The Washington times., 1916-05-07
Golfers Must Make Waist PIVOT
TOGet Most ont OF the S,vingS
Bad Start Generally Responsible
For This Weakness That Is
Never Corrected.

side the space which you have allotted TO
II in taking up your position.
II 10 as though you had neck made
of India-rubber SO that Il would allow
the shoulders to turn without the head
moving. II at this moment You stand
comfortably with your hands on your
about fifteen inches apart. and keeping
the head absolutely still, screw the body
round at the hips and unscrew II again,
you will have a very fair idea OF the
Of course, you screw It round much
farther when playing because the free
dom OF the arms gives II greater I'D.
erty to turn and you raise the left heel
outward-so as to ease the strain on
the leg as the hips screw round.
The club-head should be regarded very
much as though II were weight at
tsched to a piece Of cord instead Of .a
weight at the ball, and you had nothing
more substantial than cord with which
TO control II. you would not sway to the
right and then pull the cord back again.
You would get very little power into the
blow In that manner. You would swing
the weight back by turning the body
and then swing II forward. That In
what you have TO do with the club
head.
Many golfers try to hit with the arms.
That Is a mistake. The arms should be
In effect simply a continuation of the
shaft-''the cord with the weight at the
end OF IT." During my first tour In the
ns states ghe1 ass .ne wels many
theories among the spectators as 10
how the shots were accomplished. and
remember particularly being cornered
very badly by man who. Just after
had made a rather good shot, Jumped
the ropes and asked excitedly OF a
friend beside me: (which arm did he do
that WITH" My companion put the
question to me. and had to look for
moment to make sure that one arm had
not become shorter or longer than the
other. l do not believe there is such a
thing as a master arm In the real golf
swing. The two arms work as one and
as part Of the entire mechanism OF the
body.
A common cause OF swaying IL a tend
ency to take the club up too quickly.
Once a person has become an accom-
plishcd player. the rapidly OF his up
swing Is not necessarily a matter OF
great Importance because instinctiveiy
he works his body properly. but for the
beginner or mediocre golfer. a fast up
swing Is usually fatal. II results In most
cases In hasty snatch OF the club-head
from the top. Of the swing. and u 70 an
invariable rule that IL you start the arms
first-either at the beginning or at the
top OF the swing-the result Is bad. The
club-head must lead In each place. The
wrists must give It the lead. Then the
arms will follow 1t. and do what is
/ would recommend the average golfer
to practice n steady up-swing-not ex-
'actly q funeral operation. but slow
rather than fast. II. when experiment.
ing without a ball. he will raise the club
very slowly SO as TO watch Just what
happens and bring It down just as
slowly. he will see that II comes down
precisely as II goes up. II has one
track. Well. now. even II he starts II
properly when playing and subsequent
that in his spirit of impetuosity he
snatches the club from the top. he can
rest assured that Il will come down on a
different track from that which IL fol-
lowed when being raised. The arms
will throw the club-head forward and
the body will begin to unwind at the
hips a fraction of a second too soon,
and the consequence will be disaster.
Here we have the cause of more than
half the foozling In the world. Once the
ciub-head has led from the top Of the
SWING. Its pace can be accelerated with
all the vim that the player possesses.
But not before.
Now that these main points have been
explained. there will be no harm In my
describing in detail how ] drive.
The first thing to do is to select a
comfortable Stance on the teeing
ground. You have a choice within pre-
scribed limits: It Is the one place
where you enjoy such n privilege, and
you may as well take advantage of II.
All teeing grounds are not perfectly
level. and It Is a help to possess a feel
ing of even balance as you address the
ball, Stand easily with a distinct sense
of relaxation in the joints and muscles;
II yor tighten them during the up-swing
through a determination to make a
tEn nAn a0Ik al ahAN
nearly sure to ruin the swing. You
have nothing to hit until You come
down.
Fix your eve on the back OF the ball
and see that the sole of the club Is
mot merely the heel Of the club resting
on the turf and the toe cooked .up, in
the air. The feet cap be either In line
with one another or the right foot can
be a few inches In advance of the left.
The latter. I think, is an advantage.
because Il makes the finish easier. II Is
fatal to have the left in front Of the
right. since you could never finish prop
erly In such circumstances. The ball
should not be midway between the feet:
1t should be decidedly near to the left.
II you are standing properly. the pro-
cedure which produces a satisfactory
shot is simply this: The club;hesd
body screws round at the hips with the
head kept. still until the instrument Is
in position behind the head. Coming
down, the club-head again starts first,
the arms follow, and the hips unscrew
until the ball Is struck. and the pace
which the club has been gathering on
its downward journey produces what we
call the follow through.
There are a few points OF detail In
connection with this operation which
call for consideration. have said
earlier that you start the club head
first by giving the left wrist a gentle
half-t,irn. toward the body. This Ia i'm.
portant because II will put that wrist
at the top of the swing into the only
position In which It II capable of doing
its work properly-that Is, arched in
ward under the shaft instead of arched
outward. If you turn the hips correct
ly, the right leg will straighten as you
take the club up. You could do with a
Wooden leg at the top of the swing. As
something must give way to accomhno-
date the turn of the body the left knee
bends. Consequently. the heel Is raised
continues, the pressure on the left Is
supported by the inside Of the footIto
be precise. on that part which stretches
from the big Joint to the end Of the
big toe. Give the ciub.head a start
coming down before you begin to bring
the arms round and then hit. The all
important matter Is to get to the top
properly and start down properly: after
that the swing will take care of itself
so long as you let II go. keep your head
down, and avoid wondering whether you
are likely to miss the globe.