LONG GOLF DRIVES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22595, 7 December 1936, Page 16

LONG GOLF DRIVES

MORE VALUABLE SHOTS SOUND PLAY NEAR GREENS PUTTING MADE MUCH EASIER Long driving, because it is spectacular, always receives,publicity, writes an English golf authority in I.ho Field. Every player desires to hit the ball out of sight and spectators like to watch him doing so. Yet the very best tec shots count for nothing if they aro not followed by sound play near tho greens. It is an old adage that a good shortgame player is a match for anyone. r lhis is proved every week at every club in tho country. It is near tho greens that strokes, often very valuable ones, can be saved.

Even tho best golfers miss the greens with their second shots sometimes; for the more humble players this is an all too familiar happening. Then everything depends on the little chip, 'those who are bad putters have become so because, to some extent anyway, the\ give themselves too much to do bj being inaccurate with their approaches If you wield your liiashio or your inasiiie-niblick successfully you need not be a good putter because you arc putting the ball close to tho hole. The great Harry Vardon, even in his prime, was always counted an indifferent putter, yet he scored well and consistently because, alter ho had played an approach, he had the easiest task imaginable to hole out. So if you are uncertain on the greens and dislike those awkward tliree-yard putts, the remedy lies in improving your approaching. Saving ol Strokes

Even in the very best round tho golfer has often to rely on a good pitch or an accurate running approach to save a stroke, and much has been written about the way tho Americans have acquired tho art of "knocking three shots into two" —for that is what good approach play means. Yet many find the advice none too easy to follow. A common fault is to make the shot more difficult than it need be. For example, if the ground between the ball and the flag is reasonably flat and there is no intervening bunker, a pitch and run should be an easy shot to play. But many elect to pitch and so increase the margin of error. The smaller the degree of loft on a club tho easier it is to control lor these short strokes. When just off the cut surface of the green it is not always wise to use a putter. Just that little bit of longer grass can deflect the ball off the line or hinder its run. If you watch a professional or any first-class player you will see him take an iron and just iolt the ball over the long grass, letting it run gently down to the hole. A pitch and run of this kind is merely an elongated putt, and should be treated accordingly. . , , , Naturally, when faced with a hazard a pitch shot is essential. 1 n this case the tendency is to jab the ball and lift the head up to see tho result before the stroke has been completed. It is verv helpful to remember that the loit on the club head is there to lift the ball up into the air, and the plajer s job is just to swing the club.

Patient Practice As J. H. Tavlor, the finest mashie player off all time, has said:—" Listen for the result; don't watch for it. This sounds simple, but it isn t. I atient practice is necessary, hut the improvement in saving strokes is well worth any time spent. , The shorter the stroke to ho played the more firm the player has to be with his methods. Any slackness ;s absolutely fatal. The club needs to be held firmlv, the swing curtailed, and the ball struck crisply—so rightly say all teachers. This is what Cotton has written about the short game:—" I pick out a spot on tho green to which 1 '"tend the ball to go. 1 visualise the flight of the ball and then with my head well clown forget all about the hole and play the ball to pitch on the place selected" You must never flick the ball. Indecisive, and hit tho ball firmly, even if you are playing a pitch ol ten yards. . . . Do not hit and hopo . . . do not try to spoon the ball up the 101 l of the' club will do that for you. Those are not idle words—ho mi* proved them for himself, and anyone else can do likewise.