ON THE LINKS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 44, 1 December 1938, Page 3

ON THE LINKS

THE SWINGING ARC.

A LONG DRIVING RECIPE. (By Grantland Bice). How does a fellow weighing around 170 pounds drive a golf ball from 300 to 320 yards on numerous occasions, and stand out as one of the longest hitters the game has seen? The golfer who can do this is Sam Snead, the West Virginian walloper, who can knock down a skyline.

“There are about 3,000,000 odd-lot golfers,” I told Snead, “who would like to get an answer to this problem. Many of them weigh over 200 pounds and can’t bit a ball 200 yards. They can’t get a yard for a pound where you get two yards for a pound. How do you do it?”

“Clubhead speed through the moment of impact is one of the main reasons,” 'Sam told me.

“But here’s an important point. When you want power, a lot depends on the size of the circle of your swing. My swing has a big arc. It isn’t an rip-and-down arc. I start back fairly law, keep the circle of the clubhead as big as I can, and then I try to swing into the ball on what you might call a flat-tening-out circle. About fifteen inches from the ball, my clubhead is moving parallel with the ground. This takes away any cut, and a cut doesn’t help distance.

“That lower, flattened-out arc or circle brings the clubhead squarely against the ball and the speed you get from the wider arc does the rest.”

This big hitting goes with every club. I’ve seen Snead in an open championship, in heavy rough, take a No. 7 iron and carry a bunker 175 yards away.

“I’ve frequently seen him pass the 300-yard mark with a driver, due partly to the big roll be gets. But don’t forget that Sam Snead is also amazingly strong. He was an all-round athlete before taking up tile long golf trek from coast to coast. His hands and wrists have terrific smashing power.

“When I am playing well and getting good distance,” sum says. “I am also taking a full body turn. I let it go with the swing. This helps to bring you that larger swinging circle I was talking about. The average golier doesn’t turn nearly enough. His feet, legs and body tie him tip. Just forget about that and leave that left side loose —let it turn naturally. Don’t try to stop it. “Start the clubhead back along the ground on a fairly low inside circle, and then finish that back-swing. Don’t choke it up. Let it go. And let the left side turn with it . Keep easy and comfortable and as light on your feet as you can. And don’t try to get clubhead speed too quickly. It will just come along if you don’t choke it off by trying to get it too soon.

Guldahl On Tour. Ralph Gudahl is making more money out of the National Open golf title than any man since Hagen because he knows his own value at the box office and is getting good “appearance money” lor every tournament he plays in. “The National Open is still the only title that means a thing,” Guldahl said. “There’s money to be earned for the fellow that wins it, but he’s got to go out and get it.

“That’s why I’m on exhibition now. The money’s there for me to pick up, but if I wait a couple of years, it may not he.”

At one time it was estimated that the national crown was worth 50,000 dollars to the holder. Guldahl intimated that he was hot on the trail of that amount through prize winnings, exhibitions and a recent jaunt to Hollywood to line-up a series of motion picture “shorts” which he will make in the East.