Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-29
Tales OF a Waysiole Tee
BY CRANTLAND RICE.

THO be effectively presented or
taught golf has to be outlined
in terms that present a true
4 picture. For example, we might
take two of the oldest slogans
in The game. Look at the ball." Keep
your head down." which is the equiva-
lent of Don't lift your head" or Don't
look up" The trouble Is that such a
vice brings on an incorrect pattern or
picture that can do lot Of harm. In
the intensity of thought and concentra-
ton along these lines the golfer is al
most sure to lock his head and neck, to
turn them into one setpiece. This one
setpiece in turn becomes locked to the
spine, governing the action of the body.
AS result as the body comes around
on the forward swing 1t Is physically
impossible to keep the head fixed, to
keep from lifting it toward the left or
the line of flight There Is no elasticity
that will prevent head lifting. Merely
looking at the ball is no help If head,
neck and body are locked in one section.
The turn of the body will also turn the
head. Time and again you have heard
golfers say, TN look at this one If It's
the last thing 1 ever do" Whereupon
on the down swing the chin swings to
the left again. coming up ahead of
schedule, for the simple reason that the
player couldn't keep his head in place
without cracking the top Of his spine or
breaking q bone in his neck.
Jim Barnes calls the head 1.-The an
Choir of the swing" and that IS what It
is Let this anchor swing adrift and
the swing lands on the reef. The point
is how can one best keep the head an
Choir in place? 1t is conceded that
when the head anchor is lifted the
swing is wrecked almost every time.
Alex Morrison has a first-class Sugges-
ton along this line. His idea is to first
loosen the neck, TO loosen the tension
joining neck and body, and then have
the thought in mind of keeping the
chin pointing back OF the ball
This is a much sOuuder way TO go
about the matter than to stare at tie
ball with a stitt neck, a neck locked to
the body that can't possibly keep the
head III place without disloCation taking
place Watch Jones and Hagan. these
two especially, and see how they cock
the chin toward the right just before
the swing is started. They keep it there
pointing bacl. Of the ball, because head
neck and body are not turned into one
solid block of unbendable concrete,
sitter than steel g.rder.
The burning determination to look at
the ball has wrecked many a million
golf swings through the tenseness that
made looking at the ball and swinging
forward an impossible physical under
taking.
The first golfer I ever saw to work on
this method of fitting the chin To the
right was Jerry TraverS. TraVers used
to say that even the best professionals
would look up on an average OF five
times a round, The average golfer, he
thought, would lit the head too quickly
on the majority of all strokes. So
Travers worked out the method, which
he may have got from some one else, Of
pointing the chin we'll toward the right
as he addressed the ball. In the first
place this turn has a looaening effect
unon the muscles joining head, neck
and body. It helps remove some OF
the tension. 1t calls for practice, OF