GOLF

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 102, 4 May 1929, Page 22

GOLF

By "chipshot"

THE BRITISH OPEN

SINGULAR ACCIDENT

RIGHT USE OP FEET

It the torm of the British golfers in the Ryder Cup is reflected in the British Open Championship this week, the Americans .will have their hands full. Their team is reported to be a very strong one, and though it seems as though the runic and file of British leading golfers may hold their own, it may be as hard as ever for the title to be captured by someone from the United Kingdom. It was poor putting that stopped the English margin from being wider in the Ryder Cup. In the long game there was not so much difference. The Open is altogether a more chancy fixture, with bigger galleries and other disturbing factors, and there is time for the strain to tell, but if Britain can hold its own at Muirfield, it will be proof that the gap between English and American first-rank golf has been bridged. Footwork Important. In golf the active work of the feet is to grip the ground and keep the balance, while the legs move the body '">> the pivoting of the stroke. As the legs turn the body away from the ball in taking the club back (says Kell Greene in "Golfer's"), the left hip will move towards the general direction of the toes, and the left knee will move in coordination. Do not consciously lift the left heel from the ground, nor must you let the left knee go straight out "towards the left toe, because then the left hip will be pulling in one direction while the right hip is travelling in an opposite direction. When the left hip and left knee have got well on their way there will be exerted an almost irresistible pull upon the left heel which should make it a very easy matter to bring this part of the foot clear of the ground. Just regard the left heel as the brakes on your car, and when it is on the ground the brakes are applied, so it isn't necessary to think about howhigh to raise the heel if you bear in mind that it is an automatic brake and is governed by the amount of left knee bend and body turn at the hips. Tho toes of the left foot—as many as is possible—should continue to grip the ground while the loft knee is bending in the backswing. The direction of the left knee bend and the left leg muscles will cause the left foot to undergo a sidewise twist of the instep or arch over toward the inside of the left foot, and this foot movement has much to do with the left heel motion and the ability to keep a Eolid purchase on the ground with the left foot at the top of the backswing. We seem to have neglected the right foot almost entirely, but there wasn't much for it to do in the backswing. At the start of the backswing it had a certain amount of weight distributed over its entire surface, and the right hip at rest immediately above the arch. The left hip and the right one are connected so at the same time that the left started its movement from the neutral position over the arches and commenced to travel out nearer the right toes, the right hip left its neutral position over the arches and tended in a general direction back over on to the right heel. This movement pulled the right, leg taut and caused the entire right leg to act as a brace and catch tho gradual shift of weight on to the right in the execution of the backstroke, as well as to hold the body in place as it turned away from the ball.

The weight of the right foot at the top of the stroke has tended toward the right heel and the sod is gripped firmly by the outside edge of this foot. Thus at the top of the stroke a shade of the weight has been shifted off the left and on to the right foot while the ground is still gripped securely by tho toes of the left foot and the outside edge of the right with the weight a rifle pronounced on the right heel and tho left heel clear of the ground. This position of the feet will preserve per--1 feet body balance at the top of the back-swing, provided that' the body movements have not been faulty. The above analytical description should give a fairly good idea of the correct movements used in proper footwork, but a few faulty tendencies will also be listed to serve as a guide to the. student. It is wrong to turn the left heel towards the hole as the club is swung back. This is what is called left foot pivoting and is very closely akin to the similar vice of pivoting on the feet as the ball is hit. It is also possible to do the pivoting in the knees only, but this is a weakness too. The proper pivot is made on the hips (the left on tho back-swing and the right in the down stroke). As you take the club back, do not sway all the way over on to tho right foot and come away up on the toe of the left foot so that the sole of that foot is faced toward the hole. This will surely cause you to lose your balance. Stay off the toes because your grip of the ground will be too insecure. And do not stay too flat upon the feet. The down-swing will be dealt with next week. Loses Sight of Bight Eye. While it is a fairly common occurrence for splinters of stone to damage the eyesight of wo.rkers in quarries, it is strange indeed to hear of a golfer losing the sight of his right eye through some flinty substance, broken glass possibly, glancing off his club or picked up in some way from the ground in the stroke. This was the unfortunate case of Mr. Geoffrey Dalgety, of Hawera, the lens of tho eye, it is stated by tho "Hawera Star," being pierced and the sight of that eye being lost irretrievably. Mr. Dalgety is the youngest member of the Hawera Club, aged 1-1. Leaving Us. Donald Grant, who has played prominently in New Zealand golf during the past few years, leaves Christehurch shortly for Europe to take up an important position. He won the championship of tho Christchureh Club in 1927. He played for the Dominion in the last Kirk-Windeyer Cup matches against New South Wales, and he has been well up in the amateur championship several times. Mr. Grant was golf champion of Edinburgh University and reached the fourth round of the British amateur championship. His leaving means a loss to the game in New Zealand, as he represents -the steady, industrious type of golfer. Without particular brilliance, he has reached a high position in New Zealand golf by taking the game seriously. Jones and. St. Andrews. Tho peerless American amateur does not like St. Andrews golf course. Tho British amateur championship is to bo played there in 1930. "Bobby" Jones has never won this title (about the only one of importance that he has not added to his collection), and an American paper says that when he heard it was to be played next at St. Andrews, "he groaned, as he is just spoiling to make his Tecord complete by winning this title." Three Great Chips. An extraordinary ' ""-ut occurred during the stroke "hanencap played at Shirley recent. At Farthest North, a 424-ynnl hole, K. J. Walker holed his chip sliot for a ;!. C. Holdsworth and C. A. Seymour were followiug just behind him, and each of them did precisely tho same thing, sinking his approach for a 3!