The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-06-28

~ a bad lie and make q successful res
covery from, q hazard. It may also be
added that golf separates the first class
and !. =, the second class players. on the
never tire OF talking OF Tommy Morris,
who possessed the rare ability to play
q ball from almost any position. This
great golfer always used his driver
came SO familiar. with the balance OF
that one club that 1t mattered little
where the ball lay. He was q past
master at the jerk shot. the ball skim
ground. to- to rise like a swallow before orc
the final fall.
Provided one could always keep on
the course, the demand for sucl a shot
would be comparatively rare, especial
~ on good courses, but, alas! all courses
are not good. and furthermore golfers.
even the most machine-like. frequent-
ly find themselves very much off the
the rough. and chance will at once
be afforded to see how much reserve
force It's owner possesses. TO be sure,
good deal must depend upon the ma
ture of the lie, but even so, no matter
what position the ball may be In. In
1genuity to recover will be necessary,
At such times 1t is unwise to strike
the ba aa fair In the for oIso w9ad
should the club head hit below the
ball, for then u mere fluff, with no
recovery 1t ALL would result But II
hit the least BIT below the centre with
ofttimes be attained. OF course, album
dance of confidence backed up by a
strong wrist are valuable aids toward
other side. Robert Maxwell and the
professional James Braid. have a way
of making the ball rush out of diff
Guilty In truly remarkable manner.
In this country, among the amateurs.
Egan and TraVera are eyceptiOnally
clever at this particular shot
The Question of the Stymic.
Then there Is that much-abused
been raised In this country during re-
cent years. There are. of course, times
when player with victory apparently
within his grasp, may have all calcu-
lations upset by stymie, yet In the
long run, tho chances are equal for
the two players. Probably one reason
Why SO many players are opposed to
stymtes at match play is because they
moval In the modern scoring and medal
play that they have fewer opportuni-
ties for practicing the art. Unlike. the
never spending an entire afternoon or
morning, az the case may be, prac-
ticing negotiating the stymie in its
various positions.
1t IS not advisable. unless for special
purpose. at critical time, to try and
loft. The conformation of the green
and wind have to be taken into con-
sideratioa to see on what side to
screw the ball.
It may be IS well as state right here,
however. that the ordinary putting
cleek SO generally used nowadays Is
not nearly SO seryiceahle for this de-
Toned wooden putter. which imparts il
greater spin and draw. II a player
puts to the right side. he pushes the
putrer8 slightly away from him In. stril-
ing the left he draws ,sot IN the
When the odd has to be played. then,
of course. conditions are altered. for
then the ball must be pitched over the
opponents with a lofted club. The
mashie IS generally used. although
with considerable success with nib
lick. But the latter. because of its
weight, Is generally found too clumsy
for such q delicate shot. Unquestion-
ably, these lofted shots fail more often
than they succeed, but when they do
OF laborious practice. At all events,
the stymie Is part Of the game of golf.
and. therefore. must be reckoned with.
The half shot with q cleek is an ac--
tours In this country. In fact, the half
stroke is not only q puzzle to the un-
initiated, but to q large proportion Of
golfers as we'll. who simply do not
know how to play Z this shot correctly 6
ment between the wrist turn and the
full swing is where the trouble comes.
It.. Is one OF the tests to the degree OF
master golfer" In the national cham-
pionship at Baltusrol. in 1904, George
Travis by holding a half cleek shot
for a 2 at the seventeenth green.