YARDON'S VIEWS ON GOLF.

Press, Volume L, Issue 15022, 17 July 1914, Page 5

YARDON'S VIEWS ON GOLF.

THE "LIE"' OF (TAB..

(By Harry Vardon. in the Loudon "Daily Mail oi' June-4th.) Among the enquiries: which have been addresesd to mc ef hue is one concerning the ''lie'" of the golfer's clubs. It is an import a ik. subject, and I am happy to reply to tho correspondent. Ho Fays: "I do not think that hi "How to Play Golf 'which I have read four times with great benefit) yon make any emphatic pronouncement on tho matter, save as regards the wooden clubs. I should like, therefore, to know if you advise having xh-e same li -on the driver, brassie, cieek, iron, and mas-hie. I presume the niblick and putter are laws unto themselves." , I have -.always made a particular point of recommending the player to sco tliat hLs driver and brassie are of exactly the samo length and lie. anj the more experience 1 obtain of golf, the deeper grows my faith in the value of tLis hint. So far a.s I havo been able to judge, ir. is tho brassie that provpkos the greatest misgiving among the' majority of moderate performers; they live in such mortal dread of bungling a shot with it that they are invariably chary of using it. And yet frequently it is the very club that tbey need most at what are known as two-shot- holes, because they are not such long hitters frpm the tee as their brethren of the plus' and scratch depart menus. In many cases the cause of their mistrust and failure is that they have a brassie of a- different lie irom the driver. It is either a little more tipright or a little flatter. " Their natural instinct is to stand for it in the same wav as for the driver, and a.s a consequence, either the toe or - the' heel of the. brassie is off the ■-. ground when the club-head is placed 1 behind the ball preparatory to the . accomplishment of the stroke lhe „ action is so brief that its details may escape notice, but 1 am convinced that i main* brassie shots are missed because, owing to tbo discrepancy in the lie ' of the wooden clubs, either the toe ot ' the brassie is cocked into tho air during the address or is nearer to tbe ground than tho heel. Ihe 1 ull length of tho solo should be capable Oi being I mstod- on tho ground just a* it is with - the driver. LENGTH AND STANCE. b In regard to iron clubs, Ido not " agree with those who say that here also ' the lies should be exactly the same. J The shorter the club the inbre upright *t should be, inasmuch as it compels one ' to stand. a little nearer to the ball. ' The lie of the cieek will bo tho closest approach to that of tho wooden clubs. ' The difference will be very small m- * cleoid, but it will be'just sufficient to ' allow one to stand a trifle nearer to 1 the ball, as ono should do, for thc > cieek than for tho driver o r tho bras- > sic. There will be only a small disparity i iv the lie of any two instruments in i the bag. but it is a sound rulo to lay • down that tho shorter tho club the closer the player should stand to the ball in ordeY not to havo to stretch his arms uncomfortably during.the address. As a rule, the cieek is a little shorter ' than the drivo:*, t>« iron a little. ! shorter than tho cieek, and the? mashie ' a little shorter than the iron. These 1 graduations are for the common good so long as the golfer remembers to close in a trifle on tho ball for every inch that is lacking in the length of tho shaft. And when he is standing nearer, it follows as a matter of courso that the lie of the club should be correspondingly more upright, so as to enable him to ground the full extent of the sole of tho club during the address. This latter is an important point that applies to every shot whero one is allowed 4p ground- It secures a com-, mand o\*er the N situation which is impossible when half of the soio is off tho turf; for, unless the player be a genius and something of a contortionist, half of it will still be off tho turf as he strikes, the ball. DISCONCERTING SPECTATORS. This'is the season of championships, tournaments, and exhibition matches, and 1 should like, in all humility, to utter a word of protest against-the unknown friend in the gallery who insists upon striking tip a conversation when one is trying to concentrate on tho task of accomplishing a good round. I appreciate tho fact that he means well, and probably ho thinks that for the, man who plays golf every day to reel off the holes in the par .figures is as -easy as for the housewife "to 6hell peas. All the same,. I can assure him that whatever confidence ono may have obtained from past- successes, this game of golf demands a focussing of th© mind on the task during every moment cf the round, and that a dobato on airy nothings is distracting. I deliver a protest only because the unknown friend in the gallery is becoming alarmingly numerous. It was not so bad. when ho was comparatively rare, but now that ho is encountered at every turn, I cannot resist tho opportunity to explain that ono would far rather meet him before or after tho l ound than iv tho middle of it. I wonder what a billiards player ivould say if, while he was making a break in. l a critical stage of the championship, someone left his seat to walk up to the performer and enquire: — "flow do you like the table?" It would bo viewed as sacrilege. And yet, during the progress of a golf championship, the professional 'is asked twenty times what ho thinks of the course. ' It is enough to mako him say something unpleasant even though ho thinks a lot of it. TELLING TALK. Then there is tho man who comes np briskly ■with the intimation that he met you fifteen years ago at So-and-so, asks you whether you liavo been thero since, and makes suudry other enquiries in a pleasant way. It is all very well and you would be delighted to renew his acquaintance at the end of the day's efforts, but it really is very trying to bo assailed with questions by all and sundry during the courso of the play. A brief chat with the referee is often a pleasant diversion, but the multitude .that wants to talk is disturbing. There is no other game in which the player is supposed to carry on conversations with anybody and everybody in tho crowd, and while it is nice to feel that there is an interest in one's doings, it is not good for the golf. I know that personally I often walk a long way round so as to {lodge the peoplo whom I -have marked down as talkers. A real friend never interrupts in this manner. A golfor likes to go on his way thinking and acting, acting and thinking. .