THE BEST FROM GOLF

Taranaki Daily News, 1 November 1935, Page 12

THE BEST FROM GOLF

HOW GRIP AFFECTS SWING “DEAD CLUB” DANGER

(By

Arthur Havers,

ex-champion).

British

There is no game so tantalising as golf. One day the difficulties disappear magically and the player lives in the best of all (worlds. He has found the secret at last. But the next day he is plunged into the depths of despair and he is convinced that a malign influence has taken possession of him to bring back all the trials, and tribulations. That is golf. It may never be completely mastered even by a Vardon or a Bobby Jones. But for good or ill it does not let you out of its clutches. Whoever heard of a player abandoning the game because of its perplexities? The story is told of a famous amateur of another generation who went into retirement because it had been made too easy. He must have had a rich sense of humour. There is a section of the ever-growing family of golfers who look with pity on those who play well. They ask us to believe that they do not envy them their low handicap because of the remorse which seizes them when they do not justify it. What pretence, what make-believe! There was never a golfer who did not hope to play well. To get the best out of golf you must achieve a certain measure of success. The better one plays, in fact, the more are the pleasures enjoyed. There is no doubt about this, and I hope to show how it may become a more entertaining game. I shall try to get rid of the fear about that carry from the tee, or of that bunker which has a habit of trapping an approach to point out the faults which so many are heir to and find so difficult to cure.

As a professional with a considerable experience as a coach I am convinced that players heap troubles on themselves because they are not prepared to seek even elementary teaching. They choose their own way of holding the club, they stand to the ball haphazardly and they swing as they think best. Yet these first principles comprise the foundations of the game, and how can the structure be solid, unless they are well laid? A player who plunges into golf without lessons usually has an ill-formed swing, and without a true swing one can never hope to gain the best results. Many things, slight perhaps in themselves but serious in their cumulative effect, are most disturbing. First take the grip. If the pressure of the fingers is too strong there will at once be a tightening of the wrists and the muscles of the forearms. It is possible that even the legs will be affected. If the player is to enjoy a sense of freedom the body must not be in a state of tension.

The grip should, of course, be firm in order to ensure control. For this purpose I use the first finger and thumb■ of the left hand and the second, third and fourth fingers of the right. I always relax the first finger of the right hand as I find that it is liable to give it too much power and so upset the balance. The aim, of bourse, should be to make both hands work as one. It was to bring this about that the over-lapping style was introduced. Some variation of this method of holding the club is necessary in the case of irons. For these I grip a little more with the first finger and thumb of the right hand in order to check the length of the swing and to keep the wrists slightly firmer. The reason for this will, I think, be obvious. With a wooden club the ball is swept away whereas with an iron club one has to play down on to and through the ball, thereby striking a decisive blow. It has been declared that one of the secrets of golf is balance. Its importance cannot be over stated. In standing to the ball the weight of the body should be equally distributed on both. feet. I believe I have slightly more on my right foot than on my left, and it is perhaps better to err in this direction. The left shoulder should be higher than the right. Poise the body in fact in much the same way as you would in throwing a stone.' Surprising as it may seem I have come across a’i good many players who hold the right shoulder higher than the left, and I can only think that this is due to the fact that the left hand is placed above the right in holding the club. But it is fatally Wrong. Not only does it throw the balance out of gear but it does not give you anything to hit up against. The club comes down from behind. In hammering a nail into wood it is necessary to provide' some resistance to the blow, and the same principle applies in hitting the ball. I have sometimes watched players going off from the first tee and have been struck by the number who play with what I may call a dead club. After having taken up their stance they place the head behind the ball and allow it to remain there motionless. The head should always be a live thing, otherwise the player is inclined to become wooden and stiff. The club should be a self-starter, and to assist its free movement I always advise the player to get into the habit of waggling. We smile when Alex Herd swings the club to and fro over the top of the ball half a dozen times, but it is very significant that despite the advancing years he has never Jost his freedom. Indeed I do not think any golfer of his age has retained his swing so well, and it is very probable that all his waggling has been a help to him in this. Besides to get rhythm there must always be movement in the club. To start with it from a dead position will probably lead to an initial jerk, and if this should happen there cannot be tire essential smoothness in the swing.