THE GOLF SWING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17039, 12 May 1923, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE GOLF SWING.

THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEIGHT. (Written for the “ Star.”) The distribution weight is of fundamental iniport-ance in the game of golf. If one has not a perfectly clear and correct conception of how to manage weight, it is an absolute certainty that there can be no rhythm in the swing. One often sees references to the centre of the circle described by the head of the club in the golf swing. Of course it is perfectly apparent on giving the matter a little thought that the head of the golf club does not describe a circle, but it is convenient to U 6« the term “ oentre of the circle ” when referring to the arc which is described by the head of tho club. If we are taught the distribution of weight incorrectly, it is a certainty that we can never play golf as it should be played. In the golf literature of the past we are given emphatically to understand that the

weight at the top of the golf swing for a drive must be on the right leg and there is no doubt ae to the rooted nature of this belief in the minds of many golfers. We poor struggling learners have road it in Vardon’s

‘ ‘ Great Golfers ’ ’ and ‘ * Th® Complete Golfer,” and in Braid’s “ Advanced Golf ” and “ How to Play Golf ” ; Taylor, in “ Taylor on Golf,” etc., etc., ar.d under the 'influence of such great exponents of the game nobody has ever dreamed of attempting to do anything else than what she read was the correct thing to do in this great game.

But seemingly, a new era shows signs of appearing. Golfers have begun to think for themselves, especially' so since the moving pictures by these self-same grea t ( golfers have been seen and studied. And it has been found, beyond any shadow of doubt whetever, that the weight is never, at any portion of the drive, mainly on the right leg. On the other hand, at the top of the swing in golf, the main portion of the weight goes forward *on to the left foot. These photographs, which are appearing at short intervals, are unquestionably of very great value to the game. Take, for instance, action photographs of Va-rdon whilst actually ploying the stroke, and we see most plainly that the body, instead of going away from the hole, lias, if anything, gone forward. At no time during a stroke ir. golf of any description whatever should there be any looseness of the body. During the production of the golf stroke the body is practically full of tension and attention.. It is the greatest mistake possible to imagine that because one portion of the body is doing the work any other portion may “ slack.” The left knee is in harness from the moment- the ball is addressed until long

after it has been driven, and it is a certainty that the left knee has far more work to do than has the right. Then there is the distribution of weight at the moment of impact. Speaking of the management of the weight at this critical time the great men tell us that when the ball has been, struck the body abandons all restraint- and to a certain extent throws itself, as it were, after the ball. Vardon says “ there is a great art in timing this body' movement exactly.” We are also taught that the follow-through of a stroke is of no importance whatever except as the result of a perfectly executed stroke, if one may so describe it. It is, of course, quite obvious that nothing which the body or dub does after contact between the ball and the dub has ceased can have any influence upon the flight of the ball. Practically everything whiok takes place after th© ball has left the club is the notural result of what has been done before inipaot. This cannot be too forcibly impressed upo-n golfers, for one hears sometimes it- being deliberately stated that the follow-through exerts a tremendous influence on the stroke. This cannot be so. It is of very great importance to’ have a good fol-low-through, but the good followthrough must be the result of a good stroke previously played, otherwise it will be worthless.

Th© timing of the body on to the ball in the manner mentioned by Vardon practically commences, in every drive of perfect rhythm, from the moment the stroke starts, for the body weight which 16 put into the golf drive comes largely' from tho ha If-turn of the shoulders and upper portion of the body from the hips in the downward swing. This half-turn and th© slight forward movement of the hips are practically one and the same, if they' are not, something has gone wrong with th© drive. We see quit© clearly m the photographs that very early in the downward swing Vardon raises his right heel and bends his left knee slightly forward, and in the next three pictures he is executing that turn of his body which carries his weight forward on to the ball in a marked degree. It is also brought out very clearly in the instantaneous photographs of both Vardon and Duncan. And so w© see that the timing of the body weight in the follow-through is done quit© early in the downward swing, and the good follow-through is the effect of the

cause. To add any distance to the drive, it is obvious that what was done in the way of timing the body on to the ball must have been done prior t-o impact, and merely continued after the ball had gone away, so that the finish was perfectly' natural. This rooted fallacy' with regard to the distribution of weight so that at the top of the swing it shall be on the right foot, has obtained its hold in a peculiar manner. At the top of the swing the right leg is practically perfectly

straight, and, naturally', as the foot is firmly planted on the ground and therefore held at both the heel and the toe while the leg, has turned with th© body, there is a very considerable amount of twisting strain on the leg. This strain, • added to the fact that the leg is perfectly straight, has led to the idea that a great deal of the weight is on the right leg. This idea has been confirmed greatly by the manner of contact of the left foot with the ground. At the top of the swing the golfer pivots on the left foot, the ball of the big toe, and this naturally makes his contact with the earth appear light-. These two causes taken together, have produced the fallacy that the weight at the top of the swing is on the right leg. In the one case it is a physical cause, namely the stiffness and torsonal strain on th© right leg, and in the other case if, is a visual deception. It stands to reason that, provided the two surfaces will bear the strain, as much weight could be borne on a point as on a surface immeasurably greater, but in the second case there would bo /a greater appearance of weight. 'This is exactly what ha 6

happened with the golf drive. It is executed extremely quickly, and tho«e who have attempted to explain it have not been able to follow th© motions with sufficient rapidity and intelligence, nor have they’ been able to explain them accurately either from a mechanical or anatomical point of