"Molly Dook."

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 260, 2 November 1935, Page 4 (Supplement)

"Molly Dook."

LEFT-HAND GOLFER. Game As Natural to Him As To Right-Handers. A correspondent signing himself "Molly Dook" has written to me stating that he cannot sec Unit a so-called left-, hander is incapable of hitting a ball equally as well as a right-hander, ami asks me what I think about it, declares Hector Morrison, a Sydney golf critic. He goes on to state "on the eve of his departure for New Zealand One Sarazen enjoined all Australian professionals to do everything in their power to discourage the left-handers, and I have been told that one of Sydney's leading young professionals refused to eoaeh a woman, advising her to learn to play right-handed or give the game up. "Now, text hooks on golf, written for the mighty right-arm golfers, stress the faet that the left hand is the dominant hand, and advise practising the swing with the left hand only. So in reality these men who seem to desire

to dictate with which hand a game shall be played arc actually left-handers themselves, and the so-called lefthanders are really right-handed. "It was, therefore, with something bordering on glee that I read that the finalists in the Victorian championship were both left-lyuulers." Possibly, when I tell "Molly Dook" that both the associates and men's titleholders in the Australian Club are lefthanders, he'll qualify for a glee club, There is absolutely no reason at all why left-handers should not play just as well as right-handers. As a matter of fact, there are many of them who do. Claude Felstead, for* instance, won the Australian open championship. Len Nettlefold has Avon the Australian amateur title, and reached the last eight in the British amateur championship, as did Bruce Pearce. Left-handers, as a rule, however, are not as consistent as right-handers. The reason is obscure. But they are. certainly at a disadvantage, as "Molly Dook" says all the text books in the game are written for right-handers, and left-handers have accordingly to think in reverse gear to gain knowledge from them. Then, again, they have to go to righthanders for tuition. (I only know of one left-handed professional in Australia.) In the past, too, left-handers had to use clubs made by right-handers. Nowadays, howeA'er, hand-made clubs arc rare, with machines turning out wooden clubs like sausages. In a big Sydney sports • goodr, manufacturing firm the other day I saw a machine turning a right and left-hand Avooden club-head simultaneously, but identically the same, only, of course, reversed. Incidentally, coincident Avith the introduction of machine-mrde clubs, the day of the left-hander cuuvned, and he # has been making his presence felt more and more ever since. Of course, it may be only a coincideiice. "Molly Dook," however, is all Avrong about left-handers being really righthanders, and vice A-ersa. I know that the majority of text books do tend to create such an inference, and in so doing they have caused incalculable harm. The links 'the Avorld over ar£ alive with unhappy players (right-handers) endeavouring to hit the ball with their left hand and arm. It is an impossibility. The ball cannot be struck a powerful blow with the left arm. The right arm must provide the power. The function of the le.it arm is to keep the club-head in the correct plane —in other Avords, to bring the club-head back to the ball into the identical position in Avhich it left it. For that reason it has to be kept firm. If it is not the right hand takes charge and the clubhead is forced out of the correct plane. So the firm left arm throughout the swing keeps the club-head on the track, as it Avere, hoAvevcr much it is speeded up by the right arm. If the left arm falters in its duty, then the right causes the club-head to jump the rails —that's aIL - - .._ ••-' ■■■ ■■■