The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-11-01
NJ JOHN q.

hoW " ptuy u, Iu al hUOut nc iiStoiy
connected with the sport. is growing by
leaps and bounds. The reason Is the
demand. OF course. although In many
communities even yet there Is n great
disinclination to cater to the wants Of
the golf players. Surely II ought to be
apparent to every local publisher that
the time Is come when the printing OF
real golf news and comment aw akens
those feelings OF satisfaction which will
give popularity and credit where they
r.ghtfully belong. Colt fiction will be
more than ever popular among all
classes and greater attention will be
paid to the bits Of verse. written as
merry oonceits. by some talented
paper poets OF the day.
But in all the writing this yea there
has been "A superabundance OF advice as
to how to play the game n correct
faults. Syndicate articles have been
written which have covered a large
field. I do not doubt that some have
been helped by the advice as sliowered.
but there IL a wonderful room for Inn
provement. We are still on the hunt for
a safe. sane and conservative series OF
articles which will help he business
man OF to-day who plays but a few times
a week. perhaps only once or at the
most twice. and who can spend only
an hour a week in reading how he
should play the game. All that has
been written up to date with few excep-
tions has needed a brain OF an expert
to unravel. The man who has ordinary
intelligence can understand all the Eng
lish OF the case. II Is true. blu there IL
hardly a golfer in the land, certainly
not over one in a Thousand. III Will
care TO take a book out and fashion his
strokes from the reading n the pic
lures thereof. 1t Is done and ] kno OF
two men who have tried this very thing
low fifteen. Wherein lies the trouble :
Let us taxi first of all the pictures
which are taken to show the golfers who
represent the stroke action. Ninety-ihne
out Of a hundred are posed pictures and
represent in no true fashion hat the
reading or caption underneath tells.
There never has been "A posed picture
which represents In true form what the
stroke calls for. II is much like putting
a club in the hand OF a beginner and
having him swing d in easy fashion.
The golfer IL surprised many times at
the ease with which he ficks on the
tstIrirlioH Hedu dru cillk< Tie SiuSS yuSs
at the proper spot. Then a ball Ia put
on the tee and the man can't even hit
il. He Is frightened out OF nd senses,
Il seems. by the harmless pellet. When
he does anage TO send the ball II IL In
all sorts of directions and with no dis
tance IL Is the same way with the TAX
ing OF posed pictures. Unless 1t is
a picture Of a golf shot which wa per
feet when made, that IL which was taken
when The shot was made and the result
Of the shot was what might be expected,
IL Is well nigh worthless and ought not
10 be used as a description to others.
After the pictures, which are shown SO
as to make IL possible to have the
reading matter visualized. SO to speak.
comes the reading matter, Ever since
the game began we have had much ado
about something in this line, Horace
Hutchinson was the best OF the first
we'll known writers and he wrote stun
which vas accorded the finest of praise
in those days because he cleverly ana
lyzed the system of the best players OF
that time, and being one of those play
ers and having the then orthodox style
1t was an easy matter for him to dc
so. But now not a single golfer in the
land would come forward and stand for
all the methods which he preached. par
ticularly the right elbow being raised
away up even above the head in the
stroke. either with the iron or the
wooden clubs.
In his day the club shaft was per.
mi;ted to rest on the shoulder. frs,
on the right on the back swing and Their
on the left on the follow through. This
style of play has gone out of fasior
because IL did not produce players who
could cope successfully with those who
had taken up a seemingly sounder AM
better system.
Since tina time we have had books
purporting to be written by James
Braid. j, II. Taylor and Harry Nardor
and many lessons from George Duncan
Jack White and many others Of til,
foreign golfers. Braid and Nardon II
their later works either contradict OF
take back what they have said In many
portions of their former volumes. show
ing that even the greatest of them all
so far as links excellence is concerned
Fan change their minds with the great.
est of ease and In a short time abou
how the game should be played. W,
should be wary. therefore,. about swal'
lowing all that is written as being III,
last word in instruction. As long rs
there are SO many ways of getting
the strokes made in the wrong wa.
there will he no such thing
For teaching everybody how TO play
the game there Is, | should venture
no one right way which can be put OF
the printed page. Personally, | Away!
enjoy reading the articles which ar
printed oh how 10 play the game whci
the writer IL modest enough To say tina
he believes thai he has found a hell
To the game which will aid many, bu
most assuredly not all golfers that wha
Is written down is the result of tn
study of certain men whose play ma,
be copied by Others II already their owl
style has embryonic symptoms near tn
style Of the given example.
| have little patience with any on
who darcs TO tell all the golfers OF thi
and other lands that he has found III
medium whereby all may enter into tn
land of the golf blessed through con
formity to the rules which he lays dow,
for them. 1t is absolutely impossihl
for any man to put into the Englis.
or any other or all languages combine,
Il statement which will mould u styl
for all. And 1t Is even sllller to sa.
what men shall play with n Hat. uprigh
or in between swing. The writer
cannot take you and build you "A ma
who has never played the game vii
start In with none other swing tina.
that which will come to him with natu
ralness.
Up to a few years age il was believe
and still Is by many men that the "a
men always must take n fiat swinl
tina they must wind the club abou
their bodies, 80 to speak. believe
It myself for "A time and was final
cured of this In the course of "A roun
last month at the Merton Cricket Gu
in practicing for the Lesley cup matohe!