The Washington herald., 1922-06-04
GALES Of 49,
z @dHy'ide See
SkRy g GRANTlAND RICE

II there is one club in golf which
deserves more kind words than any
other. we should say that it was
the spoon.
And strangely enough, It is no
uncommon thing to find any num-
Der of golfers, from the duTer to
the first-class player. who either
have no such weapon In the bag or
else rarely use it.
Yet the spoon is frequently a life
saver for both, and this goes es-
pecially for the average golfer who
Is frequently inclined to have dis
tinct differences with his other
clubs.
Spoon Uses.
In the first place, the spoon is
one Of the most versatile imple-
ments of the entire lot
1t Is frequently a great club to
use from the rough or from a cuppy
lie. where 1t is important to get
range.
1t is a great club for the long
second shot to the green. as II is
easier to play than a driving iron
or a cleek.
1t is one of the handiest of all
clubs when a bunker or trap must
be cleared and the ball held on the
green.
And when the brassie isn't work
ing well II Is an excellent substi-
| tute. as II gets almost as far.
II the golfer finds he isn't picki z
the ball up well with his brassie, he
should at least give the spoon a
trial. until he can work his way
again to the longer wood.
And IL he finds his long irons are
not behaving as properly trained
irons should. out with the spoon
again for varied distances.
Where IL Helps.
Suppose we take the case of a
full midiron shot to the green
Say the distance is from l65 to IFS
yards.
For many golfers this is one of
the hardest strokes in golf Now,
II the player takes the spoon at
the end of the grip and lets a full
wallop fly, he will of course go too
far.
But there is another way, so
effectively shown by H. H. Hilton.
This is to grip the leather nearer
the bottom, somewhat below half
way down (the leather. not the
shaft, and then use a firm. natural
stroke.
This doesn't mean to ease up or
to hold back. That Is why the grip
is shortened, so that one can still
strike firmly and not get too far.
You can get the same distance with
a spoon shot of this type with less
EFFORT than an iron requires, and
therefore with better control
1t is an ideal club on short holes
ranging from 165 to 1856 yards.
Here, with the ball teed up, is one
of the easiest strokes in the game,
and as the shot is generally high,
there is very little run at the finish.
This is especially true II one uses
an open stance, with the right foot
advanced. and also uses a fairly up,-
right swing that should bring about
slight slice.
This is a much safer method tfor
most golfers than slashing away
with an iron.
The idea is neither to kill the
ball nor to hold back, but merely
to use a natural, comfortable swing
that is firmly struck.
Great Spoon Players.
Hilton, possibly above all others
has shown to what rarey uses one
can put this club.
We have seen him grfp near the
bottom of the leather and use IL
where other golfers : were using
mashies or jiggers from hardly $50
yards away. He also frequently
uses il into a wind, keeping the bali
low on his right foot. without the
same swing one would use for a
mashie.
The eighth hole at Inverness. To-
ledo. is about Lso yards. vardon
used a midiron /here and got four
Is during the championship. Ray
used his spoon and had four 3s,
playing the simpler. easier shot in
each case. And Ray then only
beat Vardoni by one stroke. His
four spoon plots at this hole netted
him four<stroke lead.
George Duncan Is another mas
ter spoon player. and SO Is Bobb,
Jones. who now prefers tie spoon
to the long iron. Hagen and Barnes
prefer the driving iron to the spoon.
as they have played the former