Then again, I've been a target for a long time. At the 1963 World Cup at the Saint Nom la Breteche Club, near Paris, I was backed up at a tee and idling away some time during the pro-am, when along came Richard Nixon in the next foursome. Golf tips and other how-to instruction have been blamed for more golfers' woes and bad scores since they first appeared in print. Of course, golfers will reach for any excuse when the numbers go up - the greenkeeper and the height of the grass in the fairway, the noise from the foursome on the other green, or simply a bad bounce from that hard spot on the green. The basic problem is they don't understand the basic premise of tips and how-to.
Golfers come in all shapes and sizes, with varying degrees of athletic skills and reflexes.
It is logical, therefore, that one theory for hitting a ball cannot apply to everyone. We tried to convey that point to our readers from time to time, indicating that if one tip, or pointer, did not work for him or her, then perhaps there'll be one or more in the next issue that might do the trick. The golf swing brings together many separate, interrelated, moving parts of the body. Each works independently, but then they must come together, and that's where the problem comes in. These actions, like swinging the arms, weight shift, or the role of the hands are rather natural.