Evening star., 1932-03-29
IS REPLIES MADE
TO QUIZ BY ?. c. A.
Short Game Offers Greatest
Problem, Is Consensus
of 800 Opinions.
BY FRANCIS J. POWERS.

@HICAGO, March What
is the most difficult part
~ of golf for the average
player to master? C"aver-
age player" being a dignified term
for old John and Mrs. Duffer)
Every player has his or her own
particular brand of misery, that
to the individual is quite the most
plaguing in the world, but in an
effort to discover what particular
phase of the game is most trou-
blesome to golfers in general the
P. G. A. recently polled it's mem
bers on the subject.
With the replies from more than 300
well known professionals, it would
seem that the duffer has more difficulty
with the short game than any other
phase of golf. But opinion was far
from being unanimous on that point.
Some 43 different replies to the ques-
ton, What is the most difficult part of
golf for the average player?" were re-
ceived.
ONE paramount difficulty upon which
~ many professionals commented
was the inability of players to re-
lax. That particularly is true of men
and in the use of wooden clubs. Most
men persistently attempt to Slug the
ball and it is extremely difficult for the
professional to teach them relaxation or
any sense of rhythm" writes one well
known instructor. Others find that
among their pupils 1t is hard to teach a
proper pivot, while the correct transfer
ence of weight, grip, hitting from the
inside out and start of down swing are
just few of the outstanding difficulties
which the novice must combat
Men, it seems, have more difficulty in
mastering wooden clubs than women,
while the latter are less apt with irons
than their brothers or husbands. But
iron play, according to the vote con-
stituteS one of the hardest problems to
solve. One professional believes full
IRON shots to the green are the hardest
OF all shots for the club player to mas
ter, lack Of confidence initiating against
the duffer. The full braSsie and spoon
shot also is listed among the most diff
ncult strokes to conquer. Bunker shots
also received a heavy vote, the explana-
ton being that few players ever give
much practice to the knack of clearing
the ball from sand Putting, too, re-
ceived many ballots.
MORE than Is per cent of the prc-
Al fesSionalS questioned believe that
most shots are wasted with a dis
tance OF 100 yards from the green.
Generalized under the term of zap
proach was included pitch shots. run
up shots, short pitch over traps and
approach puts. From that it would
seem that the mashie, maShie niblick
and niblick are the three clubs that
demand the greatest amount of study
from the duffer
The knack OF keeping the head down
and hitting through still seems to be a
puzzle to those who never break 100, and
professions have yet to invent a specific
cure. Direction and judgment cf dis
tance are two other faults that per-
sistently trouble golfers Lack of prac-
tice and disobedience of professionals
instructions are further sins of the
duf1er brought to light by the canvass
IN view of these many and varied
i faults it Is necessary for the prcfes-
sional to teach every player accord
ing to his individual needs and there
can be no set formula for instruction.
Despite the numerous troubles encoun-
tered by golfers as whole, profession
ais believe the present-day crop is more
adaptable to the game than we're the
players Of 10 or Is years ago.
This partially is due to improved
instruction" writes James Anderson.
the Pine Lake professional Another
professional agrees with Anderson in
these words: Instruction. no longer is
hit-or-miss affair and every golfer is
taught as an individual This, COM
bined with an increased knowledge of
the game, even among these who never
have played. is making better golfers"
So, regardless of what your pet all
ment with golf clubs may be- there are
AZ and perhaps more troubling others
from Maine to California. George Lows
remark, more than 20 years age, that
"gowf is an humblin game" still holds
true: perhaps more than ever. for there
are more "gowferS" to be humbled