Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-01-25
HAYD0N HITS 40
YARDS FOR MARK
WELDING 17A.0unce Club,
Averages $50 to $40 in
His Summer Play.

Of golf?
There's Jimmy Thomson Of
\ Ridgewood, N. j., John Bulla
Of Chicago, . fellow named Jones
from Atlanta, Gawgia. and . guy
named Little from California. but
none Of these, mighty sluggers that
they are, can come near the distance
eating performances Of an English
man named Hayden, who yields q
driver weighing 1874 ounces with
such telling effect that he has knock
ed an innocent little golf ball 400
yards, the last 200 yards uphill.
It sounds unbelievable, when you
figure that q 300-yard tee shot from
the booming clubs Of Little. Thomson
or Bulla Is q stunt that is seldom
accomplished. But those who have
seen Hayden In action vouch for the
claim that he is the worlds longest
hitter and would pass the feeble eff
fort OF our sluggers by scores Of yards.
OF course there are other factors
to be considered, among them the
fact that American championship
courses have watered fairways, and
that the English ball is q throwback
to the old jackrabbit ball of beloved
memory of 1929 and whereabouts.
Summer Average $40 Yards.
HAYDON is not a tall man. but
= he Is very powerful. He stands
Just under 6 feet in height, has q
fine pair Of forearms and hands and
stocky. powerful legs. He has to
have quite a pair Of hands and wrists
to handle a club weighing nearly
10 ounces. when you consider that the
driver used by the average long-hit-
ting pro weighs around 1914 ounces
and that club weighing IA ounces
is considered on tho heavy side.
According to P. A. Vale, the British
golf commentator and theorist. Hay
don tees the ball where most long
hitters tee it, well out toward the left
toe, which enables him to reach with
the clubhead the maximum Of speed
at the moment Of impact. Added to
this he has a noticeable sway and a
tremendous forward thrust Of the
hips.
Vale says this gargantuan hitter, in
addition to his oficially recorded tee
shot Of 420 yards. has averaged 300
yards in the Winter and $50 to $40
yards in the Summer. These are aver
ages. and not unusual wallops. What
a man he must be with the driver, and
how he would make hash Of the usual
par 5 hole around $50 yards long.
Dotes on Weight.
HAYDON'S theories on golf sound
reasonable, too. He is convinced,
he says, that the heaviest driver it Is
possible for player to swing with
comfort will always propel golf ball
farther. 1t sounds like good ballistics
and good theory, but there are few
people who could with any comfort"
swing q weapon weighing more than
1917 ounces.
Obviously the more weight behind
the ball at the moment Of impact the
longer the shot will be, but there you
run into a lot of things such IS lack
of hitting accuracy, distortion of the
swing caused by the heavy club, lack
Of smoothness and faulty timing.
Some years back the veteran Alex
Smith had q theory that very long
club would give him more power and
distance. He heightened the shafts in
his wooden clubs to 48 inches. but 1t
didn't help much and he lost accuracy.
The average wooden club used by
the usual pro weighs around 1872
ounces and is about 421z inches in
length.
Brother Hayden must be quite a
man even to swing a club of l7s.
ounces and keep the ball somewhere
in England.