The Washington herald., 1922-12-11


"What are the main ingredient
one feature Of the swing that is
one thing to be given greater ca
gamer"
Que Of the fifty or more things.
that one can do in the right way
or the wrong way, especially the
latter-it 10 no easy matter to segre-
gate one or two and call them the
main foundations of successful
style or method.
Yet at least II 10 possible to make
some headway in this direction.
STANCE AND GRIP.
Stance and grip by some have
been called the most important
foundations. We have never thought
so.
Few Of the headliners have the
same stance or the same grip.
Chick" Evans uses a grip with
both thumbs down the shaft. but
with no other overlapping.
Gene Sarazen and Francis Ouimet
employ the interlocking grip, where
the little finger Of the right hand
and the forefinger Of the left hand
are intertwined.
Walter Hagen. Jim Barnes, Bobby
Jones and others use the overlap
ping grip.
Abe Mitchell uses the straight
old-fashioned grip on all wooden
shots. with the overlapping on all
shorter iron strokes.
Jerry Travers in winning five
national championships used only
the straight Vgrip. with no over
tapping or interlocking.
SO here we have a wider variety
of grips. Walter J. Travis and
Alex Smith both have the right
hand well under. while others use
II well over.
So it can hardly be that a grip
is the basis Of good play.
SAME FOR STANCE.
George Duncan stands with his
left foot fairly well advanced be-
yond his right So does Jesse
Chick" Evans holds his two
feet upon an even line.
Walter Hagen and Jim Barnes
keep their right foot advanced be-
yond the left. So does Jock Hutch
ison.
There 10 no standard system Of
stance in this respect. So il can
hardly come down to a matter OF
stance.
We once made the test of hav-
ing a certain well known pro drive
a ball with different stances and
different grips. In each instance
he was straight down the course
for his usual distance. And some
what to his own surprise.
THE GREAT "WHAT Is IT?"
You have undoubtedly noticed
these details:
/. That nearly all first-class golf
ers have an almost straight left
arm-if not 100 per cent straight.
at least with only a slight, com
Portable bend in the elbow. hui
never a decided break
9. That in pivoting the head re-
mains almost precisely where it was,
with the left shoulder and the left
knee turning in toward the ball. the
body turning in almost the same
space that it knew in the address.
These points undoubtedly are to
be found in most first class games,
where there is seldom any lurching
back and swaying forward through
the stroke.
1t is noticeable that when you see
a golfer with a straight or almost
straight left arm and a sound turn
ing of the left shoulder and the left
knee. with the head held as an
anchor, you see a first class player
perhaps not star, but one steadily
down in the late 70's or the early
SOS. And a5 per cent of the leaders
play this way.
THE REST OF 1T.
This matter Of pivoting and Of
head balance form no small part of
the strokes founda ton
After this comes the affair Of bal
ance and of rhythm. Balance must
find the weight adjusted at the top
of the swing where one is in a COM
Portable position to hit the ball In
its main aspects II means a natural
transference OF the weight on the
hack swing to the right foot and the
inside Of the ball Of the left foof
About 70 per cent of the weight
should be on the straight or firm
right leg at the top Of the swing.
The matter Of rhythm takes up
the detail Of an even. steady back
swing where one isn't in too great
a hurry to hit the ball.
1t means a down swing that
gathers impetus or speeds up as T.
goes along and then hits on through
the ball with this impetus un-
checked bv any sudden Tightening
or head lifting.
This is sll part Of the right tim
ing. one Of the hardest things In
| golf to explain. for II frequently
comes and goes among the cham.
pions.
Many golf swings are wrecked by
this suddenly Tightening before the
| club head gets to the ball, where 4
the club head was permitted to
whistle on through in a natural
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