Omaha daily bee., 1912-05-12
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL
This is Regarded as Sacred Doctrine
in Game of Golf.
RHYTHM LOST IN SLOW BACK
Ball is Passive, Club is the Agent,
ImpartinE TO the Ball Mo-
mentum, Direction and
Accuracy.

NEW YORK. May lin this age of
| advancement and variety II is not sur
prising that even the venerable game Of
golf should occasionally receive a shock
from some iconoclastic person. though as
rule these attacks are successfully
withstood. If there is one doctrine more
sacred than another. 1t is That Of keep
your eye ON the BALI: 1t was therefore
with feelings akin to felicity that the old
guard noted the complete failure OF one
Togood. who. believing himself so good.
essayed to play match blindfolded.
Keep your eye on the BALI now oc-
cupies a more impregnable position than
ever. and if we do not hear quite so much
as we once did of ''slow back and don't
press" these two old doctrines are doing
very well. There are some who wonder
whether they would not be even more
useful than they are II revised version
were made Of them. There is. in ''slow
back" the ever present danger OF the
player losing all rhythm in his stroke
club that is taken back CONSCIOUSLY, slowly
is very likely 10 be merely lifted al
not swung at all. 1t has been sugg sted
that smooth back" would be better tnan
SLOW back" II keeps the idea OF rhythm
and swing. it is argued. and at the same
time should be equally effective against
the snatching and jerking that are the
chief dangers Of club being taken back
very fast.
Words Express Much.
As for don't press" It would be diff
ficult to think of any other two words
that express so much. Don't press is.
however. often interpreted as Don't hit
too hard" and to this Interpretation it
seems possible to take exception.
There is one professional and teacher
who, as often as not, tells his pupils TO
hit harder and not more gently when
they are driving badly. This may be a
desperate measure, but It may be that
the advice not to hit too hard
Is one OF the two doctrines much
less likely to be exaggerated by an over
jealous learner. Nearly everybody has
at some time experienced the feeling OF
hitting too gently. Some have recovered
from a bad attack Of pressing by being
NAOAtuN III Nicil HAtthpuos MS IthiCug
has been sufficient for a time. until the
player who follows the advice probably
has become gentler and gentler. until at
last the club had barely strength to
reach the ball, and the last state was
as bad as the first.
Practically every other one OF twoney
or thirty average bad players going off
the first tee viii be seen to mistime the
shot, getting his hands down to the ball
too soon. his body through too quickly.
Watch the bad shots of a good player
and they VIII nearly all be seen to pro-
coed from something Of the same fault
Too hit too late at a ball is so rare vice
as to be almost virture. and of all
remedies, that of-'Don't hit too soon"
Is the least likely to lose its healing
power through repeated doses.
Old Piece of Advice.
There is an old piece Of advice of which
revised version might be useful. A
player in the normal condition Of driving
is often told by a caddie or a friendly
critic that he Is taking up the club too
straight" Undoubtedly this is quite true,
and sometimes this can be cured by
sweeping the club along the ground in
the back swing. This remedy. however.
often produces a laborious method OF nit
ting which may cause a temporary rally,
but does not restore to driving health.
Somehow or other when an extra long
drive is brought off the elated golfer Is
ever eager to give credit to the ball
What about the club A player will tell
of some fine round just completed, and
IN all probability the listener when he
gets a chance to get word In edgewsys
will ask: what ball were you using?'
why not remember that the ball is pas
sive; the club is the agent" imparting
TO the ball momentum, direction and &C
curacy generally; the how and where
Of the ball are performed by the clubf
The ball is acted upon and Is helpless
until such is done. Let us assume that
there is a long. clean fairway: the ball
gets well away, sails beautifully along
and comes to rest close on the green.
The ball gets the credit. perhaps fairly
here. Going to the next hole We find
ourselves in trouble. badly bunkered-in
fact we're in a hole and no mistake. The
problem is to know best how TO get out.
Should a cleek be used. or an iron? Not
likely. Possibly the mashle would serve.
but certainly the niblick would be right.
With the cleek the player would fail to
get out: with the iron or mashie the ball
might be extricated. but with the nibiick
the piayer might not only manage TO get