THE VERSATILE NIBLICK.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17027, 28 April 1923, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE VERSATILE NIBLICK.

ITS HISTORY AND ITS USE IN APPROACH SHOTS. (Written for the “ Star.”) The niblick, as it is known to-day. is descended from the rut-iron and the small concave headed club used in old times to get out of ruts in roads. The Band.-iron was a elumsy-locking. much larger weapon, with a very much laidback face, and was used for getting out of sand bunkers. Although it was so heavy, and looked, and was so clumsy, it was built on the right lines, for the famous St Andrew’s cleek makers and other masters of more recent date, of the same city, ail sought their inspiration from this source. The size of the niblick was a drawback, so the cleek makers went to the other extreme. Equally a rut-iron was no better. for it was evident that it required

very accurate hitting. The golden mean was therefore struck between these two extremes, a compromise between the rut-iron and the sand-iron, and the modern niblick is the result. Now the niblick is not used often enough by women golfers, the chief reason being that it adds a. good deal more weight to the caddie bag; and golfers don’t like carrying weight for any length of time. The general idea is that the niblick is only used in times of distress; when the difficulties of bunkers, long-grass, broken ground, and the like is to be negotiated; but it is also a splendid club to make approach shots with, the one thing necessary to the player being confidence. stroke in the game, but more especially so when the niblick is used for any distance up to sixty yards with a bunker between us and the pin. We see the trouble in front, and know that if we fail to get well down to the ball it will lea re the club with a. low trajectory and even if it be of just sufficient height to carry the bunker the ball will scurry across the green. It is the fear of this that is the cause of so- many failures; hence the caution that confidence is oneself is most essential. We must have courage to play the shot boldly, and pitch it well up to the hole, and as the club is more lofted than any other, we must not be afraid to nit harder than we should do with a 151 ashie. A great many players lose sight of this last feature of the niblick approach, but it is only by hitting boldly that one can avoid the danger of half-topping. There must be no slacking of the arms or wrists. The ball must be hit firmly strongly, determinedly, and right through the ball, without a semblance of fear. When taking up your stance for the stroke, the ball should be played from just inside the right foot, for if you stand too much behind the ball, the club will meet it when on the up grade, having reached its lowest level a few inches behind the ball. In using the niblick in this manner it is possible to impart a considerable amount of “ stop ” on the ball. When you are about to use this same club to extricate your ball from a bad lie, the stance to be taken up naturally depends entirely upon the nature of the difficulty. In playing out of sand, for instance, the great secret is to get well down to the ball. But where the niblick best shines is in dealing with the grass hazards, where one usually finds onself tucked up under a tuft of strong wiry grass. When the ball is lying behind one of these ramparts, and it is necessary to raise it quickly, the following hints as to the methods of playing the stroke may bo useful. Instead of standing as you would in the niblick approach, keep the left foot farther back, with the result that you

make the body face more towards the hole. You appear to be aiming too much to the left, but this is in order to compensate for the fact that you are turning the blade of the club out slightly. In taking the club back, see that you push it out a trifle and lift it straighter up. for a flat swing is no use whatever for this stroke. And there is no need to take the. club back over your shoulder for this, or indeed for any stroke with a. niblick. When bringing the club down let it come sharply across the ball ; the fact that the left foot is well back enables you to do this easily, and the result will be seen in the quickness with which the ball will rise off the club. Take a little turf if you like, but if you do so. don’t torget to replace it. When you are bunkered, and a sandy sea surrounds your ball, it is the niblick that is wanted. When your ball is nearly unplayable, it is the niblick which is called upon to extricate it. It is a club which should not be wanted very often, but when it is. it is wanted mighty badly. Timing the shot with the niblick presents a certain amount of difficulty to the player, which is all important, for the club must take the ball at the same moment as it- strikes the ground. This sounds difficult, but there is one real consolation which makes ud for this difficulty. and that is that this meeting the ground is not only the moment of impact. but is, as well, the follow through ; for when the blade of the club and turf or sand meet, all that the player has to do is to allow the club to have its own way, when it will proceed to almost bury itself. This shot needs to be practised often. Select some rough ground, well away from the fairway, for the our pose. Grip the niblick a trifle tighter than you do the iron club, and keep the arms much closer in to the. body. or. in other words, bring the dub-head up much straighter, on account of the fact that the niblick must he brought down straighter so as to deliver the blow behind the ball instead of taking the latter cleanly off the ground. An important “tip" in niblick play is to throw the weight more on to the left leg. In this position you are prevented from ‘‘.scooping’’ at the ball—a fatal error when usino r this club.