The Washington times., 1916-04-23
Worlds Best Known Expert
Picks Only Brassle, Mid-lron,
Mashie, and Putter.
POLICY FOR THE BEGINNER
Says Grips Should Be Of Medium
Thickness, Allowing Player
to Get 'the Feel"
By HARRY vARDoN.
Worlds Most Famous Golfer

+ Is probably blessing in disguise
for the professional golfer In en-
bryo that, as a rule, he has very
few clubs. He is usually q caddie,
possessed OF a burning ambition to
excel at the game and only limited
opportunity OF gratifying 1t. He con-
| elders himself lucky to secure club
which an annoyed amateur filings
away with the remark that he
wouldn't be found dead with such an
Implement: unfortunately for caddies.
| Il Is not often that disappointed en-
ployers become SO angry as TO con-
denim an implement to utter ex-com-
munication on the spot
Thirty years ago, In my Island home
OF Jersey, we boys had to exercise a
good deal OF ingenuity In order to
obtain anything with which TO play.
Golfers were not numerous at that
time; the most extravagant carried
about six clubs and seldom bought
new one unless he had q breakaEe;
and, as q result. the caddie's chance
OF coming into a discarded instrument
was about as remote as tho possi-
bility OF his being sought as the heir
to a fortune.
| the circumstances. and so We made our
own clubs. At least, We manufactured
one club each for a start. We obtained
a chunk of wood. fashioned II more or
less crudely into the shape Of a head.
and bored mole In Il with red hot
boxer We selected the straightest
stick that could be found on the black
thorns and fxed 1t in the cavity With
driver, and with II We learned how to
accomplish tee-shots. how to play with
wooden club through the green. how
to run-up, and how to putt
When we began to show some prom
Use. We might be lucky enough to be
given an old iron. We would take that
out in It's solitary splendor. and, using
nothing else p put SIrse i've bSm.lmade
driver. with which. by the way, he
could generally hit the ball very con-
siderable distance. In that manner. We
OF circumstances. discover means OF
executing with il shot which. at tho
time, seemed uncommonly long TOT tne
club in question. We were not going 10
be outdriven simply because the other
fellow had a wooden club against our
| iron, and so We learned how to intro
duce an element of hit into the golt
| swing. which had been recognized from
! time Nimmemorial as sweeping move
ment OF the club rather than forceful
! blow with II.
| This Is q personal explanation. but /
think there Is a moral to It for the mod
ern golfer. 1t Is that he Is prone To
start with too many clubs, and TO carry
In all his endeavo-s on the links
larger nur,ter than Is good ior D,m,
novice end the individual who has been
playing for two or three years: the
! FIRST impulse OF the neophyte Is to buy
! a complete set OF clubs. He feels that
! TO be satisfied with anything less would
be as foolish as trying to learn on one
| leg. In point of fact. what he ought to
do at the outset Is to study the ABB
Of the pastime, just as in the elementary
stage of his education a person IL taught
as a beginning the first few letters of
the alphabet instead Of icing expected
, to master the lot straightaway;
cit bs-the Erassie. niid-iron, :nashie. and
putter-as a first installment. and to
leave the nashie alone until he can use
the trassie and iron with some effect.
| The reason is that the mashie REQUIRES
n different stance and manner OF swing
ing from, either of these two clubs
which have sufficient In common TO
make the one good practice for the
golfer. a fairly powerful mid-ircn Is
just about the most useful club In the
bag, and II Is probably the easiest TO
! ! recommend brassie at the start.
| not for playing shots from the turf,
but for learning how to drive. II has
a sitter shaft than the driver. and.
as a result; there Is a greater cnanGe
little loft on the face or the cluo
so as to help In getting the ball into
the air. this element OF loft gives con-
fidence to the novice. and even II some
| OF his making the ball rise Tor IL, at any
! rate he would not have met with such
success with a straight faced club. the
encoura cement that he derives from the
feat is worth lot to him. He should
laccustom himself Immediately to a low
| tee; II he succumbs to the temptation
| TO poise the ball an inch or so clear OF
the ground for the drive. every shot
that he has to play from the turf VIII
seem twice as difficult to him as 1t
should be.
The iron being shorter than the
brassie. you have to stand nearer TO
the ball, with your feet closer together
| than when using the wooden CLUB.
| and as q consequence, your swing be-
comes more upright and less fuli, But
as regards the general principles OF
| theArwingE there Is no difference worth
mentioning. Whatever dissimilarfty
| there is arises from the altered stance.
| II II sound policy to confine your
| attention to these two clubs FOR three
| weeks assuming that you practice for
an hour several times a week. II
you want a change, the puttes may
| be tried. because there Is no harm In
Experimentation with a variety or
stances and. methods where this club
is concerned. None OF them will in
terfere with the fixed principles which
YOU are trying to Introduce into your
System for the proper manipulation of
! the other instruments. But the mashie
| can he left alone for a while: II II
| something distinct and a coduetting
with II may lead to confusion of
| thought and action.
| As time progresses. further clubs will
be added to the bag. anc a person VITO
l hnO hnA La yis1ar FIJI iNITN mr. hPA ~
ought to know what clubs suit him
hest. by that time he will have bought
n great number In the hope OF lisht-
| inG on at least a few that seem III.
have fallen into the way OF taking cuN
with him a large collection,
| There are many golfers who feel
that they must have at least a dozen