The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1940-07-11
Anchor to the Suing

Anchor to the Suing
"The head" as Long Jim Barnes
told me years ago, must be the
anchor to the swing" Long Jim is
! right, as usual.
"The chin back' matter, advocat-
ed by Alex Morrison, even before
the backswing started was first used
by Jerry Travers, then by Walter
Hagen, then by Bobby Jones. They
merely wanted to be sure of this
one detail in advance. Each tilted
his chin back, to the right, just as
the backswing started. And each
kept it there until after the ball was
well on its way.
Give found out" Jerry Travers,
winner of five national titles, told
me once, "that on an average I
move my head incorrectly about six
times during a round and that
means I've missed at least five
Shots"
To let the chin move only an inch
or so towards the line of flight, ahead
of time, means almost certain trou-
BILE.
"You lifted your head on that
one"
How often has every golfer heard
this somber tip from a playing COM
panion? You know?
| How can one break up this fault?
In the first place, head lifting is usu-
ally the result of three advance
faults
l. Too much tension.
2. Muddled or befuddled or poor
concentration.
8. Too fast backswing and toe
fast starting downswing.
Mind on the Ball
How can you keep your eye on
the ball when your mind is on some
bunker, pond, out-of- bounds, or 9TH
er trouble on beyond? I've always
believed that 'keep your mind on
the balP' was a far better slogan
than ''keep your eye on the ball"
The eye travels with the working of
the mind.
The main trouble with most golf
swings on the average side is the
mind working back of the swing.
This doesn't apply so much to
those who came up as caddies to
be stars, because these golfers have
| picked up an instructive method.
They were first imitators. Then
the fundamentals became thorough
ly set-except in big championships,
where they also blow up, through
tension and faulty concentration.
One good example was Snead's
opening 81 and his closing 81 in the
recent National Open.
The average golfer has no such
foundation to build on. He must use
his meager resources to the limit
and one of these beyond any doubt
| is head action. And back Of head
action there must be mind action.
"How can I keep my head still?"
In the first place, the main idea
is to think largely of the backswing.
The main idea should be to elm
mate anything beyond the ball it.
self. Never mind the ponds and
the hunkers. The ball has to stop
somewhere.
The next move is to be sure of
smooth, unhurried backswing.
Don't be too anxious to hammer the
cover off the ball. Golf balls have
tough covers. Don't be too anxious
to hurry the d0wnswing. A slight
pause at the top will help.
Try to forget all that poisonous
terrain beyond the ball. Try to
make yourself keep your head
where it belongs until you think the
ball has landed-somewhere. 1t
can't land in much worse places
than it usually locates for a habitat,
awaiting the slash of the recovering
nibhck.
If the head remains as "anchor
to the swing" the swing can't be
far wrong. But it is an action that
must be watched at every shot. 1t
can't be taken for granted, for il
won't work that way. You are fight
ing human nature.
| You can call it 'IOOk at the ball, I"
"keep your head STILL" or anything
else. But the answer is that unless
your head is fixed in place through
the moment of impact you are 60
ing to lose both distance and direc-
ton. And I still contend the cure
must come from the mind directing
the stroke, not from any physical
application.
I've seen fine golfers hit perfect
shots blindfolded. But their heads
were in place. What may be in
stinct for the star is not instinct fol
the 100000 They must force them
selves to do the right thing.