Evening star., 1935-01-09
SWING NATURALLY,
MACKENZIE URGES
Congressional Pro Advises
Player to Develop Own
Style, Stick to 1t.
BY w. r. McCALLUM.

L-IND your natural style and
- stick to it. And don't let
your admiration of the
shots of Armour or Sarazen
or Jones or any one else force you
away from the style which you have
developed for yourself"
Roland Mackenzie should know
more about this business Of young
golfers finding their natural style and
sticking to it than most golfiing lads
with winning ideas, for the Congress
Sional pro has been through the style
mill from top to bottom, has appropri-
ated one idea and abandoned it for
another and finally today, is back in
the old groove of dozen years ago
when he was the best amateur golfer
around this or a dozen other cities.
But in the years between 1923 and
1885 Roland has wasted a lot of time
and a modicum of natural ability by
trying to emulate the shot-making
methods of the golfing great. He
admits his mistakes and now. after
years Of following the will-o'-the- -wisp
of copying the swing of Armour, has
gone back to his own method Of
swinging and hitting the ball.
Back to Own Style.
A SOUND thinker on golf and a
~ sound swinger with the same
smooth style he learned from
-aI fol
the Roland Mackenzie of today comes
fairly c,ose to being the lad of 1925
who set the golfing world afire with
the brilliance of his links deeds.
In those days there were not many
amateurs who could lick him, and he
was generally ranked among the first
half dozen simon pures in this coun-
try. 1t all came about because he
had acquired a natural style of hitting
the ball, and he didn't monkey with
it too much.
But in later years he began fooling
with his swing, getting the right foot
back, consciously attempting certain
things which he observed in the play
of the acknowledged masters of the
game, and his own game slid back
after 1927, the year he went to the
semi-fnal of the amateur champion
ship.
He knows 1t well and today his
advice to the kids just coming up in
the game is this:
Find your natural style and stick
to it. Don't go astray by copying the
swing and methods of some one else"
Natural Swing Best.
THAT is the reason Roland. sound
thinker that he is, doesn't try
to correct certain faults which
he observes In Billy Dettweiler'S style;
why he thinks Helen Dettweiler has
a great future if some one doesn't try
to rob her of the power she already
has; and why his own game is COM
ing back onto the crest he enjoyed
nearly a dozen years back.
Il think that any boy who develops
a sound golf game is apt TO go of into
the woods of depression when he be-
gins trying TO copy this man and that
man." Roland says. Once they have
a fundamentally sound swing they
should stick to it. We all have to
make certain little compromises with
golf form to get results, but If We can
get that compromise in a muscular
groove it will work.
Even Bob Jones swing was criti-
cized in the days when he was win
ming championships all over the
world. They said he had a loop at
the top and the fast movies showed
that possibly his club does go outside
the groove a little at the top of the
swing. But he had the judgment to
keep his swing going, and he didn't
monkey with it in the attempt to
straighten it out to suit the self.
appointed critics.
He got somewhere with his natural
swing and I think any boy can do
the same. A youngster who has
developed sound swinging technique
should stick to it."