THE GOLF SWING

Evening Star, Issue 18021, 15 July 1922, Page 12

THE GOLF SWING

HOW THE CLUB SHOULD BE TAKEN BACK. [Written by Abe Mitchell for the ‘ Evening Star.'] At the moment my .driving happens to be particularly good, and in looking for a reason-1 think it is to bo found in the pivot of the body and the shoulders. The body is coming round far, and this, at leant to me, seems to steady the club from going back too fast. To hurry the upswing is, of course, a serious error and one to which even the best of drivers fall into, for it is natural to think that by going fast the club can be brought down taster; but this is not so. The club, when taken up too quickly, _tends_ to slow up on tho way down, and in addition there is a danger of the balance of tho body being impaired. It is difficult to slow down once tho habit of going back too quickly is contracted. One good way, however, is to make a point of turning the left shoulder well round. Many golfers make only a half turn with tho shoulders, and when this happens tho clubhead catches up too quickly with the turn of the body. The result is that the clnbhead is deflected from its correct path- Thus, if the body docs not pivot far enough tho clubhead commences to come down a shade _ too goon, and the body, acting in unison, cames into (ho stroke 100 quickly, with tho result that the whole movement is apt to be a hurried rather than a smooth and easy one. , , ~L . Soma golfers have the natural habit of not turning their wrists as the clubhead leaves tho b;tU; others try to i-nm the wrists, and in doing so make tho movement rather disjointed. Tho swing _to be good must also bo smooth, and if the pivot of the body is a very complete one, an even greater'smoothness will 100 given to tho swing than if tho shoulders only work hallway through the movement. IMPORTANCE OF THE PIVOT. Good driving is tho aim of all who play this mysterious game, and I am convinced that were many long handicap golfers to see to it that their shoulders pivoted properly their diiving_ would improve. Mind, in attempting to pivot there is no need to turn so far that the player cannot see the ball at tho top of bis swing. Some players in the past have done this, and been quite successful. Jock Hutchison, for example, seems to move his head back along with the clubhead. Well, everyone to his taste; but there are laws which must not bo outraged, and a poor pivot with tho shoulders is one of them. If one makes a close analysis of the up-swing it will be seen that the waists do not take any active part in (the movement until the club is almost as high, as the waist. Have any of my readers ever tried this? Address tho ball with the left arm held quite straight, and, keeping it in that positj.-n, turn tho left shoulder away from the ball. The waisti aID this time has done no work. Now, if tho body turn is continued until the clubhead is as high ae ithe waist, with both arms, especially the left, Stretched away from tho ball as far as is comfortably possible, and tho wrists have thrown the clubhead over the right shoulder, tho saving will have been performed as nearly perfecMy as is possible. This means that there is actually less work demanded of the wrists than is generally supposed, and I repeat that if tho wrists throw tho clubhead back too soon before tho shoulders turn the whole action is only a half one, although the clubhead may have gone to the top apparently quite nicely. TURN OP THE RIGHT HAND, One other hint, and to my mind it is quite an important one. It is of little use getting the clubhead up to the top of the swing correctly unless the movement/ of the hands be completed on the way down. TJio right ‘hand is the master hand in golf, and tho old fetish that it is the left hand which does tho work is responsible, in my opinion, for a lot of poor gollf. The right hand must climb over the left on the way down. Some think that this movement will cans© tho ball to bo smothered; bub it is not so, provided), tho movement bo timed to occur at the moment of impact, or even a shade before. Tho whole tendency ift golf is for tho club to throw the ball on to tho right, and to counteract this tho right hand turns tho club face so that it curls over tho ball almost as though it would hook it away to the left. Tills is tire reason why dub faces nearly all look to tho left of tho dead lino, for golfers are all slicors in a general sense, and the dubmakera shape the dubs to defeat this tendency. i Tho right hand must do its share of turning the dub face over, no matter how it has worked on tho way up. Tiro right hand must also return tho dub face to the front, and if it does not a slice is almost cexitain, Sometimes you sea a professional pull tho ball badly. This is because ho has turned that hand over too soon; but whatever else ho may do, he does not neglect this movement when he wants to hit a long ball. Tho average player argues tholt because he has gone up properly he will suing down correctly. This is a mistake, Unless tho swing is compiletely correct both up and down tho result camiot be satisfactory.