IMPROVE YOUR GOLF

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 263, 2 August 1929, Page 17

IMPROVE YOUR GOLF

HINTS BY GEORGE GADD FORGET THE HAZARD AND SWING QUIETLY (No. 9.) Walter Hageu was, very properly, proud of the fact that iu the championship at Sandwich he did not tak' a six. The performance is proof of his steadiness, and he attributed his success in this respect to the fact that ’ie did not lake any risks—he left those to the other fellows! But it is well to remember that what is a risk to one golfer can be undertaken by another without much danger. There was, however, one occasion when Hagen seemed to many of those following him to take his life in his hands. This was at the fourth hole, where the

drive is over a giant sandhill. Hagen hooked his tee shot, and was bunkered. Now, it was a real bunker; that is say, it was deep with a steep face. W hen Hagen stood to his ball he could not see over the top. With the green two hundred yards off one might have thought that he would be resigned to the loss, of at least one stroke, especially as the line to the flag was over rough nearly aU the way. Astonishing Shot. But Hagen took his mashie iron and, I am told, made a shot that astonished everyone. He took the straight line, carried over the rough a distance of about 170 yards, reached the foot of the green, chipped up, and holed the putt for a four. When Hagen said he did not take a risk at Sandwich, I am afraid he forgot this incident. It is possible,, however, that he did not view the situation in this light, being absolutely sure that he could pick the ball cleanly off the sand and make it rise quickly enough to miss the face ftf the bunker. He was so sure of himself that he did not see how serious the position would be if, for instance, he did not bring off the shot. But it was only in this sense that he did not take a chance. You must go for the shots courageously to win a championship, though, of course, it is folly at any time to attempt a stroke that you know you cannot accomplish. It is certain that Hagen felt that this particular shot was within his power, and that was his justification m refusing merely to explode the ball out of the bunker. These shots from a bunker when the ball is lying cleanly are not so difficult as may be thought. Indeed, they are only as difficult as the player makes them. - Forget the Hazard. This is the advice I would offer in tackling them. In the first place, try and forget that the ball is in a hazard. Imagine it to be lying on the fairway, and at once the situation is simplified. Then play in a normal way. The trouble with shots from a bunker is that one is very liable to force them and down goes the club head into the sand, and the ball is either smothered or merely spooned into the air. Again, keep the swing quiet and do not accelerate the pace unduly. If you do the body will be very liable to go with it, and the stroke ‘will be a disastrous lurch. Balance and the body Is .everything, and whether you are going for a long shot, or are forced to explode the ball out, see that your feet are securely fixed. Do not be afraid to dig yourself in. You can easily smooth the shoe marks out again. Every bunko; shot demands that the body should be kept steady, and especially one when the ball is being taken cleanly. The Correct Hold. “My tendency has always been to slice. Now I have developed a hook. Can you explain what has happened.’ asks a golfer of men. In my experience slicing is largely due to the straightening of the right arm at the commencement of the down swing. Hooking, on the other hand, is caused by the sudden turning over, or acceleration of, the right wrist. It is possible to begin this movement immediately the club begins to come down. In other respects the swing may be correct until the club head is very near the ball, and then the right wrist comes over just before or at the moment of impact. This sudden roll of the right wrist over the left, whether it occurs early or late in the down swing, can only have one effect —it causes the face of the club head to turn over too early, before, in fact, the club has reached the base of its arc, with the result that the ball is hit slightly outside its true centre, and a right to left spin is imparted. When this spin is slight the player secures just sufficient ‘'draw” to produce a long running ball, but when the spin is excessive the ball swings violently and finishes in the position which the cricketer knows as square leg. Look Out for This! Guard against the tightening of the right hand when the downward swing is half made. It is very easy to do this when one is trying for a little extra length. It is not wise to tinker with the grip, presuming that the hands are correctly placed. I admit that by placing the right hand over the grip the tendency to pull is decreased, but this is a dangerous procedure, because it is merely the introduction of one error to cure another. Watch that you are not standing too far from the_ball. When that happens

one is bound to reach forward as the club is swinging towards the ball, and in such circumstances the right hand is very liable to overpower the left and come too strongly into the shot. Again, see that there is not too much weight on the left kg, and also, that the stance is “open” and not “shut.”