The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1922-10-07
TEE. EAIRANl!SN1
Take n GrIp---Stic,x,


One OF the upsetting mistakes that
many golfers make comes from their
habit of constantly experimenting
with grips. It Is all right to try the
| different grips and seek to find the
one that gives best results, but the
trouble is that many players are new
er able to make up their minds defi-
nitely and finally, then stick. Once
the grip to be used is decided upon.
and thereafter used constantly, the
players game will improve steadily,
while IL he keeps changing his grips,
trying first one and then another,
that habit will keep him for years
among score cards which total
| over 100.
The golfer should grasp his club
in the most comfortable way as long
| astthe general idea of the finger grip
is kept-little details are individual.
The thumbs must be little to the
| side of the shaft. At first the thumb
OF the left hand. lying on the right
! hand side of the shaft. feels strange
rubbing against the right palm, but
enc soon gets accustomed to it. In
terlocking and overlapping Is wise
for many players because the farther
the hands are apart the more likely
| they are to work against each ether
| Uses All Fingers.
My grip Is just the plain fingT
| grip-that is, have all fingers on
the shaft. I try always to be cons
cious OF sense of touch, certain
feeling that comes only through the
tips of ones fingers.
Perhaps little history of my Cwn
struggle with the problem of the
| proper grip may prove instructive
for my own method evolved gradually
from the palm to the finger tips.
/ When first began to play 1 palmed
the club with my thumbs over and
around the shaft. 1t lis only fair to
add that l played rather successfully
with this grip, but was a boy then
and had great deal of time for prac-
tice.
| One day a splendid iron player sug-
gested that I put my thumbs down
the shaft for iron shots. This act OF
itself put the grip in the fingers, and
for the first time the relation of the
touch-sense to golf was revealed to
me. threw away the labor of years
| and began to cultivate the new
| method.
Thereafter my iron shots became
the best part of my game. My thumbs
straight down the shaft. however
checked my swing whenever it passed
/ the halfway mark and made 1t impos
sible to play full shot with that
| grip. This resulted in my playing
J the palm grip for the full shots and
tho finger grip for the half. This
was fairly satisfactory. but 1t took
/ altogether too much time to keep the
two grips in working order. l felt il
even then while l was in school and
had the necessary time.
Meets vardon.
| In 1911 I was in Europe and hap.
pened to play fifth Harry Vardon al
La BCulie just before the French
Open championship. He noticed m,
differing grips and naturally aske,
why I did not-use the same grip TO,
both shets. / told him that the
thumbs checked the full swing on tn,
back stroke. He said: Put YOU
thumbs little to one side of tn,
shaft
i 1t was such an easy thing anf
solved my problem in theory, but tn,
trials Of practice remained. Like al
!! golfers. ] hated to bear the penaltie.
of change, but little experience has
tened my determination to try a new
method. In this instance / began !
i tee shot with the fingers, but palmet
It when reached the ball, and thi,
transition spelled disaster. I re-
solved then and there to have bu
one grip. I passed through a suffer.
ing period in pursuit of this idea anf
! think I developed every Collins
fault in the world. kept steadily a
It however. and came out of that sea.
son of encouragement with the ides
of wooden club placement.
From that time began to ~feel'
| wooden clubs as I did the iron and
my game was both simplified and i'm.
proved.