FROM TEE TO GREEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21144, 30 March 1932, Page 15

FROM TEE TO GREEN.

BRASSIE A USEFUL CLUB. ESSENTIAL IN REPERTOIRE. thrills attached to shots

BY FBANCIS OUIHET.

Brassie play is more or less dependent upon a golfer's own judgment. On many long holes it is next to impossible to get near the pin without resorting to this distance-getting club for the second shot, but on many of the others it is a matter of debate. Many fine golfers prefer to use a heavy iron if the distance is not too great, for the simpler reason that they consider an iron shot is easier to control. I remember a momentous occasion for ine when I preferred the shot with an iron club to the brassie, even although it was against the wishes of my caddie, a person, by the way, in whom I've always had the utmost respect when it came to ad-vice on the use of clubs. This happened in the American amateur championship at Ekwanok, during the fourth round on the last hole, and my .opponent was none other than W. Fownes. This hole called for two wooden shots as a rule, but my drive was particularly long, an d decided I would use a cleek, for I wanted to be accurate. There was a bad ditch about fifty yards out that made careful placement imperative. As I came to my ball the caddie had a brassie ready for me. For a while I was in a quandary. It would have to be a wonder shot with a cleek, but I had a peculiar hunch that I could do it. No ball that 1' ev<ir hit was timed more perfectly. It sailed right for the flag and stopped dead on the green, twenty feet from the cup. Best Shot of Match. I garnered a four on the hole, won the match and later the'tournament, but I will always maintain that was the best shot I made throughout the play. Whether or not I would have been as successful with the brassie is a matter of conjecture, but I had supreme confidence in the cleek that day and it won out. Such luck as this does not happen often and the really logical club to use was the brassie. It can seldom be neglected in the course of a round and should be a part of every golfer's repertoire. There is little difference between the driver and the brassie, the only important difference being in the pitch and loft of the face, that of the brassie slanting backward and that of the driver being almost straight. This slanting face enables the brassie to lift a ball more quickly than would be possible with the driver.

It often happens that distance is required when the ball is lying heavily, or slightly cupped, and without the slanting face on the clubhead there would be little chance of raising it and gaining any distance. The shaft of the brassie is thicker too as a rule. This is because the ball often partially buried needs quite a blow to resurrect it, and the hands are much better equipped to withstand the shock of the impact of the clubhead with the ground if the shaft is thick. The stance for the brassie is the same as for the driver, and the swing and grip are also identical with the exception that the grip should be firmer with the latter, because the club frequently comes in contact with rough ground when playing from a bad lie. This does not, however, mean that a golfer should tighten himself up when hitting the brassie shot, for, above all, the muscles should be relaxed. . Manner of Hitting. A great deal of attention should be given by the golfer to the manner in which he hits the ball. If it has a good lie, well and good, for it can be hit briskly and easily without any attempt to dig under it, for the loft of the face will pick up the ball if the stroke is made properly. A serious fault with many golfers is the tendency to try to get under the ball and the usual result is a large divot. If the ball is fairly well placed, the stroke should be identical with the tee shot. The swing should reach its greatest speed at the moment of impact, but too much power should not be put into (hit stroke or the shot will be spoiled. Th'i club should do its own work. If the ball is badly cupped one should aim at the ground a short distance behind the ball and bring the club to the turf there. The turf will thus be pushed along and the clubhead sent under the ball. There are still plenty of uses for the brassie. It hasn't been relegated to the scrap heap yet and doesn't seem likely to for some time to come. Those acquainted with its use can hardly forgef the scream of the ball as it whistles over the topography that some golf architect has worked so hard over to make difficult, putting yards on a wholesale scale between its original lie and it's ultimate resting place. There's a thrill there that any number of iron shots will not erase.