ALL ABOUT CLUBS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 169, 22 August 1914, Page 11

ALL ABOUT CLUBS.

VARDON'S VIEWS ON GOLF.

Half the fascination- of golf is wrapped up in the circumstance that the game provokes as much consideration of cause and effect when one is merely watching it or reflecting on it as when one is engaged in a round. Most of its devotees are close observers a sad diligent enquirers into detail, and it is surprising how often I am asked why I now,,, play with ordinarily stiffshafted wooden clubs, whereas in former times I had a fancy for a whippy driver and a not particularly stiff brassy. An astonishing number of people seem to have noticed this change, which was evolved about four years ago. Perhaps the truth of the matter is that instinct .prompts one to do that which is wise. Certainly ray earlier drivers were very light instruments, with a degree of suppleness in the shafts that bred a sense of exuberance. People used to call them toys, j lii the days of the gutta-percha ball I think, that a whippy driver was an advantage so long as the player could time the shot correctly with it; he had. to hit the sorlid ball very, hard, and an appreciable measure. of .'' give " in the shaft assisted in that purpose. With the increasing resiliency of the rubber core, however, the necessity for sheer slogging has" disappeared, arid as one can be more certain of keeping a fairly stiff club under-control and thus timing the effort to the best advantage, the inclination towards a shaft of that kind has been natural.

It is as well to persevere for some time with a driver, even though it seems to be altogether too rigid*. Often it will work loose as the result of use, and the player will find that it is a treasure. Before I went to Scotland for the open championship and other events there I could not hit a deeent shot from the tee, and friends told me that the club •was too •stiff*.""

It ceftainly was not supple, but I fo.und that it alwaj's developed sufficient whippiness after, a few drives had been made with it, and I knew that the instrument \ras not to blame. • In point of fact, the cause pf the trouble, as I discovered in the nick of time, was that I was getting my left thumb too far round the side of the shaft.instead of across the top of it, It was a little error in the matter of grip into which I had unwittingly fallen. A PROBLEM OP MATERIAL.

I woxild a fairly stiff driver for almost every golfer. The brassy should be slightly more rigid, and the iron clubs should possess , no "give" that one can feel, for if they are going to bend even to the slightest extent there is not much chance of making a good shot when a divot has to be taken. The nuisance is that it is becoming very difficult to obtain shafts of the right kind. A shaft that will remain stiff when it has been thinned down is worth its weight in gold; people sometimes complain at the prices which are charged for clubs, but in these days such a rarity as I have mentioned is invaluable. The bother so far as drivers are concerned is that many shafts have to be left thick in order that they may possess the desired element of stiffness. As a consequence they lack perfect balance.

The scarcity of good hickory is a serious problem in golf. The supplies from America are hopelessly insufficient to meet the demands, and the,reason is not that the best material is kept in the United States, for when I was there the quality of the clubs struck me as being inferio? to that at Irons, being shorter than wooden clubs, can be left thicker in the shaft; in that way is balance obtained. The. trouble arises when the driver is as thick as the iron. Being longer, the chances are that it is ill-balanced. There is a fortuue awaiting the person who discovers a satisfactory substitute for hickory for the purpose of making golf club shafts. Per--imriion, too, is- now scarce, although aaturally less of it is wanted for heads

than is required of hickory for, Altogether one wonders what willr position in regard to golf imp|ksiß{^|^^ ten years, hence. ... . SAFETY IN SMALL NUMBESSi^g Perhaps we shall have to be to carry fewer clubs than is at the present time. Personally, that very many players selves by having at hand too big of instruments; they are apt to completely confused every now an A by the circumstance that they have alxfitT;, "S three clubs with whieh they . execute a certain kind of shot. ' _ "When they cannot make up their. ih&tflß • ~*v> which would be best suited to sion, th e chances , are 'that, - they select, they will play doubtingly. and therefore buiie3e • jfcfj&agja Of late I have not had a my bag, if we except a '' * I which is a, cross between an irqßjdfcflft * | a jigger. A new driving iron, bought in Scotland, and this *' have been my stand-bys for between a cleek and a mashie> anJd=. performed noble service in championship, where" my equipmeM v sisted of just ten clubs. The driver was-a light one, took out of my„ loeker in the after having kept it among the reserves for a long. time. There were two brassies, one for general work and the other, with a stiffer shaft and more lift on - the faee, for playing out of bad lies. The latter I did not use at Prestwiek, so that . I must have been lucky with. my ; lies. The cleek played its part admirably. With the driving-iron that had beeti. ~ a long-standing favourite I was not oil good terms;* we had become estranged ■ several weeks previously, - arid although . I put it into the bag for the championship and risked two shots with it,,there .... was no satisfaction to be obtained from it. Still, the new driving-iron Was-a friend, and the "mongrel" was a club-* ' of-all-work; it was useful for running up, pitching upf and long, low shota against the wind/ Gieorge Dunean said that if he possessed it he would be able to dispense with three clubs, and that was not an exaggeration of its all-routi<l efficacy. A mashie, a niblick, a Brown-Yardon putter for running up, and a putting cleek for holing out completed the set. There was An umbrella to give thebag an appearance of repleteness; been jabbing at the little, used to do I might have made eleventh club. Ten is the smallest of implements with which I haye/ won a championship, but I. suppose'.' is sufficient. It certainly tends to a confusion of thoughts. Whei : I not fancy the driving-iron 1 easy shot with the cleek. When ing mashie seemed unsuitable I r the jigger-midiron mixture. There ; nothing else to do, and that was calculated to calm the Harry Yardon in the "Daily .