Evening star., 1916-06-18
GOLF TUTORS ARE BUT PUPILS
LEARNING MANY NEW METHODS
Few Instructors Nowadays Try to Force
Style on Beginners Which Does
Not Suit Them.

The proof Of the pudding 10 In the
eating" The proof Of good teaching Is
in the play Of the pupil when the in
| structor Is not present, writes John IT,
Anderson in the New York Sun.
Golf teaching has undergone vast
changes In hundred years. 1t would
be expected that there would be
changes In almost everything. taking
into consideration that stretch of time.
but since the game of golf has the
same principle today as it had in 140o.
the hitting of a ball with a club. the
chances for great changes would seem
ancient or modern. would be expected
to show how the ball should be hit and
that would be the end of it SO far as
instruction went.
In the olden days. when the golfng
giants, such as Allan Robertson. Tom
Morris. Willie Dunn, James Ferguson
ana others, went around with their
friends or those to whom they gave
lessons they were wont to play with
them. and 1t was the pupil who was
wont to ask and say: How did you
you hold the club and stand when you
play that low shot against the wind?'
and other questions Of similar import.
To the beginners in Scotland golf was
timer said when he rebuked the Eng
lish lady for scorning the interest OF
the crowd at st. Andrews. Not a
game but study OF lifetime" So
who wished instruction was high and
keen. and he watched with diligence
Just how his mentor played. how: he
held the club. how he placed his feet.
how he swung the club around his
neck. and because the new players.
and, in fact. all. copied so genuinely
after the famous players at the sh hrine
OF golf there came to be known the
st. Andrews swing" and later on
other swings modelled after various
players who had gained fame.
Then 1t was when hero worship
spread. or. rather. divided it's worship
ana there came to be schools Of up
r,SIsst' roIs nat and medium swinsers in
One swing in olden Days.
The professionals twenty years ago
or more did not look upon the golf
| swinss az being of separate categories,
nor did they try with any degree to
pattern the swings of their followers
| after the style which the mans or
| wonan's physique would seem to de-
rnand. With a few exceptions, when a
professional got a new charge he in, :
| rnediately began to pattern the play of
his pupil after his own style: = he
was fne player he had a good chance
to have hfs pupil improve, but If he
| was a poor player the chances were
! against any such luck. Twenty years
ago golfers In general knew little OF
the styles of other golfers than those
| they saw right around them. They
were eager and interested to such an
extent that they would try to do as
they saw the professional teacher do
and with fairly good success. Then
| came change.
| Fifteen years ago or so Harry Var
don made hts first, tour Of America.
and his play was watched by thousands
and thousands Of people who had be-
come used to the style of play of their
home professionals. when they saw
vardon with that long back swing
which he had in those days and sa "
and read how he had defeated so easily
the best man players in the country.
they Immediately began to take ac-
playing was concerned. and endeav-
i ored to model their form after that of
the master player. Some few were
successful: most of the golfers who
tried failed because the help which
they needed from the professional was
not forthcoming.
Then came the era Of golf profess
sionai tournaments with big fields at
| the united STATES open championship,
the metropolitan and western and sew
sra1 state open championships, and the
people began to take account of the
different styles and follow after that
which was common to the leader Of
| the lot It was a poor sort Of hero
| worship, which to this day we have
not outsrown.
Great Game for Theories,
It ID quite likely that the game Of
golf provides a greater chance for the
orizinE than any other game In the
world. = IL not strange. therefore, that,
given the opportunity, many golfers
would devote much time to the analysis
OF the soihng swing In the attempt to
help others gain excellence in the
shpftkst space OF time. The one great
dificulty has been that because Of the
nescsArfly long and minute descriptions
which are essential in telling Of the
physical and mental requirements the
interest Of the subject could not be sus-
tAined. Only the man who has been a
player OF golf and has Studied it from
many angles 10 ever able to understand
q hfth 81 the wonderful theories which
have been written about the game of
9olf, most 81 which theories disagree
| with one another. Yet without excep-
| tion the men who write for the golfers
have In mind the new players, the be-
| einfkfS who are anxious to learn in A
| short time; 1t Is forgotten that the sub