HINTS TO GOLFERS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 109, 10 May 1934, Page 6

HINTS TO GOLFERS

THE MOST IMPORTANT CLUB (By F. Branch). Place a full bag of clubs before a player and he will automatically take out the driver and have a look at it. This is possibly because it is the biggest club. There is another reason for this love of the driver, however, and it is to be found in the drive itself from tho tee. There is a tremendous satisfaction in hitting a Jong ball down the fairway. The rhythm of the wide sweep of the club when properly swung is entrancing, and look at the results —two hundred yards, and possibly more! But the driver, important though it may be, is not the most important club. The Putter. The most important club in the bag is the putter. This undersized and insignificant member of the kit is too frequently overlooked by those who desire to improve their game. They will practice with the woods, and with the irons, but they forget the putter. On an average course there are probably twelve holes at which it is desirable to use the driver. That means twelve strokes out of eighty to a hundred strokes. It cannot be of great importance as compared with a club that will be used normally thirty-six limes and may conceivably be used for forty-six strokes in a round. On the

ground, then, of the use to which the putter is put, no other club conies near to it in importance. The tremendous significance of tho putter may, however, be brought home in another way. Take the objective of the driver. It is the fairway, possibly fifty yards wide; the objective of the mashie is the green, some thirty feet wide; but the objective of the stroke made by the putter is four inches wide. Practice with the Putter. It is clear, then, that an improvement of 50 per cent, in a player’s putting will tend to reduce the score tor tho round more than will improvement with any other club. There is always a convenient place in any home for the practice of putting, and that is the carpet, and this home green should not be neglected. The player should practice so frequently that he can sense the weight of his club and come to know automatically the amount o? strength to apply to secure the run of any given distance. No theory of putting will supply tho knowledge of strength. That can only be applied by constant practice How to Putt. It is said by many writers ou golf that putting cannot De taught, and that any one style may prove as good as another. There is some truth in this and there Is uo reason, to be dogmatic on the matter of stance and address. The basic of putting is that the ball shall be fairly and squarely hit in the right direction. This does not permit of the face of the putter striking the ball at any other angle but at right angles to the centre of the ball. There is a fairly common fault, however, that is met with, and that is for tho player to strike the ball apparently squarely, but to carry the club through in the direction of his own feet. This imparts a twist to the bail and causes it to rim round in the can and out of it again. What is actually to be desired is that there should be some nnderspin on the baii, so that should it hit the can the underspin will act as a check to its running on. Some players achieve this underspin by giving the ball a sort of jab, finishing the stroke about where the hall was gt rest. There is nothing to be said against this method of putting if one can bring it off. The method which I myself favour is somewhat different. but it achieves the same result. I wiP therefore explain my method of putting., When approaching a green there some general considerations to be taken into account. The first is the general slant of the green, the second is the texture of the grass, and the third is the distance of the ball from the hole. The general slant of the green should be well considered, for it will give the cue to the run of the ball. Many a green looks quite flat tn the player when he is standing on it

and this may mislead him. Even s slight rise in tho green may be ogset by the general tendency of the green to slope. The texture of the grass should be noticed, because heavy grass holds the ball true to its course more, and this is true of a wet green or one laden with dew. When such conditions obtain it is well to putt firmly and straight for the can. A green that is made on sandy soil will ordinarily have a thin grass coverage; tho green will be fast in consequence. With nothing much to hold the ball to its course any slope of tho green will affect the ball, and this has to be allowed for in approaching the hole with the putt. Having exercised judgment as to the probable drop of the ball in its course to the hole, it becomes necessary to decide the line of approaca. This cannot be done when the pliyer faces the ball; it can only be done by standing behind the ball and looking towards the hole; Having decided uqor a line, the next thing to pick up is a sighter or peg. If a scrutiny is made of the line something on the green is to be noticed on which the eye can rest. If this peg is some six inches in front of the ball and the player keeps that peg in his eye and plays over it and carries his putter over it as well, he cannot help but strike the ball truly. Further, by taking the advance view of the ball the putter strikes the ball in such a way as to impart the backward spin of which previous mention has been made. There are, of course, players who adopt a different style of putting and who get good results with their style, and seeing that they get the results the style is right for them. My style suits mo and 1 find that it is not difficult for others to adopt with improvement to their game.