The Washington times., 1922-04-08
By JOCK HUTCHINSON.


to 60 back to the srnooth-faced eli
1t was said by some one recently
that the Royal and Ancient Golf
Club. which controls golf in Great
Britain. had barred the ribbed club
Just as soon as I won the British
championship. 1t was pointed out
that the r. and A. had done q similar
thing years ago when Walter j.
Travis won the British amateur
championship with the famous
Schenectady putter.
The British did bar tho putter
after Travis made such an uDcanny
exhibition with 1t, but the rule tor'
bidding the use OF the ribbed olub
waS passed some six months before
the open championship At St An
drew<s, and 1t was decided TO per-
NIT its use just before tho tourna'
ment.
have three clubs for approaching
that are all ribbed-faced CLUBS. i
use them all for different degrees
of the pitch, but as a rule 1 nno
myself sticking to one cluD-a
mashie spade.
II there Is . golfer In the land
who has never used stopSm
club, as they are generally called,
| would advise him to get one right
away and get to work Iearng
how to pitch to the green. There
are times when It 10 advisable to
nse a run.up approach, but to
| learn to play tho pitch properly
| one should use IL almost on every
occasion In order that he may be-
come so accustomed to 1t that 1t
is second nature with him.
Vardon and Ray, when over mere
| two years ago, used a hlgn pltcn te
the green which is called the ascend
| ing shot. II one is to use the terms
| OF the expert. This ball is pitched
very high with only a little cut. All
of the American pros and most oi
the leading amateurs used much
lower shot, with more stop to II.
Most golfers think that because
shot is PLAYED high there is a lot OF
back spin on the ball, but this is not
the case at all. The low shot carries
| the most as a rule, because II Is
very difficult to pitch very high and
at the same time hit the ball as II
should be hit.
| play the back spin shot with the
arms almost entirely. The hands
come in ahead of the club, not be
hind. as one might think. The bal
f, is hit on the downward stroke tt
start the spinning motion.
The ascending shot is made in
quite a different way. The ball Is
hit as the club starts up. The very
bottom Of the arc has been reached
before the ball Is started upward.
Unless a cut has been impaired to
the shot the ball is merely pitched
into the air and permitted to act
as il pleases.
! In this case the ball always pleases
to drop and then run very fast much
to the surprise OF the player, who
thinks that because he has hit the
ball high that he has impaired q
backward twist to the sphere.
Playing the back spin shot Is an
art, and no two golfers l know OF
play II exactly alike. One should
study the secret of the spin on the
| ball, then practice it a little every
day. 1t Is a good idea to keep g
ribbed club around the house, and
even in the house try a pitch to thu
bed or a chair. II one has a yard. il
is an easy matter to learn short and
long approaches.
II Is excellent practice to pitch
over a hedge or a fence OF some
sort. A little workout every day,
10 matter how short, will help
toward making one proficient.
Most beginners are afraid of traps
and this fact alone often finds the
little ball seeking out these traps
through sheer devilment.
! When one first learns to pitch. as
rule he is nearly always short
| This can be corrected by keeping tai
on the shot. Always play to become
hole high. II a lot Of back spin is
used. pitch all of the way to the pin
Try to hit the top of the pin instead
of the hole, and In this way you will
! soon learn to be up each time.
| The ribbed club has come to stay
Improvements in golf clubs and il
golf balls, to say nothing of the gol
links, has made golf what it is today
Copyright. 1922. by Bell Syndicate, Inc.