GOLF

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 110, 11 May 1936, Page 11

GOLF

THE APPROACH SHOT DIFFICULTY FOR FLAYERS DEVELOPMENT OF SCOOPING A difficulty that often -worries the handicap player is the inconsistency of his approach play, invariably -caused by his efforts to get the ball up in the air, with the result that an action resembling a scoop is developed. This is the first step towards trouble, seeing that the method of striking should be directly opposite to scooping The chief essential for tlie successful execution of this shot is making a swing that will permit the club to deliver a downward blow. In endeavouring to obtain this, attention must first be directed to the stance, and starting position. The stance should be slightly open, in order that the body may be partly turned towards the hole; care should be taken that the ball is opposite the right heel and the hands so placed that they are just in front of the club-head, which gives you a better chance of striking the ball before the club-head has reached its lowest I point. Lateral movement of the hips in the backswing must be reduced to a minimum. but instead a free Divot with plenty of knee action is best. In taking the club back for, say, a pitch shot of sixty yards with a mashic-niblick, the club should go up more steeply than for any longer shot with the other ylubs. One result of this will be a steeper down-swing, and that is what we are striving for. Where Swing Goes Wrong Probably the most likely stage for the swing to go wrong, is at the point where the down-swing commences. This is due, as I have often seen, to the entire reversal of the proper sequence of movements, with the result that the elubhead has started its downward journey before any other movement has taken place. This is wrong; the correct way is just the opposite.

The first movements are a simultaneous combination of the left heel being replaced, the left knee straightening and the left hip turning towards the hole, during which time the hands too will be on their way through, not down. The wrists must remain as they were, that is, what is called ‘‘‘cocked,’’ until the moment the ball is being struck. Hence you will notice that the angle of the club-shaft and ‘he left arm retain the same relation for the greater part of the downswing. Note that I have sai£ that the hands should travel through, and not down. The hands must travel towards the hole, and not towards the ball. By this means, the clubhead correctly collects the ball in its path and the loft of the club-face will effectively do its work of sending the ball well into the air. Observation has clearly shown me how many golfers are obsessed with the idea of getting the tlubhead to the ball. In doing so, many movements are retarded, with the resu't that when the ball is hit, the movements of the body are merely trailing on behind, so that no help at all is derived from them. The only power in the shot is that applied by the hands, wheras x he expert obtains probably 50 per cent, of his power by his rhythmic body movements, plus great leverage from his feet, which is transferred to the clubhead through the hands. So it is then that the body twist must bo leading the clubhead if the benefit of its speed i-s to be used in the shot. Obviously the maximum speed must be reached just prior to, or at the moment of, impact.