Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-01
IN LEARNING GOLF NOVICE IS
CERTAIN TO- MAKE MISTAKES.
SOME OF HIS EARLY ERRORS

they should be satisfied as far as posi-
BILE. To completely satisfy them is the
work of Yeas, and means the expenditure
of many pounds, for 1t often happens that
the player does not himself know exactly
what he wants, but he would know If he
had the right club in his hands, while
when he does know it is frequently the
case that club which seems in appear
| ance to answer in all respects to the right
description has not got the right touch.
and dozens Of the same kind may be
bought before one is found that has. This
Is particularly the case in regard, to
drivers and putters. 1t is no eXaggera-
| ton to say that in the case of really
first-class player his bag of. say, dozen,
clubs represents the pick of couple of
hundred that he has bought at one time
| or another, or even more than that, the
selection having been gradually made in
! beginners think they will get all their
proper clubs. with which they will play
afterward, in week or so!
Fact and Fancy.
Clubs that satisfy and which are
added to the regular set Of good player
are often come by accidentally, and not
by looking for them. Sometimes there
seems to be an inspiration in the case.
For instance. think Of the curious way
in which Harry Vardon came by the put
ter with which he won his first cham
pionship. He had tied with ]. H. Taylor
and had to play Off two days later, the
event being played at Muirfeld that
year. On the day in between he was
wick, and in corner he saw a little rusty
cleek-not a putter at all, but just an
ordinary cleek. A most extraordinary
fancy seized him; many people would
He thought that If that cleek had a new
shaft put into it it would make a very
fine putter for him with which to play
in the greatest and most responsible
bought the old club and had the new
stick put in it, and the next day he played
with it. Not the least queer part of the
story is that when he played off his tie
he putted as well as any man has ever
putted in championship before or SINCE
and he beat his opponent. Now the young
golfer thinks that he Is going to go to a
shop straight off and buy clubs which
Will answer his own purpose in much the
same manner as this Certainly he must
buy clubs. else he will never get the
right ones. but he must not expect to
get the right ones at the start, and when
they do not answer very well he must
not take it for granted. as young players
nearly always do, that it is their fault
and not his, and that the proper thing
to do Is to buy more.
Personally, I am not a slave to any
particular club. though have strong
curious thing that whenever 1 have won
a championship I have been absolutely be-
sieged by friends and golfers generally
who want to buy from me the clubs with
which I gained the success. I let them
go-many of I'm at all events. 1t takes
gold to buy them from me. and I am
Scot enough not to refuse a good bargain
when one is proposed. Besides, at the
cost of two or three shillings I get the
exact duplicate of the club, for the model
"a
wondering how many of these ladies and
gentlemen think they are going to make
a marvellous Improvement in their game
as the result of these purchases. Perhaps
because they gain a little in confidence
for the time being. and that Is always
something. OF course more often than
not the club is wanted as memento.
Dreadful Difficulties.
A common mistake made by the player
at the outset of his career on the links
is his impatience with the cast-iron rules
of method that have been laid down
by all the golfers that have gone before
him. He thinks he knows a better way
Of doing things, and he will try it, and
the worst of it Is that when bad habits
of this kind are contracted at the outset
it Is almost impossible. or at least very
difficult to get the man out of them later
on, SO that his game suffers for the rest
of his life. There are right ways and
wrong ones of doing all the strokes in
golf, and the only stroke in connection
with which there is any excuse for &C.
centric.ty is putting. In putting every
man must be to some extent law unto
himself. His business is to get the ball
into the hole and If he finds he can do it
better by standing on his head than on
his feet by all means let him stand on
his head. One of the best amateur put
tiers that l know of. man who is most
deadly at that most difficult distance,
two yards, puts back-handed and with
one hand. body, feet and arms being
behind the putter and the ball.
After the player has had a very little
experience and knows the dreadful diff
to the other extreme, and in a pessimistic
mood decides that good players are
always born and not made, and that it
is no use trying to become good one in
his case, as he was not born for such
success. Certainly it is a good thing to
be born with a natural aptitude for the
game. but 1 think that all men can be-
come very respectable players by care
fully educating themselves up to 1t and
persevering.
In my own case, for instance, there
was time when 1 was not only very
bad putter-one Of the very worst have
ever known-but could not drive a ball of
any length whatever. I was always out
oiiHeH with lily Ice SaolS' aiiu lien al
ways threw away my very last chance
on the putting green's. And that was
after I had had considerable experience
at the game. How the Improvement in
my driving came about I do not know.
1t has always been a mystery to me.
I went to bed bad driver one night
and got up a good one in the morning,
and that is all know about it. AS for
the putting, the improvement has been
the result of years of patient practice:
there has been no gift of the gods ,.bout
that
Let me tell you, beginners, old players
and mere spectators, this is ve-y, vely
hard game to play, and don't forget it.