GOLF.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17062, 5 February 1921, Page 9

GOLF.

MIDDLE-AGED PLAYERS. SUGGESTED CURE FOB STIFFNESS. (special to ;: ttte rßEjj.'*) (Rv Abe MiTcnFt.i.l Though, teaching is apt to bwcitr* monotonous it mio has too much of i;. most professional-, take a koeft intore>i in the play ami progress of their pupils. For tho man who is out to win tho prizes, during the summer, long hours spoiit on tho too correcting tho fault* of others i.% not helpful' Indeed, it is probably hnnnt'ul. and for this reason many men trv t» restrict tho ntunhvr of lessons which they give during tho competitive soisou. But at this time of tho year it is our chief occupation, and it is quite pleasing. Harry Varilon is a most enthusiastic teacher. Re enters into all the troubles of his pupils as if they were his own. AVo often have some curious problems to solve. It is the experience of most players to go off one shot and to be unable to find the cure. Tho trouble,- of course, is to discover the cause of tho defect. When you have done this the remedy is easy. The other day a man came to mo and complained that lie had developed a fault in his iron plav. Whenever he had to play a full .-hot he pushed the kill out. He was keen to !x> put rijiht. and so I took him out and watted him make one of these strokes irtcn cne is hitting firmly. Just a tri/ling error was rpsponsiM.-* for the ball going to the right of the correct line. He was wrong in his stance. That is to say, his ba'l was too neaT his right foot, riven when this was put right the result was not quite satisfactory. The ball still moved off tho tf*ue line, though to nothing like tho same extent as before. Then I noticed that after the contact he xra* carrying his arms, or, to make it clenrer, his elbows, through in too straight n line. Instead of letting his nfms swing round on the natural currc, tho left elbow was pushed out ia lino with the flight. To push the ball out with n full shot is a common faah. There is a tendency to. do this in »y own case. In these circumstances, in taking the line I always make a *digfcs allowance for the ball swinging to th# right. Chances of a Beginner of 35. Apart from the golfers who Tonic fel us .to have the casual fauk corrected, the majority of pupils are those who hare fatten to the game comparatrreJr late in their athletic life. This is surely one reason why the general standard of amateur golf* is not higher. It is still the habit of men to go to the fiat* only when they haTe finished with cricket and football. Ido not suggest that it should be otherwise, but the fact is responsible for the lowness of the forat. But in my opinoin it is easily passM* for a player to reach a handicap of scratch or even better if he does not handle a club until he has attained an age of, say, thirty-five. Of course, by this time his muscles hare became set, but he still retains all the necessary freedom of movement. . Beyond this age, it is probably irae that stiffness begins to set ia. bat there is still hope of playing fairly well. To the golfer who starts aftes thirty-five years of age I would offer this advice. Let him keep a crab at home, and before going to the office in the morning to go out into the cardca and swing, and get into the habit of using his wrists. At the same tine he will accustom himself to the feel of tho club, which is a priceless thine. The late beginner on any links has one distinguishing characteristic. His arms are too rigid, and his stance is to» upright. Further, yon «fll usttaUr find that his jeft wrist is indued to be arched. This you may have noticed is nlso n very common fault amongst Indies. The hands sboqid be dropped and the back bent. By doing this it will be found that * good deal of the stiffness is removed. Still further kelp will be obtained in this matter if sobs* of the tension is taken off the lees. One often sees quite good players with tatir knees stiff. Probably this n done through the resolve* to keep the body steady. But it will be found that one is just as firmly fixed if the knew are slightly bent. * Fallow Caused by Ttßtttty. This stiffness is very lamely dee to a fear of failure. The player has so many points to watch that he forces himself into a timid, state, and thus serlouslv handicaps himself. He reads tho text books and studies th» distribution of weight, and other things which are, of course, important, *» beiwen one and the other he afanoct forgets to hit the ball. At tar into ho is not in a good frame of miad to do so naturally. Tho late beginner would, J am sure, achlere far greater success if he would be natural and—hit the ball. .. , , , im The modern ball is a buz help to the elderly golfer, because qnite good.result* can bo obtained by • cosipnwtwe-* ly short swing. 1 haTe seen ohms drive fully two hundred T*™* _*■*» stopping the club considerably ahartof the horizontal at the top. , Indeed* for a man over forty it is » inn*ak» to swing further than this for.,in. dmra bo, he will run the danger of losing ha balance. Balance counts for_«rery~ thing in golf. It is a sort of ****» sense, and every first-class player has it fully developed. . Above all, the great thing is to secure a feeling of freedom. As a heto towards this another suggestion a to plav with an imaginary bau. X often find that a man swings much better when he is not troubled with a ball. H» » more natural. As soon as the ball a put on the ground he stiffens fc» muscles, and does himself noUnne ukn> justice. Another point is to *««»*» waggle. All orofesstonals do it. hecause they realise that it helps then to get their wrists into the anot. "*•*- less the wrists are used. •v«ry > stroke will be shorter than it would otherwise have been.