Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-23
STOp1TnF TSRTS
FOR APPROACH
Chick Evans Prefers 1t to
Mashie-Certain to I'M
prove Game
URGES ITS ADOPTION
By CHARLES (CHICK) EVANS, JR.

BY CHARLES (CHlCk) EVANS, JR.
In playing Red Cross matches in
various parts of the country I meet
great many golfers. and am i'm
pressed with their almost universal de-
sire to learn more about the fine points
CT the game and those little points which
loom large as ones game approaches 95
pcr cent perfect. 1t Is good sign Of the
popularity Of golf and its increasing hold
on the public when players seek to learn
the intricate part of golf.
I believe the question most commonly
asked me is about the comparatively new
! club called the stopun1. AS ! stated in
my previous article the stopum Is A
club which is always present in my bag,
! ard which regard as invaluable. 1t Is
now rare thing for me to meet a first
class golfer who does not carry this
useful club
AS rcarly every golfer knows. the idea
| of the stopum is to impart backspn to a
ball on the approach shot. and in this
way control the ball better. To accom-
plish this backspin the stopum has a
| corrugated face To control a ball on
the approach the uss Of backspin is al
mos, necessary today, as the golf balls
have tecome smaller in size and much
faster than they used to be in the old
DAYS Before the stopum filled n long
felt want in my repertoire. I centered my
goif practice around my mashie, and by
persistent practice learned to put back
srin on the ball with this club until
had succeeded in this stroke as far a 8 the
limitations of the mashle permitted.
Getting a Back Spin
| tn IA
tory for this work when the fast small
! balls Of today came into vogue. The
decrease In size made it a mighty hard
thing to get under the ball and meet it
| properly to impart backspin. Realizing
this situation and knowing the great
value Of the cut shot was increasing in
importance each year turned my
thoughts to other ways of handling the
approach My niblick attracted my at
tention and I worked with IT. until my
niblick backpin was "deader' than my
mashie.
Along about this time the stopum
came into vogue and with this change in
the game my most beloved club-the
mashe-ceased to have the same value
to me and the stopum grew greatly In
importance. In my play with the stop
um I finally found that it was unwise to
attempt more than $50 yards with this
cluD. IN Idct low ydTuS was a pll loHs
for a stopum. so | still have use for my
mashie. for over $50 yards I can give
enough height to my ball so that it doe!
not run much. There is another point
for the user of the stopum to remember
and that is that it is dangerous to try
stopum shot for any great distance in
the face of a wind. Under such circum-
stances the mashie Is the club.
advise all players who have not
used the stopum to add that club to theii
bag and practice with it until they mas
ter It. 1t is an almost certain route tc
better score.
Questions and Answers
Question-If you had forty-hve min
utes a day to spend In practice wha
part Of the game would you center on.
Answer-The most valuable kind o
practice is in the short game. Practic
approaching a green, using differen
clubs and strokes, Harry Vardon make
1t a point to practice approaching fron
a given distance and then he grad
ually reduces the distance about te
yards at a time changing the club an,
the stroke to fit the destination. He be
lieves and I agree with him, that thi
Ia the best way in which the fine point
of approach play may be learned.