Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-02-19
GOOD GOLFERS
KEEP THE EYES
ALWAYS ON BALI,
Even Jerry Travers Often
Com m it's This Error,
Matter Of Over-Ambition
SOME OTHER FAtr1ro
BY GRANTLAND R1Cr

ON@hAN \ Lh4ND
III there is one thing that the svsr,..
golfer esteems above all else ~ GIsse
knowledge of his faults or tir
some particular sin he is committtns 70
a given moment.
what am 1 doing?" is the moi,
most plaintive cry Of the course ~ snu snu
golfer slices, hooks, tops, shreffs So..,1e ,ne
or what-not from one pitiless tran ~ ne
other. "p 10 an
What am l doing?"-for most =, a..
time he doesn't know. He only knoms
'nat' whatever 1t is, the same is wrong
Two Main Faults
HaVing heard this anguished ouarv or,.
lined so often, 1t struck lis thai ,oshuN- ouv
IL might be interesting to find nut ~
conmonest fault committed in making ,hs
great variety of shots that are used '''
What is the commonest fault In oo,,,
we put this query to number Of isnd
ing professionals who through their danv
teaching and trained observation arc I.
a better position to know. On tho liz.
spoken to were such fine observers ..
Tommy Mcnamara, Jack Hobens, GeorS.
Low, Alex Smith and half-dozen o,bors .
The verdict was this: There ara twa
faults in golf about equally comn,oo
among all classes of players, and ths..
two faults cost more bad shots than ali
others combined. They are:
l. MOVING THE HEAD-oR NOT
LOOKING AT THE BALL.
Q. SHIFTING THE BODY IN AHEAD
OF THE STROKE AND THEREBY
WRECKING ANY CHANCE FOR
PROPER TIMING.
Where You Stand
Now you now where you stand II yo,
have missed a shot or played one poorly.
1t Is 90 to l that you have either moved
your head too soon, looked up, or in your
over-eagerness you have thrown your
body in before your hands and arms took
control of the stroke.
Il have been teaching golf" said Jack
Hobens, FOR 10 years, and If could ret
my pupils to correct these two faults
would have nearly all of them playing
steadily under So For these are ths
faults that do most of the damage; they
are the ones that keep the sand in the
bunkers flying about"
Simple? Not Precisely
On the face Of things it sounds simple
enough. Correct two little faults and
you are down around 70.
But 1t isn't quite as simple as 1t looks
Jerry Travers, open champion, has about
as fine control of his muscular and nery.
Gus forces as any golfer playing. You
might tnlnk ne would look up from o
shot too soon about once every other
round.
How often" we asked him, do you
take your eye off the ball on your swing
in the course of an 1S-hole match?"
"At least five times" he answered, "and
that is a low average. And each time you
look up you can figure on at least one
added stroke
Against Hilton
Looking up" continued Jerry, "is q
habit that may follow any one club or all
OF them. Not three golfers in ten look
at their puts until the club head has
struck the ball. Yet they wonder why
they can't putt. In my match with Har-
old Hilton, the English champion at
Apawamis 1 was down at the end of the
morning round. In the afternoon 1 won
the first three holes. At the fourth hole
had two-foot putt to win again, but
in my eagerness to square the match
lifted my head just before 1 hit the ball
to see the put drop inland missed. Hill
ton, who had been slipping, got his conf
dence back and never gave me another
chance. One lookup on a two-foot putt
cost me my chance for the match"