GOLF.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 287, 26 April 1913, Page 7

GOLF.

SOME FAULTS. HINTS AS TO PRACTICE. (By D. G. Soutar in Sydney Sun). I have often noticed that beginners who have had a few lessons, and have shown a certain amount of promise, do not make the progress they ought to. This can he put down to two or three things. j In the first place, a very considerable number of them do not practise properly. By practising properly I mean that they do not pay enough attention to the way they should swing the club so that the' ball will be hit truly. How often do they find that they do Sever so much better when practising with a number of balls on the flat than they do when playing round the links. It is purely a matter of concentration. When the player is practising on the flat he concentrates his attention on his swing, as he is not concerned so much about where the ball will go as to hitting it truly. When he is playing round he is too much concerned about the result of the shot as to whether he will be able to keep out of the "rough," or whether It will be caught in the hazard, to be curried from the tee or the bunker guarding the green. In 00 cases out of 100 he looks up before the ball is bit to see where the ball will go to, quite forgetting that if the club is swung properly the ball will be hit truly. If the distance has been correctly judged the ball will be quite safe. This is a very common fault with players of every standard, and it is very hard to overcome unless one pays particular attention to it. It is most pronounced in approach shots with the mashie, and especially if there is a hazard between the hall and the bole and the player is playing at all slack, and very often the shorter the shot the worse the result.

I can speak feelingly on this subject, as up to a week or so ago I have been having very little practice, and I have been playing my mashie shots very'indifferently, owing to the want of concentration, and looking up too soon. I think that quite 95 per cent, of players never see their club meet the ball, although they may be getting fairly good results until the time comes when a good shot is expected, and a beauty "off the socket" is the result, or else enough soil to top-dress a green is lifted, and a miniature bunker left behind. The player then says to himself, "Oh, I never looked at the ball; I took my eye clean off it," a tiling he has been doing all along, only this time it was more pronounced, with the result as stated above. Taylor gives very sound advise on this subject when he says to keep your eye on the ground where the ball has been and press down the piece of turf that has been removed in the act of playing the shot before looking to see where the ball has gone. • By the way, I remember seeing a very amusing incident at one of the championship meetings in Melbourne. The competition was played at Sandringham, and the incident occurred at the fourth hole. As the majority of golfers know, the fifth hole at Sandringham is a one-shot hole, and, in consequence, players have to wait on the tee until those in front have holed out and moved away. On this particular occasion I had to wait,, and looked back to see how the couple 1 behind were getting along. One of them, a professional from Tasmania, had sliced his second shot into the rough, and was about 50 yards from the hole, and after judging bis distance carefully lie took up his stance, and after a number of "waggles" he hit the ball and kept looking down at the ground for a few seconds before looking up towards the hole where he had expected the ball to go. Imagine his surprise when he discovered the ball soaring over the ti-tree quite 20 yards too far and considerably to the left of the hole. Players who know this particular hole at Sandringham will appreciate this little diversion, and [ can assure you that the look of surprise on little "a face was far more eloquent than words.

Another thing that keeps a great number of playi'rs from improving as quickly as they ought is playing too soon in competitions. with (he result that they think more about making a decent score, instead of thinking about playing the shot properly. ' If players would only play the shot properly they would soon find themselves making a decent score, and their handicap being reduced accordingly. It would pay belter in the long run to plav the shot properly, even although the ; ball might go 20 yards too far or stop 20 yards too short of the desired spot, and it is certainly more satisfactory than the shot that has been topped 'badly, bat runs along clear of trouble, and comes to rest alongside the hole. In the first instance, the player gets to know what he can do, and although at first his judgment may not be altogether right, he will soon overcome that difficulty with practice. In tile second instance the shot is a "fluke," and cannot be depended upon, and sooner or later will lead to all sorts of trouble. yRECEXT DECISIONS. The Rules of (tolf Committee have issued tlie following decisions on questions 011 the rules submitted to them during February: Shanklin and Sandown O.C.—ln a stroke competition a competitor lifted his ball on a ' putting-green owing to casual water. Instead of placing it, lie,' dropped it. Should, he be disqualified! —Answer: Yes. Rule 27 (3) directs that the ball is to lie placed by hand, so as to be "in the nearest position" which affords a clear putt to the hole. Lee-on-the-Solcnt 0.C.—(1) A player in a sand bunker taking the club with which he intends to make the stroke grounded his club in the bunker about four yards from the ball before taking his stance and without improving the lie of the ball. What is the penalty, if any? (2) A player's ball was in a rut in a road; he went fifty yards down the road, and practiced shots in a similar rut without a ball. What is the penalty, if any?— Answers: (1) Loss of the hole in match play; two strokes in stroke play. (2) Loss of the bole in match play: two strokes in stroke play. The whole of the road must be treated as the hazard under rule 25. Yeh'erton O.C.—Undeil stroke rule 11. if a player lift a ball, the rule says he shall tee a ball, etc. Instead of teeing a ball he drops it over his shoulder, is the player disqualified?— Answer: Xo. Definition 10 states that the ball "may be placed on the ground," etc. There is no definition of placing, and the plaver may ilrort the !>■>" Provided he play from the place mentioned in stroke rule 11, no penalty jg incurred.