The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-14

e,es~p, DAY ssiofr In aolf " has bsn'sh"d
ne s,,sss that ~asne ~i,h 'h~ game from
ssosjscd, ~heo ~ Andrews ~ fonhefr
,ss ~, only llrhs, ~ 'fwr't rtess, slo~
t,sct sod hsrp yous eye on No hall Nip.
l,cs bss written ina, whom ~ American
es,os tho Intefmos, rnsanins ~ THE phfas"
bo 10 for prNc,icsl pufpr-rs d"nnt'onH''
,sd Tho facts IN no' b~sf ont tho Hc''on
IN, p,syers eonnrd and obryrd VI" ssv'he
until ,,prv found " Vas not wholly so'ind
tbsp, IN the wsy ,o prove them 'r''~ Am"r,-
eso., they for'h~Wb invented nov methods
and nov ,oola n the Gasn", tho CLIMAX
heinz The Uvrly hall, which travels furfh"r
than tho solid e,i''s pcrcha and do~a nor
crack tho clut, heads To degree w"
change In tho asioms hinges on IN" now
hall
with tho Scots. q very full swing has
always b~en the first principle ~ sood
stvle In driving Willie Park. Jr.. the nrst
orrp champion 10 come over her" hAd
.wins Of the true heel-tappng sort aud the
nr,,feesiceals most prominent here IN INV"
and 1904 took pride In the same run cirrl"
~ tho club head There was little pause
A. the top ri the swing and tho club head
.eemrd 10 20 back az quickly rs II came
down. Our amateurs noted that the pro-
,es.ionals got long and straight balls. al
though themselve~ ignoring the maxim they
taught 30 volubly. This. even In those early
davs sounSIcd the knell of "slow hack.
The professionals who began to come
over after 1904 were mostly young men.
who had learned from vardon and Taylor
that the very full swing was only needed
when using very long shaft They used
tyu n
ones. Our players. who meantime we're
developing nearly the same method were
,hIl fearful that they we're doing wrong
Ono reason was that Fl. j. Whgham. T. d.
Macdonald and Findlay Douglas. are all
full swing advocates. although not one OF
them Is SLOW back" Whigham. in par
tc,,lar. being quick hitter. This fee'ingd
discomfort vanished with the coming OF
Harry vardon and j, Fl. Taylor. both short
shaft, "hit hard and follow through dis.
ciples. for so our players analysed their
styles. The summing up was. that as
rscehorses run in all shapes. so golfers
may succeed in all styles.
The fundamentals left are that the hall
must be hit neatly and in such manner
that the club head must 60 along with it.
To do this. the club head must traverse
q circle, but the lines at the tops need not
overlap, nor indeed need the upper segment
he completed, If to do 50 weakens the hitting
force. In a word, the ball is not jabbed
at, but struck with swinging blow.
Walter j. Travis, H. NJ. Hartman. Quincy
A. Shaw, Jr., Of Boston, Walter Smith OF
Chicago, A. H. Smith of Philadelphia and
many more who have not been bracketed
as champions had learned this axiom OF
hit. clean and follow through in the days
Of the solid ball and long shafts. They
vere all. however, constantly trying to
lengthen out their swing, on the theory
that it would lengthen out their game. in
epite OF their tournament successes. until
Vardons visit. The ribber-cored ball
came soon afterward. but our players had
thrown of the allegiance to "slow back
before it's advent. The backward swing
a il is only preparatory to the real stroke.
like the backward swing in baseball. will
never be as forceful az the forward swing.
but It is made .iust az quickly. There is
no gain in dwelling on it.
There were contestants in the recent
CHAMPIONSHIPS abroad, at Muirfeld and
Pre.twick, who could recall the feather
ball, the birth Of the hand-hammered
d.
irons. the Punishment Of the long-faced
driver for the small bulgerheads and sup
ple shafts, and the cdngenial meeting OF
the old and new schools was one OF the most
pleasant features of the championships.
Here our memories are not decade old,
and the changes are not 10 sweeping. But
the effort TO change the conditions was
manifest from the start. while abroad the
changes were taken up slowly and forced
on the players. Our energy did not al
vays produce the best results, nor is it
always recalled with unstinted approval.
Out first display OF energy was in the
laying out of links. As it happened, the
stretches Of turf most TO be desired did not
lie At the doorsteps OF the clubs most de-
sirous Of taking up the game. 1t became.
therefore. @ matter Of constructive skill
70 establish first the wide fields of close
cropped grass. Forests We're denuded.
hills blast ed away. ravincs filled, with a
disregard Of cost and haste to indicate
the golfers had taken the contract to alter
the country to a Scotch moor. There
we're further extravagances in the way
OF high cop bunkers or terraced putting
greens that are not recalled now with equa-
nimity. Later on. the suit able stretch
OF land was hunted for before the golf
club was started up, while. on the first
courses, the bunkers were RACED and the
putting greens changed.
With the advice as to don't press and
slow back in the early days. as a salve to
cure the wounded feelings OF the wights
after repeated failures to succeed, the
opinion was often stated that to get tho
true style enc must be born in Scotland.
The inventive genius OF our players was
therefore. in rebellion against this dictum
and against the material difficulties Of the
full shot from the tee and through the
green. Drivers and brassys OF odd shapes
and patterns were as thick as leaves in
Vallombrosa, patent tees were as many,
and nearly every amateur had formula
as to placing the ball that would prevent
topping or sclaffng. straw placed be-
fore the ball, the club head to be carried
along it's line after the impact, was one
OF the formulas to prevent foozling on the
tee.
The full shots from wood fairly mastered.
the inventors had their turn with the irons
and then with putters. But with the gen.
eral comprehension of the game in all its
departments the freak clubs disappeared,
the players finding it safest to rely on the
standard types, OF suitable weight. balance