its journey is greater in the case of putting than anything else, and it is fatal every time. As to stance, I myself think there is a great deal to be said for a very open stance, and this is one with which I play, having the ball nearly opposite my right toe ; but I would hesitate to lay down any definite rule in the matter. The beginner may be left to experiment for himself. Also he may be left to experi- ment with putters, as it is in the farthest degree unlikely that he will be satisfied with the first one that he buys. He will think that he will be able to putt better and save more holes if he buys a new one, and this may happen several times before he has a real favourite of his own. I might hint again, however, that I think there is something to be said for having one kind of putter to run up with and another for holing out from a short distance. The importance of making a most careful study of the line of every putt cannot be too strongly impressed upon the player. If there are undulations of the green to be dealt with they cannot be considered too carefully or the calculations made too exactly, for the ball is exceedingly sensitive to them. It is sometimes even necessary to make wide allowances for undulations that are scarcely perceptible, and this is specially the case when greens are fast. There is a wise maxim “ Never up, never in,” and it may only be added that it is better to be a foot beyond the hole than six inches on the near side of it. io6 Spalding's Athletic Library . XXI. PLAYING THE ROUND. We have thus made a short study of all the leading strokes in the game, and by the time the player is able to make them with any kind of complete knowledge as to how they should all be done, even if he cannot make them properly, he will be playing his rounds against opponents, and ought to be a constantly improving golfer. In regard to playing a round as a whole there are one or two points that it may be wise to mention here. To play the ball from the tee to the hole is never quite such a simple business as it looks if it is to be done properly and the hole won or halved with an opponent. The player will find it to be necessary to play with his head all the time, and one of the first things that he will have to learn, and one which he will find of use all through his career is when to take risks and when not to. The mere beginner should never take risks, that is to say he should never attempt shots which he imagines may be beyond his powers, because he will be doing much to spoil the style he is forming for himself and get himself into very bad habits. Let him content himself with making the shots in an easy and comfortable way, and being as certain about them as he can be. But the time will come when the question will present itself acutely to him as to whether he shall attempt a shot which he thinks is quite likely to fail, in the hope of gaining 107 Spalding's Athletic Library . some great advantage if it comes off. In these circumstances it is simply a question of profit and loss, and the player must make a careful calculation as to which is, on the whole, the more profitable policy. It may happen that a very desperate shot is the only one to save the match ; in that case it is the obvious duty of the player to go for it. If a man is two down with three to play, he must take risks with nearly every stroke ; but if he is two up with three to play he must risk nothing. Again, if his opponent has played the odd or two more, he himself will naturally play a safer game than if he were the party playing the odd or two more. In any case no stroke should ever be made without a full consideration of all the various contingencies that are possible. Heedless- haphazard players never get on in the game. They may not find it a$ easy thing to arrange, but whenever possible the young player should strive to arrange his match with better players than himself. He may not win so many of them ; but they will do his game a lot of good, and will pull him out as nothing else will. He should be chary of accepting advice from players who are not much better than himself ; but from really good golfers he may learn much, and he should always be very observant, for probably more players have learned to play a very fine game through watching others play it than in any other way. Until he has got very far advanced the player should from time to time take a lesson from his original tutor, who will often cure him of faults into which he is dropping, perhaps unconsciously, and give him some new hint which in his then state of experience will be very timely and valuable. He will find it very good practice to go out occasionally with only one club, 108 Spalding's Athletic Library . that one being one with which he has a lot of trouble. He will discover that he can do more in the way of breaking himself into it in one hour in this way than he would do in a month by simply using the club when it came to its turn in ordinary match play. Finally, let me recommend the young player to obtain the fullest knowledge of the rules of the game and of its etiquette, so that he may never be in ignorance of the former and never be guilty of a breach of the latter, which is the worst fault a golfer can commit. He will soon learn that it is his first duty to replace the turf which is cut out in the act of playing, and he must realise that it is not enough merely to throw the turf down on the spot from where it was cut. The object of replacing is not to cover up the gash made, but to give the turf a chance to grow again, as it will do if properly laid back. The operation should therefore be performed carefully, and the turf properly and thoroughly patted back into its place with the foot. The etiquette of golf simply consists in showing a proper regard for ' the convenience and pleasure of others, and therefore for the good of the game. There are many ways in which this may be done, and in which alas ! it is too often left undone. For example, when a player has visited a bunker and made large marks in the sand with his heels or his club, it behoves him to fill them up carefully and rake the sand with his club before going on. If he does not, some other player’s ball may be penalised most cruelly and unfairly by going into those heel or club marks. If the golfer always does to others as he would be done by he will find his life on the links very much pleasanter than it would be otherwise. Spalding's Athletic Library . 109 HARRY VARDON TELLS HOW TO PLAY GOLF. THE DRIVE. Cultivate a good style. Style may not be of the greatest importance which some veterans insist on, but few will deny that a good style is a distinct advantage to a man who wishes to become a good player. The beginner having got his clubs, we would advise him in commencing the game to go to some good professional and put himself in his hands for a couple of hours at a time. See that your instructor is built pretty much on the same lines as your- self. It seems to me to be absurd for a big, heavy-built man to take lessons from a little, slim boy, who can tie himself in a knot and swing, and yet come back perfectly steady on his feet just as he hits the ball, and expect to do the same yourself with about 100 pounds more flesh covering your muscles. You will be told that all good drivers and professionals have the same theory in driving, and that they merely obtain the same results by putting those theories into practice in a different manner, but the fact remains that we are naturally imitative and we really arrive at some fixed way of standing to address a ball, not by being put in a particular position and having our arms raised in a particular way, but by observing someone else do what we are trying to lejarn. And it stands to reason that if a man will observe a player driving whose build is similar to his own, it will be much easier for him to imitate the player and consequently much quicker to obtain the desired results. As it is not always within the means of all beginners (for various reasons) to have the advantage of coaching by a com- petent instructor, a few hints given here may not be amiss. 110 Spalding's Athletic Library. The first thing to engage your attention then, as you stand upon the tee ready to begin, is to see that you sole your club properly, i. e., allow the club head to rest flat on the ground immediately behind the ball. This is called soling the club or giving a club its only lie. At the same time see that the face or the part of the club intended to strike the ball is held at a perfect right angle to the direction in which you intend to play for. Having done that, then stand in a perfectly parallel line to the intended direction with both feet aligned, care being taken to see that you do not have the right foot dragging behind the left. This will make of the line of the ball and the position of your feet two perfectly parallel lines. Now stand perfectly easy, with the feet firmly set upon the ground. Don’t be tense, but hold yourself as relaxed as you possibly can, your main object being to stand in such a way that when you swing you will bring your club straight and squarely behind the ball in describing the circle, and follow through in the direct line for the object aimed at, viz., the hole, with the least possible exertion to yourself. Should you on the contrary seek to stand with the right foot behind the line of the left one, and which, by the way, is the stance most commonly adopted by beginners, your follow through will not be as free as it should be, the tendency being to press the club through with the right hand, and resulting in a slice or a pull, according to how the ball is hit, at the same time finishing your stroke with both legs crossed — not a very stylish finish by any means, and apt to make the player lose his equilibrium. Having got some idea of how to stand, and also as to allowing your club to soie properly, the very next step in order is the position of the ball, i. e., where shall it be teed? Of course many men have many styles, and while one can see a few players tee their ball near the right foot, the vast majority tee very nearly opposite the left. And this is the position we would advise beginners to adopt as being one of the best. Our reasons are these : As the player about to play grasps the club he, as a rule, holds it with the left hand on top, the right being under. Spalding's Athletic Library. hi This naturally makes the left arm exactly the width of the hand longer than the right one. Consequently in seeking to swing the club correctly the head will reach the bottom of the arc in describing the circle when it comes in a straight line with the longest arm, or left shoulder. As this is purely an arm-and- shoulder movement, the left shoulder is thus necessarily the axis of the swing. Following this theory out, the beginner will then see, as he stands with his feet apart ready to make the stroke, that his left shoulder is almost in perfect line, vertically, with his left heel, and that if the ball is teed in line with the same, the plane of the axis maintained, he must assuredly con- nect with the ball at the proper moment. The great trouble with most beginners when commencing to play is that almost invariably they commit one of two faults. One of them is that when lifting the club to the shoulder in preparing for-the downward sweep they are apt to raise the body ever so slightly as they raise the club. The consequence is that the ball is topped, if not missed altogether. The other is the act of swaying the body away from the ball, thus again changing the plane of the axis, with the result that the head of the club comes in contact with Mother Earth many inches behind where the ball is teed. Keep, then, the head and body as steady as you can, always remembering that the arms and shoulders will do all that is necessary in getting away a good ball. Another point to aid the beginner here in judging whether he is doing right according to this theory is to see that when he is addressing the ball the shoulder, hands and the head of the club will be in a perfectly straight line at right angles to the direc- tion of the hole. Of course there are exceptions to the general rule of teeing of the left foot, such as upon getting a hanging lie or when there is a dead head wind blowing, but as thfe beginner is only at the tee just yet, we will let this suffice for the present. Now we come to the grip. How to hold the club. Grasp the club firmly about an inch from the top of the shaft, with the fingers of the left hand, being careful to see that the knuckles II 2 Spalding’s Athletic Library. point in the direction of the proposed flight of the ball. Then allow the right hand to come as close to the left as possible, but holding as loosely as consistent with safety in the Angers of the right. This grip, the beginner can see, is that the shaft is al- lowed to lie in the second and third joints of the fingers, and that the hands are allowed to close over. Never, upon any ac- count, grasp the shaft in the palms of the hands, as if you do you will lock the joints of the wrists, and they will not be able to respond in rythm with the swing of the club. Having got these ideas firmly in his mind, the beginner can now try and execute the preliminary “waggle.” The ideal wag- gle consists in a gentle swaying to and fro, once or twice only, of the club over the ball and in the same vertical plane as the arc which the head of the club ought to describe in the actual stroke. Waggle with your wrists only. Let the club head rest again for a moment behind the ball before making ‘your upward swing (a golfing drive is not a hit; it is distinctly and absolutely a swing), and have your hands well down, about on a level with your lowest waist button. Swing your club back to a horizontal position behind the head, never for a second taking your eye off the ball, allowing the body to turn gently with its weight upon the right foot, raising the left heel slightly off the ground, a perfectly natural motion. Keep the head of your club perfectly steady and let your upward and downward swing be practically one motion. Your body, your arms, in fact your whole frame, should, at the moment of striking the ball, be in the same position precisely as when you addressed the ball. Let your club head follow the ball in its flight as far as you possibly can, finishing up, if possible, where you commenced, as in Fig. 2. If the begin- ner ha's ever swung Indian clubs, it will be all the easier for him to master, as it is practically the same in theory, giving the club the impetus and allowing the wrists to carry it through. Two lessons with a competent instructor should allow the veriest novice to get on to the hang of it. The following is an expression of opinion from Vardon, present champion, one of the best drivers in the world, on “driving”: Spalding's Athletic Library. 113 “Many things on which we differ are of little or no impor- tance, and the variousi opinions can be experimented on by the tyro without running the risk of incurring much hurt, but there are other things about which it will be wise for him to find out from more experienced players the reasons for and against, and then make a choice of what appears to be best, and persevere in thinking it so, despite conflicting opinions. While there is no reason why any one should not become a good player who fol- lows out the advice given by ‘Badminton,’ there are reasons why they cannot follow that advice, though they may try very hard to do so. The great drawback to those who would learn to play golf without having a professional adviser at their side is that they cannot see themselves as others see them. Could they do so, they would soon become aware of how poorly they are reproduc- ing the swing of which they have read, and how certainly they are contracting habits which cannot fail to be detrimental to their progress. I think, therefore, that every one who is ambitious of becoming a golfer will do well at the outset to seek professional tuition. A few lessons then would probably be more useful than a great many after the faults referred to have been acquired. My manner of playing is different from either that of Dunn or ‘Badminton.’ To begin with the ‘stance :’ Instead of having my right foot to the rear I keep it some three or four inches in ad- vance. This, I think, to be best, for it allows the body to follow much more freely after the swing in the direction of the intended flight of the ball. The weight of the body I throw mostly on to the right foot, not transferring it until the ball is being struck. By this means the body remains comparatively still during the backward swing, thus adding impetus to the flight of the ball. If the weight of the body be thrown mostly on the left leg when addressing the ball, during the backward swing, it has to be transferred to the right and back again with the downward stroke, thereby making, as it seems to me, the aim less steady. “The position of the ball is as nearly as possible in the centre of the two feet. “At the top of the swing my club is as nearly horizontal as pos- 1 14 Spalding's Athletic Library. sible. I grasp as firmly as possible with both hands throughout the swing for every shot. I am aware that the general belief is contrary to this, especially in the driving, but the fact remains that I find it very satisfactory, and there are many good players who, I know, are with me on this point. If the right hand be held loosely for the previous part of the swing, it surely must have a firm grip of the club when it strikes the ball. “In gripping my club the left hand is partly hidden, the first finger and thumb being firmly locked in the right hand. The thumb of the left hand is kept along the shaft, not round it, and the little finger of the right hand rides the forefinger of the left. In this matter, so far as I know, I stand alone, nor do I venture to advise beginners or, in fact, any one else to copy it. “As to pressure being put in the down stroke, pressure should be used throughout. I fail to see how one could come gently to within one foot and a half of the ball and at the last moment put in the necessary strength. Immediately at the descent of the club pressure should be put on, adding to its velocity until it comes in contact with the ball. The result in this case should neither be so strained nor likely to render the aim ineffective, as if it were made just when the club is nearing the ball. “A very simple method of finding out whether your club is in its proper position at the top of the swing, and that the left wrist is down, is to glance over your left shoulder and look at the club head. If the name is facing you, your left wrist is wrong, and when the club head strikes the ball it will be at an angle and the result a 'pulled’ ball. If the left wrist is down, as it ought to be, the face of the club will be facing you and not the name/' APPROACHING. An approach shot may be any shot not a full one intended to find the bah on the green, and is generally an iron shot. The great failing of most approach shots is that they fall too short. For every six shots played, five out of the six are not up ; there- fore, in selecting your club, when in doubt select the longer driv- Spalding’s Athletic Library. 115 in g one, as no accident is likely to increase the distance of your drive, and there are many to curtail it. Always run a ball in preference to pitching it, unless there is some special reason which necessitates pitching. APPROACH SHOTS. Approach shots differ from one another: (a) In point of distance. ( b ) In point of elevation. (c) In point of style. And include : (a) 1. Three-quarter shots; 2. Half shots; 3. Stiff arm ap- proach shots. (&) 1. Running the ball up along the ground. 2. Lofting the ball with run; 3. Lofting so as to pitch dead. ( c ) Includes (1) ball played with a straightforward stroke (club head moving in the lim* of flight of ball). THE THREE-QUARTER STROKE. The necessity for this stroke has almost entirely disappeared, owing to the fact that irons have been made with almost every kind of a pitch, and a man can now select a club and make a full swing with it and achieve the same results as would have been obtained by using one of the old spoons or irons which were all formerly made with a recognized amount of loft on each. It is so much easier to make a full swing than a three-quarter one that it is always better to use a shorter carrying club when the distance to the green requires a three-quarter stroke, if one of the long driving clubs is to be used. HALF SHOTS. The position of the ball and stance for playing half shots is somewhat, though not materially, different from that in Fig. :. The ball is nearer the player’s body, and nearer also to n6 Spalding's Athletic Library. the line of the right foot. The right foot is also further ad- vanced. Fig. 4 shows the top of the swing. It need hardly be pointed out that as the club is not swung far around, the shoul- ders and the body do not move as much as in playing a full stroke. The shoulders must move round and the body must be easier. The left foot will be just raised off the heel and noth- ing more, the left leg flexed to ease the swing. It may, in fact, be said that the feet should not, if possible, be moved at all. The elbow of the right arm should be kept in to the body, and not allowed to rise, but all the same the arms will be thrown out just as in playing full strokes. The follow-through will take place at the end of the swing, but instead of throwing the club and arms after the ball, they will rise quicker, and continue up- wards over the left shoulder more than in the direction of the flight of the ball. STIFF ARM APPROACH SHOTS. Of stiff arm approach strokes there is an infinite variety of gradation — anything less than a half stroke falls under this defini- tion. No further remarks on this subject require to be made, save that the ball should be nearer the player, and the feet closer together. Fig. 5 shows the position of the feet as the player ad- dresses the ball; Fig. 6 shows the top of the swing. It will be observed that both legs are slightly more bent at the knees than is the case in playing a full shot, and that the body moves very little. I would only add : Stand firmly, and do not move the feet at all; keep the right elbow well into the side, and play from stiff wrists, giving the ball a quick, sharp hit. In all these strokes the club must be held firmly with both hands, to give more command over it and to prevent its turning. It will be found of material assistance if the club is grasped further down the shaft ; and the shorter the distance of the stroke to be played, the shorter a grip of the club may be taken. In standing according to the directions above given, it will be found that while the weight of the body is supported on both Spalding's Athletic Library. 117 legs, the right really gives the greater amount of support. This can be easily tested by trying to lift either foot off the ground. For the above reason, this mode of playing approaches has been termed “off the right leg,” and it is the method most usually adopted. PUTTING. Putting can be divided into two heads : 1. Approach putting. 2. Putting out, or holing the ball. The greatest stress must be laid on the fact that you must keep your eye on the ball and don’t glance at the hole just as you putt. Play your stroke “off the right leg,” the ball just in front of your right foot, which is a little forward. Hold the putter with equal grip of both hands, and remember that the head of your club must follow your ball in a straight line to the hole. There are four golden axioms which should always be ob- served : 1. Never take your eye off the ball. 2. Do not aim too long. 3. Be up, for you can never hole out unless you go as far as the hole. 4. Treat the course as if you loved it — replace divots. n8 Spalding’s Athletic Library. CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS OF JAMES BRAID AND HARRY VARDON. James Braid’s Record. 1901 — British open championship, at Mirirfield. 1905 — British open championship, at St. Andrews. 1906 — British open championship, at Muirheld. 1908 — British open championship, at Prestwick. 1910 — British open championship, at St. Andrews. Harry Vardon’ s Record. 1896 — British open championship, at Muirfield. 1898 — -British open championship, at Prestwick. 1899 — British open championship, at Sandwich. 1900 — United States open championship, at Wheaton, 111. 1903 — British open championship, at Prestwick. 1911 — British open championship, at Sandwich. 1914 — British open championship, at Prestwick. In the 1896 British open championship Vardon tied with J. H. Taylor, the winner in 1894 and 1895; they played two extra deciding rounds, when the scores were: Vardon, 157; Taylor, 161. In the 1911 contest Vardon was again successful after a tie, defeating the French player, A. Massy. His third experience in a championship tie was in the American 1913 open champion- ship, with Edward Ray, the British open champion of 1912, and Francis Ouimet of America, when the latter defeated the two British players. FIG. 1. ADDRESSING THE BALL. HARRY VARDON. FIG. 2. FINISH OF SWING. HARRY VARDON. FIG. 3. STANCE FOR THREE-QUARTER STROKE. HARRY VARDON. FIG. 4. HALF-SHOT, TOP OF SWING. HARRY VARDON. FIG. 5. STIFF ARM APPROACH, THE ADDRESS. HARRY VARDON. FIG. 6. STIFF ARM APPROACH, CLUB AT TOP OF SWING. HARRY VARDON. Spalding's Athletic Library. 127 GOLF FOR WOMEN By Gladys Ravenscroft. [Miss Ravenscroft was the winner in the Women’s Championship of the United States in 1914. In 1912 she won the Ladies’ Open Championship of Great Britain and was runner-up in 1914. This is Miss Ravenscroft’s first contribution to golf literature. No lady player in England is held in greater esteem.] There is no doubt that golf is an ideal game for women, as it can be enjoyed from childhood until almost any age. If you begin when very young lessons are not the necessity they are if you begin later in life. Children, seem to fall into a natural swing with ease, which, later in life, is not so easy to acquire. So begin, if possible, with a few lessons from a good profes- sional and so save yourself a lot of hard work later on. I did not, and have never, acquired the correct grip to this day. Playing one day with Edward Ray he said he didn't know how I hit the ball at all, as when my club was at the top of the swing it was facing upward instead of downward. From this you will see that “While there's life there’s hope” So don't be despondent if you haven't quite the orthodox grip. It is a mistaken idea that a long backswing ensures a long ball. iYou are so apt to lose control of the club if it goes too far back, so that when it reaches the ball it is out of hand, so to speak, and the result is a mis-hit shot This applies even more to iron play and is the reason, I think, that the majority of women play their irons badly. They swing the club almost like a driver instead of making the shot more of ^ hit, using the wrists more and the arms less. Countless players MISS GLADYS RAVENSCROFT Typical English Custom— Addressing tlie ball Spalding’ s Athletic Library . 129 will use a baffy or spoon and play a half shot rather than use their iron, in which they have no confidence. If you have confidence in yourself you won’t find golf the drudgery many do. Try to like all your clubs. If you don’t, buy others. How often do you hear players saying, “I knew I should miss that shot; I always hated that club.” How can you expect to hit the ball if you go up to it thinking you are going to miss the shot? The rubber-cored ball has been largely instrumental in 'making the game as popular with women as it is. Up to the time of its introduction comparatively few women played, as the old “gutty” ball required hard hitting, and often a broken club was the result. Also, unless you were very keen, there were a great many difficulties to overcome. Golf courses were few and far between and numeous restrictions placed on the play of women. Even now, on some of our big courses, women are made any- thing but welcome and not allowed in the club houses, but as time goes on, no doubt these clubs will fall into line as the others have done. Nearly every course has been altered since the introduction of the rubber-cored ball, and now nearly all our courses are well over 6,000 yards, some measuring 6,700. It seems to be the impression in America that we in England all start to play golf when we are children. In Scotland per- haps this is the case, where golf courses abound, and they even have children’s courses; but, in England, I think most girls play the usual games while at school. They do not take up golf until they leave school; but, having once taken it up seriously, do little in other games. MISS GLADYS RAVENSCROFT “The Drive" Spalding’s Athletic Library. 131 Don’t get discouraged if after a brilliant start you have a set- back. These will be frequent at first, but after each relapse there will be an improvement; so persevere. A grcit deal too much attention is paid to long driving. This is certainly the most satisfactory part of the game, and the easiest in which to obtain confidence, but it is often studied to the neglect of other important features. Above all, do not forget the short game. It is on and near the green that matches are won. Miss Dodd, who weighs only 119 pounds, is an example of what a frail player can do. Her long game is not of exceptional strength, but her short game, being almost perfect, it has en- abled her to gain the great success she has enjoyed against her physically stronger opponents. A great deal of discussion has arisen from the matches that have from time to time taken place between the sexes. The men conceding 9 strokes have almost always been victorious. This seems to prove that a scratch woman can never play level with a scratch man. A good player knows her shots and plays them accurately, but when the pinch comes doesn’t seem able to produce her best form in a match of this kind, the strain being too great. To see women producing their best form is to see them pitted against each other in a championship struggle. There you will see real sportsmanship quite equal to that of many men. That women are not “good sports” is surely a mistaken idea. MISS CECIL LEITCH Top of Full Swing with Wooden Club Spalding's Athletic Library . i PLAY WITH THE WOODEN CLUBS By Miss Cecil Leitch, British Lady Champion. Driving is the most delightful part of golf. The game offers no greater joy than that of a sweetly hit tee shot. Therefore it is specially important to learn to drive aright. The drive has many constituent parts. Let us take them one by one. Many players make the initial mistake of gripping their club first and addressing the ball after. The effect of this often is that the face of the club is turned over and does not meet the ball truly, the club digging into the ground and re- sulting in a poor and frequently topped drive. The right way is to let the club address the ball first and then grip it after- wards. And in doing this, in letting the club-head rest natu- rally on the ground, the player has an infallible guide as to how far she shall stand away from the ball. She must not, of course, raise or drop her hands in order to get the set of the club right. Generally speaking, the right way to hold the hands and arms is the most comfortable way. A player should never feel cramped. Now for the swing. In the back swing the head of the club must be the first thing to go back. So many beginners take the hands back first, dragging the club-head after them. This is a fatal mistake and an absolute bar to successful driving. Then beginners are apt to make the mistake of overswinging and of going back too quickly. I strongly recommend begin- b Reprinted from Miss Leitch’s book, “Golf for Girls,” in the Spalding Athletic Library series. 134 Spalding's Athletic Library. ners to swing back quite slowly and to be content with some- thing less than a full swing. The shorter the swing the greater the control over club and ball, although there may be some slight sacrifice of distance. For those who feel equal to using a full swing I advise them to limit it to the horizontal, as shown in illustration. At the top of the swing the toe of the club should be pointing to the ground. At no time during the back swing should the grip of the hands be relaxed, otherwise the face of the club will not meet the ball at the same angle at which it left it. It is im- portant to remember that wooden clubs should not be gripped as tightly as irons. With many girls the downward swing is almost as slow as the up swing. No one will ever get any length that way. You must swing forward as fast as you can, the faster the better, putting on an extra spurt when the club is about eighteen inches from the ball. The length of the drive largely depends on the pace at which the club is moving when it meets the ball. A common fault with girls is that they use up their best energy at the beginning of the downward swing with the result that the club is beginning to slow up by the time it hits the ball. For the whole of the back swing the left arm should be kept perfectly straight, while until the very finish of the drive neither elbow should be cocked. A most important thing to remember and practise is that at the top of the swing the point of the left shoulder should be in line with the ball and the left eye. With regard to the feet and knees and their various move- ments much may be learned from photographs of the full drive. At the address both feet are firmly planted on the ground with the weight of the body equally distributed and Spalding's Athletic Library. 135 rather more on the heels than the toes. Directly the back swing begins the weight is gradually transferred from the left to the right foot, and back again from right to left during the downward swing. At the finish of a correct drive prac- tically all the weight is on the left foot. The commonest of faults with girls is that they rise right up on the point of the left toe at the top of the swing instead of being on the inner side of the foot with heel slightly raised. They would never commit this fault if they kept the head immovable in the position it occupied when the ball was being addressed. Keeping the head steady is one of the fundamentals of ac- curacy, and its importance cannot be over-emphasized. The players who were Miss May Hezlet and Miss Florence Hezlet before their marriages are two of the best examples of the immovable head. I have never seen players who kept their heads so absolutely still from start to finish of the stroke. One cause of moving the head from its proper position is that players hold themselves so stiff and do not swing from the waist. In the correct swing the waist is the pivot on which the rest of the body turns. Loss of distance is another inevitable result of not swinging from the waist. In his advice to ladies, James Braid says they should hold themselves loosely on the tee. Men with very short, stiff swings often hit a long ball. This is because they are strong and muscular. But girls are not strong like that, and must rely on a loose and easy swing and a full follow-through for a long ball. It is no good girls imagining that they will ever compete with men for length. The best of them will compare favorably with an average man, but they will be hopelessly out-distanced by the really bigger hitters among the men. Weight and strength and size make all the difference. 136 Spalding’s Athletic Library . I do not think a player who keeps her arms too close to her body will ever hit a long ball. So keep your arms stretched well out in front of you. As to the follow-through, so many players try to force this. If the rest of the stroke is right the follow-through should come naturally. Mr. Hilton has the most wonderful follow- through I have ever seen. Every part of him seems to follow after the ball, in pursuit of it, not only club, but arms, shoulders and head. He seems almost to hurl all these after the ball as though to urge it still further on its way. And there is no doubt that this has much to do with Mr. Hilton's length and power with his wooden clubs. Some may ask how the follow- through can possibly assist a ball which has been already hit. The answer to this is that the ball will not be properly hit unless there is a follow-through. A correct follow-through implies that the preceding part of the swing was also correct. If the timing is wrong the driver shall drive in vain. In a large percentage of cases, players off their drive are in this unhappy state because they are timing wrong. One secret of correct timing is that the heel of the left foot should come to the ground at the very moment that the club meets the ball. The two things should be simultaneous. Let players prove this for themselves. A common cause of wrong timing is that players get the hands and club to the ball and leave the body behind. The three things must work together. For girls, correct timing is all-important. Among players, a good distance of correct timing is Miss B. Thompson, champion in 1905. This player hits as sweet and clean a tee shot as one could wish to see, not by muscular effort — because she is a slightly built player, but by the simultaneous application of all her forces to the ball; in other words, to perfect timing. Spalding’s Athletic Library. 13? In order to avoid confusion I have not said anything about there being two different kinds of swing. But I must do so now. There are two kinds of swing — “flat” and “upright.” Personally, I use the flat swing. I use it for all wooden clubs, save in exceptional cases. For example, if there is any- thing close in front to be lofted I use the upright swing, a swing which gets the ball more up into the air. For the second shot at the second hole at Portrush, provided the drive was a good one, I should frequently use the upright swing, to clear the bunker and ridge just ahead. For the flat swing the club is taken back round the shoulders and not round the neck as in the upright swing. The flat swing sweeps the ball off the tee more cleanly than the up- right, gives it a low trajectory, puts top spin on it, and so secures a long run. The flat swing does not, perhaps, get so much carry as the upright swing, but it certainly gets more run. For the flat swing, the club when taken back brushes the ground for some eighteen inches, and does not leave the ground at once, as in the case of the upright swing. Most girls use the upright swing. It comes more naturally to them. Mfss Ravenscroft is a good example of this swing. Driver, brassie, and spoon are the three wooden clubs I use, and I use them all alike, so what is true for the driver is true also for brassie and spoon. As a last piece of advice, let the player acquire a style so natural and easy that at a distance a spectator would not know whether she was swinging at a daisy or a ball. 138 Spalding’s Boxing Guide. Standardization of the Golf Ball We believe that an explanation of the term “standardization” is due the golfing public. The golf ball has not been standardized in the strictest sense of that term, but a limitation in weight and size has been decided upon by the delegates representing the United States Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient in Britain. It is a two-fold limitation — a maximum of weight and a minimum of size. For tournament golf after May 1, 1921, the ball must not exceed 1.62 ounce in weight nor measure less than 1.62 inch in diameter. Avoirdupois is the system of weights used, and to be exact, the 1.62 ounce in connection with the weight limitation is really 29 1-2 pennyweights, not 30, as is the general belief. There are, approximately speaking, S l / 2 hundredths of an ounce to a pennyweight, though the hundredths-of-ounces method of weighing is more accurate and descriptive and the one that we as manufac- turers have always employed, and, it will be noted, has been officially adopted by the respective associations. It is our opinion that the destinies of the game of golf are in safe custody with the governing bodies of the United States and Britain, and it is of manifest importance that the manufacturers follow their dictates. It is our purpose to confine ourselves to the manufacture of golf balls which will conform to the above limitations. Any other course of action would be inimical to the best interests of the game. It must be observed that the new ruling permits of balls of larger size and lighter weight being used, but does not interfere with the methods of construction or the characteristics of the different golf ball manufacturers. Individuality will still have free scope within the aforementioned limits. Golfers will retain the freedom of choice in the matter of the selection of a ball to suit their game, and we shall therefore, as in former years, manufacture a variety to meet these demands. We cannot agree, however, with some remarks that have been made in the press, particularly in Britain, that the manufacturers will cease competing with one another for additional distance, even under this limitation. On the final analysis the makers of golf balls must be influenced by the man who buys the ball, and in our judg- ment competition undoubtedly will continue, even in this field, though be it said in our judgment also, with no resulting danger to the game. It is our emphatic intention to maintain the advantage „ in this field that we have always possessed. On the other hand, there is an ever-increasing desire on the part of all golfers that the ball shall be made of a more durable char- acter. This firm is carrying on continual and exhaustive experimen- tation along these lines* and we believe with some success. 139 Spalding’s Boxing Guide. The numbers 30, 40 and 50 which we use in connection with our leading golf balls constitute a method of nomenclature and do not stand for weight or size. The following specifications, if studied, should act as a valuable aid in the selection of a ball best suited to one’s game. FIFTY GOLF BALL. The Fifty requires no introduction to the golfers of either this Continent or Britain. During the season of 1920 it won, practically speaking, every major tournament of importance throughout the world. For the season of 1921 it will carry a new and improved marking, thus eliminating any possible confusion between it and the Fifty of the preceding year, which becomes illegal after May 1 for use in tournament play. It is the most high-powered ball that is permitted under the new standardization, or limitation, of the ball, and a very long carry indeed may be secured from it. We have endeavored to suppress its roll as far as possible, as in the past, and hence it will be found controllable for the fine work around the green. Its weight is 1.62 ounce or 29 J /2 pennyweights, and its sifce is 1.630 inch. FORTY GOLF BALL. The Forty is in all respects like the Fifty as regards its internal construction. It is also a high-powered ball built for carries, and its chief difference from the Fifty lies in the fact that it is some- what larger — in fact, a medium size ball — and is marketed by us for this reason. THIRTY GOLF BALL. The Thirty in appearance will be precisely like our Thirty of a year ago. Our Thirty also as regards weight will approach the limit allowed under standardization, but its internal construction is of such a nature as to make it possible to secure great durability from it. In fact, it is the durable ball of our line, and though there may not be quite as much carry in it as the Forty and Fifty, yet this to a certain extent will be made up by an increased run. A very sweet feeling ball, and one that is comparatively more respon- sive to lighter blows than either the Forty or the Fifty. The other golf balls of Spalding manufacture — Baby Dimple. Glory Dimple, Black Domino and Red Dot mesh — have been so long before the American public that they require no further detailed information. "The Yoke that Never Binds” SPALDING SPORT SPECIALTY SHOPS See list on inside front cover of this section. is why HARRY VARDON described the "FILMER” Jacket as the best he had ever worn for Golfing. 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