HOW TO SWING A CLUB.

NZ Truth, Issue 868, 15 July 1922, Page 8

HOW TO SWING A CLUB.

(By a "Pro.")

In offering these hints to golfers m general it is with the hope that they will be the means of helping many "a lame dog over the stile." It is extremely difficult to coach a golfer per medium of a book, but there are hundreds of players who unfortunately do not get the opportunity to 'have les r sons from a professional, so it is primarily for the benefit of the latter class that the following advice is given. For those golfers who may have just recently taken up the game and those who are about to do so, the following points are essential. Try to read them as carefu.lly and as closely as possible. Work on them and endeavor to analyse every movement of the club and body.

The most common fault among players of the junior division is the one of thinking that the club head should be directed towards the ball. This is entirely a wrong impression. The ball is" not the object of the swing; but rather that point at nearly arm's length (of the right'arm) m a line parallel to the direction of flight This applies to every club and only on very rare oc-r caslona when some particular shot is called for is this rule departed from. Another .very common fault is the over use of the body. The body action is, most important, arid should come only as the result of the swing- of the clU'b. This is what is nieant when you' are. told to let the arms do the work. Timing m golf Is everything and accounts for the good results achieved by many players, whose style of play is quite unorthodox. A very simple exercise for the movement of the body is as follows: Stand erect with' feet about one (foot apart and toes pointing slightly outwards. Keep the knees straight but loose. Now allow the body to turn to the right, the hips and shoulders coming round together until the -left shoulder is exactly opposite' that point at which the ball would be lying. The right 'leg should be perfectly straight and bearing almost the entire weight of the body. The left knee should be bent Inwards and the heel off 'the; ground. Meanwhile the head should have been perfectly still and the player should be looking at the ground ov-i: the left shoulder. To finish the body movement swing the body round until facing that direction m which the player would be playing. The left leg is now straight and bearing the weight of the body, and the right knee is bent and the heel is well off the ground. The pupil should endeavor to see that during the whole exercise the ibody should turn m Its own space. This is most important. When once this movement can bo acquired with ease and freedom it will go a long way towards making the correct swing much easier to acquire.