,,the ,,soul ,,of ,,golf ,,macmillan ,,and ,,co41 ,,limited ,,london ,,bombay ,,calcutta ,,melbourne ,,the ,,macmillan ,,company ,,new ,,york ,,boston ,,chicago ,,dallas ,,san ,,francisco ,,the ,,macmillan ,,co4 ,,of ,,canada1 ,,ltd4 ,,toronto ,illustration3 ,,george ,,duncan ,the famous young ,hanger ,hill professional1 one of the finest golfers1 and probably the best golf coach1 in the world4 ,,the ,,soul ,,of ,,golf ,,by ,p4 ,a4 ,,vaile ,,author ,,of ',,modern ,,golf1' ',,modern ,,lawn ,,tennis1' ',,swerve1 ,,or ,,the ,,flight ,,of ,,the ,,ball1' ,,etc4 ,,with ,,illustrations ,,macmillan ,,and ,,co41 ,,limited ,,st4 ,,martin',s ,,street1 ,,london #aiab ,,copyright ,,to ,,philip ,,reginald ,,thornton ,,my ,,co-,,worker ,,in ,,imperial ,,politics ,,preface ,it is frequently and emphatically asserted by reviewers of golf books that golf cannot be learned from a book4 ,if they would add in a room they would be very near the truth--but not quite4 ,it would be quite possible for an intelligent man with a special faculty for games1 a good book on golf1 and a properly equipped practising-room to start his golfing career with a game equal to a single figure handicap4 ,as a matter of fact the most important things concerning golf may be more easily and better learned in an arm-chair than on the links4 ,as a matter of good and scientific tuition the arm-chair is the place for them4 ,in both golf and lawn tennis countless players ruin their game by thinking too much about how they are playing the stroke while they are doing it4 ,that is not the time to study first principles4 ,those should have been digested in the arm-chair1 where indeed1 as ,i have already said and now repeat with emphasis1 the highest1 the most scientific1 and the most important knowledge of golf must be obtained4 ,there is no time for it on the links1 and the true golfer has no time for the man who tries to get it there1 for he is generally a dreary bore4 ,moreover1 the man who tries to get it on the links is in trouble from the outset1 for in golf he is faced with a mass of false doctrine associated with the greatest names in the history of golf1 which is calculated1 an he follow it1 to put him back for years1 until indeed he shall find the truth1 the soul of golf4 ,this book is in many ways different from any book concerning golf which has ever been published4 ,it assumes on the part of the reader a certain amount of knowledge1 and it essays to bring back to the truth those who have been led astray by the false teaching of the most eminent men associated with the game1 teaching which they do not themselves practise4 ,at the same time it seeks to impart the great fundamental principles1 without which even the beginner must be seriously handicapped4 ,it does not concern itself with showing how the golfer must play certain strokes4 ,that certainly may be done better on the links than in the smoking-room2 but it concerns itself deeply with those things which every golfer who wishes really to know golf1 should have stowed away in his mind with such certainty and familiarity that he ceases almost to regard them as knowledge1 and comes to use them by habit4 ,when the golfer gets into this frame of mind1 and not until then1 will he be able to understand and truly appreciate the meaning and value of the soul of golf4 ,this he will never do by following the predominant mass of false teaching4 ,this book is a challenge1 but it is not a question of ,vaile against ,vardon1 ,braid1 ,taylor1 ,professor ,thomson1 and others4 ,the issue is above that4 ,it is a question of truth or untruth4 ,nothing matters but the truth4 ,it rests with the golfing world to find out for itself which is the truth4 ,this it can do with comfort in its arm-chair1 and afterwards it can with much enhanced comfort1 almost insensibly1 weave that truth into the fabric of its game1 and so through sheer practice1 born of the purest and highest theory--for there is no other way--come to the soul of golf4 ,,contents ,,chap4 ,,page ,,preface vii ,i4 ,,the ,,soul ,,of ,,golf #a ,,ii4 ,,the ,,mystery ,,of ,,golf #ae ,,iii4 ,,putting #dg ,,iv4 ,,the ,,fallacies ,,of ,,golf #ie ,v4 ,,the ,,distribution ,,of ,,weight #aag ,,vi4 ,,the ,,power ,,of ,,the ,,left #adj ,,vii4 ,,the ,,function ,,of ,,the ,,eyes #afb ,,viii4 ,,the ,,master ,,stroke #agh ,,ix4 ,,the ,,action ,,of ,,the ,,wrists #bjb ,x4 ,,the ,,flight ,,of ,,the ,,golf ,,ball #bbb ,,xi4 ,,the ,,golf ,,ball #bhc ,,xii4 ,,the ,,construction ,,of ,,clubs #caf ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,literature ,,of ,,golf #ccd ,,afterword #cej ,,index #cec ,,illustrations ,,plate ,,face ,,page ,,george ,,duncan ,frontispiece ,i4 ,,harry ,,vardon',s ,,grip #af ,,ii4 ,,harry ,,vardon4 ,,stance ,,and ,,frontal ,,address ,,in ,,short ,,put #ch ,,iii4 ,,harry ,,vardon ,,at ,,the ,,top ,,of ,,his ,,swing #fj ,,iv4 ,,harry ,,vardon ,,at ,,the ,,top ,,of ,,his ,,swing ,,in ,,the ,,drive #hb ,v4 ,j4 ,h4 ,,taylor ,,at ,,the ,,top ,,of ,,his ,,swing ,,in ,,the ,,drive #ajd ,,vi4 ,,harry ,,vardon4 ,,the ,,finish ,,of ,,his ,,drive #abd ,,vii4 ,,harry ,,vardon4 ,,the ,,finish ,,of ,,the ,,drive #adf ,,viii4 ,,edward ,,ray4 ,,finish ,,of ,,drive #afh ,,ix4 ,,james ,,braid4 ,,finish ,,of ,,stroke #aij ,x4 ,,harry ,,vardon4 ,,finish ,,of ,a ,,drive #bab ,,xi4 ,,james ,,braid4 ,,finish ,,of ,,drive #bcd ,,xii4 ,,george ,,duncan4 ,a ,,characteristic ,,finish #bef ,,xiii4 ,j4 ,,sherlock4 ,,stance ,,and ,,address ,,for ,,iron-,,shot #bgh ,,xiv4 ,j4 ,,sherlock4 ,,top ,,of ,,swing ,,in ,,iron-,,shot #cjd ,,xv4 ,j4 ,,sherlock4 ,,finish ,,of ,,iron-,,shot #ccj ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,soul ,,of ,,golf ,nearly every one who writes about a game essays to prove that it is similar to the great game1 the game of life4 ,golf has not escaped2 and numberless scribes in endeavouring to account for the fascination of golf have used the old threadbare tale4 ,as a matter of fact1 golf is about as unlike the game of life as any game could well be4 ,as played now it has come to be almost an exact science1 and everybody knows exactly what one is trying to do4 ,this would not be mistaken for a description of the game of life4 ,in that game a man may be hopelessly off the line1 buried in the rough1 or badly bunkered1 and nobody be the wiser4 ,it is not so in golf4 ,there is no double life here4 ,all is open1 and every one knows what the player is striving for4 ,the least deflection from his line1 and the onlooker knows he did not mean it4 ,it is seen instantly4 ,in that other game it may remain unseen for years1 for ever4 ,explaining the fascination of anything seems to be a thankless kind of task1 and in any case to be a work of supererogation4 ,the fascination should be sufficient4 ,explaining it seems almost like tearing a violet to pieces to admire its structure2 but many have tried1 and many have failed1 and there are many who do not feel the fascination as they should1 because they do not know the soul of golf4 ,one cannot appreciate the beauty of golf unless one knows it thoroughly4 ,curiously enough1 many of our best players are extremely mechanical in their play4 ,they play beautiful and accurate shots1 but they have no idea how or why they produce them2 and the strange thing about it is that although golf is perhaps as mechanical a game as there is1 those who play it mechanically only get the husk of it4 ,they miss the soul of the game4 ,golf is really one of the simplest of outdoor games1 if not indeed the simplest1 and it does not require much intelligence2 yet it is quite one of the most difficult to play well1 for it demands the greatest amount of mechanical accuracy4 ,this1 on consideration1 is apparent4 ,the ball is the smallest ball we use1 the striking face of the club is the smallest thing used in field sports for hitting a ball1 and1 most important1 perhaps1 of all1 it is farther away from the eye than any other ball-striking implement1 except1 perhaps1 the polo stick1 in which game we1 of course1 have a much larger ball and striking surface4 ,in all games of skill1 and in all sports where the object is propelling anything to a given point1 one always tries1 almost instinctively1 to get the eye as much in a line with the ball or missile and the objective point as possible4 ,this is seen in throwing a stone1 aiming a catapult1 a gun1 or an arrow1 in cueing at a billiard ball1 and in many other ways1 but in golf it is impracticable4 ,the player must make his stroke with his eye anywhere from four to six feet away from his little club face4 ,one may say that this is so in hockey1 cricket1 and lawn-tennis4 ,so1 in a modified degree1 it is1 but the great difference is that in all these games there is an infinitely larger margin of error than there is in golf4 ,at these games a player may be yards off his intended line and yet play a fine stroke1 to the applause of the onlookers2 while he alone knew that it was accident and not design4 ,the charm of golf is in part that its demand is inexorable4 ,it lays down the one path--the straight one4 ,it must be followed every step1 or there is trouble4 ,then there is in golf the sheer beauty of the flight of the ball1 and the almost sensuous delight which comes to the man who created that beauty1 and knows how and why he did it4 ,there is at any time beauty in the flight of a golf ball well and plainly driven2 but for grace and the poetry of flight stands alone the wind-cheater that skims away from one's club across the smooth green sward1 almost clipping the daisies in its flight ere it soars aloft with a swallow-like buoyancy1 and1 curving gracefully1 pitches dead on the green4 ,many a man can play that stroke4 ,many a man does4 ,not one in fifty knows how he puts the beauty into his stroke4 ,not one in fifty would be interested if you were to start telling him the scientific reason for that ball's beautiful flight4 ,the mechanics of golf sounds hard and unromantic1 yet the man who does not understand them suffers in his game and in his enjoyment of it4 ,that wind-cheater was to him1 during its flight through the air1 merely a golf ball2 a golf ball 'twas and nothing more4 ,to the other man it is a faithful little friend sent out to do a certain thing in a certain way1 and all the time it is flying and running it is sending its message back to the man who can take it--but how few can8 ,they do not know what the soul of golf means4 ,so1 when our golfer pulls or slices his ball badly1 and then--does the usual thing1 he cannot take the message that comes back to him4 ,he only knows the half of golf1 and he does not care about the other1 because he does not know what he is missing4 ,he is like a man who is fond of music but is tune-deaf4 ,there are many such4 ,he may sit and drink in sweet sounds and enjoy them1 but he misses the linked sweetness and the message which comes to his more fortunate brother who has the ear--and the knowledge4 ,there is in ,england a curious idea that directly one acquires a scientific knowledge of a game one must cease to have an interest in it so full as he who merely plays it by guesswork4 ,there can be no greater mistake than this4 ,if a game is worth playing well1 it is worth knowing well1 and knowing it well cannot mean loving it less4 ,it is this peculiar idea which has put ,england so much in the background of the world's athletic field of late years4 ,we have here much of the best brawn and bone in the world1 but we must give the brain its place4 ,then will ,england come to her own again4 ,england is in many ways paying now for her lack of thoroughness in athletic sports4 ,time was when it was a stock gibe at ,john ,bull's expense that he spent most of his time making muscle and washing it4 ,then it was1 ,i am afraid1 sour grapes4 ,england had all the championships4 ,the joke is off now4 ,the grapes are no longer sour4 ,the championships are well distributed throughout the world--anywhere but in ,england2 and we say it does not matter2 that the chief end of games is not winning them4 ,nor is it2 but we did not talk like that when we were winning them1 and the trouble is not so much that we are losing1 as the manner in which we are losing4 ,the fact is that we are losing because our players do not1 in many sports1 know the soul of the game4 ,the ideal is lost in the prosaic grappling for cups or medals1 in the merely vulgar idea of success4 ,thus it comes to pass that many will not be content to get to the soul of a game in the natural way1 by long and loving familiarity with it4 ,hordes of people are joining the ranks of the golfers1 and their constant cry is1 ,teach me the swing1 and after a lesson or two at the wrong end of golf1 for a beginner1 they go forth and cut the county into strips and think they are playing golf4 ,is it any wonder1 when our links are cumbered with such as these1 that those who have the soul of golf are in imminent daily peril of losing their own8 ,one who would know the soul of golf must begin even as would one who will know the soul of music4 ,there is no more chance for one to gather up the soul of golf in a hurry than there is for that same one to understand ,wagner in a week4 ,it is this vulgar rushing impatience to be out and doing while one is still merely a nuisance to one's fellows1 which causes so much irritation and unpleasantness on many links2 that prevents many from starting properly1 and becoming in due course quite good players2 for it is manifest that the rusher is starting to learn his game upside down1 as1 indeed1 most professionals and books teach it4 ,there can be no doubt that the right way to teach anything is to give the beginner the easiest task at first4 ,about the easiest stroke in golf is a six-inch put4 ,that is where one should start a learner4 ,the drive is the stroke in golf that offers the greatest possibility of error1 so he is always started with it4 ,it is his own fault4 ,teach me the swing is the insistent cry of the beginner1 who does not know that he is losing the best part of golf by turning it upside down4 ,he will never enjoy it so much1 or play so good and confident a game as he would were he to work his way gradually and naturally from his putter to his mashie1 to his niblick1 his iron1 his cleek1 his brassy1 and his driver4 ,such a one may come to an intimate knowledge and love of the game4 ,the rusher may play golf1 but it will be a long time before he gets to the soul of the game4 ,a very good golfer in reviewing a golf book some time ago stated that he did not care in the least what happened while the ball was in the air1 that all he cared about was getting it there4 ,he has played golf since he was five years old1 but he has clearly missed the soul of the game4 ,it is not necessary to dilate upon the wonderful spread of golf throughout the world4 ,an industrious journalist some time ago marked a map of ,england wherever there was a golf club4 ,it looked as though it had been sprinkled with black pepper4 ,it is not hard to understand this marvellous increase in the popularity of the great game1 for golf is undoubtedly a great game4 ,the motor has1 unquestionably1 played a great part in its development4 ,many of the courses1 particularly in the ,united ,kingdom1 are most beautifully situated4 ,many of the club-houses are models of comfort1 and some of them are castles4 ,the game itself is suitable for the octogenarian dodderer who merely wants to infuse a little interest into his morning walk1 or it may be turned into a severe test of endurance for the young athlete2 so no wonder it prospers4 ,there is a wonderful freemasonry among golfers4 ,this is not the least of the many charms of the game1 and to him who really knows it and loves it as it deserves to be loved1 the sign of the club is a passport round the world4 ,many a time and oft ,i see golfing journalists1 when writing about the game1 stating that something is obvious4 ,it has always seemed to me that it is impossible to say what is obvious to anyone in a game of golf4 ,writing of ,george ,duncan1 the famous young professional golfer1 during the first half of the big foursome at ,burhill1 a great sporting paper said that a certain mashie shot was a crude stroke4 ,the man who wrote that article did not know the soul of golf4 ,he saw the mashie flash in the air1 some turf cut away1 and a ball dropping on to the green4 ,just that and nothing more1 and it was obvious to him that it was a crude stroke4 ,one who knew the soul of golf saw it and described it4 ,it was a tricky green1 with a drop of twenty feet behind it4 ,to have overrun it would have been fatal4 ,there was a stiff head-wind4 ,the player would not risk running up4 ,he cut well in under the ball to get all the back-spin he could4 ,he pitched the ball well up against the wind1 which caught it and1 on account of the spin1 threw it up and up until it soared almost over the hole1 then it dropped like a shot bird about a yard from the hole1 and the back-spin gripped the turf and held the ball within a foot of where it fell4 ,it was obvious to one man that it was a crude shot4 ,it was equally obvious to another1 who knew the inner secrets of the game1 that it was a brilliantly conceived and beautifully executed stroke4 ,one man saw nothing of the soul of the stroke4 ,he got the husk1 and the other took the kernel4 ,much has been made of the assumption that golf is the greatest possible test of a man's temperament4 ,this has to a great extent1 ,i am afraid1 been exaggerated4 ,it is one of those things in connection with the game that has been handed down to us1 and which we have been afraid to interfere with4 ,i cannot see why this claim should be quietly granted4 ,in golf a man is treated with tragic solemnity while he is making his stroke4 ,a caddie may not sigh1 and if a cricket chirped he would be considered a bounder4 ,how would our golfer feel if he had to play his drive with another fellow waving his club at him twenty or thirty feet away1 and standing ready to spoil his shot8--yet that is what the lawn-tennis player has to put up with4 ,there is a good deal of exaggeration about this aspect of golf1 even as there is a good deal of nonsense about the interference of onlookers4 ,what can be done by one when one is accustomed to a crowd may be seen when one of the great golfers is playing out of a great ,v formed by the gallery1 and1 needless to say1 playing from the narrow end of it4 ,golf is a good test of a man's disposition without doubt1 but as a game it lacks one important feature which is characteristic of every other field sport1 ,i think1 except golf4 ,in these the medium of conflict is the same ball1 and the skill of the opposing side has much to do with the chances of the other player or players4 ,in golf each man plays his own game with his own ball1 and the only effect of his opponent's play on his is moral1 or the luck of a stymie4 ,many people consider this a defect2 but golf is a game unto itself1 and we must take it as it is4 ,certainly it is hard enough to achieve distinction in it to satisfy the most exacting4 ,when one writes of the soul of golf it sounds almost as though one were guilty of a little sentimentality4 ,as a matter of fact1 it is the most thorough practice which leads one to the soul of golf4 ,many a good professional can produce beautiful shots1 such as the wind-cheater and the pull at will1 but he cannot explain them to you2 and no professional ever has explained clearly in book or elsewhere what produces these beautiful shots4 ,a famous professional once asked me quite simply1 ,how do ,i play my push-shot1 ,mr4 ,vaile8 ,i explained the stroke to him4 ,he is as good a sportsman as he is a golfer1 and would be ashamed to pretend to a knowledge which he has not4 ,when ,i had told him1 he said1 ,thank you4 ,of course1 ,i can play it all right1 but ,i never could understand why it went like that4 ,now ,i shall be able to explain it better to my pupils4 ,now it may in some measure sound incongruous1 but ,i repeat that unless one knows the mechanics of golf one has missed the soul of the game4 ,it is simply an impossibility for the blind ball-smiter to get such joy and gratification from his game as does the man who from his superior knowledge has produced results which are in themselves worth losing the game for4 ,many a golfer1 or one who would like to be a golfer1 will wonder at this4 ,many a game at billiards has been lost for the poetry of a fascinating cannon when the win was not the main object of the game2 but in this respect billiards and golf are not alike4 ,one is not1 in golf1 penalised for putting the soul and the poetry of the game into his shots1 for they come of practice1 and simply render one's strokes more perfect than they would otherwise be4 ,so in the end it will be found that he who knows the game most thoroughly will have an undoubted advantage4 ,therefore it behoves every golfer to strive for the soul of golf4 ,and now1 as we must for a little while leave the soul of golf1 let us consider its body1 that great solid1 visible portion which is the part that appeals most forcibly to the ordinary golfer4 ,it is this to which the attention of players and writers has been most assiduously directed for centuries1 yet it is safe to say that no game in the whole realm of sport has been so miswritten and unwritten as golf4 ,this is very strange1 for probably there is no other game that is so canvassed and discussed by its followers4 ,the reason may possibly be found in the fact that golfers are a most conservative class of people1 and that they follow wonderfully the line of thought laid down for them by others4 ,this at its best is uninteresting2 at its worst most pernicious4 ,another contributing cause is the manner in which books on sport are now produced4 ,a great name1 an enterprising publisher1 and a hack-writer are all that are now required4 ,the consequence is that the market is flooded with books ostensibly by leading exponents of the different sports1 but which are1 in many cases1 written by men who know little or nothing of the subject they are dealing with4 ,the natural result is that the great players suffer severely in translation1 and their names are frequently associated with quite stupid statements1--statements so foolish that one1 knowing how these things are done1 refrains from criticising them as they deserve1 from sympathy with the unfortunate alleged author1 who is probably a very good fellow1 and quite innocent of the fact that the nonsense alleged to be his knowledge is ruining or retarding the game of many people4 ,this is a most unscrupulous practice1 which should be exposed and severely condemned1 for it must not be thought that it is confined to any one branch of sport4 ,while we are dealing with the slavish following of the alleged thought of the leading golfers of the world1 we may with advantage consider a few of the most pronounced fetiches which have been worshipped almost from time immemorial1 fetiches which are the more remarkable in that they receive mental and theoretical worship only1 and are1 in actual practice1 most severely despised and disregarded by the best players2 but unfortunately the neophyte worships these fetiches for many years until he discovers that they are false gods4 ,perhaps one of the silliest1 and for beginners most disastrous1 is the ridiculous assertion that putters are born1 not made4 ,in the book of a very famous player ,i find the following words3-- ,it happens1 unfortunately1 that concerning one department of the game that will cause the golfer some anxiety from time to time1 and often more when he is experienced than when he is not1 neither ,i nor any other player can offer any words of instruction such as1 if closely acted upon1 would give the same successful results as the advice tendered under other heads ought to do4 ,this is in regard to putting4 ,now this idea is promulgated in many books4 ,it is1 in my opinion1 the most absolute and pernicious nonsense4 ,the best answer to it is the fact that the writer of the words was himself one of the worst putters1 but that by careful study and alteration of his defective methods1 he became a first-class performer on the green4 ,also it will be obvious to a very mean intelligence that there is no branch of golf which is so capable of being reduced to a mechanical certainty as is putting4 ,the importance of removing this stupid idea will be more fully appreciated when one remembers that quite half the game of golf is played on the green1 leaving the other half to be distributed among all the other clubs4 ,it is well to emphasise this4 ,a good score for almost any eighteen-hole course is #gb4 ,the man who can count on getting down in an average of #b is a very good putter4 ,many professionals would throw away their putters if they were allowed to consider it down in #b every time4 ,this gives us #cf for puts4 ,with this before us we cannot exaggerate the pernicious effect of the false doctrine which says that putting cannot be taught1 that a man must just let his own individuality have full play1 and similar nonsense2 whereas the truth is that one might safely guarantee to convert into admirable putters many men who1 from their conformation and other characteristics1 would be almost hopeless as golfers4 ,i must emphasise the fact that there is no department of the game which is so important as putting2 there is no department of the game more capable of being clearly and easily demonstrated by an intelligent teacher2 and there is no department of the game wherein the player may be so nearly reduced to that machine-like accuracy which is the constant demand1 and no small portion of the charm1 of golf4 ,another very widely worshipped fetich1 which has been much damaged recently1 is the sweep in driving a ball4 ,trying to sweep his ball away for two hundred yards has reduced many a promising player to almost a suicidal frame of mind4 ,fortunately the fallacy soon exasperates a beginner1 and he says things and lets it have it4 ,then the much-worshipped sweep becomes a hit1 sometimes a very vicious one1 and the ball goes away from the club as it was meant to4 ,it is becoming more widely recognised every day that the golf-drive is a hit1 and a very fine one--when well played4 ,perhaps the most pernicious fetich which has for many years held sway in golf1 until recently somewhat damaged1 is that the left arm is the more important of the two--that it1 in fact1 finds the power for the drive4 ,anything more comical is hard to imagine4 ,there is practically nothing in the whole realm of muscular exertion1 from wood-chopping to golf1 wherein both arms are used1 that is not dominated by the right1 yet golfers have for generations quietly accepted this fetich1 and it has ruined many a promising player4 ,the votaries of this fetich must surely find one thing very hard to explain4 ,if we admit1 for the sake of argument1 that the left arm is the more important1 and that it really has more power and more influence on the stroke than the right1 can they explain why the left-handed players1 who have been provided by a benevolent providence with so manifest an advantage1 tamely surrender it and convert their left hand into the right-handed players' right by giving it the lower position on the shaft8 ,if this idea of the left hand and arm being the more important is correct1 left-handed players would use right-hand clubs and play like a right-handed player1 with the manifest advantage of being provided by nature with an arm and hand that fall naturally into the most important position4 ,i think that this consideration of the subject will give those who put their faith in the fetich of the left1 something to explain4 ,almost from time immemorial it has been laid down by golfing writers that at the top of the swing the golfer must have his weight on his right leg4 ,a study of the instantaneous photographs of most of the famous players will show conclusively that this is not correct4 ,it is expressly laid down that it is fatal to sway1 to draw away from one's ball during the upward swing2 the player is specially enjoined on no account to move his head4 ,a very simple trial will convince any golfer1 even a beginner1 that without swaying1 without drawing his head away from the hole1 he cannot possibly1 if swinging correctly1 put his weight on his right leg1 and that at the top of his swing it must be mainly on his left--and so another well-worn belief goes by the board4 ,so it is with the exaggerated swing which for so many years dominated the minds of aspiring golfers to such an extent that many of them thought more of getting the swing than of hitting the ball4 ,it is slowly but surely going4 ,the era of new thought in golf has dawned4 ,it will not make the game less attractive4 ,it will not make it any more exacting1 for the higher knowledge cannot become an obsession4 ,it sinks into a man1 and he scarcely thinks of it as something beyond the ordinary game4 ,it brings him into closer touch with the best that is in golf4 ,he is able to obtain more from it than he could before4 ,he is able to do more than he could formerly1 for a man cannot get to the soul of golf except through the body1 and love he not the body with the love of the truest of true golfers he will never know the soul4 ,this chapter originally appeared in ,the ,fortnightly ,review in the ,united ,kingdom1 and in ,the ,north ,american ,review in the ,united ,states of ,america4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,mystery ,,of ,,golf ,there is no such thing as the mystery of golf4 ,one might reasonably ask1 ,if there is no such thing as 'the mystery of golf1' why devote a chapter to it8 ,but the mystery of golf should really be written the mystery of the golfer1 for the simple reason that the golfer himself is responsible for all the mystery in golf--in short1 the mystery of golf may briefly be defined as the credulity of the golfer4 ,notwithstanding this1 at least one enterprising man has produced a book entirely devoted to elucidating the alleged mystery of golf1 wherein1 quite unknown to himself1 he proves most clearly and conclusively the truth of my opening statement in this chapter1 that the mystery of golf is merely the credulity of the golfer2 but of that anon4 ,there really is no mystery whatever about the game of golf4 ,it is one of the simplest of games1 but unquestionably it is a game which is very difficult to play well1 a game which demands a high degree of mechanical accuracy in the production of the various strokes4 ,it is apparent from the nature of the implements used in the game that this must be so4 ,all the foolishness of nebulous advice1 and all the quaint excuses which have been gathered together under the head of the mystery of golf1 are simply weak man's weaker excuses for his want of intelligence and mechanical accuracy4 ,until the golfer fully understands and freely acknowledges this1 he is suffering from a very severe handicap4 ,if1 when he addresses his ball1 he has firmly implanted in his mind the idea that he is in the presence of some awesome mystery1 there is very little doubt that he will do his level best to perform his part in the mystery play4 ,we do not read anywhere of the mystery of lawn-tennis1 the mystery of cricket1 the mystery of marbles1 squash racquets1 or ping-pong4 ,there are no mysteries in these games any more than there are in golf1 and the plain fact is that the demand of golf is inexorable4 ,it insists upon the straight line being followed1 and the man who forsakes the straight line is immediately detected4 ,in no game1 perhaps1 is the insistent demand for direction so inexorable as in golf4 ,perhaps also in no game is that demand so frequently refused1 and1 naturally1 the erring golfer wishes to excuse himself4 ,it is useful then for him to be told of the mysteries of golf--the wonderful mysteries1 the psychological difficulties1 the marvellous cerebration1 the incredibly rapid nerve telegraphing1 and the wonderful muscular complications which take place between the time that he addresses the ball and hits it1 or otherwise4 ,now1 as a matter of fact1 this is all so much balderdash1 so much falseness1 so much artificial and indeed almost criminal nonsense4 ,it would indeed almost seem as if the people who write this kind of stuff are in league with the greatest players of the world1 who write as instructions for the unfortunate would-be golfer things which they themselves never dreamed of doing--things which would quite spoil the wonderful game they play if they did them4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,i4 ,,harry ,,vardon',s ,,grip ,showing the overlapping of the first finger of the left hand by the little finger of the right4 ,this is now the orthodox grip4 ,if there may be said to be any mystery whatever about golf1 it is that in such an ancient and simple game there has grown up around it such a marvellous mass of false teaching1 of confused thought1 and of fantastic notions4 ,no game suffers from this false doctrine and imaginative nonsense to the same extent as does golf4 ,it is magnificently played4 ,we have here in ,england the finest exponents of the game1 both amateur and professional1 in the world4 ,if those men played golf as they tell others by their printed works to play it1 ,i should have another story to tell about their prowess on the links4 ,golf1 in itself1 is quite sufficiently difficult4 ,it is quite unnecessary to give the golfer1 or the would-be golfer1 an additional handicap by instilling it into his mind that golf is any more mysterious than any other game which is played4 ,the most mysterious thing about golf is that those who really ought to know most about it publish broadcast wrong information about the fundamental principles of the game4 ,innocent players follow this advice1 and not unnaturally they find it tremendously difficult to make anything like adequate progress4 ,naturally1 when some one comes along and explains to them in lengthy articles1 or may be in a book1 about the psychological difficulties and terrific complications of golf1 they are pleased to fasten on this stuff as an excuse for their want of success1 whereas in very truth the real explanation lies simply in the fact that they are violating some of the commonest and simplest laws of mechanics4 ,here1 indeed1 ,i might almost be forgiven if ,i went back on what ,i have said about the mystery of golf1 and produced1 on my own account1 that which is to me an outstanding mystery1 and labelled it the mystery of golf4 ,this really is to me always a mystery1 but ,i should not be correct in calling it the mystery of golf1 for it is more correctly described as the simplicity of the golfer4 ,this mystery is that practically every writer about golf1 and nearly every player1 seems to labour under the delusion that there is a special set of mechanical laws for golf1 that the golf ball flying through the air is actuated by totally different influences and in a totally different manner from the cricket ball1 the ping-pong ball1 or the lawn-tennis ball when engaged in a similar manner4 ,that is bad enough1 but the same delusions exist with regard to the conduct of the ball on the green4 ,now it is impossible to speak too plainly about this matter1 because ,i want at the outset to dispel the illusion of the mystery of golf4 ,there is no special set of mechanical laws governing golf4 ,golf has to take its place with all other games1 and the mechanical laws which govern the driving of a nail1 a golf ball1 or a cricket ball are fixed and immutable and well known1 so that it is quite useless for any one to try to explain to intelligent persons that there is any mystery in golf or the production of the golfing strokes beyond that which may be found in other games4 ,some people might think that ,i labour this point4 ,it is impossible to be too emphatic at the outset about it1 for the simple reason that it is bad enough for the golfer to have to think at the moment of making his stroke about the things which actually do matter4 ,if we are going to provide him with phantoms as well as solid realities to contend with1 he will indeed have a sorry time4 ,as a matter of fact1 about seven-tenths of the bad golf which is played is due to too much thinking about the stroke while the stroke is being played4 ,the golf stroke in itself may be quite easily learned2 ,i mean the true golf stroke1 and not the imaginary golf stroke1 which has been built up for the unfortunate golfer by those who never played such a stroke themselves1 and by those who write of the mystery of golf2 but it is an absolute certainty that the time for thinking about the golf stroke1 and how it shall be played1 is not when one is playing the stroke4 ,as a matter of fact the golf stroke is in some respects a complicated stroke4 ,certain changes of position in the body and arms take place with extreme rapidity during the execution of the stroke4 ,it is an utter impossibility for any man to think out and execute in proper order the component parts of a well-executed drive during his stroke4 ,when a man addresses his ball he should have in his mind but the one idea--he has to hit that ball in such a manner as to get it to the place at which he wants it to arrive2 but between the time of his address and the time that the ball departs on its journey his action should be1 to use a much-hackneyed but still expressive word1 practically sub-conscious2 in fact1 the way he hit that ball should be regulated by habit4 ,if the result was satisfactory--well and good4 ,if otherwise1 he may analyse that shot in his armchair later on2 but when once one has addressed the ball it is absolutely fatal to good golf to indulge in speculation as to how one is going to hit that ball1 and if to that speculation one adds a belief in what is called the mystery of golf1 one had better get right away back to marbles at once1 because it is a certainty that any one who believes in nonsense of this sort and practises it can never be a golfer4 ,the bane of about eighty-five per cent of golfers is a pitiful attempt to cultivate style4 ,the most contemptible man at any game is the stylist4 ,the man who cultivates style before the game is not fit to cumber any links4 ,every man should strive to produce his stroke in a mechanically perfect manner4 ,a good style is almost certain to follow when this is done4 ,style as the result of a game produced in a mechanically perfect manner is most desirable1 but style without the game is simply despicable4 ,one sometimes sees misguided golfers1 or would-be golfers1 practising their follow-through in a very theatrical manner4 ,it should be obvious to a very mean intelligence that a follow-through is of no value whatever1 except as the natural result of a correctly executed stroke4 ,if the stroke has been correct up to the moment of impact1 the follow-through will come almost as naturally as a good style will be born of correctly executed strokes4 ,self-consciousness is the besetting sin of the golfer4 ,it is hardly too much to say that the ordinary golfer devotes1 unfortunately1 too much thought to himself and the swing1 and far too little to the thing that he is there for--namely1 to hit the ball4 ,in golf the player has plenty of time to spare in making his stroke1 and he occupies too much of it in thinking about other things than the stroke4 ,the essence of success at golf is concentration upon the stroke4 ,the analysis has no right whatever to intrude itself on a man's mind until the stroke has been played4 ,the inquest should not be held until the corpse is there4 ,if this rule is followed1 it will be found that the corpse is frequently wanting4 ,golf is a very ancient game4 ,lawn-tennis is an absolute parvenu by its side1 and there are many other games which1 compared with golf1 are practically infants4 ,golf stands alone as regards false instruction1 nebulous criticism1 and utter disregard of the first principles of mechanics4 ,i have always been at a loss to understand this4 ,it is not as though golf had not been played and studied by some of the keenest intellects in the land4 ,we have had1 as we shall see later on1 men of the highest scientific attainments devoting their attention to the game1 writing about it1 lecturing about it1 publishing things about it which exist solely in their imagination4 ,this truly may be called a mystery4 ,i cannot leave the mystery of golf without giving some illustrations of the things which are published as instruction4 ,for instance1 ,i read lately that a good style results in good golf4 ,this is the kind of thing which mystifies a beginner4 ,the good style should be the result of the good golf1 and not the golf of the style4 ,i read elsewhere3 ,as a matter of fact most of the difficulties in golf are mental1 not physical1 are subjective1 not objective1 are the created phantasms of the mind1 not the veritable realities of the course4 ,i find these things in ,mr4 ,haultain's book entitled ,the ,mystery of ,golf4 ,there is no game where there are fewer mental difficulties than in golf4 ,the game is so extremely simple that it can practically be reduced to a matter of physical and mechanical accuracy4 ,the mental demand in golf--provided always1 of course1 that the man who is addressing the ball knows what he wants to do--is extremely small and extremely simple4 ,the created phantasms of the mind are supplied by fantastic writers who have proved for themselves that these phantasms are the deadliest enemies of good golf4 ,in another place ,i read the following passage3 ,you may place your ball how or where you like1 you may hit it with any sort of implement you like2 all you have to do is to hit it4 ,could simpler conditions be devised8 ,could an easier task be set8 ,and yet such is the constitution of the human golfing soul that it not only fails to achieve it1 but invents for itself multiform and manifold ifs and ans for not achieving it--ifs and ans1 the nature and number of which must assuredly move the laughter of the gods4 ,probably this is meant to be satirical1 but it is merely a libel on the great body of golfers4 ,it is not the human golfing soul which invents for itself multiform and manifold ifs and ans for not achieving it4 ,he who invents these ifs and ans is the author of the ordinary golf book on golf1 written ostensibly by some great player1 and the ifs and ans most assuredly1 if they do not move the laughter of the gods1 are sufficient to provoke the derision and contempt of the golfer who feels that nobody has a right to publish statements about a game which must act in a detrimental manner upon those who attempt to follow them4 ,it is not the human golfing soul or the human golfing body which is so prone to error4 ,those who make the errors are those who essay to teach1 and the time has now come for them to vindicate themselves or to stand back1 to stand out of the way of the spread of truth2 for one may be able to fool all the golfers some of the time and some of the golfers all the time1 but it is a sheer impossibility to fool all the golfers all the time2 and if the teaching which has obtained credence in the past were to be left unassailed1 the result would be untold misery and discomfort to millions of golfers4 ,it is for this reason that ,i am dealing in an early chapter with the alleged mystery of golf1 for ,i want to make it particularly clear that in the vast majority of cases those who attempt to explain the mystery of golf proceed very much on the lines of the octopus and obscure themselves behind clouds of inky fluid which are generally as shapeless in their form and meaning as the matter given off by the uncanny sea-dweller4 ,in fact1 the ordinary attempt to explain the mystery of golf generally resolves itself into the writer setting up his own ,aunt ,sally1 and even then exposing how painfully bad his aim is4 ,nearly every one who writes about golf claims for it that above all games it is the truest test of character1 and in a degree unknown in any other game reveals the nature of the man who is playing it1 and they proceed on this assumption to weave some of the most remarkable romances in connection with the simple and fundamental principles of the game4 ,in the book under notice we are asked 444 and yet why1 why does a badly-played game so upset a sane and rational man8 ,you may lose at bridge1 you may be defeated in chess1 you may recall lost chances in football or polo2 you may remember stupid things you did in tennis or squash racquets2 you may regret undue haste in trying to secure an extra run or runs in cricket1 but the mental depression caused by these is temporary and evanescent4 ,why do foozles in golf affect the whole man8 ,humph6 ,it is no use blinking matters--say what the scoffers may--to foozle at golf1 to take your eye off your ball1 cuts down to the very deeps of the human soul4 ,it does2 there is no controverting that4444 ,perhaps this is why golf is worth writing about4 ,it certainly is mysterious that any sane and rational man can write such stuff about golf4 ,this is a fair sample of the kind of thing one gets from those who attempt to treat of golf from the physiological or psychological standpoint4 ,i can hardly say too often that there is no such thing as the mystery of golf1 any more than there is1 in reality1 such a thing as the soul of golf1 but the mystery of golf is a meaningless and misleading term4 ,the soul of golf means1 in effect1 the heart of golf--a true and loving understanding of the very core of the game4 ,it would be bad enough if the persons essaying to explain the alleged mystery of golf knew the game thoroughly themselves1 but1 generally speaking1 they do not--in the case under consideration1 the writer himself admits that he is a duffer4 ,now taking him at his own valuation1 it does indeed seem strange that one whose knowledge of the game is admittedly insufficient1 should attempt to explain to players the super-refinements of a game at which he himself is admittedly incompetent4 ,it may seem somewhat cruel to press this point1 but in a matter such as this we have to consider the greatest good of the greatest number1 and we must not allow false sentiment to weigh with us in dealing with the work of anyone who publishes matter which may prejudicially affect the game of an immense body of people4 ,the attempts to deal with the psychology and the physiology of golf are a mass of confused thought and illogical reasoning1 but it is when the author proceeds to deal in any way with the practical side of golf that he shows clearly that his estimate of himself1 at least in so far as regards his knowledge of the game1 is not inaccurate4 ,let us take1 for instance1 the following passage4 ,he says that ,william ,park1 ,junior1 has informed us that 444 pressing1 really1 is putting in the power at the right time4 ,you can hit as hard as you like if you hit accurately and at the right time1 but the man who presses is the man who puts in the power too soon4 ,he is in too great a hurry4 ,he begins to hit before the club head has come anywhere near the ball4 ,this quotation1 ,i may say1 is not from ,william ,park's book1 but is taken from the volume ,i am quoting1 and the last sentence--,he begins to hit before the club head has come anywhere near the ball--shows clearly that the author has no idea whatever of even a mechanical analysis of the golf stroke1 for it is impossible to begin the hit too soon4 ,the main portion of the power of the drive in golf is developed 7as indeed anyone with very little consideration might know7 near the beginning of the downward swing4 ,this is so simple1 so natural1 so apparent to any one who knows the game of golf that ,i feel it is almost unnecessary to support the statement2 but there are so many people who follow the game of golf1 and are willing to accept as gospel any remarkable statement with regard to the game1 that ,i may as well refer doubters to ,james ,braid's book on ,advanced ,golf wherein he shows clearly that anyone desiring to produce a proper drive at golf must be hard at it from the very beginning of the stroke4 ,the author continues3 ,if in the drive the whole weight and strength of the body1 from the nape of the neck to the soles of the feet1 are not transferred from body to ball1 through the minute and momentary contact of club with ball1 absolutely surely1 yet swiftly--you top or you pull or you sclaff1 or you slice1 or you swear4 ,it is almost unnecessary to tell any golfer that the whole weight of his body is not thrown at his golf ball1 for this1 in effect1 would produce a terrific lunge and utterly destroy the rhythm of his stroke4 ,here is another remarkable passage--and as to that mashie shot where you loft high over an abominable bunker and fall dead with a back-spin and a cut to the right on a keen and declivitous green--is there any stroke in any game quite so delightfully difficult as that8 and my answer is ,certainly not1 for there is no such stroke in golf4 ,when one puts a cut to the right or to the left1 one has no back-spin on the ball4 ,the back-spin is only got by following through after the ball in a downward direction1 and as to a mashie approach with a cut to the right--well1 the cut on a golf ball in a mashie stroke is in practical golf always a cut to the left1 which produces a run to the right4 ,the shot as described by ,mr4 ,haultain simply does not exist in golf4 ,it probably is a portion of the mystery of golf which he has not yet solved4 ,then we are told 444 not only is the stroke in golf an extremely difficult one--it is also an extremely complicated one1 more especially the drive1 in which its principles are concentrated4 ,it is1 in fact1 a subtile combination of a swing and a hit1 the hit portion being deftly incorporated into the swing just as the head of the club reaches the ball1 yet without disturbing the regular rhythm of the motion4 ,this again is another of the mysteries of golf1 and a mystery purely of the inventive brain of the author4 ,the drive in golf is played with such extreme rapidity that the duration of impact does not last more than one ten-thousandth of a second1 yet we are asked to believe that the first portion of the stroke is a swing1 but in1 say1 the five-thousandth of a second it is to be changed to a hit4 ,could the force of folly in alleged tuition go further than this8 ,we now come to an absolutely fundamental error in the golf stroke1 an error of a nature so important and far-reaching that if ,i can demonstrate it1 any attempt on the part of its author to explain anything in connection with the golf stroke mechanically1 physiologically1 psychologically1 logically1 or otherwise1 must absolutely fall to the ground4 ,we are told the whole body must turn on the pivot of the head of the right thigh bone working in the cotyloidal cavity of the os innominatum or pelvic bone1 the head1 right knee and right foot remaining fixed1 with the eyes riveted on the ball4 ,now1 put into plain ,english this ridiculous sentence means that the weight of the body rests upon the right leg4 ,it is such a fundamental and silly error1 but nevertheless an error which is made by the greatest players in the world in their published works1 that ,i shall not at the present moment deal with the matter1 but shall refer to it again in my chapter on the distribution of weight1 for this matter of the distribution of weight1 which is of absolute root importance in the game of golf1 has been most persistently mistaught by those whose duty it is to teach the game as they play it1 so that others may not be hampered in their efforts to become expert by following false advice4 ,further on we are told1 in the upward swing the vertebral column rotates upon the head of the right femur1 the right knee being fixed1 and as the club head nears the ball the fulcrum is rapidly changed from the right to the left hip1 the spine now rotating on the left thigh-bone1 the left knee being fixed4 ,of course1 ,i do not know on what principle the man who writes this is built1 but it seems to me that he must have a spine with an adjustable end4 ,none of the famous golfers1 so far as ,i am aware1 are able to shift their spines from one thigh bone to another4 ,moreover1 to say that the vertebral column rotates upon the head of the right femur is merely childish unscientific nonsense1 for it is obvious to any one1 even to one who does not profess to explain the mystery of golf1 that one's spine cannot possibly rotate within one1 for to secure rotation of the spine it would be necessary for the body to rotate4 ,this1 it need hardly be pointed out1 would be extremely inconvenient between the waggle and the moment when one strikes the ball4 ,we are told that in the downward swing velocity of the club in the descent must be accelerated by minute but rapid gradations4 ,for one who is attempting to explain the mystery of golf there could not possibly be a worse word than gradations4 ,the author1 in this statement1 is simply following an old and utterly obsolete notion4 ,there is no such thing as accelerating the speed by minute gradations4 ,quoting ,james ,braid in ,advanced ,golf1 from memory1 he says that you must be hard at it from the very moment you start the stroke1 and even if he did not say so1 any golfer possessed of common sense would know that the mere idea of adding to the speed of his golf drive by steps1 which is what the word gradations implies1 would be utterly futile4 ,the futility of the advice is1 however1 emphasised when we are told that these gradations come from orders not issued all at once1 but one after another--also absolutely evenly and smoothly--at intervals probably of ten-thousandths of a second4 ,if the curves are not precise1 if a single muscle fails to respond1 if the timing is in the minutest degree irregular--the stroke is a failure4 ,no wonder it is difficult4 ,it would indeed be no wonder that the golf drive is difficult if it really were composed as indicated1 but1 as a matter of fact1 nothing of the sort takes place in the ordinary drive of a sane golfer4 ,there is one command issued1 which is ,hit the ball4 ,all these other things which are supposed to be done by an incredible number of efforts of the mind are practically performed sub-consciously1 and more by habit than by any complex mental directions4 ,the drive in golf is not in any respect different from numerous other strokes in numerous other games in so far as regards the mental portion of it4 ,now so far as regards the complicated system of mental telegraphy which is claimed for golf in the production of the stroke1 absolutely the same thing happens in practically every game1 with the exception that in most other games the player is1 so far as regards the production of his stroke1 at a greater disadvantage than he is in golf1 for he has nearly always a moving ball to play at and much less time wherein to decide how to play his stroke4 ,in golf he has plenty of time to make up his mind as to how he will play his stroke1 and the operation1 to the normal golfer1 in so far as regards the mental portion of it1 is extremely simple4 ,his trouble is that he has so much nonsense of this nature to contend with1 so much false instruction to fight4 ,if he were given a correct idea of the stroke he would have no difficulty whatever with regard to his gradations4 ,braid has explicitly stated that this idea of gradually and consciously increasing the speed is a mistake1 and ,i have always been especially severe on it as one of the pronounced fallacies of golf4 ,i shall deal with it more fully in my chapter on ,the ,fallacies of ,golf1 but ,i may here quote ,braid1 who says3 ,nevertheless1 when commencing the downward swing1 do so in no gentle1 half-hearted manner such as is often associated with the idea of gaining speed gradually1 which is what we are told the club must do when coming down from the top on to the ball4 ,it is obvious that speed will be gained gradually1 since the club could not possibly be started off at its quickest rate4 ,the longer the force applied to the down swing1 the greater do the speed and momentum become4 ,but this gradual increase is independent of the golfer1 and he should1 as far as possible1 be unconscious of it4 ,what he has to concern himself with is not increasing his speed gradually1 but getting as much of it as he possibly can right from the top4 ,no gentle starts1 but hard at it from the top1 and the harder you start the greater will be the momentum of the club when the ball is reached4 ,now this is emphatic enough1 but it should not be necessary to quote ,james ,braid to impress upon any golfer of average intelligence that this idea of consciously increasing his speed gradually as he comes down to the ball is the most infantile and injurious tuition which it is possible to impart4 ,to encumber any player's mind with such utterly stupid doctrine is most reprehensible4 ,as an illustration of how little the author of this book understands the true character of the golf stroke1 ,i may quote him again4 ,in a letter recently published over his signature he says3 ,mind and muscle--both should act freely and easily till the moment of impact2 then1 perhaps1 the mind should be concentrated1 as the muscles must be contracted1 to the utmost4 ,now this is such utterly fallacious doctrine that ,i certainly should not notice it were it not that this book1 on account of its somewhat original treatment of the subject1 has obtained a degree of notice to which ,i do not consider it entitled4 ,this is so far from what really takes place in the drive at golf that ,i must quote ,james ,braid from ,advanced ,golf1 page #ef4 ,it will be seen from ,braid's remarks that the whole idea of the golf drive from the moment the club starts on its downward course until the ball has been hit is that of supreme tension and concentration4 ,it seems almost a work of supererogation to deal with a matter of such apparent simplicity1 but when one sees matter such as that quoted published in responsible papers1 one realises that in the interests of the game it is necessary to deal with statements which really1 in themselves1 ought to carry their own refutation4 ,braid says3 ,look to it also that the right elbow is kept well in control and fairly close to the side in order to promote tension at the top4 ,again at page #eg he says3 ,now for the return journey4 ,here at the top the arms1 wrists1 body--all are in their highest state of tension4 ,every muscle and joint in the human golfing machinery is wound up to the highest point1 and there is a feeling that something must be let go at once4 ,on page #eh we read again3 ,no gentle starts1 but hard at it from the very top1 and the harder you start the greater will be the momentum of the club when the ball is reached4 ,at page #fj again3 ,keep the body and wrist under tension a little longer4 ,at page #fa we read3 ,then comes the moment of impact4 ,crack6 ,everything is let loose1 and round comes the body immediately the ball is struck1 and goes slightly forward until the player is facing the line of flight4 ,if the tension has been properly held1 all this will come quite easily and naturally4 ,the time for the tension is over and it is allowed its sudden and complete expansion and quick collapse4 ,that is the whole secret of the thing--the bursting of the tension at the proper moment--and really there is very little to be said in enlargement of the idea4 ,now here it will be seen that ,braid's idea1 which is undoubtedly the correct one1 is that the golfer's muscles1 and it follows naturally also his mind1 are in a state of supreme tension until the moment of impact1 when that tension is released4 ,on the other hand1 we are told by our psychologist that the moment which ,braid says is the moment of the collapse of the tension is the moment for introducing tension and concentration4 ,the statement is1 of course1 an extremely ridiculous one1 especially coming1 as it does1 from one who presumes to deal with the psychology and physiology of golf1 because nothing could be further from the truth than the statement made by him4 ,it proves at the very outset that he has not a correct idea of the golf stroke1 and therefore any attempt by him to explain the psychology of golf1 if golf may be said to have such a thing as a psychology1 is worthless4 ,our author has also explained how1 in the downward swing1 the speed of the club is increased by extremely minute gradations4 ,i have elsewhere referred to this fallacy1 but the matter is so important that ,i shall quote ,james ,braid again here4 ,at page #eg ,braid says3 ,nevertheless1 when commencing the downward swing1 do so in no gentle1 half-hearted manner1 such as is often associated with the idea of gaining speed gradually1 which is what we are told the club must do when coming down from the top on to the ball4 ,it is obvious that speed will be gained gradually1 since the club could not possibly be started off at the quickest rate4 ,the longer the force applied to the down swing the greater does the speed of the momentum become1 but this gradual increase is independent of the golfer1 and he should1 as far as possible1 be unconscious of it4 ,what he has to concern himself with is not increasing his speed gradually1 but getting as much of it as he possibly can right from the top4 ,i am very glad indeed to be able to quote ,braid to this effect1 for if we may accept his statement on this matter as authoritative1 it completely refutes one of the greatest and stupidest fallacies in golf1 which is this particular notion of gradually increasing one's speed by any conscious effort of muscular regulation4 ,now if ,braid's statement with regard to the muscular work in the downward portion of the drive is correct1 it follows naturally that the explanation of the mystery of golf offered by the author is merely an explanation of a mystery which he has evolved from the innermost recesses of his fertile imagination2 but it is needless for me to say that unless such an idea as this is absolutely killed1 it would have a most pernicious effect upon the game of anyone who came within its influence4 ,it may seem1 perhaps1 that ,i attach too much importance to the writing of a gentleman who describes himself as a duffer4 ,it is not so4 ,no one knows better than ,i do the influence of printed matter4 ,i have lived amongst print and printers and newspapers for very many years1 and needless to say ,i know as well as any man that not everything which one sees in print is true1 but the remarkable thing about the printed word is that even with one who is absolutely hardened and inured to the vagaries and extravagances and inaccuracies of those who handle type1 the printed word carries a certain amount of weight4 ,we can easily understand1 then1 that to those who are not so educated the printed word is much more authoritative4 ,therefore1 even if the circulation of a book or a paper may be very little1 it is always worth the while of one who has the interests of the game at heart to do his best not only to scotch1 but absolutely to kill false and pernicious teaching of this nature1 for the simple reason that even if a book circulates but a hundred copies1 or a newspaper two hundred and fifty1 which is giving them both a remarkably small circulation1 it is impossible1 or at least extremely improbable1 that any man will be able1 by his influence1 to follow each copy of that book or that newspaper4 ,there is a great fundamental truth underlying this statement4 ,if one gives a lie a day's start1 it takes a terrible lot of catching4 ,this is particularly so in connection with printed matter1 and ,i have had some very remarkable illustrations of the fact4 ,so strongly1 indeed1 do ,i realise this fact1 that although ,i believe that ,i am as impervious to adverse criticism as any one1 ,i will never1 if ,i can prevent it1 allow criticism of that nature which ,i consider inimical to the interests of any subject with which ,i am dealing1 to get the slightest possible start4 ,indeed1 ,i have1 on occasions1 carried this principle still further1 and when ,i have known that matter was to appear which ,i considered of a nature calculated to produce wrong thought in connection with a certain subject ,i have taken means to see that it did not appear4 ,it will be readily understood that ,i am not now referring to matters of personal criticism4 ,i refer particularly to matters of doctrine published and circulated1 even in the smallest way4 ,if1 for the sake of argument1 the paper which spreads that false doctrine circulates only twenty copies1 one cannot follow every copy1 and to do one's work thoroughly and effectively it would be necessary to follow every copy of that paper in order to counteract the pernicious influence which it might otherwise exercise4 ,taking this view of the effect of printed matter1 it should be apparent that ,i consider the time devoted to refuting injurious and false teaching well spent4 ,in the attempted explanation of the mystery of golf there are some amazing statements which tend to show clearly that the author of that work has not that intimate knowledge of sport generally which is absolutely essential to any man who would even essay satisfactorily to do what the author is trying to do4 ,let us examine1 for instance1 such a statement as this3 ,indeed1 the difficulties of golf are innumerable and incalculable4 ,take1 for example1 that simple rule ',keep your eye on the ball4' ,it is unheard of in tennis2 it is needless in cricket2 in golf it is iterated and reiterated times without number1 and infringed as often as repeated4 ,can anyone imagine a more wonderful statement than this8 ,in tennis1 by which from subsequent remarks it is clear that the author means lawn-tennis1 and also indeed in tennis1 it is1 of course1 a fundamental rule that one must keep one's eye on the ball4 ,it is repeatedly drilled into every player1 and even the most experienced players by neglecting it sacrifice points4 ,lifting one's eye is one of the most prolific causes of missed smashes and ordinary volleys1 while the half volleys which are missed through not attempting to follow out this universal rule are innumerable4 ,we are told that it is unheard of in cricket4 ,this indeed is a marvellous statement4 ,no coach who knows his duty in tennis1 lawn-tennis1 cricket1 racquets1 or in fact any game where one plays at a moving ball1 could possibly have gone more than about half a dozen lessons1 if so many1 without impressing upon his pupil the extreme importance of endeavouring to watch the ball until the moment of impact4 ,this1 of course1 is a counsel of perfection1 and is not often perfectly carried out1 for various reasons which ,i shall deal with in my chapter on ,the ,function of the ,eyes4 ,for one who has attempted a critical analysis of the psychology of golf the author makes some wonderful statements4 ,speaking about looking versus thinking1 and keeping one's eye on the ball1 the author says3 ,as a matter of fact1 instead of looking1 you are thinking1 and to think1 when you ought to play1 is the madness of mania4 ,it should be fairly obvious to anyone who does not even profess to be capable of analysing the emotions of a golfer that to look it is necessary to be thinking--to be thinking about looking1 in fact2 that it would be impossible to look without thinking2 that indeed the looking is dependent upon the thinking1 or1 as our author would probably put it1 he must will to look--not only must he will to look1 but he must will to hit4 ,those are the two important things for him to will--to look and to hit4 ,now those things cannot be done without thinking1 and yet we are told that to think when you ought to play is the madness of mania4 ,the author goes on to give what he calls a very simple and anatomical reason for this inability to see one's ball when one is thinking instead of looking4 ,he says3 ,everybody has heard the phrase a vacant stare4 ,well1 there actually is such a thing as a vacant stare4 ,when one's thoughts are absorbed in something other than the object looked at1 the eyes lose their convergence--that is to say1 instead of the two eyeballs being turned inwards and focussed on the thing1 they look straight outwards into space1 with the result1 of course1 that the thing looked at is seen indistinctly4 ,i am convinced that this happens to many a grown-up golfer4 ,he thinks he is looking at his ball1 but as a matter of fact he is thinking about looking at his ball 7a very different affair71 or about how he is going to hit it1 or any one of a hundred other things2 and1 his mind being taken off that supreme duty of doing nothing but look1 the muscles of the eye are relaxed1 the eyeballs resume their natural position and stare vacantly into space4 ,it will probably not be news to most of us that there is such a thing as a vacant stare4 ,we probably remember many occasions when1 lost in thought1 our eyes have lost their convergence1 but it will indeed be news to most of us that it is the supreme duty of the eyes to do nothing but look4 ,we are now face to face with this fact according to this analysis4 ,the author quotes the great psychologist1 ,hffding1 as saying1 ,we must will to see1 in order to see aright4 ,we now1 by a natural and logical process of reasoning1 have the golfer settled at his ball1 his address duly taken1 his eye fixed on the ball1 and he is in the act of willing to see as hard as he can4 ,so far so good4 ,let us presume that he is seeing4 ,now we are told that to think when he ought to play is the madness of mania4 ,we must presume that it will now be impossible to proceed with his stroke unless he wills to move4 ,how will he will to move without thinking8 ,if anybody can explain to me how a golfer can play a stroke without willing to hit as well as to look1 ,i shall indeed consider that he has explained at least one mystery in golf4 ,we are told that 444 if during that minute interval of time which elapses between the commencement of the upward swing of the club and its impact with the ball1 the golfer allows any one single sensation1 or idea to divert his attention--consciously or unconsciously--from the little round image on his retina1 he does not properly perceive that ball2 and of course1 by consequence1 does not properly hit it4 ,notwithstanding this statement1 we see that the author tries to implant in the mind of the golfer the idea that during his downward stroke arms and hands are receiving innumerable orders at intervals probably of tens of thousandths of a second1 and that at the moment of impact with the ball the mind has to become suddenly concentrated and the muscles suddenly contracted4 ,he surely will allow that in this advice he is trying to impart at least one single sensation or idea which is sufficient to ensure that he will not properly perceive that ball1 and of course1 by consequence1 that he will not properly hit it4 ,here is another paragraph worthy of consideration3 ,but if one tautens any of the muscles necessary for the stroke1 the stroke is spoiled4 ,i think ,i have already quoted ,james ,braid on the subject of tension in the drive1 to show that this statement is utterly fallacious1 and that without very considerable tautening of the muscles it would be impossible to produce a golf drive worthy of the name4 ,the strangest portions of this alleged explanation of the mystery of golf are always when it comes to the question of practical golf4 ,let us consider briefly such a statement as the following3-- ,both sets of stimuli must be intimately and intricately combined throughout the whole course of the swing2 the wrists must ease off at the top and tauten at the end4 ,the left knee must be loose at the beginning1 and firm at the finish1 and the change from one to the other must be as deftly and gently1 yet swiftly wrought1 as a crescendo passage from pianissimo to fortissimo on a fiddle4 ,we have already seen what ,james ,braid says about the golf stroke--that from the top of it right to the impact the muscles must be in a state of the fullest tension2 while it is of course well known now that the left knee is never at any time in the stroke what is described as loose1 for from the moment that a properly executed golf drive begins1 the weight proceeds towards the left foot and leg1 and therefore it would be impossible to play a proper drive with the left knee loose4 ,i deal fully with this subject in my chapter on ,the ,distribution of ,weight4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,ii4 ,,harry ,,vardon ,stance and frontal address in short put4 ,as we proceed with the consideration of this work we find that golf is indeed a mystery to the author4 ,we are informed that the golf stroke is a highly complex one1 and one necessitating the innervation of innumerable cerebrospinal centres2 not only hand and eye1 but arms1 wrist1 shoulders1 back1 loins1 and legs must be stimulated to action4 ,no wonder that the associative memory has to be most carefully cultivated in golf4 ,to be able1 without thinking about it1 to take your stance1 do your waggle1 swing back1 pause1 come forward1 hit hard1 and follow-through well over the left shoulder1 always self-confidently--ah6 this requires a first-class brain1 a first-class spinal cord1 and first-class muscles2 and--if ,i might be pardoned for adding it--a first-class idiot4 ,nobody but a first-class idiot could possibly do all these things without thinking of them1 except probably that brilliant follow-through well over the left shoulder6 ,i have heard many things enunciated by people who considered themselves possessed of first-class brains1 but this is absolutely the first time that ,i have ever heard of a good follow-through well over the left shoulder4 ,a good follow-through well over the left shoulder generally means a most pernicious slice4 ,any follow-through at any game goes after the ball4 ,what happens when that is finished is merely a matter of individual style and the particular nature of the stroke which has been played4 ,the club1 in some cases1 may come back over the left shoulder2 in other cases it may point right down the course after the ball2 in another it may swing practically round the body4 ,it is little touches such as these which show the lack of practical acquaintance with the higher science of the game4 ,no one acquainted with the inner secrets of golf could possibly refer to that portion of a stroke which is coming back from the hole as the follow-through4 ,as an instance of absolutely ridiculous nonsense ,i may quote the following3 ,what the anatomists say is this1 that1 if the proper orders are issued from the cortex1 and gathered up and distributed by the corpora striata and the cerebellum1 are then transferred through the crus cerebri1 the pons varolii1 the anterior pyramid and the medulla oblongata1 down the lateral columns of the spinal cord into the anterior cornua of grey matter in the cervical1 the dorsal and the lumbar region1 they will then traverse the motor nerves at the rate of about #aaa feet a second1 and speedily excite definite groups of muscles in definite ways1 with the effect of producing the desired movements4 ,of course this to the ordinary golfer is absolute nonsense1 but to the skilled anatomist and student of psychology1 who may also be a golfer1 it is worse than nonsense1 for the simple reason that assuming that the measurement of the speed at which these orders travel has been even approximately measured as proceeding at the rate of about #aaa feet a second1 it is obvious that such a rate of progression would be1 by comparison with the speed at which the golf stroke is delivered1 merely a gentle crawl4 ,one might be excused if one thought that this book was merely a practical joke perpetrated by a very ingenious person at the expense of golfers1 but ,i do not think we should be justified in assuming that1 for then we should have to speak in a very much severer manner than we are doing2 for when one reads about such things as the twirl of the wrists1 the accelerated velocity1 and the hit at the impact1 one is justified in assuming that even if the psychology of the author were sound1 his knowledge of the mechanical production of the golf drive is extremely limited4 ,he says3 ,psychologists are1 ,i believe1 agreed that there is in the mind a faculty called the ,imagination4 ,indeed1 there has been a whole essay written and printed on ,the ,creative ,imagination4 ,even if psychologists are not agreed on this subject we could1 ,i think1 take as irrefutable evidence of the existence of the creative imagination the work under notice4 ,it is curious to find one who is endeavouring to analyse matters which are psychologically abstruse exhibiting the greatest confusion of thought4 ,let us take an illustration4 ,he says3 ,we misuse words2 we construct an artificial and needless barrier between mind and matter4 ,by 'matter' we simply mean something perceptible by our five senses4 ,let us consider this statement4 ,it would be impossible to imagine a more sloppy definition of matter4 ,according to this definition of matter1 glass is not matter1 for it is not perceptible by our sense of hearing1 smelling1 or tasting4 ,it is evident that the author means--which in itself is erroneous--to define matter as something which is perceptible by one of the five senses1 but in an analytical psychologist so overwhelming an error is inexcusable4 ,it is manifest that he is not equal to the task which he has set himself in any way whatever4 ,he says that ,the golfer1 strive as he may1 is the slave of himself4 ,here again we have a gross libel on the poor golfer4 ,the ordinary golfer is not the slave of himself4 ,he is the slave of thoughtless persons who write about things which they do not understand1 and1 in some cases1 the bond-servant of those who write without understanding of the things which they do very well4 ,elaborating this idea1 the author proceeds3 ,it is not a matter of want of strength or want of skill1 for every now and again one proves to oneself by a superlative stroke that the strength and the skill are there if only the mind could be prevailed upon to use them4 ,this truly is a marvellous statement from one who essays a critical analysis of anything4 ,it is undoubtedly possible that a player might be set at a tee blindfolded1 and provided his caddie put down sufficient balls for him to drive at and he continued driving long enough1 he would unquestionably hit a superlative stroke4 ,would this prove that the strength and the skill are there8 ,i wonder if our author has ever heard of such a thing as a ghastly fluke8 ,a little later on we read3 ,time and time again you have been taught exactly how to stand1 exactly how to swing1 and he then proceeds to wonder how it is that the unfortunate golfer is so prone to error4 ,the reason is not far to seek4 ,it is found in the work of such men as our author1 and others who should know much better than he2 it is found in the work of men who teach the unfortunate golfer to stand wrongly1 to swing wrongly4 ,these1 in company with our author1 will be duly arraigned in our chapter on ,the ,distribution of ,weight4 ,that is the plain answer why golfers do not get the results which they should get from the amount of work and thought which they put into their game1 for golfers are1 unquestionably1 as a class1 the most thoughtful of sportsmen4 ,if they were not1 a book such as ,i am dealing with could not possibly have secured a publisher4 ,continuing his argument on this subject he says3 444 and yet how often it has taken three1 four1 and even five strokes to cover those hundred yards6 ,it would be laughable were it not so humiliating--in fact1 the impudent spectator does laugh until he tries it himself2 then1 ah6 then he1 too1 gets a glimpse into that mystery of mysteries--the human mind--which at one and the same time wills to do a thing and fails to do it1 which knows precisely and could repeat by rote the exact means by which it is to be accomplished1 yet is impotent to put them in force4 ,and the means are so simple4 ,so insanely simple4 ,to which ,i say1 ,and the means are indeed so simple1 so sanely simple4 ,it is writers who do not understand the game at all who make them insanely complex4 ,as a definite illustration of what ,i mean let me ask the man who writes that the golfer who desires to drive perfectly could repeat by rote the exact means by which it is to be accomplished where1 in any book by one of the greatest golfers1 or in his own book1 the golfer is definitely instructed that his weight must not at any time be on his right leg4 ,in fact the author himself1 in common with everybody who has ever written a golf book1 deliberately misinforms the golfer in this fundamental principle4 ,how1 then1 can a man who claims to be possessed of an analytical mind say that the ordinary golfer could repeat by rote the exact means by which anything is to be accomplished when it is now a matter of notoriety that practically the whole of the published teaching of golf is fundamentally unsound8 ,speaking of the golfer's difficulties in the drive the author says1 ,the secret of this extraordinary and baffling conflict of mind and matter is a problem beyond the reach of physiology and psychology combined4 ,yes1 there is no doubt that it is2 but it is a matter which is well within the reach of the most elementary mechanics and common sense4 ,it will probably seem that ,i am dealing with this attempt to explain the mystery of golf very severely1 but ,i do not feel that ,i am treating the matter too strictly4 ,golf is enveloped and encompassed round about with a wordy mass of verbiage4 ,all kinds of men and some women1 who have no clearly defined or scientific ideas1 have presumed to put before the unfortunate golfer directions for playing the game which have landed him in a greater maze of bewilderment than exists in any other game which ,i know4 ,it is obvious that if a man is both a duffer and a slow thinker it will be unsafe for him1 until he has improved both his game and his mental processes1 to attempt to explain the higher science of golf for anyone4 ,it should be sufficient for him to study the mechanical processes whereby he may improve his own game until at least he has been able to take himself out of the class which he characterises himself as the duffers4 ,to explain golf scientifically in the face of the mass of false doctrine which encumbers it1 it is necessary that one should be1 if not at least a quick thinker1 an exact thinker1 and that one should know the game to the core4 ,it seems to me that there is possibly a clue to the remarkable statements which we get in this book in the following quotation1 which ,i take from the chapter on ,attention3 ,when ,i first rode a bicycle1 if four or five obstacles suddenly presented themselves1 these to the right1 those to the left1 ,i found ,i could not transfer my attention from one to the other sufficiently quickly to give the muscles the requisite orders--and ,i came a cropper 444 and so with the golf stroke4 ,it seems to me that here we have the key of the author's difficulty4 ,his mind was fixed on the obstacles--some to the right and some to the left4 ,in similar circumstances most budding cyclists1 and ,i have taught many1 confine their attention to the clear path right ahead1 and consequently the obstacles these to the right1 those to the left do not trouble them4 ,this1 psychologically speaking1 is a curious confession of the power of outside influences to affect the main issue4 ,it seems to me that right through the consideration of this subject the author1 like many other golfers1 has been devoting his mind far too much to the things which he imagines about golf1 instead of to the things which are1 and they are the things which matter4 ,no wonder1 then1 that he has come a cropper4 ,there is a chapter called ,the ,one ,thing ,necessary1 which starts as follows3 ,but1 since ,i stated that my own belief is that only one thing can be 'attended' to at a time1 you will probably be inclined to ask me what is the most important thing8 what precisely ought we to attend to at the moment of impact of club with ball8 ,well1 if you ask me1 ,i say the image of the ball4 ,this is really an astonishing statement4 ,at the moment of impact of club with ball the image of the ball does not really matter in the slightest degree4 ,as ,i shall show later on1 the eye has fulfilled its functions long before the impact takes place4 ,also1 of course1 to the non-analytical mind it will be perfectly obvious that the image of the ball could be just as well preserved if the golfer had lifted his head three to six inches1 but his stroke would have been irretrievably ruined4 ,now1 as a matter of fact1 by the time the club has arrived at the ball it is altogether too late to attend to anything4 ,all the attention has already been devoted to the stroke1 and it has been made or marred4 ,as we have clearly seen from what ,james ,braid says about the stroke the moment of impact is the time when the attention and the tension is released1 so it will obviously be of no service to us to endeavour forcibly to impress upon our minds in any way the image of the ball4 ,if there is any one thing to think of at the moment of impact1 the outstanding point of importance must be that the eyes should be in exactly the same place and position as they were at the moment of address4 ,here is a most remarkable sentence3-- ,it is a pity that so many literary elucidators and explicators of the game devote so many pages to the subsidiary circumstances4444 ,i wonder if they would pardon me if ,i said that1 as a matter of simple fact1 if one attended to the game 7with all that that means71 almost one could stand and strike as one chose1 and almost with any kind of club4 ,there is a large amount of truth in this2 but it comes most peculiarly from the author of this book1 for of all the literary obfuscators whom ,i have ever come across ,i have never met his equal in attention to the subsidiary circumstances and neglect of the real game4 ,much time is wasted in an analysis of the nature of attention4 ,now1 attention1 psychologically1 is somewhat difficult to define from the golfing point of view1 but as a matter of simple and practical golf there is no difficulty whatever in explaining it4 ,attention in golf is merely habit acquired by practice and by starting golf in a proper and scientific manner4 ,i shall have to deal with that more fully in my next chapter1 so ,i shall not go into the matter here4 ,suffice it to say that lifting the eye at golf is no more a lack of attention than is lifting the little finger in the club-house4 ,it is merely a vice in each case--a bad habit1 born probably of the fact that in neither case did the man learn the rudiments of the game thoroughly4 ,we are told that the arms do not judge distance 7save when we are actually touching something71 nor does the body1 nor does the head4 ,the judging is done by the eyes2 but we must not forget that the arms accurately measure the distance4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,putting ,the great mystery to me1 not about golf1 but about the work of the greatest golfers1 is the attitude which they all adopt with regard to putting4 ,now1 putting may quite properly be said to be the foundation of golf4 ,it really is the first thing which should be taught1 but1 as a matter of fact1 it is generally left until the last4 ,practically all instructors start the player with the drive4 ,it is beyond question that the drive is the most complex stroke in golf1 and it is equally beyond question that the put is the simplest4 ,there can be no shadow of doubt whatever that the only scientific method of instructing a person in the art of playing golf is one which is diametrically opposed to that adopted by practically all the leading players of the world4 ,instead of starting the beginner at the tee and taking him through his clubs in rotation to the putting-green1 the proper order for sound tuition would be to start him six inches from the hole and to back him through his clubs to the tee4 ,this is so absolutely beyond argument that ,i need not labour the point here1 except in so far as with it is bound up the important question of attention--that is1 of riveting one's eye and one's mind on the ball for the whole period employed in making the stroke4 ,as ,i said in the preceding chapter1 attention is habit4 ,attention includes the habit of keeping the eye on the ball and the head still until the stroke has been played4 ,the best way of inculcating the vices of lifting the head and the eye during the stroke is to teach the player the drive first4 ,it stands to reason that if a player is started1 say1 with a six-inch put1 that he has at the moment of making his stroke both the ball and the hole well within the focus of his eyes1 so that it is absolutely unnecessary for him to lift his eye in order to follow the ball4 ,it therefore follows that he is not tempted to lift his eye4 ,now1 no player should be allowed to go more than two or three feet from the hole until he has learned to hole out puts at that distance with accuracy and confidence4 ,by the time he is allowed to leave the putting-green1 he will have acquired the habit of attention4 ,it will be clearly seen that1 starting now from the edge of the green with his chip shot1 he is much more certain of striking the ball and getting it away than he would be were he put on to the more uncertain stroke in the drive2 so by a gradual process of education the player would come in time to the drive1 and by the time he arrives at the most complicated stroke in the game--the stroke wherein is the smallest margin of error--he has cultivated the habit of attention1 which includes keeping one's head still4 ,of course1 this is a counsel of perfection which one does not expect to find carried out1 although a similar course is followed by all good teachers in every trade1 profession1 science1 or game1 but as ,i have said before1 in golf there is a tremendous amount of false teaching which is generally followed4 ,it is1 however1 a certainty that any beginner who has the patience1 perseverance1 and moral courage to educate himself on these lines1 will find golf much easier to play than it would be if he had started1 as nearly everybody wants to start1 with the swing4 ,it is bad enough that putting should be relegated to the position it is1 but the attitude of the great writers1 or perhaps ,i should say the great golfers who have written books about golf1 aggravates the offence1 and forms what is to me the greatest mystery in connection with golf literature4 ,i shall give here what ,braid1 ,vardon1 and ,taylor have to say about putting4 ,let me take ,vardon first4 ,at page #adc of ,the ,complete ,golfer he says3 ,for the proper playing of the other strokes in golf1 ,i have told my readers to the best of my ability how they should stand and where they should put their feet4 ,but except for the playing of particular strokes1 which come within the category of those called fancy1 ,i have no similar instruction to offer in the matter of putting4 ,there is no rule and there is no best way4 ,the fact is that there is more individuality in putting than in any other department of golf1 and it is absolutely imperative that this individuality should be allowed to have its way4 ,and now comes a very wonderful statement3 ,i believe seriously that every man has had a particular kind of putting method awarded to him by ,nature1 and when he putts exactly in this way he will do well1 and when he departs from his natural system he will miss the long ones and the short ones too4 ,first of all1 he has to find out this particular method which ,nature has assigned for his use4 ,again on page #add we read that when a player is off his putting 444 it is all because he is just that inch or two removed from the stance which ,nature allotted to him for putting purposes1 but he does not know that1 and consequently everything in the world except the true cause is blamed for the extraordinary things he does4 ,let us now repeat what ,james ,braid has to say on the important matter of putting4 ,on page #aai of ,how to ,play ,golf he says3 ,it happens1 unfortunately1 that concerning one department of the game that will cause the golfer some anxiety from time to time1 and often more when he is experienced than when he is not1 neither ,i nor any other player can offer any words of instruction such as1 if closely acted upon1 would give the same successful results as the advice tendered under other heads ought to do4 ,this is in regard to putting4 ,further on we are informed that really great putters are probably born and not made4 ,so far we must admit that this is extremely discouraging1 but there is worse to follow4 ,let us now see what ,taylor has to say about putting4 ,at page #hc in his book1 ,taylor on ,golf1 and in the chapter1 ,hints on ,learning the ,game1 he says3 ,coming back to the subject of actual instruction4 ,after a fair amount of proficiency has been acquired in the use of the cleek1 iron1 and mashie1 we have the difficulty of the putting to surmount4 ,and here ,i may say at once it is an absolute impossibility to teach a man how to putt4 ,even many of the leading professionals are weak in this department of the game4 ,do you think they would not improve themselves in this particular stroke were such a thing within the range of possibility8 ,certainly they would4 ,the fact is that in putting1 more than in aught else1 a very special aptitude is necessary4 ,a good eye and a faculty for gauging distances correctly is a great help1 indeed1 quite a necessity1 as also is judgment with regard to the requisite power to put behind the ball4 ,unfortunately1 these are things that cannot be taught1 they must come naturally1 or not at all4 ,all that is possible for the instructor to do is to discover what kind of a putting style his pupil is possessed of1 offer him useful hints1 and his ultimate measure of success is then solely in his own hands4 ,it is easy to tell a pupil how he must needs hold his clubs in driving or playing an iron shot1 but in putting there is hardly such a necessity4 ,the diversity of styles accounts for this1 and in this particular kind of stroke a man must be content to rely upon his own adaptability alone4 ,now in the same book on page #bdj1 in the chapter on ,the ,art of ,putting1 we read3 ,the drive may be taught1 the pupil may be instructed in the use of the cleek1 the iron1 or the brassie1 but in putting he must rely upon his own powers of reducing the game to an actual science4 ,the other strokes are of a more or less mechanical character2 they may be explained and demonstrated1 but with the ball but a few feet distant from the hole there are many other things to be considered1 and hints are the only things that can be offered4 ,the pupil may be advised over the holding and grip of the putter1 but as far as the success of the shot is concerned it remains in his own hands4 ,in passing1 ,i may remark that it seems to me that in this latter respect the put is not vastly different from any other stroke in golf1 or indeed1 for the matter of that1 in any other game4 ,continuing1 ,taylor says3 ,putting1 in short1 is so different to any other branch of the game that the good putter may be said to be born1 not made4 ,that this is really the case is proved by the fact that many of the leading players of the day1 professionals and amateurs alike1 are very frequently weaker when playing with the putter than when performing with any other of their clubs4 ,speaking solely of professionals1 is it at all probable that this would be so were they capable of improving themselves in this particular department8 ,certainly not4 ,now it will be admitted that this is a very gloomy outlook for him who desires to learn how to put4 ,he is thrown entirely on his own resources4 ,i must quote ,taylor once again with regard to putting4 ,he says3 ,and yet it is none the less true that to putt perfectly should be the acme of one's ambition4 ,putting is the most important factor of success1 for it happens very frequently that a man may meet a stronger driver1 or a better performer with the iron clubs1 and yet wrest the leadership from him when near the hole4 ,there can be no doubt whatever of the truth of what ,taylor says in this last paragraph--,putting is the most important factor of success2 yet we are confronted with the amazing statement made by the three greatest masters of the game1 men who between them have accounted for fourteen open championships1 men whose living depends upon playing golf and teaching it1 that the most important factor of success cannot be taught4 ,there is no possible doubt about their ideas on this subject4 ,they deliberately tell the unfortunate golfer1 or would-be golfer1 that good putters are born and not made1 that putting cannot be taught1 and that each person must be left to work out his own salvation4 ,it is admitted that putting is practically half the game4 ,it has been well illustrated in the following way3--,seventy-two strokes is a good score for almost any course4 ,the man who gets down in two every time is not a bad putter4 ,this allows him thirty-six strokes on the green1 which is exactly one-half of his score4 ,now what does this statement which is made by ,braid1 ,vardon1 and ,taylor amount to8 ,it is an assertion by them that they are unable to teach half of the game of golf1 and that the most important half1 for1 as we have seen1 ,taylor says that it is the most important factor of success4 ,now surely there is something wrong here4 ,as a matter of fact it is the most absolute nonsense which it is possible to imagine4 ,putters are not born4 ,they are made and shaped and polished to just as great an extent as any metal putter that ever was forged4 ,putting is the simplest and easiest thing in golf to learn and to teach1 and it is positively wrong for men of the eminence in their profession which these players enjoy to append their names to statements which cannot but have a deleterious effect on the game generally1 and particularly on the play of those who are affected by reading such absolutely false doctrine4 ,there are certain fundamental principles in connection with putting which cannot be disregarded4 ,it is quite wrong to say that the first thing to consider is some particular idiosyncrasy which a man may have picked up by chance4 ,the idea of ,nature having troubled herself to allot any particular man or men1 or1 for the matter of that1 women or children1 any particular styles for putting is too ridiculous to require any comment4 ,needless to say1 very many people have peculiarities which they exhibit in putting1 as well as in other matters1 but in many cases it is the duty of the capable instructor not to attempt to add the scientific principles of putting to a totally wrong and ugly foundation4 ,the first duty of one who knows the game and how to teach it is to implant in the mind of his pupil the correct mechanical methods of obtaining the result desired4 ,if1 after he has done this1 it be found that his natural bent or idiosyncrasy fits in with the proper mechanical production of the stroke1 there is no harm in allowing him to retain his natural style2 but if1 for the sake of argument1 it should be found that his natural method is unsuitable for the true production of the stroke1 there is only one thing to do1 which is to cut out his natural method1 and make him put on the lines most generally adopted4 ,nor is this difficult to do1 for it stands to reason that anyone who is a beginner at golf has not already cultivated a style of his own4 ,the statements of these three great golfers are absolutely without foundation--in fact1 they are indeed so far from the truth that ,i have no hesitation whatever in saying that in at least ninety per cent of the cases which come before a professional for tuition1 if the subject is properly dealt with by an intelligent teacher1 putting is1 without any shadow of doubt1 the easiest portion of golf to teach and to learn4 ,in the face of the mischievous statements which have been so widely circulated in connection with the difficulty of learning the art of putting1 one cannot possibly be too emphatic in stating the truth4 ,in doing this1 let it be understood that ,i am not stating any theory or publishing any idea which ,i am not prepared fully to demonstrate by practical teaching4 ,it is a curious thing1 but one to which ,i do not wholly object1 that those who read my books seem to consider that they have a personal claim on my services as well1 and it is no uncommon thing for me to receive visits from men who are in trouble about their putting1 their drive1 or their approach1 and ,i have not1 as a rule1 any very great trouble in locating the seat of the difficulty4 ,the pernicious influence of such teaching as that which ,i have just quoted repeatedly comes before me4 ,i know men who seem to consider that the chief art of putting in golf is bound up in another art1 namely1 the art of the contortionist1 whereas1 of course1 nothing could be further from the truth4 ,putting1 as ,i shall show later on1 is an extremely simple operation4 ,in fact its simplicity is so pronounced that little children1 almost without instruction1 do it remarkably well1 because they do it naturally4 ,it is only when people come to the game possibly rather late in life1 and perhaps with habits acquired from other games1 and in addition to this are told that they must evolve their own particular style1 that we find the difficulty1 for the style which is evolved is1 in the vast majority of cases1 no style at all1 and the stroke is played unnaturally4 ,that is what ,i have to say with regard to the difficulty of putting4 ,i shall1 later on1 deal with the principles involved in putting4 ,it will1 in the meantime1 be sufficient for me to consider and criticise these statements generally4 ,if this were my own uncorroborated opinion1 it is possible that the definite statements of three men like ,braid1 ,taylor1 and ,vardon might outweigh what ,i have said1 although ,i do not believe that even in that case they would2 for what ,i have quoted is such obvious nonsense that it would indeed be to me a mystery if any golfer possessed of ordinary common sense could accept any view of the matter other than that which ,i put forward4 ,however1 when dealing with names like these1 it is worth while to reinforce oneself4 ,let us see what ,james ,braid has to say about the matter in ,advanced ,golf4 ,at page #add1 chapter x41 dealing with ,putting ,strokes1 ,braid says3 ,thus practically any man has it in his power to become a reasonably good putter1 and to effect a considerable improvement in his game as the result4 ,here is the message of hope to the putter4 ,it will be remembered that ,taylor states that the good putter may be said to be born1 not made1 and that ,braid practically said the same thing4 ,this1 of course1 is nonsense1 and if any refutation were necessary1 ,james ,braid himself is the refutation4 ,the first time ,i saw ,braid putting1 he was trying a ,vaile putter for me at ,walton-on-,heath4 ,he came down on the ball before he had come to the bottom of his swing1 and finished on the green quite two inches in front of the spot where the ball had been4 ,before ,i had reflected in the slightest degree1 ,i came out quite naturally with the question1 ,do you always put like that8 ,yes1 said ,braid in his slow1 quiet way1 and it is the best way4 ,by this time ,i had remembered who ,braid was1 and ,i did not pursue the subject any further1 but ,i thought a good deal4 ,i thought that ,braid would1 in due course1 find out that it was not the best way1 and ,i fully understood why he was such a bad putter4 ,since then ,braid has found out that his method was wrong4 ,he has altered it1 and now plays his puts in the only proper way1 which ,i shall refer to later on4 ,as everybody knows1 ,braid is now a very fine putter--but he was not born so4 ,if ever there was an illustration of a fine putter made out of a bad putter1 ,james ,braid is the outstanding example1 and ,james ,braid is the answer to ,taylor's question as to whether a professional can improve his putting or not4 ,any professional whose putting is bad can improve it by using his brains1 because when a professional puts badly it is rarely a question of his hands1 his eye1 or his wrist being wrong4 ,the seat of the deficiency is much deeper than that4 ,let us now see what ,james ,braid has to say about putting4 ,at page #adf of ,advanced ,golf he practically eats his own words4 ,this is what he says3 ,of course1 they say that good putters are born and not made1 and it is certainly true that some of the finest putters we know seem to come by their wonderful skill as a gift1 and nowadays constantly putt with an ease and a confidence that suggest some kind of inspiration4 ,but it is also the fact that a man who was not a born putter1 and whose putting all through his golfing youth was of the most moderate quality1 may by study and practice make himself a putter who need fear nobody on any putting green4 ,i may suggest that ,i have proved this in my own case4 ,until comparatively recently there is no doubt that ,i was really a poor putter4 ,long after ,i was a scratch player ,i lost more matches through bad putting than anything else4 ,i realised that putting was the thing that stood in the way of further improvement1 and ,i did my best to improve it1 so that to-day my critics are kind enough to say that there is not very much wanting in my play on the putting green1 while ,i know that it was an important factor in gaining for me my recent championship4 ,so ,i may be allowed the privilege of indicating the path along which improvement in this department of the game may best be effected2 and what ,i have to say at the beginning is1 that putting is essentially a thing for the closest mathematical and other reckoning4 ,it is a game of calculations pure and simple1 a matter for the most careful analysis and thought4 ,now here at least we have common sense with regard to putting4 ,braid holds himself out as an example of the bad putter turned into the good putter4 ,he does not1 it is true1 tell us why he was a bad putter and how he changed his bad methods to his present excellent method1 but ,i have already given the key to that4 ,i shall1 however1 deal with it more fully when ,i come to the question of the practice of putting4 ,braid says on page #adg of ,advanced ,golf1 still speaking of putting1 that the mechanical part is comparatively simple4 ,he continues3 ,putts most generally go wrong because the strength or the line1 or both1 were misjudged1 and they were so misjudged because the different factors were not valued properly1 and because one or two of them were very likely overlooked altogether4 ,i think very few golfers will be inclined to dispute the opening statement that ,putts most generally go wrong because the strength or the line1 or both1 were misjudged4 ,i may say that ,i never heard of a put which went wrong for any other reason4 ,if the strength and the line are both right1 one always has an excellent chance of ending in the tin6 ,braid tells us again on page #adh 444 that what ,i call the mechanical part of putting--the hitting of the ball--is simple and sure in comparison with the other difficulties that are presented when a long putt has to be made2 yet it is hardly necessary to say to any experienced golfer that there are absolutely thousands of players who fail in their putting1 not because of any lack of powers of calculation or a good eye1 steady hand1 and delicacy of touch1 but simply because they have fallen into a careless way of performing this mechanical part1 and of almost feeling that any way of hitting the ball will do so long as it is hit in the right direction and the proper degree of strength is applied4 ,again ,braid says on page #adi3 ,absolutely everything depends on hitting the ball truly1 and the man who always does so has mastered one of the greatest difficulties of the art of putting4 ,a long putt can never be run down except by a fluke when the ball has not been hit truly1 however exactly all the calculations of line and strength have been made4 ,now the point which ,i am making1 and ,i hope making in such a manner that no one will ever dare even to attempt to refute it1 is the fact that the mechanical operation of putting is one of extreme simplicity1 entirely devoid of mystery1 and capable of acquirement by persons even of a very low order of intelligence4 ,i want to make it plain beyond the possibility of doubt that putting is the foundation of golf and that it can be very easily learned1 provided always that the instructor has a proper idea of the mechanics of the put4 ,generally speaking1 when one uses the word mechanics a golfer is afraid that he is about to receive some abstruse lecture illustrated by diagrams and mathematical formul1 but it is not so4 ,it is essential to a thorough knowledge and enjoyment of the game of golf that the golfer should understand the mechanics of putting4 ,james ,braid says that it is a matter of mathematics and calculation1 and he is not far wrong2 but the mechanics of the put are of such extreme simplicity that no golfer or would-be golfer need be discouraged because one refers to the elementary science which is involved in the making of the perfect put4 ,rather let him be thankful that he has ,james ,braid's corroboration of the fact1 which ,i have for many years past tried to impress upon golfers1 that the main thing to strive at in connection with improving their game is a proper understanding of the mechanical principles involved in producing the strokes4 ,until the ordinary golfer has this he will not progress so rapidly as he may desire4 ,i think that we may now consider that it is possible to teach people how to put2 so1 having disposed of this fable1 let us consider the most important features of putting4 ,i do not propose here to illustrate the manner in which the stroke is to be played4 ,i have done that fully in ,modern ,golf and in other places4 ,i am here concerning myself mainly with the fundamental principles4 ,when these are properly grasped1 and these ,i may say are practically all arm-chair golf1 any person of ordinary intelligence should be able to go on to a putting green1 and by carrying them out become quite a good putter4 ,let us first consider the manner of propulsion of the ball4 ,provided1 for the sake of argument1 that the putting-green were an enlarged billiard table with a hole in the middle of it1 and one were given a penny to put into that hole from the edge of the table1 how would one endeavour to do it8 ,there can be but little doubt one would try to roll the coin into the hole4 ,now that is the way one must try to put4 ,the ball must be rolled up to the hole4 ,at first sight this seems an entirely superfluous direction4 ,the reader may say3 ,in what other way may puts be sent into the hole than by rolling8 ,practically1 there is no other way4 ,it was the idea that there was another and a better way of holing puts than by rolling them into the hole which made ,james ,braid in the old days such a bad putter1 for in those days ,james ,braid putted with what is commonly called drag4 ,it is no uncommon thing to hear men who play a very fine game of golf advise players to slide their long puts up4 ,put in another way this simply means--advice to play a long put with what is known as drag4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iii4 ,,harry ,,vardon ,at the top of his swing1 showing his weight mainly on the left leg4 ,this characteristic is very marked in ,vardon's play4 ,it is well known that at billiards one can hit very hard and direct one's ball very well by playing with a large amount of drag1 and golfers have carried this notion on to the putting-green1 but1 it must be admitted1 in a very thoughtless manner4 ,in billiards the ball is very heavy in proportion to its size4 ,it moves on a perfectly level and practically smooth surface1 the tip of the cue is soft and covered with chalk1 which gives a splendid grip on the ball1 and the blow is delivered very far below the centre of the ball's mass1 and is concentrated on a particular point4 ,in golf it is impracticable in putting to get very much below the centre of the ball4 ,it can be done1 of course1 with a club which is sufficiently lofted1 but the moment this is done there is a tendency to make the ball leave the green1 which is not calculated to make for accuracy4 ,moreover1 be it remembered that the contact here is between two substances which are not well calculated to enter into communion1 namely1 the comparatively hard and shiny surface of a golf ball1 and the hard and frequently unmarked face of a putter4 ,moreover1 the golf ball is frequently marked with excrescences called brambles or pimples4 ,it is obvious that in many cases the first impact will be on one of these pimples1 and also in many cases certainly not in a line dead down the centre of that bramble and in a line coinciding with the intended line of run of the ball4 ,when the impact takes place in this manner it is obvious that1 according to the simplest laws of mechanics1 the put must be started wrongly4 ,it is also obvious that if there is this tendency to go crookedly off the face of the club the ball will have more opportunity of getting out of the track1 which it makes for itself in the turf1 if it is lifted in any degree from the turf by a lofted club4 ,it is apparent that a golf ball on a putting green sinks into the turf4 ,it is equally apparent that it will1 on its way to the hole1 make for itself a track or furrow of approximately the same depth as the depression in which it was resting when stationary4 ,that furrow1 to a very great extent1 holds the ball to its course and minimises very much the faulty marking of a great many of the golf balls of to-day1 so that it will be seen that the object of the player should be not in any way whatever to lift his ball from the green in the put1 which is the invariable and inevitable tendency of attempting to put with drag by means of a lofted club4 ,it is an extremely common error to suppose that a put played with drag hugs the green more than one played in the ordinary way1 or with top4 ,as a matter of incontrovertible fact1 no put hugs the green more than a topped put4 ,it would be easy enough to demonstrate this were it necessary to do so1 but it is a matter which comes in more in the dynamics of golf1 and possibly ,i shall have the space to treat of it further there4 ,we may1 for our immediate purpose1 content ourselves with the fact that ,james ,braid has abandoned putting with drag1 and now rolls his ball up to the hole with1 if anything1 a little top1 although1 be it clearly understood1 there is no apparent intention on his part to obtain this top1 nor does he in ,advanced ,golf advocate that any attempt should be made to obtain top2 but there can be no doubt whatever that the manner in which he plays his put tends to impart a certain amount of top to the ball1 and this1 of course1 causes it to run very freely4 ,now with regard to putting drag on a long put1 it should be obvious to any one that1 considering the roughness of the green1 the extreme roughness of the ball and its comparatively light weight in proportion to its size1 it would be impossible to make that ball retain any considerable measure of back-spin over any appreciable distance of the green4 ,the idea is so repugnant to common sense and practical golf that it has always been a matter of astonishment to me to think that it could have prevailed so much as it has4 ,however1 there can be no doubt that putting under this utterly wrong impression has done a very great amount of harm to the game of players who might otherwise have been many strokes better4 ,let our golfer understand that there is one way1 and one way only1 in practical golf to put the ball1 and that is to roll it up to the hole4 ,there is generally an exception to prove the rule1 and if ,i can find an exception to this rule1 it must be when one is trying to bolt short puts4 ,practically every one has experienced the difficulty of holing short puts1 especially when the green is extremely keen4 ,it is here that the delicacy of the stroke allows the ball and the inequalities thereof and any obstructions on the turf to exercise their fullest power to deflect the ball from the line to the hole4 ,james ,braid1 in these circumstances1 advises bolting one's puts4 ,needless to say1 he explains that one should put dead for the middle of the hole1 and by bolting1 of course1 is meant that one should put firmly so as to give the ball sufficient strength of run to overcome its inequalities or those of the turf4 ,this1 unquestionably1 is good advice2 but if one puts at the hole in this manner and does not get it cleanly enough to sink into the tin at once1 the ball with top will run round the edge of the tin and remain on the green4 ,this is the only case in golf that ,i can call to mind where there is any use in putting drag on a put1 and the reason for this is that the distance from the ball to the hole and the nature of the green is such that the ball is able to retain a very considerable portion of its backward spin1 and upon contact with the rim of the hole1 instead of having a forward run on it which enables it to hold up and so get away from the hole1 the back-spin gets a grip on the edge of the hole and the ball falls in4 ,so far as ,i can remember1 this is absolutely the only case in which drag of any sort may be considered useful in a put4 ,when ,i say drag of any sort ,i am not1 of course1 referring to cutting round a put1 or negotiating a stymie with back-spin1 for neither of these strokes comes within the scope of my remark4 ,having arrived at a decision as to the best method of sending the ball on its journey to the hole1 we have now to consider a point of supreme importance in golf1 and one which is not sufficiently insisted upon by instructors4 ,this is1 that at the moment of impact the face of the putter shall form a true right angle with the line of run to the hole4 ,that is the fundamental point in connection with putting2 but it is of almost equal importance that the right angle shall be preserved for as long a time as possible in the swing back1 and also in the follow-through--in other words1 the head of the putter should be in the line of run to the hole as long as possible both before and after the stroke4 ,with this extremely simple rule1 and it will be apparent that this can be just as well learned in an arm-chair as anywhere else1 almost anyone could put well4 ,there is another point of outstanding importance4 ,i have said that the head of the putter should form a right angle to the line of run to the hole4 ,i shall be more emphatic still4 ,let us consider the line of run to the hole as the upright portion of a very long letter ,t laid on the ground4 ,the top of the letter ,t will then be formed by the front edge of the sole of the putter1 so that it will be seen that not only does the putter face form a dead right angle to the line of run to the hole1 but that the line of run to the hole hits the putter face dead in the centre4 ,for all ordinary putting1 that is the one and only way to proceed4 ,one reads in various books about putting off the heel1 putting off the toe1 and putting with drag4 ,this is1 comparatively speaking1 all imbecility and theory4 ,there is no way to put in golf comparable with the put that goes off the centre of the club's face4 ,if we may treat the face of the putter as a rectangle1 bisect it by a vertical line and also by a horizontal line1 the point where these two lines cross each other will be the portion of the putter which should come into contact with the ball4 ,these are extremely elementary matters2 but it is impossible1 although they are so elementary1 to exaggerate their importance1 and it is amazing1 considering their simplicity1 how much neglected they are in all books of instruction1 and1 generally speaking1 by all instructors4 ,for instance1 ,james ,braid1 at page #adi1 tells us3 ,hitting the ball truly is simply a question of bringing the putter on to it when making the stroke to exactly the same point as when the final address was made1 and of swinging the putter through from the back swing to the finish in a straight line4 ,this statement would be correct if the address had been made correctly in the first instance1 but unless one has it in one's mind to make one's putter the top of the ,t--that is1 the completion of the right angle to the line of run to the hole--the chances are that one's original address was wrong4 ,then it will be clearly seen that it is not simply a question of bringing the putter on to it when making the stroke to exactly the same point as when the final address was made4 ,the important point is to see that the final address is correctly made2 but in no book which ,i have read--and ,i have read practically every book on golf which deserves to be read--do ,i find any simple and explicit directions for the mechanical portion of the put1 which1 as ,james ,braid truly observes1 is extremely simple4 ,now for the idea of the stroke3 ,the player will1 of course1 have learned his grip from some of the books on golf1 or from a professional4 ,he will in all probability have adopted the overlapping grip1 for that grip tends1 more than any other1 to bring both wrists into action together2 and there can1 ,i think1 be little doubt that for most people it is the better grip4 ,having obtained a good general idea of the simple mechanical operations involved in the contact of the club with the ball1 the player now has to consider how that club moves where it is1 if we may so express it1 bound to him4 ,well1 if he has even a rudimentary idea of mechanics1 he will know that if he wishes to swing that club so that it may hit the ball in an exactly similar manner every time1 he should suspend it on a single bearing1 so that it would swing in a similar manner to the pendulum of a clock4 ,the perfect put1 from a mechanical point of view1 is made by a motion which is equivalent to the swinging of a pendulum4 ,if1 instead of allowing the weight of the pendulum to be1 as it generally is1 in the plane of the swing1 it were turned round so that the flat side faced towards the sides of the clock1 we should have a rough mechanical presentment of the golf club in the act of making a put4 ,this is1 of course1 a counsel of absolute perfection4 ,it is an impossibility to the golfer1 both on account of his physical and physiological imperfections1 and on account of the fact that the golfer practically never puts with an upright putter4 ,we are frequently told that a put is the only true wrist stroke in golf4 ,as a matter of fact there is no true wrist stroke in golf1 for it is evident that if one played the put as a true wrist stroke with a club whose lie is at a considerable angle to the horizontal1 the centre of the circle formed by the club head will be away from the ball to such an extent that the instant the club head leaves the ball it must leave the line of run to the hole1 and equally as certainly will it leave the line of run to the hole immediately after it has struck the ball4 ,now this is not what we require1 so it has come to pass that the put at golf is to a very great extent a compromise4 ,it must1 above everything1 be a deliberate stroke with a clean follow-through4 ,there must be no suggestion of reducing the put to a muscular effort4 ,the idea of the pendulum must be preserved as much as possible1 and the strength of the put regulated to a very great extent by the length of one's backward swing4 ,it is of the first importance that the body should be kept still during the process of putting1 and it stands to reason that the wrists must also be kept as much as possible in the same place4 ,if one finds that one has a marked tendency to sway or to move the body about1 standing with one's feet close together will frequently correct this4 ,i have referred to the fact that the put is not a wrist stroke4 ,as a matter of fact1 the wrists must in all good putting go out after the ball4 ,by this is meant that at the moment of impact the wrists must in the follow-through travel in a line parallel with the line of run to the hole1 and they must finish so that the club head is able1 at the finish1 to stay over the line of run to the hole4 ,to do this1 it is obvious that the wrists1 after impact1 must move forward4 ,no true follow-through in the put can be obtained from stationary wrists4 ,this may sound a little complicated4 ,as a matter of fact it is nothing of the sort1 and the action is very simple1 very natural1 and when properly played the ball goes very sweetly off the club and with splendid direction4 ,there is one good general rule for regulating the distance which one should stand from the ball in putting4 ,when one addresses one's ball1 one should be in such a position that the ball is right underneath one's eyes4 ,to put it so that there can be no possible mistake as to what ,i mean1 ,i may say that in most cases the eyes1 the ball1 and the hole should form a triangle in a plane at a right angle to the horizon4 ,now ,i know how hard it is for some people to follow a remark which refers to planes and right angles and horizons1 so as this is a matter of extreme importance1 and a matter where many beginners go absolutely wrong1 ,i shall make it so plain that there is no possibility of misunderstanding what ,i mean4 ,let us imagine a large1 irregularly shaped triangle with the apex at the hole4 ,we shall suppose1 for the sake of argument1 that this triangle is composed of cardboard1 that it is a right-angled triangle1 and that its base is #d' #f wide4 ,this triangle1 then1 is laid on the green so that its base is vertical1 and the corner which is remote from the hole represents the ball1 the upper corner of the base being1 of course1 the player's eyes4 ,i believe this to be a matter of very great importance1 for here it will be seen that we have the eyes1 the ball1 and the hole all in the same plane4 ,some people like putting with very upright putters4 ,for the purpose of experiment ,i had a perfectly upright putter made1 but upright putters are1 ,i think1 open to this objection--one's body hangs too far over them1 so that at the moment of striking the ball one is looking inwards towards the ball1 for one's head projects beyond the line of run to the hole for a considerable distance4 ,it will thus be seen that one is looking down one line to the hole1 and putting over another4 ,needless to say1 this cannot be good for direction4 ,the eye1 the ball1 and the hole should undoubtedly be in the same plane1 and that plane at right angles to the horizon4 ,as regards the position of the ball in relation to the feet there is some slight difference of opinion1 but generally it may be said that about midway between the feet is the best position4 ,if anything1 the ball should perhaps be a little nearer to the left foot than to the right1 but this is a matter upon which we cannot lay down any hard and fast rule4 ,the main point for the player to consider will be how he can best secure the mechanical results which ,i have stated as being the fundamental requisites of good putting4 ,the matter of an inch or two in his stance1 nearer the hole or farther from it1 is not of very great importance compared with this4 ,some players have an idea that they can secure a better run on their ball when putting by turning over their wrists at the moment of impact4 ,this is one of the most dangerous fallacies which it is possible to conceive4 ,the idea is absolutely and fundamentally erroneous4 ,if one desires to put any run on one's ball more than is obtained by the method of striking it which ,i have stated1 it is always open to one to play the put a little after the club has reached the lowest point in its swing1--that is to say1 as the putter is ascending1 but this is practically unnecessary4 ,if one requires a little more run on the ball it is best obtained by making the stroke a little stronger4 ,any attempt whatever to do anything by altering the angle of the face of the club during impact is utterly beyond the realm of practical golf4 ,there are many refinements in the art of putting which go somewhat beyond the fundamental principles laid down in this chapter1 in that they call for cut of a particular kind2 but for about ninety-five per cent of the puts which one has to play1 practically nothing more need be known by the golfer than is here set out4 ,i am not here going to describe the method in which one cuts round a stymie1 for ,i have done that very fully elsewhere2 and1 moreover1 this does not so completely come within the scope of this work1 for it enters much more into the region of practical stroke play than do the matters which ,i have treated of and which ,i intend to treat of in this book4 ,there is1 however1 one stroke which is played on the putting-green1 yet is not truly1 of course1 a put4 ,it is a stroke which ,i myself introduced into the game several years ago4 ,this is the stroke which is now known as the ,vaile ,stymie ,stroke4 ,it is unique among golf strokes in that it is not an arc4 ,every known golf stroke before ,i introduced this stroke into the game was an arc of a more or less irregular shape1 but it was an arc4 ,the essence of my stroke is that it is produced in practically a straight line4 ,for all ordinary stymies it is without doubt the most delicate and accurate stroke which can possibly be played1 and the manner of playing it1 after a golfer has once conquered the force of habit which tends to make him raise his club from the earth immediately he leaves his ball1 is very simple4 ,the mashie is drawn back from the ball in a perfectly straight line1 and with the sole of it practically brushing1 or no more than just clearing the green4 ,it is then moved sharply forward1 but instead of coming up with the ball after it has hit it1 it passes clean forward down the intended line of flight in a perfectly horizontal line1 provided always1 of course1 that the green is level1 so that it finishes some inches down the line to the hole and practically touching the green4 ,no attempt must be made to strike the ball or to take turf4 ,the idea in one's mind should be to divide the ball from the green with the front edge of the sole4 ,many mashies are not suitable for this shot1 because the sole is not cut away enough on the back edge1 as indeed the sole of every mashie should be2 so it will frequently be found that the best club for negotiating stymies is the niblick1 for its sole being cut away so much enables the front edge of the club to get well in underneath the ball4 ,this is a matter of the very greatest importance in playing stymies1 for the simple reason that it enables the player to put so much more of his force into elevation than is possible when the front edge of his mashie is cocked up1 as it frequently is1 by the breadth of the sole of the mashie2 for in many cases when one is trying to play a stymie the rear edge of the sole of the club makes contact with the green first and tilts up the front edge1 so that it is at least a quarter of an inch higher than it should be1 and instead of striking the ball almost at the point where it is resting on the turf1 it gets it fully a quarter of an inch to half an inch higher up4 ,the consequence of this is that too much of the force of the blow goes into propulsion instead of elevation4 ,this means that if the stymie is close to the hole and there is only a very short run after the ball has got over the obstacle1 the player invariably finds that with his imperfectly constructed mashie he cannot put enough stop on the ball1 nor play the shot delicately enough to give it a chance to get into the hole1 because the run is in many cases far too strong4 ,every golfer who desires to play a stymie well should see to it that he has a mashie with a very fine front edge1 and that the sole is not flat in any part1 but begins to curve away immediately it leaves the front edge4 ,with the mashie constructed on these lines all ordinary stymies absolutely lose their terror if the shot is played as described4 ,the delicacy and accuracy of this stroke are remarkable4 ,the direction is an astonishing illustration of the importance of the rule for putting which ,i have laid down1 of keeping the front edge of the putter at a right angle to the line of run to the hole1 both before and after impact4 ,as the whole essence of playing this stymie stroke correctly consists of the straight movement of the face of the club sharply down the intended line of flight and run to the hole1 the wrists have naturally to follow the head of the club in a line parallel with that made by the head of the club1 and so accurate is the result that in any ordinary stymie if a wire were stuck on the top of the intervening ball1 ,i would guarantee to hit the wire every time4 ,this stroke was a revelation to me of the importance of the principles which ,i am now enunciating1 although1 of course1 ,i was well aware of their soundness before ,i discovered this stroke4 ,the usefulness of this stroke is not confined merely to playing stymies1 but it makes a magnificent and accurate chip shot2 or if one has a bad portion of green to put over one can1 with this stroke1 rely upon going as straight through the air as one can in the ordinary course over the green4 ,lest anyone should think that this is merely a theoretical stroke1 let me tell how ,i came to introduce it into the game of golf4 ,i had used the stroke myself for some time4 ,one afternoon ,i was in the shop of ,george ,duncan1 the famous young ,hanger ,hill professional4 ,it was raining heavily1 and to pass the time ,i was knocking a ball about on the mat4 ,presently ,i set up a stymie and said to ,duncan3 ,show me how you play your stymie1 ,george4 ,oh1 just in the usual way1 said ,duncan4 ,well1 show me1 ,i said4 ,duncan took his mashie and played the stymie shot perfectly1 just in the usual way4 ,there is a much better way of playing a stymie than that1 ,i said1 and ,i set up the shot and showed ,duncan how ,i played it by my method4 ,very few people can give ,george ,duncan any points with the mashie4 ,he got hold of the stroke at once1 and he would hardly wait for the rain to stop before he went out on to the green to try it there4 ,he plays the shot perfectly now1 and maintains1 as indeed ,i show in ,modern ,golf1 that there is no stymie stroke to compare with it1 and of that ,i have myself absolutely no doubt4 ,in fact1 so accurate is the stroke that if ,i found myself badly off my game with my putter1 ,i should take my mashie and play this stroke1 for as regards the fundamental principle of putting it is a wealth of instruction in itself4 ,cutting round a stymie is nearly always included in the chapter on putting1 but it is practically always a mashie stroke1 and in the majority of cases is a very short pitch with a large amount of cut4 ,on account of the loft of the mashie the club gets well in underneath the ball1 and as the head of the club at the moment of impact is travelling in a line which runs at a fairly sharp angle across the intended line of flight and run of the ball it imparts a strong side roll to the ball4 ,the cut on a golf ball in such a stroke as ,i am now describing resembles almost exactly the off-break spin in cricket4 ,this means that the ball has a strong side-spin1 so that the moment it hits the earth it endeavours to roll sideways1 but the force of propulsion fights this tendency1 and the resulting compromise is a curve which enables the ball to get round the intervening obstacle1 and1 if the stroke is well executed1 to find the hole4 ,almost all golf books instruct the player wrongly about this stroke4 ,he is told to draw his hands in towards him at the moment of impact1 and in some cases1 even where the author calls his book ,practical ,golf1 he is told to draw his hands in after impact4 ,both of these instructions are utterly wrong4 ,there must be no conscious drawing in of the hands at the moment when one is trying to cut a put4 ,all the cut must be done by the natural swing of the club across the intended line of run of the ball3 in other words1 the cut is a continuous process from the time that the club begins its swing until the time that it ends it4 ,the fact that the ball is in the way of the face of the club as it crosses the intended line of run to the hole may be said to be merely an incident in the passage of the club head4 ,any attempt whatever to interfere with the natural swing of the club or to juggle with the ball during impact1 or1 more futile still1 after impact1 must result in irretrievably ruining the stroke4 ,the stymie shot which ,i have described will also be found of use a little farther from the green1 and by means of it an excellent run-up shot1 with most accurate direction1 can be played4 ,there is another way of negotiating a stymie which ,i have never seen described4 ,it is pulling round a stymie4 ,it will be obvious to any one acquainted with the game that cutting round a stymie is merely another form of slice2 although of course the run of the ball is obtained in a different manner from the curve of the slice in the air1 yet the method of production of the stroke is practically similar4 ,so is it with pulling a put4 ,there is no doubt that this can be done2 but ,i think there is also no doubt that it is the most difficult method of negotiating a stymie which there is4 ,the stroke is played1 to all intents and purposes1 as is the pulled drive4 ,some people imagine that it may be obtained by turning over the wrist at the moment of impact4 ,this is quite an error1 and is absolutely destructive of accuracy4 ,as1 in the cut put1 the head of the club is travelling from outside the line across it1 towards the player's side of the line at the moment of impact1 so1 in the pull1 the head of the club must be travelling from the player's side of the line across and away to the far side of the line at the moment of impact4 ,that is the secret of the pull either in the drive or the put4 ,i cannot refrain from quoting ,vardon again4 ,he says on page #adh3 ,there should be no sharp hit and no jerk in the swing1 which should have the even gentle motion of a pendulum4 ,in the backward swing1 the length of which1 as in all other strokes in golf1 is regulated by the distance it is desired to make the ball travel1 the head of the putter should be kept exactly in the line of the putt4 ,accuracy will be impossible if it is brought round at all4 ,there should be a short follow-through after impact1 varying1 of course1 according to the length of the putt4 ,in the case of a long one1 the club will go through much further1 and then the arms would naturally be more extended4 ,this is wisdom as regards the put4 ,there can be no doubt whatever about this being practical golf of the highest order1 but ,vardon rather spoils it by the following sentence in which he says1 ,in the follow-through the putter should be kept well down1 the bottom edge scraping the edge of the grass for some inches4 ,now1 if that means anything at all1 it means that although ,vardon's conception of the put and its execution in many ways is excellent1 yet he has been making for years the error which made ,james ,braid a bad putter--in other words1 he has been putting with drag4 ,it is well known that for a very long time ,vardon's weakness was his putting2 and ,i firmly believe that the secret of his bad putting was this low follow-through with his put4 ,i think that ,vardon's follow-through in his put is now not so low as it was1 and the consequence is that his putting has improved4 ,vardon continues3 ,it is easy to understand how much more this course of procedure will tend towards the accuracy and delicacy of the stroke than the reverse method1 in which the blade of the putter would be cocked up as soon as the ball had left it4 ,what is more natural1 then1 than that the blade of the putter should be cocked up immediately after the ball has left it8 ,that is exactly what should happen in the perfectly played put4 ,vardon has already told us that the put is to be played with the even gentle motion of a pendulum4 ,let us suppose for a moment that it was the weight of the pendulum turned side-wise which had struck the golf ball4 ,it stands to reason that immediately the weight1 which in this case answers to the face of the golf club1 has struck the ball and sent it on its way to the hole1 the face begins to be cocked up4 ,vardon here makes a totally erroneous claim4 ,he claims greater delicacy and accuracy for the put played with drag as against that played as ,braid now plays his puts4 ,there can be no shadow of doubt that the put played with drag1 or with a low follow-through scraping the top of the grass for some inches1 partakes much more of the nature of a tap than does the put which is played with top or a perfectly horizontal blow4 ,if ,vardon has not completely realised this1 as ,i think he has1 he will1 ere long1 do so1 as ,james ,braid already has done4 ,i need not here deal with complicated puts2 that is to say1 puts of such a nature that one has to traverse one1 two1 or more slopes on the way to the hole4 ,these puts do not1 in themselves1 contain any of the fundamental principles of golf4 ,each one stands entirely by itself1 and these are absolutely matters in which nothing but practice on the green can be of any use4 ,it will be obvious to any schoolboy that if he has to run across five little hills on his way to the hole1 and that three of these slant one way and two the other2 and if we say for the sake of example that they are all practically equal in their width and slope1 that it will be a case of four of them cancelling out on the good old plus and minus system of our schoolboy days1 and we shall then be left practically to calculate how much we will have to allow for putting across the incline of one slope4 ,this is not a case which ,i should think of giving myself4 ,i merely give it because ,i came across such an illustration given in a book which is supposed to cater for those who desire the higher knowledge of golf1 but as a matter of practical golf these situations but seldom occur4 ,allowing for the drop in a green when one is putting across the slope1 requires a lot of practice1 and is most absolutely and emphatically not a thing that can be learned in an arm-chair1 or in any golf school4 ,it must be learned on the green itself4 ,although ,james ,braid has remodelled his putting with such success1 he still1 to a certain extent1 clings to his own idea of putting with drag4 ,on page #aed of ,advanced ,golf he says3 ,for general use ,i am a strong believer in a putter having just a little loft4 ,i know that some players like one with a perfectly straight face which does not impart the slightest drag to the ball1 their theory being that such putters are capable of more delicate work than others1 and that the ball answers more readily to the most delicate tap from them4 ,there may be considerable truth in this1 though1 obviously1 great skill and confidence on the part of the player are taken for granted4 ,and again he says3 ,the strength of long putts can generally be more accurately regulated with a lofted putter than with a straight-faced one4 ,he continues3 ,this is the kind of putter that ,i might recommend for what might be called a medium or average green1 if there can be said to be such a thing2 but ,i wish to point out that the putter that is the best suited to such a green is not so well suited to either a very fast green or a very slow one1 and that in each of the latter cases the club best adapted to the circumstances is one with considerably more loft on it4 ,on page #ef he says3 ,now in both these cases1 when the greens are very slow and when they are extremely fast1 the best putter for them is one with very considerable loft on the face1 and it will often be found that there is nothing better than a fairly straight-faced iron1 or an ordinary cleek1 if it is big enough in the face to suit the player4 ,with this club and its great dragging power1 the effect seems to be practically to reduce the distance between the ball and the hole4 ,such is the drag that the ball is simply pushed over a considerable part of the way1 and it is only when it is quite near to the hole that it begins1 as it were1 to run in the usual way4 ,the fact is that for the first part of the journey the ball does not revolve regularly upon its axis1 as it does when approaching the hole1 but simply skates over the turf1 and it will be found that with a little practice the point at which it will stop skating can be determined with very considerable exactness4 ,when it does so stop there is still so much drag on it that it is very quickly brought to a standstill4 ,thus in both cases1 of the very fast and the very slow green1 the ball can be played without fear right up to the hole when the putter is so well lofted as ,i have recommended4 ,here we are told that the ball simply skates over the turf4 ,as ,i have shown before1 this is one of the greatest fallacies in golf4 ,it is impossible to obtain any results by drag in a long put1 which are not better obtained by simply rolling the ball up4 ,braid says that with a little practice the point at which it will stop skating can be determined with very considerable exactness1 and he goes on to say that when it does so stop there is still so much drag on it that it is very quickly brought to a standstill4 ,this is obviously nonsense4 ,it is the drag on the ball which makes it do any skating which may take place4 ,it is obvious that when the skating has ceased the drag has stopped exerting its influence4 ,how1 then1 is it going to stop the ball from rolling in a natural manner8 ,we see here the mistake of importing into golf the well-known phenomena of billiards1 but one would have thought that the experience of the billiard-table would have been sufficient to show the fallacy of this statement4 ,the billiard player uses drag to enable him to play his ball fast and accurately1 and there is no doubt that by means of this drag he does obtain very considerable accuracy1 but directly the ball has ceased to skate he knows that that is the time when the drag has entirely departed from it1 and that the momentum has conquered the friction caused by the back-spin2 in other words1 the drag having accomplished its work has gone out of business1 and all the run that is on the ball is derived from the remains of the momentum imparted to it4 ,i cannot say too emphatically that in my opinion this idea of putting with drag1 or with any club having a loft more than that which barely enables one to see the face of it when it is properly soled1 is dangerous and calculated to produce bad putting on the part of anyone who attempts it1 even as it did in the case of ,james ,braid himself4 ,there is one remark which ,james ,braid makes about stymies which ,i should like to refer to here4 ,braid says3 ,given complete confidence1 the successful negotiation of a stymie is a much less difficult matter than it is imagined to be1 though in the nature of things it can never be very easy4 ,i must say that ,i differ entirely from ,braid in this respect4 ,i maintain that in the nature of things most ordinary stymies1 when played in the manner which ,i advocate1 are very easy4 ,the difficulty of the stymie1 provided one's club is properly built--and later on ,i shall refer to the construction of the mashie--is much exaggerated4 ,eight of ten stymies should present no more difficulty than an ordinary put4 ,the only time a stymie should present a difficulty to the golfer is when the intervening ball is much nearer to the hole than to the ball which is stymied1 so that the force required to get over the obstacle is so much that the player1 after landing on the far side of the stymie1 has too much power in his ball to give it a chance to settle in the hole1 but even such a stymie as this may1 if the ground be suitable1 be overcome by lofting one's ball so as to drop on the hither side of the stymie1 bound over it on its first bound1 and continue on its way to the hole4 ,this1 probably1 is one of the most difficult ways of negotiating a stymie2 but as showing that it is eminently a matter of practical golf1 ,i may say that ,i was illustrating the shot one day to a man who had practically just started golf4 ,i showed him how to obtain the shot1 and he did it at his first attempt4 ,i advised him not to try again that day4 ,braid continues3 ,i need not say that the pitching method is only practicable--and then it is generally the only shot that is practicable--when both balls are near the hole1 and are so situated in relation to each other and to the hole that the ball can reach the latter as the result of such a stroke as enabled it to clear the opponent's ball4 ,braid is1 ,i think1 referring to a clean pitch into the hole1 although the photograph leaves this open to doubt4 ,the pitching method is practicable when one is stymied in almost any position on the green1 provided always1 as ,i have said1 that one has any chance whatever of pulling up in time to get into the hole after having got over the stymie4 ,let me give an example3--,supposing my ball were fifteen yards from the hole1 that the green was absolutely level1 and that ,i had a stymie ten inches or ten feet in front of me4 ,i should not hesitate for a moment to use the shot which ,i have described as the best stymie stroke in the game4 ,the ball in front of me1 so far from being an obstruction1 or in any way whatever putting me off1 would1 if anything1 serve as a good line to the hole4 ,i am aware that to many golfers who do not know this stroke1 and comparatively few do1 this will sound like exaggeration4 ,i am prepared at any time to demonstrate the practical nature of what ,i am writing to any one of my readers who cannot obtain the results which ,i get with this stroke4 ,at the time that ,i introduced this stroke there was much controversy about it1 and it was claimed that it was not a new stroke1 but that it was exactly the same as the stroke played by all golfers when stymied4 ,this1 however1 is quite an error4 ,speaking of the stymie shot1 ,james ,braid says 444 it is just an ordinary chip up1 with a clean and quick rise1 the fact being remembered that the green must not be damaged4 ,to spare the latter the swing back should be low down and near to the surface1 which will check the tendency to dig4 ,the thing that will ensure the success of the shot1 so far as the quick and clean rise is concerned--and often enough success depends entirely upon that--is the follow-through4 ,generally1 if the club is taken through easily and cleanly1 all will be well4 ,it is obvious from this description that the stroke in ,braid's mind is totally different from my stymie stroke4 ,with the stroke as ,i play it1 it is an absolute impossibility to dig into the green4 ,one has no need to have any anxiety whatever about the green1 for as the club travels parallel with the surface of the green all the time1 it is obvious that no damage can ensue4 ,if there is any deflection whatever from the straight line1 it would be at the moment of impact1 but even here it stands to reason that there is practically no deflection whatever2 for even in a stroke played1 relatively speaking1 so slowly as is this shot1 any alteration of the line of the stroke after it has once been decided upon1 is quite improbable1 but the dominant idea in the player's mind must be to insert the front edge of his mashie between the ball and the grass1 and above everything to keep his follow-through as straight and as low along the surface of the green as was his swing back4 ,it is this straight and low follow-through which gives the ball its quick and clean rise1 as ,braid calls it4 ,curiously enough1 the follow-through which ,braid shows for his stymie shot1 wherein the head of the club is raised from the green1 will not give anything like so quick a rise or such delicacy of touch as will the stroke played in the manner which ,i have described1 and1 above everything1 with the very low follow-through insisted upon by me4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iv4 ,,harry ,,vardon ,at the top of his swing in the drive4 ,this is a fine illustration of ,vardon's perfect management of his weight1 which is mainly on his left foot4 ,observe carefully the wrists1 which are in the best possible position to develop power4 ,i may mention that ,george ,duncan never uses any other stroke than this when playing a short stymie4 ,indeed1 he went so far as to say1 when ,i was having him photographed for my illustrations in ,modern ,golf1 that it was useless to take any exposures of the ordinary stymie shot1 for the stroke introduced and described by me had practically put it out of the game4 ,speaking of cutting round a stymie1 ,james ,braid says3 ,whichever way ,i wish to make the ball curl1 either round the other ball from the left-hand side1 or from the right1 ,i hit my own with the toe of the club1 drawing the club towards me in the former case so as to make a slice1 and holding the face of it at an angle--toe nearer the hole than the heel--in the latter1 in order to produce a hook4 ,and he adds3 ,you cannot do anything by hitting the ball with the heel of your putter1 to which ,i would rejoin1 nor can you do anything by hitting the ball with the toe of your putter1 that you cannot do better by hitting it absolutely in the middle1 which is the only proper part wherewith to hit a golf ball4 ,in the illustrations ,braid is shown cutting the put with an aluminium club4 ,one has no more chance of cutting round a stymie with a club of this nature than one would have with a bar of soap1 for the simple reason that on account of the breadth of its sole--for if it be not an aluminium club1 it is at least shaped on the same lines--it is impossible to get the face of the club sufficiently underneath the ball for the loft to get to work so as to impart that side roll which is of the essence of cutting round4 ,braid says at page #aga3 ,but remember that you can never get any work on the ball if the green is stiff4 ,now if this is so1 ,i should like to know what use there is in attempting to put with drag8 ,i quite agree with ,braid that it is practically impossible to get any work whatever on the ball with the club he is shown using4 ,with such a club it would be still more difficult1 if not absolutely impossible1 to obtain any appreciable drag1 but if1 as ,braid says1 you can never get any work on the ball when the green is stiff1 how can he advise one to attempt to put with drag on a stiff green8 ,to my mind this is absolutely bad and misleading advice4 ,in my chapter on the ,construction of ,clubs it will be seen that ,i advocate a short putter for short puts4 ,in ,advanced ,golf ,james ,braid has some interesting things to say about gripping low down4 ,he says3 ,many golfers grip very low down1 even half-way between the leather and the head4 ,if their putting when done this way is first class1 nobody can say anything to them1 but if it is not first class it may be pointed out to them that the system is absolutely bad4 ,it may be allowed to pass for holing-out purposes2 but for a putt of any length it cannot be good1 for the club is not swung in the ordinary easy manner by which distance can be so accurately gauged4 ,the ball is more or less poked along4 ,when a man putts in this way he is putting largely by instinct1 and even though he may generally putt well1 his work on the greens cannot be thoroughly reliable4 ,no putting is so good and consistently effective as is that which is done with a gentle even swing1 which can be regulated to a nicety1 and such putting is only possible when there is enough shaft left below the grip to swing with4 ,i am quite in accord with what ,james ,braid says about this method of putting1 and ,i do not for one moment think that the short grip should be used for approach puts1 but ,i am sure the nearer one gets to the hole the closer one should get down to the ball4 ,braid deals further on with the question of shortening one's putter4 ,he says3 ,as to the length of the shaft1 many players1 because they find that they always grip their putters a foot or so from the end of it1 proceed in due course to have the best part of that foot cut off1 or in purchasing a new putter they have the shaft cut very short4 ,are they quite satisfied that it is not better to have a fair amount of shaft projecting up above the place where they grip when that place is very low down8 ,the answer to this is that in many cases the wood which projects above the grip is very much in the way of true putting4 ,any golfer who is foolish enough to cut anything like a foot off any club without any compensation to the head in the way of balance must be expected to pay the penalty for his ignorance1 and anyone having a club constructed for him on such a principle1 or1 rather1 want of principle1 will inevitably pay for it4 ,braid goes on to say3 ,often enough no consideration is given to this point2 it is not imagined that the shaft above the grip can serve any useful purpose4 ,yet it is constantly found that a putter cut down is not the same putter as it was before1 not so good1 and has not the same balance2 and1 again1 many players must have been surprised sometimes1 when doing some half-serious putting practice with a cleek1 iron1 or driving mashie1 each club with its long shaft1 to find out what wonderfully accurate work could be done in this way4 ,the inference from all experience1 having theoretical principle to back it1 is that the top or spare part of the shaft acts as a kind of balance when the putter is gripped low down1 and tends materially to a more delicate touch and to true hitting of the ball4 ,a very little reflection will lead the reader to believe that this is so1 and in some cases it may lead him towards a revision of his present methods4 ,personally1 ,i should not think that even a very little reflection would be necessary to induce anyone to believe that the top part of the shaft acts as a kind of balance when the putter is gripped low down1 but it is quite obvious that it is possible to build a putter1 let us say1 for the sake of example1 two-thirds of the length of an ordinary putter1 which is just as perfectly balanced as the long club4 ,this is not any question of theory--it is a matter of absolutely proved and tried practice in golf4 ,one may have a perfect putter which will be ruined by taking a few inches off the shaft4 ,the balance of that putter is probably irrevocably destroyed1 unless1 perchance1 the owner is lucky in adding weight to the head in some way1 but dealing with a putter like this is tricky work for one who does not understand it4 ,the main point in connection with this matter of ,braid's1 which ,i have quoted1 is that he gives a kind of qualified approval to the idea of the short putter for short puts4 ,personally1 ,i think it is the soundest of sound golf1 and ,i am inclined to think that before many years we shall see the shorter clubs used in their proper place when their value is more clearly understood4 ,vardon has some very interesting things to say in his book1 ,the ,complete ,golfer1 on ,complicated ,putts1 while dealing with what he calls one of the most difficult of all putts--that in which there is a more or less pronounced slope from one side or the other1 or a mixture of the two4 ,as he truly says1 ,in this case it would obviously be fatal to putt straight at the hole4 ,he continues3 ,i have found that most beginners err in being afraid of allowing sufficiently for the slope2 and ,i have found that nine champions of ten make exactly the same error4 ,it is as bad a fault at golf as it is at bowls to be narrow1 by which1 in golf1 is meant not to allow enough for the slope of the green1 for it is obvious that if one is narrow one does not give the hole a chance any more than one does when one is short2 so we may add to the stock maxim in putting ,never up1 never in1 another one1 which is just as sound1 ,never be narrow4 ,vardon goes fully into the general principles underlying these complicated puts1 but as ,i have already indicated1 this is unquestionably a matter which can only be settled by practice on the green2 but he also goes into the question of the manner in which the stroke should be played1 and here we have a subject which legitimately comes within the scope of this work4 ,he continues3 ,but there are times when a little artifice may be resorted to1 particularly in the matter of applying a little cut to the ball4 ,there is a good deal of billiards in putting1 and the cut stroke on the green is essentially one which the billiard player will delight to practise1 but ,i warn all those who are not already expert at cutting with the putter to make themselves masters of the stroke in private practice before they attempt it in a match1 because it is by no means easy to acquire4 ,the chief difficulty which the golf student will encounter in attempting it will be to put the cut on as he desires1 and at the same time to play the ball with the proper strength and keep on the proper line4 ,it is easy enough to cut the ball1 but it is most difficult1 at first at all events1 to cut it and putt it properly at the same time4 ,for the application of cut1 turn the toe of the putter slightly outwards and away from the hole1 and see that the face of the club is kept to this angle all the way through the stroke4 ,swing just a trifle away from the straight line outwards1 and the moment you come back on to the ball draw the club sharply across it4 ,it is evident that this movement1 when properly executed1 will give to the ball a rotary motion1 which on a perfectly level green would tend to make it run slightly off to the right of the straight line along which it was aimed4 ,there are one or two points in this statement which are of very great importance4 ,vardon says3 ,for the application of cut turn the toe slightly outwards and away from the hole1 and see that the face of the club is kept to this angle all the way through the stroke4 ,this is absolutely unsound golf1 for ,vardon is advising his reader to play the put with the toe of the putter slightly outwards and away from the hole4 ,it stands to reason that following this advice will put the face of the club in such a position that at the moment of impact it will be impossible for it to be at a right angle to the intended line of run to the hole1 and this rule is1 for all purposes of practical golf1 invariable4 ,it is obvious that coming on to the ball in the manner suggested must tend to push it away to the right--that is to say1 it would have a strong tendency to go away to the right from the very moment of impact1 which is not what is generally wanted in a good put2 also playing the put in this manner tends quite naturally to decrease the amount of cut put on it4 ,the idea that cut mashie shots and cut puts are played in this manner has arisen from the fact that very frequently the golfer addresses the ball with the toe of his club laid back a little1 but by the time he has come on to the ball again he has corrected this4 ,in many cases1 if it were not for laying the toe of the club back a little in this manner1 golfers would be inclined1 although as a matter of strict and accurate golf they should not be1 to drag the ball across towards the left of the hole4 ,vardon says3 ,swing just a trifle away from the straight line outwards1 and the moment you come back on to the ball draw the club sharply across it4 ,now here again we see this outstanding error of practically every man who ever put pen to paper to write about golf1 which is that in producing the cut1 whether it be in a put or a sliced drive1 something is done intentionally to the ball during the period in which the ball and the club are in contact4 ,this is absolutely wrong4 ,i have explained before that the cut put1 and indeed all cut strokes at golf1 are produced by the club swinging across the intended line of flight or run at the moment of impact1 and the amount of cut depends entirely upon the angle and the speed at which the club head is travelling across the intended line of flight or run4 ,it is obvious that the amount of cut must also1 to a certain extent1 depend on the amount of loft of the club1 for the greater the loft of the club the greater assistance will the golfer who is applying the cut obtain from the weight of the ball4 ,vardon goes on to say3 ,it is evident that this movement1 when properly executed1 will give to the ball a rotary motion1 which on a perfectly level green would tend to make it run slightly off to the right of the straight line along which it was aimed2 but as ,i have already shown1 the unfortunate part of it is that a put so played would not go down the straight line which every golfer desires that his put shall go on2 nor indeed on anything like it4 ,also it is a delusion that it is possible with any of the ordinary putters to obtain a cut of a sufficiently pronounced degree to remain on the ball1 especially on the bramble balls1 for any appreciable distance4 ,vardon supposes a case of a steep but even slope all the way from the ball to the hole1 and he gives instructions as to how to put across this slope with cut so as to hold the ball up against the slope4 ,he says3 ,but we may borrow from the slope in another way than by running straight up it and straight down again4 ,if we put cut on the ball1 it will of itself be fighting against the hill the whole way1 and though if the angle is at all pronounced it may not be able to contend against it without any extra borrow1 much less will be required than in the case of the simple putt up the hill and down again4 ,in the first place1 ,i may remark that we do not generally borrow from a slope by running straight up it and straight down again4 ,the path of the ball is generally1 almost from the time it is hit1 a curve1 and a gradual curve1 in which one sees to it that the ball is at its farthest from the straight line to the hole somewhere about midway to the hole4 ,but this idea of putting cut on the ball with a putter1 which is sufficient to hold the ball up against the hill for any appreciable distance1 is practically a delusion4 ,i can easily understand that if ,vardon plays the cut put as he himself directs it to be played1 that he thinks that cut administered to a ball by an ordinary putter may have a very great effect in holding the ball up against the side of a hill for a considerable distance1 but this really is not so4 ,putting1 however1 as ,vardon instructs one to put for obtaining cut1 would in itself punch the ball up against the slope of the hill1 and ,i can easily believe that anybody who plays the put like this1 thinking that he is obtaining cut by so doing1 will be under the impression that cut is a very useful thing for holding the ball up against the slope in this manner1 whereas he is in effect simply punching the ball up against the slope--in other words1 he is playing a put1 which if the green were perfectly level1 would be yards off his line to the hole and to the right of it4 ,vardon goes on to say3 ,now it must be borne in mind that it is a purely artificial force1 as it were1 that keeps the ball from running down the slope1 and as soon as the run on the ball is being exhausted and the spin at the same time1 the tendency will be1 not for the ball to run gradually down the slope--as it did in the case of the simple putt without cut--but to surrender to it completely and run almost straight down4 ,there is a fundamental error here1 for ,vardon states that practically the spin on the put and the run on the ball will be exhausted at the same time1 but it is an utter impossibility to calculate with any exactness whatever as to what happens in such a case4 ,vardon knows no more about it than any other golfer1 and all that any golfer knows about this is extremely little1 so that to advise anyone to attempt to hold his ball up against a slope by the application of cut with any ordinary putter1 particularly a broad-soled putter1 is to invite him to play his shot blindfolded4 ,vardon does not mention the length of the put which he considers it possible to play with this cut1 but in his diagram he shows a put which would conceivably be quite a long put1 let us say for the sake of argument fifteen or sixteen feet1 but the theory would be just as bad if it were much less4 ,he says3 ,our plan of campaign is now indicated4 ,instead of going a long way up the hill out of our straight line and having a very vague idea of what is going to be the end of it all1 we will neutralise the end of the slope as far as possible by using the cut and aim to a point much lower down the hill--how much lower can only be determined with knowledge of the particular circumstances1 and after the golfer has thoroughly practised the stroke and knows what he can do with it4 ,and instead of settling on a point half-way along the line of the putt as the highest that the ball shall reach1 this summit of the ascent will now be very much nearer the hole1 quite close to it in fact4 ,we putt up to this point with all the spin we can get on the ball1 and when it reaches it1 the forward motion and the rotation die away at the same time1 and the ball drops away down the hill1 and1 as we hope1 into the hole that is waiting for it close by4 ,vardon may well say as we hope1 for the put described by him has no more chance of being brought off on a putting-green than ,vardon has of winning another open championship from an aeroplane4 ,to speak of putting a ball in this manner1 and treating it with such magic that when it gets up by the hole the forward motion and the rotation die away at the same time1 is not practical golf1 but absolute moonshine1 for it would be an utter impossibility to persuade any golf ball which has ever been made to receive from any known form of golf club sufficient cut to make it behave in the manner described4 ,the theory of the thing on paper is to a very great extent right1 with the exception that the cut described would require to be obtained by a club with a much greater loft than any ordinary putter2 but it is evident that putting with putters such as those which ,braid or ,vardon use1 it would be an utter impossibility to get cut on the ball which would stay with the ball during a long put and exert much influence in holding the ball up against any appreciable slope1 for with these putters1 which have not much loft1 it is evident that any spin whatever which is imparted to them by drawing the putter across the line of run at the moment of impact will be mainly about a vertical axis which is1 in effect1 the spin of a top4 ,it is evident that as the ball progresses across the green there will be a very strong effort indeed on the part of the ball1 following its friction on the green1 to wear down this vertical motion and convert it into the ordinary roll of a naturally hit put4 ,even when one is putting with a highly lofted club and with a tremendous amount of drag on a perfectly flat green1 the drag goes off the ball in a wonderfully short space of time1 and here1 of course1 one is using a spin which is analogous to the drag of the billiard player1 for it is pure back-spin which is fighting in the same plane the forward roll of the golf ball4 ,therefore it is reasonable to suppose1 and indeed it is undoubted that the ball would be more likely to retain this pure back-spin for a much longer time than would the ball with the side-spin imparted by the putter1 for the spin which is imparted by the putter does not directly fight the forward progress of the ball as it is spinning across the plane of the roll which the ball desires to take1 whereas1 as ,i have before pointed out1 the ball played with drag is absolutely fighting the forward roll of the golf ball4 ,it therefore would for a very short distance skid over the putting-green1 but those who only theorise about these matters have a ridiculously exaggerated idea of the influence of drag on the golf ball4 ,i have made it very plain1 and ,i cannot emphasise the matter too strongly1 that any attempt whatever in long puts to use drag or cut of any kind is to be deprecated4 ,there is another matter which ,vardon refers to that ,i should like to notice here4 ,he says3 ,one of the problems which strike most fear into the heart of the golfer is when his line from the ball to the hole runs straight down a steep slope and there is some considerable distance for the ball to travel along a fast green4 ,the difficulty in such a case is to preserve any control over the ball after it has left the club1 and to make it stop anywhere near the hole if the green is really so fast and steep as almost to impart motion of itself4 ,in a case of this sort ,i think it generally pays best to hit the ball very nearly upon the toe of the putter1 at the same time making a short1 quick twitch or draw of the club across the ball towards the feet4 ,little forward motion will be imparted in this manner1 but there will be a tendency to half lift the ball from the green at the beginning of its journey1 and it will continue its way to the hole with a lot of drag upon it4 ,it is obvious that this stroke1 to be played properly1 will need much practice in the first place1 and judgment afterwards1 and ,i can do little more than state the principle upon which it should be made4 ,i need hardly do more here than repeat what ,i have said in the case of the other puts4 ,any attempt to jump a ball at the beginning of the put on a steep1 fast green is about as bad a method of starting it as one could possibly imagine4 ,there is nothing for it but the smooth1 steady roll4 ,few greens1 of course1 are so steep that the ball will run off them unless it has been very violently played1 so the ordinary principles of putting still hold good here--there is one way to play that put1 and that is not from the toe1 but from the centre1 of the club1 and as straight as may be for the hole1 having due regard to the slope or slopes of the green4 ,of course1 as ,i have before indicated1 if one is very near to the hole1 certainly not more than two to three feet at the utmost1 one may be excused for putting straight at the hole with drag1 because a ball can be made to carry its drag for about this distance4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,fallacies ,,of ,,golf ,the fallacies of golf1 as it has been written1 are so numerous and so grave that it would be impossible to deal with them fully in a chapter1 so ,i must here content myself with dealing generally with them1 and specifically with a few of the minor mistakes which are so assiduously circulated by authors of works on golf4 ,i shall take them as they come1 in their natural order4 ,we shall thus have to deal with them as follows3 slow back1 the distribution of weight1 the sweep1 the power of the left hand and arm1 the gradually increasing pace of the sweep1 the action of the wrists1 and the follow-through4 ,we have then to consider1 in the first place1 the oft-repeated and much-abused instruction to go slow back4 ,the rhythm of many a swing is utterly spoilt by this advice1 for the simple reason that1 generally speaking1 it is tremendously overdone4 ,anyone who has ever seen ,george ,duncan's swing could surely be excused for thinking that slow back must be a delusion4 ,it is not1 however1 given to everybody to be able to swing with the rapidity and accuracy which characterise ,duncan's wonderful drive4 ,in fact1 the most that can be said in favour of going slowly back is that all that is necessary in the way of slowness is that the player shall not take his club up to the top of his swing at such a rate that in his recovery at the top of the swing he will have any unnecessary force to overcome before he begins his downward stroke4 ,it stands to reason that there must be at the top of the swing a moment wherein the club is absolutely stationary4 ,the whole object of slow back is to ensure that at this moment1 which is undoubtedly a critical portion of the swing1 there shall be no undue conflict of the force which brought the club head up to the top of the swing and that force which the golfer then exerts to start the club on its downward journey4 ,when this has been said1 practically all that need be said about slow back has been said4 ,it is almost a certainty that slow back1 as one of what ,vardon calls the parrot cries of the links1 has done more to unsettle the drives of those who follow it1 and the tempers of those who follow them1 than any other of the blindly followed fetiches of golf4 ,let it be understood then1 once and for all1 that undue slowness is almost as great a vice as undue quickness4 ,what the player must1 in every case1 strive after is the happy medium4 ,it is an absolute impossibility to preserve the rhythm of a swing that goes up with the painful slowness and studied deliberation which we so frequently see as the precursor of a tremendous foozle4 ,incorporated in this overdone injunction1 slow back1 we have the idea of swinging the club away from the ball4 ,in various places we are told plainly that the club is not to be lifted away from the ball1 but that it must be swung back1 whereas1 of course1 there can be no doubt whatever that the club is lifted back1 and is started on its journey by the wrists4 ,it is obvious that no swing can be started from the lowest point in an arc4 ,if1 for example1 we take the pendulum of a clock which is hanging motionless1 it will be impossible to swing it one way or the other without lifting it4 ,equally obvious is it that the golf club must be lifted away from the ball4 ,as you go up1 so you come down is another revered fallacy4 ,we are clearly1 and probably rightly1 instructed1 when driving1 to take the club away from the ball in the line to the hole produced through the ball4 ,we do this going back comparatively slowly until we are compelled to leave the line1 or rather the plane1 of the ball's flight4 ,so at the moment of making our first divergence from the straight swing back1 we import into our arc a sudden and pronounced curve4 ,on the return journey1 the downward swing1 we travel all the way at express speed4 ,he would indeed be credulous and unanalytical who could believe that the arc of the downward swing coincides with that of the upward1 when the upward swing is carried out according to the generally published theory1 which1 of course1 it generally is not4 ,the theory is only good in so far as it goes to inculcate the idea of remaining in the line to the hole both before and after impact as long as possible4 ,the next fallacy which we have to deal with is the matter of the distribution of weight in the drive4 ,practically every book that has been published misinforms the golfer on this point1 which is a matter of fundamental importance in the game2 in fact1 it is of such great importance that ,i shall not deal with it fully here1 but shall reserve it for my next chapter wherein ,i shall give the views of the leading exponents of the game on this all-important subject1 and shall then show wherein ,i differ from them4 ,let us consider that we have now arrived at the top of the swing4 ,every author of a golf book insists upon the fact that the drive at golf is a sweep and not a hit4 ,james ,braid1 in chapter viii4 of ,how to ,play ,golf1 writing of ,the ,downward ,swing1 says3 ,the chief thing to bear in mind is that there must be1 in the case of play with the driver and the brassie1 no attempt to hit the ball1 which must be simply swept from the tee and carried forward in the even and rapid swing of the club4 ,the drive in golf differs from almost every other stroke in every game in which the propulsion of a ball is the object4 ,in the ordinary sense of the word1 implying a sudden and sharp impact1 it is not a hit when it is properly done4 ,the impact in the golf drive has been measured by one of our most eminent physicists to occupy one ten-thousandth of a second4 ,i think we may take this as implying a sudden and sharp impact4 ,braid goes on to say1 when the ball is so 'hit' and the club stops very soon afterwards1 the result is that very little length1 comparatively1 will be obtained1 and that1 moreover1 there will be a very small amount of control over the direction of the ball4 ,this might be right1 but it seems almost unnecessary to point out that when a ball has been struck at the amazing speed which such a brief contact indicates1 there is extremely little probability that the club will stop very soon afterwards--in fact1 it would be almost a matter of impossibility to induce a club which had been used for delivering a blow at the rate which this brief time indicates1 to stop very shortly afterwards4 ,the head of a golf club at the moment of impact with the golf ball is travelling so rapidly that a camera timed to take photographs at the rate of one twelve-hundred-and-fiftieth of a second's exposure1 gets for the club head and shaft merely a vague swish of light1 while the ball itself1 if it is caught at all1 appears merely to be a section of a sperm candle1 so rapid is its motion4 ,i am speaking now of a photograph taken at this extremely rapid rate when the photographer is facing the golfer who is making the stroke1 but so rapid is the departure of the ball from the club that even when the photographer is standing in a straight line directly behind the player1 the ball still presents the appearance of a white bar4 ,it should then be sufficiently obvious to anyone that so far as regards the stroke implying a sudden and sharp impact1 the golf stroke1 probably of all strokes played in athletics1 is1 at the moment of impact1 incomparably the most rapid4 ,it has1 therefore1 always seemed to me a matter for wonder to read that this stroke is a sweep and not a hit4 ,braid here says one thing which is of outstanding importance as exploding another well-known fallacy4 ,it is as follows3 ,while it is1 of course1 in the highest degree necessary that the ball should be taken in exactly the right place on the club and in the right manner1 this will have to be done by the proper regulation of all the other parts of the swing1 and any effort to direct the club on to it in a particular manner just as the ball is being reached1 cannot be attended by success4 ,this is so important that ,i must pause here to emphasise it1 because we are frequently told1 and even ,braid himself1 as ,i shall show later on1 has made the same mistake1 that certain things are done during impact1 by the intention of the player during that brief period1 in order to influence the flight of the ball4 ,there can be no greater fallacy in golf than this4 ,no human being is capable of thinking of anything which he can do in this minute fraction of time1 nor even if he could think of what he wished to do1 would it be possible for his muscles to respond to the command issued by his mind4 ,to emphasise this1 ,i must quote from the same book and the same page again4 ,braid says3 ,if the ball is taken by the toe or heel of the club1 or is topped1 or if the club gets too much under it1 the remedy for these faults is not to be found in a more deliberate directing of the club on to the ball just as the two are about to come into contact1 but in the better and more exact regulation of the swing the whole way through up to this point4 ,that is the important part in connection with this statement of ,braid's4 ,many a person ruins a stroke1 as1 for instance1 in endeavouring to turn over the face of the putter during the moment of impact1 through following1 in complete ignorance1 the teaching of those who should know better1 and they then blame themselves for their want of timing in trying to execute an impossibility1 whereas the remedy is1 as ,braid says1 not in trying to do anything during the moment of impact but in the better and more exact regulation of the swing the whole way through up to this point4 ,braid is here speaking of the drive1 but what applies to the drive applies to every stroke in the game1 with practically equal force4 ,he continues3 ,the object of these remarks is merely to emphasise again1 in the best place1 that the despatching of the ball from the tee by the driver1 in the downward swing1 is merely an incident of the whole business4 ,merely an incident of the whole business4 ,it is impossible to emphasise this point too much4 ,the speed of the drive at golf is so great that the path of the club's head has been predetermined long before it reaches the ball1 so that1 as ,i have frequently pointed out in the same words which ,braid uses in this book1 the contact between the head of the club and the ball may be looked upon as merely an incident in the travel of the club in that arc which it describes4 ,the outstanding truth of this statement will be more apparent when we come to deal with the master strokes of the game4 ,braid's remarks here are so interesting that ,i must quote him again3 ,the player1 in making the down movement1 must not be so particular to see while doing it that he hits the ball properly1 as that he makes the swing properly and finishes it well1 for--and this signifies the truth of what ,i have been saying--the success of the drive is not only made by what has gone before1 but it is also due largely to the course taken by the club after the ball has been hit4 ,in this paragraph ,braid is making a fallacious statement4 ,it will be quite obvious to a very mean understanding that nothing which the club does after it has hit the ball and sent it on its way1 can have any possible effect upon the ball1 and1 therefore1 that the success of the drive cannot possibly in any way be due largely to the course taken by the club after the ball has been hit4 ,the success of the stroke must1 of course1 be due entirely to the course taken by the club head prior to and at the moment of impact4 ,what ,braid would mean to express1 no doubt1 is that if the stroke has been perfectly played1 it is practically a certainty that what takes place after the ball has gone1 will be executed in good form4 ,i have frequently seen misguided players practising their follow-through without swinging properly1 whereas it is1 of course1 obvious that a follow-through is of no earthly importance whatever except as the natural result of a well-played stroke2 and provided that the first half of the stroke was properly produced1 it is as certain as anything can be that the second half will be almost equally good1 but it is certain that nothing which the club does after contact with the ball has ceased can possibly influence the flight or run of the ball4 ,it is1 for instance1 obvious that if a man has played a good straight drive clean down the middle of the fair-way1 his follow-through cannot be the follow-through of a slice1 because the pace at which he struck that ball must make his club head go out down the line after the ball4 ,similarly1 if a man has played a sliced stroke1 it stands to reason that after the ball had left his club1 his club head could not1 by any possible stretch of imagination1 follow down a straight line to the hole4 ,these things are so obvious to anyone who is acquainted with the simplest principles of mechanics that it is strange to see them stated in the fallacious manner in which ,braid puts them forth4 ,braid here says3 ,the initiative in bringing down the club is taken by the left wrist1 and the club is then brought forward rapidly and with an even acceleration of pace until the club head is about a couple of feet from the ball4 ,now here we see that ,braid subscribes to the idea of the even acceleration of pace1 but it will be remembered that in a previous chapter ,i quoted him as saying that there must be no idea of gaining speed gradually2 that one must be hard at it from the very top1 and the harder you start the greater will be the momentum of the club when the ball is reached4 ,here there is no notion whatever of even acceleration of pace4 ,it is to get the most one can from the absolute instant of starting1 but notwithstanding this1 ,braid tells us on page #eg of ,how to ,play ,golf3 ,when the ball has been swept from the tee1 the arms should1 to a certain extent1 be flung out after it4 ,we observe here that ,braid speaks of the ball as having been swept from the tee1 notwithstanding that in ,advanced ,golf at page #eh we read3 ,but when he has got all his movements right1 when his timing is correct1 and when he has absolute confidence that all is well1 the harder he hits1 the better4 ,i have italicised the word hits4 ,now here we have the practical golf of the drive1 and ,i cannot do better1 in disposing of the fetich of the sweep1 than re-echo ,braid's words that for a golfer who wants to get a good drive1 when he has everything else right1 the harder he hits the better4 ,as a matter of simple practical golf1 provided always that a golfer executes his stroke in good form1 it is impossible for him to hit too hard4 ,this amazing fallacy of the sweep ruins innumerable drives1 and renders many a golfer1 who would possibly otherwise play a decent game1 merely an object of ridicule to his more fortunate fellow-players who know that the golf drive is a hit--a very palpable hit--and not in any sense of the word a sweep4 ,taylor also subscribes to the fetich of the sweep4 ,at page #ahf of ,taylor on ,golf he says3 ,in making a stroke in golf the beginner must feel sure that the correct method of playing is not the making of a hit--as such a performance is understood--but the effort of making a sweep4 ,this is an all-important thing1 and unless a player thoroughly understands that he must play in this style ,i cannot say ,i think the chance of his ultimate success is a very great one2 it is an absolute necessity this sweep1 and ,i cannot lay too much stress upon it4 ,he continues3 ,as a more practical illustration of my meaning1 ,i will suppose that the player is preparing to drive4 ,his position is correct1 he is at the exact distance from the ball4 ,all that is then necessary is that with a swinging stroke he should sweep the ball off the tee4 ,but1 if in place of accomplishing this sweep1 the ball is hit off the tee--well1 that may be a game1 but it certainly does not come under the heading of golf4 ,now we have already seen that ,james ,braid in ,advanced ,golf1 which was published after ,how to ,play ,golf1 has abandoned the idea that the golf drive is a sweep4 ,taylor is wonderfully emphatic about the sweep1 but ,i think it will not require much to convert any golfer1 who is in doubt about the matter1 to my views1 for the comparative results obtained will speak for themselves4 ,moreover1 if there is any one man more than another who is a living refutation of the sweep notion that man is ,j4 ,h4 ,taylor4 ,it is impossible to watch him driving1 and to know the power which he gets from his magnificent forearm hit1 without being absolutely convinced that the true nature of the golf drive is a hit and not a sweep4 ,i do not find that ,vardon subscribes to this idea of the sweep so definitely as does ,taylor1 and as did ,braid in ,how to ,play ,golf1 but he does unquestionably subscribe to the notion of the club gradually gathering speed in its downward course1 for he says at page #fi of ,the ,complete ,golfer3 ,the club should gradually gain in speed from the moment of the turn until it is in contact with the ball1 so that at the moment of impact its head is travelling at its fastest pace4 ,this1 of course1 in itself is correct1 but there should be no conscious effort of gradually increasing the pace4 ,as ,braid says1 one must be 'hard at it' right from the beginning4 ,the gradual and even acceleration of pace must unquestionably be left to take care of itself1 and it has no more right to cumber the golfer's mind than has the idea when he is throwing a stone that his hand should be moving at its fastest when the stone leaves it4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,v4 ,j4 ,h4 ,,taylor ,at the top of his swing in the drive4 ,note here the position of ,taylor's wrists4 ,this is a matter of the utmost importance4 ,taylor is at times inclined to get a little on to his right leg1 but probably here the weight is at least equally distributed1 if not mainly on the left4 ,one of the most pronounced and harmful golfing fallacies is what ,i call the fetich of the left4 ,all of the leading writers and players do their best to instil into the minds of their pupils the idea that the left hand is the more important4 ,this is a fallacy of the most pronounced and harmful nature1 but it is of such great importance to the game that ,i shall not deal with it particularly here1 but shall reserve it for a future chapter4 ,we now have to deal with the question of gradually increasing the pace in the drive4 ,i have already1 to a certain extent1 dealt with this matter4 ,nearly all writers make a strong point of this fallacy4 ,james ,braid at page #ed of ,how to ,play ,golf says3 ,the initiative in bringing down the club is taken by the left wrist1 and the club is then brought forward rapidly1 and with an even acceleration of pace until the club head is about a couple of feet from the ball4 ,here it will be seen clearly that ,braid gives the idea that the player is1 during the course of the downward swing1 to exercise some conscious regulation of the increase of the speed of the head of the club4 ,braid then goes on to say3 ,so far1 the movement will largely have been an arm movement1 but at this point there should be some tightening-up of the wrists1 and the club will be gripped a little more tightly4 ,anyone attempting to follow this advice is merely courting disaster4 ,to dream of altering the grip1 or of consciously attempting in any way to alter the character of the swing1 or to introduce into the swing any new element of grip1 touch1 control1 or anything else whatever1 must be fatal to accuracy4 ,braid is much sounder on this matter in ,advanced ,golf where he makes no assertion of this nature1 but tells the golfer that he must not bother himself with any idea of gradually increasing his pace4 ,this is what ,braid says4 ,it is worth repeating3 ,nevertheless1 when commencing the downward swing1 do so in no gentle1 half-hearted manner1 such as is often associated with the idea of gaining speed gradually1 which is what we are told the club must do when coming down from the top on to the ball4 ,it is obvious that speed will be gained gradually since the club could not possibly be started off on its quickest rate4 ,the longer the force applied to the down swing1 the greater do the speed and the momentum become1 but this gradual increase is independent of the golfer1 and he should1 as far as possible1 be unconscious of it4 ,what he has to concern himself with is not getting his speed gradually1 but getting as much of it as he possibly can right from the top4 ,no gentle starts1 but hard at it from the very top1 and the harder you start the greater will be the momentum of the club when the ball is reached4 ,that1 ,i take it1 is absolutely sound advice1 for herein there is no stupid restriction whatever1 nor should there be1 for the golfer1 from the time his club leaves the ball till it gets back to it1 should have nothing whatever wherewith to cumber his mind but the one idea1 and that is to hit the ball4 ,braid is surely wide of the mark when he says but this gradual increase is independent of the golfer1 and he should1 as far as possible1 be unconscious of it4 ,firstly1 it seems to me that this gradual increase is entirely dependent on the golfer1 and secondly1 that he should be extremely conscious of it1 and the necessity for the production of it2 but this is one of the many things in golf which1 when once it is thoroughly learned1 becomes so much a matter of second nature that the golfer does it instinctively4 ,he knows perfectly well that he will gradually increase his pace until he hits the ball1 but he will not have it in his mind that he has to do so4 ,all this is bound to be in the hit4 ,the man who drives the nail does not worry himself about gradually increasing the pace of the hammer head until it encounters the head of the nail4 ,he knows he is doing it1 but he does not worry himself about it as the golfer does about his similar operation4 ,if the golfer would remember that nothing matters much except to hit the ball hard and truly1 and would disregard a lot of the absolute nonsense about the domination of either one hand or the other1 the gradual acceleration of speed1 and many other items of a similar nature1 he would find that his game would be infinitely improved4 ,i could quote pages from leading authors dwelling upon this matter of the gradual increase of speed1 but ,i shall content myself with the passage which ,i have here quoted from ,james ,braid1 together with the remarks that ,i have made in former portions of this book1 and may make in later chapters4 ,braid1 in ,advanced ,golf1 is sufficiently emphatic about this matter1 and ,i think we may take it that in ,advanced ,golf he has given up the idea expressed in his smaller and less important work ,how to ,play ,golf1 that one should trouble oneself with the even acceleration of speed4 ,whether he has or not1 it is an absolute certainty that any idea of consciously regulating the speed of the club's head in the drive1 will result in a very serious loss of distance1 for it will be found an utter impossibility for anyone so to regulate the speed of the club without seriously detracting from the rate at which the head is moving through the air1 and as every golfer knows1 or should know1 the essence of the golf stroke is1 that the club shall be travelling at the highest possible speed when it strikes the ball4 ,i am1 of course1 now speaking with regard to the drive1 and obtaining the greatest distance possible1 for that is generally the object of the drive4 ,the point which must be impressed upon the golfer is1 that from the moment he starts his downward swing until he hits the ball1 he has nothing whatever to think of except hitting that ball4 ,everything which takes place from the top of the swing to the moment of impact should practically be done naturally1 instinctively1 sub-consciously--any way you like1 except by the exercise of thought during that process as especially applied to any particular portion of the action1 for it is proved beyond doubt that the human mind is not capable of thinking out in rotation each portion of the golf drive as it should be played1 during the time in which it is being played4 ,probably there is more ignorance about the action of the wrists in golf than about any other portion of the golf stroke1 yet this is a matter of the utmost importance1 a matter of such grave importance that ,i must in due course deal with it more fully and examine the statements of the leading writers on the subject4 ,it is laid down clearly and distinctly by nearly all golf writers and teachers that the golfing swing must be rhythmical1 that there must be no jerking1 no interruption of the even nature of the swing--in fact1 we have seen that according to many of them the stroke is a sweep and not a hit1 yet we are told distinctly that at the moment of impact a snap of the wrists is introduced4 ,this must tend1 of course1 to introduce a tremendous amount of inaccuracy in the stroke at a most critical time1 and it is therefore a matter worthy of the closest investigation4 ,we have already dealt with the fallacy of the sweep4 ,it is a curious thing that although the leading golfers and authors pin their faith to the sweep as being the correct explanation of the drive in golf1 yet nearly all of them1 when it comes to a question of the stroke with the iron clubs1 say that it is a hit4 ,now the stroke with the iron clubs is identical with the stroke with the wooden clubs1 with the exception1 of course1 in many cases1 that it has not gone back so far2 but the action of the wrists is1 or should be1 the same4 ,the club head travels1 stroke for stroke1 relatively in exactly the same arc2 the beginning of the stroke and finish of the stroke is the same1 and all the other laws1 mutatis mutandis1 apply4 ,it would1 indeed1 be hardly too much to say that there is at golf only one stroke1 and that every other stroke is a portion of that stroke1 that stroke being1 of course1 the drive4 ,if we take the drive as the supreme stroke in golf1 and examine the nature of the stroke1 we shall find that in that stroke is included practically every stroke in the game4 ,that being so1 it seems to me extremely hard to differentiate between a cleek shot and a drive--in fact1 in so far as regards the production of the shot it is impossible to differentiate between them4 ,if the one is a hit1 the other is1 and as a matter of fact1 every stroke in golf1 with the possible exception of the put1 is a hit4 ,while we are speaking of hits and fallacies1 it will not be out of place to devote a little attention to a point of extreme importance1 and at the same time one which is very much neglected in most books dealing with the game4 ,it is the ambition of many a golfer to get what he imagines to be the true ,st4 ,andrews swing4 ,they try this in numberless cases1 where1 from the stiffness of their joints and their build generally1 it is impossible in the nature of things that they can obtain a very full swing4 ,it is bad enough in these cases1 for ,i speak now of people who have taken to the game when their frames have become so set that it is practically an impossibility for them to obtain anything in the nature of a full swing1 but the attempt to obtain a long swing is not1 however1 confined to those who have taken to the game late in life1 although it is with them naturally a greater error than it is with those who started the game when their limbs were more supple and their frames more easily adapted to the stroke4 ,if ,i allow myself to take my natural swing1 ,i can nearly always see the head of the club at the top of my swing1 and at the finish it is hanging nearly as far over the right shoulder as it was at the top of the swing over the left shoulder4 ,there can be no doubt that with a swing like this1 when one can control it sufficiently1 one gets a very long ball1 and there is a very delightful feeling in getting a perfect drive with such a swing1 but from the very nature of the stroke it stands to reason that it must be less accurate than a much shorter and less showy effort4 ,harry ,vardon1 in ,the ,complete ,golfer1 asks3 ,why is it that they like to swing so much and waste so much power1 unmindful of the fact that the shorter the swing the greater the accuracy8 ,there can be no doubt whatever that in the very full swing1 such as ,i have described1 there is a waste of power and a sacrifice of accuracy4 ,the rule which is true of the put1 ,keep the head of the club in the line to the hole as long as you can1 both before and after impact1 is1 mutatis mutandis1 just as applicable to the drive4 ,vardon continues3 ,many people are inclined to ask why1 instead of playing a half shot with the cleek1 the iron is not taken and a full stroke made with it1 which is the way that a large proportion of good golfers would employ for reaching the green from the same distance4 ,for some reason1 which ,i cannot explain1 there seems to be an enormous number of players who prefer a full shot with any club to a half shot with another1 the result being the same or practically so4 ,this is a curious remark to come from a golfer of the ability of ,harry ,vardon4 ,i should have thought that the reason is sufficiently obvious4 ,in playing a full shot the ordinary golfer feels that he has simply to get the most that his club is capable of4 ,he therefore has no necessity to exercise any conscious muscular restraint4 ,he plays the shot and trusts the club for his regulation of distance1 but on the other hand1 in playing a half shot he knows that he must exercise a good deal of judgment in applying his strength4 ,it seems to me that there can be very little doubt that this is the reason why most golfers prefer the full shot4 ,however that may be1 it is beyond doubt that the desire1 as ,vardon puts it1 to swing so much is the root cause of a vast amount of very bad golf4 ,the shorter the swing1 the greater the accuracy4 ,this statement is as true of one's wooden clubs as it is of the iron4 ,it should be printed as a text and hung in every golf club-house in the world1 for there can be very little doubt that if the value of this advice were thoroughly realised1 it would make golf pleasanter and better for every one4 ,the blind worship of the full swing has been carried to a lamentable extent1 and golfers who devote any thought to their game are beginning to understand that beyond a reasonable swing back1 the surplus is so much waste energy1 and1 which is more important still1 simply imports into the stroke a very much greater risk of error4 ,many years ago ,i had a very remarkable illustration of the value of the short swing4 ,a club mate of mine who was an adept at most games1 and a champion at lawn-tennis and billiards1 took it into his head to play golf4 ,he was in the habit of thinking for himself4 ,of course1 directly he started to learn golf1 every one wished to make him tie himself into the usual knots1 but he refused to be influenced by other people's ideas4 ,he was content to work out his own salvation4 ,he had watched many of the unfortunate would-be golfers contorting themselves in their efforts to reproduce what they took to be a true ,st4 ,andrews swing1 but determined that he would not follow their example4 ,he had conceived the idea that a drive was only an exaggerated put1 and he made up his mind that he would proceed to exaggerate his put by degrees until he had reached the limit of his drive1 and had found that no further swinging back would give him extra distance4 ,he found that he got no farther with his drive when he carried his club right round to what is known as the full swing1 than he did when his club head came from about the same height as his lawn-tennis racket did in playing the game which he knew so well4 ,when he had ascertained this he resolutely refused to increase the length of his swing4 ,his club mates laughed at him and told him that it was not golf1 that he was playing cricket1 and many other pleasant little things like this4 ,it had no effect whatever on him1 for he knew that he was producing the stroke1 in so far as he played it1 exactly according to the best-known methods of the leading golfers of the world4 ,he was content1 in this respect1 to follow known and accepted methods1 but he would not in any way adopt the prevalent idea of a long swing4 ,of course1 he was laughed at and told that it was extremely bad form1 but before long he had the scalps of his detractors4 ,then they were unable to say much about his golf1 and he had very much the best of the argument when within a remarkably short space of time he won the championship of his ,province4 ,he proved quite conclusively to his own satisfaction1 and to the great chagrin of many of the other players1 the truth of ,vardon's statement1 ,the shorter the swing the greater the accuracy4 ,there can be very little doubt that for those who take to golf late in life1 especially if they have not played other games1 the orthodox swing is a trap4 ,a very great number of them get the swing1 but not the ball4 ,many of them are1 ,i am afraid1 under the impression that the swing is of more importance than getting the ball away4 ,needless to say1 they do not improve very much4 ,for those who take to golf late in life1 ,i am sure that the great principle which makes for length and direction in any ball game that is1 or ever was played1 namely1 keep in the line of your shot as long as you can both before and after impact1 will be found as sound to-day as it always has been4 ,probably it will be found1 and before very long too1 that what is true for the late beginner is equally true for the greatest experts4 ,as a matter of fact1 some of our leading professionals are beginning to realise this already1 particularly with regard to their iron play4 ,there are several very important points in connection with the short swing--points which1 ,i believe1 are of very great advantage to the golfer when once he has thoroughly grasped them4 ,it is obvious that the shorter the swing is1 the less necessity will there be for disturbing the position of one's feet4 ,this naturally means that there is less likelihood of any undue swaying4 ,secondly1 the shorter swing is naturally much more upright than the orthodox swing1 and it comes more natural to a player to hit downwards at his ball when using it4 ,the first point which we have made is that the shorter swing produces less disturbance of the feet1 because it is generally more upright than a corresponding length of the orthodox swing4 ,in the flat swing there is less need to move the feet than there is in the upright swing4 ,it is in the latter that one feels soonest the necessity for lifting the heel of the left foot1 but in the short swing there is not the same necessity for balancing and pivoting on the toes as there is in the orthodox drive1 for the swing back is not extended enough to require it4 ,it should be apparent then that with the short swing much of the complexity of the golf drive is taken away4 ,i must make this a little clearer3 practically all the golf books tell us that the left heel must come away from the earth when the arms seem to draw it4 ,anyone who follows this out in practice will find that it is impossible to preserve the rhythm of his swing4 ,as a matter of practical golf the left heel must come away from the earth as soon as the head of the club leaves the ball4 ,the motions are practically simultaneous4 ,this matter of the management of the feet is probably the greatest contributing cause to the complexity of the golf drive1 and the many erroneous descriptions of it which are given by our leading players4 ,the principal reason for this is that it is the latitude given to the body by this shifting of the heels which accounts for the wrong transference of the weight to the right foot1 and the equally wrong lurching on the left foot4 ,one would not1 of course1 for a moment advocate that the golfer's heels should be immovable1 although ,james ,braid does maintain1 quite wrongly1 ,i think1 that the position of the feet at the moment of impact should be exactly the same as at the moment of address--that is1 that the heels should be firmly planted on the ground4 ,although he says this1 the instantaneous photographs of him in the act of driving show conclusively that he does not carry his theory into practice4 ,many of our greatest golfers are beginning now to see that the firmer the foundation1 the more fixed and immovable the base1 the steadier must be the superstructure--to wit1 the chest and shoulders--and therefore the more constant will be the centre1 if ,i may use the word in a general sense1 of the swing4 ,the importance of preserving this centre cannot be overestimated1 for golf is a game which demands a wonderful degree of mechanical accuracy1 and it is only by observing the best mechanical principles that the best results can be obtained4 ,in the ordinary drive of the ordinary golfer there is usually an excessive amount of foot and ankle work1 and1 generally speaking1 this foot and ankle work is not carried out in the best possible manner4 ,there is1 as a matter of fact1 imported into the drive far too great an opportunity for the player to move his weight about4 ,he takes full advantage of this1 and the usual result is that he transfers his weight1 when driving1 to his right leg1 which1 as we shall see later on1 is a very bad fault for the golfer to acquire4 ,in the shorter swing there is much less temptation for the golfer to make the errors which are usually attendant on faulty footwork4 ,the other point of importance which ,i have mentioned in connection with the short swing1 is that it comes much more naturally to the player to hit downwards4 ,probably not one golfer in a hundred realises that the vast majority of his strokes are made in a manner wholly opposed to the best science of golf4 ,they are1 generally speaking1 hit upwards1 whereas the most perfect golf drive should be hit downwards1 and this statement is1 in perhaps a less degree1 true of nearly all golf strokes which are not played on the green4 ,the best way to get any ordinary ball into the air is to hit it upwards1 but this general rule does not apply to the golf ball1 for it is always stationary and is generally lying on turf4 ,however1 few players will trust the loft of the club to perform its natural function4 ,they seem to forget that each club has been made with a loft of such a nature that1 given the ball is struck fairly and properly1 the loft may be relied on to do its share of the work4 ,consequently1 as they will not trust the club to get the ball up1 they hit upwards1 and so1 to a very great extent1 minimise the amount of back-spin which might come from the loft1 were the club travelling in a horizontal line at the moment of impact4 ,it is very much harder1 however1 to hit upwards with a short swing1 or perhaps it would be more correct to say that there is a much greater tendency to hit the ball before the club head has got to the lowest point in its swing4 ,we must emphasise this point1 for it is of great importance1 as back-spin is of the essence of the modern game1 and particularly of the modern drive4 ,if1 therefore1 we can show that the short swing tends more naturally to produce back-spin than does the full ,st4 ,andrews swing1 and at the same time to give greater accuracy as regards direction1 it need hardly be stated that it will not be long before we have the scientific players giving the stroke the place to which it is undoubtedly entitled in the game of golf4 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,distribution ,,of ,,weight ,the distribution of weight is of fundamental importance in the game of golf4 ,if one has not a perfectly clear and correct conception of the manner in which one should manage one's weight1 it is an absolute certainty that there can be no rhythm in the swing4 ,one often sees references to the centre of the circle described by the head of the club in the golf swing4 ,it will be perfectly apparent on giving the matter but little thought that the head of the golf club does not describe a circle1 but it is convenient to use the term centre of the circle when referring to the arc which is described by the head of the club4 ,the all-important matter of the distribution of weight has been dealt with by the greatest players in the world4 ,let us see what ,taylor1 ,braid1 and ,vardon have to say about this subject1 for it is no exaggeration to say that this is a matter which goes to the very root of golf4 ,if one teaches the distribution of weight incorrectly1 it does not matter what else one teaches correctly1 for the person who is reared on a wrong conception of the manner in which his weight should be distributed1 can never play golf as it should be played4 ,it is as impossible for such a person to play real golf as it would be for a durable building to be erected on rotten foundations4 ,now let us see what the greatest players have to say about this4 ,vardon1 at page #fh of ,the ,complete ,golfer1 says3 ,the movements of the feet and legs are important4 ,in addressing the ball you stand with both feet flat and squarely placed on the ground1 the weight equally divided between them1 and the legs so slightly bent at the knee-joints as to make the bending scarcely noticeable4 ,this position is maintained during the upward movement of the club until the arms begin to pull at the body4 ,the easiest and most natural thing to do then1 and the one which suggests itself1 is to raise the heel of the left foot and begin to pivot on the left toe1 which allows the arms to proceed with their uplifting process without let or hindrance4 ,do not begin to pivot on this left toe ostentatiously1 or because you feel you ought to do so1 but only when you know that the time has come1 and you want to1 and do it only to such an extent that the club can reach the full extent of the swing without any difficulty4 ,while this is happening it follows that the weight of the body is being gradually thrown on to the right leg1 which gradually stiffens1 until at the top of the swing it is quite rigid1 the left being at the same time in a state of comparative freedom1 slightly bent in towards the right1 with only just enough pressure on the toe to keep it in position4 ,that is what ,vardon has to say about this important matter4 ,at page #ec of ,great ,golfers1 speaking of the ,downward ,swing1 ,vardon further says3 ,in commencing the downward swing1 ,i try to feel that both hands and wrists are still working together4 ,the wrists start bringing the club down1 and at the same moment1 the left knee commences to resume its original position4 ,the head during this time has been kept quite still1 the body alone pivoting from the hips4 ,it is obvious that if the pivoting is done at the hips it will be impossible to get the weight on the right leg at the top of the swing without some contortion of the body1 yet we read at page #gj of ,the ,complete ,golfer that the weight is being gradually moved back again from the right leg to the left4 ,thus is the old fatal idea persisted in to the undoing of thousands of golfers4 ,i have already referred to the wonderful spine-jumping and rotating which is described in ,the ,mystery of ,golf4 ,many might not understand the jargon of anatomical terms used in this fearful and wonderful idea1 so ,i shall add here the author's corroboration of my interpretation of his notion4 ,at page #afg he says3 ,the pivot upon which the spinal column rotates is shifted from the head of the right thigh-bone to that of the left4 ,i have always been under the impression that the spinal column is very firmly embedded on the os sacrum--that1 in fact1 the latter is practically a portion of the spinal column1 and that it is fixed into the pelvic region in a manner which renders it highly inconvenient for it to attempt any saltatory or rotatory pranks4 ,we are1 however1 told that the pivot on which the spinal column rotates shifts from the right leg to the left leg4 ,if the spine were rotating1 which of course it cannot do in the golf stroke1 on any pivot1 which1 equally of course1 it does not1 that pivot must be the immovable os sacrum4 ,what then does all this nonsense mean8 ,james ,braid1 at page #ef of ,advanced ,golf1 says3 ,at the top of the swing1 although nearly all the weight will be on the right foot1 the player must feel a distinct pressure on the left one1 that is to say1 it must still be doing a small share in the work of supporting the body4 ,taylor1 in ,taylor on ,golf1 at page #bjg1 says3 ,then1 as the club comes back in the swing1 the weight should be shifted by degrees1 quietly and gradually1 until when the club has reached its topmost point the whole weight of the body is supported by the right leg1 the left foot at this time being turned1 and the left knee bent in towards the right leg4 ,next1 as the club is taken back to the horizontal position behind the head1 the shoulders should be swung round1 although the head must be allowed to remain in the same position with the eyes looking over the left shoulder4 ,at page #cj of ,practical ,golf ,mr4 ,walter ,j4 ,travis says3 ,in the upward swing it will be noticed that the body has been turned very freely with the natural transference of weight almost entirely to the right foot1 and that the left foot has been pulled up and around on the toe4 ,without such aid the downward stroke would be lacking in pith4 ,to get the shoulders into the stroke they must first come round in conjunction with the lower part of one's anatomy1 smoothly and freely revolving on an axis which may be represented by an imaginary line drawn from the head straight down the back4 ,otherwise1 the arms alone1 unassisted to any appreciable extent1 are called upon to do the work with material loss of distance4 ,at page #hh of ,golf in the ,badminton ,series1 ,mr4 ,horace ,g4 ,hutchinson says3 ,now as the club came to the horizontal behind the head1 the body will have been allowed to turn1 gently1 with its weight upon the right foot4 ,we here have the opinions of five golfers1 whose words should undoubtedly carry very great weight4 ,the sum total of their considered opinion is that in the drive at golf the weight at the top of the swing must be on the right leg4 ,i have1 however1 no hesitation in saying that this idea is fundamentally unsound and calculated to prove a very serious hindrance to anyone attempting to follow it4 ,so far from its being true that the weight of the body is supported by the right foot at the top of the swing1 ,i must say that entirely the opposite is true1 and that at the top of the swing the weight of the body is borne by the left foot and leg in any drive of perfect rhythm4 ,this may possibly be going a little too far1 so we shall1 in the meantime1 content ourselves with absolutely denying that the weight at the top of the swing goes on to the right leg1 and with insisting that at the top of a perfectly executed swing the main portion of the weight must be borne by the left foot and leg4 ,in so positively making this statement ,i am confronted by a mass of authority which would deter many people from essaying to disprove such a well-rooted delusion in connection with the game1 but ,i think that before we have finished with this subject we shall be able to show very good reason for doubting the statements of these eminent players4 ,there is no possible doubt as to the rooted nature of this belief in the minds of these players4 ,james ,braid1 in fact1 emphasises it in some places4 ,he says in ,how to ,play ,golf3 ,when the swing is well started1 that is to say1 when the club has been taken a matter of about a couple of feet from the ball1 it will become impossible1 or at least inconvenient and uncomfortable to keep the feet so firmly planted on the ground as they were when the address was made4 ,it is the left one that wants to move1 and consequently at this stage you must allow it to pivot4 ,by this is meant that the heel is raised slightly1 and the foot turns over until only the ball of it rests on the ground4 ,many players pivot on the toe1 but ,i think this is not so safe1 and does not preserve the balance so well4 ,when this pivoting begins1 the weight is being taken off the left leg and transferred almost entirely to the right1 and at the same moment the left knee turns in towards the right toe4 ,the right leg then stiffens a little and the right heel is more firmly than ever planted on the ground4 ,it seems to me that these famous golfers are confronted by a mechanical problem in this matter4 ,the veriest tyro at golf is familiar with the axiom that it is absolutely necessary for him to keep his head still4 ,many authors tell one that the swing is conducted as though the upper portion of the body moved on an axis consisting of the spine4 ,all golfers1 authors1 and professionals1 who know anything about the game1 will tell one that the habit of swaying1 which means moving the head and body away from the hole1 is fatal to accuracy4 ,harry ,vardon1 at page #fg1 says3 ,in the upward movement of the club the body must pivot from the waist alone and there must be no swaying1 not even to the extent of an inch4 ,a little further down on the same page1 we read3 ,in addressing the ball you stand with both feet flat and securely placed on the ground1 the weight equally divided between them4 ,now it seems fairly obvious that if one starts the golf drive with the weight practically evenly distributed between the right foot and the left foot1 and seeing that it is an axiom of golf that one must not move one's head1 it is impossible for one to get the weight of the body on to the right foot and leg without absolutely contorting one's frame4 ,let us make this clearer still4 ,we have our golfer set at his ball1 his address perfect1 and his weight evenly distributed between his two feet4 ,as he knows that it is wrong for him to move his head1 we can1 without interfering with his drive in the slightest degree1 stretch tightly a wire at a right angle to the line of flight to the hole and pass it across within a quarter of an inch of his neck1 below his right ear4 ,the position of this wire will not in any way hamper the golfer in his drive1 but in order to fulfil the instructions which are laid down with the utmost persistence by every golf book1 that it is of fundamental importance to keep the head absolutely still1 it will be necessary for our golfer to play his drive without allowing his head or neck to touch this wire2 but if he can do this1 and at the same time get the weight of his body1 at the top of his swing1 on to his right leg1 as advised by ,taylor1 ,braid1 and ,vardon1 and by ,messrs4 ,hutchinson and ,travis1 without making himself both grotesque and uncomfortable1 he will indeed have performed an unparalleled feat in the history of golf1 for1 to put the matter quite shortly1 it is nonsense to suppose that it can be done4 ,the thing is mechanically impossible4 ,if a man starts with his weight equally distributed between his legs1 and then uses his spine or any other imaginary pivot to turn his body upon in the upward swing1 it will be impossible for him to shift his weight so that it goes back on to his right leg4 ,i am not1 of course1 allowing for a person who has an adjustable spine1 such as that described by ,mr4 ,arnold ,haultain in ,the ,mystery of ,golf1 which rotates1 according to the author1 first on one thigh bone and then on another4 ,this spine is of such a remarkable nature that ,i must devote1 later on1 a little time to considering its vagaries4 ,at present ,i am1 however1 dealing with a matter of practical golf and simple mechanics1 about which there is absolutely no mystery but a vast amount of misconception4 ,when ,i first stated in ,modern ,golf1 which1 so far as ,i am aware1 was the first book wherein this fundamental truth was laid down1 that the left was the foot which bore the greater burden1 it was regarded as revolutionary teaching1 but there is not a professional golfer of any reputation whatever who now dares to teach that at the top of the swing the weight is to be put on the right4 ,there is1 however1 no harm in fortifying oneself with the opinion of at least one of the triumvirate expressed elsewhere4 ,personally1 ,i think that the mechanical proposition is so extremely simple and incontrovertible1 as ,i have stated it1 that it is unnecessary to go further1 but such is the veneration of the golfer for tradition that as a matter of duty to the game ,i shall leave no stone unturned1 not only to scotch1 but absolutely to kill1 this mischievous idea which is so injurious to the game4 ,in ,great ,golfers1 ,harry ,vardon says1 speaking of his address and stance3 ,i stand firmly1 with the weight rather on the right leg4 ,at page #ej of the same book he says1 speaking of the top of the swing3 ,there is distinct pressure of the left toe and very little more weight should be felt on the right leg than there was when the ball was addressed4 ,we see clearly here that ,vardon's statement in ,great ,golfers that at the top of the swing very little more weight should be felt on the right leg than there was when the ball was addressed does not agree with his statement in ,the ,complete ,golfer wherein he states that the weight of the body is being gradually thrown on to the right leg4 ,the unfortunate part about this contradiction is that ,great ,golfers was published before ,the ,complete ,golfer1 so that we are bound to take it as ,vardon's more mature and considered opinion that the weight at the top of the stroke is thrown mainly on the right leg4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vi4 ,,harry ,,vardon ,the finish of his drive1 showing how the weight goes forward on to the left foot4 ,this leaves us apparently as we were1 but seeing the contradiction in ,vardon's statement1 we may with advantage turn to action photographs of him taken whilst actually playing the stroke4 ,here we see most clearly in such photographs as those shown on pages #hf and #hg of ,great ,golfers1 that the body1 instead of going away from the hole1 has1 if anything1 gone forward4 ,this is sufficiently marked in the photographs which ,i am now referring to1 but in ,fry's ,magazine for the month of ,march #aiji there appeared a remarkable series of photographs showing ten drives by ,harry ,vardon4 ,these photographs are1 unquestionably1 of very great value to the game1 for they show beyond any shadow of doubt whatever1 that ,vardon's weight is never1 at any portion of his drive1 mainly on his right leg4 ,the first photograph showing him at the top of his swing is a wonderful illustration of the fact that at the top of the swing in golf the main portion of the weight goes forward on to the left foot4 ,before leaving this portion of our consideration of the distribution of weight1 ,i must refer again to the description given of this matter in ,the ,mystery of ,golf4 ,the author says3 ,the whole body must turn on the pivot of the head of the right thigh bone working in the cotyloidal cavity of the os innominatum or pelvic bone1 the head1 right knee1 and right foot1 remaining fixed1 with the eyes riveted on the ball4 ,in the upward swing the vertebral column rotates upon the head of the right femur1 the right knee being fixed2 and as the club head nears the ball1 the fulcrum is rapidly changed from the right to the left hip1 the spine now rotating on the left thigh bone1 the left knee being fixed2 and the velocity is accelerated by the arms and wrists in order to add the force of the muscles to the weight of the body1 thus gaining the greatest impetus possible4 ,not every professional instructor has succeeded in putting before his pupil the correct stroke in golf in this anatomical exposition4 ,for which we may be devoutly thankful1 for if ever there was written an absolutely ridiculous thing about golf which could transcend in stupidity this description1 ,i should like to see it4 ,as a matter of fact1 the statement does not merit serious notice1 but the book is published by a reputable firm of publishers1 and no doubt has been read by some people who do not know sufficient for themselves to be able to analyse the alleged analysis of the author4 ,let us now subject his analysis to a little of the analysing process4 ,we are told that the whole body must turn on the pivot of the head of the right thigh bone working in the cotyloidal cavity of the 'os innominatum' or pelvic bone4 ,this is merely another way of saying that the right leg and foot is supporting the whole weight of the body1 although the head must remain fixed4 ,we have already considered the similar statements expressed in ,the ,mystery of ,golf1 and by much more important people in the golfing world than the author of this book1 so we need not labour this point1 but he goes on to reduce his directions to the most ludicrous absurdity4 ,we are told that in the upward swing the vertebral column rotates upon the head of the right femur4 ,of course1 ,i am not personally acquainted with ,mr4 ,haultain1 and he may be speaking from his own practice1 but assuming for the sake of argument that he is a normally constructed man1 the base of his vertebral column never gets anywhere near his right femur1 nor is it possible for anybody's vertebral column to rotate unless the person is rotating with it1 which one is inclined to think would prove rather detrimental to the drive at golf if indulged in between the stance and address and impact4 ,as though we had not already had sufficient fun for our money1 we are told that as the club head nears the ball the fulcrum is rapidly changed from the right to the left hip1 the spine now rotating on the left thigh bone4 ,so far as one can judge from our author's description he must have been in the habit of playing golf amongst a race of men who have adjustable spines1 the tail end of which they are able to wag from one side of the pelvic bone to the other4 ,personally1 ,i have yet to meet golfers of this description4 ,one feels inclined to ask the author of this remarkable statement what is happening to the os coccyx whilst one is wagging one's spine about in this remarkable manner4 ,this statement is about the funniest thing which has ever been written in golf1 and it has absolutely no relation whatever to practical golf4 ,it is merely an imaginative and absolutely incorrect exposition of the golf drive1 not only from a golfing1 but from an anatomical1 point of view2 and it is to me an absolute wonder how anyone1 even one who labels himself a duffer1 can attach his name to such obviously inaccurate and foolish statements4 ,one really would be inclined to be much more severe than one is in dealing with such a book were it not for the amusement which one has derived from a perusal of such fairy tales as a rotating spine which1 during the course of the golf drive1 jumps from one thigh bone to the other1 steeplechasing the pelvic bone as it performs this remarkable feat4 ,i have referred in other places to the looseness of ,mr4 ,haultain's descriptions in all matters of practical golf4 ,at page #hi he confirms one's impression1 if confirmation were required1 that his idea of the fundamental principle of the golf swing is as ill-formed as are his notions of anatomy1 for he says3 ,the left knee must be loose at the beginning and firm at the finish4 ,at no time during a stroke in golf1 of any description whatever1 should there be any looseness of the body4 ,during the production of the golf stroke the body is practically full of tension and attention4 ,it is the greatest mistake possible to imagine that because one portion of the body is doing the work1 any other portion may slack4 ,one who makes this statement has not a glimmering of the beginning of the real game of golf4 ,i can readily believe that to such an one golf is a mystery4 ,the left knee is in harness from the moment the ball is addressed until long after it has been driven1 and it is a certainty that the left knee has far more work to do than has the right1 so for anyone to cultivate an idea that the left knee may1 at any time during the production of the golfing stroke1 be loose1 is a very grave error4 ,while we are considering the matter of the distribution of weight1 it will be advisable for us to devote our attention to the disposition of the weight at the moment of impact4 ,speaking of the management of the weight at this critical time1 ,vardon says3 ,when the ball has been struck1 and the follow-through is being accomplished1 there are two rules1 hitherto held sacred1 which may at last be broken4 ,with the direction and force of the swing your chest is naturally turned round until it is facing the flag1 and your body now abandons all restraint1 and to a certain extent throws itself1 as it were1 after the ball4 ,there is a great art in timing this body movement exactly4 ,if it takes place the fiftieth part of a second too soon the stroke will be entirely ruined2 if it comes too late it will be quite ineffectual and will only result in making the golfer feel uneasy1 and as if something had gone wrong4 ,when made at the proper instant it adds a good piece of distance to the drive1 and that instant1 as explained1 is just when the club is following through4 ,it is evident from this statement1 that ,vardon is under the impression that the timing of this body movement should be so performed as to come in when the club is following through4 ,i have shown before that the follow-through of a stroke is of no importance whatever except as the result of a perfectly executed first half of the stroke1 if one may so describe it4 ,it must be obvious to anyone who knows but little either of golf or mechanics that nothing which the body or the club does after contact between the ball and the club has ceased can have any influence whatever upon the flight of the ball1 either as to distance or direction4 ,practically everything which takes place after the ball has left the club is the natural result of what has been done before impact4 ,this cannot be too forcibly impressed upon golfers1 for it is not at all uncommon to find men deliberately stating that the follow-through exerts a tremendous influence on the stroke4 ,it should be perfectly manifest that this cannot be so4 ,it is no doubt of very great importance to have a good follow-through1 but the good follow-through must be the result of a good stroke previously played1 otherwise it will be worthless4 ,harry ,vardon states that this timing of the body movement takes place immediately after impact1 for that is just when the club is following through4 ,he has himself provided the best possible refutation of this obviously erroneous statement4 ,the timing of the body on to the ball in the manner mentioned by him practically commences1 in every drive of perfect rhythm as are so many of ,vardon's1 from the moment the stroke starts1 for the body weight which is put into the golf drive comes largely from the half turn of the shoulders and upper portions of the body from the hips in the downward swing4 ,this half turn and the slight forward movement of the hips are practically one and the same4 ,if they are not1 something has gone wrong with the drive4 ,absolute evidence of the correctness of this statement is provided by ,vardon himself in ,fry's ,magazine for ,march #aiji4 ,here we see the remarkable series of ten drives by ,vardon which ,i have already referred to4 ,the first photograph shows most clearly that at the top of the swing the main portion of his weight is on his left foot4 ,as a matter of carrying golf to the extreme of scientific calculation it is quite probable that there is much more than ,vardon's physical weight on his left leg1 for the rapid upward swing of his club is suddenly arrested when considerably nearer the hole than his left shoulder1 so that the leverage of the head of the club will have thrown more weight than that which the left actually bears on it as its share of ,vardon's avoirdupois4 ,this1 of course1 is undoubted as a matter of practical mechanics1 but it is not of sufficient importance to enter into fully in any way here4 ,it is1 however1 of importance for us to consider the photographs which follow1 for here we see quite clearly that very early in the downward swing ,vardon raises his right heel and bends his left knee slightly forward1 and in the third1 fourth1 and fifth photographs we see very clearly that he is executing that turn of his body which carries his weight forward on to the ball in a very marked degree4 ,this point is very clearly brought out in the instantaneous photographs of both ,vardon's driving1 and in that of ,george ,duncan's4 ,it is positively futile to say that the timing of the body weight in the follow-through is done when the club is following through1 because it is obvious that this would not be at the proper instant1 and that it could not1 by any stretch of imagination1 add a good piece of distance to the drive4 ,it is curious to note in this connection that on page #ec of ,great ,golfers ,harry ,vardon says3 ,almost simultaneously with the impact1 the right knee slightly bends in the direction of the hole1 and allows the wrists and forearms to take the club right out in the direction of the line of flight1 dragging the arms after them as far as they will comfortably go1 when the club head immediately leaves the line of flight and the right foot turns on the toe4 ,this allows the body to turn from the hips and face the hole1 the club finishing over the left shoulder4 ,here it will be seen that ,vardon brings the timing of this very important forward movement back a little to almost simultaneously with the impact4 ,now this phrase may mean immediately prior to1 or immediately after1 impact1 and there can be no possible doubt which it is4 ,it must be prior to impact if it is to exert any beneficial effect whatever upon the stroke4 ,to add any distance to the drive1 it is obvious that what was done in the way of timing the body on to the ball must have been done prior to impact1 and merely continued after the ball had gone away1 so that the finish was perfectly natural4 ,now ,vardon shows quite clearly in his drive that in his follow-through his weight goes forward until it is practically all on his left leg4 ,so1 for the matter of that1 do the instantaneous photographs of nearly every famous golfer1 but some of them have a very peculiar misconception of the disposition of weight at the moment of impact4 ,let us1 for instance1 see what ,james ,braid has to say about the matter at page #ec of ,advanced ,golf4 ,dealing with this all-important moment1 he says3 ,i would draw the reader's very careful attention to the sectional photographs that are given on a separate page1 and which in this form show the various workings of the different parts of the body while the swing is in progress as they could not be shown in any other way4 ,they have all been prepared from photographs of myself1 taken for the special purpose of this book4 ,in some cases1 in order to show more completely the progress of the different movements from the top of the swing to the finish1 the position at the moment of striking is included4 ,theoretically1 that ought to be exactly the same as the position at the address3 and even in practice it will be found to be as nearly identical as possible1 in the case of good driving1 that is4 ,therefore1 for the sake of precision1 the third photograph in each series of four is a simple repetition of the first1 and is not a special photograph4 ,i may mention that this is a common idea of illustrating a golf stroke4 ,the author of the book shows the stance and address4 ,he then shows the top of the swing1 and after that the finish1 and he thinks that he has then done his duty by his reader4 ,as a matter of fact1 these are all positions in the swing where there is practically nothing doing as the ,american puts it4 ,to illustrate the various movements in the drive1 ,i took for ,modern ,golf1 and used1 eighteen different positions1 and there was not one too many4 ,it is quite impossible to illustrate the drive in golf by three positions2 and it is absolutely erroneous to attempt to illustrate the moment of impact by a repetition of the photograph taken for stance and address4 ,from the golfing point of view it is almost impossible to imagine two positions which are so entirely dissimilar4 ,from the point of view of a mere photographer there may be some slight similarity1 as indeed there is in all photographs of golfers1 but to compare stance and address with the position at the moment of impact with the ball1 is mere futility4 ,let us quote ,braid's remarks with regard to stance and address3 ,when in position and ready for play1 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 stiffness1 and to allow of the most complete freedom of movement4 ,the slackening may be a little more pronounced in the case of the arms than with the legs1 as much more freedom is required of them subsequently4 ,they should fall easily and comfortably to the sides1 and the general feeling of the player at this stage should be one of flexibility and power4 ,everything is now in readiness for making the stroke1 and the player prepares to hit the ball4444 ,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 order1 waving the club backwards and forwards once or twice over the ball4444 ,obviously there is no rule in such matters1 and the player can only be enjoined to make himself comfortable in the best way he can4 ,now we see here that the main idea of the player at the moment of address is to make himself comfortable--in other words1 to get into as natural a position as he possibly can in order to execute his stroke4 ,the whole idea of the stance and address is to get into a perfectly natural position1 and one that is quite comfortable and best calculated to enable one to produce a correct stroke4 ,we see clearly that this is what ,braid considers to be necessary at the moment of address4 ,let us turn now to ,advanced ,golf at page #fa1 which we have already quoted4 ,braid1 at that page and on the preceding pages1 explains clearly that the whole idea of the golf stroke is supreme tension1 and that at the moment of impact the tension is greatest4 ,he says3 ,then comes the moment of impact4 ,crack6 ,everything is let loose1 and round comes the body immediately the ball is struck and goes slightly forward until the player is facing the line of flight4 ,is it possible to imagine two more diametrically opposed conditions of the human frame than those which ,i have described in ,braid's own words8 ,yet we find this fine player producing1 for the guidance of golfers as to what takes place at the moment of impact1 the same photograph which he shows them for stance and address6 ,moreover1 ,braid himself clearly shows in his action photographs that such a statement as this is quite wrong4 ,if we had any doubt at all about the matter1 we might examine the photographs of ,braid himself1 which show clearly that the positions taken up by him when addressing the ball and when hitting it1 are1 as might easily be believed1 widely different1 for at the moment of impact there is the supreme tension and power which he advises as being a necessity for the production of a long drive4 ,it is true that ,james ,braid's feet1 particularly his right foot1 do not move from the ground so much as do those of ,harry ,vardon or ,george ,duncan2 but it is nevertheless true that the movement of his legs1 arms1 and shoulders show1 at the moment of impact1 a position totally different from that taken up by him during his stance and address4 ,it might seem that these things are not of sufficient importance to warrant the critical analysis to which ,i am subjecting them1 but there can be no doubt that there are a vast number of people to whom golf is of infinitely more importance than political economy1 and to these it is a matter of most vital importance that they should know what they are doing and what they ought to do at this critical period2 and in dealing with the books which have been produced in connection with the game of golf they have such a mass of contradictory and fallacious teaching to wade through1 that it is small wonder that they are1 as a rule1 utterly befogged as to the proper principles upon which to proceed4 ,let us1 for instance1 examine these two statements with regard to the follow-through4 ,at page #ee of ,how to ,play ,golf1 in his chapter on ,finishing the ,stroke1 ,james ,braid says3 ,the second that the ball is hit1 and not before1 the player should begin to turn on his right toe1 and to allow a little bend of the right knee1 so as to allow the right shoulder to come round until the body faces the line of flight of the ball4 ,when this is done properly the weight will be thrown on to the left foot1 and the whole body will be thrown slightly forward4 ,the whole of this movement needs very careful timing1 because it is a very common fault with some players to let the body get in too soon1 and in such cases the stroke is always ruined4 ,examine the photographs4 ,let us now turn to page #fb of ,advanced ,golf4 ,here we read3 ,as for the follow-through1 there is very little that can be said here1 which is not already perfectly understood1 if it is not always produced4 ,after impact1 and the release of all tension1 body and arms are allowed to swing forward in the direction of the flight of the ball1 and ,i would allow the right knee to give a little in order to remove all restraint4 ,but the weight must not be entirely taken off the right foot4 ,that foot must still be felt to be pressing firmly on the turf1 showing that although the weight has been changed from one place to another1 the proper balance has not been lost4 ,braid here says that the weight must not be entirely taken off the right foot4 ,well1 to all intents and purposes1 it is entirely taken off the right foot1 as will be shown by photographs of any of the leading players in the world at the finish of the stroke1 and1 indeed1 of ,james ,braid himself4 ,braid says3 ,examine the photographs1 and ,i have examined them4 ,at pages #eg and #ei of ,how to ,play ,golf ,braid is shown finishing a full drive or brassy shot4 ,here1 without any possible doubt1 his weight is all on his left foot4 ,at page #fa of ,advanced ,golf there are some photographs of ,braid's boots and trousers from the knee downwards1 entitled ,leg action in driving4 ,one of these is entitled ,finish4 ,here it will be seen that the whole of the weight is unmistakably on the left leg4 ,if one looks at the instantaneous photographs of ,james ,braid in this book and in ,great ,golfers one will see quite clearly that in all finishes his weight goes unmistakably on to his left leg4 ,braid makes a very wonderful statement in ,great ,golfers at page #age4 ,writing there of the downward swing1 he says3 ,my body does not commence to turn till the club head is about two feet from the ball--namely1 at the point when the wrists come into the stroke4 ,as a matter of fact ,james ,braid's body begins to turn almost simultaneously with the beginning of the downward stroke1 and as another matter of practical golf the wrists also come in at the very beginning of the stroke4 ,with this latter point ,i shall1 however1 deal later on4 ,let me here emphasise the fact that the body turn must commence very early in the stroke1 as indeed is quite natural4 ,it is obvious that if anyone were to postpone the turning of the body until the club head is about two feet from the ball the rhythm of the stroke would be utterly destroyed4 ,in this matter ,i am contradicting ,braid flatly about his own practice4 ,therefore1 ,i must refer any reader who doubts the accuracy of my statement1 and ,braid himself1 if he cares to challenge it1 to ,fry's ,magazine for ,may #aiji1 wherein are shown eight drives by ,james ,braid4 ,no4 #a shows ,braid at the top of his swing2 ,no4 #b shows him before his club head has travelled a foot1 and even in this short distance we see that his body has already turned very considerably4 ,any attempt whatever to follow out what ,braid says here and to postpone the turn of the body until the club head is two feet from the ball1 must prove disastrous4 ,braid continues on the same page3 ,at this moment the left knee turns rather quickly1 as at the moment of striking1 ,i am firm on both feet2 the quickness of the action makes it difficult to follow with the eye1 but ,i am convinced this is what happens4 ,immediately after impact ,i commence turning on the right toe1 bending the right knee slightly4 ,this allows the right shoulder to come round till the body is facing the hole4 ,it is most essential that this should be done1 and then no thought will be given as to how the club will finish1 as the speed at which the club head is travelling will naturally take it well through4 ,here we have1 at least1 very important corroboration of the fact that one need not worry about the follow-through if the first portion of the stroke has been correctly played4 ,braid says that at the moment of striking the player is quite firm on both his feet and faces directly to the ball1 just as he did when he was addressing it before he began the upward swing4 ,anyone who thinks out the theory of the swing for himself will see that it is obviously intended that at the moment of impact the player shall be just as he was when he addressed the ball1 which is the position which will afford him most driving power and accuracy4 ,this statement is so amazing that ,i must give definite instructions as to where to find it4 ,it is on page #ed of ,how to ,play ,golf1 and ,i think it proves conclusively that the idea which ,braid is endeavouring to impart to his pupils and readers is entirely wrong1 and is not the method which he himself follows in practice4 ,confirmation of my opinion can be obtained from a study of the third picture in the series of drives by ,james ,braid in the ,may number of ,fry's ,magazine for #aiji1 which ,i have just referred to4 ,here we see clearly that the positions1 from a golfing point of view1 are utterly dissimilar1 as indeed is most natural4 ,braid states that immediately after impact he commences turning on the right toe1 bending the right knee slightly4 ,i think it will be found that even with ,james ,braid1 who certainly uses his legs in a somewhat different manner from many of the leading professionals1 the right foot begins to lift before impact with the ball4 ,i am inclined to think that both ,braid and ,taylor are more flat-footed at the moment of impact than most of the other professional golfers2 but there can be little doubt that the body is swung into the blow before impact1 otherwise it would be a matter of practical impossibility for them to obtain the length which they do2 while it is a certainty that for the ordinary golfer it would be fatal to attempt to keep his weight in any way whatever on his right leg at the finish of his drive4 ,this rooted fallacy with regard to the distribution of weight so that at the top of the swing it shall be on the right foot1 has obtained its hold in a very peculiar manner4 ,at the top of the swing the right leg is practically perfectly straight1 and1 naturally1 as the foot is firmly planted on the ground and therefore held at both the heel and the toe while the leg has turned with the body1 there is a very considerable amount of torsional or twisting strain on the leg4 ,this torsional strain1 added to the fact that the leg is perfectly straight1 has led to the idea that a great deal of the weight is on the right leg4 ,this idea has been confirmed to a very great degree by the manner of contact of the left foot with the earth4 ,at the top of the swing the golfer pivots on the left foot1 practically from the ball of the big toe to the end thereof1 or on that portion of his boot representing this space4 ,this naturally makes his contact with the earth appear light4 ,these two causes1 taken together1 have produced the fallacy with regard to having the weight on the right foot and leg at the top of the swing4 ,in the one case it is a physical cause1 namely1 the stiffness and torsional strain on the right leg1 and in the other case it is a visual deception4 ,it stands to reason that1 provided the two surfaces will bear the strain1 as much weight could be borne on a point as on a surface immeasurably greater1 but in the second case there would be a greater appearance of weight4 ,this is exactly what has happened with regard to the golf drive4 ,it is executed extremely quickly1 and those who have attempted to explain it have not been able to follow the motions with sufficient rapidity and intelligence1 nor have they been able to explain them accurately either from a mechanical or anatomical point of view4 ,until we can get some golfer who can pass the test suggested by me1 and play his stroke without touching the wire strained within a quarter of an inch of his neck1 after having taken his stance with his weight evenly distributed between his legs1 and at the same time play it without contortion with his weight on his right leg1 we may take it that this tremendous fallacy with regard to the distribution of weight at the top of the swing has been exploded4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,power ,,of ,,the ,,left ,the fetich of the left is1 amongst golfers1 only second1 if indeed it is second in its injurious nature1 to the idea that the weight should be put on the right foot at the top of the swing4 ,it is very hard indeed to trace the origin of the idea that the left hand and arm is of more importance in the golf stroke than the right1 but that it is a very rooted idea there can be no doubt whatever4 ,to those who are not acquainted with the literature of golf and the remarkable ideas which many golfers have of the nature of their game1 it would seem almost superfluous to go very fully into this matter1 for one would think that it is sufficiently obvious that the right hand and arm are the dominant factors in producing the golf stroke4 ,it is1 however1 useless to deny that there is a large body of opinion1 backed by most influential authority1 in favour of the left hand and arm being more important than the right4 ,let us see1 before we go any further in the matter1 what the leading professionals have to say about it4 ,harry ,vardon1 it is true1 does not explicitly state that the right hand is the more important1 but by implication he does assert so right throughout ,the ,complete ,golfer4 ,let me quote a few of his remarks with regard to the left hand4 ,on page #fa ,vardon says3 ,the grip with the first finger and thumb of my right hand is exceedingly firm1 and the pressure of the little finger on the knuckle of the left hand is very decided4 ,in the same way it is the thumb and first finger of the left hand that have most of the gripping work to do4 ,again1 the palm of the right hand presses hard against the thumb of the left4 ,in the upward swing this pressure is gradually decreased1 until when the club reaches the turning point there is no longer any such pressure2 indeed1 at this point the palm and the thumb are barely in contact4 ,we see here clearly that1 as indeed ,vardon has stated elsewhere1 at the top of the swing the grip of the right has opened up until it may almost in a measure be said to have ceased to direct operations4 ,vardon continues3 ,this release is a natural one1 and will or should come naturally to the player for the purpose of allowing the head of the club to swing well and freely back4 ,but the grip of the thumb and first finger of the right hand1 as well as that of the little finger upon the knuckle of the first finger of the left hand1 is still as firm as at the beginning4 ,from this it will be seen that the grip at each side of the hand is apparently as firm as it was at the beginning of the stroke1 but in some mysterious manner it has eased up in between the forefinger and the little finger4 ,we need not1 however1 go any further into that matter at the present time1 but we may continue the consideration of ,vardon's statement here4 ,he goes on to say3 ,as the club head is swung back again towards the ball1 the palm of the right hand and the thumb of the left gradually come together again4 ,both the relaxing and the retightening are done with the most perfect graduation1 so that there shall be no jerk to take the club off the straight line4 ,the easing begins when the hands are about shoulder high and the club shaft is perpendicular1 because it is at this time that the club begins to pull1 and if it were not let out in the manner explained1 the result would certainly be a half shot or very little more than that1 for a full and perfect swing would be an impossibility4 ,this relaxation of the palm also serves to give more freedom to the wrist at the top of the swing just when that freedom is desirable4 ,we might1 for a moment1 leave this statement1 and turn to page #abf4 ,speaking here of the approach shot with the mashie ,vardon says3 ,this is one of the few shots in golf in which the right hand is called upon to do most of the work1 and that it may be encouraged to do so the hold with the left hand should be slightly relaxed2 and again at page #adg in dealing with putting ,vardon says3 ,but in this part of the game it is quite clear that the right hand has more work to do than the left4 ,in these statements it is quite evident that ,vardon wishes to express the idea that1 generally speaking1 the left hand is in command of the stroke4 ,reverting for a moment1 and before ,i proceed to consider what the other authorities have to say on this subject1 to ,vardon's remark that ,this is one of the few shots in golf in which the right hand is called upon to do most of the work1 ,i may say that ,vardon does not1 in the whole of ,the ,complete ,golfer1 explicitly describe any one stroke wherein he shows that the left hand is called upon to do most of the work1 nor1 for the matter of that1 does any other professional golfer or author1 although the statement is common to nearly all books on the game4 ,james ,braid1 on page #ee of ,how to ,play ,golf1 says3 ,a word about the varying pressure of the grip with each hand4 ,in the address the left hand should just be squeezing the handle of the club1 but not so tightly as if one were afraid of losing it4 ,the right hand should hold the club a little more loosely4 ,the left hand should hold firmly all the way through4 ,the right will open a little at the top of the swing to allow the club to move easily1 but it should automatically tighten itself in the downward swing4 ,here again we see the idea that the left is in charge1 because although we are told that in the address the left hand should just be squeezing the club1 yet we are told clearly and definitely that the left hand should hold firmly all the way through4 ,it is somewhat difficult to reconcile these directions1 and it is obvious that if the right is going to open a little at the top of the swing the club will certainly move easily--in fact it will move so easily that the accuracy of the stroke will be very considerably interfered with4 ,let us for a moment turn to ,advanced ,golf4 ,there1 ,james ,braid1 speaking of the top of the swing1 says3 ,now for the return journey4 ,here at the top1 arms1 wrists1 body--all are in their highest state of tension4 ,let me pause here for a moment to ask how it is possible for arms1 wrists1 body all to be in their highest state of tension1 if the right hand is to open a little at the top of the swing to allow the club to move easily2 and how is it possible for the right hand to automatically tighten itself in the downward swing if it was already in its highest state of tension when it was at the top of the swing8 ,it will be apparent that it is utterly impossible for the arms and wrists to be tighter than they are when they are in their highest state of tension4 ,therefore1 we must take it that ,james ,braid's advice at page #ee of ,how to ,play ,golf is over-ridden by his advice at page #eg of ,advanced ,golf1 for ,i think that we are entitled to consider that ,advanced ,golf represents ,braid's last word with regard to the science of golf4 ,quoting still from the same passage1 page #eg of ,advanced ,golf1 ,braid says3 ,every muscle and joint in the human golfing machinery is wound up to the highest point4 ,it is impossible to get away from that4 ,we are told that at the beginning of the downward swing every muscle and joint in the human golfing machinery is wound up to the highest point4 ,now the student of golf who desires to start his swing on a firm and sure foundation must mark this statement well4 ,i repeat it for the third time3 ,every muscle and joint in the human golfing machinery is wound up to the highest point1 and let it be remembered that ,braid is now speaking of the start of the downward swing4 ,we will now turn to ,taylor on ,golf4 ,at page #aic ,taylor says3 ,my contention is simply this3 that the grasp of the right hand upon the club must be sufficiently firm in itself to hold it steady and true1 but it must not be allowed on any account to over-power the left4 ,the idea is that the latter arm must exercise a predominant influence in every stroke that may be played4 ,as regards my own position in the matter1 my grip with either hand is very firm1 yet ,i should hesitate before ,i told every golfer to go and do likewise4 ,here we see that ,taylor distinctly says that the idea is that the latter arm 7i4e4 the left7 must exercise the predominant influence in every stroke that may be played1 and although he says explicitly that his own grip with both hands is very firm1 he puts the utterly false idea of the predominance of the left into the minds of those who are influenced by his teaching4 ,taylor1 at page #ajg of ,great ,golfers1 says in dealing with the ,downward ,swing3 ,the club is brought down principally by the left wrist1 the right doing very little until the hands are opposite the right leg1 when it begins to assert itself1 bringing the full face of the club to the ball4 ,it is almost unnecessary to say1 especially in view of ,taylor's statement that he holds very firmly with both hands1 that he does not carry out this dangerous teaching4 ,harry ,vardon says to attempt it is fatal1 and ,i am pleased to add my corroboration4 ,this amazing fallacy is wonderfully deeply rooted4 ,a friend of mine some time ago was in trouble about his iron shots4 ,he consulted a professional1 who endeavoured to cure him by telling him when playing his stroke to hold so lightly with his right hand that at any time during the stroke he could slide it up and down the shaft4 ,oh no6 ,he is not a duffer1 nor is he mentally unbalanced4 ,he is merely a professional golfer who plays for ,england and suffers from the hallucination handed on to him by more famous players than he4 ,what could be stronger than this8 ,let me quote ,taylor again4 ,at page #ij of ,taylor on ,golf he says3 ,the right hand is naturally the stronger of the two--much more powerful in the average man than the left--and the learner is just as naturally prone to use it4 ,but in the game of golf he must keep in front of him at all times the fact that the left hand should fill the position of guide1 and it must have the predominating influence over the stroke4 ,that this is rather unnatural ,i am perfectly willing to admit4 ,its being unnatural is the basis of its great difficulty1 but it is a difficulty that must needs be grappled with and overcome by any man who desires to play the game as it should be played4 ,but ,taylor will not give in to this idea himself6 ,is not this wonderful8 ,harry ,vardon says of the grip that one should remember that the grip with both hands should be firm4 ,that with the right hand should not be slack as one is so often told4 ,this is valuable corroboration1 for it must be remembered that ,vardon only subscribes to the fetich of the left by implication4 ,nowhere1 ,i think1 can we convict him of actually preaching it4 ,now let us turn to the volume on ,golf in the ,badminton ,library contributed by ,mr4 ,horace ,g4 ,hutchinson4 ,at page #he ,mr4 ,hutchinson says3 ,since1 as will be shown later on1 the club has to turn in the right hand at a certain point in the swing1 it should be held lightly in the fingers1 rather than in the palm1 with that hand4 ,in the left hand it should be held well home in the palm1 and it is not to stir from this position throughout the swing4 ,it is the left hand1 mainly1 that communicates the power of the swing2 the chief function of the right hand is as a guide in direction4 ,at page #hg ,mr4 ,hutchinson continues3 ,so much1 then1 for the grip4 ,now1 when the club1 in the course of its swing away from the ball1 is beginning to rise from the ground1 and is reaching the horizontal with its head pointing to the player's left1 it should be allowed to turn naturally in the right hand until it is resting upon the web between the forefinger and the thumb4 ,we see here that this distinguished amateur is an out and out adherent of the fallacy of the left4 ,he tells us distinctly that it is the left hand1 mainly1 that communicates the power of the swing1 and that the chief function of the right hand is as a guide in direction1 but notwithstanding the fact that the chief function of the right hand is as a guide in direction1 we see that at the top of the stroke it turns loosely in the hand until it is resting upon the web between the forefinger and the thumb4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vii4 ,,harry ,,vardon ,the finish of the drive--a little later than in ,plate ,,vi41 showing the weight completely on the left foot4 ,of course1 in the circumstances1 it will be very hard indeed for us to follow out ,james ,braid's idea of everything at this point being in supreme tension1 but it is interesting to see what ,mr4 ,hutchinson thinks about the matter4 ,we have here the opinions of the three most distinguished professionals in the world1 backed by that of one of the distinguished amateurs in the game1 a man who has distinguished himself both by his play and his writing4 ,in the face of this weight of authority it may seem rash to venture to state plainly and explicitly that as a matter of practical golf the right hand and arm is the dominant partner1 and that it is the duty of every normal golfer to have this idea firmly implanted in his mind when he settles down to his address4 ,as the right is the dominant partner in the golf drive1 so must the predominance of the right be the dominant idea in one's mind1 but the domination of the right must not be abused1 as we shall show later on4 ,it is1 of course1 proper for a golfer to have clearly fixed in his mind the fact that the right is the more important member of the two1 but when he has once got that fact carefully and well stowed away in his mind1 it will be no more trouble to him than it is at present to every normal person to use his knife in his right hand with which to cut his meat1 for it is an absolutely natural proceeding4 ,the trouble with the fetich of the left is that not only is it a perfectly unnatural proceeding1 but it is also1 on that account1 something extra for the golfer to cumber his mind with during his swing4 ,if he plays his stroke naturally and without any thought of the mismade maxims of unpractical persons1 he will inevitably let the right hand and arm take charge of the stroke1 but the right will not at any time endeavour to do more than its proper share1 and therefore the left will be given every chance to do a fair amount of the work4 ,it is the interference with ,nature by putting the left forward into a place which it has no right to occupy1 which ruins so many golf strokes4 ,let us now turn to ,the ,complete ,golfer4 ,here1 at page #fj1 ,harry ,vardon says3 ,we must now consider the degree of tightness of the grip by either hand1 for this is an important matter4 ,some teachers of golf1 and various books of instruction1 inform us that we should grasp the club firmly with the left hand and only lightly with the right1 leaving the former to do the bulk of the work and the other merely to guide the operations4 ,it is astonishing with what persistency this error has been repeated1 for error ,i truly believe it is4 ,ask any really first-class player with what comparative tightness he holds the club in his right and left hands1 and ,i am confident that in nearly every case he will declare that he holds it1 nearly1 if not quite1 as tightly with the right hand as with the left4 ,personally1 ,i grip quite as firmly with the right hand as with the other one4 ,when the other way is adopted--the left hand being tight and the right hand simply watching it1 as it were--there is an irresistible tendency for the latter to tighten up suddenly at some part of the upward or downward swing1 and1 as surely as there is a ball on the tee1 when it does so there will be mischief4 ,if we sum up the advice of ,vardon and ,taylor1 and of ,braid as shown in his latest work ,advanced ,golf1 we see clearly that although they subscribe to the idea of the predominance of the power of the left hand and arm1 they do not themselves carry it out in practice4 ,taylor says that his grip with both hands is very firm1 yet he should hesitate before recommending other people to follow his methods4 ,i think we may take it for granted that a method which has resulted in four open championships may be considered good enough to follow4 ,vardon1 as we have seen1 only subscribes to this notion inferentially1 and nobody could be more emphatic than he is with regard to the distribution of force in the grip4 ,his words ,ask any really first-class player with what comparative tightness he holds the club in his right and left hands1 and ,i am confident that in nearly every case he will declare that he holds it1 nearly1 if not quite1 as tightly with the right hand as with the left1 present the case exactly4 ,any man who plays golf properly will find it impossible to tell you how he distributes the force of his grip on his club1 and what proportion of power the grip of the left bears to the right4 ,as a matter of fact1 the man who plays golf properly has no time to think of such nonsense as this4 ,this is a matter which is regulated for him by common sense and nature4 ,the trouble steps in when he is advised to interfere with the ordinary course of ,nature1 and to put the left hand in a position of authority which it has no right whatever to try to exercise4 ,i say advisedly try to exercise1 because it never can exercise the power which it is supposed to have4 ,it stands to reason1 therefore1 that any attempt whatever to make it exercise a power superior to the more powerful arm must result in interfering with the proper functions of the hand and arm which should be naturally in command of the stroke4 ,we have seen that ,james ,braid in ,advanced ,golf has quite altered the opinions which he expresses in ,how to ,play ,golf1 and he also agrees that at the top of the swing1 and until the stroke is played1 it is right to grip the club as hard as one can with both hands--in fact1 he says as plainly as it is possible for anyone to say anything1 that during the whole of the downward swing the muscles are in a state of supreme tension1 and fortunately he does not repeat the common error1 the error which he himself makes in ,how to ,play ,golf1 of advising the player to encumber his mind with any idea of regulating the increase of speed of the club head4 ,vardon puts the matter splendidly when he says3 ,personally1 ,i grip quite as firmly with the right hand as with the other one4 ,when the other way is adopted--the left hand being tight and the right hand simply watching it1 as it were--there is an irresistible tendency for the latter to tighten up suddenly at some part of the upward or downward swing1 and1 as surely as there is a ball on the tee1 when it does so there will be mischief4 ,this is such an important statement that ,i must1 in passing1 emphasise it1 although ,i hope to deal with it again later on1 for ,vardon here strikes a deadly blow to the absurd nonsense which most books lay down about regulating the grip during the upward and downward swing4 ,as ,vardon truly says1 any attempt to apportion the respective power of the grip of the left and right during the golf swing must inevitably result in disaster1 for there will unquestionably be1 as he well remarks1 a pronounced tendency to tighten up at some part of the swing in a jerky manner4 ,the only way to guard against this is to be1 as ,james ,braid says in ,advanced ,golf1 in a state of supreme tension from the moment the downward swing starts4 ,it must be remembered that ,vardon himself advocates easing up with the grip of the right at the top of the swing1 although he says that he grips as firmly with the right as the left4 ,it stands to reason that if ,vardon does ease up with his right at the top of the swing1 he must during his downward stroke restore the balance of power4 ,it seems perfectly clear that in doing this there is a very great danger of what he describes as an irresistible tendency for the latter1 that is the right hand1 to tighten up suddenly4 ,i cannot see that1 because ,vardon starts with his grip equally firm with each hand1 and then relaxes the firmness of his grip with his right hand at the top of the stroke1 trusting to regain his firmness by the time he has reached the ball again1 he removes from his swing the danger of the sudden tightening-up which he shows will threaten the swing of anyone who attempts to let the left hand have the predominant grip4 ,it seems to me perfectly clear that this danger must be even in ,vardon's downward swing1 but we know quite well that ,vardon1 as a stroke player1 is a genius1 and that even if it is not a danger for him1 it would be for ninety-five of every hundred golfers4 ,the truth is1 with regard to the golf grip1 although none of the leading professionals or authors are courageous enough to state it1 that for the ordinary golfer--aye1 and even for the extraordinary golfer--there is only one way to apportion the force of the left and right in the grip1 and that is not to think about it at all when one is doing it1 but to grip very firmly with both hands1 and leave any apportionment of force which may be necessary to ,nature1 and the golfer who follows this advice and instruction will find that ,nature can attend to it infinitely better than he can4 ,in golf we frequently find that one fallacy is built up on another1 and it is quite an open question if the fallacy of the power of the left hand and arm is not founded on another fallacy1 namely1 the fallacy of the present overlapping grip4 ,now this sounds like rank heresy1 and ,i may as well say at once that ,i am not prepared to assert that the present overlapping grip is a fallacy1 but it is at least open to argument if it is the best grip which can be taken of a golf club4 ,there is no such thing as standing still in golf or any other game--either we are progressing or we are going backwards4 ,in golf1 notwithstanding the vast amount of false teaching which is published1 we are unquestionably advancing4 ,it must not be thought from this that it is of no importance that most of the matter which is published about golf is entirely misleading1 for that is not so4 ,this misleading matter is followed by an enormous army of golfers who are not able to think out the matter for themselves1 but there are a very great number of golfers who absolutely disregard the published tuition of the greatest experts in the world and play golf as it should be played1 and in no case is this more pronounced than in the persons of leading professional golfers1 for they write one thing1 but do absolutely the other themselves4 ,in the old days1 when ,vardon and all the other champions used the two-handed grip1 it would have been rank folly for any person other than ,vardon to have asserted that it was better to get the grip of the right hand off the club1 as the overlapping grip does to a very great extent1 but this grip was tried by ,vardon1 and it very soon became almost universal4 ,however1 ,i think we are justified in asking if this grip is undoubtedly the best that it is possible for us to get4 ,before the overlapping grip became fashionable both hands had their full grip on the shaft of the club1 and in those days men played great golf1 and there are many of them who still play great golf with the same hold1 which they have refused to alter4 ,at page #aid of ,taylor on ,golf1 speaking of the grip1 ,taylor says3 ,to sum up the matter1 ,i should describe the orthodox manner of gripping with the right in the following words3 ,the fingers must close around the club in such a way that provision is made for the thumb to cover and cross the shaft1 the first joints of the fingers1 providing this is done1 being just in sight4 ,nothing more or nothing less4 ,this is the grip generally accepted as being orthodox1 and the one generally favoured by the majority of those who decide to follow up the game properly4 ,but1 as is the case with everything which is favoured by any considerable number of enthusiasts1 there are those who1 untrammelled by tradition1 break away and hold the club differently1 with one hand at least4 ,take1 as for instance1 the case of ,mr4 ,john ,ball1 jun4 ,this gentleman--one of the leading golfers of the day--holds the club firmly1 not to say tightly1 in the palm of his right hand4 ,well1 he has discovered that this does not detrimentally affect his play1 so ,i presume that may be taken as a satisfactory proof that the orthodox way may sometimes be departed from4 ,then1 after ,mr4 ,ball1 ,i might mention the name of ,mr4 ,edward ,blackwell4 ,he is almost certainly the most consistently good long driver we possess now1 and his unorthodox method of grip with the right hand has not affected his play4 ,taylor1 of course1 uses the overlapping grip1 which is to-day the orthodox grip4 ,taylor speaks here of those who1 untrammelled by tradition1 break away and hold the club differently1 with one hand at least1 but it seems to me that the two golfers quoted are not those who are breaking away from the traditional hold4 ,rather does it seem to me that it is we of the orthodox grip of to-day who have broken away from the best traditions of golf1 and taking best and best of those who have adopted the modern grip and those who have maintained the old grip1 there is practically nothing in it4 ,looking at the grip of men like ,mr4 ,h4 ,h4 ,hilton1 ,mr4 ,john ,ball1 and ,mr4 ,edward ,blackwell1 it would1 ,i think1 to-day1 require a person almost bereft of intelligence to imagine for one moment that the power of the stroke in the play of these golfers is obtained from their left arms and hands1 and ,i do not suppose for a single moment that any one of these players would dream of asserting that he gets his length or direction from the left arm4 ,we are now confronted with the fact that one at least of these players with the two-handed grip is at practically no disadvantage against the best golfers in the world1 and we must take it for granted in the face of what we have said1 that his power of stroke and his command thereof is obtained from his right hand and arm4 ,now that being so1 let us say for the sake of argument that he desires to improve his play by bringing the action of his wrists into greater harmony by adopting the overlapping grip4 ,surely one is confronted with this question--should one overlap the left hand with the right1 or should one overlap the right with the left4 ,in the present overlap the left hand takes the first grip of the club1 and the right hand overlaps it1 and in so doing is taken1 to a very great extent1 off the shaft of the club4 ,the question now arises1 ,should not one first take one's grip with the right hand1 the dominant hand1 the guiding hand1 and the hand which is operated by the stronger arm1 and having got this grip1 proceed to overlap with the left1 always allowing1 of course1 for the necessary insertion of the thumb of the left between the shaft and the palm of the right hand8 ,this may sound revolutionary1 but ,i assure my readers that it is not one half so revolutionary as the change from the old two-handed grip to the present overlapping grip1 for in that change the right hand was1 to a very great extent1 deprived of its pride of place4 ,i think there is very little doubt that a player who became accustomed to the right-handed grip with the left overlap1 would find that he produced a better game than he was able to do with the present overlapping grip4 ,the fact is that we are inclined to take a much too complimentary and optimistic view of our exploits4 ,golf has now come to such a pass that it is played almost perfectly by a few of the best players1 so that we have come to consider a five by a leading player as a serious lapse2 but we must not judge the great body of golfers by the perfect players4 ,these men would probably play very well under any conditions which could exist in the game4 ,we have to consider the greatest good of the greatest number--in other words1 the object of our search is to ascertain and understand perfectly what is the best way1 and although ,i am stating this proposition with regard to the golf grip quite tentatively1 and am laying it down as a subject for argument1 ,i have very little doubt indeed that it will be found in the future that the right-handed grip is the best grip for playing golf4 ,i think there is very little doubt that the most important change in the next decade will be in the right hand and arm coming into their kingdom4 ,it need not be thought that this will happen in a day1 or a month1 or a year4 ,for very many years the great game of golf was played1 and was well and truly played by men who never dreamed of putting part of one hand beneath the other--who would have scouted the overlapping grip and the levering of the right hand off the shaft as sacrilege--but some one introduced the idea1 because it brought the wrists closer together so that they worked more in harmony than with the old grip4 ,harry ,vardon tried it and found it good1 and it went into the game of golf and the history thereof4 ,and to see ,vardon use it1 one might well say1 ,what more can you want82 but that is not argument4 ,probably the one who asked that question would have asked the same question had he seen ,vardon playing when he was using the old grip1 when one wrist was fighting the other2 so we must not be deterred from our speculation1 from peering into the future4 ,of course1 the essence of the overlapping grip is that it reduces the conflict of the wrists1 and so conduces to greater accuracy and to less interference with the rhythm of the swing4 ,it stands to reason that in the old days of the two-handed grip this conflict was worse than it would be now1 for then the fetich of the left had not been weakened1 and it was a distressful thing to have a hefty left in possession of the end of one's shaft and interfering with the proper functions of the right in an unwarrantable manner4 ,scientific golfers have1 however1 now come to the conclusion that the right hand and arm are the dominant partners in the production of the golf stroke1 although there are many of the old school who still pathetically retain and exhibit their allegiance to the old tradition of the left being the master4 ,if we have established the fact that the right is the dominant factor in the production of the drive1 it seems to me that it follows quite naturally that the place of honour on the shaft should be allotted to it1 and that it should be allowed the full grip1 and not as it is at present1 pushed off the shaft so that the grip of the dominant hand is practically reduced to that of the thumb and the first and second fingers4 ,if this point is conceded the right hand obtains the full benefit of its undoubtedly superior power1 for it obtains a firm and natural grip1 whereas the present overlapping grip is a most unnatural hold and a difficult one for beginners to acquire1 although very few players who have once used it return to the old grip4 ,not only is the proposed grip more solid and natural1 and productive of greater power and accuracy than the present overlapping grip1 but it unquestionably carries the main idea of the overlapping grip to its logical conclusion1 as it reduces the stroke much more to a one-wrist shot than does the present grip4 ,there will always be found many people who are prepared to condemn utterly anything which they do not understand4 ,some of these are sure to exercise themselves on this subject1 so ,i shall give them some additional food for thought4 ,some time ago1 a golfer who was capable of removing ,mr4 ,john ,ball from the ,amateur ,championship ,competition1 lost his left thumb at the second joint4 ,after his misfortune he took to driving a much longer ball than he had been in the habit of doing before his accident4 ,now there must have been some reason for this4 ,the only one which ,i can suggest is that his accident put the right hand more into its proper and natural place on the shaft than it had been before4 ,curiosity led me to try to reproduce this grip as much as possible4 ,i used the ordinary overlapping grip1 with the exception that ,i allowed my thumb to remain out and to rest on the back of my right hand in a line with the knuckle of the little finger4 ,i was astonished to find how closely it seemed to bring the wrists together4 ,the injured golfer would probably have the ideal golf grip if he overlapped his right with his left forefinger instead of using the ordinary overlap1 for he would have a perfectly free and full right-hand grip1 no interference by the thumb of the left hand1 and a natural overlap with the left forefinger on the little finger of the right hand4 ,there is surely food for thought in these considerations1 and ,i am sure that many who take to golf late in life could do much better with this grip and the short swing than they do with the grip which is most in vogue1 and with much striving after an exaggerated swing4 ,it is not wise for us to think that there is nothing to discover or to improve on in the grip4 ,there is in this suggestion much room for experiment and argument1 and unless ,i am very much mistaken we shall1 in the future1 see the relative position of the hands on the shaft altered4 ,i may here refer again to the remarks made on the power of the left by ,mr4 ,horace ,hutchinson4 ,it will be remembered that he said3 ,since1 as will be shown later on1 the club has to turn in the right hand at a certain point in the swing1 it should be held lightly in the fingers1 rather than in the palm1 with that hand4 ,in the left hand it should be held well home in the palm1 and it is not to stir from this position throughout the swing4 ,it is the left hand1 mainly1 that communicates the power of the swing2 the chief function of the right hand is as a guide in direction4 ,notwithstanding ,mr4 ,horace ,hutchinson's statement with regard to the function of the right hand1 there is given on page #hf of the ,badminton ,golf an illustration entitled ,at the top of the swing 7as it should be74 ,here we see a player in about as ineffective a position for producing a drive as one could possibly imagine1 for the right elbow is considerably above the player's head and is pointing skyward4 ,it would be an impossibility from such a position to obtain either adequate guidance or power from the right hand1 and it is a matter of astonishment to find the name of such a fine player and good judge of the game as ,mr4 ,horace ,hutchinson attached to an illustration which must always be a classical illustration of ,the top of the swing 7as it should not be74 ,we may here for the time being disregard the fundamentally unsound position of the right arm1 for ,mr4 ,horace ,hutchinson has apparently altered his mind since1 as we find him in ,great ,golfers photographed at the top of his swing with the right elbow in an entirely different position4 ,we see there clearly that he had come to realise the importance of keeping his elbow well down and as much as possible in the plane of force indicated by the swing and the shaft of the golf club4 ,these photographs are very interesting4 ,mr4 ,horace ,hutchinson says that the golf club should be held well home in the left palm1 and it is not to stir from this position throughout the swing1 yet at the top of ,mr4 ,horace ,hutchinson's swing illustrated on page #bif of ,great ,golfers we see clearly that at the top of his swing the club is barely held in the fingers of the left hand--as a matter of fact the forefinger of the left hand is raised and the club is merely resting in the three other fingers1 which appear to be curved on to the club and hardly exerting any pressure whatever4 ,it is abundantly clear from this photograph that ,mr4 ,hutchinson1 who is the most pronounced adherent to the fetich of the left1 is driving his ball with a grip which is1 to all intents and purposes1 a right-handed stroke4 ,this photograph was taken in action and at the rate of about one twelve-hundred-and-fiftieth of a second1 so that there cannot be much doubt as to the fact that ,mr4 ,horace ,hutchinson is merely another exemplification of the fact that the golfers who write for the public tell them one thing1 while they themselves practise another4 ,before concluding this chapter on the power of the left1 ,i may mention that ,mr4 ,h4 ,h4 ,hilton in ,mr4 ,john ,l4 ,low's book ,concerning ,golf1 subscribes to the idea of attempting to regulate the force of the grips taken by the hands4 ,he says on page #gh of that book3 ,when the main object of a shot is to obtain length1 hold tight with the left hand4 ,the left hand will then do most of the work in taking up the club4 ,the right hand comes in on the down swing to add force to the shot1 and all parts of the player's anatomy cohering together1 the impetus will carry his shoulders round1 and unless he arbitrarily checks the motion1 he will finish his shot with his arms and club thrown forcibly away from him2 in short1 he will have followed through4 ,it will be seen that this fine player distinctly advises a stronger grip with the left than with the right hand when one's object is distance4 ,in the drive the object1 of course1 generally is distance1 and we are distinctly advised by ,mr4 ,hilton to play our stroke in a manner which ,harry ,vardon has clearly laid down as almost certain to lead to irretrievable disaster1 for starting with a firm grip with our left1 which we are to put practically in command of the club on the upward swing1 we are then to bring the right into play on the down swing to add force to the shot4 ,it will be clearly seen here that ,mr4 ,hilton is under the impression that the left is performing the more important portion of the work1 for he speaks of the right hand as coming in to add force to the shot1 whereas1 in fact1 the main portion of the force is provided by the right1 and if there is any question of either hand and arm adding force to the shot1 that will be done by the left hand and arm1 and not by the right4 ,i do not think it is necessary for me to go any further in order to show how deeply rooted and how widespread is this delusion about the power of the left4 ,it is another one of those pernicious fallacies which absolutely strike at the root of the game of the great body of golfers1 and it is impossible for one to take too much trouble in discrediting it to such an extent that it will soon be recognised as not being practical golf4 ,i can hardly close this chapter better than by a quotation from a letter received by me from the professional of an ,american club as far afield as ,san ,antonio1 ,texas4 ,he writes3 ,it has taken me years of persistent effort to bury the many prejudices against the proper use of the right arm1 but they must go1 and ,i am glad to see you voiced sentiments strong enough to make men stop and think over the situation4 ,let us hope they will act4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,function ,,of ,,the ,,eyes ,one of the commonest of the many excuses advanced for missing one's drive is1 ,i lifted my eye4 ,if the player only knew it he could lift his eye with impunity4 ,that is not what matters4 ,it was lifting his head which caused the trouble4 ,keep your eye on the ball is1 without question1 the soundest of sound golf maxims1 but it is both abused and misused4 ,we need not waste time arguing the question as to whether or not keeping one's eye on the ball at the moment of impact is absolutely essential to success in driving4 ,every golfer knows that for all purposes of practical golf one absolutely must keep one's eye on the ball1 and that to do any other thing with the eyes at the moment of striking the ball is1 to put it mildly1 quite inconvenient4 ,the trouble in connection with lifting one's eye is that one's eyes are in one's head4 ,the seat of the machinery which works the golf drive is in the same place4 ,if one relaxes for a moment the mental effort which has to be made whilst the golf stroke is being executed1 the eyes quite naturally wander in the direction in which the ball is about to go4 ,that in itself would not be so bad4 ,the eyes unfortunately do not wander without carrying the head with them4 ,the head is attached to the portion of the body where1 roughly speaking1 the centre of the swing is situated4 ,immediately the head moves1 the centre of the circle1 if it may for purposes of illustration be so called1 is affected4 ,hopeless inaccuracy is the result4 ,it is a matter of the most vital importance in golf that the eyes must not move4 ,keeping the eyes in the one position from the moment when one has finally addressed the ball until the moment of impact practically ensures the proper management of one's weight2 for it stands to reason that if the eyes do not move it is impossible for the head to move1 and if the head does not move it will be impossible to sway1 and therefore to get the weight on to the right leg at the top of the swing1 as do so many golfers who follow the misleading directions given with regard to the distribution of weight in the golf drive4 ,keeping one's head perfectly still is a matter of far greater importance than keeping one's eye on the ball2 for it will be obvious that it is quite possible for a golfer1 after having taken his address1 to keep his eye on the ball until he has driven it1 but he may in the meantime have lifted his head three or four inches4 ,lifting his head three or four inches will not have caused him to take his eye off the ball for an instant1 but it will have been sufficient to have ruined his drive4 ,therefore1 we see that the really important thing is to keep one's head and eyes in the same position for the impact as they were at the moment of address4 ,when ,i say the same position it is manifest that there will be a fractional alteration1 but it must be the aim of the scientific golfer to have his eyes1 at the moment of impact1 almost exactly in the same position as they were at the moment of address4 ,keeping one's eyes steady in this manner means1 as has already been pointed out1 that one preserves the centre1 if it may be so called1 of the swing much better than if one allows one's weight to move from one leg to the other4 ,preserving the centre of the swing in this manner means that the rhythm of the swing must be very much better than if it has a moving centre4 ,a moving centre must import into the stroke of any golfer far greater inaccuracy than there would be if his centre had remained constant1 as it will do if he keeps his head in the same place4 ,some time ago a good professional golfer asserted that the well-known maxim ,keep your eye on the ball was a delusion1 and that it was possible to play perfectly good golf blindfolded1 provided one had first taken one's stance and judged one's swing at the ball4 ,in due course a match was arranged between this professional1 blindfolded1 and an amateur1 and the professional was very badly beaten1 as he did not1 ,i believe1 win a single hole4 ,this result naturally tended to discredit his ideas very considerably4 ,as a matter of practical golf1 what he wished to establish is perfectly correct4 ,although ,keep your eye on the ball is the soundest of sound practical golf1 it is to a very large extent preached in a manner which is in itself entirely fallacious--for two reasons3 ,firstly1 the player is told that it is absolutely essential to his stroke that he must keep his eye on the ball up to the moment of impact1 and not only must he keep it there until the moment of impact1 but that he should keep on gazing at the turf where the ball had lain after the ball has gone on its way4 ,now our professional golfer1 who essayed the task of playing blindfolded golf1 was perfectly correct in stating that it is not necessary to keep one's eye on the ball in playing golf1 for the simple reason that the eye has fulfilled its function and has gone out of business1 so far as regards that stroke1 long before the head of the club has come into contact with the ball4 ,it is this fact which makes us so prone to lift our eyes1 and with them our heads1 which of course is fatal to good golf4 ,i go so far as to say that if ,vardon in his drive could be automatically blindfolded when his club was two feet from his ball1 and that he could accustom himself to keeping his head still after he was blindfolded1 it would not affect his drive in the slightest degree1 for the very simple and all-sufficient reason that the eye has finished its function in connection with the golf stroke for a very considerable period before impact takes place4 ,it has assisted the golfer to take his proper stance and address1 and has aided him in judging his distance1 but the arc of the golf stroke is practically settled almost from the instant that it starts on its downward path4 ,the duration of impact in a drive at golf has been measured by the most competent authority to be one ten-thousandth of a second4 ,photographs of the impact of the golf club with the golf ball taken at the one twelve-hundred-and-fiftieth of a second1 are merely blurs4 ,there is no clear definition of the club whatever4 ,we can see from this that the rate of speed at which the golf club is travelling is extreme1 even had we not the scientific measurement of the exact amount of time consumed during the contact4 ,it will be obvious to a very ordinary understanding that when a club is travelling at this terrific pace it would be impossible for anyone to impart into the line of travel of the club head a new direction at1 say1 two feet from the ball1 without ruining both the force and the direction of the ball4 ,therefore1 it is evident that if one could close one's eyes when the club head was two feet from the ball and still keep one's head in exactly the same position1 the impact would be practically not affected at all4 ,this is the undoubted fact in so far as regards the work of the eye4 ,it fulfils its duty very early in the stroke2 but although the explanation of the function of the eye is so incorrectly given1 still ,keep your eye on the ball is1 and ever will be1 a sound golfing maxim1 for it is not given to golfing man to be able to lift his eye and at the same time to keep his mind concentrated on his stroke1 and to keep his head in the same place as it was in when he addressed his ball4 ,therefore1 although it is not so absolutely necessary to keep one's eye on the ball as is generally laid down1 it is expedient to preach to the fullest extent and to insist on what ,harry ,vardon calls the parrot cry of the links4 ,most writers who deal with the matter of keeping one's eye on the ball are not satisfied with exhorting the player to keep his eye on the ball until after the moment of impact2 they go further still and insist upon the fact that he must continue to gaze at the piece of turf whereon the ball lay1 long after the ball has departed to the hole4 ,this1 again1 is an absolute fallacy4 ,it is only excusable on the principle that the greater includes the less1 and that by insisting on one gazing at the turf long after the ball has sped on its way1 one may be able to make the player do what he should do1 and that is just to keep his eye on the ball until the moment of impact1 for if we follow the advice given by many notable men of continuing to gaze at the turf after the ball has been driven1 there can be no doubt whatever that we do much to spoil the rhythm and effectiveness of the drive4 ,to preserve these we have been told that the head must be kept immovable throughout the golf drive1 and that one must keep one's eye on the ball until it has been driven1 and on the place where it was after it has been driven4 ,however1 following ,vardon's explanation of the drive and taking what we know of this stroke ourselves1 it will be remembered that at the moment of impact1 simultaneously1 ,vardon says1 the body moves down the line of flight to the hole4 ,it follows1 therefore1 that if one continues turf-gazing after one has hit the ball1 that one's body is going on its way towards the hole whilst one's head is being held backward in the opposite direction to the travel of the body4 ,this is absolutely bad golf1 and ,vardon does not do this himself4 ,the truth with regard to the proper management of the eye in the golf stroke is that it should move simultaneously with the ball1 for if there be any attempt whatever to drive the ball and to keep the head in the same position as it was at the moment of address1 this will inevitably result in preventing the right shoulder getting through and the body following it as it ought to do1 for a rigid head and neck will prevent any follow-through4 ,vardon is very explicit about the value of timing the body so that it goes forward down the line of flight towards the hole at the moment the stroke is made4 ,he shows us1 as a matter of fact1 that this forward movement is practically simultaneous with the impact of the club on the ball4 ,it will be obvious1 then1 to anyone1 that this turf-gazing after one has hit the ball1 which is recommended by the leading authorities of the game1 is absolutely bad golf1 for it must inevitably interfere with the follow-through4 ,at page #agd of ,the ,complete ,golfer ,vardon says3 ,keep your eye on the ball until you have hit it1 but no longer4 ,you cannot follow through properly with a long shot if your eye remains fastened on the ground4 ,hit the ball and then let your eye pick it up in its flight as quickly as possible4 ,of course this needs skilful timing and management1 but precision will soon become habitual4 ,it was by the merest chance that ,i saw this passage after ,i had written my chapter on ,the ,function of the ,eyes1 although ,i am now incorporating it herein4 ,i am very glad to have ,vardon's authority to back me up in discrediting the silly idea about turf-studying2 but although ,i have him with me ,i cannot hold him guiltless of spreading the error1 for he has been photographed repeatedly illustrating it in a style which he never uses in actual play4 ,this may be seen in the series of photographs in ,fry's ,magazine already referred to1 and also at pages #hi and #ig of ,great ,golfers1 wherein this great player is shown in positions which in actual play he would not understand how to get into2 but people who know no better1 and have not the real power of comparative analysis and close thinking1 are led away and suffer for this kind of foolishness merely because it is associated with a great name4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,viii4 ,,edward ,,ray ,this plate shows the champion's tremendous finish in the drive4 ,ray1 at the top of his stroke1 gets much of his weight on his right foot1 but does not advise others to do so4 ,in connection with this matter of the function of the eye there is an interesting point which ,i have not seen mentioned in any golf book--a point which makes it1 if anything1 more necessary for one to insist upon the vast importance of the maxim ,keep your eye on the ball1 although it is fallaciously preached both before and after impact4 ,this point is that there is just before impact a very considerable portion of the travel of the head of the golf club during which the ball is practically never seen by the golfer4 ,this is what ,i may call the golfer's blind spot4 ,it exists in practically all ball games where the ball is struck by a bat or other implement of that kind4 ,its existence1 of course1 is well known in cricket4 ,i have played lawn-tennis for twenty years1 and ,i do not believe that ,i have at any time during that period seen my racket hit the ball when actually playing4 ,i have seen it do it when ,i have made up my mind to watch the ball and forget other matters1 but in actual play one does not do this4 ,one plays the stroke with the utmost naturalness4 ,the ball is coming towards one and one gauges the distance and strikes4 ,one knows that whatever happens one's stroke is made for good or ill1 and there is in many strokes a blind spot of fully six to nine inches in length4 ,i have had some wonderful photographs of this blind spot wherein it is shown most clearly that the lawn-tennis player is looking right away from his ball long before he has struck it4 ,i think it is beyond question that this same blind spot exists in golf4 ,i have no doubt whatever that1 perfect player as he is1 there is in ,harry ,vardon's stroke a blind spot of at least five inches4 ,few people who have not studied this question can realise the incredible rapidity with which the head of a golf club travels4 ,i am well aware that there are many photographs of ,harry ,vardon in existence1 which show him carefully studying the turf after the ball has gone on its way4 ,i am also well aware that these photographs were taken to illustrate the fact that he does engage in turf-studying after the ball has gone on its way4 ,i am also well aware that in actual play he does nothing of the kind1 and that his beautiful1 free1 and natural finish is as different from the stiff and constrained photographs shown when he does not lift his head1 as chalk is from cheese4 ,i have watched ,harry ,vardon many and many a time1 and ,i am absolutely certain that in his natural play he has no thought whatever in his mind of gazing at the turf after his ball has gone away4 ,there is nothing whatever to be gained by doing so1 and there is much to be lost4 ,any attempt whatever to anchor the head by gazing at the turf after the ball has gone away1 and then afterwards to allow it to resume its place1 together with the shoulders1 in the swing of the follow-through1 is mere futility1 and must result in absolutely spoiling the rhythm of the swing and a proper follow-through4 ,there is no player in the world who could be taken as a finer example than ,harry ,vardon1 of the fact that in the golf swing and at the moment of impact there must be no restraint whatever on the movement of the shoulders and the head4 ,they must work together with the club head and the ball4 ,if they do not all move at the same time something is out of gear4 ,in the game of blindfolded golf which ,i have referred to1 the professional player took his stance1 addressed his ball1 and was then blindfolded with a handkerchief1 an operation which naturally took some considerable time1 but even as it was1 he played some astonishingly good shots even when his whole swing was blindfolded4 ,he should have had a pair of spectacles lined with cotton wadding or some similar material and fastened with an elastic band1 which could have been lifted up whilst he was taking his address and closed down the moment he was ready to make his stroke4 ,this would have given him a better chance to demonstrate what he desired to1 which1 as ,i have already said1 was in itself practically sound4 ,i have spoken of ,harry ,vardon's blind spot1 and ,i have said that it is a matter of five inches4 ,as a matter of fact it may quite well often be double that2 but it seems to me perfectly plain that nothing whatever that ,vardon can do when his club is within a foot of the ball1 so long as he keeps his head steady or still1 is likely to alter the path of the club head--,i am speaking now1 of course1 of any normal golf stroke4 ,this consideration of the matter brings us back to the statement which ,i have made time and time again1 and in which ,i am supported by ,james ,braid1 that once the golf stroke is commenced1 the fact of it connecting with the ball is merely an incident in the path of the club head2 and that after the club head has proceeded a certain distance on the way to the ball it is beyond the power of the player to alter the character of that stroke1 for his force has been irretrievably directed1 in so far as regards that particular stroke1 in a particular manner4 ,speaking of the position of the head in driving1 ,taylor says3 ,the head is maintained in exactly the same position as the arms are brought down again1 and so it remains until the ball has been swept from the tee4 ,the arms and body for all practical purposes go through the same action1 but in the reverse way as in the upward swing1 the body being held in a similar position1 but with the head turned and eyes looking over the right shoulder at the finish of the stroke4 ,during the progress of this downward movement the weight of the body is again transferred1 passing from the right leg to the left1 until when the finish arrives the whole of the weight has been placed upon the left foot1 while the right has assumed the position previously held by its neighbour4 ,we see here in a very marked degree the fallacy of the distribution of the weight so that at the top of the swing the greater portion of it is on the right leg2 for ,taylor1 although he tells us that the head is maintained in exactly the same position1 says that during the progress of this downward movement the weight of the body is again transferred1 passing from the right leg to the left4 ,it is a very natural question for us to ask1 ,how can all this shifting of the body be going on if the head is to be kept perfectly still8 ,as a matter of fact it is a physical impossibility2 and it is also obvious that it would be impossible to keep the head still1 rigidly fixed1 as we are told it should be1 at the moment of impact1 and yet to get a true follow-through4 ,let us read a little farther on1 and we see that ,taylor says3 ,if the ball has been struck there must be no semblance of checking or snatching at the club4 ,the player must not check himself or allow premonitory symptoms of a check to make themselves felt even in the slightest degree4 ,he must allow the club head to follow the line of flight of the ball as straight and as far as is possible4 ,it stands to reason that if one's head remains fixed for an instant after the impact of the club with the ball1 that instant the club head must feel the tendency to be drawn out of the straight line to the hole1 and the follow-through down the line to the hole1 which is so properly insisted on by all great golfers1 is ruined4 ,taylor continues3 ,the arms must be thrown forward freely and naturally1 and as a consequence the right shoulder must be allowed to swing forward too4 ,this should effectually dispose of the idea of holding the head still after the ball has left the ground1 for the simple reason that if the head and neck be held still1 it will be a matter of utter impossibility for the right shoulder to go through and down the line to the hole as it should4 ,i must emphasise this matter a little more strongly by ,taylor's own words1 for it is of very great importance in the golf drive4 ,continuing1 he says1 in reference to the fact that the arms must be allowed to go forward freely and naturally and that therefore the right shoulder must be allowed to swing forward3 ,by doing this the involuntary checking of the swing is rendered impossible2 but if arms and shoulders were to be held tightly under control and as rigid as steel1 the stroke would be finished as soon as the head of the club had been brought into contact with the ball4 ,every stroke in golf must be played freely1 every muscle of the body must be allowed to do its full share of the necessary work4 ,that is undoubtedly so2 but if one arbitrarily fixes the position of one's head as a stationary point in the golf swing after the ball has gone on its journey1 one prevents the right leg doing its share of the work in shifting the weight forward down the line towards the hole1 and therefore one1 to a very great extent1 ruins one's follow-through4 ,this is a point which1 in my mind1 is of very great importance to the drive1 and it is1 in so far as regards the function of the eyes1 one of the most pronounced fallacies of the many fallacious statements with which unfortunate golfers are loaded4 ,this blind spot which ,i have referred to1 exists1 as ,i have already said1 in practically every game wherein the ball is struck with an implement4 ,it is found in lacrosse1 racquets1 tennis1 cricket1 lawn-tennis1 polo1 base-ball1 hockey1 ping-pong1 and even in billiards2 but the probability is that the farther the striking surface of the club or other implement is from the eye1 the less is the blind spot2 and this is very fortunate for the golfer1 for his margin of error is so small that it is of great importance to him to reduce this blind spot to a negligible quantity4 ,but on the other hand1 as a matter of scientific and accurate golf1 he will make nearly as great a mistake in his golf if1 in his endeavour to follow out the well-known and useful maxim1 ,keep your eye on the ball1 he acquires the habit of turf-gazing after the ball has gone on its way to the hole4 ,i have before had occasion to refer to the book entitled ,the ,mystery of ,golf1 and ,i have already1 in part1 touched upon some of the author's curious ideas with regard to the analysis of the golfing stroke4 ,at page #aei he tells us that the arms do not judge distance 7save when we are actually touching something7 nor does the body1 nor does the head4 ,the judging is done by the eyes4 ,i am afraid that we cannot deny that the judging is1 in all cases1 done by the eye1 because it is obvious that if we had not the use of our eyes1 we should not be able to see the ball2 but the author seems to overlook the somewhat important fact that although the arms do not judge distance1 yet they measure it1 and this matter of measurement is a matter of extreme importance1 as is exemplified in the case of play out of a bunker where one has to measure the distance without grounding the club4 ,on the same page the author says3 ,if the eyes look up before the ball is hit1 the muscles do not receive the proper orders to hit1 and the most important part of the stroke is done blindly4 ,that is my theory2 and a most remarkable theory it is too4 ,the muscles received their proper orders to hit at the moment the stroke was begun1 and lifting the eyes a moment before impact would not affect the stroke if the head remained in the same position4 ,lifting the eyes is in nearly every case1 as ,i have already pointed out1 an action following on lifting the mind4 ,the mind has been allowed to come off the stroke because the player's mental picture of the stroke has been completed long before the physical act4 ,in other words1 he has got ahead of his stroke4 ,then his head comes up1 which of course is fatal to good golf4 ,it is a very remarkable circumstance that the attempted analysis by the author of ,the ,mystery of ,golf shows clearly that he has entered upon his task with but a very faint idea of sport generally1 and he is in this respect much handicapped in his efforts4 ,let us consider what he has to say with regard to lifting the eye in golf4 ,we read on page #afd3 ,i have sometimes thought that there are two simple and especial reasons for this difficulty of keeping one's eye on the ball3 first1 because there is nothing to stimulate the attention2 second1 because one has to attend so long4 ,in cricket1 tennis1 racquets1 as ,i have shown1 the stimulus is extreme2 by consequence1 your eye follows the ball like a hawk4 ,in billiards there is no stimulus1 but you rarely1 if ever1 take your eye off your ball in billiards4 ,why8 ,i think because 7#a7 the ball is so near to the eye--and1 therefore1 the stimulus strong2 7#b7 because the period of time requisite for the stroke is so short4 ,in golf there is no stimulus and the period is always long3 you have to look at your ball for more than the whole period of the upward and downward swings4 ,this remarkable statement shows very clearly1 as ,i have before said1 that the author is not practically acquainted with games generally1 for lifting the eye is common in practically every game where a ball is used4 ,and it is amazing to find anyone attempting to analyse such a stroke as the golf stroke and at the same time making the statement that you rarely1 if ever1 take your eye off your ball in billiards2 and he proceeds to give reasons why one rarely takes one's eye off one's ball in billiards1 whereas the game of billiards is an outstanding illustration of the fact that one does take one's eye off the ball4 ,to a very great extent one plays one's stroke at billiards with a most pronounced blind spot every time1 in that1 just prior to the moment of striking the cue ball1 one always looks at the object ball and practically one never sees one's cue on to one's own ball4 ,also1 it is open to doubt if the golf stroke takes1 on the average1 from the time the club leaves the ball in its upward swing until the moment of impact1 any longer than the billiard player takes in playing his stroke4 ,if it does1 the difference is not a matter which need enter into any practical comparison of the strokes4 ,the curious thing is that in the game instanced by the author as possessing the greater stimulus1 that is those games wherein the ball is moving1 as in cricket1 tennis1 racquets1 the tendency to lift the eye from the ball is much more pronounced than in those games where the ball is stationary1 and this1 ,i think1 is by no means unnatural4 ,the operation of the eye is incredibly swift4 ,it catches the flight of the oncoming ball and one plays the stroke to meet it4 ,in playing a stroke at a moving ball1 it stands to reason that one has1 all other things being equal1 less time between the beginning of the stroke and impact than one would have in executing a similar blow where the ball is stationary1 for here we have merely the pace of one moving object to deal with1 whereas we have in the other case the pace of the two moving objects added together4 ,it seems to me clear1 therefore1 that the eye has been able to ascertain much more rapidly what will happen in the case of the two moving objects1 and having decided definitely that the stroke must be played in a certain way1 the mind has given to the muscles the necessary orders1 and the eye has then gone out of business so far as regards that particular stroke1 and we get the astonishing result that we find famous players at lawn-tennis playing their strokes with a blind spot of1 in many cases1 as much as nine inches4 ,this is beyond the region of doubt1 and can be proved to demonstration by numerous photographs1 so it will be seen that even if there were anything whatever in the suggested comparisons1 they are fundamentally unsound in their premises1 and therefore absolutely useless for any purposes of practical golf4 ,we are told at page #aff3 ,if you don't keep your eye on the ball1 your stroke is cut short the moment you take your eye off4 ,this is obviously an error4 ,let us imagine that the golfer has played his stroke perfectly accurately up to within three inches of his ball and then takes his eye away from it1 will any practical golfer believe that if he keeps his head still the fact of moving his eye is going to alter that stroke in any way whatever8 ,i think not4 ,again we are informed at page #afg that3 ,it is at all events indisputable that any photograph showing a good follow-through shows the player looking at the spot where the ball was1 after the ball had left it2 proving that he was really looking at the ball when he hit4 ,personally1 ,i may say that ,i have never yet seen a photograph of a good follow-through which did show the player looking at the spot where the ball was after the ball had left it1 for photographs of that nature which ,i have seen showed most clearly that if one desires to absolutely prevent oneself from following through1 one of the best methods of doing it is to cultivate the habit of studying the turf after the ball has gone on its way to the hole4 ,in this we know that we have ,vardon entirely with us4 ,his corroboration is valuable for the point is of great and practical importance to the game4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,master ,,stroke ,in his chapter on ,special ,strokes with ,wooden ,clubs ,vardon discusses the question of the master stroke in golf4 ,at page #hf of ,the ,complete ,golfer he says3 ,which1 then1 is the master stroke8 ,i say that it is the ball struck by any club to which a big pull or slice is intentionally applied for the accomplishment of a specific purpose which could not be achieved in any other way1 and nothing more exemplifies the curious waywardness of this game of ours than the fact that the stroke which is the confounding and torture of the beginner who does it constantly1 he knows not why1 but always to his detriment1 should later on at times be the most coveted shot of all and should then be the most difficult of accomplishment4 ,i call it the master shot1 because to accomplish it with any certainty and perfection1 it is so difficult1 even to the experienced golfer1 because it calls for the most absolute command over the club and every nerve and sinew of the body1 and the courageous heart of the true sportsman whom no difficulty may daunt1 and because1 when properly done1 it is a splendid thing to see1 and for a certainty results in material gain to the man who played it4 ,here we have a very definite statement by one of the greatest stroke players in the world1 that the master stroke at golf is the ball struck by any club to which a big pull or slice is intentionally applied for the accomplishment of a specific purpose which could not be achieved in any other way4 ,it is to me a most extraordinary thing to find a golfer of the ability of ,harry ,vardon classing the pull and the slice as practically equal in order of merit4 ,anyone who is acquainted with golf must know that the pull is an infinitely more difficult stroke to play correctly than the slice4 ,the slice is a stroke which is comparatively easy1 but no one can truthfully say the same thing of the pull4 ,before we proceed to a consideration of the question of the master stroke1 it will be interesting to quote what ,taylor has to say on the subject4 ,at page #hh of ,taylor on ,golf he says3 ,still it is not advisable1 neither do ,i look upon it as being golf in the truest sense of the word1 for the knack of pulling or slicing to be cultivated1 as ,i am afraid it is by a great many players4 ,no compromise should be made with a fault4 ,here we see that what ,harry ,vardon regards as the master strokes of the game1 are looked upon by ,taylor as faults4 ,i may say at the outset that ,i am not inclined to agree with ,vardon at all in this matter of the master stroke in golf4 ,if there is one stroke which stands out above and beyond all others in its demand for accuracy1 and a perfect knowledge of the method of applying spin1 also a supreme ability perfectly to apply that knowledge1 it is the stroke which is commonly called a wind-cheater2 that is to say a long low ball which flies very close to the earth for the greater portion of its journey1 and rises towards the end of its flight to its greatest height4 ,although this ball is called the wind-cheater1 it is just as effective and just as useful on a perfectly still day as it is against a howling gale1 for this stroke is1 in my opinion1 without any doubt whatever1 the master stroke in golf1 and if a man has this stroke he should be very willing to allow anybody else to have all the pulls and slices in golf4 ,the supreme importance of this stroke is so pronounced that ,i have always wondered at the comparatively unimportant position which has been given to it in every book on golf1 with the exception of my own works4 ,pulling and slicing1 as golfing shots1 may be said to be practically unnecessary if a man has full command of the plain drive without back-spin and the wind-cheater4 ,very frequently when a man is called upon to pull or to slice1 it is to remedy a previous error1 and there can be no doubt that with the pull and the slice it is an utter impossibility to keep on the line in the same manner as can one who uses back-spin in the drive4 ,the secret of the greatest golf of the future lies1 in my opinion1 in the proper application of back-spin in the drive4 ,i do not intend here to go fully into the effect of spin on the flight of the ball1 as ,i shall do that at length in my chapter on ,the ,flight of the ,golf ,ball4 ,suffice it to say that the tremendous advantage of the ball with back-spin is1 that being hit as the club is descending1 and the hands at the time of impact with the ball being a little in front of the ball1 the loft of the club is1 to a certain extent1 minimised1 so that the ball is1 in effect1 struck with a club which has much less loft than would be the case if it were driven in the ordinary manner4 ,this means that for the first part of the carry1 the flight of the ball is very low1 and as the club was not at the lowest portion of the swing when it struck the ball1 the wind-cheater acquires a large amount of back-spin which asserts itself later on1 and causes the ball to reach the highest point in its trajectory towards the end of its flight4 ,one of the greatest of the many merits of this ball is that the method of producing it almost commands a follow-through down the intended line of flight4 ,this in itself tends to give better direction than any of the ordinary golf strokes4 ,the pull and the slice1 as is well known1 curve very much in their flight1 and especially in a wind4 ,it is utterly impossible for the best golfer in the world to say within twenty yards as regards direction1 and that1 of course1 means much more than twenty yards--in fact1 practically double that--where the ball will come to rest2 but this is not so with the wind-cheater1 for although the ball has been sent on its way with a very heavy back-spin1 so much of it has been exhausted in lifting the ball at the end of its flight1 that by the time the ball strikes the earth there is little1 if any1 retarding power in the back-spin1 so that the ball is frequently a very good runner4 ,i must1 however1 devote a little attention here to the method of production of the pull and the slice4 ,there is a wonderful amount of misconception about these strokes1 even in the minds of the greatest golfers4 ,let me1 before ,i proceed to examine what ,harry ,vardon has to say about the production of the pull1 state the general principles upon which the production of all spin is produced4 ,spin is imparted to a golf ball1 as we shall see more clearly later on1 merely by the fact that the face of the club1 instead of following through after the ball in the intended line of flight1 crosses the line of flight at a more or less acute angle2 for the slice the club head comes from the far side of the line of flight across towards the player's side of the line of flight2 for the pull the process is reversed1 and the club head1 coming from the player's side1 swings right out across the line of flight2 in the wind-cheater the club passes downwards along the intended line of flight4 ,there is1 of course1 no such thing in practical golf as top-spin1 so we need not consider that4 ,there is one other important point which ,i must mention here4 ,at the moment of impact the face of the club must be1 to all intents and purposes1 at a right angle to the intended line of flight4 ,for instance1 in a slice1 any attempt to produce the slice by laying back the toe of the club1 or any tricks of this nature1 must result in disaster4 ,it is impossible for the person playing the stroke to time anything to be done by him during impact1 and it stands to reason that nothing will affect the ball except what takes place during impact4 ,this1 then1 resolves the stroke into the fact that the contact between the ball and the club is1 as ,i have frequently insisted1 and1 as we have seen1 ,james ,braid declares1 merely an incident in the travel of the club's head in the arc which it is describing4 ,although ,i have said that the face of the club must be at a right angle to the line of flight of the ball1 this is not exactly correct1 although it is so for all purposes of practical golf4 ,the reason ,i say that it is not correct1 is that practically every well played slice starts off on the line to the hole a little to the left of the true line of flight1 so that it is probable that at the moment of impact the face of the club is not at a dead right angle to the initial portion of the flight of the ball4 ,however1 it is unquestionably necessary that the face of the club should be as nearly as possible at a right angle to the intended line of flight at the moment that the impact takes place4 ,if this point is not attended to as carefully in the pull and the slice as it is in other strokes1 the result must be inaccuracy of direction1 and very pronounced inaccuracy too4 ,let us now turn to ,harry ,vardon's directions as to how to play the pull4 ,he says3 ,now there is the pulled ball to consider1 for surely there are times when the making of such a shot is eminently desirable4 ,resort to a slice may be unsatisfactory1 or it may be entirely impossible1 and one important factor in this question is that the pulled ball is always much longer than the other--in fact1 it has always so much length in it that many players in driving in the ordinary way from the tee1 and desiring only to go straight down the course1 systematically play for a pull and make allowances for it in their direction4 ,he then gives instructions for the stance1 and proceeds3 ,the obvious result of this stance is that the handle of the club is in front of the ball1 and this circumstance must be accentuated by the hands being held even slightly more forward than for an ordinary drive4 ,now they are held forward in front of the head of the club4 ,in the grip there is another point of difference4 ,it is necessary that in the making of this stroke the right hand should do more work than the left1 and therefore the club should be held rather more loosely by the left hand than by its partner4 ,we may pause for a moment here to remark that this is another one of those very noticeable instances wherein ,vardon infers that it is usual for the left to do more work than the right1 and we may also note that he here gives advice which he has in other portions of his book condemned--that is1 attempting to hold more loosely with one hand than with the other1 for it is obvious that if1 as he has told us will be the case1 we attempt to give the right hand a watching brief over the left1 the right will come in too suddenly at some portion of the swing1 and it is also equally obvious that if we follow out ,vardon's advice here and allow the left to hold the watching brief1 it will similarly misconduct itself4 ,i must emphasise again1 before ,i pass on1 the very pronounced inference which ,vardon here makes that1 generally speaking1 the left is the dominant partner4 ,vardon then continues3 ,the latter1 that is the right hand1 will duly take advantage of this slackness1 that is the slackness of the left hand1 and will get in just the little extra work that is wanted of it4 ,in the upward swing carry the club head just along the line which it would take for an ordinary drive4 ,this1 ,i may say1 is remarkable advice1 for it is well known that in playing the pull the club head begins to move away from the ball1 inwards1 the moment it is lifted from the ground4 ,this1 of course1 is natural1 for generally speaking1 the club goes back to the ball in the way in which it comes up1 and as the ball is played by an outward glancing blow1 it stands to reason that it will not be taken back straight from the ball as ,vardon states here4 ,that1 however1 is by the way4 ,let us now continue with what ,vardon has to say3 ,the result of all this arrangement1 and particularly of the slackness of the left hand and comparative tightness of the right1 is that there is a tendency in the downward swing for the face of the club to turn over to some extent1 that is1 for the top edge of it to be overlapping the bottom edge4 ,this is exactly what is wanted1 for1 in fact1 it is quite necessary that at the moment of impact the right hand should be beginning to turn over in this manner1 and if the stroke is to be a success the golfer must see that it does so1 but the movement must be made quite smoothly and naturally1 for anything in the nature of a jab1 such as is common when too desperate efforts are made to turn over an unwilling club1 would certainly prove fatal4 ,we have here ,vardon's description of how to obtain a pulled ball which he regards as one of the master strokes of the game1 but his conception of this stroke is absolutely erroneous4 ,we are told by ,vardon that in making this stroke in the upward swing we are to carry the club head just along the line which it would take for an ordinary drive4 ,now1 at page #hh1 ,vardon refers to the inflexible rule that as the club head goes up so will it come down4 ,it is now established beyond any doubt whatever that the pull is played by an outwardly glancing blow1 the converse of the inwardly glancing blow of the slice1 but if to obtain a pull we are to follow ,vardon's advice and take the club straight back away from the ball1 how are we going to come back by the same track as we went up1 which is straight down the line of flight1 and at the same time to obtain an outwardly glancing blow8 ,the thing is a manifest impossibility1 and1 as a matter of fact1 is not practical golf4 ,this idea of turning over the wrists at the moment of impact is an utterly erroneous notion which ,i must deal with somewhat more fully4 ,i shall show that ,james ,braid originally had this idea himself1 but that he has now1 in all probability1 abandoned it4 ,it is evident that ,vardon has but a hazy idea of the correct method of production of the pull1 although1 as we well know1 he is a master of the art of producing this stroke4 ,at page #ib of ,the ,complete ,golfer he gives his description of the manner in which he thinks one of the master strokes of the game is produced4 ,i must quote him again fully1 for it is necessary to do this in order that my readers may follow the trend of his mind3 ,it is necessary that in the making of this stroke the right hand should do more work than the left1 and therefore the club should be held rather more loosely by the left hand than by its partner4 ,the latter will duly take advantage of this slackness1 and will get in just the little extra work that is wanted of it4 ,in the upward swing carry the club head just along the line which it would take for an ordinary drive4 ,the result of all this arrangement1 and particularly the slackness of the left hand and comparative tightness of the right is1 that there is a tendency in the downward swing for the face of the club to turn over to some extent1 that is for the top edge of it to be overlapping the bottom edge4 ,this is exactly what is wanted1 for1 in fact1 it is quite necessary that at the moment of impact the right hand should be beginning to turn over in this manner1 and if the stroke is to be a success the golfer must see that it does so4 ,it will be seen from this quotation that ,vardon is under the impression that in playing the pull the club goes straight back from the ball in the same manner as it would be taken were one playing an ordinary drive4 ,we notice1 too1 that he commits himself to the statement1 that it is necessary that the top edge of the face of the club should be practically overlapping the bottom at the moment of impact4 ,this1 in effect1 means that the club is actually deprived of its loft at the moment of impact4 ,it will be apparent to anyone who understands very little about the ordinary principles of mechanics that it would be an impossibility to play an effective shot in this manner4 ,indeed it would be impossible to raise the ball from the ground1 and any attempt whatever to give this turn over of the wrists at the moment of impact would inevitably result in a very large proportion of foundered balls4 ,it must be remembered that ,vardon is advising the player to consciously attempt to regulate the loft of his club during an impact which lasts for no more than the ten-thousandth of a second4 ,golf is at all times a game calling for a remarkable degree of mechanical accuracy1 but it is obviously asking1 even of the most perfect player1 far too much when we request that he shall1 by the action of his hands and wrists1 regulate the loft of his club in an impact which lasts for such an extremely short time4 ,we must remember that if the shot were played as ,vardon describes it1 the loft of the club face is continually changing during1 let us say1 the foot before it gets to the ball and the foot after it has passed it4 ,the whole idea of the stroke in golf1 in so far as regards loft1 ought to be that at the moment of impact the player has nothing whatever to do with the loft1 his duty being confined to hitting the ball in a certain way and allowing the loft to do its own work1 and to take the angle at which it will naturally come down1 but any attempt consciously to regulate the loft of the club during impact1 especially on the lines laid down by ,vardon1 must inevitably result in disaster4 ,vardon tells us that at the moment of impact it is necessary that the club face should be turning so that it will be practically overlapping at least the moment after the ball is struck4 ,his error is by no means an uncommon one4 ,the same thing exists in lawn-tennis in the lifting drive1 where about ninety per cent of the players who try the lifting drive under the impression that it is got by a turn over of the wrist1 do the turn too soon and founder the ball--in other words1 put it into the net4 ,if the pull were to be played in the way ,vardon describes it1 the result would be exactly the same4 ,the ball would simply be topped or absolutely foundered4 ,i cannot emphasise too strongly the fact that this turn over of the wrists in the pull has nothing whatever to do with the production of the stroke1 although ,vardon says that it has4 ,this turn over of the wrists will1 if it precedes the moment of impact1 ruin the stroke4 ,it must come naturally long after the ball has gone on its way1 and it must come not by any voluntary or conscious effort on the part of the player1 but as the natural result of the correctly played first portion of the stroke4 ,in my chapter on ,the ,flight of the ,ball1 ,i shall go more fully into the mechanical principles of the production of the pull4 ,it will be sufficient for me to say here that the pull is produced by an upward1 outward1 glancing blow1 but there must be no attempt whatever to alter the loft of the club at the moment of impact4 ,in so flatly contradicting such a master of stroke play as ,harry ,vardon1 it may be as well for me to fortify myself by evidence taken from the work and photographs of another famous golfer who was himself originally under the impression that the pull was obtained in this manner1 but who has apparently since abandoned this idea4 ,i feel sure that for the great majority of players who know anything whatever of elementary mechanics1 it will be unnecessary for me to do this1 but there is a vast number of players who are not well acquainted with even simple mechanical problems1 and it is for these that ,i take the trouble to bring forward ,james ,braid to give evidence against this idea of turning over the wrist at the moment of impact4 ,we must remember that ,braid himself has stated in ,how to ,play ,golf that the striking of the ball is merely an incident in the travel of the club's head1 and we must remember that this book ,how to ,play ,golf was written long after the quotation which ,i am now about to give from ,great ,golfers at page #age4 ,there ,james ,braid tells us that in playing for a pulled ball the right wrist turns over at the moment of impact4 ,this is emphatic enough1 and ,braid here commits himself to the same statement as ,vardon does1 that is to say1 that the right wrist turns over at the moment of impact4 ,this is what ,i absolutely deny4 ,it is natural to suppose that ,braid's book1 ,advanced ,golf1 contains the author's last word with regard to the science of playing the pulled ball1 one of the balls1 let us remember1 which ,harry ,vardon considers the master stroke in the game4 ,let us therefore turn to ,braid's illustration of playing for a pull in the four photographs following page #gh4 ,braid here fortunately illustrates the actual moment of impact in the pull1 and it will be seen on examining his club that it is apparently perfectly soled1 that is to say that the club is lying as truly and flatly as it is at the moment of address4 ,this is very important and quite incontrovertible as being ,braid's considered opinion1 because this stroke is a posed photograph for the purpose of illustrating the impact in the pull4 ,we see quite clearly from this photograph that there is absolutely no turning over of the wrists1 but that on the contrary1 the right hand is1 if anything1 well back on the shaft1 and showing no sign whatever1 as ,i have already said--not even a symptom--of beginning to turn over4 ,nor1 as a matter of fact1 should it do so4 ,the club does not begin to turn over in the manner described until it has reached practically the full extent of its outward swing on the far side of the line of flight4 ,this photograph is1 in itself1 quite sufficient evidence to show us that ,braid has abandoned his idea with regard to the necessity for turning over the right wrist at the moment of impact in the pull1 but it is instructive to note that there is in the whole of ,advanced ,golf not one word about turning over the wrists at the moment1 of impact in the pull1 so that we may take it as definitely settled that ,james ,braid has1 since the publication of ,great ,golfers1 found out his error in this matter1 for1 against his one sentence in ,great ,golfers that in playing for a pulled ball the right wrist turns over at the moment of impact1 we have not only his statement in ,how to ,play ,golf that the impact is a mere incident in the travel of the club head1 but the still more eloquent fact that in ,advanced ,golf he says no word whatever in support of this theory1 and that he most expressly and emphatically by his own photographs contradicts the idea4 ,we need not consider what ,taylor has to say in connection with the production of the pull1 for we see clearly that his idea of both the slice and the pull is that they are merely errors in golf and not to be encouraged4 ,let us turn now to a consideration of the slice4 ,the same misconception which is so prominently shown by nearly every writer about golf with regard to the pull obtains also in connection with the slice4 ,this is clearly shown by ,james ,braid in ,great ,golfers1 for following the quotation which ,i have already given with regard to the pulled ball1 he says3 ,but for a sliced ball ,i cut a little across the ball1 the wrist action being the reverse of that for a pull1 viz41 the right hand is rather under than over4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,ix4 ,,james ,,braid ,here1 in spite of what ,braid says1 it will be seen that his weight at the finish goes almost entirely on to the left foot4 ,braid tells us that for a pulled ball he turns his right wrist over at the moment of impact4 ,well1 as the wrist action for the slice is the reverse of this1 it follows that at the moment of impact he turns his right wrist under4 ,this is a very common misconception4 ,it is one which is held by an astonishing number of practical players4 ,mr4 ,walter ,j4 ,travis in his book on ,practical ,golf repeatedly makes the error of thinking that this turn under of the wrist has any effect whatever on the stroke1 but it is just as great an error to think that this turn under of the wrist has anything to do with the production of the slice1 as it is to think that the turning over of the wrist has anything whatever to do with the pull4 ,both of these actions quite naturally follow the correct production of the strokes referred to4 ,the slice is an inwardly glancing blow1 if anything1 with a suspicion of downward action1 whereas1 as ,i have already explained1 the pull is an outward1 upward1 glancing blow4 ,there must be no attempt whatever to turn the right wrist under or downward at the moment of playing the slice1 as ,braid says he does in ,great ,golfers1 although ,i have not been able to find the same statement in ,advanced ,golf1 where we should naturally expect to see it if ,braid still has this idea4 ,the curious thing is that in ,james ,braid's illustrations in ,advanced ,golf for playing a slice the right hand is much further forward on the club than it is in those showing the grip for the pull2 in fact were it not that the stance shows clearly that the photographs are correctly marked1 one would be much inclined to think that they had been wrongly entitled4 ,in playing for the slice1 ,braid's hand is well over the club1 whereas in the pull it is almost underneath it4 ,in ,advanced ,golf this grip for a slice is extremely pronounced1 in fact very much more so than in his illustrations of the stance and address for this stroke which he gives in his book ,how to ,play ,golf4 ,the popular misconception about the slice is well instanced by what ,harry ,vardon has to say in connection with the cut mashie approach4 ,he says at page #abi of ,the ,complete ,golfer3 ,it is also most important that at the instant when ball and club come into contact the blade should be drawn quickly towards the left foot4 ,to do this properly requires not only much dexterity1 but most accurate timing1 and first attempts are likely to be very clumsy and disappointing1 but many of the difficulties will disappear with practice1 and when at last some kind of proficiency has been obtained1 it will be found that the ball answers in the most obedient manner to the call that is made upon it4 ,it will come down so dead upon the green that it may be chipped up in the air until it is almost directly over the spot at which it is desired to place it4 ,i have no hesitation whatever in saying that this is absolutely bad golf4 ,in all cases where cut is applied to the golf ball there must be no attempt whatever to introduce anything into the stroke during the period of contact between the ball and the club4 ,i am here dealing with ,vardon's statement with regard to the mashie approach1 but it is apparent that all cut shots are1 in effect1 slices1 and if one gets the idea into one's mind that the slice is obtained by anything which is done consciously during impact and timed by the player to be done in that space of time1 it must militate severely against one's chance of producing a successful shot4 ,a little farther down on the same page ,vardon says3 ,at the moment of impact the arms should be nearly full length and stiff1 and the wrists as stiff as it is possible to make them4 ,i said that the drawing of the blade towards the left foot would have to be done quickly because obviously there is very little time to lose2 but it must be done smoothly and evenly1 without a jerk1 which would upset the whole swing1 and if it is begun the smallest fraction of a second too soon the ball will be taken by the toe of the club1 and the consequences will not be satisfactory4 ,i have returned to make this the last word about the cut1 because it is the essence of the stroke and it calls for what a young player might well regard as an almost hopeless nicety of perfection4 ,here it is quite evident that ,vardon thinks that the cut on a mashie approach is played by something imported into the stroke during impact1 whereas the truth is that the club in a good shot properly played never alters from the line of the arc mapped out by the mind from the very beginning of the stroke4 ,vardon says that the cut must be applied smoothly and evenly without a jerk1 which would upset the whole swing4 ,it is obvious that if the head of the club has travelled in a certain line down to within a fraction of an inch of the ball1 and is then suddenly pulled across the ball1 there must be a jerk4 ,this1 however1 is not what happens when the stroke is well played4 ,the club face simply passes across the intended line of flight of the ball with the front edge of the sole approximately at a right angle to such intended line of flight1 but the club head proceeds across the line in an uninterrupted arc4 ,if what ,vardon1 ,mr4 ,travis1 and many other people lay down1 were correct1 a drawing of the stroke would show the club head proceeding to the ball in a curve1 then a sudden jump inwards towards the player with a continuation approximating to the follow-through of the first half of the stroke1 but it is almost needless to say that nothing of this kind takes place either in this modified slice or the true slice at golf1 which we shall have to deal with more particularly later on4 ,speaking of this shot--the cut mashie stroke--,vardon says3 ,it will come so dead upon the green that it may be chipped up into the air until it is almost perfectly over the spot at which it is desired to place it4 ,this may be so4 ,i have played the shot myself repeatedly1 and ,i have repeatedly seen perhaps the greatest master in the world of the cut mashie approach1 to wit ,j4 ,h4 ,taylor1 playing this shot1 and there cannot be any doubt whatever that this particular class of mashie approach nearly always gives the ball a considerable run from left to right4 ,this1 indeed1 is perfectly natural1 for one goes right in underneath the ball and gives it a tremendous side roll tending to make it swerve in the air from left to right1 and when it strikes the green1 to run in the same direction4 ,so pronounced indeed is the swerve and run of this ball that ,i have seen ,j4 ,h4 ,taylor playing at ,mid-,surrey when the green was practically completely obstructed by a large tree1 play this shot so that it curved round the tree on to the edge of the green and then ran in almost to the pin4 ,the shot which stops so dead at the hole1 as ,harry ,vardon mentions1 must of necessity have much more in the nature of back cut which produces back-spin than has the ball played by the stroke which he describes4 ,vardon refers to the pull and the slice as being the master strokes in golf4 ,i have already said that if ,i had to pick any one stroke which could be called the master stroke in golf1 it would be the wind-cheater1 and it is open to question if the long plain drive is not entitled to greater respect than either the pull or the slice4 ,be that as it may1 there is in my mind very little doubt about the respective merits of the wind-cheater and the other strokes referred to4 ,the wind-cheater is the ball which is produced with a large amount of back-spin4 ,harry ,vardon describes it at page #aje1 and he explains that in order to make the push shot perfectly the sight should be directed to the centre of the ball1 and the club should be brought directly on to it 7exactly on the spot marked on the diagram1 page #agj74 ,i may remark here that the spot shown on the ball at page #agj of ,the ,complete ,golfer for a push shot is absolutely above the centre of mass of the ball1 and that at page #ajf ,harry ,vardon gives a diagram of ,the push shot with the cleek4 ,in this diagram he shows that the face of the cleek at the moment of impact is perpendicular4 ,it is quite certain that even if one could hit the ball above the centre of its mass with a perpendicular face1 it would be impossible to get the ball off the ground in this manner4 ,the push shot with the cleek must be played with loft on the club1 and indeed it does not matter what club is used for this shot1 there must be loft on the face of the club at the moment of impact if one is to obtain a satisfactory result1 and not only must there be loft on the face of the club1 but it is a certainty that the impact of the club with the ball must be below the centre of the ball's mass1 and not as ,vardon shows it at page #agj of ,the ,complete ,golfer1 above it4 ,vardon1 for playing this push shot1 uses a cleek with a shorter handle and with more loft than his ordinary cleek4 ,this1 indeed1 is quite natural1 for the shot is1 in the nature of it1 a very straight up and down shot in the line to the hole1 and also as it is desirable that the ball shall be hit by the club before the club head has reached the lowest point in its swing1 ,vardon naturally has his hands forward of the ball at the moment of impact4 ,this1 of course1 to a certain extent1 counteracts the loft of the cleek1 but in no case does it counteract it to the extent shown by ,vardon in the diagram at page #ajf of ,the ,complete ,golfer1 for were the blow made as shown by these diagrams1 it would be a mechanical impossibility to obtain the result described by ,vardon4 ,the reason for keeping the hands forward of the ball is1 as ,i have indicated1 that the club head may make impact with the ball before it has reached the bottom of its swing1 and ,vardon's reason for playing with a club of greater loft than is usually employed is that this greater loft helps to make up for the fact that his hands are forward of the ball at the moment of impact4 ,playing this stroke with an ordinary cleek would rob the cleek of so much of its loft that the probability is that the flight of the ball would in its initial stages be too low to give a satisfactory result4 ,vardon says at page #ajf3 ,the diagram on this page shows the passage of the club through the ball as it were1 exactly1 but the trouble is that it does not show the passage of the club through the ball as it were1 exactly1 because at the moment of impact with the ball the club must have sufficient loft on its face to lift the ball1 and1 moreover1 the face of the club must make its first contact at a point at most as high as the centre of the ball1 but preferably much lower1 so that the force of the blow has an opportunity of exerting itself upwardly through the centre of the ball's mass4 ,vardon plays this shot perfectly1 but he does not describe it as well as he plays it4 ,he says at page #ajf of ,the ,complete ,golfer3 ,i may remark that personally ,i play not only my half cleek stroke1 but all my cleek strokes in this way1 so much am ,i devoted to the qualities of flight which are thereby imparted to the ball1 and though ,i do not insist that others should do likewise in all cases1 ,i am certainly of opinion that they are missing something when they do not learn to play the half shot in this manner4 ,the greatest danger they have to fear is that in their too conscious efforts to keep the club clear of the ground until after impact1 they will overdo it and simply top the ball1 when1 of course1 there will be no flight at all4 ,there can be no doubt that this stroke is an extremely valuable one1 particularly with the cleek1 and it is a stroke which will well repay anyone for the time spent in practising it4 ,there is1 indeed1 as ,vardon says1 a great danger of the player topping the ball if he tries to keep too far away from the ground until after the impact1 but he must at all costs get out of his mind the idea of hitting the ball where ,vardon says it should be hit1 viz4 above the centre of the ball's mass4 ,this never was golf4 ,it is not golf now1 and it never will be golf4 ,it is almost incredible1 but is a fact1 that a golf journalist who presumed to say that he knew what was at the back of his 7,harry ,vardon's7 head stated in an article in a sporting magazine in ,london1 that this push shot1 one of ,vardon's most beautiful and accurate strokes1 is obtained by thumping the ball on to the earth--in fact that the stroke is almost what one might term a bump ball1 to use the cricket term4 ,any idea more abhorrent to the true golfer than the notion of producing his finest cleek shots and approach shots by banging the ball on to the earth can hardly be imagined1 nor anything more incorrect4 ,the wind-cheater is an invaluable stroke1 but there can be no doubt that it is a stroke calling for a very considerable degree of skill in order to play it perfectly1 or indeed very well1 and in connection with this matter there was a very peculiar but entirely mistaken idea that for the production of this stroke it was necessary at the moment of impact to turn over both wrists4 ,this idea obtained for years1 and notwithstanding my repeated explanations1 the deeply rooted notion was persevered in and used in such a manner by many players that it seriously interfered with their game4 ,some of the criticism which ,i had to put up with at the time that ,i was instructing golfers in these matters was very remarkable4 ,i must give one instance which seems almost incredible4 ,i had explained in the pages of ,golf ,illustrated1 the leading golfing journal of ,london1 how the pull is produced1 and ,i had therein indicated as clearly and decidedly as ,i now do that it was impossible to produce the pull by the method indicated by ,harry ,vardon4 ,mr4 ,a4 ,c4 ,m4 ,croome1 the well-known international player1 solemnly asserted in the ,morning ,post that he had himself seen ,harry ,vardon produce the shot in the manner which ,i said was an impossibility1 and that in effect an ounce of practice was worth a pound of theory4 ,i took the trouble to explain that a cinematograph with about #djj pictures1 or perhaps a good many less per second1 was sufficient to deceive an ordinary man into thinking that he saw a continuous picture4 ,i explained that the camera which took the photographs for my purpose was timed to give an exposure of one twelve-hundred-and-fiftieth of a second1 and that this was1 therefore1 at least three times as rapid as the machine which deceives an ordinary man into thinking that he sees a single picture1 but notwithstanding that the camera was so tremendously rapid in its exposure1 the golf club beats it to such an extent that at the moment of impact the club is represented by a swish of light or movement on the plate1 and the ball immediately after impact is represented by something resembling a section of a sperm candle4 ,so extremely rapid is its flight that it is impossible to obtain even by so short an exposure anything resembling clear definition4 ,i showed clearly that an implement which was moving so fast as to absolutely beat the machine which was three times as fast as the machine which deceived the human being1 was not likely to be able to be followed accurately by the human eye unaided in any way whatever4 ,still1 that was the kind of criticism which ,i had to undergo4 ,i was told exactly the same thing when ,i explained that in the push shot there must be no attempt whatever to turn over the wrists at the moment of impact1 that in this shot as in all other strokes at golf1 there must be no attempt whatever made to interfere with1 or alter1 during impact1 the angle of the loft taken at the time of address1 for any such attempt as this must end in trouble4 ,it was some years after this controversy that ,mr4 ,a4 ,c4 ,m4 ,croome produced a column in the ,morning ,post entitled ,justice1 in which he referred to the matter as follows3 ,,mr4 ,,vaile ,,right ,it is common talk that ,sherlock has improved a great deal since he migrated from ,oxford to ,stoke ,poges1 and for once common talk is right4 ,his driving1 at least when the ground is hard1 is distinctly longer than it used to be1 but the increased length has not been purchased at the expense of steadiness4 ,the ball still flies from his wooden clubs along a line ruled straight to the hole4 ,even more valuable to him than the gain in length is the acquisition of all that range of shots which1 if correctly played1 leave the striker posed with his arms straight out and the back of his right hand uppermost4 ,a few years ago ,i1 in common with many other misguided golfers1 believed that the movement of the right hand was the cause1 not the consequence1 of correct execution4 ,consequently a large percentage of the shots attempted to be played in this way went anywhere but to the desired place4 ,we turned the key in the lock too soon4 ,so far as ,i know ,mr4 ,p4 ,a4 ,vaile was the first publicist to set forth the truth4 ,i have differed from him on many points and found myself unable to follow the more abstruse of his treatises4 ,it is a pleasure to acknowledge a debt to him1 and it is a heavy debt1 for a misconception of the work done by the right hand in holding the ball up against a left hand wind is fraught with disastrous consequences4 ,sherlock was performing this feat most exactly on ,tuesday and hitting the ball monstrous far with his irons forbye4 ,i was very pleased to see this statement by ,mr4 ,croome1 for several reasons4 ,it was a sportsmanlike acknowledgment of error1 and a fine instance of what ,i call the detached mind1 which is extremely rare in ,england4 ,the majority of controversialists are too much taken up with the personal aspect of the controversy1 to remember that the controversy if it is worth entering upon1 must always be of more importance than the controversialists1 but beyond this1 it is always of importance1 especially for one who is in the habit of writing golf1 to know the game to the core1 for such an one can do much to spread a correct knowledge of the game1 and this misconception of the action of the wrists has been responsible for millions of foundered shots4 ,i cannot help thinking1 however1 that in ,mr4 ,croome's generous acknowledgment of error1 he was1 to a certain extent1 committing another error1 for when he spoke of all that range of shots1 which if correctly played1 leave the striker posed with his arms right out and the back of his right hand uppermost he referred naturally to balls which have been played in the main with back-spin1 but a little later on he proceeded to say3 ,it is a pleasure to acknowledge a debt to him1 and it is a heavy debt1 for a misconception of the work done by the right hand in holding the ball up against a left hand wind is fraught with disastrous consequences4 ,here it will be evident that ,mr4 ,croome is referring to a pulled ball1 but at no time when one has obtained a pulled ball by a stroke properly played1 will the finish be such as that described by ,mr4 ,croome4 ,the finish described by him is the characteristic finish of the wind-cheater type of ball1 but1 notwithstanding this1 the point is that ,mr4 ,croome has acknowledged the error with regard to the turn over of the wrists2 as he very well puts it1 we turned the key in the lock too soon4 ,that very succinctly summarises the matter1 and it will be sufficient for our purpose in this chapter4 ,i must quote again a passage in ,mr4 ,croome's article4 ,he says3 ,even more valuable to him than the gain in length is the acquisition of all that range of shots which1 if correctly played1 leave the striker posed with his arms straight out and the back of the right hand uppermost4 ,this is a somewhat curious sentence4 ,as a matter of fact1 anyone who acquires this range of shots will acquire with it extra distance1 for the finish1 as ,i have already stated1 but cannot state too often or too emphatically1 is the characteristic finish of the wind-cheater--a ball which carries the beneficial back-spin of golf1 the secret at once of length and direction4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,action ,,of ,,the ,,wrists ,there is no doubt that a proper wrist action in the drive is of very great importance1 and it is just as undoubted that the real secret of wrist action has been enshrouded in mystery by anyone who has in any way attempted to deal with it4 ,indeed1 so great a master of the game as ,james ,braid1 absolutely confesses that he does not know where the wrists come in during the drive4 ,as ,braid has already stated that it is almost impossible to teach putting1 it really looks as though there is quite a considerable gap in golf which must be left to his pupils' imagination1 but this is not really so4 ,these great golfers really know golf and teach it much better than their published works would lead one to believe1 and as a matter of fact in very many instances the matter which ,i am criticising so plainly is1 ,i believe1 not their own4 ,i cannot believe that much of the ridiculous nonsense which is published in association with the greatest names of the world would be upheld by them in an ordinary lesson--in other words1 ,i am firmly convinced that they suffer in the interpretation by persons whose knowledge of golf is extremely limited4 ,it will1 however1 be interesting to see what the great golfers have to say with regard to wrist work4 ,let us turn first to ,harry ,vardon at page #gj of ,the ,complete ,golfer4 ,there he says3 ,now pay attention to the wrists4 ,they should be held fairly tightly4 ,if the club is held tightly the wrists will be tight1 and vice versa4 ,when the wrists are tight there is little play in them and more is demanded of the arms4 ,i do not believe in the long ball coming from the wrists4 ,in defiance of principles which are accepted in many quarters1 ,i will go so far as to say that1 except in putting1 there is no pure wrist shot in golf4 ,some players attempt to play their short approach with their wrists as they have been told to do4 ,these men are likely to remain at long handicaps for a long time4 ,similarly there is a kind of superstition that the elect among drivers get in some peculiar kind of snap--a momentary forward pushing movement--with their wrists at the time of impact1 and that it is this wrist work at the critical period which gives the grand length to their drives1 those extra twenty or thirty yards which make the stroke look so splendid1 so uncommon1 and which make the next shot so much easier4 ,generally speaking1 the wrists1 when held firmly1 will take very good care of themselves2 but there is a tendency1 particularly when the two ,v-grip is used to allow the right hand to take charge of affairs at the time the ball is struck1 and the result is that the right wrist1 as the swing is completed1 gradually gets on to the top of the shaft instead of remaining in its proper place4 ,there are several important statements in this paragraph4 ,vardon says1 ,i do not believe in the long ball coming from the wrists1 and ,i say that there is no doubt whatever that in the ordinary acceptation of the term the long ball no more comes from the wrists than it does from the feet1 for as ,vardon indicates here1 in a drive of perfect rhythm there is no such thing as getting the wrists into the work at1 or about1 the moment of impact1 as is so frequently advocated by authors who preach what they do not themselves practise4 ,vardon says that except in putting there is no pure wrist shot in golf4 ,i have already shown that not even in putting is there such a thing as a pure wrist shot in golf1 unless1 indeed1 the player should be playing with a putter which has an absolutely perpendicular shaft4 ,in this case1 and in this only1 is it possible to play a pure wrist shot in golf if one follows out correctly the instructions which are recognised as being the soundest guide in good putting4 ,before quoting from ,james ,braid in ,advanced ,golf ,i must draw particular attention to what ,vardon has said about the snap of the wrists at the moment of impact4 ,he says that there is a kind of superstition that the elect among drivers get in some peculiar kind of 'snap'--a momentary forward pushing movement--with their wrists at the time of impact1 and that it is this wrist work at the critical period which gives the grand length to their drives4 ,it is surely not to be wondered at that this1 as ,vardon terms it1 superstition exists1 when we read in a book such as ,advanced ,golf1 which was published several years after ,vardon's ,complete ,golfer1 statements to this effect3 ,then comes the moment of impact4 ,crack6 ,everything is let loose1 and round comes the body immediately the ball is struck1 and goes slightly forward until the player is facing the line of flight4 ,the right shoulder must not come round too soon in the downward swing but must go fairly well forward after the ball is hit4 ,if the tension has been properly held all this will come quite easily and naturally2 the time for the tension is over and now it is allowed its sudden and complete expansion and quick collapse4 ,that is the whole secret of the thing--the bursting of the tension at the proper moment--and really there is very little to be said in enlargement of the idea4 ,at this moment the action of the wrists is all-important1 but it cannot be described4 ,where exactly the wrists begin to do their proper work ,i have never been able to determine exactly1 for the work is almost instantaneously brief4 ,neither can one say precisely how they work except for the suggestion that has already been made4 ,it seems1 however1 that they start when the club head is a matter of some eighteen inches from the ball1 and that for a distance of a yard in the arc that it is describing they have it almost to themselves1 and impart a whip-like snap to the movement1 not only giving a great extra force to the stroke1 but1 by keeping the club head for a moment in the straight line of the intended flight of the ball1 doing much towards the ensuring of the proper direction4 ,it seems to be a sort of flick--in some respects very much the same kind of action as when a man is boring a corkscrew into the cork of a bottle4 ,he turns his right wrist back2 for a moment it is under high tension1 and then he lets it loose with a short1 sudden snap4 ,unless the wrists are in their proper place as described1 at the top of the swing1 it is impossible to get them to do this work when the time comes4 ,there is nowhere for them to spring back from4 ,here it will be seen that in a work of ,james ,braid which is entitled ,advanced ,golf and which was published several years after ,harry ,vardon's ,complete ,golfer and by the same firm1 we have advice and information given to us which is diametrically opposed to the ideas of ,harry ,vardon4 ,there can be no doubt whatever that ,vardon's opinion with regard to this matter is much sounder than ,braid's1 and in order that ,i may assist anybody who is in doubt as to which opinion to be influenced by1 ,i shall analyse ,braid's statement4 ,we must1 before we begin to consider ,braid's advice1 remember that he himself admits that he does not know where the wrists come in4 ,this reminds me of an incident which occurred a short time ago4 ,an unfortunate golfer who had an idea that a golf ball should be hit in much the same manner as a cricket ball1 or any other common sort of ball1 came to me in my office one day and asked me to show him what was wrong with his swing4 ,i put down a ball for him on a captive machine1 handed him a golf club and said3 ,let me see you hit it8 ,he proceeded to hit it1 but the instant his club head moved away from the ball it was apparent to me that he had not a rudimentary idea of the golf stroke4 ,his left wrist began to turn outwards instead of inwards and downwards4 ,i showed him at once how wrong he was in the fundamental principles of the golfing stroke1 for1 as is quite usual1 he had no idea whatever of the proper distribution of his weight1 having been taught by his professional that it must1 at the top of the swing1 be on his right leg4 ,but the main point to which ,i want to draw attention is contained in his plaintive remark to me3 ,yes1 that is all right now you show it to me1 and ,i can feel that it is better1 but it is when ,i come to play the ball and have to remember all these things that ,i make a mess of it4 ,my reply to him was3 ,my dear fellow1 the man who understands how to teach golf does not teach you how to remember all these things4 ,he teaches you how to forget them--in other words1 he so instructs you that everything you do between the moment that you address the ball and the time that you hit it1 is done practically without any strain on your mind whatever4 ,it is done by habit or second nature4 ,anyone who teaches you in such a manner that you have to remember each of the things which you think go to make up a perfect drive while you are making that drive is no use whatever to you as a teacher1 and he was immensely relieved even at the bare idea of this revolutionary teaching4 ,nevertheless1 in effect1 this is the only true and scientific tuition for the golfing drive4 ,we want to make the golfer handle his club in such a manner that all these things which the ordinary book tells him about as being necessary to be done and to be considered seriatim1 fall into their places as naturally as one foot comes after another in a walk4 ,to do this we have1 unquestionably1 to go through an enormous amount of elimination of utterly false doctrine1 and the quotation ,i have just given from ,advanced ,golf is an excellent illustration of what a true teacher has to do in the way of beating down and clearing away harmful doctrine4 ,here we have published with the authority of a great player like ,james ,braid1 and in absolute opposition to the advice of an equally great player1 ,harry ,vardon1 a statement to the effect that the wrists come into the drive and influence the stroke for eighteen inches before and after impact4 ,we are told that at this moment the motion of the wrists is all-important1 but it cannot be described4 ,we need not wonder that the action of the wrists cannot be described1 for at the moment referred to by ,james ,braid1 there is1 as a matter of practical golf and undoubted fact1 no wrist action whatever4 ,if one had any doubt whatever about this1 one would only have to look at ,braid's photographs in ,advanced ,golf showing how he plays for a pull and a slice respectively4 ,in both of these strokes ,braid uses identically similar photographs to show his stance and address4 ,personally1 as ,i have already stated1 ,i consider that he is1 from a golfing point of view1 utterly wrong in doing such a thing1 for there can be no doubt that the positions are extremely different4 ,indeed1 it would be quite ridiculous to suppose that they were not so1 but taking these photographs as ,braid's mental picture of what he does at the moment of impact1 we see there clearly that the wrists are1 at the moment of impact1 in exactly the same position as they were at the moment of address4 ,taking this in conjunction with the fact that ,braid says in the extract which ,i have just quoted ,where exactly the wrists begin to do their proper work ,i have never been able to determine exactly1 for the work is almost instantaneously brief1 we are quite justified in coming to the conclusion that ,braid himself does not1 in this critical portion of the swing1 use any wrist work whatever4 ,now ,braid says that he has never been able to determine exactly where the wrists begin to do their proper work1 so ,i must explain for his benefit1 and for the benefit of the great body of golfers1 where the wrists really begin to do their work1 and where they do the most important part of their work1 and that is absolutely at the beginning of the downward stroke4 ,it is here that the wrists have the greatest life and snap in them1 for the weight of the club and the strain of the development of the initial velocity fall across the wrist-joints in that position which gives them their greatest resistance--that is1 in the way in which the wrists bend least2 but it must not be forgotten that although the wrist bends least sideways1 still1 the bend that the wrist is capable of in that direction provides a tremendous amount of strength4 ,this is particularly evident in all games which are played with rackets4 ,i must here give an illustration of the power that is obtained in this position4 ,i have before referred to ,mr4 ,horace ,hutchinson's illustration of the proper position at the top of the drive which he gives in the ,badminton volume on ,golf4 ,here the player is shown with the right elbow pointing skywards1 and the left1 if anything1 too much out the other way4 ,an unfortunate golfer who had tried to put these principles into execution came into my office one day1 and told me that he could get no length whatever in his drive4 ,i handed him a club and said3 ,let me see you swing8 ,at the top of his swing he got into this position which is now considered the classical illustration of how it should not be done1 and after ,i had allowed him to swing several times from this position ,i said to him3 ,now swing again1 but stop at the top of your swing4 ,he stopped at the top of his swing1 and ,i then went and stood behind him almost in a line with his right shoulder and the hole and about a club's length from him1 and ,i addressed him as follows3 ,will you kindly forget for the moment that that thing which you have in your hands is a golf club1 and will you also consider1 ridiculous as it may seem1 that for the nonce my head is a block of wood1 and that you have in your hands now an axe instead of a golf club1 with which you desire to split my head in two4 ,would you now1 if you had to strike this block of wood1 use your arms as you are doing8 ,why1 no1 came the answer instantly4 ,i should do this1 and down dropped both elbows underneath the club4 ,then ,i said to this searcher after the truth3 ,i do not think ,i shall ever again have to tell you where to put your elbows1 and he answered1 apparently overwhelmed by my supernatural cleverness3 ,that is a wonderful illustration4 ,i never thought of it like that before4 ,i am giving this as an illustration of the vagueness with which people treat an utterly simple proposition such as this4 ,this man was a chartered accountant1 and really1 in his way1 a particularly clever fellow1 but he was overwhelmed with admiration because ,i was able to show him that with his golfing club he was doing1 or trying to do1 a thing which no one but an idiot would have dreamed of trying to do with a hammer or an axe4 ,this is the kind of thing for which we have to thank the people who write vague generalities about things which they do not understand4 ,let us analyse this most important pronouncement of ,braid's a little further4 ,he continues3 ,neither can one say precisely how they work1 except for the suggestion that has already been made4 ,it seems1 however1 that they start when the club head is a matter of some eighteen inches from the ball1 and that for a distance of a yard in the arc that it is describing they have it almost to themselves and impart a whip-like snap to the movement1 not only giving a great extra force to the stroke1 but1 by keeping the club head for a moment in the straight line of the intended flight of the ball1 doing much towards the ensuring of the proper direction4 ,the real truth of this matter is that there is no portion of the arc of the drive wherein the wrists exert less influence1 or are so completely out of business as they are in that portion of the drive wherein ,james ,braid says they are predominant4 ,the wrists have a tremendous amount to do with the development of the speed of the stroke1 but particularly in the initial stage of the downward stroke4 ,this will be most clearly seen by a study of ,george ,duncan's wrist action at plate #fd of ,modern ,golf1 wherein the wrists are shown turning over when the club has gone about half-way on its downward swing4 ,of course1 they begin to turn over much sooner than this1 but the truth is that the turn-over of the wrist or1 more correctly speaking1 the roll of the forearms in the downward swing is such a wonderfully gradual and natural process that it would be utterly impossible for anyone to say at what particular period in the downward swing it happens1 and if anyone can say1 or1 rather1 does say1 at what particular period the wrists come in to the downward stroke1 he is not only an ignorant golfer1 but an enemy to golf1 for it is a matter which cannot be described except to say that the wrist action begins absolutely with the beginning of the stroke1 and is then a continuous and natural turn until the club gets very close to the ball1 by which time there is practically nothing left for the wrists to do1 as the club has reverted to the position in which it was at the moment of address1 or perhaps ,i should say that it ought to have reverted to that position1 as indeed1 in so far as regards the club itself1 is properly shown by ,james ,braid in his photographs of stance and address and impact4 ,we have now to deal with the space of eighteen inches in the follow-through1 wherein ,james ,braid asserts the wrists still have it all to themselves4 ,this eighteen inches is in all properly executed straight drives1 and by straight drives1 ,i mean drives which are not intentionally pulled or sliced1 taken up by a clean follow-through down the line of flight after the ball1 and this follow-through is1 of course1 associated with the forward movement of the body on to the left leg which is so well and clearly shown in the instantaneous photographs of ,james ,braid and ,harry ,vardon1 but is1 by ,braid in ,advanced ,golf1 stated to be inadvisable in his text1 but clearly shown as advisable in his photographs4 ,there can be no doubt whatever that any attempt to introduce into the drive for eighteen inches before and after impact1 anything whatever in the nature of a whip-like snap would absolutely ruin the rhythm of the swing1 for it is evident that the introduction of a whip-like snap into something which we have been told is a sweep1 would absolutely upset the general character of that sweep4 ,it is impossible to have a sweep1 and in that sweep to sweep the ball away and at the same time to get the ball away by a whip-like snap4 ,either we have the sweep or we have the whip-like snap1 admitting for the sake of argument that either of these statements is correct1 which is not the fact1 as the ball is hit away and neither swept nor got away with a whip-like snap1 but the would-be learner is presented with this mass of confused thought1 instead of having nothing whatever to think of with regard to hitting the ball more than he would have in his mind if he stood still in the road and tried to smite an acorn with his walking-stick4 ,let me make this matter perfectly plain4 ,we will consider that the beginner has taken his stance and addressed his ball perfectly4 ,let him now take his club back from the ball in the manner which the text-books describe for an ordinary drive4 ,let him swing it thus back from the ball for a foot and let him swing it back against that ball and for a foot on the way to the hole4 ,let him do this once1 twice1 ten times1 a hundred times1 aye a thousand times1 if so many be necessary for him to get absolutely and firmly settled in his mind the fact that this swing of one foot back and one foot forward is almost an exact replica of what happens every time he hits a good straight drive in actual play2 that it is approximately a correct sample of the club action in that section of the swing back1 downward swing1 impact1 and follow-through4 ,this idea1 and this idea only1 is what the golfer must have in his mind1 and when he has got this into his mind he will see clearly that the whole importance of using the wrists properly in golf is to get them to do their chief work in the early development of the power of the golf drive1 but that by the time the ball is reached by the club head they have absolutely gone out of business and do not again come into operation until in the natural order of things they turn the club over1 and pull it off the line of flight to the hole in the follow-through4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,x4 ,,harry ,,vardon ,finish of a drive1 showing ,vardon's perfect management of his weight4 ,braid is wonderfully hazy in this matter4 ,he continues3 ,it seems to be a sort of flick1 in some respects very much the same kind of action as when a man is boring a corkscrew into the cork of a bottle4 ,he turns his right wrist back2 for a moment it is under high tension and then he lets it loose with a short sudden snap4 ,this really is very sad4 ,we are repeatedly told that the golf stroke is a swing or a sweep1 and that it must be of an even character from beginning to end1 and yet we have ,james ,braid in ,advanced ,golf telling us that the impact in the drive seems to be a sort of flick4 ,well1 all ,i can say is that ,i wish any golfer who goes into the flicking business much joy and great improvement1 but ,i have not much hope that he will get it until he finds out that flicking is no portion of the game of golf4 ,braid's idea of this most important portion of the drive is most remarkable4 ,his haziness in connection with the matter extends even to his illustration4 ,he says that this wrist action is in some respects very much the same kind of action as when a man is boring a corkscrew into the cork of a bottle4 ,he turns his wrist right back2 for a moment it is under high tension and then he lets it loose with a short sudden snap4 ,this is1 mechanically1 a marvellous statement4 ,i do not profess to be a great authority on the subject of corkscrews1 bottles--or their contents1 but even in this respect ,i may confess to being a trifle more than theoretical1 and ,i may say that ,i have inserted many a corkscrew into many a cork1 but ,i have never yet used a corkscrew wherein ,i turned my wrist over as the right wrist turns over in the downward swing of the golf club4 ,as a matter of fact1 ,i never inserted a corkscrew into a cork where ,i did not turn my wrist from left to right4 ,all the tension in putting a corkscrew into a cork is on the backward journey1 or that which corresponds to the upward swing in golf4 ,there is no tension whatever on the return1 or that portion of the screwing process which corresponds to the downward swing in golf1 whereas in golf the main portion of tension is in the downward swing2 but ,i believe ,braid is a teetotaller1 so we may forgive him if in this respect his theory is unsound1 and ,i think we can say that although he may be entirely theoretical in this1 his theory is1 in this instance1 not more unsound than it is in regard to what he professes to describe as the wrist action in the golf drive4 ,braid says that unless the wrists are in their proper place1 as described1 at the top of the swing1 it is impossible to get them to do this work when the time comes4 ,there is nowhere for them to spring back from4 ,this is correct and absolutely sound2 the wrists must1 unquestionably1 be in their right place at the top of the swing1 the right place being1 as ,i have already indicated1 and as indeed practically every respectable book on golf1 with the exception of the ,badminton volume1 shows1 underneath the shaft of the club at the top of the swing1 but it is quite wrong to speak of any such thing as there being no place for them to spring back from4 ,there must be no spring4 ,it is more a question of swinging than springing1 although1 as my readers know1 ,i am opposed even to the idea of a swing in the golfing stroke4 ,the stroke in golf is one of the finest hits in the whole realm of athletics1 and ,i object entirely to it being called a swing or a sweep1 or anything but that which it is legitimately entitled to be called4 ,braid says at page #fb3 ,after impact and the release of all tension1 body and arms are allowed to swing forward in the direction of the flight of the ball4 ,this sentence gives us pause4 ,we have seen1 according to ,braid1 that for the space of a yard1 that is for eighteen inches before and after impact in the drive1 the wrists come into the swing and do something with a whip-like snap--something that is a sort of a flick4 ,we see that this whip-like snap1 and this sort of a flick1 are kept up for eighteen inches after impact1 but we are told a little farther on that at the moment of impact everything is let loose1 and round comes the body immediately the ball is struck4 ,how is it possible to imagine this kind of thing taking place within a swing of perfect rhythm8 ,it is evident that ,braid has a very rooted notion about this wrist movement4 ,i must quote again from him1 this time from ,how to ,play ,golf4 ,on page #ed he says3 ,the initiative in bringing down the club is taken by the left wrist1 and the club is then brought forward rapidly and with an even acceleration of pace until the club head is about a couple of feet from the ball4 ,so far the movement will largely have been an arm movement1 but at this point there should be some tightening-up of the wrists1 and the club will be gripped a little more tightly4 ,this will probably come about naturally1 and though some authorities have expressed different opinions1 ,i am certainly one of those who believe that the work done by the wrists at this point has a lot to do with the making of the drive4 ,personally1 ,i believe that ,braid is wrong in speaking about the initiative in bringing down the club being taken by the left wrist4 ,i believe that the left wrist has no more to do with it than the right wrist1 and ,i do not believe that one practical golfer in a hundred could tell which wrist he uses1 and the chances are that if he could tell he would not be a very good golfer1 for these are things with which a golfer has no right to cumber his mind4 ,they are things which can quite well be left to ,nature4 ,it is an act of supreme folly for the ordinary man to think in the slightest degree of apportioning to either hand the share of its work in the drive4 ,that absolutely must never be on his mind when beginning his stroke4 ,braid here emphasises his idea that the wrists come into the golf drive at about two feet from the ball4 ,in ,advanced ,golf he says eighteen inches4 ,in this matter ,i must unhesitatingly be with ,harry ,vardon1 and if ,i had not ,harry ,vardon's support1--if ,i stood against the authority of the world of golfers--,i should still be just as positive as ,i am with the important corroboration which ,vardon gives me1 for there can be no doubt that as a matter of practical golf1 there is no portion of the stroke in golf wherein the wrists are more quiescent than in the impact4 ,i must not be misunderstood when ,i say this4 ,it is obvious that the wrists at the moment of impact will be braced to receive the shock of the blow1 but the speed of the blow has been developed long before impact1 and the wrists have approximately resumed their normal position as at the moment of address4 ,although ,harry ,vardon is so positive in combating the notion of the wrists coming into the drive at the moment of impact1 ,i find him at page #ec of ,great ,golfers saying1 when writing of the downward swing with the driver and brassy3 ,in commencing the downward swing ,i try to feel that both hands and wrists are still working together4 ,the wrists start bringing the club down1 and1 at the same moment1 the left knee commences to resume its original position4 ,the head during this time has been kept quite still1 the body alone pivoting from the hips4 ,when the left knee has turned1 ,i find ,i am standing firmly on both feet and the arms are in position as in the upward swing1 before the left knee started to bend4 ,from this point the speed of the wrists seems to increase1 and the impact is thus made with the club head travelling at its highest velocity4 ,i would here draw attention to the fact that ,harry ,vardon says3 ,the wrists start bringing the club down4 ,this1 ,i consider1 is very important4 ,i have already referred to ,braid's statement about the left wrist taking the initiative4 ,it is of very great importance for the golfer or would-be golfer to know that the left wrist has not any right whatever to claim precedence of the right wrist at this critical moment in the development of the power in the drive4 ,the other point in this extract to which ,i desire to draw attention is that ,vardon says1 speaking of a point in the swing which he describes1 and which is practically the same spot wherein ,braid says the wrists exert their influence1 that is to say1 two feet from the ball3 ,from this point the speed of the wrists seems to increase1 and the impact is thus made with the club travelling at its highest velocity4 ,it is quite possible--in fact1 it is nearly certain that the speed of the wrists will increase from that point1 and that the impact will be made with the club travelling at its highest velocity1 but in describing it in this manner ,vardon is very nearly guilty of falling into the same error as ,james ,braid has2 for this reason1 that he is directing the mind to the speed of the wrists at a critical portion of the stroke1 whereas there is only one point whose speed has to be considered1 and that is the point that does the business1 which is the centre1 if one may call it so1 of the face of the golf club1 and it stands to reason that if this is coming down at an ever-increasing speed1 what ,vardon says of this point would be as true of any other point in the downward swing1 but it is bad golf to direct the attention of the student or the golfer to the speed of his connecting link instead of to the business end of the club1 at any period during his swing4 ,the golfer's mind must be centred on his ball and his club head4 ,taylor1 so far as ,i remember1 does not fall into this very grave error1 but he1 in common with most of the great professionals1 is under the impression that the wrists are largely used at the moment of impact to influence the stroke4 ,this is one of the gravest errors in golf4 ,speaking of lofting a stymie ,taylor says3 ,then1 exactly as the club strikes the ball1 the wrists must be turned in an upward direction smartly4 ,the result of this is that the ball is lofted over the other1 and if hit properly it will run on and go out of sight as intended4 ,it is a very curious thing that nearly every author or great golfer thinks that in lofting a stymie the best way is to turn the wrists upwards1 whereas in fact1 and in practical golf1 absolutely the best and most certain way of lofting a stymie is to turn neither the wrists1 nor1 as naturally follows1 the face of the club1 upwards1 at the moment of impact4 ,that must always tend1 in a stroke of very great delicacy1 which is a natural characteristic of many stymies1 to put too much power into propulsion instead of elevation4 ,the best stymie stroke which can be played1 is played without lifting the mashie or the niblick by so much as a fraction of an inch after the ball has been hit4 ,i have illustrated this stroke very fully1 both by diagram and photograph in ,modern ,golf1 and it is unquestionably superior in every way to the ordinary method of playing a stymie4 ,let us now glance at the ,badminton ,golf and see what ,mr4 ,horace ,hutchinson has to say with regard to this wrist action4 ,at page #ij we read3 ,now as the club comes near the ball1 the wrists1 which were turned upward when the club was raised1 will need to be brought back1 down again4 ,it is a perfectly natural movement1 but where many beginners go wrong with it is that they are too apt to make this wrist-turn too soon in the swing1 and thereby lose its force altogether4 ,the wrists should be turned again1 just as the club is meeting the ball--otherwise the stroke1 to all seeming perhaps a fairly hit one1 will have very little power4 ,it is quite evident that ,mr4 ,hutchinson is an adherent of the whip-like snap and the flick theory at the moment of impact1 for he tells us that the wrists must be turned again just as the club is meeting the ball4 ,i need not deal fully with this statement1 for ,i have already sufficiently analysed the same idea which is held by ,james ,braid4 ,the only difference is that ,mr4 ,horace ,hutchinson's is very much worse than ,braid's1 in that he thinks the turn-over of the wrists should be executed at the moment of impact1 which of course would import into the golf stroke a very much greater risk of error than already does exist in it1 and it is unnecessary for me to assure golfers that there is already quite sufficient chance of error without our endeavouring to add to it in any way whatever4 ,but ,i should like to pause to raise one question4 ,mr4 ,hutchinson1 like nearly every other writer on golf1 is a disciple of one of the most pronounced fallacies in the game1 viz43 ,as you go up1 so you come down1 naturally1 of course1 all things being reversed4 ,let us then consider this point4 ,we are informed by ,mr4 ,horace ,hutchinson that the wrists should be turned again just as the club is meeting the ball4 ,following our hoary fallacy of ,as you go up1 so you come down ,i presume from this that immediately the club leaves the ball1 the wrists begin to turn backwards4 ,this would indeed give us a peculiar start for our drive4 ,from an anatomical point of view ,i think there is very little doubt whatever that the wrists have finished their distinctive function much earlier in the production of the golf stroke than is generally thought to be the case1 and what is commonly miscalled wrist action is1 in effect1 merely the natural roll of the forearm1 as it is1 ,i believe1 called1 at any rate in the case of the left arm1 its supination4 ,there can be no doubt that in the majority of cases where writers refer to wrist action1 they are confusing the natural turn of the forearms with wrist action4 ,before closing this chapter ,i may perhaps be excused if ,i refer again to that remarkable volume ,the ,mystery of ,golf4 ,at page #afg we are told3 ,at the bottom of the swing1 therefore1 the club head is1 or should be1 moving in a straight line4 ,probably it is when the greatest acceleration in the velocity of the club1 and the strongest wrist action in the swing of the arms occur in this straight portion of the stroke1 that the follow-through is most efficacious4 ,for one who essays to explain the mystery of golf1 this is a very marvellous statement4 ,probably at no portion whatever of the golf stroke is the club head proceeding in a straight line4 ,it may be taken for an absolutely settled fact that it is always proceeding in an arc4 ,also it is quite clear that the author is making the sad mistake1 which has been made by so many other people1 of thinking that the wrist action is most in evidence immediately before and after the period of impact4 ,most of the leading golfers fall into the error of stating that cut is obtained by something which is done by the wrists at the moment of impact1 but this is unquestionably an error4 ,i have dealt with that already in other places so fully that ,i think that it will not be necessary for me to do more here than to state that in all good shots the cut is decided upon practically the moment the club begins its downward journey1 for the amount of cut which is administered to any ball depends entirely upon the speed1 and the angle at which the club head passes across the intended line of flight of the ball1 provided always1 of course1 that the club is properly applied4 ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,flight ,,of ,,the ,,golf ,,ball ,the flight of the ball1 and particularly of the golf ball1 exercises a strange fascination for many people to whom the phenomena of flight exhibited by a spinning ball travelling through the air1 are not of the slightest practical importance4 ,that is to say1 there is an immense number of people who take merely a scientific1 and one might almost say an artistic interest in the effects produced by the combined influence of spin and propulsion4 ,scientific men have been for many years well aware of the causes which produce the swerve of a ball in the air4 ,by swerve ,i mean1 of course1 a curve in the flight of the ball which is due to other causes than gravitation1 and in the word swerve ,i do not include the drift of a ball which has been perfectly cleanly hit1 but which1 in the course of its carry1 has been influenced by a cross wind4 ,this does not legitimately come under the heading of swerve4 ,it is more correctly described as drift1 and will be dealt with in due course4 ,in the ,badminton ,magazine of ,march #ahif1 the late ,professor ,tait published an article on ,long ,driving4 ,professor ,tait was a practical golfer and a very learned and scientific man4 ,he proved most clearly that a golf ball could not be driven beyond a certain distance4 ,he proved this absolutely and conclusively by mathematics1 but1 so the story runs1 his son1 the famous ,freddie ,tait1 proved next day with his driver1 that his father's calculations were entirely wrong1 for he is alleged to have driven a golf ball over thirty yards farther than the limit which his learned parent had shown to be obtainable4 ,naturally1 ,professor ,tait had to reconsider his statements1 and he then arrived at the conclusion that there must have been in the drive of his son1 which had upset his calculations1 some force which he had not taken into consideration4 ,he soon came to the conclusion that this was back-spin1 and he dealt with this matter of back-spin1 which is a matter of extreme importance to golf1 in a most erudite article1 which is much too advanced for the ordinary golfer1 so ,i shall content myself here with referring to just a few of the most important points in connection with it4 ,it is necessary that ,i should1 in dealing with the flight of the ball1 give those of my readers who are not already acquainted with the simple principles of swerve1 some idea of what it is which causes the spinning ball to leave the line of flight that it would have taken if it had been driven practically without spin4 ,the explanation is very simple4 ,if a ball is proceeding through the air1 and spinning1 the side which is spinning towards the hole gets more friction than the other side which is spinning away from the hole4 ,it is well known that a projectile seeks the line of least resistance in its passage through the air4 ,it follows that the greater friction on the forward spinning half causes the ball to edge over towards the side which is spinning away from the hole4 ,this1 in a very few words1 is the whole secret of swerve4 ,professor ,tait stated in his article that ,newton was well aware of this fact some #bcj years before the publication of the professor's article1 and that he remarked when speaking of a spinning tennis ball with a circular as well as a progressive motion communicated to it by the stroke1 that the parts on that side where the motions conspire must press and beat the contiguous air more violently1 and there excite a reluctancy and reaction of the air proportionately greater4 ,this really is an extremely simple matter and a very simple explanation4 ,i have taken care to explain it so simply1 for swerve is1 by a very great number of people1 looked upon as an abstruse problem--in fact1 my book on ,swerve1 or the ,flight of the ,ball1 is catalogued as a treatise on applied mathematics1 instead of1 as ,i intended it to be1 simply a practical application of the ascertained facts to the behaviour of the ball in the air4 ,professor ,tait's article has enjoyed a wonderful vogue4 ,although it was published nearly twenty years ago it is quite frequently quoted at the present time4 ,there are1 however1 in it some errors which one would not have expected to have found in such a scientific article4 ,speaking of the golf ball shortly after it has left the club1 ,professor ,tait said3 ,it has a definite speed1 in a definite direction1 and it may have also a definite amount of rotation about some definite axis4 ,the existence of rotation is manifested at once by the strange effects it produces on the curvature of the path so that the ball may skew to right or left2 soar upwards as if in defiance of gravity1 or plunge headlong downwards instead of slowly and reluctantly yielding to that steady and persistent pull4 ,there is1 in this statement of ,professor ,tait's1 a fundamental error in so far as regards the flight of the ball4 ,he said3 ,the existence of rotation is manifested at once by the strange effects it produces on the curvature of the path4 ,this is incorrect from a scientific point of view1 and it is also badly stated4 ,the existence of rotation is not manifested at once2 in very many cases1 practically in all1 the ball proceeds for quite a long distance before the effect of rotation is seen4 ,this is more particularly so when it is a matter of back-spin1 but it is equally true of the pulled ball or the sliced ball4 ,both of these proceed for a considerable distance before the effect of spin is noticeable4 ,in fact it is well known to all golfers that the spin begins to get to work as the velocity of the ball decreases4 ,also it seems as though it is incorrect to refer to the strange effects it 7rotation7 produces on the curvature of the path1 for it is the rotation itself which produces the curvature4 ,professor ,tait then said3 ,the most cursory observation shows that a ball is hardly ever sent on its course without some spin1 so that we may take the fact for granted1 even if we cannot fully explain the mode of its production4 ,and the main object of this article is to show that long carry essentially involves under-spin4 ,i shall deal with these two statements later on4 ,professor ,tait said3 ,to find that his magnificent carry was due merely to what is virtually a toeing operation--performed no doubt in a vertical and not in a horizontal plane1 is too much for the self-exalting golfer6 ,the fact1 however1 is indisputable4 ,when we fasten one end of a long untwisted tape to the ball and the other to the ground and then induce a good player to drive the ball 7perpendicularly to the tape7 into a stiff clay face a yard or two off1 we find that the tape is always twisted in such a way as to show under-spin2 no doubt to different amounts by different players1 but proving that the ball makes usually from about one to three turns in six feet1 say from forty to a hundred and twenty turns per second1 this is clearly a circumstance not to be overlooked4 ,it is wonderful how easily a scientific man1 as ,professor ,tait was1 can be led astray when he sets out to find the thing he has imagined4 ,professor ,tait1 by a footnote to his article in the ,badminton ,magazine1 to my mind entirely discounts the value of his experiments4 ,his footnote is so important that ,i must quote it fully4 ,he says3 ,in my laboratory experiments1 players could not be expected to do full justice to their powers4 ,they had to strike as nearly as possible in the centre1 a ten-inch disc of clay1 the ball being teed about six feet in front of it4 ,besides this pre-occupation1 there was always more or less concern about the possible consequence of rebound1 should the small target be altogether missed4 ,it will be apparent even to anyone who is not possessed of a scientific or analytical mind that ,professor ,tait compelled his players to endeavour to play their strokes in such a manner that the ball had to travel down a line decided on by ,professor ,tait4 ,i do not know at what height ,professor ,tait placed his clay disc from the earth1 but it is evident that if he put it very low down it would involve the playing by the golfer of a stroke which would naturally produce back-spin1 and in any case the trajectory was arbitrarily fixed4 ,in experimenting with such a stroke as this1 and in such a manner as this1 it should be evident that there should have been no restriction whatever as to the player's trajectory4 ,if it was decided that it was necessary to catch the ball in a clay disc1 that disc should have been so large that it was impossible for the golfer's ball to escape it4 ,it should not have been necessary for the golfer to aim at the disc4 ,the mere fact of his aiming at the disc and the ball being teed so near as six feet to the disc1 all tended to produce the shot which would give the results which ,professor ,tait was looking for1 but that does not prove that the ordinary stroke at golf is produced in a similar manner1 and ,i do not for one moment believe that it is4 ,in speaking of the stroke proper ,professor ,tait said3 ,the club and the ball practically share this scene between them2 but the player's right hand1 and the resistance of the air1 take some little part in it4 ,it is a very brief one1 lasting for an instant only1 in the sense of something like one ten-thousandth of a second4 ,we may note here that ,professor ,tait said3 ,the right hand and the resistance of the air take some little part in it4 ,one would be inclined to think from this that ,professor ,tait was1 as indeed was probably the case1 an adherent of the fetich of the left1 for there can be no doubt that in the stroke proper the right hand does much more than take some little part in it4 ,i think that ,professor ,tait is wrong in his idea that under-spin1 or1 as ,i prefer to call it1 back-spin1 is essential to a long carry4 ,i firmly believe that a ball which is hit with practically no spin whatever1 can have a very long carry4 ,however1 as the paper which ,i am now about to consider follows in many ways very closely on the lines of ,professor ,tait's article1 ,i shall leave this matter for consideration when ,i am dealing with that paper4 ,the paper which ,i am now referring to is one which was read at the weekly evening meeting of the ,royal ,institution of ,great ,britain on ,friday1 #ahth ,march #aiaj1 by ,professor ,sir ,j4 ,j4 ,thomson1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d41 ,d4,s4,c41 ,f4,r4,s41 ,m4,r4,i41 ,o4,m42 ,cavendish ,professor of ,experimental ,physics1 ,cambridge2 ,professor of ,physics1 ,royal ,institution1 ,london2 ,professor of ,natural ,philosophy1 ,royal ,institution1 and winner of the ,nobel ,prize for ,physics1 #aijf4 ,the title of this paper was ,the ,dynamics of a ,golf ,ball4 ,it will be observed that neither the ,institution under the auspices of which this lecture was delivered1 nor the lecturer1 is inconsiderable4 ,professor ,thomson is1 without doubt1 a very distinguished physicist1 and we must therefore receive anything he writes with a certain amount of respect4 ,there are1 however1 in this paper1 so many remarkable statements that it is necessary for me to deal with it quite fully4 ,professor ,thomson tells us very early in the lecture that ,newton was well aware of the cause of swerve which ,i have already set out1 some #bej years ago1 and that he remarked that in a spinning tennis ball the parts on that side where the motions conspire1 must press and beat the contiguous air more violently1 and there excite a reluctancy and reaction of the air proportionately greater4 ,professor ,thomson says at the beginning of his lecture3 ,there are so many dynamical problems connected with golf that a discussion of the whole of them would occupy far more time than is at my disposal this evening4 ,i shall not attempt to deal with the many important questions which arise when we consider the impact of the club with the ball1 but shall confine myself to the consideration of the flight of the ball after it has left the club4 ,i may say here that ,professor ,thomson1 although he announces his intention of doing this1 is later on in his paper1 as we shall see1 tempted into considering the questions of impact1 and1 in my opinion1 making several grave errors therein4 ,we may1 however1 in the meantime1 pass this by4 ,professor ,thomson continues3 ,this problem is in any case a very interesting one1 which would be even more interesting if we could accept the explanations of the behaviour of the ball given by some contributors to the very voluminous literature which has collected around the game4 ,if this were correct1 ,i should have to bring before you this evening a new dynamics and announce that matter when made up into golf balls obeys laws of an entirely different character from those governing its action when in any other condition4 ,this1 at the outset1 is an extremely remarkable statement to come from so eminent a physicist1 for ,i may say that ,professor ,thomson1 after making a remark of this nature1 proceeds to explain the phenomena of swerve on exactly the same links which ,i have set out fully and explicitly in my book ,swerve1 or the ,flight of the ,ball4 ,that1 however1 is a matter of small importance4 ,it may be that ,professor ,thomson has not had the opportunity of perusing this book4 ,it may indeed be that ,professor ,thomson has been unfortunate enough only to have read articles wherein an erroneous explanation of the well-known phenomena of the flight of the ball is given4 ,be that as it may1 there can be no doubt that the explanation which has been given of the causes of swerve has been adequate and accurate1 and there would not have been any necessity whatever for ,professor ,thomson to bring before the learned ,institution whose fellows listened to his address a new dynamics4 ,it would have been sufficient if he had correctly explained the phenomena of the flight and run of a golf ball according to the well-recognised laws which govern the flight and run of all balls4 ,this1 however1 he quite failed to do4 ,professor ,thomson says3 ,if we could send off the ball from the club as we might from a catapult1 without spin1 its behaviour would be regular1 but uninteresting4 ,it is quite possible to send a golf ball off a club without spin4 ,it is just as possible1 from a practical point of view1 to send a golf ball away without spin from the face of a driver as it is from the pouch of a catapult4 ,the catapult is a machine1 and it is a certainty that it can be made to propel a golf ball without any initial spin whatever4 ,a machine can be made to drive a golf ball with just as little spin1 and as a matter of practical golf1 by far the greater number of golf balls are driven without appreciable spin--that is to say1 without spin which has any definite action on the flight of the ball4 ,the learned lecturer says3 ,a golf ball when it leaves a club is only in rare cases devoid of spin4 ,it is impossible to prove or disprove this statement1 for practically no ball goes through the air with the same point always in front4 ,we may see this quite clearly if we care to mark a lawn-tennis ball1 and to hit it perfectly truly1 and slowly1 so that it goes almost as a lob across the net4 ,we shall see even then that the marked part of the ball moves from one place to another4 ,in fact1 even if a golf ball were driven by a machine which did not impart to it any initial spin1 it is almost a certainty that that ball would not have proceeded far before it had acquired sufficient motion to justify one in technically calling it spin4 ,spin1 however1 is a delightfully indefinite word1 but this much one may at least say1 and it is1 in effect1 a contradiction of ,sir ,j4 ,j4 ,thomson's assertion1 namely that in the vast majority of balls hit with golf clubs1 especially by skilled players1 the effect of spin on the stroke unless designedly applied1 which is comparatively rare1 is practically negligible4 ,professor ,thomson says that 444 a golf ball1 when it leaves the club1 is only in rare cases devoid of spin1 and it is spin which gives the interest1 variety1 and vivacity to the flight of the ball2 it is spin which accounts for the behaviour of a sliced or pulled ball2 it is spin which makes the ball soar or douk1 or execute those wild flourishes which give the impression that the ball is endowed with an artistic temperament and performs these eccentricities1 as an acrobat might throw in an extra somersault or two for the fun of the thing4 ,this view1 however1 gives an entirely wrong impression of the temperament of a golf ball1 which is1 in reality1 the most prosaic of things1 knowing while in the air only one rule of conduct which it obeys with an intelligent conscientiousness1 that of always following its nose4 ,this rule is the key to the behaviour of all balls when in the air1 whether they are golf balls1 base-balls1 cricket balls1 or tennis balls4 ,the idea of a spherical object having a nose is so unscientific and so inexact that it is not necessary for me to dwell very strongly on it here1 and ,i should not do so were it not that this looseness of description is of considerable importance in dealing with ,professor ,thomson's ideas4 ,he continues3 ,let us1 before entering into the reasons for this rule1 trace out some of its consequences4 ,by the nose on the ball we mean the point on the ball furthest in front4 ,it will be obvious to my readers that this description is scientifically extremely inaccurate1 for if we take a line through the ball from the point of contact with the club to the point on the ball farthest in front1 which ,professor ,thomson calls its nose1 we shall find that the flight of that ball will always be in that same line produced1 whereas in the spinning ball it is nothing of the sort4 ,the whole trouble here is that ,professor ,thomson wants to have the nose1 as he calls it1 of the ball1 both a fixed and a moving point4 ,this1 obviously1 is most unscientific4 ,if the nose of the ball is the point that is farthest in front1 ,i cannot say too emphatically that it stands to reason that the ball in flight will go straight out after that point1 but the fact is that the point in front is continually changing2 moreover1 the fact that the ball goes the way it is spinning is not explained by any tendency of the ball to wander that way on account of the spin irrespective of the friction of the air4 ,it will thus be seen that ,professor ,thomson's explanation in this matter is incorrect and misleading4 ,this is about the most unscientific explanation which could be given of this matter1 and it is one which is calculated to mislead people who would otherwise understand the matter quite clearly1 so we shall drop ,professor ,thomson's idea of giving the ball a nose which is always in the front of it1 but which is also supposed to be continually travelling sideways4 ,it is obvious that ,professor ,thomson cannot have it both ways4 ,it is very clear indeed that ,professor ,thomson is not well acquainted with the method of applying spin to balls which are used in playing games4 ,he says3 ,a lawn-tennis player avails himself of the effect of spin when he puts top-spin on his drives1 i4e4 hits the ball on the top so as to make it spin about a horizontal axis1 the nose of the ball travelling downwards as in figure #d2 this makes the ball fall more quickly than it otherwise would1 and thus tends to prevent it going out of the court4 ,i have played lawn-tennis for more than twenty years1 and ,i am the author of three books on the game1 one of which is supposed to be the standard work on the subject1 and ,i can assure ,professor ,thomson that no lawn-tennis player would dream of doing anything so silly as to hit a lawn-tennis ball on the top in an attempt to obtain top-spin4 ,the scientific method of obtaining top-spin is to hit the lawn-tennis ball on what ,professor ,thomson1 if he were driving the ball over the net to me1 would call its nose--that is to say1 ,i should hit the ball on the spot which was farthest from ,professor ,thomson4 ,i should hit it there with a racket whose face was practically vertical1 but ,i should hit it an upward1 forwardly glancing blow which would impart1 as ,professor ,thomson expresses it1 spin about a horizontal axis to the ball4 ,professor ,thomson goes so far as to show by diagram the travel of a ball which has been hit so as to impart top-spin to it1 but even in this diagram he is absolutely wrong1 for he shows that immediately the ball has been hit with top-spin it begins to fall1 but this is not so4 ,in lawn-tennis the ball travels for a long distance before the spin begins to assert itself1 and to overcome the force of the blow which set up the spin4 ,professor ,tait makes this same error in his article on ,long ,driving1 and it is quite evident to me that ,professor ,thomson is following1 in many respects1 the errors of his eminent predecessor4 ,professor ,thomson also says3 ,excellent examples of the effect of spin on the flight of a ball in the air are afforded in the game of base-ball4 ,an expert pitcher1 by putting on the proper spin1 can make the ball curve either to the right or the left1 upwards or downwards2 for the side-way curves the spin must be about a vertical axis2 for the upward or downward ones1 about a horizontal axis4 ,there are no particular laws with regard to the curves of a base-ball4 ,the same laws regulate the curves in the air of every ball from a ping-pong ball to a cricket ball1 and ,professor ,thomson1 in saying that for the side-way curves the spin must be about a vertical axis1 is absolutely wrong4 ,every lawn-tennis player who knows anything whatever about the ,american service1 will know that ,professor ,thomson is utterly wrong in this respect1 for the whole essence of the swerve and break of the ,american service1 which has a large amount of side-swerve1 is that the axis of rotation shall be approximately at an angle of fifty degrees1 and any expert base-ball pitcher will know quite well that he can get his side-curve much better if he will1 instead of keeping his axis of rotation perfectly vertical1 tilt it a little so that it will have the assistance of gravitation at the end of its flight instead of fighting gravitation1 as it must do if he trusts entirely to horizontal spin about a vertical axis for his swerve4 ,professor ,thomson says3 ,if the ball were spinning about an axis along the line of flight1 the axis of spin would pass through the nose of the ball1 and the spin would not affect the motion of the nose2 the ball1 following its nose1 would thus move on without deviation4 ,the spin which ,professor ,thomson is describing here is that which a rifle bullet has during its flight1 for it is obvious that the rifle bullet is spinning about an axis along the line of flight1 and that the axis of spin does pass through the nose of the bullet1 but we know quite well that in the flight of a rifle bullet there is a very considerable amount of what is called drift4 ,it is1 of course1 an impossibility to impart to a golf ball during the drive any such spin as that of the rifle bullet1 although in cut mashie strokes1 and in cutting round a stymie1 we do produce a spin which is1 in effect1 the same spin1 but this is the question which ,professor ,thomson should set himself to answer4 ,he states distinctly that a ball with this spin would not swerve4 ,if this is so1 can ,professor ,thomson explain to us why the rifle bullet drifts8 ,as a matter of fact1 a ball with this spin would swerve1 but not to anything like the same extent as would a ball with one of the well-recognised spins which are used for the purpose of obtaining swerve4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xi4 ,,james ,,braid ,finish of drive1 showing clearly how ,braid's weight goes on to the left leg4 ,professor ,thomson proceeded to prove by the most elaborate experiments the truth of those matters stated by ,newton centuries ago1 but it will not be necessary for me to follow him in these1 because these principles have been recognised for ages past4 ,it is curious to note that in the reference to ,newton1 who was aware of this principle of swerve so long ago1 we are shown that ,newton himself did not quite grasp the method of production of the stroke1 although he analysed the result in a perfectly sound manner4 ,writing to ,oldenburg in #afga about the ,dispersion of ,light1 he said in the course of his letter3 ,i remembered that ,i had often seen a tennis ball struck with an oblique racket describe such a curved line4 ,the effect of striking a tennis ball with an oblique racket is1 generally speaking1 to push it away to one side4 ,the curve1 to be of a sufficiently pronounced nature to be visible1 must be produced by the passage of the racket across the intended line of flight of the ball4 ,this matter of the different pressure on one side of the ball from that on the other is very simple when one thoroughly grasps it4 ,professor ,thomson gives in his paper an illustration which may perhaps make the matter clearer to some people than the explanation which is generally given4 ,he says3 ,it may perhaps make the explanation of this difference of pressure easier if we take a somewhat commonplace example of a similar fact4 ,instead of a golf ball let us consider the case of an ,atlantic liner1 and1 to imitate the rotation of the ball1 let us suppose that the passengers are taking their morning walk on the promenade deck1 all circulating round the same way4 ,when they are on one side of the boat they have to face the wind1 on the other side they have the wind at their backs4 ,now1 when they face the wind1 the pressure of the wind against them is greater than if they were at rest1 and this increased pressure is exerted in all directions and so acts against the part of the ship adjacent to the deck2 when they are moving with their backs to the wind1 the pressure against their backs is not so great as when they were still1 so the pressure acting against this side of the ship will not be so great4 ,thus the rotation of the passengers will increase the pressure on the side of the ship when they are facing the wind1 and diminish it on the other side4 ,this case is quite analogous to that of the golf ball4 ,even in this simple illustration it seems to me that ,professor ,thomson is wrong1 for he is pre-supposing that which he does not state--a head wind4 ,it is quite obvious that these passengers might have to face a wind coming from the stern of the ship1 and in this case the analogy between the passengers circulating round the deck of a ship1 and his golf ball would receive a serious blow4 ,in stating a matter which is of sufficient importance to be dealt with before such a learned body as the ,royal ,institution of ,great ,britain1 it is well to be accurate4 ,if ,professor ,thomson had stated that his ,atlantic liner was going into a head wind1 or1 for the matter of that1 even proceeding in a dead calm1 his analogy might have been correct1 but it is obvious that he has left out of consideration a following wind of greater speed than that at which the liner is travelling4 ,professor ,thomson has not added anything to the information which we already possessed with regard to the effect of back-spin on a ball2 rather has he1 as ,i shall show when dealing with the question of impact with the ball1 clouded the issue4 ,at page #ab of his remarkable lecture he says3 ,so far ,i have been considering under-spin4 ,let us now illustrate slicing and pulling2 in these cases the ball is spinning about a vertical axis4 ,we here have a very definite statement that in slicing and pulling the ball is spinning about a vertical axis1 but it is not doing so4 ,professor ,thomson has an electromagnet and a red hot piece of platinum with a spot of barium oxide upon it4 ,the platinum is connected with an electric battery which causes negatively electrified particles to fly off the barium and travel down the glass tube in which the platinum strip is contained2 nearly all the air has been exhausted from this tube4 ,these particles are luminous1 so that the path they take is very easily observed4 ,these particles1 ,i may explain1 take1 in ,professor ,thomson's mind1 the place of golf balls1 and by an electromagnet he shows us exactly what golf balls do1 but it seems to me that if ,professor ,thomson is not absolutely clear what is happening to the sliced ball and the pulled ball1 there is a very great chance that1 like ,professor ,tait1 he may induce his particles to do the thing that he wishes them to do1 and not the thing that a real golf ball with a real pull or a real slice would do4 ,this1 as a matter of fact1 is exactly what ,professor ,thomson does1 for1 as ,i shall show quite simply and in such a manner as absolutely to convince the merest tyro at golf1 ,professor ,thomson is utterly wrong when he states that in the slice and the pull the ball is spinning about a vertical axis4 ,i shall not need any diagrams or figures to bring this home to anyone who is possessed of the most rudimentary knowledge of mechanics4 ,it should be quite evident to anyone that to produce spin about a vertical axis it would be necessary to have a club with a vertical face1 or to strike a blow with the face of the club so held that at the moment of impact the face of the club was vertical4 ,now this does not happen with the slice at golf1 for the very good reason that if one so applied one's club1 the ball would not rise from the earth4 ,the club which produces the slice is always lofted in a greater or less degree1 and quite often the natural loft is increased by the player designedly laying the face back during the stroke4 ,it is evident that in the impact with the driver or brassy1 the ball1 especially the modern rubber-cored ball1 flattens on to the face of the club and remains there whilst the club is travelling across the line of flight4 ,this naturally imparts to the ball a roll--in other words1 as the club cuts across the ball it rolls it for a short distance on its face4 ,it is obvious that this rolling process will1 to a greater or less extent1 give to the ball a spin about an axis which is approximately the same as that of the loft on the face of the club4 ,therefore1 it is clear that in all sliced balls the axis of spin will be inclined backward4 ,it seems likely1 also1 that as the axis of spin is inclined backward and the ball is rising1 there will be some additional friction at the bottom of it which would not be there in the case of a ball without spin4 ,this probably helps to produce the sudden rise of the slice4 ,in all good cut shots with lofted clubs1 the angle of the axis of spin is to a very great extent regulated by the amount of loft on the face of the club4 ,professor ,thomson's error with regard to the slice being about a vertical axis is beyond question1 but his error in saying that the axis of rotation of the pull and the slice is identical1 is1 from a golfing point of view1 simply irretrievable4 ,print is a very awkward thing--it stays4 ,the merest tyro at golf knows quite well that the pulled ball and the sliced ball behave during flight and after landing on the ground in a totally different manner from each other4 ,if ,professor ,thomson knows so much1 it should unquestionably be evident to so distinguished a scientist that there must be a very considerable difference in the rotation of these balls4 ,the slice1 as is well known1 rises quickly from the ground1 flies high1 and is not1 generally speaking1 a good runner4 ,the pull1 on the other hand1 flies low and runs well on landing4 ,it is not merely sufficient to contradict ,professor ,sir ,j4 ,j4 ,thomson in these matters1 so ,i shall explain fully the reason for the difference in the flight and run of the slice and the pull4 ,the slice is played as the club head is returning across the line of flight1 and therefore is more in the nature of a chop than is the pull4 ,frequently the spin that is imparted to the ball is the resultant of the downward and inwardly glancing blow4 ,this not only leaves the axis of rotation inclined backward1 but sometimes inclined also slightly away from the player1 but it is obvious that even if the ball had1 as ,professor ,thomson thinks it has1 rotation about a vertical axis1 which is the rotation of a top1 such rotation would1 on landing1 tend to prevent the ball running1 for1 as is well known1 every spinning thing strives hard to remain in the plane of its rotation1 but the slice is more obstinate still than this1 for the axis of rotation being inclined backward1 frequently at the end of the flight1 coincides with the line of flight of the ball1 so that the ball is spinning about an axis which1 to adopt ,professor ,thomson's term1 runs through its nose4 ,this means that the slice frequently pitches in the same manner as might a rifle bullet if falling on its nose1 and the effect is1 to a very great extent1 the same4 ,the ball tries to stay where it lands4 ,let us now consider the flight and run of the pull4 ,the pull is played by an upward1 outward1 glancing blow4 ,the ball is hit by the club as it is going across the line of flight away from the player and this imparts to the ball a spin around an axis which lies inward towards the player4 ,this means that the pull goes away to the right1 and then swerves back again towards the middle of the course if properly played1 and upon landing runs very freely4 ,the reason for this run has not been clearly understood by many1 and it is quite evident that ,professor ,thomson does not know of it1 so ,i shall give an extremely plain illustration4 ,nearly every boy has at some time played with a chameleon top1 or some other top of the same species1 that is to say1 a disc top4 ,every boy who has played with such a top will be familiar with the fact that when the spin is dying away from the top1 it rolls about until one edge of it touches the earth or whatever it is spinning on4 ,immediately this happens the top runs away as carried by the spin4 ,that is about the simplest illustration which it is possible to give of the plane of spin of the pulled ball during its flight and of its run after it has touched the earth1 but from this very simple explanation it will be perfectly obvious to anyone who gives the matter the least consideration that not only is the axis of rotation of the pull and the slice dissimilar1 but as a matter of fact the rotation of the pull and the slice is almost diametrically opposed the one to the other4 ,professor ,thomson says3 ,let us now consider the effect of a cross wind4 ,suppose the wind is blowing from left to right1 then1 if the ball is pulled1 it will be rotating in the direction shown in figure #bf 7from right to left72 the rules we found for the effect of rotation on the difference of pressure on the two sides of a ball in a blast of air show that in this case the pressure on the front half of the ball will be greater than that on the rear half1 and thus tend to stop the flight of the ball4 ,if1 however1 the spin was that for a slice1 the pressure on the rear half would be greater than the pressure in front1 so that the difference in pressure would tend to push on the ball and make it travel further than it otherwise would4 ,i have not given this aspect of the question a great amount of thought1 but it seems obvious that in playing for a slice in the circumstances mentioned by ,professor ,thomson1 it is extremely unlikely that the greater pressure would be1 as he says1 on the rear half4 ,if1 indeed1 this were so the slice would1 in my opinion1 not take effect2 also on account of the tremendous speed of the golf ball it seems to me utterly improbable that in any ordinary wind which one encounters on a golf links it would be possible to obtain on the rear half of a golf ball a greater pressure than that on the forward spinning half1 or1 to be more accurate1 quarter of the ball4 ,i cannot help thinking that ,professor ,thomson in saying that in such a case as this the greater pressure would be on the rear half of the ball is falling into an error1 for it seems to me that he is overlooking the tendency of the ball to set up for itself something in the nature of a vacuum which will undoubtedly tend to protect the rear portion of the ball from the force which must assail it in front during its passage through the air4 ,professor ,thomson says that the moral of this is that if the wind is coming from the left we should play up into the wind and slice the ball1 while if it is coming from the right we should play up into it and pull the ball4 ,that is ,professor ,thomson's theory4 ,i shall give my readers the benefit of my practice1 which is that whenever there is a cross wind of any description whatever1 hit the ball as straight as it is possible for you to do it1 right down the middle of the course from the tee to the hole1 and forget all about pulls or slices4 ,on a windy day avoid anything whatever in the nature of side-spin because once you have applied it to a ball you never know where that ball is going to end1 and if you want any confirmation for this practice you may get it from ,harry ,vardon in ,the ,complete ,golfer1 for there can be very little doubt that a side wind has nothing like the effect on the ball that golfers seem to imagine1 provided always1 of course1 that the ball be hit cleanly and without appreciable spin4 ,it is not given to one golfer in a thousand to know how to use the pull and slice to obtain assistance from the wind and also to be capable of executing the strokes4 ,as a matter of practical golf these strokes should1 for at least ninety-five per cent of golfers1 be rigidly eschewed4 ,at the beginning of ,professor ,thomson's article he said3 ,i shall not attempt to deal with the many important questions which arise when we consider the impact of the club with the ball1 but confine myself to the consideration of the flight of the ball after it has left the club4 ,it would1 indeed1 have been well if ,professor ,thomson had carried out his expressed intention of leaving this matter alone1 for in dealing with it he has shown most conclusively that he has no practical grip of the question which he has attempted to deal with4 ,at page #ae of his article he says3 ,i have not time for more than a few words as to how the ball acquires the spin from the club1 but if you grasp the principle that the action between the club and the ball depends only on their relative motion1 and that it is the same whether we have the ball fixed and move the club1 or have the club fixed and project the ball against it1 the main features are very easily understood4 ,i can readily believe that this statement of ,professor ,thomson's is absolutely accurate4 ,the only thing which troubles me about it is that ,i think the person of ordinary intellect will find it absolutely impossible to grasp the principle which ,professor ,thomson lays down4 ,if we have the club fixed and project the ball against it1 we know quite well that the ball will rebound from the club1 but if we are to have the ball fixed and move the club against it1 nothing will happen unless we move the club fast enough1 in which case we should simply smash the club4 ,this is a most amazing illustration of looseness of thought--such an astonishing illustration that ,i should not have believed ,professor ,thomson capable of it if it had not been published broadcast to the world with his authority4 ,of course1 ,i know perfectly well what ,professor ,thomson means to say1 but ,i have not to deal with that1 and as a matter of fact what he means to say is quite wrong1 but it will be sufficient for me to show that what he does say is wrong4 ,professor ,thomson then goes on to say3 ,suppose ,fig4 #bg represents the section of the head of a lofted club moving horizontally forward from right to left1 the effect of the impact will be the same as if the club were at rest and the ball were shot against it horizontally from left to right4 ,here ,professor ,thomson shows that he is quite under a misapprehension as to the production of the golf stroke4 ,he pre-supposes that the club is moving in a horizontal direction at the moment it hits the ball4 ,in a vast majority of instances1 probably in about ninety per cent of cases1 the club is not moving in a horizontal direction--in fact1 it would be hardly too much to say that it never moves in a horizontal direction4 ,it is nearly always moving either upwards or downwards in a curve at the moment it strikes the ball1 so that it stands to reason1 especially when the club face is travelling upwards1 which is what it does in the great majority of cases1 that the blow is never delivered horizontally1 but is always struck more or less upward through the ball's centre of mass4 ,practical teachers of golf know how extremely hard it is to induce the beginner1 and for the matter of that many people who are far beyond beginners1 to trust the loft of the club to raise the ball from the earth2 so many players never get out of the habit of attempting to hit upwards4 ,it stands to reason that if the blow in golf were delivered as with a billiard cue1 any blow struck in that manner1 provided the face of the club had sufficient loft1 would tend to produce back-spin1 but practically no blow in golf is struck in the manner described by ,professor ,thomson2 nor is the beneficial back-spin of golf obtained in this manner1 in fact the loft of the club has comparatively little to do with producing the back-spin which so materially assists the length of the carry4 ,there can1 of course1 be no doubt that loft does assist a person in producing this back-spin1 or1 as ,professor ,thomson calls it1 under-spin1 but to nothing like the extent which is imagined by the worthy ,professor4 ,the beneficial back-spin of golf is obtained by striking the golf ball before the head of the club has reached the lowest point in its swing2 in other words1 the back-spin is put on a golf ball by downward cut--by the very reverse to that cut which is put on a ball when a man tops it badly4 ,in the one case it is up cut1 or1 as it is called in lawn-tennis1 top1 which is a misleading term which has led many people1 besides ,sir ,j4 ,j4 ,thomson1 astray1 and in the other case it is downward cut1 which is exactly similar in its effect to the chop at lawn-tennis4 ,professor ,thomson1 for the purpose of illustrating the fact that the golf ball obtains the beneficial spin1 which influences its carry so materially1 from the loft of the club1 shows us a club face with a loft much greater than that of a niblick1 and proceeds to demonstrate from this loft1 which it is unnecessary to tell a golfer does not exist on any club which is used for driving1 that the ball acquires its back-spin from the loft of the face of the club4 ,i have already referred to the ,professor's fundamental fallacy that the golf stroke is delivered in a horizontal line--in effect that the force of the blow proceeds horizontally1 but he is guilty of another very great error from the point of view of practical golf when he shows a club such as he has done1 in order to explain how the beneficial back-spin of golf is obtained4 ,such a club as he shows might be useful for getting out of a bunker1 but it certainly would be of no use whatever in practical golf for driving4 ,as every golfer knows1 the face of the driver is1 comparatively speaking1 very upright1 and firing a ball at a wall built at the same angle as the loft of a driver would certainly not produce on that ball much in the way of back-spin4 ,the idea of a modern golf ball which flattens very considerably on the face of the club1 rolling up the face of a driver on account of its loft1 is too ridiculous to be considered seriously by a practical golfer4 ,the trouble is that ,professor ,thomson always takes for his hypothesis something which does not exist in golf1 so that in the great majority of cases it does not really matter to us what he proves4 ,as a matter of fact1 there is in golf only one horizontal stroke1 and that is the stymie stroke introduced into the game by me1 and which ,i have hereinbefore fully described4 ,this stroke shows us conclusively how the power goes mostly into elevation instead of into propulsion4 ,it is an absolute answer1 if one were required1 to ,professor ,thomson's theories4 ,professor ,thomson's error is of such a fundamental nature that ,i must quote his sentence again in giving my readers the full paragraph wherein he exposes the delusion under which he is suffering4 ,he says3 ,suppose ,fig4 #bg represents the section of the head of a lofted club moving horizontally forward from right to left1 the effect of the impact will be the same as if the club were at rest and the ball were shot against it horizontally from left to right4 ,evidently1 however1 in this case the ball would tend to roll up the face1 and would thus get spin about a horizontal axis in the direction shown in the figure2 this is under-spin and produces the upward force which tends to increase the carry of the ball4 ,this is the rock upon which ,professor ,thomson has split4 ,he is under the impression that the beneficial back-spin of golf is obtained by loft1 whereas it is perfectly possible to obtain the beneficial back-spin of golf with a club having a vertical face1 and being at the moment of impact in a vertical plane1 but in order to do this it would be necessary that the ball should be teed very high1 as indeed one of the most famous professionals in the world is in the habit of doing when he is playing for a low ball against the wind4 ,when in ,modern ,golf ,i stated that a high tee for a low ball was practical golf1 it was considered revolutionary1 if not incorrect1 doctrine1 but players now understand that by using the high tee for a low ball they are enabled to cut down beyond the ball more than they could do if the ball were lying on the earth1 and that they are1 in this manner1 enabled to obtain much more of the back-spin which gives the ball its extra carry1 and also to play it with less loft4 ,this is a very serious error for a man of ,professor ,thomson's attainments to make1 and indeed it is to me a wonder how he could possibly make the mistake of thinking that the force in the blow at golf is administered horizontally4 ,this is one of the worst errors which he has made1 but the idea that the back-spin of golf is obtained mainly by the loft of the club is utterly unsound and pernicious4 ,it is so unsound1 and the correct understanding of the method of producing this stroke is so important to golf1 especially to the golf of the future1 that ,i must explain fully how this stroke is obtained4 ,i have already shown that it is played by a downward glancing blow which hits the ball before the club reaches the lowest point in its swing1 and ,i have already shown the delusion under which many players labour1 even including so eminent a player as ,harry ,vardon1 that the ball is struck down on to the earth4 ,although the ball is struck a descending blow1 there is in the blow much more of the forward motion than the downward1 so that all the ordinary principles with regard to getting the ball up into the air1 apply with equal force to this stroke as to any other1 and it is a matter of prime importance that the ball must be struck below the centre of its mass--that the loft of the club must get in underneath what is popularly called the middle of the ball4 ,if this does not take place the ball will not rise from the earth1 and to show as ,harry ,vardon does1 at page #agj of ,the ,complete ,golfer1 that the ball must be struck at or above the centre of its mass1 and with1 as he indicates at page #ajf1 a vertical face1 is utterly unsound golf4 ,i cannot emphasise too strongly that in this miscalled push shot1 which is answerable for all back-spin1 the loft must be allowed to do its work in the ordinary manner1 otherwise the stroke will be a failure4 ,having now made it perfectly clear how this stroke is obtained1 ,i must explain a little more clearly the wonderful character of this ball which is without any doubt whatever1 in my mind1 the king of golf strokes in so far as regards obtaining distance and accuracy and direction4 ,on account of the downward glancing blow the ball has been struck1 it leaves the club with a very great amount of back-spin4 ,the hands are always forward of the ball at the moment of impact in this stroke when it is properly played4 ,it stands to reason that this1 to a certain extent1 decreases the loft of the club with which the stroke is played4 ,the result is that the ball goes away on the first portion of its journey with a very low flight1 keeping very close indeed to the earth4 ,all the time it is doing this1 however1 the ball1 as we know1 is spinning backwards1 which means that the lower portion of the ball is spinning towards the hole1 and that it is on the lower portion of the ball that the motions of progression and revolution conspire4 ,it is equally obvious that on the upper portion of the ball the progression through the air is at the same rate1 but in so far as regards its frictional-producing result on the air1 it is lessened by the fact that the upper portion of the ball is revolving or spinning backwardly towards the player4 ,the result of this is that the ball is getting much more friction on the lower portion than it is on the top1 but as speed can always dominate spin1 this is not very apparent until about two-thirds of the carry4 ,as the speed of the ball begins to decrease1 the friction of the spin gets a better grip on the air1 and the result is that with the continual rubbing of the air on the lower portion of the ball1 it is forced upward and so it continues until the lifting power of the combined propulsion and revolution is exhausted4 ,by this time the ball has arrived at the highest point of its trajectory and it then begins in the natural order of things to fall towards the earth4 ,it is obvious that by this time much of the back-spin will have been exhausted1 but there still remains a considerable amount of rotation1 and as the ball begins to fall towards the earth this back-spin which has hitherto been used for forcing the ball upwards into the air1 still exerts its influence1 and as it is travelling towards the earth the remnant of the back-spin exerts its influence to extend the carry of the ball1 because the main frictional portion of the ball has1 to a certain extent1 on account of the dropping of the ball1 been altered and shifted probably a little more towards the lower side of the ball4 ,the result of all this is that by the time this ball1 in a well played drive1 comes to earth1 most of the beneficial back-spin which obtained for it its long flight1 will have been exhausted1 and that portion which remains and has not been exhausted will1 in all probability1 be killed on impact1 for the ball pitches on one point1 and naturally the top portion tends to throw forward so that the ball will run along the course4 ,it stands to reason that it would require an enormous amount of back-spin to stay with the ball during the period of its low flight1 to lift the ball then to the highest point in its trajectory near the end of its carry1 to stay with it still in its descent1 and then to be strong enough to resist the shock of landing so as to check the run of the ball4 ,the result is that on account of the low trajectory of this ball and of the phenomena explained by me1 it is frequently1 when well played1 and particularly in dry weather1 a good runner1 so that we see that in this ball we have practically the ideal golf drive2 a drive with which no other can compare2 a drive which is as good1 although it is called the wind-cheater1 for a still day as in a gale4 ,from this explanation it will be seen what a poor chance anyone would have who follows ,professor ,thomson's ideas of obtaining the beneficial back-spin of golf from the loft of the club and a horizontal blow4 ,professor ,thomson gives some illustrations of the pull and the slice4 ,in two of his figures he shows horizontal blows being produced in a straight line with the line of flight4 ,both of these1 ,i may say1 are absolutely impossible in golf4 ,he shows a slice in ,fig4 #bi which would be much more likely to result in a pull1 and he shows a pull in ,fig4 #ca which would almost certainly result in a slice even if the shots were possible1 which1 as he shows them1 they are not4 ,professor ,thomson shows by diagram an ordinary slice which he says is produced by such a motion as would be produced if the arms were pulled in at the end of the stroke4 ,this in itself is an utterly loose definition4 ,what ,professor ,thomson evidently means is if the arms were pulled in during the stroke or at the moment of impact1 but as ,i have shown the slice is not produced by the arms being pulled in at the moment of impact4 ,it is produced by the club head travelling across the ball at an angle to the intended line of flight of the ball4 ,professor ,thomson shows the slice in this case by diagram1 and correctly1 but he says that if the club were fixed rigidly and the ball were fired at the club down the same line as the club made in its previous stroke1 the ball would come off the club in exactly the same manner as when it was hit by the club1 but in this he is making a very grave error1 as ,i think ,i shall be able to show4 ,i shall quote ,professor ,thomson with regard to this matter4 ,his proposition is so simple that although ,i give his indicating letters it will not be necessary for me to reproduce his diagram4 ,he says3 ,suppose1 now1 the face of the club is not square to its direction of motion1 but that looking down on the club its line of motion when it strikes the ball is along ,p ,q 7,fig4 #bh71 such a motion as would be produced if the arms were pulled in at the end of the stroke1 the effect of the impact now will be the same as if the club were at rest and the ball projected along ,r ,s1 the ball will endeavour to roll along the face away from the striker2 it will spin in the direction shown in the figure about a vertical axis4 ,this1 as we have seen1 is the spin which produces a slice4 ,this1 as we have already seen1 is not the spin which produces a slice1 but we need not waste any further time going into that matter4 ,we can1 however1 deal with what ,professor ,thomson meant to say when he wrote 444 but if you grasp the principle that the action between the club and the ball depends only on their relative motion1 and that it is the same whether we have the ball fixed and move the club or have the club fixed and project the ball against it1 the main features are very easily understood4 ,for the purpose of analysing what ,professor ,thomson evidently meant when he wrote this1 let us take the ordinary case of a slice4 ,we all know now quite well that a slice is produced by a glancing blow coming inwardly across the intended line of flight1 and ,professor ,thomson tells us it is exactly the same thing whether we hit the ball with the club or fire the ball against the club4 ,let us see how this works out in the slice4 ,we will consider1 for the sake of argument1 that the slice has been produced by a stroke which has come across the intended line of flight at an angle of #cj degrees4 ,we shall now fasten our club rigidly and fire the golf ball out of a catapult against its face so that it hits it dead in the centre1 and so that it travels down a line at an angle of #cj degrees to the face4 ,now most of us know enough elementary mechanics to know that in hitting a still object such as the face of the golf club1 the ball will come off it at the same angle at which it hit it--in other words that the angle of reflection is the same as the angle of incidence1 allowing always1 of course1 for the slight alteration which will be made by the loft of the club4 ,in this case1 of course1 we have one object which is absolutely still1 and all the motion during impact is confined to the ball4 ,now let us consider the impact in the slice4 ,in this case the club strikes the ball a violent blow4 ,the ball1 to a very great extent1 flattens on the face of the club1 and both the ball and the club travel together for a certain distance across the direct line of flight to the hole1 and during the time that they are thus travelling together the club is imparting spin to the ball and influencing its direction1 so that instead of the ball doing anything whatever in the nature of spinning off the face of the club at a natural angle1 it is driving1 during its initial stages1 very straightly for a long distance before the spin begins to take effect4 ,it seems to me that the slice may be taken as a very good illustration showing that what ,professor ,thomson meant to explain is quite incorrect from a golfing point of view4 ,it is quite evident that before we could accept as authoritative the explanations which have been given by ,professor ,thomson of these somewhat abstruse problems1 it would be necessary for us to have1 as he puts it1 a new dynamics4 ,i have already dealt very fully both in ,england and ,america with this remarkable lecture by ,professor ,thomson4 ,i have criticised it in the leading reviews and magazines of the world1 and the authoritative golfing paper of ,england--,golf ,illustrated--in a leader1 invited ,professor ,thomson to make good his assertions1 but he has not been able to do so4 ,one can understand fallacious matter being published under the names of professional golfers when one knows quite well that the majority of the work is done by journalists hired for the purpose1 but it is almost impossible to understand how such utterly false doctrine could be put out by so eminent a man1 and under the auspices of the ,royal ,institution of ,great ,britain4 ,the flight of the ball has always been a fascinating and for most people a very mysterious subject1 but except in one or two matters there is no mystery whatever about the flight of the golf ball1 but even amongst practical golfers there is an amazing lack of accurate information4 ,for instance1 we find ,mr4 ,walter ,j4 ,travis1 in ,practical ,golf at page #aci1 saying3 ,with a very rapid swing1 the force or energy stored up in the gutta ball is greater than in the ,haskell4 ,the latter1 by reason of its greater comparative resiliency does not remain in contact with the club head quite so long1 and therefore does not receive the full benefit of the greater velocity of the stroke in the same proportion as the less resilient gutta4 ,it flies off the face too quickly to get the full measure of energy imparted by a very swift stroke4 ,this responsiveness or resiliency1 however1 asserts itself in a greater and more compensating degree in the case of the shorter driver4 ,it makes up1 in his case1 for the lack of speed1 and he finds his distance very sensibly increased4 ,this is a remarkable error for a golfer like ,mr4 ,travis to make4 ,it is abundantly plain that the rubber-cored ball stays on the face of the club much longer than the old gutta-percha ball did4 ,provided that there were such things in the world as incompressible balls1 the impact in the drive would be of the least possible duration with them1 but the more compressible the ball becomes the longer it will dwell on the face of the golf club4 ,that the rubber-cored ball does dwell for a greater period on the face of the club is responsible1 to a great extent1 for the fact that the modern ball swerves much more when sliced or pulled than did the old guttie in similar circumstances1 and the reason seems to be that on account of the fact that the ball stays longer on the face of the club during the time that the club is going across the intended line of flight1 it is able to impart to the ball a much greater spin4 ,this spin1 as we know1 exerts its influence principally towards the end of the ball's flight1 and in all probability it gets to work now approximately at the same place where the spin in the old gutta-percha ball began to assert itself1 but probably a little further in the carry4 ,we all know that once the spin has begun to assert itself so as to make the ball swerve1 its deflection from the line1 particularly with a suitable wind1 is extremely rapid1 and we all know equally well that the carry of the rubber-cored ball is much longer than that of the old gutta-percha4 ,it stands to reason that the ball having a much greater distance wherein to swerve will execute a correspondingly larger swerve than it would if its carry were shorter4 ,we find some amazing statements made by authors who profess to deal with golf4 ,for instance at page #afg of ,the ,mystery of ,golf1 we are informed that 444 another important thing about the follow-through1 surely1 is this4 ,as ,mr4 ,travis has pointed out1 such is the resiliency of the rubber ball that club and ball are in contact for an appreciable period of time--the impact1 that is1 is not instantaneous4 ,it is highly probable that the trajectory of the ball is largely influenced by this period of contact4 ,if you follow through your club head travels in precisely the same line as the ball1 and the flight of the ball is by this rendered straighter1 steadier1 and longer4 ,this1 truly1 is a wonderful instance of analytical thought by one who is attempting to explain the mystery of golf4 ,he has come to the conclusion that it is highly probable that the trajectory of the ball is largely influenced by this period of contact4 ,i have seen many goals kicked at ,rugby football1 and have kicked a few myself1 and ,i am almost sure that in every case when a goal was scored the boot had a good deal to do with the direction4 ,marvellous analysis this6 ,we may1 however1 discard these wonderful efforts of analysis and deal with the remark made by the author that if you follow through1 your club head travels in precisely the same line as the ball1 for this is absolutely incorrect in the case of many strokes wherein one desires to influence the flight of the ball by applying spin4 ,for instance1 at practically no time of its travel1 no matter how good the stroke is and how perfect one's follow-through1 is the club head in the slice or the pull in precisely the same line as the ball4 ,this is merely one of hundreds of instances of confused thought for which the poor golfer has to suffer4 ,i have before referred to the idea of pulling and slicing to counteract wind4 ,it is astonishing how deeply rooted this idea is4 ,at page #ec of ,concerning ,golf ,mr4 ,john ,l4 ,low says3 ,there is no shot which produces such straight results as the sliced shot against a right hand breeze1 to which ,i reply that there is no shot which gives such straight results as the straight shot in itself without slice or pull of any description whatever1 and that as a matter of fact it is practically impossible to calculate within twenty yards1 and that means double the distance1 where one will land if one starts pulling and slicing in a cross wind4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xii4 ,,george ,,duncan ,a characteristic stroke1 showing ,duncan's perfect finish in the drive4 ,this is a matter of such importance that ,i must quote ,harry ,vardon in support of my statement4 ,he says at page #ib of ,the ,complete ,golfer3 ,now1 however1 that this question is raised1 ,i feel it desirable to say1 without any hesitation1 that the majority of golfers possess vastly exaggerated notions of the effect of strong cross winds on the flight of their ball4 ,they greatly over-estimate the capabilities of a breeze4 ,to judge by their observations on the tee1 one concludes that a wind from the left is often sufficient to carry the ball away at an angle of #de degrees1 and indeed sometimes when it does take such an exasperating course and finishes on the journey some fifty yards away from the point from which it was desired to despatch it1 there is an impatient exclamation from the disappointed golfer1 ,confound this wind6 ,who on earth can play in a hurricane6 or words to that effect4 ,now ,i have quite satisfied myself that only a very strong wind indeed will carry a properly driven ball more than a very few yards out of its course1 and in proof of this ,i may say that it is very seldom when ,i have to deal with a cross wind that ,i do anything but play straight at the hole without any pulling or slicing or making allowances in any way4 ,if golfers will only bring themselves to ignore the wind1 then it1 in turn1 will almost entirely ignore their straight ball4 ,when you find your ball at rest the afore-mentioned forty or fifty yards from the point which you desired to send it1 make up your mind1 however unpleasant it may be to do so1 that the trouble is due to an unintentional pull or slice1 and you may get what consolation you can from the fact that the slightest of these variations from the ordinary drive is seized upon with delight by any wind1 and its features exaggerated to an enormous extent4 ,it is quite possible therefore that a slice which would have taken the ball only twenty yards from the line when there was no wind1 will take it forty yards away with the kind assistance of its friend and ally4 ,these are1 unquestionably1 words of wisdom4 ,there can be no doubt whatever that the straight ball is the ball all the time in golf1 and it is absolutely certain that what ,vardon says about the effect of the wind on the golf ball is true4 ,wind has remarkably little effect on the golf ball which is driven without spin4 ,i have had no doubt on this subject for at least seventeen years4 ,i had my lesson in one ball during the course of a match played over my home links in ,new ,zealand4 ,one of the holes was on top of a volcanic mountain at a place where ,new ,zealand is only a few miles wide1 and there was a howling gale raging from ocean to ocean right across the island4 ,i can remember as if it were yesterday1 the champion of ,new ,zealand1 as he was then1 playing this hole4 ,he drove a very high and perfectly straight ball from tee to green1 and the ball travelled to all appearances as directly as if there had been no wind whatever1 whereas had there been the least slice on the ball it would have been picked up by the wind and carried away into the crater which lay sixty or a hundred yards off the course4 ,speaking of ,mr4 ,low reminds me that he makes some extraordinary statements with regard to spin4 ,at page #ce of ,concerning ,golf he says3 ,i have said that a ball with left to right spin swings in the air towards the left in exactly the opposite direction from a sliced ball and from contrary causes4 ,it is obvious that this is wrong1 for the spin of the slice is from left to right1 and of course1 as every one knows1 that spin makes the ball swerve towards the right1 which is the swerve of the slice4 ,at page #cb ,mr4 ,low makes the same error4 ,he says there3 ,now a pulled ball comes round to the left because the sphere is rotating from left to right1 or in the direction contrary to the hands of a watch4 ,this1 of course1 is a contradiction1 for the hands of a watch as we look at them do rotate from left to right1 but in any case ,mr4 ,low's explanation is quite incorrect1 because the spin of the ball is not in a direction contrary to the hands of a watch laid face upwards on the ground1 as ,mr4 ,low affirms4 ,mr4 ,low says at page #ca3 ,every child nowadays seems to know how to slice a ball2 you have only to ask the question and the answer will come quickly enough1 ,oh1 draw the hands in when you are hitting1 or1 in other words1 spin the ball in the direction of the hands of a watch laid face upwards on the ground4 ,the ball advancing with this spin finds it is resisted most strongly by the atmosphere on its left side1 and therefore goes towards the right in the direction of least resistance4 ,the converse is the case with a pulled ball in the sense of a ball which curves in the air from right to left4 ,we have already shown in dealing with ,professor ,thomson's article that this statement is quite incorrect4 ,in passing ,i may also refer to the fact that ,mr4 ,low's idea of the production of the slice1 viz4 by drawing the hands in when one is hitting1 is also wrong4 ,there is no drawing in of the hands at the moment of impact in the properly played slice4 ,it is the drawing in1 if we may use the term1 of the head of the club in its travel across the intended line of flight1 but not anything which is done intentionally during impact4 ,however1 that is by the way4 ,mr4 ,low is evidently under the impression1 as was ,professor ,thomson1 that the spin of the ball in the slice is about a vertical axis4 ,this is an error in itself1 as we have shown1 but it is not nearly so bad an error as it is to say that the pull is the converse of the slice in this respect1 for1 as we have seen1 if the ball were merely spinning about a vertical axis it could not possibly have the running powers which it possesses1 to say nothing of its low flight4 ,although ,mr4 ,low has got somewhat mixed in describing his rotation1 it is evident from his reference to the hands of the clock that his ideas are correct in so far as regards the general direction of spin1 but where he is at fault is in stating the axis of rotation of his ball4 ,if we accept ,mr4 ,low's statement about the axis of rotation we shall have the pulled ball1 when it lands1 striking the earth with a spin equivalent to a sleeping top1 but that is not what we want in the pulled ball1 for neither would it give us the low trajectory which we desire so much1 nor would it give us1 on landing1 the running which we desire1 if anything1 still more4 ,the spin which we desire to produce and which we must have in our minds to produce when we are playing the stroke1 is such a spin as will give us1 when the ball lands1 approximately the spin of a disc top as it falls to earth when its spin is nearly exhausted4 ,i am speaking now1 of course1 not of the question of degree1 but of the plane of spin4 ,we must have our ball spinning in such a plane that when it touches the earth it will behave in the same manner as the disc top does when its side comes into contact with the floor4 ,in dealing with ,the ,science of the ,stroke1 ,james ,braid in ,advanced ,golf goes into an analysis of the effect of spin on flight4 ,he says early in the chapter3 ,at the present time most players know how they ought to be standing1 and what the exact movements of their arms1 wrists1 and body should be in order to swing the club in the right way and make the ball travel as far as possible1 but they do not all know1 and in few cases one suspects have ever troubled to think1 what is the process by which these movements1 when properly executed1 bring about the desired effect4 ,i do not know how ,braid can truthfully say that at the present time most players know how they ought to be standing1 when we are confronted with the fact that his own book1 ,advanced ,golf1 and practically every book which has been published on the game1 tells the unfortunate golfer to stand as he ought not to be standing instead of giving him the simple truth and sound golf1 and it is incomprehensible to me how ,braid can say that they know what the exact movements of their arms1 wrists1 and body should be in order to swing the club in the right way1 when he himself has confessed in ,advanced ,golf that1 particularly with regard to the wrists1 which unquestionably have a most important function to fulfil in the golf drive1 he absolutely does not know where they come in4 ,it is useless in a work on ,advanced ,golf to assume on the part of one's readers a knowledge superior to that which the author of the book himself has given as his own limitations4 ,braid says3 ,they have the cause and also the effect1 but they do not often see the connection between the two4 ,of course1 the ball in a ball game moves always according to scientific laws1 but it has seemed to those who have studied these matters that the scientific problems involved in the flight of the golf ball are more intricate1 but at the same time more interesting1 than in many other cases4 ,of course this is quite stupid1 because1 as ,i have frequently explained1 there is no special set of mechanical laws for golf--or the golf ball4 ,the golf ball follows in all respects exactly the same laws as those which govern the flight and run of any other ball4 ,the only difference in connection with the golf ball is that it is probably the most unscientifically constructed ball in the world of sport4 ,braid continues3 ,the chief matter of this kind that it is desirable the golfer should understand is that concerning the character and effect of the spin that is given to the golf ball when it leaves the club4 ,this spin is at the root of all the difficulties and all the delights of the game1 and yet there are some players--one might even say many--who do not even know that their ball spins at all as they hit it from the tee4 ,i may pause here to note that ,james ,braid says that spin is at the root of all the difficulties and all the delights of golf4 ,this is in many respects quite an exaggeration1 but ,i am giving it exactly as he says it1 for the simple reason that it emphasises the fact which ,i have always insisted on1 that a proper knowledge of the application of spin to the golf ball is essential for one who would attain to the greatest success or who would obtain the greatest enjoyment from the game4 ,braid quotes the work of the late ,professor ,tait very extensively4 ,referring to the most important subject of back-spin1 he says3 ,it appears to be the proper regulation of the under-spin given to the ball when applying it from the tee and through the green1 at all events when length is what is most required1 that makes success1 and it is in this way that players of inferior physical power must make up for their deficiency and drive long balls4 ,i may say at once that any idea whatever of the proper regulation of back-spin in the drive is1 from the point of view of practical golf1 merely nonsense4 ,in so far as regards obtaining extra distance by driving a low ball with back-spin1 whose properties ,i have already fully described1 there is nothing whatever to be done but to get back-spin and as much of it as one possibly can4 ,the golfer has yet to be born who in driving can obtain too much back-spin4 ,braid says3 ,it is in the long drive that the principles of spin are most interesting and important1 but it must be remembered also that they are very prominent in their action upon the flight of the ball in the case of many other shots1 and the peculiarities of different trajectories can generally be traced to this cause after a very little thought by one who has a knowledge of the scientific side of the matter1 as explained by ,professor ,tait4 ,this is particularly the case with high lofted approach shots4 ,one may remark here1 perhaps1 that there is no more unsuitable stroke in which to study the peculiarity of the application of back-spin to the trajectory of the ball than in the high lofted approach shots1 for it is in such shots as these practically an impossibility1 if one may so express it1 to locate the influence of the spin on the flight of the ball4 ,it is quite a different thing in the wind-cheater class of stroke where one sees the ball travelling low across the turf and can absolutely mark the place where the back-spin begins to get to work and give the ball its upward tendency towards the end of the drive1 and1 when the velocity of the ball has become sufficiently reduced1 to allow the back-spin to exert its lifting power4 ,i now come to a matter which is of very great importance in the application of back-spin to the ball4 ,it is quite evident to me that ,braid is falling into the same error as that which was originally made by ,professor ,tait1 and followed fifteen years later by ,professor ,sir ,j4 ,j4 ,thomson4 ,on page #bbf he says3 ,therefore the great authority concluded that good driving lies not merely in powerful hitting1 but in the proper apportionment of quite good hitting with such a knack as gives the right amount of under-spin to the ball2 and one of his calculations was to the effect that1 in certain circumstances1 a man who imparted under-spin to his ball when driving it might get a carry of about thirty yards more than that obtained by another man who hit as hard but made no under-spin4 ,there would1 of course1 be a great difference in the comparative trajectories of the two balls4 ,in the case of the short one there is no resistance to gravity1 and consequently1 in order to get any sort of flight at all1 the ball must be directed upwards when it is hit from the tee1 or1 to use a scientific term1 there must be initial elevation4 ,this may be only very slight1 but it is quite distinguishable1 and in fact a player1 who is only at the beginning of his practice1 and has little knowledge of the principles of the game1 will generally be found trying to hit his ball in an upward direction1 and by that means will make it travel farther than it would have done otherwise4 ,on the other hand1 the ball that is properly driven by a good player is not only not consciously aimed upwards1 but1 according to ,professor ,tait1 is not hit upwards4 ,for some distance after it has left the tee it follows a line nearly parallel with the ground1 and eventually rises as the result of the under-spin which is forcing it upwards all the time4 ,we may pause here to consider a few of the statements in this remarkable passage4 ,i may say again that the idea of driving a ball with the proper apportionment of quite good hitting with such a knack as gives the right amount of under-spin to the ball is simply a wild guess at what takes place during the execution of a correct drive with back-spin4 ,the proper playing of this stroke is a matter of very considerable difficulty1 and it is practically a certainty that no golfer has ever lived or ever will live who could regulate his back-spin in the drive to any appreciable extent2 all that he ever thinks of doing--all that he is ever likely to do--is to obtain his back-spin1 and as much of it as he can4 ,it is1 of course1 quite wrong to say that in the ball hit without back-spin there is no resistance to gravity1 for if there were no resistance to gravity the ball would be on the earth4 ,however1 we know quite well what is meant1 although1 when we are dealing with a matter which is absolutely a matter of science1 we do not expect such loose statements as these4 ,i should probably have passed this remark1 but for the fact that it is emphasised by the statement that in order to get any sort of flight at all the ball must be directed upwards when it is hit from the tee1 which again1 as a matter of practical golf1 is what nine of ten golfers do1 although we are told that a player who is only at the beginning of his practice1 and has little knowledge of the principles of the game1 will generally be found trying to hit his ball in an upward direction4 ,it is astonishing how few players1 even of quite a good class1 are content to leave the question of elevation entirely to the club4 ,it probably would be no exaggeration to say that quite ninety per cent of the players make an attempt1 however extremely slight it may be1 to assist the club in lifting the ball from the earth4 ,according to the best theory in golf1 this is quite wrong1 for the blow should be at least in a horizontal direction1 which practically it never is1 and preferably in the line of the arc formed by the club head in its travel through the air on its downward path4 ,the latter case1 of course1 would produce back-spin1 and a considerable amount of it4 ,the former would probably produce slight back-spin1 but a very slight amount4 ,however1 the very great majority of golfing hits are at the moment of impact proceeding upwardly1 and it is this fact which puts any idea whatever of the unconscious application of back-spin by the ordinary golfer quite beyond serious consideration4 ,the amount of back-spin which is unconsciously applied to the golf ball is practically negligible4 ,we see that1 according to ,professor ,tait1 the ball which is properly driven by a good player is not only not consciously aimed upwards1 but that it is actually not hit upwards4 ,indeed we are told that for some distance after it has left the tee it follows a line nearly parallel with the ground and eventually rises as the result of the under-spin that is forcing it upwards all the time4 ,this statement is not in accordance with the experience of practical golfers4 ,it is evident that ,professor ,tait was under the impression1 in which1 as ,i have stated before and now emphasise1 he has been followed by ,professor ,sir ,j4 ,j4 ,thomson1 that the beneficial back-spin in golf is obtained by the loft of the club4 ,there can be no doubt whatever that if a golf ball were struck a blow by a golf club having any considerable degree of loft and proceeding at the moment of impact in a straight line1 the result would be to impart some degree of back-spin1 but this is not what happens in practical golf4 ,at no portion of the travel of the head of the club in the golf drive is it proceeding in a horizontal direction1 and in the vast majority of cases1 at the moment of impact1 even with the very best of stroke players1 the club is going upward4 ,if this were not so it would be impossible for many of our greatest drivers to get the trajectories they do with the comparatively straight-faced clubs which they use4 ,braid quotes an experiment which was made by ,professor ,tait in the course of his investigations with regard to the qualities of under-spin4 ,it appears that the ,professor laid a ball to the string of a crossbow1 the string being just below the middle of the ball1 so that when it was let go it would impart a certain amount of under-spin to it4 ,when he shot the ball in this way he made it fly straight to a mark that was thirty yards distant2 but when he shot it a second time1 pulling the string to the same extent and laying it to the middle of the ball so that no under-spin would be given to it1 the ball fell eight feet short of the same mark4 ,it is impossible to accept such a rough and crude experiment as this as evidence in any way whatever of the influence of back-spin in the drive2 rather it would seem to show beyond a shadow of doubt that the extra carry was obtained because the power of propulsion was applied to the ball at a lower portion1 and therefore tended to give it a greater trajectory4 ,it should be obvious that this result would be obtained even disregarding the question of back-spin1 which in such an extremely short flight as thirty yards would certainly not have any opportunity whatever to make such a difference in the length of carry as that suggested4 ,it is1 however1 when we come to deal with questions of practical golf that we find that the ideas of the late ,professor ,tait will not bear looking into4 ,braid says3 ,however1 it is well to bear in mind one thing that the ,professor said1 ,the pace which the player can give the club head at the moment of impact depends to a very considerable extent on the relative motion of his two hands 7to which is due the 'nip'7 during the immediately preceding two-hundredth of a second1 while the amount of beneficial spin is seriously diminished by even a trifling upward concavity of the path of the head during the ten-thousandth of a second occupied by the blow4 ,here we have plain evidence of the fact that ,professor ,tait is under the impression that there is some particular snap which he calls nip imported into the stroke immediately before impact4 ,we have already dealt fully with this matter4 ,we remember what ,vardon has said in condemning the idea1 and we know that ,braid himself has confessed that he knows nothing about the matter1 so it will not seem disrespectful if we come to the conclusion that we can disregard this vague statement about the nip in the blow4 ,we can then proceed to notice the really important remark made that the amount of beneficial spin is seriously diminished by even a trifling upward concavity of the path of the head during the ten-thousandth of a second occupied by the blow4 ,it seems to me that this last statement is absolutely accurate1 and it is the thing which ,i have always contended for in dealing with the practical side of golf driving1 as contradistinguished from the purely theoretical1 which has been put before us by ,professor ,tait1 and following him1 by ,professor ,sir ,j4 ,j4 ,thomson4 ,it will be observed that ,professor ,tait said that the amount of beneficial spin is seriously diminished by even a trifling upward concavity of the path of the head during the ten-thousandth of a second occupied by the blow4 ,some of my readers may remember that when ,i was dealing with ,professor ,sir ,j4 ,j4 ,thomson's lecture before the ,royal ,society in an article which appeared in ,the ,english ,review in ,february #aiaa1 ,i stated that what actually did happen was that there took place in practically every drive at golf exactly this trifling upward concavity of the path of the head during the ten-thousandth of a second occupied by the blow1 and that therefore the amount of beneficial back-spin obtained from the loft of the club was practically negligible4 ,it is quite clear that ,professor ,tait was under the impression that back-spin was got from the loft of the club proceeding in a horizontal direction1 but it is well known now to golfers who give the science of the game any attention whatever1 that back-spin is not obtained in this manner1 and that back-spin so obtained would be practically ineffectual as an aid to distance1 for the loft of the driver and the brassy is not sufficient1 even if the golf drive were played in the manner suggested1 to produce any considerable amount of back-spin4 ,as we have already seen1 the beneficial back-spin in the golf drive is obtained by the club striking the ball long before the beginning of the upward concavity of the path of the head1 that is to say1 in its arc as it is proceeding downwards to the lowest point in the swing from which it then starts that upward concavity4 ,i have emphasised and re-emphasised this matter1 for it is evident that when famous men like ,professors ,tait and ,thomson start out with an absolutely erroneous idea1 an idea which is fundamentally wrong1 it is quite natural for less gifted men to be led astray4 ,braid says1 and it must be remembered that this is in ,advanced ,golf 7page #bbi73 ,so far as ,i know1 it cannot be stated in accurate scientific terms and figures1 and by lines drawn on paper1 what is the proper scientific swing in order to get the best drive4 ,this seems to me1 especially in a book like this1 to be a wonderful statement1 particularly when we are dealing with the scientific results arrived at by men of the greatest eminence1 results which ,i may say have been known for more than two hundred and fifty years4 ,there is no doubt whatever which is the best way to swing in order to get the best drive1 and it can be explained in scientific language and shown by diagram and by figures1 and in fact it has been so shown again and again4 ,braid says3 ,what golfers have done1 therefore1 in the past has been to find out gradually which is the best way in which to hit the ball in order to make it travel far1 and thus they have groped their way to the stances and swings which1 if the truth were known1 would probably be set out by science as the best possible ones for the purpose4 ,this very well expresses what has taken place4 ,the golfers have groped their way to what they have found out1 without a glimmering of the scientific reasons for doing it1 and the consequence is that1 as they got their practice first1 and were not informed of what they were doing by that theory which is the best of all theory1 the concentrated essence of the practice of experts1 they have signally failed to impart their science to those who have come after them4 ,at page #bbi ,braid says3 ,however1 there are certain things that the player should know about his drive when it is right1 and which he should aim at producing1 and they have been very well set forth by ,professor ,tait as the result of his investigations into the trajectories of golf balls hit under varying conditions of club-force1 wind1 and so forth4 ,one of the first things to say1 and this is really important in estimating their chances of making certain carries that are constantly set to them in the course of their play1 is that some golfers have a delusion to the effect that the ball is at its highest point in the middle of its flight--that is to say1 they think that just about half-way between the point from which it was hit and the point at which it will touch the ground again1 the ball is at its highest1 and after that commences to fall again4 ,in this belief when they have1 say1 a #adj yards' carry to make1 they will reckon that their ball must then be coming down very fast towards the turf1 having been at its highest1 some #ej or #fj yards before4 ,they may think in such circumstances that they ought to hit up a little more and try to hit harder to make up for doing so4 ,they would be wrong entirely1 and that because they did not know what the under-spin was that they gave to the ball1 or what effect it had on its flight4 ,thus in the case just quoted1 assuming that the ball had a total carry of from #aej to #afj yards1 it would be at its highest point when it had travelled about #acj yards1 and there would be no occasion to hit up1 unless the object to be carried were very high4 ,it is obvious that in such a case as that given no practical golfer would in any way whatever consider the question of the amount of back-spin on his ball1 for he would know that he has no possibility whatever of gauging its effect in the air in such a shot1 and he will leave that to regulate itself and to act when the ball strikes the earth4 ,it is unquestionable that theoretically this may be done1 and it is well known that ,i am a strong advocate of the use of back-spin1 but in the case quoted by ,braid there is nothing whatever to show that the ball has been played in such a manner as to produce an appreciable quantity of serviceable back-spin1 or that such a method of play is necessary or advisable4 ,braid continues3 ,the fact is that a well-driven ball that has a total carry--that is1 from the tee to the point where it touches the turf again1 and not the distance of the obstacle that it clears--of about #afe yards1 under normal conditions of wind and weather1 is at its highest about #ace yards from the point where it was struck1 and after that it begins to fall rapidly4 ,this is chiefly the result of the under-spin which is given to it when it is struck by the driver in the proper way1 and it shows the importance of under-spin to the golfer1 for if there were none1 then all our courses would have to be shortened1 hazards brought closer to the tee1 and the principles upon which the game is played would have to be altered in many respects4 ,if there were no under-spin1 then the ball would have no help against the force of gravity1 and the result would be that the highest point of its flight would be half-way between the point from which it was driven and that at which it alighted4 ,we see here again strong evidence of the fact that ,braid is under the same impression as ,professor ,tait1 and that is that the back-spin of golf is obtained from the loft of the club1 whereas the loft of the club has one function1 and that is to raise the ball from the earth1 and there will be no particular necessity to alter our courses1 for in ordinary every-day golf1 back-spin is practically not used1 except when it is intentionally applied by the golfer by means of the stroke suitable for its production4 ,braid gives a series of diagrams taken from ,professor ,tait's lecture which illustrate various trajectories of golf balls driven in varying circumstances4 ,many of these are so entirely theoretical that ,i need not consider them1 but in referring to one of them ,braid says3 ,the ball which has travelled farthest1 or rather the one that has been given most carry1 is that which has been hit in the right way1 and to which has therefore been imparted the right amount of under-spin4 ,this is1 in fact1 the ideal trajectory of a well-driven ball4 ,it starts low1 rises very slowly and gradually1 the line of flight bending upwards slightly1 and does not come down too quickly after the vertex has been reached4 ,this is1 on the whole1 a sound but very general description of an accurately played wind-cheater1 but the remarkable thing is that although ,braid expresses himself in such terms of admiration for this particular ball he does not anywhere in ,advanced ,golf show us how to produce the stroke which gives this beneficial back-spin4 ,this surely is a very great oversight4 ,nor so far as ,i have been able to see does he explain clearly how the beneficial back-spin of golf is obtained4 ,braid shows clearly by his quotation from ,professor ,tait's article that in the ,professor's mind was the deep-rooted idea that it was possible to drive golf balls by a stroke delivered at the moment of impact in the same manner as is a blow from a billiard cue1 but1 needless to say1 this is in the golf drive utterly impracticable4 ,professor ,tait1 in his paper1 used a considerable number of diagrams to show that too much back-spin is bad in the drive1 but as ,i have already pointed out1 although this is very well in mere theory1 it does not work out in the slightest degree in golf4 ,it is easy to take light balloons and give them back-spin and show that it influences their trajectories to such an extent that they will go behind the point where they were struck1 but a golf ball is a very small1 hard1 and heavy thing1 and by the time that its back-spin begins to exert its influence in a marked manner on its flight it has travelled a considerable distance and the rate of spin will have materially diminished1 so that no golfer need ever be afraid of applying too much back-spin to his drive4 ,braid proceeds3 ,of course1 as already indicated1 the golfer does not know1 and in one sense does not care exactly how much under-spin he gives to his ball when he drives it1 only being aware that he has given too much or too little according to results1 and knowing also that in either case excess or otherwise was due to faulty stance or swing--most frequently this--or both4 ,in the present case of this high trajectory1 the exact amount of under-spin given to the ball is half as much again as that given to the properly driven ball1 and under the same normal conditions these would be the relative flights of the two balls4 ,now it is obvious that if ,professor ,tait was under the impression that the beneficial back-spin of golf was obtained merely from the horizontal blow delivered through the centre of the ball's mass1 so that the ball took some slight spin by its roll up the face of the club1 he had no very accurate idea of the rate of spin of that ball at the moment it left the face of the club1 so that any attempt whatever on his part to measure the respective rates of spin of the different flight of these balls must be received with very great caution4 ,as a matter of fact the rate of spin of the golf ball at the moment it leaves the club in a well-played drive with back-spin would be immeasurably faster than anything supposed by ,professor ,tait1 who based his calculations on the ball obtaining this back-spin from the loft of the club1 which is undoubtedly a grave error1 and ,braid wholly subscribes to this error1 which is not to be wondered at1 for ,professor ,sir ,j4 ,j4 ,thomson1 one of the most eminent scientists1 has fallen into the same trap4 ,professors ,tait and ,thomson and ,james ,braid talk much about the possibility of obtaining too much back-spin in the drive4 ,this is scarcely theoretically possible in golf1 and it is practically impossible4 ,i will give an example taken from practical golf which will1 ,i believe1 quite convince any golfer that the possibility of obtaining too much back-spin in the drive need never be considered4 ,let us imagine a very badly sliced ball4 ,by a badly sliced ball ,i do not necessarily mean an extremely quick slice where the ball leaves the line of flight to the hole quite suddenly1 nor do ,i mean a ball pushed away to the right of the line to the hole2 what ,i do mean is a ball which has been so sliced that it takes a tremendous curve from left to right1 beginning to develop that slice in a pronounced manner at1 say1 half to two-thirds of its carry1 which is quite bad enough for a slice4 ,we frequently see in such a case1 particularly on a windy day1 and even on a still one1 the great power which the spin has to deflect the ball from the line to the hole4 ,it must be remembered that in this curve the spin is assisted by gravity--the ball is falling much of the time as it is being edged away--and even then it will be apparent that it is easy to get much greater spin in the slice than it is in the wind-cheater1 for the simple reason that in the slice one has an unrestricted cut across the ball1 whereas one has not this opportunity with the wind-cheater1 for one hits the ground immediately one passes the ball4 ,now although it is possible to apply an infinitely greater cut to the slice than one can possibly do to the wind-cheater1 the deflection from the line1 except on a very windy day1 is1 comparatively speaking1 gradual4 ,that is to say that if1 for the sake of argument1 the trajectory of the slice could be turned upwards there would be no possibility whatever of the ball showing such a thing as a curl backwards towards the hole1 which is shown by ,professor ,tait and1 following him1 by ,professor ,thomson4 ,this is clearly so in any slice which is not an extremely exaggerated specimen1 so it stands to reason that in the wind-cheater1 where one's opportunity for applying cut is so restricted1 and where the ball in its effort to climb upwards has to fight the direct pull of gravity1 there is no possible chance of applying too much back-spin to the ball4 ,at page #bci ,braid says3 ,it may be of interest to mention that ,professor ,tait found that a well-driven ball turns once in every #b-a_/b feet at the beginning of its journey4 ,if ,professor ,tait found that a golf ball1 obtaining this back-spin in the way in which he thought it did1 turns once in every #b-a_/b feet at the beginning of its journey1 he would probably have found1 if he had realised how back-spin really is obtained1 that the number of revolutions at the moment that the ball is leaving the club are at least three or four times as many as he asserted4 ,it is unnecessary to enlarge upon the fact that this would mean a lifting capacity infinitely beyond anything that ,professors ,tait and ,thomson ever ascribed to back-spin in the drive4 ,braid continues3 ,we have so far only been considering the effect of the spinning of the ball in the case of long shots with wooden clubs4 ,as a matter of fact1 and as suggested at the outset1 it has also very great influence on the play in the case of the shorter shots with iron clubs1 as may be understood after a very little consideration of the circumstances4 ,it is the excessive under-spin that is given to the ball by the angle at which the face of the club is laid back1 and the peculiar way in which the stroke is played1 that make the ball rise so quickly and so high in the case of a short pitched approach1 and then make it stop comparatively dead when it comes to the ground again4 ,it is obvious here that ,braid is under the impression that the loft of the club is largely responsible for the back-spin in the approach shots1 but this is quite an error1 for not one player in a hundred does apply back-spin to his lofted approaches unless he has been specially taught how to do it1 for1 curiously enough1 the more lofted the club is1 the greater chance is there that the player will at the moment of impact impart into his stroke that little bit of upward concavity which ,professor ,tait says1 and truly says1 is the enemy of back-spin4 ,the fact is that very little under-spin1 or1 as ,i always prefer to call it1 back-spin1 is obtained from the loft of the club unless the blow is delivered as the club is travelling downward4 ,that is the whole essence of the secret of back-spin1 but it is not mentioned by ,professors ,tait or ,thomson1 or by ,james ,braid4 ,any attempt whatever to obtain back-spin from the loft of the club will be practically useless4 ,it must be obtained by the method of playing the shot1 and the only way to obtain it effectually is to hit the ball before the club has arrived at the lowest point in its swing4 ,by this means1 and this means alone1 is it possible to obtain the beneficial back-spin of golf1 and ,i cannot say too often or too emphatically that anyone who trusts to the loft of the club to produce back-spin will be disappointed4 ,braid seems to have a glimmering of this1 for he says3 ,however much a club were laid back it would be impossible to play these shots properly if no under-spin were given to the ball1 and it seems to be a great advantage of having the faces of iron clubs grooved or dotted that it helps the club to grasp the ball thoroughly while this under-spin is being imparted to it1 so that the full amount is given to it1 and none is wasted through the ball slipping on the face4 ,this is unquestionably sound mechanics4 ,but even here1 although ,braid is so close to the heart of the matter--although he says1 as ,i have shown repeatedly in many places1 that however much a club were laid back it would be impossible to play these shots properly if no under-spin were given to the ball1 thus stating explicitly that something more remains to be done to produce back-spin than merely to hit the ball with a lofted club1--he does not get really to the essence of the stroke and show that it must be played by the club as it is descending4 ,there is a very important matter which ,braid refers to in this chapter on the science of the stroke4 ,speaking of the follow-through and the impact1 he says3 ,one or two other calculations that were made by ,professor ,tait may be briefly mentioned at the close of this chapter1 each of them seeming to convey an idea to the golfer4 ,the first is1 that owing to the speed at which the ball leaves the club1 the total length of time during which ball and club are in contact with each other is between one five thousandth and one ten thousandth of a second1 and the total length of that part of the swing when the two are together--the length of impact--is half an inch4 ,it has been pointed out that it by no means follows from this that because the time and space of impact are so short that follow-through is of no real account1 after all1 in the making of the drive4 ,when the follow-through is properly performed it shows that the work was properly done during that half an inch of the swing that was all-important4 ,if the follow-through were short and wrong it would indicate that the work during the impact was wrong too4 ,what it comes to is this1 that it is impossible for any man to swing his club round with so much force and regulate exactly what he will do1 and be conscious of the fact that he is doing it as he regulated1 during such a short space of time as from one five thousandth to one ten thousandth of a second4 ,that is quite clear4 ,what the golfer has to do1 then1 is to make sure that his swing is right at the beginning1 that is1 in the back-swing and the down-swing1 and also in the follow-through4 ,he knows from instruction and experience that if all these things are properly done the ball will go off well2 and what it amounts to is that the beginning being right and the end being right1 control being exercised over each1 the middle is right also1 though in this case there is no control over it4 ,this quotation emphasises strongly the fact which ,i have always insisted on1 that the matter of impact with the golf ball is an incident in the travel of the head of the club1 and that it is practically impossible for the player to consciously perform anything which will affect the flight of the golf ball during impact4 ,braid has insisted upon this in other places1 and it should quite settle any idea which many people have1 of juggling with the golf ball during impact1 but it is a remarkable thing to see ,james ,braid claiming that at the moment of impact there is no control over the swing although there is both in the downward swing and the follow-through6 ,i need not criticise this4 ,the point1 however1 which ,i wish to refer to here specifically is in connection with the follow-through4 ,braid says1 finally3 ,what the golfer has to do1 then1 is to make sure that his swing is right at the beginning1 that is1 in the back-swing and the down-swing1 and also in the follow-through4 ,he knows from instruction and experience that if all these things are properly done the ball will go off well2 and what it amounts to is that the beginning being right and the end being right1 control being exercised over each1 the middle is right also1 though in this case there is no control over it4 ,this1 it seems to me1 is a very bad presentment of the case4 ,although we admit that the impact is merely an incident in the travel of the club head1 it is the most important incident1 and it is on that incident that the mind should be concentrated1 so that the idea of cumbering one's mind with any thought of the follow-through is very bad golf4 ,the only portion of the stroke which should be on the player's mind at all is that which leads up to impact1 for it is obvious that if that has been correctly performed1 one need not trouble much about the follow-through1 as that will come quite naturally4 ,also we will observe that ,braid says here control being exercised over each4 ,this1 of course1 includes the follow-through over which ,braid now speaks of exercising control1 but it will be fresh in our minds that in describing the moment of impact1 he says ,crack6 everything is let go1 and that really is what should happen after impact has taken place4 ,there should be no thought whatever of the follow-through4 ,that should produce itself1 if one may so express it1 and the player who encumbers his mind by any thought whatever as to how his club is going to end is simply adding another anxiety to his game4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xiii4 ,j4 ,,sherlock ,this plate shows ,sherlock's stance and address in his favourite iron-shot4 ,he addresses the ball so that it is nearly opposite his right heel4 ,braid explained most graphically how the follow-through should be allowed to take care of itself1 so that ,i cannot understand why he should now endeavour to split his pupils' mental idea of the golf stroke into halves with the golf ball in between4 ,this is surely a bad conception of the stroke1 and one which is likely to lead the pupil into grave error1 for it shifts his mind forward on to the finish of the stroke1 whereas it has no business to be anywhere else but on the ball4 ,before concluding this chapter ,i must refer to what ,braid has to say with regard to a topped stroke4 ,at page #bch he says3 ,a final thing to remember in connection with this question of the rotation of the ball is1 that when the ball is what we call topped1 the stroke is applied in such a way that a motion exactly the reverse of under-spin is applied to it1 that is to say1 the front part of the ball is made to move in a downward direction4 ,on the principle already explained1 there is then an extra air-pressure upon that ball from the top1 pressing it down1 so that even if the ball that is topped is somehow got up into the air from the tee1 as happens1 it cannot stay there long1 but comes down very suddenly--ducks1 as it is called4 ,however1 a ball that ducks for this reason nevertheless gets some benefit from this over-spin when it does come down1 for the spin acts in just the same way as top does in the case of a billiard stroke1 that is to say1 it makes the ball run more4 ,if there were no rough grass and no bunkers between the tee and the hole this over-spin might be an exceedingly useful thing1 and the principles upon which the game of golf is played might be entirely different from what they are2 but as there is rough in front of the tee1 and generally a bunker at no great distance from it1 topping and over-spin are more frequently fatal than not1 the ball coming to grief either in the rough or the bunker4 ,this quotation makes it quite evident1 ,i think1 that ,james ,braid is not very well acquainted with the principles which govern the flight and run of the golf ball4 ,if this were his knowledge which we are considering1 ,i should be more loath to deal with it so plainly as ,i am doing1 but as he expressly states that he is indebted to another for much of his knowledge on this subject ,i have no hesitation whatever in criticising it and showing that it is absolutely impracticable from a golfing point of view4 ,it is not too much to say that top-spin has absolutely no place in golf1 for it is there utterly useless1 and would be so were golf links like billiard tables1 for no ball with top on it can travel any appreciable distance through the air1 and to speak of a ball being driven with top is simply to show one's utter ignorance of the game1 for even if there were no rough grass and no bunkers between the tee and the hole1 this over-spin could never be an exceedingly useful thing1 nor could it ever1 by the greatest stretch of one's imagination1 alter the principles upon which the game of golf is played1 for no stroke in golf could ever supplant the drive with back-spin4 ,it is nonsense such as this which does much harm to the game4 ,to speak of the possibility of over-spin being such that the principles upon which the game of golf is played might be entirely different from what they are if the course had no rough grass and no bunkers is one of the greatest absurdities which ,i have ever seen put in any book1 and when one finds matter of this sort in a book called ,advanced ,golf1 it calls for the severest possible criticism4 ,the nearest approach to top-spin which exists in golf is the spin of the pull1 and there because the axis of spin is turned over to a certain extent1 we get the beneficial run at the end of the drive1 but anyone who knows the first principles of the flight and run of the ball would know that if the golfer in his drive obtained pure top instead of this much modified over-spin1 his drive would be entirely ruined1 for the thing which produces the low flight of the ball is that the ball does its ducking sideways1 if we may so express it1 and the chances are that quite frequently the shock of landing alters the plane of its spin1 so that it is converted into pure running1 but this latter point1 of course1 is a matter which we can only theorise about and regard as almost proved from the nature of the run of the ball on many occasions4 ,we need not here bother about top-spin4 ,the only place where top 7not top-spin7 is of any use in golf1 so far as ,i can remember1 is on the putting-green1 and there it is unquestionably useful1 and it is not used so much as it should be4 ,the point of outstanding importance1 which ,i venture to think is made fairly clear by this chapter on the flight of the ball1 is that the beneficial back-spin of golf is by far the most important spin which it is possible for a golfer to apply to his ball1 and that that spin is not obtained in the manner stated by ,professor ,tait and1 after him1 by ,professor ,thomson1 but is obtained by the method which ,i have indicated1 viz4 by a downward glancing blow1 and1 so far as regards this statement1 we have the corroboration of ,james ,braid to the extent that he says that no matter what the loft is upon the club1 it is impossible to obtain by loft alone the back-spin which one requires in golf4 ,it may seem that ,i have been unnecessarily emphatic in dealing with this question1 but as a matter of practical golf it is absolutely impossible to lay too much stress upon the value of a complete understanding of the method of obtaining this most valuable and serviceable spin1 and unless a player most perfectly understands the theory of the stroke1 it is the greatest certainty possible that he will waste many years of his life endeavouring to acquire the practice1 whereas if he knows perfectly well what he is trying to do1 he may acquire it in as many months as he would otherwise waste years in not getting it4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,the ,,golf ,,ball ,it is remarkable1 when one considers the vast number of scientific men who play golf1 how little attention has been directed by them to the form and make of the golf ball4 ,many golfers are under the impression that the golf ball which is now used represents the limit of man's inventive genius4 ,probably the leading maker of the best feather ball in the days before the gutta-percha ball was known would have thought the same4 ,as a matter of ascertained fact the vast majority of golf balls which are made to-day are imperfect in a variety of ways4 ,there can be no doubt whatever that the ball which is marked by what are commonly called pimples1 or bramble marking1 is a most imperfect production4 ,if one were to suggest to a billiard player that it would improve the run of the balls if they were covered with little excrescences similar to those which are on many golf balls1 he would be pitied or maltreated1 yet ,mid-,surrey greens are not many removes from a billiard table1 and putting is quite half the game of golf1 as ,i think has been remarked by a great number of people1 but is nevertheless not sufficiently considered by golfers1 especially in the matter of choosing golf balls4 ,it is not necessary1 in considering the question of the golf ball1 to bore people1 as is usually done1 with the history of the evolution of the golf ball1 from the time when prehistoric men used a knuckle bone or something like that1 right down through the feather ball period up to the present time4 ,it will not be necessary for me to go back any further than the period of the gutta-percha ball4 ,most golfers will remember that the guttie was not a perfectly smooth ball2 it was marked with grooved lines running round it4 ,these crossed each other at various angles1 producing1 generally speaking1 squares1 although1 naturally1 some of the markings1 where the lines did not cross at right angles1 were irregular1 but the principle of the marking was by indentation4 ,the bramble marking1 or marking by excrescence1 is an idea which has obtained a hold more recently1 and it is certain1 from a practical and scientific point of view1 that it is a very imperfect marking4 ,it is a curious thing that in golf1 where a very great amount of accuracy is demanded1 particularly when one is playing a short put on a fiery green1 the ball should be1 so far as ,i am aware1 the only ball which is deliberately constructed on principles which if applied to a billiard ball would make the ball what billiard players call foul1 that is1 a ball which runs untruly4 ,it is unquestionable that sufficient thought has not been given to this matter4 ,very few people understand that it is practically impossible to place a ball with bramble markings on a perfectly true surface so that it will remain in the exact place where it was put1 even if it were deposited on this spot by mechanical means4 ,it is not hard to understand that this is natural when we remember that a golf ball which is marked by the excrescences called pimples or brambles comes to rest on a tripod of excrescences1 and indeed it sometimes requires to find a base of four of these excrescences before it settles down4 ,any thinking golfer will be able to understand very easily that this must make for instability1 and he will see clearly what it means when a ball is rolling very slowly4 ,let us imagine1 for instance1 that a golfer is playing an approach put of twenty yards4 ,it is evident that while the main force of the blow is behind the ball it will enable it to overcome much of the untrueness of the ball1 but it is equally apparent that as the force is dying away at the critical time when one wishes the ball to run truly on its course to the hole1 it is most prone to waver4 ,it is at times like this that the golfer blames the beastly green1 whereas if he knew as much as he should about the make of a golf ball he would know that he had only himself to thank for playing with such an extremely imperfect thing as the golf ball which is marked by excrescences4 ,it is of course clear that on a putting-green the ball with excrescences sinks into the turf1 and whilst it is running with any considerable force behind it1 it makes for itself what may be termed a trough to run in1 which is equivalent in depth practically to the hole which the ball would make when lying at rest on the green4 ,this is the only thing which saves the ball marked with excrescences from being a much worse failure than it is4 ,it is1 however1 when one comes to put with it over a hard1 keen1 or bare green that its wonderful imperfection is shown4 ,many golfers1 on account of the fact that an ordinary putting-green does assist this imperfect ball to this extent1 are inclined to maintain that the ball is sufficient for the needs of golf4 ,they forget1 of course1 that a ball with these excrescences must necessarily be more inaccurate off the face of the putter than would be a ball marked by indentation1 for when a ball is marked by indentation1 either of the dimple pattern1 which has come into vogue more recently1 or of the lines which were used in the old days1 it undoubtedly will run more truly than if marked by excrescences1 for the reason that the indentation is bridged in such a manner that it is not felt to the same extent as is an excrescence4 ,i may illustrate this by applying the marking of an old guttie to a billiard ball4 ,let us consider for a moment that the billiard ball has been marked by having lines sawn in it similar to those on a gutta-percha ball2 these lines would not affect the trueness of the running of a billiard ball to a very great extent4 ,but let us1 on the other hand1 imagine that instead of lines being sunk in the ball1 these lines had been put in a network on the ball1 so that they were raised from the surface of the billiard ball4 ,it is obvious that such a ball would be absolutely impossible1 and it would be an extremely foul-running ball4 ,there is another point to be considered in connection with this matter of marking by indentation or by excrescences4 ,it would be almost a matter of impossibility to stand a ball marked by excrescences so that it balanced on the point of one of the pimples4 ,on the other hand it would be perfectly natural for a ball marked by a dimple of corresponding diameter to the base of the pimple1 to come to rest on the ring formed by that dimple4 ,we have already seen that the ball marked by excrescences requires three or four of those excrescences to rest on before it becomes stationary4 ,roughly1 therefore1 the instability of the ball marked by excrescences is at least three times as great as that of the ball marked by indentation1 and if we contrast the ball marked by excrescences with the ball marked by the old gutta-percha marking1 the difference would probably be very much greater against the bramble marking4 ,we have already seen that the putting-green assists1 to a certain extent1 to make up for the defects of the ball with bramble marking1 but it must not be forgotten that although the putting-green does this1 the greater tendency to instability is there the whole time1 and must put the golfer who uses the bramble-marked ball at a disadvantage4 ,putting1 especially near the hole1 is a very delicate operation1 and it is apparent that in many cases the blow will be delivered on the point of one of these excrescences4 ,it is equally apparent that in many cases that excrescence will not be in such a line with regard to the putter that the force of the blow will pass clean through the centre thereof1 and also through the centre of the ball's mass in a line to the hole4 ,when it does not do this it is certain that there is an element of inaccuracy introduced into the put 7particularly the short put7 which the wise golfer will not have in his stroke1 for not only is the ball with excrescences more inaccurate off the face of the putter1 but it is1 particularly for short puts and on keen greens1 much more inaccurate in its run than is the ball which is marked by indentations4 ,this question of hitting one of the pimples of the golf ball might be considered to be theoretical1 but it is a matter of the most absolutely practical golf1 and ,i have seen the force of it exemplified not only in golf1 but in lawn-tennis4 ,i must give here a very interesting illustration of the point which ,i am making4 ,some time ago a lawn-tennis racket was produced which had a knot at the intersection of the strings4 ,the idea of this knot was that it would enable the racket to get a better grip on the ball1 and so to produce a much greater spin4 ,this1 to a certain extent1 was correct4 ,there was no doubt that the racket did get a very good grip on the ball1 although personally1 as a matter of practical lawn-tennis1 ,i never regarded the invention very seriously2 but it was useful in emphasising the point which ,i am now making with regard to the marking by excrescences of the golf ball4 ,it was found that when one attempted to play delicate volleys with this racket that it was impossible to regulate the direction1 for the simple reason that the ball1 on many occasions1 was struck by one of the knots on the racket1 and this frequently spoilt the direction of the stroke4 ,what happened with that racket and the lawn-tennis ball is what is happening every day on hundreds of greens with the golf balls which are marked by excrescences1 and the golfer who is wise will have nothing whatever to do with any ball which is marked otherwise than by indentations4 ,it was in the year #aijh that ,i first put forward these ideas in an article in ,the ,evening ,standard and ,st4 ,james's ,gazette4 ,i had written many articles which were of much greater importance to the game from the scientific point of view1 but this particular article eclipsed them all in interest4 ,i had started the idea that the golf ball should be made much smoother than it was at that time1 and for four months the controversy as to the merits of the rough ball or the smoother raged4 ,i caused the leading manufacturers of golf balls to be interviewed4 ,the manager of ,messrs4 ,a4 ,g4 ,spalding ,bros41 the well-known manufacturers1 gave it as his opinion that the idea was perfectly ridiculous4 ,he was quite convinced that the rough ball was the better ball4 ,the manager of another company was of opinion that the smoother ball would not drive straight4 ,many of them traced this to the fact that a smooth ball would not fly straight1 but we were not concerned with the question as to whether the smooth ball would fly straight or not2 golfers1 generally1 are well aware of the fact1 and even in #aijh were well aware of the fact1 that a perfectly smooth ball will not fly straight4 ,the whole point of the discussion was to ascertain if it would not be better to have a much smoother ball than that with the bramble marking4 ,i was interested in having the opinion of the golf ball manufacturers1 for ,i have never thought that they have dealt with the matter in a scientific manner4 ,it seemed to me that the evolution of the marking of the golf ball had been entirely haphazard1 and it is1 ,i believe1 still in the same condition1 but it certainly shows some signs of improving4 ,in order to put the matter beyond doubt ,i asked ,mr4 ,rupert ,ayres1 of the famous firm of ,f4 ,h4 ,ayres1 ,ltd41 to have made for me a golf ball with an extremely fine marking2 in fact ,i gave instructions for the ball to be marked with what ,i considered the least possible indentations which were likely to be serviceable4 ,mr4 ,ayres took a very great amount of trouble in connection with this matter1 and he produced for me a ball similar1 in all respects1 to that which ,i wanted1 with the slight exception that the marking was finer than ,i had desired4 ,the result was that when the ball was painted the interstices were filled up to a very considerable extent1 so much so indeed that ,i doubted if the ball was sufficiently marked to ensure its flying correctly4 ,i tried this ball at ,hanger ,hill1 both personally and by submitting it to a considerable number of drives by ,george ,duncan1 and it always gave unsatisfactory results--indeed its flight was so remarkable that it might well have been christened the butterfly4 ,it zigzagged and soared and ducked in a most remarkable1 and to a very great extent1 inexplicable manner4 ,i knew1 of course1 that what ,i had to do was to increase the indentations a little in depth1 for my object was to obtain the mean between no marking whatever and the ridiculously exaggerated marking by excrescences which is now so common1 and my experiments were not in the direction of obtaining any marking whatever by excrescences1 for ,i was following on the lines which were accidentally discovered by those who found that the old feather balls1 and particularly the gutta-percha balls1 flew better after they had been indented by the golf clubs4 ,my idea1 therefore1 was1 starting from the least possible indentation1 to proceed by marking the ball more deeply and yet more deeply until ,i found that it would fly as accurately as a ball marked by excrescences4 ,mr4 ,ayres helped me in my experiments with remarkable patience and ability4 ,i found that there are a hundred and one different markings1 all of which are practically of equal service in so far as regards affecting the flight of the ball1 but in every case ,i came to the conclusion that the marking by indentation is the best4 ,this led me to get ,mr4 ,ayres to produce for me a ball which he ultimately put on the market under my name1 which was marked in identically the same manner as the old guttie4 ,i believe ,the ,vaile was the first rubber-cored ball with the old guttie marking to be placed on the market1 and this marking was found to be satisfactory in every respect4 ,the ball1 as indeed one might imagine1 both flew and ran perfectly1 but it was met by golfers with a strange objection4 ,they said it was too much like the old guttie4 ,personally1 ,i did not care what they said about it4 ,i had not caused the ball to be made from any commercial interest ,i had in the matter4 ,it had been stated that a ball marked like this would not be so good for golf as a ball marked with excrescences4 ,i had proved beyond a shadow of doubt that the ball was better for golf than the ball which was marked by excrescences1 and ,i was content to leave it at that1 although as a matter of fact later on ,messrs4 ,ayres did produce for me a ball with a more distinctive marking which gave us equally good results in so far as regards flight and run1 but which ,i did not like nearly so well as the old guttie marking4 ,at the time this ball was produced ,i stated emphatically that ,i believed that the result of the agitation and discussion would be to knock the pimples off the golf ball4 ,this statement was1 of course1 ridiculed by the makers of golf balls1 and quite wisely too1 for they had tens of thousands of pimply golf balls which they had to dispose of1 and it was not their business to agree with my ideas of altering the make of the golf ball until they had disposed of their stock4 ,they have1 however1 now no prejudice whatever in the matter1 and the leading manufacturers both here and in ,america are pushing balls which are marked by indentation4 ,they certainly were a long time after my manufacturers in realising the importance of the principle1 but they are now endeavouring to make up for lost time4 ,one firm1 ,messrs4 ,a4 ,g4 ,spalding ,bros41 is pushing three balls as their leading lines4 ,these are the ,glory ,dimple1 the ,midget ,dimple1 and the ,domino ,dimple4 ,all these balls are what are now called dimple balls1 and they meet with great favour in many quarters1 although there are still a number of golfers who swear by the bramble-marking4 ,during the course of this long controversy ,i suggested that it would be a good idea if the balls which were marked by excrescences and those which were marked by indentations were subjected to a test by being mechanically propelled4 ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey1 the famous wild-fowler and author of ,the ,projectile ,throwing ,engines of the ,ancients1 wrote to me and very kindly volunteered to carry out the experiment if ,i would send him the balls ,i wished him to test4 ,i naturally accepted his very kind offer1 and sent him a variety of golf balls to be tested4 ,sir ,ralph is the possessor of some very remarkable catapults built on the principles of the old ,roman engines of war1 and with these he conducted a series of experiments1 which were so interesting that they deserve to be permanently recorded for the benefit of future generations4 ,his conclusions were published in two articles which occupied about three columns of ,the ,times1 and they are of such an instructive nature that ,i propose to quote somewhat fully from them4 ,sir ,ralph showed quite clearly that in a very great number of cases the centre of gravity of the ball is untrue4 ,quite a number of golfers would think that it is not a matter of very great importance if the centre of gravity of a golf ball is untrue4 ,anyone who thinks this may speedily undeceive himself by a small experiment suggested by ,sir ,ralph4 ,let him cut a hole in the side of a golf ball1 insert a piece of lead or half a dozen shot and fill the hole up with wax or soap and then put with that ball4 ,he will be astonished to find what a peculiar course it takes4 ,of course1 not many golf balls are loaded like this1 but it is beyond any doubt whatever that in many cases the gutta-percha covering of the rubber-core is of very uneven thickness4 ,this in itself and quite apart from the defect of marking by excrescences which ,i have already referred to1 is sufficient to account for the very bad running of many golf balls4 ,i may say1 too1 that ,i believe this untrueness of the centre of gravity is responsible for the double swerve which one frequently sees in a truly hit golf ball4 ,a swerve which is obtained from the application of spin to the golf ball1 almost invariably is continuous and in the one direction1 but ,i have frequently seen well-hit drives by the most famous players swerve to the right1 back again to the left and resume their original course4 ,this has happened with such perfect regularity in many cases that there must unquestionably be a definite reason for it1 apart from rotation applied by contact with the club1 and the only explanation which ,i can give of it in any way at all is that it is caused by an untrue centre4 ,the shape1 resiliency1 and centre of gravity of the golf ball are of vital importance to the player1 but the golfer accepts all these matters with a blind faith which is touching in the extreme4 ,a golfer should not accept from a golf ball manufacturer a ball which is not truly spherical1 or one which does not fly truly when truly hit1 but as a matter of fact almost fifty per cent of the golf balls supplied by the leading makers come within this category4 ,one may take fifty golf balls of any specific sort1 and test these for shape1 centre of gravity1 and weight1 and it is an even chance that twenty-five of them will be quite different from the other twenty-five4 ,it is very easy indeed to test the rubber-cored balls as regards the correctness of their centre of gravity4 ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey found that none of the rubber-cored balls was correct as to its centre of gravity1 though some were much more incorrect than others1 and he found that not one of them was truly spherical in shape4 ,i may say that in a large number of cases ,i have verified his experiments4 ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey's method of testing them for correctness of centre of gravity is so simple that ,i may give it here for the benefit of any player who desires to see that he is getting a ball which will serve him truly in so far as regards this important particular4 ,sir ,ralph placed the ball which he desired to test in a basin of water and waited until it came to rest4 ,when the ball had come to rest1 there was naturally a small portion of it protruding from the water4 ,sir ,ralph marked the centre of this spot with a pencil dot and he found that however carelessly he put the same ball into the water1 however much it was rolled about1 that the portion of the ball marked with the pencil dot always came upwards out of the water again1 and that the actual spot with the pencil mark on it always came to exactly the same place4 ,it was evident from this that the centre of gravity of the balls tested in this manner was considerably untrue4 ,sir ,ralph found1 as might be expected1 that the old guttie ball was much truer as regards its centre of gravity than the rubber-cored balls4 ,he tested the gutta-percha ball and the miniature ball which would not float in plain water1 in a solution of salt and water4 ,the experiments which he conducted in connection with these balls were really quite exhaustive4 ,he found that with some of the balls1 especially the smaller ones1 the dot appeared in two seconds1 while some of the others took from four to six seconds to come upward4 ,he arrived at a comparative idea of the error in centre of gravity by placing the dot downwards in the water1 and then noting with a stop-watch the time occupied by it in appearing out of the water on top of the ball4 ,he thus took the time in each case from the moment of release to the moment that the pencil dot again came uppermost1 and by these means he obtained as accurately as he could with a stop-watch the comparative error of one ball with another in regard to its centre of gravity4 ,the testing of the balls for true spherical shape was1 of course1 easy1 and was done by means of callipers4 ,it can be done either by callipers or by a parallel vice which may be opened just wide enough to allow a ball to be passed between its jaws4 ,if one has not a vice or callipers available1 it is1 of course1 easy to cut a circle in a piece of cardboard and gradually increase the size of the circle until a ball will just get through4 ,the circle1 of course1 must be made truly1 but this can easily be done by a pin and a string if compasses are not available4 ,of course1 it would be advisable in testing a golf ball through a ring such as this to obtain in the first case a ball which is as near a true sphere as any rubber-cored ball can be4 ,this may be done by fixing any two objects in a similar position to that suggested for the jaws of a vice1 as for instance the opening of a drawer4 ,one may open a drawer and fix the drawer firmly so that the ball can just pass in at the opening4 ,once this is done1 it is almost as effectual as either callipers or the jaws of a vice4 ,sir ,ralph found that the gutties were as near true spheres as possible1 and also that these balls showed very slight error in centre of gravity4 ,this1 of course1 from the solidity of the matter and their original formation in the mould might naturally have been expected1 for in the nature of the modern ball it stands to reason that its centre of gravity could never be so consistent as that of a ball which is made entirely in the one piece as was the old gutta-percha ball4 ,sir ,ralph has some remarkable projectile engines which gave him exceptional facilities for testing the flight of the golf balls which ,i sent him4 ,he has one engine which weighs about two tons and is capable of casting a stone ball of twelve pounds a distance of a quarter of a mile4 ,the catapult which he used for the purpose is a small reproduction of this big engine4 ,his small model of this engine weighs about forty pounds and will pitch a golf ball from #ahj to #bjj yards1 the distance of course depending upon the amount of tension used and the angle of elevation4 ,the power of the engine is obtained from twisted cord1 and the arm of the machine used by ,sir ,ralph is two feet eight inches long1 and is provided with a cup at its upper end to hold the ball4 ,it is so arranged that the balls can be thrown any intermediate distance required up to #bjj yards1 and at any elevation4 ,sir ,ralph conducted experiments with balls thrown by the catapult1 and also with balls hit away by it in a manner similar to a golf club1 and1 as might be expected1 no spin whatever was imparted to the ball4 ,it was thrown in a straight line every time with unvarying accuracy1 and there was not the slightest sign whatever of slice1 pull1 or cut4 ,this1 of course1 is exactly what one who knows the principle of the catapult would expect4 ,sir ,ralph found1 however1 that the accuracy of flight of the ball was very remarkable1 and he gives as an instance the fact that a ball which had been marked as having a particularly accurate flight was pitched twenty times in succession within a few feet of a stick stuck in the ground #ahj yards from the machine4 ,it is interesting to note the weights of the balls used in these experiments4 ,they varied from #bb drachms to #bc drachms avoirdupois1 and their diameters from #ec to #ed thirty-seconds of an inch4 ,the guttie ball used by ,sir ,ralph weighed #bd-a_/b drachms1 and one of the miniature balls #bd drachms #f grains4 ,sir ,ralph threw a dozen balls of various makes from his small engine at a mark #afj yards distant1 and he threw each ball twenty times before another was tried4 ,he employed a fore-caddie to mark the indentations each ball made where it fell4 ,a peg was put in at the spot where each ball landed1 and these distances were all subsequently measured1 and the records kept for purposes of comparison4 ,after this had been done with one ball the same was done with another1 and it is almost unnecessary to say that the angle of elevation and the force used in each case was the same4 ,sir ,ralph found that in propelling the balls with the wind there was very little difference in the length of carry or the steadiness of the flight1 though1 as might have been expected1 the guttie beat all of them in distance1 being six times in its first series of twenty throws a few yards farther than the longest carry made by any of the other balls4 ,this1 of course1 was quite natural1 for the old guttie was heavier1 harder1 a more correct sphere and more correctly marked than the ball which is now in common use4 ,therefore it was quite reasonable to expect that it would go farther when propelled from the catapult4 ,it is1 of course1 just as easy to understand that this superiority would not exist when the ball was struck with a golf club1 for then the question of resiliency comes into the matter4 ,it is interesting to note that ,sir ,ralph found that the miniature golf ball more nearly approximated to the guttie than to the rubber-cored balls4 ,the miniature being harder and heavier than the other rubber-cores1 when thrown by the engine gave the longest flight of all the rubber-cores1 although it did not get so far as the guttie4 ,its superiority1 however1 when struck from the engine in a manner as nearly as possible resembling the blow with a golf club1 was non-existent1 and its carry was then found to be the shortest of all the rubber-cores1 and the guttie ball was1 when hit away by the machine1 shorter yet than the miniature golf ball4 ,sir ,ralph found1 as ,i had confidently asserted would be the case1 that against the wind the balls with the roughest markings always carried the shortest distance1 and that they tended to rise too much in their flight4 ,this was most apparent at about two-thirds of the carry4 ,sir ,ralph found that there was a distinct difference in this matter of soaring between the very roughly marked balls and those which were a little less so4 ,he proved to demonstration the fact which ,i had confidently maintained1 that the less roughly marked balls1 owing to the small amount of air friction which they set up1 and naturally in consequence thereof1 their lower parabola1 always carried farther against the wind4 ,i have referred elsewhere to ,harry ,vardon's remark about not attempting to regulate the flight of the ball in a cross wind1 or indeed1 for the matter of that1 in any other wind by applying spin to it4 ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey's experiment put this matter beyond a shadow of doubt1 so that we may be absolutely certain that the idea of trying to slice against a wind to get a straight ball1 or to pull into a wind to get an extra run1 is for ninety-five per cent of players not practical golf4 ,sir ,ralph found that with a fresh side wind from the left1 all the balls1 except the guttie1 landed from eight to twelve yards to the right of the mark at a range of #acj yards4 ,he states emphatically that in this case it was clearly shown that the more roughly marked balls consistently showed the greatest deviation from the correct line of flight4 ,we have1 however1 gained a very strong argument in favour of the ball with the less pronounced marking4 ,sir ,ralph also discovered another thing which is of very great importance indeed to the practical golfer1 but a thing which is not considered in the slightest degree by one golfer in ten thousand1 and that is that the balls which were most untrue in regard to their centre of gravity1 not only always dropped the farthest to the right1 that is1 were most affected by the cross wind1 but that they also ran at a more acute angle in the same direction after contact with the ground4 ,thus we see that in #acj yards the most roughly-marked ball in a cross wind is deflected twelve yards4 ,we see also that this ball was the one which was most incorrect as regards its centre of gravity4 ,we therefore have a specimen of the worst ball which could be used for this purpose being carried twelve yards off its line1 and we may reasonably take this to be the extreme of error for that distance4 ,it is easy to understand when we consider such an illustration as this what a tremendous handicap the golfer is suffering from when he uses the ball which allows the wind to get such a grip of it as the bramble-marked ball does1 and moreover one with a centre of gravity which is so bad that it assists the work of the wind in carrying the ball away as it does1 and not only assists the wind to this extent1 but even carries its vices to the extent of still further fighting against the player by exaggerating its error when it lands by running away from the line4 ,these are all bad enough1 but we must remember that there is also to be considered the error which is unquestionably a matter to be reckoned with1 which inevitably takes place when the ball marked by excrescences is struck by a club4 ,i had sent ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey the ball which ,i had had made for experimental purposes with very slight marking1 and he was good enough to experiment with this for me4 ,he says of it3 ,this ball was quite smooth1 as smooth indeed as a billiard ball1 the idea being that having no markings on its outside it would not present so frictional a surface to the air in its flight1 as a ball with markings1 and that being without this it would also be very accurate from the putter4 ,i tried this smooth ball from the engine1 and it 'ducked' every time in an extraordinary manner1 its length of carry being seldom more than eighty yards4 ,sir ,ralph is most accurate1 generally speaking1 but he is in error by stating that this ball is as smooth as a billiard ball4 ,the ball which ,i sent ,sir ,ralph was called by me ,the ,ruff1 merely as a distinctive name1 for it was the nearest approach to a perfectly smooth ball that ,i could make4 ,it is evident from ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey's description of it that it is1 as compared with the golf balls now in use1 very smooth1 but it is pitted all over with remarkably small indentations so that it appears to be chased1 but1 as ,i explained1 the paint to a certain extent covered up the interstices so as to prevent the ball giving me the test which ,i expected to get from it4 ,it is1 however1 not accurate to say that this ball is perfectly smooth4 ,it is obvious that from this ,i was trying to work to the mean which ,i felt perfectly certain existed between the old golf ball1 whose erratic flight was well known1 and the modern golf ball with its exaggerated marking4 ,sir ,ralph thought that the form of this ball might not1 for some unknown reason1 suit a projectile engine4 ,he continues3 444 and as ,i could not drive it further than about eighty yards with a golf club1 ,i engaged the well-known professional1 ,edward ,ray1 to play a round of the green with this ball at ,ganton4 ,as ,ray is an exceptionally long and accurate player with driver and cleek ,i felt the ball would have a fair chance of going1 if it could go4 ,from the first tee the ball did not carry a hundred yards1 though1 to all appearances1 struck clean and hard4 ,i thought that for once in a way ,ray had missed his drive1 but as the same thing occurred from every tee and through the green for the next six holes1 there was no disputing that a smooth ball was quite useless for golf4 ,i then proceeded to nick the ball slightly with the point of a knife1 spacing the small raised nicks about one-third of an inch apart1 the ball being still a very smooth one in comparison to any of the usual kinds4 ,after this slight alteration the ball flew splendidly1 whether off wood or iron clubs1 neither too high nor too low1 but quite straight1 and with the very slight rise towards the end of its carry that is the essence of perfect flight in a golf ball1 some of the carries when measured from the tee being well over two hundred yards4 ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey continues that when he returned home he shot this ball from the small engine1 and it then several times out-distanced the best records made by any of the balls previously tested4 ,after this he chipped up many more little raised nicks on the same smooth ball as a further experiment1 but he then found that this not only reduced its length of flight by several yards1 but also caused it to soar too much upwards when projected against a head wind as is the case with the ordinary rough-marked golf ball4 ,it will be seen here that ,sir ,ralph continued with the ball sent by me to him1 the experiment1 which ,i had started1 as it was my intention to proceed from a ball as nearly as could be1 smooth1 towards the present exaggerated ball1 by the least possible steps1 so that the moment that ,i had arrived at a ball so marked that it would not give me any extra carry1 ,i should desist at once4 ,sir ,ralph's summing up is as follows4 ,he says3 ,from such practical tests it is evident that the surface of a golf ball is far too rough1 and that it would fly with more accuracy and farther1 especially with a head or a side wind1 had it much less numerous and prominent markings on its cover4 ,this is exactly what ,i contended for in my original article on the subject1 and it is exactly what has to be realised by the makers of the golf ball of the future4 ,many of the balls which are now being produced with the dimple marking are moving in the right direction1 but they still have the grave errors of bad centre of gravity and excessive marking4 ,when these two matters have been adjusted we shall have a very much better ball4 ,it will be interesting now to refer to the results which ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey obtained when he fitted his catapult with an arm provided with an enlarged head similar in shape to the head of a golf driver4 ,sir ,ralph says3 ,this striking arm hit the ball away just as it is hit by a golf club4 ,the ball ,i suspended by gossamer silk from the projecting beam of a little gallows fixed over the engine1 and so positioned that the enlarged upper end of the arm struck the ball fair and true and with its full force and at the same angle every time4 ,i was not present when ,sir ,ralph made these experiments4 ,he1 however1 was kind enough to send me a copy of his most interesting work entitled ,the ,projectile ,throwing ,engines of the ,ancients4 ,this book gives many illustrations of the catapults used by the ,romans and others4 ,i find it somewhat difficult to follow ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey when he says3 ,this striking arm hit the ball away just as it is hit by a golf club1 for it seems to me that as the ball was suspended above the striking face of the club which was fixed to the upper end of the arm1 that the arc described by the arm of the catapult would be exactly opposite to that described by the head of the golf club1 and it is of course conceivable that this would in some way affect the carry of golf balls struck by the machine in this manner4 ,i need not1 however1 go into that here1 for whatever the results obtained by ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey were each ball was hit in exactly the same manner1 and therefore we have1 in so far as regards distance and the effect of the side wind1 fairly accurate comparative tests4 ,sir ,ralph says3 ,though ,i could not obtain the same length of carry by making the engine strike the ball as ,i could when the ball was thrown by it--not by about fifteen yards--yet the individual results in distance and in deviation with a side wind exactly corresponded with the behaviour of the various balls when they were thrown and when carries of from #ahj to #bjj yards were obtained from them4 ,sir ,ralph found that in this experiment the carry of the guttie was invariably about eighteen yards shorter than that of the ordinary rubber-cored balls4 ,he therefore carried out an interesting experiment by fixing a pad of rubber on the face of the head of the arm1 and the guttie1 when struck by this1 travelled as far as any of the balls4 ,he found1 as ,i have previously indicated1 that of the rubber-cored balls the small one carried the shortest distance when struck by the engine1 and he found also that its length of flight was not increased by using the rubber pad4 ,this1 of course1 is what we might have expected4 ,there is one very interesting matter which ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey notes4 ,he says3 ,another curious thing1 the ball with the most untrue centre of gravity usually made one1 and occasionally even two1 swerves in the air when hit against the wind1 though this eccentricity in its line of flight was less noticeable when it was thrown from the engine4 ,this is a very interesting statement to anyone who devotes attention to the flight of the ball1 and it goes very far indeed to confirm my own impression that the double swerve of the golf ball which ,i have noticed so frequently1 is produced by defective centre of gravity4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xiv4 ,j4 ,,sherlock ,top of swing in iron-shot4 ,note the position of the ball1 and the upright swing of the club4 ,these experiments are of very great value1 and should be carefully noted by golf ball makers1 but ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey was not content with testing the golf balls for their flight4 ,after having put in several days doing this1 and having fired fully #ejj shots1 he continued his experiments with these balls with the object of ascertaining their relative merits on the putting-green4 ,he says3 ,i obtained a piece of lead three-quarters of an inch thick1 two inches wide1 and three feet long1 in which ,i cut a straight and smooth groove one inch wide4 ,one end of this piece of lead ,i rested on the cushion at the baulk end of a billiard table1 and directed its other end towards the spot on which the red ball is placed in the game of billiards4 ,the forward end of the grooved lead ,i tapered off so that a ball ran evenly and smoothly from the groove on to the table without any drop or deviation as it left the piece of lead1 which from its weight1 when once set1 could not change its position4 ,i now placed a thimble on the spot at the far end of the table and rolled an accurately-turned wooden ball the same size as a golf ball down the sloping groove4 ,after a little adjustment of the lead piece its line of fire was correct1 and ,i was able to knock the thimble off the spot fifty times in succession4 ,the ball travelled with sufficient speed just to reach the cushion beyond the thimble when the latter was moved aside1 and the shot at the thimble nicely represented a slow put of eight feet in length4 ,this is a most interesting way of testing the golf ball4 ,i may say that ,i have myself carried out experiments on similar lines1 and that the results which ,i obtained practically confirm the accuracy of those which ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey got4 ,he found that on testing various golf balls the results were widely different4 ,he tried each ball several times in a series of twenty tries at the thimble4 ,he found that individually they seldom hit it more than three or four times in a series1 and that some of the balls1 particularly those which he had found to be incorrect so far as regards their centre of gravity1 rolled away from the thimble as much as two feet to the right or left1 and that they sometimes actually went into the corner pockets of the table4 ,this would seem to be incredible1 but ,i can vouch for the accuracy of ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey's statements4 ,it is an amazing thing to think of1 but it is perfectly true1 that the modern golf ball is so badly constructed that in a straight roll down the middle of the table such as that described by ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey1 the ball will absolutely roll as far off the line as the corner pockets1 and indeed sometimes farther even than this4 ,that is what the golfer has to contend with when he tries to put with a bramble ball on a golf green1 but1 of course1 as he does not know it1 he blames himself for an off day1 or the green for being beastly1 but he never by any chance whatever gives a thought to his horribly defective golf ball4 ,sir ,ralph says that the guttie was a notable exception to the inaccuracy of the rubber cores4 ,he found that in its different series of twenty tries it often struck the thimble from fourteen to fifteen times1 and when it missed was usually within an inch of the mark4 ,this shows clearly the wonderful difference which ,i have already emphasised between marking by indentation and marking by excrescence4 ,sir ,ralph also emphasises a point to which ,i had already directed attention as to the ball marked by excrescences running truly when hit hard4 ,it is when the ball has no great propulsive force behind it that its inherent vice is most surely shown4 ,sir ,ralph says3 ,any of the balls if played fairly hard from a cue could be made to strike the thimble every time2 but then such a hard hit ball would go far beyond the hole in golf1 and probably overrun the putting green6 ,the smooth billiard-table cloth may be taken to represent the hard1 bare and fast putting green of a dry summer4 ,that is a very fair comparison1 with the exception that the hard1 bare and fast putting-green of a dry summer would present infinitely greater inaccuracies to the already sufficiently inaccurate golf ball than would the billiard table4 ,let the unthinking golfer ruminate a little on this subject1 and the day is not far distant when we shall never see such a thing as an excrescence on a golf ball4 ,sir ,ralph was very ingenious and thorough in his experiments4 ,he desired to obtain the nearest possible approximation which he could to a natural putting-green1 so he stretched a strip of rough green baize on the billiard table and tested the balls on this4 ,he made a chalk mark on which to place the thimble1 and its distance from the lead gutter was the same as in his other experiments4 ,he then found that the balls1 with the exception of those which had been marked as having their centre of gravity much out of place1 ran with far greater accuracy4 ,most of them hit the thimble from eight to ten times in their individual series of twenty shots1 but the guttie was1 as usual1 an easy winner4 ,sir ,ralph found that on the billiard table if the balls were played fairly hard from a cue1 although too hard for golf1 the thimble could be knocked over every time4 ,i consider that these experiments prove beyond a shadow of doubt1 as ,i personally never doubted1 that the ordinary bramble-marked golf ball will not run truly unless it has a considerable amount of force behind it1 and that for short puts1 and particularly on anything like a fast green1 it is a most treacherous ball4 ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey says3 ,all this goes to prove that1 although a ball may be of inaccurate make1 it keeps its line to near the end of its course when hit hard along the ground1 as for instance1 in a long running up approach to the hole from the edge of a putting green4 ,it is also clear that a ball with an incorrect centre of gravity will very seldom run true off the putter if the ground is hard1 fast and smooth and the distance it is required to travel is only a few feet4 ,for this reason manufacturers should consider the accuracy of a ball for short puts--accuracy that can only be gained by making it a perfect sphere with its centre of gravity in the exact centre of the ball2 for short puts must lose many more matches than short drives4 ,as ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey truly says1 with a badly balanced ball the easiest of short puts may fail1 especially on a downward slope1 though the player rarely suspects that his ball and not his skill is to blame4 ,it is not1 as ,i have already pointed out1 only the question of the badly balanced ball which is of such vital importance in short puts1 but it is the question of the untrue running of the ball marked by excrescences2 also there is the equally important matter1 which ,i have referred to1 of the untrueness of the ball marked by excrescences in coming off the face of the putter4 ,i am firmly convinced that there is no more perfect marking for a golf ball than that used for the old guttie ball1 that is a marking by indented lines1 but even here ,i believe that equally good results1 both in flight and run1 would be obtained if the gutta-percha ball were marked in a similar manner but with fewer lines4 ,some of ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey's conclusions are important4 ,he suggests that a golfer should carefully test a ball before using it in an important match1 and this is1 unquestionably1 from a scientific point of view1 a very sound and good suggestion4 ,i have already indicated his method of testing a ball for its centre of gravity1 and ,i have shown how the ball may be tested for its spherical shape4 ,there is no necessity to apply any test whatever to the ball in so far as regards its marking4 ,there is one maxim with regard to that--avoid anything in the shape of a golf ball marked by excrescences4 ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey's advice to golfers with regard to the balls need not be given here in full1 valuable as ,i believe it to be in the main4 ,but there is one matter which is worth repeating4 ,he says3 ,select a ball with as smooth a cover as you can find1 for though all golf balls require to be roughened in order to steady their flight1 those most deeply scored travel the shortest distance1 and are most affected by a head or side wind4 ,this is very sound and important advice1 and it should receive the attention not only of golfers1 but of the golf ball manufacturers1 for even those balls which are now marked by indentation are1 in my opinion1 too freely marked1 and ,i am inclined to think that the dimples on the golf balls which are so marked1 are1 if anything1 too large and too frequent4 ,i think it is extremely probable that the balls which are so marked would fly and run better than they do now if they were marked by lines as the old guttie was marked1 but with fewer of these lines4 ,probably if they were marked with one-third of the number of lines which were used on the old guttie1 we should have a perfect flying and running ball4 ,before closing this chapter on the make of the golf ball1 it will be interesting to refer once again to the results obtained by ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey when throwing the smooth ball from his machine and also when having it driven by ,edward ,ray4 ,he obtained results similar in all respects to those which ,george ,duncan and ,i obtained when trying ,the ,ruff4 ,it is very curious indeed that so far there have not been any definite scientific experiments made to show exactly where the serviceable degree of roughness ends and the prejudicial begins1 though much has certainly been done since ,i started the controversy about the relative merits of a smoother ball4 ,some golf ball makers have gone so far as to produce a dimple ball with a small pimple in the dimple4 ,this1 in effect1 reduced the dimple to a ring1 and these balls have been found to fly and run very well1 but all that has been so far done has been a matter of experiment1 of rule of thumb work4 ,i do not think that there is a firm of golf ball makers in ,england which is in possession of a proper mechanical driver4 ,we are assured that at least one firm in ,america is in possession of such a machine1 but so far as ,i am aware there is no efficient machine of such a nature in ,england4 ,this is very remarkable1 as with such a machine a firm of golf ball manufacturers could obtain results which would probably give them a big advantage over their competitors4 ,i was quite astonished to see it stated by a firm of golf ball makers the other day that1 although they were making a ball marked by indentations1 they had come to the conclusion after much experimenting that the bramble pattern was the best for all-round excellence4 ,in the face of the remarkably conclusive experiments conducted by ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey1 whose results ,i may say bore out up to the hilt everything which ,i had said about the defective construction of the golf ball1 ,i should like to know how this manufacturer comes to the conclusion that the bramble marking is the best4 ,one point which has not been made very strongly is that it was not necessary for the old balls to be badly knocked about before they would fly well4 ,comparatively little damage improved the flight of the ball4 ,this1 in itself1 should be sufficient to convince manufacturers that they are still in many ways marking their balls excessively4 ,it is quite evident that no particular kind of marking is required on the golf ball1 although it is conceivable that a certain kind of marking might possess some slight advantage over another4 ,it would be interesting if an exhaustive set of experiments on the lines of those already conducted by ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey could be carried out under proper supervision by some eminent scientist or by a leading firm of golf ball makers1 or by some prominent paper interested in golf4 ,the matter would undoubtedly be of very great interest to golfers generally1 and would probably result in a great improvement of the balls at present on the market4 ,the phenomenon of the uneven flight of the smooth golf ball has never1 so far as ,i am aware1 been satisfactorily explained4 ,we all know1 of course1 that practically nothing which has not a tail flies well4 ,a tail is necessary for an arrow1 for an aeroplane1 for a bird to steer itself with1 and even the rifle bullet would not fly well until it was1 in effect1 provided with a tail4 ,it has always seemed to me that there was a possibility of an explanation of the defective flight of the smooth golf ball in this fact4 ,it stands to reason that in the passage of the ball through the atmosphere there is a considerable compression of the air in front of the ball1 and it is equally obvious that this compressed air is1 if we may so express it1 flowing backwards over the ball1 and therefore running between the bramble markings4 ,of course1 we are aware that it is not really a question of the air flowing backwards1 but of the ball driving through the atmosphere1 but we have merely to consider what may possibly be the effect of this action4 ,it seems to me that the air1 in passing back and round the ball in the manner described1 is also in a state of compression until it has passed backwards and1 to a slight extent1 behind the golf ball1 so that we have1 if we may so express it1 attached to the ball a tail of compressed air which is constantly striving to resume its normal density at a slightly varying distance behind the ball in its passage through the air4 ,if my idea1 which is expressed now in an extremely unscientific and popular form1 is correct1 it would seem that the roughened ball holds more straightly into this tail of compressed air than it would be possible for a smooth ball to do2 in other words1 it seems to me that there would be a greater possibility of the smooth ball slipping the pressure which would be accentuated on that portion of the ball which ,professor ,thomson describes as its nose1 and it seems feasible1 although ,i do not care to be dogmatic on this point1 that if the centre of gravity of the smooth ball were untrue1 as indeed the centre of gravity of nearly every smooth ball is1 the effect of the pressure of the condensed air on the front of the ball would be much more pronounced with the smooth ball than it would in the case of the ball marked by excrescences or indentations4 ,i am aware that this idea of mine is open to argument1 and ,i do not say for one moment that it is absolutely correct4 ,it is undoubted that there is much uncertainty in the minds of extremely scientific men as to the cause for the uncertain flight of the smooth golf ball4 ,even so distinguished a scientific inquirer as ,professor ,sir ,j4 ,j4 ,thomson assured me that he did not understand the reason for the erratic behaviour of the smooth ball4 ,there is possibly another explanation1 but again ,i put this forward tentatively4 ,even when a ball is driven by a golf club without appreciable spin1 as indeed most golf balls are1 it seems to me quite possible1 especially in the case of the balls with defective centres1 that before they have gone far on their journey they will proceed to acquire spin on account of the tendency of one side to lag more than the other4 ,it seems1 then1 that if this spin is set up in the manner which ,i described1 it may1 and indeed quite likely will1 influence the path of the ball sufficiently to deflect it from the original line of flight1 but as this spin has no very great power behind it1 it seems quite likely that when it has deflected the ball from the line of flight it may be checked to such an extent that the atmosphere has a chance to get to work on the ball again and produce that which is practically a reverse spin4 ,in this way1 and in this way alone1 can ,i see any reason for the double swerve which ,i have already referred to1 in the carry of the golf ball4 ,it must be understood that in the case of double swerve which ,i am referring to1 the deflection from the straight line has always occurred at a point in the carry where one would not expect to see it if it had been occasioned by spin administered by the club1 and it is always very much less indeed than the swerve would be if it had been obtained by spin produced by the club4 ,also there is this other fact against the hypothesis that the swerve is produced by spin imparted at the moment of impact4 ,in the swerve which ,i am referring to1 both the first swerve and the return swerve which takes the ball back again into the line of flight are very slight1 and in most cases practically of the same length and degree4 ,if the original deflection from the straight line were due to rotation of the ball acquired at the moment of impact1 the swerve and return to the straight line1 if there were any such return1 would never be so symmetrical as they are4 ,i can quite easily understand the double swerve of a golf ball from spin produced by the contact between the club and the ball1 although ,i must admit that ,i have never seen a swerve of this nature in golf which ,i could put down unhesitatingly to spin acquired at the moment of impact4 ,i must1 however1 when ,i say this1 except one instance4 ,this was in the case of a ball hit with back-spin1 and although it is in a sense improper to refer to it as double swerve because it only affected the trajectory and did not alter the plane of the ball's flight in any way1 it was1 in a sense1 a case of double swerve4 ,it was a wind-cheater struck by a very good player at ,hanger ,hill4 ,the ball flew very low and looked as though it was about to hit a bunker1 when suddenly1 on account of the tremendous amount of back-spin which the player had put on his ball1 it rose with the ordinary rise of the wind-cheater and soared straight away for thirty or forty yards1 when it began to tower in the ordinary manner of the wind-cheater4 ,this was such an extraordinary shot that ,i illustrated it in ,modern ,golf1 but ,i have never1 in the course of fifteen years' acquaintance with the game1 seen another shot of the same description4 ,there is no doubt whatever that double swerves may be obtained by the axis of rotation of the ball altering during the flight of the ball4 ,i can remember quite clearly at a meeting of the ,all-,england ,lawn-tennis ,club at ,wimbledon1 a player informing me quite seriously that a lawn-tennis ball would swerve two ways in the air4 ,at that time ,i was under the impression that ,i knew all there was to be known about the flight of the ball4 ,i did not contradict him1 but inwardly ,i pitied him2 but at the same time ,i made up my mind to watch for this phenomenon1 little as ,i expected to see it1 for in the course of at least seventeen years' practical acquaintance with the game of lawn-tennis wherein one has a splendid opportunity of observing the action of spin on the ball1 ,i had never seen1 or perhaps it would be more correct to say ,i had never observed1 any ball swerve two ways4 ,it was not many days after this that ,i distinctly saw an ,american service1 delivered by one of the players in the ,all-,england ,lawn-tennis ,championship1 swerve two ways4 ,since then ,i have looked for this phenomenon1 and ,i have seen it happen both in lawn-tennis and golf1 but ,i am satisfied that in golf it is not due to spin acquired at the moment of impact1 as undoubtedly it is in lawn-tennis4 ,it seems to me that with the lawn-tennis ball1 which offers a very large frictional area in proportion to its weight1 that it is quite feasible that during its travel1 particularly in the ,american service1 it may alter its axis of rotation on account of encountering a heavier bank of air1 or for some other reason4 ,it naturally follows that immediately this takes place the arc of the original swerve is interfered with1 but in no case have ,i seen in lawn-tennis1 as ,i have in golf1 the original swerve of the ball exactly compensated for by the swerve back into the straight line1 which is the peculiarity of the double swerve at golf4 ,there is no doubt that there is a considerable amount of mystery in this matter4 ,it may appear that it is not of much importance to golfers1 from a practical point of view1 whether it is solved or not1 but it is hard indeed to say how useful a proper understanding of the higher science of the game may be in the practice of it2 and in the experiments carried out by ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey with so much patience and ability we have a very good example of the value to golfers of the scientific investigation and consideration of matters appertaining to the various implements of the game4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,the ,,construction ,,of ,,clubs ,in my last chapter ,i dealt with the construction of the golf ball4 ,in many respects the golf club is more perfectly made than the golf ball1 although it is1 of course1 hard to compare two objects so entirely dissimilar4 ,in making the comparison ,i am1 however1 thinking mainly of the amount of exactness which has been brought to bear on the manufacture of the respective articles in so far as they have developed in accordance with the best of modern thought4 ,it cannot be denied1 however1 that from a mechanical point of view1 the golf club is still a very imperfect implement1 for the simple reason that the striking point of the club is not in a line with the handle4 ,this1 of course1 is1 from the point of view of one who desires to obtain the maximum of strength and accuracy1 a glaring fault4 ,it has been remedied to a very considerable extent in the ,schenectady putter1 to which ,i shall have occasion again to refer4 ,golf is a very old game1 and1 as ,i have shown1 it has been simply festooned with the cobwebs of tradition1 and in no respect1 probably1 is this truer than it is in regard to the golf club4 ,originally1 almost every implement made for playing a game by striking a ball was curved or so crooked that the ball was struck off the line of the shaft4 ,the cricket bat was originally a crooked implement1 so was the lawn-tennis racket1 lacrosse1 and even the billiard cue1 but these have all been straightened1 so that at the moment of impact the ball is in a straight line with the handle or shaft of the striking implement4 ,it would indeed seem exceedingly strange to see a batsman furnished now with a curved bat1 but that1 in effect1 is what we have in golf4 ,it is certain that to obtain the best result from one's strength1 it is necessary that the forearm1 the ball1 and the shaft of the striking implement shall be1 at the moment of impact1 in one and the same straight line or plane4 ,this is a fundamental rule in athletics which is too much ignored by many players1 both at lawn-tennis and in golf4 ,ignoring this principle in lawn-tennis has cost ,england her supremacy--not only1 indeed1 has it cost her her supremacy1 but it has relegated her to the back ranks of the world's lawn-tennis players2 for instead of having the handle of the racket and the forearm in one and the same straight line at the moment of impact1 the ,english player1 both with the forehand and the backhand1 introduces between his racket and his forearm a considerable angle4 ,he thus1 instead of confining his force to one line1 diffuses it over a triangle1 and causes the weight of the blow to fall on his wrist in such a way that it offers least resistance4 ,the golf club1 although naturally to a less extent1 embodies this fundamental error in mechanics1 for instead of hitting the ball dead in a line with the shaft1 it gets it in the middle of the face which projects from one side of the shaft4 ,a moment's reflection will show that this is a very imperfect method of striking the ball4 ,it will1 of course1 be said by the slaves of tradition that it is a horribly revolutionary thing to suggest any alteration in the shaft of the golf club1 but it must be borne in mind that the golf club has to go through a process of evolution before it will become perfect1 also that it has for generations past been going through a process of evolution which has materially altered its structure4 ,originally the head of the golf club was much longer than it is now4 ,gradually the head has been shortened so that the point of impact has come nearer to the shaft1 and no less an authority than ,harry ,vardon has said that this tendency is well justified1 for one can undoubtedly obtain greater power and accuracy the nearer the blow is brought to the shaft4 ,following ,vardon's reasoning to its logical conclusion1 we have very little difficulty in arriving at a decision that we could undoubtedly obtain better results if we struck the ball in a line with the shaft4 ,this seems at first glance a revolutionary idea1 but1 as a matter of fact1 it is nothing new in the game of golf4 ,the old ,st4 ,andrews putter1 which had a pronounced curve in its shaft1 was so built that if the line of the upper half of the shaft were continued it would run practically on to the centre of the face of the club4 ,the lower portion of the shaft curved very considerably4 ,sometimes1 indeed1 this curve was spread over almost the full length of the shaft4 ,the object of this curve1 which ,i may say is even now in the handle of all scientifically constructed wooden putters1 is to bring the hands in a line with the point of impact at the moment of striking1 but in this year of grace1 #aiab1 we find the ,royal and ,ancient ,golf ,club barring on its own links1 but1 as it states now1 nowhere else1 such a well known and proved club as the ,schenectady putter4 ,the ,schenectady putter is not a centre shafted putter1 and in my opinion is open to several grave objections1 for it is made with a head shaped on the general principle of the wooden putter1 which it resembles more than it does the ordinary metal putter4 ,i have a rooted objection to any putter which has a broad sole1 for it is simply importing into the stroke an unnecessary element of error4 ,if the swing is untrue1 there is much greater risk of soling with a broad-soled putter than there is when one is using one of the metal putters4 ,i have besides this two other objections to the ,schenectady putter4 ,it does not go far enough1 in that it is not a centre shafted putter1 and therefore the point of impact and the shaft are not in the same straight line2 and thirdly1 the shaft enters the head of the club some distance back from the face of the club4 ,some years ago1 when in ,america1 ,i invented and patented the ,vaile clubs4 ,these are centre shafted clubs and they are built exactly on the principle of the time-hallowed ,st4 ,andrews putter4 ,for example1 the only difference between the ,vaile putter and the revered ,st4 ,andrews putter in principle is that in my club1 instead of spreading the curve over the full length of the handle1 ,i have gathered it all at the neck1 and instead of allowing the shaft to run into the head of the club1 as in the ,schenectady1 some distance from the face of the club1 ,i have turned the neck away in a curve to the heel of the club1 so that the club is much more like the ordinary golf club than is a putter built on the lines of the ,schenectady4 ,the same principle is used in the wooden clubs4 ,now it is absolutely incontestable that this principle is scientifically more accurate and will deliver a stronger blow than the golf clubs which are at present used4 ,james ,braid in #aija said of this putter3 ,i consider this putter very good for direction1 as1 the shaft being practically centred1 you get the effect of the driver headed putters with inserted shafts1 without losing the advantages which the ordinary putter head possesses over the large headed clubs4 ,the principle1 from a scientific point of view1 is certainly right1 and ,i have no doubt that any player who suffers from bad direction will find this a valuable club4 ,in passing1 ,i may draw attention to the fact that ,james ,braid himself considers that the ordinary putter possesses advantages over the large headed clubs1 and ,i think myself that there is very little doubt that this is so for the vast majority of golfers4 ,arnaud ,massy1 in his recent book ,le ,golf1 says of my clubs3 ,certes1 au point de vue scientifique1 cette thorie est inattaquable4 ,notwithstanding the opinion of three such men as ,vardon1 ,braid1 and ,massy on a matter of practical golf like this1 the ,royal and ,ancient ,golf ,club of ,st4 ,andrews has declared that my clubs are illegal on their links1 but in response to questions which they have been asked with regard to this matter they assert that the club is barred only on the links of the ,royal and ,ancient ,club6 ,it seems a very great pity that this famous ,club should have taken this action with the ,schenectady and the ,vaile1 for it has undoubtedly led1 as ,i pointed out in ,the ,contemporary ,review for ,august #aiaj1 would be the case1 to the passing of the great ,club as a world power in golf4 ,it is impossible for any club or body of persons to stand in the way of the progress of a great game such as golf1 and anybody or any club endeavouring to do so must inevitably1 as ,i clearly indicated at the time1 pay the penalty for doing so4 ,i have very little doubt that in the future1 and at a by no means distant date1 golf will be played with clubs constructed on an infinitely more scientific principle than those which are now used4 ,it is quite plain to anyone who gives the matter a little thought that the longer the head of the club the greater must be the inaccuracy in the stroke4 ,it stands to reason that the inertia at the toe of the club is greater than at the heel1 and every fraction of an inch which one goes farther from the shaft must increase the inertia in the head of the club4 ,it follows quite naturally that if one is using a whippy shaft1 the tendency must be for the head of the club1 especially if it is at all long1 to exert a very considerable amount of torsional or twisting strain on the shaft of the club in the downward swing4 ,it has been asserted that this torsional strain1 by reason of the recovery of the shaft at the moment of impact1 adds something to the force of the drive in golf1 but this is quite an error1 as at the moment of impact the club is travelling at its fastest4 ,it follows1 therefore1 that if there is any inertia in the toe of the club1 it will be very apparent at the time when the club is travelling at its fastest1 and the result is that the torsional strain1 instead of providing any beneficial spring at the moment of impact1 only tends to lay back the face of the club and contribute materially towards slicing4 ,it will1 therefore1 be seen that it is very inadvisable to have a long head when one is using a whippy shaft4 ,i may1 perhaps1 illustrate this question of keeping the impact in a line with the striking implement by instancing the sword cut4 ,most people have seen at military tournaments the competition known as lemon-cutting4 ,in this event a mounted man gallops past a certain number of lemons suspended on strings1 and as he passes he endeavours to sever them with his sword4 ,it will be seen that at the moment when his sword enters the lemons his forearm and the sword are1 in both cuts1 in the same plane1 and it seems so obvious as to need no emphasising that if the line of his blade were even an inch or two off the line of his forearm there would be introduced into his stroke a very great degree of inaccuracy1 but although this may be so obvious1 it is practically what we are doing every day in golf4 ,if the golf club were made in such a manner that the point of impact was absolutely in a line with the forearms at the moment of impact1 tradition1 instead of being outraged1 would really be honoured4 ,not long ago a friend of mine came to me and showed me an old driver1 saying1 ,i cannot understand how it is1 but ,i can always get twenty or thirty yards farther with this driver than ,i can with any other4 ,i took the club and ran my eye down the shaft4 ,i noticed at once that it was warped considerably so that it threw the shaft inwards in such a manner that it resembled very much the shaft of an old ,st4 ,andrews putter--in other words1 it put the golfer's hands and forearms in a line with the shaft of his club and the shaft of his club in a line with the point of impact at the moment the stroke was played4 ,i pointed out to him that his club was1 in effect1 a centre-shafted club1 and that this was the reason why he was getting a longer and1 as he stated1 a straighter ball with this club than with any other club he used4 ,while ,i am on this question of the construction of clubs1 ,i may as well state that under the recent ruling of the ,royal and ,ancient ,golf ,club there is not a legal golf club in use in ,england to-day1 for one of the essentials of a legal club now is that the head must be all on one side of the shaft of the club4 ,passing by1 as too technical an objection1 the question as to whether a circular object may be said to have a side1 we are confronted with the fact that many of the best-known clubs have the shaft inserted in the head4 ,all the socketed clubs technically are illegal1 because the head is certainly not all on one side of the shaft4 ,many cleeks are illegal because the shaft goes through the socket and right through the heel of the club to the sole thereof1 so that a considerable portion of the head of the club is on the hither side of the shaft1 and every ordinary golf club is so constructed that it is more correct to say that the head of the club1 instead of being all on one side of the shaft1 is either at the foot of the shaft1 or at least that there is1 without any doubt1 a considerable portion of the head which goes beyond the one side of the club whereon the head is supposed to be4 ,it is a very great mistake indeed to attempt to introduce any standard golf club or to lay down any regulation whatever as to how the golf club shall be made4 ,the good sense and sportsmanlike instincts of the golfer should be sufficient to govern the question of what may and what may not be used4 ,it is an absolute certainty that if any man were to endeavour to use an implement which was not in accordance with the best spirit of the game1 he would speedily provide his own punishment1 but it is a wonderful thing to find the greatest ,club in the world barring on its own links clubs which embody in their formation the well-recognised principles of the most revered implements of the game4 ,the principle which ,i have referred to of endeavouring to get the point of impact as near to the shaft as possible is being shown also in the hockey stick1 which has not now anything like so great a curve in it as it originally had1 and the striking-point has been brought much nearer to the shaft4 ,the tennis racket1 as distinct from the lawn-tennis racket1 has stood for many years as a lob-sided instrument1 but about eighteen months ago ,i was with a tennis player who ordered from ,messrs4 ,f4 ,h4 ,ayres1 ,ltd41 six straight tennis rackets1 saying that he believed the soundness of the principle which ,i am now advocating to be absolutely incontestable and of universal application in ball games4 ,i mention this matter because ,i believe it is of historical interest1 for ,i do not think that prior to the time mentioned by me1 tennis rackets were ever made straight4 ,we all know how1 when aiming a stone1 playing a billiard ball1 firing a gun1 shooting an arrow1 or pulling a catapult1 one instinctively tries to get one's eye into the line of flight of the object to be propelled4 ,it is evident that one can aim better thus4 ,this is denied one in golf1 where the ball is practically the smallest played with1 to a greater extent than in any other game4 ,it follows that a greater degree of mechanical accuracy is called for in golf than is required in other games4 ,very few golfers realise that they are deliberately handicapping themselves by playing with the clubs at present used4 ,the weight and leverage of the head of the club is on one side of the shaft1 and the angle of error is there4 ,true1 it is small1 but a very slight initial error in the flight of a golf ball becomes in #bjj yards serious1 perhaps fatal4 ,the golf club of the future will inevitably follow the march of scientific construction1 and fall into line with the straight-handled implements wherewith the ball is struck in a line with the shaft4 ,it is clear that at the moment of impact with a golf club1 as they are now constructed1 there is a very great tendency for the club to turn in the hands4 ,this is shown very clearly when one happens to hit with the toe of the club a little lower than it ought to be1 so that the toe strikes the earth4 ,this is absolutely fatal for the club will be turned in the hand1 but it is otherwise if by chance one happens to strike the ground with the heel1 for as the force of the club is transmitted in a straight line down the shaft1 the blow is very frequently1 particularly with iron clubs1 not interfered with to any very great extent4 ,it is clear that if the club is centre shafted1 greater strength and accuracy are obtained1 for the club has an equal weight on each side of the shaft4 ,there is thus no torsional or twisting strain on the shaft as there is at present with every golf club1 and1 as ,i have already shown1 this torsional strain cannot be considered as a negligible factor in a club4 ,i must repeat1 however1 that it is an error to think that this torsional strain can1 by its recovery1 contribute anything to the length of the drive1 for the recovery from the torsional strain does not take place until long after the impact has ceased and the ball has gone on its way4 ,this1 it seems to me1 even from a theoretical point of view1 is undoubted1 but ,i have proved by practical experiment that one can obtain a longer ball with a centre-shafted club than one can with an ordinary golf club4 ,there is another matter in connection with the construction of clubs which should receive the attention of manufacturers4 ,we know that the clubs are of varying lengths1 descending from the driver to the putter according to the length of the shot which is required of them4 ,the difference between a driver and a mashie is frequently as much as six inches4 ,the difference between a mashie and a putter is roughly1 say1 three inches4 ,it has always seemed to me that in proportion to the work demanded of it the putter does not continue in the decreasing scale of length as it should1 particularly for short puts4 ,many very fine putters get quite low down to their put and grip the putter a long way down the shaft4 ,it is undeniable that for short puts there is some advantage in this method1 but it is open to the objection that it leaves too much of the shaft free above the hands1 thus not only destroying the balance of the putter1 but risking striking some portion of the player's body with the free end of the shaft4 ,i believe that the putter should1 generally speaking1 be made much shorter1 but1 if this is not done for approach puts1 ,i am sure that it would be worth one's while to experiment with a short putter for short puts4 ,i have had such a putter made for me1 and ,i have no hesitation whatever in saying that it is a very valuable club and one that should be better known than it is4 ,it is necessary1 of course1 to readjust the balance in such a club1 but when that has been done1 ,i firmly believe that one is very much more accurate with this club than with an ordinary putter when playing short puts4 ,the putter which ,i am referring to is1 if ,i remember1 little1 if any1 more than twenty-six inches4 ,while ,i am on the question of the construction of putters1 ,i may say that ,i am inclined to think that all these putters which are made with heads such as the ,schenectady1 the ordinary wooden putter1 or those putters with aluminium heads1 are a mistake4 ,the sole of the club is too broad1 and to use such clubs as these is simply providing a greater chance of error4 ,there is nothing which can be done with one of these large-headed putters which cannot be done as well1 or better1 by an ordinary metal putter4 ,there are many fearful and wonderful putters on the market at the present time4 ,lately there has been produced a putter with a very shallow face1 which is now being largely used because a man who has won the open championship frequently is using it4 ,for ninety per cent of golfers a putter with a narrow face is a very great mistake1 and ,i believe that in saying ninety per cent ,i am fixing the percentage low4 ,i do not think that any putter should be built whose face is so narrow that at the moment of striking the ball properly with the putter the top edge of the putter is below the top of the ball4 ,i am firmly of opinion that a putter which is so built that it delivers the main portion of its force below the centre of the ball's mass is absolutely defective4 ,i go even so far as to say that ,i believe that in a scientifically constructed putter the face should be made much broader than the face of the average putter1 and that the weight1 instead of being massed at or near the bottom of the putter1 should be reversed1 and put1 if anything1 nearer the top4 ,the whole essence of true putting is that the ball shall be rolled up to the hole1 and not at any portion of its journey played with drag1 or as one is sometimes told to do1 slid along the green4 ,any attempt whatever to put with drag1 or by tapping the ball1 must cause inaccuracy4 ,i saw1 a short time ago1 one of the finest golfers in ,england1 ,mr4 ,a4 ,mitchell1 lose an important match on the putting-green1 or1 to be a little more accurate1 on quite a number of putting-greens4 ,he was then1 and ,i believe still is1 making the same mistake as ,james ,braid made when he was such a bad putter1 viz4 tapping his puts1 and finishing low down on the line after the ball4 ,it is almost impossible for anyone to be a good putter with this stroke1 and his chance of being a good putter is rendered remoter still if he attempts to do putting of this nature with a shallow-faced putter4 ,a putter should have very little loft indeed1 if any4 ,it is questionable1 from a scientific point of view1 if the putter should be lofted at all1 but in practice a very slight degree of loft is generally used1 and there may be something to be said in favour of this slight loft if one is playing the put as it should be played1 as nearly as possible by the wrists1 for if that is done it stands to reason that the putter with a very slight loft will tend1 in1 of course1 an extremely small degree1 but still to such a degree as to be perceptible1 to deliver its blow upwardly through the ball's mass1 and this naturally tends to give the ball a truer roll off the club than would be the case if the putter were perfectly vertical4 ,if one were using a putter with a vertical face1 it seems fairly clear that at the moment of impact1 when one is endeavouring to roll the ball forward1 it is held simultaneously at two points4 ,there must then1 it seems1 be some slight dragging on the face of the club and also on the green1 but when the putter has some small loft on it and the blow is delivered1 to a certain extent1 upwardly1 the ball will naturally get a truer roll from it1 and for this reason perhaps the smallest degree of loft on a putter is advisable4 ,shallow faces and broad soles in putters have nothing whatever to recommend them1 and there is very little doubt that golfers will1 in due course1 find this out1 and will use a putter so made that it will carry the weight where it is most wanted1 and that certainly is not at the base of the ball1 for1 unnecessary as it may seem to mention the fact1 the put is the one stroke in golf which we always desire to keep as close to the green as possible4 ,we know quite well that in all other clubs1 when we want to get the ball off the ground quickly1 we take a club which has its weight thrown into the sole1 but as we want exactly the opposite thing on the putting-green1 it seems reasonable to think that we should alter the adjustment of our weight when constructing a putter which has any claim whatever to being considered a scientifically made club4 ,i have referred to the defect of the broad sole1 and ,i have in a previous chapter of this book indicated that the perfect put should bear as close a resemblance to the swing of a pendulum as the player can give it4 ,let us now for a moment imagine that we have as the weight on the pendulum the head of an ordinary metal putter1 and let us so adjust this metal head that in the swing of the pendulum it will barely clear a marble slab placed underneath it4 ,let us now remove the metal putter and substitute in its place such a club as one of the ordinary aluminium-headed clubs1 or a ,schenectady1 and hang this club on the end of the pendulum so that when the pendulum is absolutely vertical the front edge of the sole of the club clears the slab by exactly the same space as the metal putter did when at rest4 ,we shall now find that this club will swing freely back in the same manner as the metal putter did1 but we shall get a very striking exemplification of the fact that the breadth of the sole of this club will prevent it swinging forward at all1 for the rear portion of the sole will foul the marble slab4 ,this1 of course1 is sufficient to absolutely prevent a proper follow-through1 for even when this happens on a good green the delicacy of the put is such that it is more than likely the stroke will be ruined4 ,this is an illustration of what ,i mean when ,i say that the golfer is importing into his game an unnecessary risk when he uses a broad-soled club4 ,it will be seen from the example which ,i have given that there is an infinitely greater danger of soling with such a club than there is when one is playing with an ordinary metal putter4 ,the same error with regard to breadth of sole is very frequently seen in the mashie4 ,indeed1 the sole of the mashie is so broad and taken back at such an unscientific angle that very frequently the player strikes with the back edge of the sole before the front4 ,it stands to reason that when he does this he is cocking up the front edge of his club1 and so robbing himself of a great portion of the loft of the club4 ,many players lay the face of the mashie back in order to increase the natural loft of the club4 ,in nine cases of ten when they do this1 instead of increasing the usefulness of their clubs they diminish it1 for they insist then upon the front edge of the face of the mashie striking the ball higher up than would be the case if they played with the club in the ordinary way4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xv4 ,j4 ,,sherlock ,finish of iron-shot4 ,note carefully the upright finish following the swing back1 and the position of the hands1 a characteristic of the finish of this shot4 ,sherlock gets a lower ball than the ordinary iron-shot4 ,most mashies are constructed in a very unscientific manner4 ,it is the function of the mashie to get as far underneath the ball as possible4 ,to do this a mashie should always have its front edge very clearly defined1 and almost immediately the sole leaves the front edge it should begin to curve upwardly--in other words1 a mashie should practically never have a sole4 ,when the mashie is made like this it is astonishing how much easier and more accurate it makes one's work with the club4 ,not only does the curving sole to the mashie allow one to get more in underneath the ball and prevent any jar of a square edge behind the front edge of the sole1 but if it is a question of taking turf1 which involves cutting down behind the ball1 one is able to do this with a mashie having the sharp edge and the curved sole such as ,i describe1 much more easily than one could with the flat sole1 for the simple reason that one is enabled to pass the ball on the downward stroke much more rapidly than one could possibly do with the broad-soled mashie4 ,it is obvious that in playing a ball with heavy back cut1 the essence of obtaining that cut must be the speed at which the mashie passes down behind the ball1 and it must be also equally apparent that if one is playing that shot with a club whose sole is as broad as is that of the ordinary mashie1 that the pace of the blow must be arrested to a very great extent long before the club has had an opportunity of absolutely clearing the ball4 ,this means that the club is hampered in the execution of its natural duty4 ,while ,i am on the subject of the construction of the mashie1 and particularly with regard to the curving sole1 ,i may mention that ,i have such a club4 ,it was made for me in accordance with a specification which ,i furnished1 but it did not in any way carry out what ,i wanted2 in fact1 my instructions were very much exaggerated1 but the moment ,i saw that club ,i knew that it would be1 for short approaches and for playing stymies1 a wonderful club2 and so it has proved4 ,it would take a good deal more than its weight in silver to induce me to part with it1 for that club led to the making of history in golf--in other words1 its construction caused me to see the great advantage which could be got by using it in playing the stymie shot which ,i have described in a previous chapter1 and it was while playing this particular stymie shot that ,i came to the conclusion that for the usual stymie shot at or about the hole the ordinary mashie is far too long1 as in the case of the short putter1 because when one tries to get down on the club as low as one really ought to do for playing a shot of the delicacy required in these strokes1 one finds that one has too much free shaft above one's hands4 ,if ,i had any doubt whatever as to the advisability of having a short putter for short puts1 ,i have absolutely none with regard to the benefits which are to be obtained from having a short mashie for playing close stymies1 and ,i may say that at the time of writing ,i have never handled such a club--,i have never seen such a club1 nor have ,i ever heard of such a club1 but before this book is published ,i shall have one4 ,stymies were once upon a time a perfect terror to me1 but with the club which ,i have referred to1 and whose construction was practically an accident1 they are no trouble1 and ,i firmly believe that nine stymies of ten would be no trouble to a golfer of ordinary skill if he had the proper club with which to play them1 but it seems not unreasonable1 when we consider the descending scale of the clubs which ,i have before referred to1 to think that a club which we use frequently to get eighty yards with should not be the most suitable implement for playing a stroke of nine inches to a foot4 ,while ,i am on the subject of iron clubs1 there is another matter which ,i should like to refer to1 and that is that1 in my opinion1 the communion1 if ,i may use the word1 between the club and the ball is not as intimate as it should be4 ,in the lawn-tennis ball and racket one gets a wonderfully firm grip1 and it is astonishing with what accuracy one can place a lawn-tennis ball by means of cut1 but the vast majority of iron clubs which are used are insufficiently and unscientifically marked4 ,i can remember the time when iron clubs1 generally speaking1 were innocent of any indentation whatever on their faces4 ,marking is fairly general now on iron clubs1 but it is done in an utterly unscientific manner4 ,it is frequently done by great deep straight lines1 and1 particularly in the mashie1 nearly always by lines which run from heel to toe4 ,now in the great majority of mashie shots when one is putting on cut one requires lines running in an exactly opposite direction4 ,we do sometimes see1 of course1 lines on these iron clubs running at right angles to each other1 but in nearly every case the marking is too large and too coarse to be of the practical benefit which it ought to be4 ,quite recently ,i saw a very skilful golfer playing with rusty clubs1 and somebody who did not understand what it meant commented rather strongly on his untidiness4 ,he did not understand until he was told that the idea of the man who was using these clubs in keeping them rusty was that he got a better grip on his ball1 and there can be no doubt whatever that this is the case1 but a scientific maker of iron clubs would not be satisfied to leave it to his customer to make up for his deficiency by allowing his clubs to become unsightly4 ,he would produce a club marked as nearly as might be in a similar manner to a club which was heavily rusted4 ,i have experimented with various means for establishing a better grip between the club and the ball1 and ,i have1 ,i believe1 found an almost perfect medium for establishing effective contact4 ,let us consider for a moment how little use the cue would be to us at billiards were it not for the medium of contact which is commonly used2 to wit1 the chalk4 ,now it is inconvenient1 and1 moreover1 would be ineffective to a great extent1 to chalk one's iron clubs in golf1 but it is an absolute certainty that something which answers to the chalk should be on the face of every iron used in golf4 ,what that is to be we must leave to the ingenuity of our scientific club makers1 but it is an absolute certainty that we shall see a very great improvement in this particular matter within quite a short time4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,the ,,literature ,,of ,,golf ,it will be readily understood by those who have followed me that ,i consider that golf has been badly served by those who have essayed to teach it by books4 ,the main1 if not indeed the whole1 cause of the trouble is the manner in which writer after writer has allowed himself to be influenced by the work of those who have preceded him4 ,this is neither amusing nor instructive4 ,the essence of progress is research4 ,we cannot progress in anything by repeating parrot-like the fallacies of those who have preceded us4 ,i want to make it particularly plain that this book aims at absolutely dispelling the fog and mist1 the obscurity and the falseness which now clusters about the game of golf4 ,one dear old chap was explaining to me how he tries to drive4 ,he said1 ,when ,i get to the top of the swing ,i have so many things to remember that ,i get all of a dither and mess it up hopelessly4 ,could anyone express it better8 ,about seventy-five per cent of the golfers who follow the usual tuition are all of a dither4 ,the whole trouble is that they are given too much to think of during the stroke4 ,i am certain that the secret of success in golf is to eliminate the necessity for thinking and theorising on the links4 ,this1 ,i contend1 can be done by knowing1 not merely by reading1 the contents of this book4 ,so strongly do ,i feel in this matter that ,i consider that every beginner who desires to succeed at golf should know what is here set out1 while every misguided golfer who has been jumping from his right leg to his left1 and putting his left hand in command instead of his right1 should lose no time in getting the truth and so revolutionising his game4 ,i have stated in my ,preface that this book is a challenge4 ,so1 in effect1 it is4 ,it stands for truth and practical golf1 instead of the nonsense which is generally published about one of the greatest and simplest of games4 ,i must here refer to a book entitled ,practical ,golf1 published by ,mr4 ,walter ,j4 ,travis1 the ,australian who perfected his golf in ,america and won the ,amateur ,championship of ,england4 ,mr4 ,travis' book is very interesting in many ways4 ,he calls it ,practical ,golf1 and it ought to be1 coming from him1 but ,mr4 ,travis falls into nearly all the mistakes of those who have followed the time-worn fetiches of the people who handed down to us the traditions of golf4 ,i was much astonished at this1 for ,mr4 ,travis tells us himself that he worked out his own salvation1 at the same time as he remarks that as a general rule the average professional1 while he may be a good player1 lacks the faculty of imparting proper information to beginners4 ,this1 unquestionably1 is true1 but one cannot expect too much theory from the professional1 who is not1 generally speaking1 a very well educated man1 but from a man in ,mr4 ,travis' position one has a right to expect a fairly good grip of fundamental principles4 ,he says that ,all good players work practically on the same basic principles4 ,this is1 of course1 right4 ,the trouble is that most good golfers1 like ,mr4 ,travis1 work on the same correct basic principles1 but advertise to their unfortunate readers and pupils those which are utterly opposed to their practice4 ,mr4 ,travis absolutely subscribes to the fundamental but common error with regard to the distribution of weight4 ,he says at page #cj3 ,in the upward swing it will be noticed that the body has been turned very freely1 with the natural transference of weight almost entirely to the right foot4 ,at page #g he says3 ,the ease and rapidity with which the weight of the body and arms is transferred from the left leg to the right and back again1 joined to wrist action--concerning which reference will later be made--are largely1 if not wholly1 responsible for long driving4 ,it is obvious from this that ,mr4 ,travis thinks that one's weight ought to be on one's right leg at the top of the swing4 ,it is also obvious that he thinks he throws his weight about from one leg to another when he is playing4 ,it is1 notwithstanding this1 certain that he tells us1 as does every man who writes a book about golf1 that the head must be immovable during the operation of driving4 ,we must wait for ,mr4 ,travis to tell us how this conundrum can be solved1 as none of the famous golfers of the world have yet been able to do it4 ,if the stance has once been taken with the weight equally distributed between the legs1 it is impossible1 if the head be kept still1 as ,mr4 ,travis and everybody else says it should be1 to get the weight on to the right leg at the top of the swing1 but it is not impossible to get it on to the left leg1 where it should be1 and where1 indeed1 it goes quite naturally4 ,in speaking about the palm grip ,mr4 ,travis says3 ,this style is more affected by cricketers and base ballers1 but it is open to the objection that it introduces a tendency to hit the ball with tautened muscles1 and discourages the proper follow-through4 ,personally1 ,i cannot see that there is any objection whatever to hitting the ball with tautened muscles--in fact1 it absolutely must be done in that way1 and in no other1 or the result will be dire failure4 ,james ,braid himself says that at the moment of impact the muscles are in a state of supreme tension1 and as a matter of practical golf there can be no doubt whatever that this is so4 ,mr4 ,travis also comes into line with the general body of golfing opinion with regard to the fetich of the left4 ,he says on page #ad3 ,as a general rule the left hand should grip somewhat more firmly than the right4 ,i may say that ,vardon and ,taylor do not agree with ,mr4 ,travis1 and the mere idea of putting the left to exert a firmer hold on the shaft is a reversion to primeval fables4 ,mr4 ,travis tells us1 speaking about the waggle3 ,do not on any account in this preliminary address lift the club up4 ,lifting the club pre-supposes stiffness and rigidity of muscles and the resultant stroke cannot be thoroughly satisfactory4 ,it will be obvious that as the club is at the lowest portion of its arc it is necessary to lift the club4 ,this is done by an easy action of the wrists1 and the waggle1 of course1 then becomes a swing worked almost entirely from the wrists1 but it is absolutely essential to lift the club for the ordinary waggle4 ,at page #ai ,mr4 ,travis says3 ,when the top of the swing is reached1 without pausing1 bring the arms and body around as swiftly as possible and swish the ball away4 ,we see here that ,mr4 ,travis is also an adherent of the fetich of the sweep1 but we must in his case call it the fetich of the swish4 ,in golf it is now realised that the golf drive is a hit of the very finest order4 ,mr4 ,travis says at the same page ,do not seek to artificially raise the left foot on the toe4 ,strive rather to keep it rooted--the natural turn of the shoulders and body rotating to the right will bring it up and around4 ,keep the right leg as stiff and as straight as possible4 ,and whatever you do1 do not move the head4 ,if one is going to pivot on the left toe in any way whatever1 it is fatal to the rhythm of the swing to wait until the arms pull the left heel off the earth4 ,the left heel should leave the earth almost simultaneously with the club leaving the ball4 ,if this is not done it will be impossible to maintain the rhythm of the swing4 ,mr4 ,travis shows himself in nearly every case pivoted on the point of his left toe at the top of the swing4 ,this is now universally admitted to be bad form1 as one should put the weight on the ball of the toe1 and forward from that at the side of the shoe4 ,it is1 of course1 possible to play the drive practically flat-footed1 in which case one's swing will naturally be much flatter than the ordinary swing1 but this is not generally done4 ,for those who pivot on the left toe1 ,mr4 ,travis' advice to wait for the arms to pull the heel up is1 ,i think1 absolutely bad4 ,his advice to keep the right leg stiff and straight is quite good1 and1 of course1 there can be no doubt of the correctness of his advice when he says do not move the head1 but will he tell us how1 with a perfectly stiff and straight right leg1 and no movement whatever of the head1 he is going to transfer his weight to his right leg8 for1 as he truly says on page #bj1 ,if the head is kept still1 no swaying of the body can be indulged in4 ,there is a very remarkable statement on page #bj4 ,mr4 ,travis says3 ,any doubt as to whether the head is moved may easily be satisfied by the player assuming a position with the sun immediately at the back of him1 and watching the shadow of the head during the swing4 ,if the head is shown to move1 the swing should be persistently practised until this fault is remedied4 ,if ,i were not now writing practical golf myself1 ,i might suggest putting in a peg on the ground to watch whether one's shadow impinged on this peg or not1 but as a matter of practical golf if ,i considered anything of this nature necessary1 ,i should prefer a string stretched across by my right ear so that swaying would be bound to make me touch it1 but as a matter of intensely practical golf neither of these expedients is in the least degree necessary if the player will only get it firmly rooted in his mind that his weight must be on his left leg at the top of his swing1 and he will then find that he has no temptation whatever to sway4 ,on page #bc ,mr4 ,travis says3 ,it is not really the length alone of the downward swing that contributes distance so much as the rapidity with which the club head is moving at1 and just after the moment of impact4 ,it is almost unnecessary to draw attention to the fact that what happens just after the moment of impact does not much matter to the ball4 ,it is what happens during the impact which is of importance1 although it stands to reason that if the speed during impact has been sufficient1 just after impact it will still be the same1 minus the force expended on the golf ball4 ,mr4 ,travis makes a terrible error in ,practical ,golf when he says1 speaking of the downward swing3 ,let him resolve to centralise the power of the stroke immediately the ball is reached4 ,this is an idea fatal to good golf4 ,as ,i have frequently pointed out1 and as ,james ,braid in ,how to ,play ,golf also emphasises1 the meeting between the ball and the club should be merely an incident4 ,any attempt to try to do anything during impact in the drive is futile4 ,mr4 ,travis at page #bd makes the same error with regard to the speed of the club after the ball has been hit4 ,he says3 ,a great deal more depends upon the maintenance of speed after the ball is struck than is commonly supposed4 ,this part of the stroke is known as the follow-through1 and plays a very important part in the length of the drive as in straightness4 ,mr4 ,travis evidently does not perfectly realise that the follow-through is of no importance whatever except as the natural result of the correctly played first part of the stroke1 and the maintenance of speed after the ball has been struck is of no importance provided that the first portion of the stroke has been properly executed and at a sufficient pace4 ,the only importance of the maintenance of speed in any way whatever is that this indicates that the first half has been correctly performed4 ,mr4 ,travis seems to be very hazy as to the causes of slicing and pulling4 ,a ball being hit slightly to the right of its centre would not necessarily produce a slice1 although it would probably deflect it from its intended line of flight4 ,a slice is produced by the amount of rotation which is imparted to the ball by the glancing blow4 ,he says3 ,with a pulled ball it is just the opposite--the ball is hit to the left of its centre1 that is1 nearer the player1 producing a spin from right to left4 ,this is not in any way necessary4 ,the ball may be hit absolutely at the point farthest from the hole1 and with the club at a perfect right angle to the intended line of flight1 but the point which ,mr4 ,travis does not mention is that the club is travelling upward across the intended line of flight and outward from the player4 ,this it is which produces the beneficial spin of the ball in the pull4 ,at page #ca1 ,mr4 ,travis says3 ,every golfing stroke describes a circle1 or a segment of a circle4 ,this is an egregious error1 for the golf stroke1 quite naturally from the method of its production1 bears a far greater likeness to an oval than to a circle4 ,anyone endeavouring to produce the golf stroke as a circle would certainly not get either a very graceful or a very accurate result4 ,mr4 ,travis falls into the astonishing error for a man who plays golf so well as he does1 of thinking that it is possible to juggle with the golf ball by means of a golf club during impact4 ,speaking of brassy play1 he says3 ,the lofted face1 joined to the slight whipping up of the hands at the proper time--that is after the club meets the ball--will produce the desired result4 ,don't on any account seek to bring the hands up too quickly1 otherwise a top will assuredly result4 ,mr4 ,travis here falls into the common error with regard to using the wrists during impact4 ,it will be observed that he avoided it in dealing with the follow-through1 but in this matter he makes the usual error4 ,this turning up of the wrists which he refers to comes long after the ball has been hit1 and is the natural turn up which follows any slice or any cut played to raise a ball suddenly4 ,at page #da he makes the same error1 for he says3 ,by striking the ball slightly towards the heel of the club1 and immediately after bringing the arms somewhat in and finishing well out1 a slight spin is imparted to the ball which causes it to rise more quickly4 ,here it is clear that he thinks that one may1 after impact1 do something with the hands to affect the manner in which the ball leaves the club4 ,there could not possibly be any greater fallacy in golf than this4 ,that this is a rooted fallacy of ,mr4 ,travis ,i shall show later on when ,i deal with his remarks about bunker play4 ,mr4 ,travis says at page #di3 ,hitting with the heel of the club meeting the ground after the ball is struck will cause the ball to rise more1 and1 joined to the spin imparted by drawing in the arms and turning the wrists upward1 will produce a very dead ball with hardly any run4 ,the science of the stroke consists in hitting very sharply1 and turning the wrists upward immediately after the ball is struck4 ,here we see the same delusion4 ,the essence of this stroke is purely a matter of practical golf which ,i have not seen mentioned in any book or essay on golf4 ,when one plays a ball off the heel of one's mashie1 it stands to reason that one gets the ball on the very narrowest portion of the blade1 and that therefore one hits the ball as far beneath the centre of the ball's mass as it is possible to do--so much so1 in fact1 that a very considerable portion of the ball overlaps the top of the face of the club4 ,this puts a tremendous amount of undercut or stop on the ball4 ,this is the practical golf of the shot which ,mr4 ,travis is attempting to describe1 but his idea of putting cut on it by juggling with it during impact is fatal4 ,in speaking of approach puts1 ,mr4 ,travis gives some wonderful advice4 ,he says3 ,you should aim to hit the ball as if it were your intention to drive it into the ground4444 ,this will cause the ball to jump1 due to its contact with the ground immediately after being struck4 ,this is practical golf of a nature which we may very well pass without discussion4 ,i think that there are very few golfers who will desire to bounce the ball off the earth when they can play it off the face of the club4 ,this is ,mr4 ,travis' advice as to how to cut the put4 ,at page #fe he says3 ,put cut on the ball by drawing the arms in a trifle just at the moment of striking4 ,the drawing of the arms across the ball is not to be done at the moment of striking4 ,it starts at the beginning of the swing and finishes at the end thereof4 ,this is how cut is put on a put by practical golf4 ,mr4 ,travis advises for putting that people should select a particular blade of grass on the line to the hole4 ,he then says3 ,take your stance and square the face of the putter at perfect right angles to the blade of grass you have picked out4 ,as a matter of practical golf ,i may remark that blades of grass have a remarkable family likeness4 ,mr4 ,travis says3 ,close observation of all missed puts discloses the interesting fact that by far the large majority go to the left of the hole1 thereby indicating the presence of the pull1 due to the arms being slightly drawn in just after striking4 ,this is what is called a sliced put in ,england1 but again as a matter of practical golf ,i may say that many of these puts are simply misdirected1 such misdirection being due to the turning over of the wrists too soon in the action of striking the ball4 ,unless one determinedly follows through well down the line the natural tendency is to hook one's put across the line1 but this does not indicate any pull4 ,it merely indicates1 if of frequent occurrence1 ignorance or carelessness4 ,speaking of stymies1 ,mr4 ,travis says3 ,occasionally you will be confronted with an absolutely dead stymie by having your opponent's ball just on the edge of the cup1 your own being so close1 say seven inches to a foot away1 that it is impossible to negotiate the stroke by either curling around or lofting4 ,in such extremity there is only one way of getting your ball in the hole unaccompanied by your opponent's1 and that is by what is technically known in billiards as the follow shot4 ,as a matter of practical golf the stymie stroke introduced by me is far more likely to prove successful in this case than the follow shot1 for we are dealing with very tricky things when we try to play billiards with golf balls covered with numerous excrescences or dimples4 ,if the stymie described by ,mr4 ,travis is played by my stroke1 it should be got five times out of six1 and ,i very much doubt if ,mr4 ,travis or anybody else could get anything like this with the run through stroke4 ,writing of ,playing out of hazards1 ,mr4 ,travis says3 ,then bring it down again on the same line with all the force you can controllably command1 consistent with accuracy4 ,as it sinks into the sand its course may then1 but not until then1 be slightly directed towards the ball4 ,coming from a practical golfer this is an absolutely amazing statement4 ,the idea of attempting to deflect one's niblick from the line originally mapped out for it as it enters the sand is too amazing and too utterly unsound to merit any further comment or notice1 except to say that it would be impossible to deflect the club head from the line of travel mapped out for it at this moment without materially reducing the force of the blow1 and when one is hitting into heavy sand1 to get underneath the ball and in many cases to get it out of the bunker without even touching it with the club1 every pound of force that can be put into the club is necessary4 ,there is another thing which ,mr4 ,travis tells us that certainly is not practical golf1 and it does not seem to me to be practical carpentry1 but he says at page #abf1 speaking of the brassy3 ,the screws which hold the blade sometimes work loose4 ,this trouble may easily be remedied by putting glue in the holes before inserting the screws4 ,one is never too old to learn1 and ,i think that in any future efforts ,i may make at amateur carpentry1 ,i shall glue my nails6 ,mr4 ,travis makes a very remarkable statement at page #aci1 speaking of the guttie ball as opposed to the ,haskell3 ,the latter1 by reason of its greater comparative resiliency does not remain in contact with the club head quite so long1 and therefore does not receive the full benefit of the greater velocity of the stroke in the same proportion as the less resilient guttie2 but surely the greater the resiliency of the ball the longer it will remain in contact with the club4 ,it should be obvious that one of the reasons for the greater swerve in the sliced or pulled rubber-cored ball as compared with the guttie1 is that on account of the longer period of impact the ball acquires a greater amount of spin4 ,speaking of the waggle1 ,mr4 ,travis is delightfully indefinite4 ,he says ,with the club gripped pretty firmly with both hands in the manner already described1 it is well to see that the whole machinery is in good working order by waggling the club a few times over the ball1 allowing the wrists to turn freely1 without1 however1 relaxing the grip4 ,the waggle should be entirely free from any stiffness1 which simply means that the wrists should be brought into active play4 ,this is certainly delightfully vague1 and is not1 ,i am afraid1 of much use to anyone as a matter of practical golf4 ,the waggle is unquestionably of importance in the game of golf1 otherwise it is quite improbable that we should see it employed by so many of the famous players4 ,the curious thing about this waggle is that it seems to be confined to games wherein one plays a stationary ball4 ,the same operation is gone through at billiards with the cue1 but is there known as cueing at the ball4 ,with a very great number of players the waggle may be described as moral cowardice--an excuse for putting off the evil moment4 ,many players convert the waggle into a performance which is both tedious and stupid1 and which instead of giving them a better chance of hitting the ball1 has a very great chance of absolutely putting them off their stroke4 ,i do not know that ,i have ever seen the necessity for the waggle explained1 nor have ,i seen the waggle of any of the famous players illustrated4 ,there can1 however1 be very little question that in the majority of cases the address and waggle is unnecessarily exaggerated and prolonged4 ,in ,modern ,golf ,i have illustrated ,george ,duncan's waggle4 ,so far as ,i am aware1 this is the only time that such a thing has been done4 ,duncan is probably the quickest player living1 so that it will not be necessary for us to assume that every one will be satisfied with so little preliminary work as ,duncan puts in before hitting the ball4 ,his method of playing is to take his line to the hole as much as he can as he approaches the ball4 ,he then marches straight up to it and takes his stance1 at the same time swinging his club head out so that it is roughly on a level with his waist and pointing towards the hole1 but being at the same time almost above the line of flight to the hole4 ,he then brings his club back to the ball1 and addresses it in the usual way1 soling his club close behind the ball4 ,now he lifts the club practically straight up for six or nine inches and carries it forward of the ball in a gentle curve for about six inches4 ,from here he carries the club head back along the plane of flight produced through the ball as far as it will go without turning his wrists over4 ,the club then is swung easily and naturally back to the ball almost in the same manner as it would come to it in the drive1 until it arrives close behind the ball1 but about two inches from the turf1 when it sinks to rest by dropping straight down behind the ball4 ,it is now soled again as in the original address4 ,this sounds like a somewhat lengthy process1 but as a matter of fact it is probably the shortest waggle used by any golf player who is in the front rank4 ,in fact1 so rapid is ,duncan in his play1 that very frequently spectators who are not accustomed to his methods1 do not see him play the ball1 as they allow for the more deliberate style generally followed by the other leading professionals4 ,in ,duncan we have a player who in my opinion is as good a golfer as anyone in the world4 ,we see clearly that he wastes very little time in addressing his ball1 either through the green or on the putting-green4 ,on the other hand1 we see some men of greater fame than ,duncan whose deliberation is tedious in the extreme1 although it must be admitted that in so far as regards the waggle in the drive1 the great players do not overdo this nearly so much as do amateurs of an inferior class4 ,i am not aware that anybody has yet explained the reason for the waggle4 ,it seems that it is a natural movement1 or in some cases a very unnatural movement1 which players fall into in endeavouring to readjust their distance from the ball and their position with regard to the line of flight4 ,very many players who waggle1 produce most remarkable flourishes with their club4 ,the club is made to describe curves in the air which it could not possibly do in any other operation at golf than the waggle4 ,the whole object of the waggle seems to be to allow the player to get his eye in1 as it is commonly called1 at the ball1 to loosen his joints1 and1 which is a point that ,i have not seen previously made1 in a measure to produce in anticipation the motions of his wrists and club immediately before1 at1 and after impact with the ball4 ,if this view of the object of the waggle be accepted as correct1 it is obvious that in nine cases of ten the attempted waggle is force hopelessly wasted--in fact1 worse than wasted1 for it has been occupied in describing weird geometrical figures in the air1 figures which can have no possible reference whatever to the work which the club is expected to do4 ,in ,duncan's waggle it will be observed that firstly he swings his club head out down the line towards the hole1 and secondly that he carries it back for a considerable distance from the ball in the plane of flight produced through the ball4 ,it will be seen from this that to a great extent he produces in the waggle the same motions as his forearms and wrists go through immediately before1 at1 and after impact with the ball4 ,on examining the photographs of ,duncan's hands in the drive1 we find that for the space of nearly two feet before he reaches the ball1 and probably for quite that distance after the ball has been struck and he has continued the follow-through1 there is no turning over of the wrists--that during this space of roughly three feet1 the space wherein ,james ,braid says that the wrists have it all their own way1 ,duncan's wrists are practically quiescent1 and that during the whole of this time the club is travelling at almost its maximum speed1 but the arms and wrists are doing very little more to it than to withstand the centrifugal force developed in the earlier part of the swing and to keep themselves braced to withstand the shock of impact4 ,these are merely a few instances taken haphazard from a book called ,practical ,golf by one who is1 undoubtedly1 in so far as regards his own play1 a practical golfer4 ,this does not1 however1 prevent him from furnishing another and a very striking example of the curious fact that nearly all good golfers teach the game in a manner entirely different from that in which they play it1 and that their tuition1 if followed out1 must result in their followers learning to play in very bad form1 and probably also learning much which has to be painfully unlearnt later on when they have discovered the truth4 ,,afterword ,it would be very easy for me now to begin to explain in the ordinary manner of golf books how the game is played1 but to do so would be going outside the scope of this work1 and interfering either with the proper functions of the professional1 or the proper practice of the intelligent golfer4 ,i have1 in this book1 taken my readers through all those matters which are of the most vital importance to the game1 and practically everything which is contained between the covers of this book may be better studied and digested by the golfer1 be he a champion or a beginner1 in his arm-chair than on the links4 ,he who wishes to know golf to the core1 must know what is in this book1 all of which he can thoroughly understand without taking a club in his hands4 ,the whole fault of the false doctrine which has been so plentifully published about golf in the past1 is that it has given the unfortunate people who have taken notice of it an incalculable number of things to think about4 ,the truest and best tuition in golf is that which advances by a process of elimination and so proceeds that it gives the learner a minimum number of separate circumstances to think about during his game2 in fact1 if the tuition has been properly carried out the golfer will have astonishingly little to think of at the moment when he is making his stroke4 ,this is the ideal condition of mind4 ,the remark which the puzzled golfer made to me that when he started on his downward swing he had so many things to think of that he was all of a dither expresses marvellously accurately the condition of mind of about ninety per cent of golfers who think they have studied golf4 ,the golfer who studies this book soundly and intelligently will learn what he will learn from no other book on golf1 and that is what a vast number of things there are in connection with the golf stroke which it is expedient to forget at the moment one is making it4 ,let me give an illustration of what ,i mean4 ,the golfer is told now that at the top of his swing he must get his weight on to his right foot1 and that he must keep his head still4 ,the merest attempt to do this produces a conflict at once4 ,then he is told that his left hand must dominate the right3 here is conflict again4 ,but when he learns that in order to keep his head still he must put his weight at the top of his swing on his left foot1 the conflict vanishes1 he finds that it is natural and easy to do2 and he forgets to encumber his mind with the fact that it has to be done1 so that it becomes just as habitual with him to put his weight in the right place as it is when he is walking4 ,the same thing applies with regard to the instructions which he has always had drilled into him to allow the left hand and arm to usurp the position of the right4 ,here again he is distinctly exhorted to encourage these two members to enter into conflict during the stroke4 ,although ,i explained to him most clearly that this idea about the left being the more important member of the two is utterly wrong1 and that the right is1 and always must be1 the dominant member in the golf swing1 ,i did not tell him to remember this during the golf swing1 and he is indeed a very foolish person if he attempts to remember it4 ,all he has to do is to cut the false doctrine out of his mind1 and nature will attend to the rest4 ,so it will be seen that when one has grasped the truth in connection with golf one has advanced by such a process of elimination that there is left for the happy golfer when he addresses his ball very little to think of but hitting that ball4 ,golf in the past has suffered from the multiplicity of false directions4 ,it is by recognising these for what they are1 and by forgetting them that the golfer will ultimately arrive at ,the ,soul of ,golf4 ,,index ,accelerating speed1 ,vardon on1 #ajd ,address and impact similar1 ,braid on1 #acg ,address1 ,braid on1 #acc ,apportionment of back-spin1 #bfc1 #bgj1 #bga ,arm roll in stroke1 #baj ,arms measure distance1 #df1 #agd ,as you go up so you come down1 #ig1 #bai ,ayres1 ,f4 ,h41 ,ltd41 #bhi1 #cbd ,ayres1 ,mr4 ,rupert1 #bhi-bia ,back-spin at impact1 rate of1 #bgb how obtained1 #bdg ,professor ,tait's experiment1 #bbe ,professor ,thomson's error1 #bdf ,badminton ,golf1 #abj1 #aeh1 #bad1 #bah ,badminton ,magazine1 #bbb1 #bbf ,ball1 ,mr4 ,john1 #aec1 #aeg ,ball1 action of1 during impact1 #bcg brambly1 inaccuracy off putter1 #bhg centre of gravity1 #bib centre of gravity1 test for1 #bid effect of marking1 #cjb effect of untrue centre1 #bii flight parallel with earth1 #bfe guttie1 truth of1 #bid ,haskell1 #bec indented or dimpled1 #bhf instability of the golf1 #bhd smooth1 flight of1 #bhi1 #caa tests1 #bif the golf1 #bhc track of1 on green1 #bhf unscientifically made1 #bfa ,balls1 dimpled1 #bia ,base ball1 spin in1 #bcc ,beauty of flight1 #c ,billiard balls1 excrescences on1 #bhc ,billiards1 blind spot in1 #age ,blackwell1 ,mr4 ,edward1 #aec ,blindfold golf1 #afd ,blind spot1 #afh1 #afi1 #agc ,blow in golf horizontal1 ,professor ,tait1 #bfe upward1 #bfe ,body movement after impact1 #afg ,braid on distribution of weight1 #aai1 #ace on influence of club after impact1 #aja on putting1 #ej1 #ee1 #eh1 #gg ,braid's putting1 #ge1 #gf uncertainty about wrist work1 #bjh ,bullet1 drift of1 #bce ,catapults1 ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey's1 #bif ,cleek1 push stroke with1 #aid ,vardon's push shot with1 #aid ,clubs1 all illegal1 #cbb construction of1 #caf rusty1 #ccc ,contemporary ,review1 #cbj ,corkscrew action in stroke1 ,braid on1 #bac ,croome1 ,mr4 ,a4 ,c4 ,m41 #aih1 #aii ,cross-bow1 ,professor ,tait's experiment1 #bff ,cross wind1 ,professor ,thomson on1 #bdj ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey on1 #bih ,vardon on1 #bef ,cut1 principles of1 #hi ,cutting round a stymie1 #gc ,direction1 demand for1 #c ,downward swing1 control of1 #acc1 #bgh ,downward swing1 ,duncan and ,vardon1 #acj ,drag for bolting puts1 #fb1 #fc in putting1 #fj ,drive1 tension of muscles during1 #ch ,duncan1 ,george1 #g1 #hb and mashie stroke1 #gb1 #hb and smooth ball1 #bhi1 #cji ,dynamical problems1 ,professor ,thomson on1 #bbh ,elimination the secret of coaching1 #ceb ,english mental attitude towards games1 #d ,english ,review1 ,the1 #bfg ,evening ,standard and ,st4 ,james's ,gazette1 #bhh ,eye1 lifting the1 #cd1 #ce ,eyes1 effect of1 on weight1 #afg function of1 #afb1 #afc movement of1 #aff ,vardon on movement of1 #afh ,fallacies of golf1 #ie ,feet1 movement of1 ,duncan1 ,vardon1 and ,braid1 #acd ,flick in golf stroke1 #bac ,flight of ball1 #bbb ,follow-through1 #abh1 #abi control of1 #bgh ,forearms1 action of ,duncan's1 #baj in stroke1 roll of1 #baj ,freemasonry of golf1 #f ,fry's ,magazine1 photographs in1 #abe1 #ach ,golf books1 unscrupulous practices1 #aj ,golf ,illustrated1 #aig and ,professor ,thomson1 #bec ,golfers groping their way1 ,braid1 #bfi ,grip1 apportionment of power in1 #aej old1 #aeb1 #aec overlapping1 #aeb suggested new1 #aea ,gutta ball1 ,walter ,j4 ,travis on1 #bec ,haskell ball1 #bec ,head1 keeping still1 #afb1 #afc ,taylor on position of1 #aga ,high tee for low ball1 #bdf ,hilton1 ,mr4 ,h4 ,h41 #aec ,hilton1 ,mr4 ,h4 ,h41 in ,concerning ,golf1 #afj ,horizontal stroke1 ,professor ,thomson's idea1 #bdd ,hutchinson1 ,mr4 ,horace ,g41 on distribution of weight1 #abj on top of swing1 #aeh ,impact1 action during1 #ahb and address similar1 ,braid on1 #acg1 #bgg an incident of stroke1 #de1 #ii1 #ajj arc during1 #bdd duration of1 #afe length of1 #bgg muscles at time of1 #cj1 #ca no control over1 ,braid1 #bgh ,professor ,thomson on1 #bdb ,walter ,j4 ,travis on1 #bec ,impatience to play1 #e ,instruction by elimination1 #ceb ,knee1 left1 ,braid's action1 #acg left1 not loose1 #abg right1 and ,vardon1 #aca ,laws of swerve of universal application1 #bcd ,left and right wrists together1 ,vardon1 #baf ,left arm1 power of1 #ab1 #adj ,braid on1 #adb1 #adc1 #adh ,mr4 ,hutchinson on1 #adf ,taylor on1 #add1 #ade1 #adh ,vardon on1 #adj1 #ada1 #adh1 #adi ,left hand1 regulating grip1 ,vardon on1 #aej ,left wrist starts club down1 ,braid1 #bae ,le ,golf1 ,arnaud ,massy1 #cbj ,literature of golf1 #aj1 #ccd ,low1 ,mr4 ,john ,l41 ,concerning ,golf1 #aei1 #bef1 #beg ,low ball1 high tee for1 #bdf ,mashie1 cut shot1 #bf cut stroke1 ,vardon on1 #aia for stymies1 #gj stroke1 ,taylor's cut1 #aic ,mashies1 short1 for stymies1 #ccj ,massy1 ,arnaud1 #cbj ,master stroke1 the1 #agh ,matter1 definition of1 #da ,mechanical accuracy demanded1 #b ,mechanics of golf1 #c ,mitchell1 ,a41 #cbg ,modern ,golf1 #ei1 #gc1 #hc1 #acc1 #baj1 #bdf ,morning ,post1 #aih ,mystery1 none in other games1 #af ,mystery of ,golf1 #ae1 #abe1 #bbj ,newton1 on principles of swerve1 #bbc1 #bce1 #bbh ,nip at impact1 ,professor ,tait1 #bff ,nose of golf ball1 #bca ,palm grip1 ,mr4 ,horace ,g4 ,hutchinson on1 #aei ,payne-,gallwey1 ,sir ,ralph1 #bib tests1 #bif ,practical ,golf1 #abj1 #cce et seq4 ,press1 influence of1 #cc ,professionals and journalists1 #aj lacking in theory1 #i ,projectile ,throwing ,engines of the ,ancients1 #bib ,pull1 the1 #agi axis of vertical1 ,professor ,thomson on1 #bcg ,braid on1 #ahh explanation of spin1 #bdj ,mr4 ,john ,l4 ,low on1 #beh true axis of1 #bdj ,vardon on1 #ahc ,push stroke1 ,vardon's1 #aid ,put1 ,braid on cutting the1 #hc not a wrist stroke1 #fg position of ball1 #fg run on1 #fi short grip for1 #hd ,vardon on cutting the1 #hg ,put1 short1 the easiest stroke1 #dh ,braid on the1 #ej should be taught first1 #dh ,taylor on the1 #ej ,vardon on the1 #di ,putter1 short1 #cbf ,putting1 #aa1 #dg chief point in1 #fd fundamental principles of1 #ec importance of address in1 #fe mechanically simple1 #eg most important factor1 #eb off heel or toe1 #fd pendulum action in1 #ff tests1 #cjd with drag1 #fj ,ray1 ,edward1 #cja1 #cji ,roll of ball on club1 #bch1 #bde ,ruff1 the1 golf ball1 #cjj1 #cji ,st4 ,andrews1 ,royal and ,ancient ,golf ,club of1 #cbb ,schenectady putter1 #cbj1 #cbf ,self-consciousness1 #bj ,shaft1 torsional strain of1 #cba ,simplicity of golf1 #b ,slice1 the1 #agi axis of1 vertical1 ,professor ,thomson1 #bcg impact in1 #beb ,mr4 ,john ,l4 ,low on1 #beh pressure on rear of ball1 ,professor ,thomson1 #bda ,professor ,thomson on1 #bej true axis of1 #bch ,walter ,j4 ,travis on1 #aij ,slow back1 #if ,smooth ball1 uneven flight of1 #caa ,snap of wrists in drive1 #bje ,soles1 broad1 of clubs1 #cbh ,spalding1 ,a4 ,g41 ,bros41 #bia ,speed1 gradually increasing1 #bi ,spin1 #aha effect on flight1 ,braid on1 #bfj ,spread of golf1 #f ,style1 #ai ,stymie1 cutting round1 #gc run-through1 #cdc ,sweep1 a hit with iron clubs1 #aji ,sweep1 the1 #ab1 #ih ,swerve1 or the ,flight of the ,ball1 #bbd ,swerve1 principles of1 #bbc1 #bcc ,swerve1 double1 #bic ,sir ,ralph ,payne-,gallwey on1 #cje ,swing1 premature teaching of1 #e the short1 #aaj top of1 ,mr4 ,horace ,g4 ,hutchinson on1 #aeh ,tait1 late ,professor1 #bbc ,taylor on distribution of weight1 #abj1 #aga on putting1 #ej on the sweep1 #ajc ,teaching by elimination1 #ceb of golf unsound1 #dc ,temperament1 golf the test of1 #g ,tension during stroke1 ,braid on1 #acc of muscles during stroke1 #ch ,thomson1 ,professor1 and smooth ball1 #cab ,thomson1 ,professor ,sir ,j4 ,j41 #bbg ,times1 ,the1 #bib ,topped ball1 #bgi ,top-spin1 alleged possibilities of1 #bhj how obtained1 #bcc in lawn-tennis1 ,professor ,thomson on1 #bcb nearest approach to1 #bhj not used in golf1 #bhj ,travis1 ,walter ,j41 fallacies of1 #cce et seq4 on distribution of weight1 #abj ,under-spin not essential to long carry1 #bbg ,professor ,thomson's error1 #bdf properties of1 #bdh ,upward concavity against back-spin1 #bfg1 #bge ,vaile golf ball1 #bij putter1 #ee stymie stroke1 #gj ,vardon and blind spot1 #afi on cross wind1 #bef on cutting a put1 #hg ,vardon on distribution of weight1 #aah1 #abd on follow-through1 #aca on putting1 #ej1 #ge ,vardon's weight in follow-through1 #aca ,vertical axis of slice and pull1 ,professor ,thomson on1 #bcg ,waggle1 the1 #cdf ,duncan's1 #cdf ,waist1 pivoting from1 #abb ,weight1 distribution of1 #ac1 #be1 #bg1 #ig1 #aag1 #aga ,weight distribution1 ,vardon on1 #aah1 #abd ,braid on1 #aai1 #aba fallacy1 origin explained1 #ach ,horace ,hutchinson on1 #abj ,mr4 ,haultain's explanation1 #abe ,taylor on1 #abj ,w4 ,j4 ,travis on1 #abj ,weight on right leg1 test for1 #abb ,wind-cheater1 #c1 #agi ,wind1 cross1 #bdb1 #bef1 #beg ,wrists1 action of1 #bjb ,mr4 ,horace ,hutchinson on1 #bai speed of1 #bag turn over of1 #ajg ,vardon on action of1 #bjc ,printed by ,r4 ,r4 ,,clark1 ,,limited1 ,edinburgh4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,mystery ,,of ,,golf ,,by ,,arnold ,,haultain ,second and ,cheaper ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4 net4 ,mr4 ,,henry ,,leach in the ,,evening ,,news4--,mr4 ,haultain's book answers to all the tests to which it may be submitted1 and ,i am strongly disposed to regard it as the best book of its kind that has ever been written4 ,mr4 ,j4 ,,sutherland in the ,,daily ,,news4--,a short time ago ,i was asked by a young aspirant 444 to point out the book ,i liked best4 ',that wee one8' he inquired1 and on my nodding assent he 444 took the book down and read 444 ,the ,mystery of ,golf 7,haultain74 ,,the ,,professional ,,and ,,greenkeeper4--,the book is undoubtedly one of the best ever written dealing with the ,royal and ,ancient ,game4 ,,looker-,,on in ,,golf ,,illustrated4--,in my opinion1 the best book that has ever been written on golf4444 ,on every page there scintillates a jewel of golfing wisdom4 ,,golfing4--,a book in which every golfer must delight4444 ,there is not a stale word in the book from beginning to end4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,putting4 ,by ,w4 ,j4 ,,travis and ,,jack ,,white4 ,crown #hvo4 #as4 ,,great ,,lawn ,,tennis ,,players4 ,their ,methods ,illustrated4 ,by ,g4 ,w4 ,,beldam and ,p4 ,a4 ,,vaile4 ,with #bbi ,action-,photographs4 ,medium #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4 ,,great ,,batsmen3 ,,their ,,methods ,,at ,a ,,glance4 ,by ,g4 ,w4 ,,beldam and ,,charles ,b4 ,,fry4 ,with #fjj ,action-,photographs4 ,medium #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4 ,,great ,,bowlers ,,and ,,fielders3 ,,their ,,methods ,,at ,a ,,glance4 ,by ,g4 ,w4 ,,beldam and ,,charles ,b4 ,,fry4 ,with ,contributions by ,f4 ,r4 ,,spofforth1 ,b4 ,j4 ,t4 ,,bosanquet1 ,r4 ,o4 ,,schwarz1 and ,g4 ,l4 ,,jessop2 and #dfd ,action-,photographs4 ,medium #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 net4 ,,lawn ,,tennis1 ,,its ,,past1 ,,present1 ,,and ,,future4 ,by ,j4 ,,parmly ,,paret4 ,with a ,chapter on ,lacrosse by ,w4 ,h4 ,,maddren4 ,illustrated4 ,extra crown #hvo4 #hs4 #f;d4 net4 ,,books ,,on ,,sport ,,the ,,adventures ,,of ,,an ,,elephant ,,hunter4 ,by ,,james ,,sutherland4 ,illustrated #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 net4 ,a ,,colony ,,in ,,the ,,making3 ,,or ,,sport ,,and ,,profit ,,in ,,british ,,east ,,africa4 ,by ,lord ,,cranworth4 ,with ,map and ,illustrations4 #hvo4 #abs4 net4 ,,sport ,,on ,,the ,,nilgiris ,,and ,,in ,,wynaad4 ,by ,f4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,fletcher4 ,illustrated4 #hvo4 #abs4 net4 ,,the ,,man-,,eaters ,,of ,,tsavo1 ,,and ,,other ,,east ,,african ,,adventures4 ,by ,lieut4-,colonel ,j4 ,h4 ,,patterson1 ,d4 ,s4 ,o4 ,illustrated4 ,with a ,foreword by ,,frederick ,,courteney ,,selous4 #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 net4 ,cheap ,edition4 ,globe #hvo4 #as4 net4 ,,in ,,the ,,grip ,,of ,,the ,,nyika4 ,further ,adventures in ,british ,east ,africa4 ,by ,lieut4-,colonel ,j4 ,h4 ,,patterson1 ,d4 ,s4 ,o4 ,illustrated4 #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 net4 ,a ,,hunter',s ,,wanderings ,,in ,,africa4 ,nine ,years amongst the ,game of the ,far ,interior of ,south ,africa4 ,by ,,frederick ,,courteney ,,selous4 ,illustrated4 ,fifth ,edition4 ,extra crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 net4 ,,african ,,nature ,,notes ,,and ,,reminiscences4 ,by ,,frederick ,,courteney ,,selous4 ,with a ,foreword by ,,theodore ,,roosevelt1 and ,illustrations by ,e4 ,,caldwell4 #hvo4 #ajs4 net4 ,,notes ,,on ,,sport ,,and ,,travel4 ,by ,,george ,,kingsley4 ,with ,introductory ,memoir by his ,daughter1 ,,mary ,h4 ,,kingsley4 ,extra crown #hvo4 #hs4 #f;d4 net4 ,,an ,,angler',s ,,hours4 ,by ,h4 ,t4 ,,sheringham4 ,extra crown #hvo4 #fs4 net4 ,,macmillan ,,and ,,co41 ,,ltd41 ,,london4 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,obvious printer errors were repaired4 ,hyphenation variants retained as in original4 ,copyright page showed no date4 ,both putts 7in quoted material7 and puts 7in author's voice7 were present in the original4