Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-16

well, his opponent. was fighting to get
down in two. 1t is almost uncanny to
away and see how close to the cup his
shot invariably stops, leaving him
practically nothing to do on his next
shot, which often is the most nerve
racking of them all-the puts of three
and four feet.
Dispelling a Mystery.
1t might be just as well here to dis
pei some of the mystery which many
! golfers carry in regard to wood and
iron play. Off the tee the golfer has
full. free swipe at the ball. There is no
restriction as to distance. He can hit
it as hard as he likes, his main object
| being to keep the ball straight down
the course. In this shot there is no
need of any muscular control. 1t is
merely a matter of having the right
| swing and keeping the head still.
| But take a shot of lao yards Here
| the element of control enters; here the
| golfer must have a grip upon his
| strength. If he hits a straight shot
/ 100 yards he will be well over the
green into some deep trap. If he hits
straight shot 100 yards he will drop
| short of the green into some deep trap.
| He must not only be straight, but he
must hit that ball just 140 yards, or in
| golfers who haven't the free swing or
| the snap to drive 200 yards still have
| the nerve and muscular control neces-
sary to play these short-distance shots
accurately Others who can drive $50
yards. where there is no restraint 20
be placed upon their shots. lack the
| control to handle a club for re-
stricted shot.
latter respect is overswinging. A golf
| er who swings a mashie high up
around his neck has no chance to COM
pete in control with the golfer who
comes only three-quarters of the way
back And yet 1 should say that three
golfers out of four. at least, swing en-
| tirely too far back on all iron shots.
Yet they are surprised because they
would battle a vardon or Braid. If
they would only practice shorter
swing with the mashie or jigger they
would soon be surprised to see how
man can control 140-yard shot with
| a swing that should drive ball 200
yards.
Once in a while, of course. by start
man may develop a freak shot with
some club that few Others could play.
There is the case of H. d. GilIies, the
great English amateur. When i first
fault in pitching his mashie shots too
high, hitting them from 120 yards
away as If he intended to drive 800
The ball would then travel high into
average mashie shot. It seemed i'm
possible that any one could control this
shot. Yet / soon found that Gillies
had 1t mastered. and that he was as
close to the pin as the best. GiIlies
could never have mastered this shot
II he hadn't taken up the game very
young. and perfected it while his mus
cles were still supple and easy to
control.
Hardest and Easiest Shots.
I have heard many debates as to the
hardest and the easiest clubs to play.
| should say the hardest shot in the
game, the one that has fewer masters.
| is the full iron shot to the green.
Running a close second is the mashie
| pitch. There are fewer golfers by far
| who can play these two shots well than
those who are good drivers or good
putters. The easiest shot in golf is
| the drive. and the simplest is the putt
But as putting is almost purely a
mental proposition. it probably varies
shot.
! You see very few good sound iron
players. especially among the amateurs
/ in America In England their iron
| play is much better. The main diff
| ference between the professionals and
the amateurs Is all in iron play. There
are amateurs who can putt better than
the best professionals. There are many
who can drive as well; but there are,
In America, only two or three who can
play an iron up to the professional
! standard.
1t is hard to explain Just why certain
| clubs appeal so strongly to certain
players In much the same way a
! base Dali player becomes attached to
a certain bat. 1t may not suit another
player. but it has exactly the right
feeling for him. Here and there the
golfer runs across a club with a per-
feet balance. When he gets club
of that type money could hardly buy
II. In England, on my last trip I
happened to pick up a certain light
iron in professionals shop. 1t was
rusty and several years old. Yet
knew the the minute I got my hands
on that club IT was exactly what |
sell an old club cheap. So I bought
ii for dollar. The next day Fred
Herreshoff picked it up. and offered
me IS for my bargain: ! refused. and
s25,. ~ told him il was not for sale
Some years ago Snake" Ames, the
old Princeton foot ball star. who also
is fine golfer. had rnashfe in his
bag which he rarely used. One day he
handed 1T to Oswald Kirkby. who had
been looking for mashie that suited
him. IT'S exactly the Club I've been
looking for" said Kirkby. please
keep II them said Ames, 'Pve been
looking for chance to get rid of it,
Within a week two golfers offered
Kirkby $50 for the club. but $50 would
not have tempted him. And any new
mashie on the market can be bought
for So. The feel and balance of this
club merely happened to have an ap-
peal to several players beyond that of
any other mashie they had ever used.
Yet to It's original owner 1t was
worthless.
when a man gets a club of this sort,
whether it be driver. brassie. iron or
putter. he is almost sure to play it
well. for big part of golf is con-
hdence. II golfer believes he can
make a certain shot he can generally
make IL. II he has unusual confidence
In q certain club, he is almost sure to
use IL well: and in every hard match
he Is equally sure to use II at every
chance, even when at times the shot
would naturally call for different sort
of club.
y Copyright. 1916. BY Doubleday. Page 4 Co.,