The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-02
HOW EXPERTS PLAY GREAT
 GAME OF GOLF EXPLAINED
EEIEsG
By MONTAGUE. WILLIAMS

Scores of books on How to Play lGolf" have been written, several or
 which have retained lasting favor, but
 nearly all of them are too involved for
 the average novice who thinks he would like to shy his caster into the ring, but wishes at the outset only the most
 rudimentary suggestions. John C..
 Jones, long professional of the Dyker
 Meadow club, posed for the accompany l ing pictures in order to show the ac-
 eepted and correct method of holding
 the club, hands and body in addressing
 the ball and driving from the tee. l It is not the long game that wins most matches, but no other accomplish
 ments affords the beginner such pleas
 ure as to get off long, straight ball.
 The first thing in standing upon the tee at the start Is to sole the club properly, allowing the club head to rest
 flat on the ground. just behind the ball. 1 At the same time the face of the club or the part which is to strike the ball.
 must be at a perfect angle to the d1-
 rection to be played for. The player s head should be kept well up. The next l thing is to stand in a line parallel to 1 the intended direction, with feet
 aligned, the toes being turned outward Many have a tendency to let the right | foot drag behind the left. The stand
 should not be stiff although the feet
 must be planted firmly. The nearer
 relaxation is approached the better re- suits will be.
 The main object is to so stand that | the swing will bring the club squarely behind the ball in describing it's cir
 cle The follow through so called l is in direct line for the green aimed at, | and with as little stress as possible 1 If the feet are not really on line, eX-
 tra exertion is sure to be needed for l ' xtybia
 goes so far as to upset the equilibrium | Such exertion is technically known as
 .pressing." It is the attempt to hit a full shot with every ounce of strength | that can be transmitted through the club. The aim is to get a little more distance than is compatible with safety
 Many champion has gone down to de- | feat because being a little scared by
 getting into tight corner he has yield ed to the temptation to press. Sucn gain in distance is eight times out Of | ten secured at the expense of direc- 1 tion.
 In driving, the ball is placed upon the sand tee, and the lower such tee is made
 the better particularly for a beginner Jerome D. Travers does most Of his practicing without any tees.
 1 The proper and generally accepted method is to grasp the driver in the palm of the left hand and the fingers of the right with fingers and thumbs around the shaft The left hand should be about an inch from the top. The hands must work together and permit snap of I the wrists. The grip must be made | rather tightly, which means that the right | hand looses slightly at the top or the swing and tghtens on the doWnWard movement The overlapping of the fingers tends to make both hands work more nearly as one, although seemingly at | slight sacrifice in distance. If one hand l is allowed to turn more than the other, 1 "siee" or pull" will result. Al 1 though abroad the overlapping grip in | driving is not the most popular, It IS con- l sidered the orthodox one in America. I The distance between the feet in set tline. upon the stance" depends a good ! deal upon the height and weight of the | player Some stand with both feet nearly | on line but more prefer to advance the 1 right foot slightly in addressing the pail. l George Sargent the former national open champion. usually puts that foot forward | inches, and Travers about half as | much. The latter once gave as his excuse | for so doing that he. could see the ball | better thereby avoiding tiresome exer- | ton of the neck The weight In ,balanc- I ing for the stance should be firmly on l the heels rather than the toes, because | then there can be no downward move | ment of the body as the club descends. |
 of the toes modify their address of the
 ball. which inevitably leads to trouble. | The start of the swing is in drawing back the driver close to the ground. | Some execute that movement with the
 wrists, others with the arms. Although
 the latter plan is much more general the l wrist movement is infinitely to be pre- | 1erred Trayers once declared that his | wrist movement added speed to the clun head and involved half the secret of long 1 driving At the time of his greatest achievements Mir Travers carried his clun head back along the ground and more l around than upward until the shaft was narallel to the ground, while his down. ward movement described substantially
 the same curve There was a gradual
 turning away of the club face from the
 ball in the upward swing, ending at abou! | the height of the knees. James Braid calls the upward swing the most lmpor- 1 tant of all golf movements.
 l It is well to reach the top of the swing
 when the shaft of the club is about hori-
 zontal to the ground
 l Al the top of the swing the weight IS naturally thrown rather more upon the ] right leg which should not be bent. In
 the downward swing the shoulders can l be so put into the stroke as to greatly
 increase it's power. The arms perform
 most of the follow through" but the 1 wrists should be brought in toward the
 finish of the stroke oyer the left shoulder.
 Tine stroke is quickened on the downward
 swing by the best players when the eiuh
 head is about opposite the shoulders
 The details of the club should depend wholly upon personal like or dislike.
 rather tough shaft but one not without
 some whip" in 1t, suits majority ol golfers.
 Ie the beginner finds he plays too many balls to the right. fault designated as