Golf for beginners--and others

Introduction

"When I get very old and feeble and my joints creak and I begin to find croquet too strenuous a pastime, then I may take up golf." This was my answer to the first invitation I had to play this game. I felt that to ask me to take up a game suitable only for mollycoddles, as it then seemed to me, was asking too much; I, who had been intensely interested in athletic sports ever since I could remember — baseball, football, rowing and what not.

I can remember how my lip curled with disdain when I saw the red coats and knickerbockers.

It was up in Connecticut, a few miles below New Haven, at a summering place called Woodmont, that the above remarks were made, and it was to a young lady that they were addressed. However, I was inveigled into watching the game. We reached the first tee and she made a little mountain of sand about two inches high and

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asked me to get a ball out of the pocket of the bag. I did it rather awkwardly, as the whole outfit was strange and I wasn't interested. I remember how critically I viewed the old Silvertown gutty ball as I took it out of the bag and bounded it on the bottom of one of the clubs to see whether it was lively or not.

I handed it over and she put it on the mound of sand, which still further prejudiced me against the game and convinced me that there was no doubt of its being suitable for mollycoddles ; why, they didn't even give the ball a chance. In baseball the ball had a look in; it took some skill to hit a ball in motion and still more if it had a curve and was coming fast.

She took out a driver — she explained that was the name of the club selected — and then began a still further preliminary course of action in the nature of trial swings, shifting of grip, gage of wind, light, humidity, and doubtless a hundred other things, till I was thoroughly disgusted. If they did all that in order to hit a miserable little white pill on a mound they were carrying the thing to absurdity.

INTRODUCTION

The young lady said nothing, but swung and hit the ball with a sharp clicking sound and we were off. The ball went about a hundred yards and had an inshoot. "Gee! see it curve!" I exclaimed, and then she said in answer to my criticism that the ball didn't go very far for all the trouble she had taken: "I have been off my drive for over a week and have been slicing right along, but that was rather a fair drive, and I'll wager a box of candy that you cannot do as well."

That was more than I could stand, and I took the candy against its equivalent in cigars. I took another ball out of the bag and asked if I could baby it up on a mound of sand as she had done. "Certainly." Well, I did. No foolish preliminaries for me. I swung at it with a force that would have sent a baseball over the outfield fence. My hat flew off, and I felt as though I had broken my collar-bone. My fingers tingled, and I was dizzy. Laughter brought me to myself, and glancing at the mound of sand I saw that white, clean ball still resting there. That roused all the fury in me. I hated that ball then, and I have yet a lingering suspicion of all balls,

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and am always on my guard in their presence. I had lost my bet, and the remark that "It isn't as easy as it looks" only added to my discomfiture.

Ha! thought I, it's a game of wits. I had better see how the trouble had happened, and I walked away from the ball, as she had done, and took a more cautious swing at a blade of grass. Missed that, too. Saw the trouble now, and hit the grass next time. Now I could hit the ball. I swung good and hard and reached for it and connected. That drive was my undoing. The feel of the club sinking through that ball and the way that ball traveled sent a thrill through me that I'll never forget.

That was ten years ago, and what time I could spare from business since has been spent on the links. Rain, snow, or sunshine, I have had more genuine pleasure at the game and met more fine fellows than at all other sports combined; I felt very far indeed from being a mollycoddle, and I think there are enough converts already to justify us in calling golf the national business men's game.

Contents

CHAP. PAGE

I. Balance the Foundation of Golf 15

II. Getting the Power Into the Ball 35

Chapter I Balance The Foundation Of Golf

GOLF hit me hard at the start. I had the fever as thoroughly as one could get it. I talked golf when I could and I dreamed golf when I could not talk it. Everyone I saw with a golf bag seemed a personal friend of mine.

I had only one day a week when I could play, as my business did not allow of any other time, but at odd moments I pored over Vardon's articles in the golfing papers and also Taylor's. Vardon was making his memorable trip through the country that year and I knew every wrinkle on his hand, as far as one could learn from photographs. I had only Vardon clubs, an enterprising maker having put out a line with his name

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on them. I bought all the papers which published golfing news and knew Vardon's every, move. I marveled at his skill, as many; a golfer has done.

If I could play; golf but once a week, that didn't prevent my practicing at home — nearly every evening I went out in the kitchen after the maid had gone upstairs and I was at it. I had the photographs of great players on the kitchen table, and I was sure I was doing everything according to the book. I committed all the instructions for playing to memory and was dead certain I observed them all. Hour after hour I went through this practice, but when I got out on the links my finely-trained strokes wouldn't work. Mornings I would be beaten invariably. Afternoons I would give up form and get there any old way. I always did better afternoons.

During the following week when I got home at night from business I would start all over again to reconstruct my theories and develop form. Form was the only way to become a golfer. I made up my mind that I would cultivate the correct way to play if I never won a match. I persisted for over two years in this endeavor, with but a slight improvement in my game. The fellows I played with, who took up golf at the same time I did, were allowing me four and five strokes, and I was discouraged.

Finally I decided to discontinue trying to follow others and build up a method of my own, founded on sound mechanical principles. I was always a good mechanic, and the same application to my own ideas that I had given to others began to show in my play. My game steadied and my improvement was regular. I was on the same handicap basis as my friends in a few months, playing only when they did. In the fall I conceded three strokes to them. I have been improving ever since.

I really believe that the time spent in trying to copy any one's style or in any way trying to play imitatively is wasted. To be coached by a professional will sometimes help in calling attention to a fault which the player has unconsciously developed and to have him furnish suggestions which may tend to make the playing of certain shots easier I think is a good idea. In such cases

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go only to a first-rate player, and instead of having him stand by and watch you try to develop a swing or cultivate form in sixty minutes, get him to show you the principles or explain the less obvious shots such as playing out of long grass, sand, mud, and water. There is a knack about playing shots of this kind which it would take endless time to learn without help or a suggestion from some one who understands them.

In the case of young folks in their teens I consider that they have the imitative faculty so strong that if a really fine professional takes hold of them when they start he will make golfers of them. For the average person, however, I doubt if anything but playing the game itself will ever be of advantage. No two people will ever swing at a ball in the same way. Each one develops a different set of muscles, due to his environment, and a method of playing golf used by one man who has developed one set of muscles and is naturally strong in them would be of no value to another player who has not developed that set. Golf is essentially individual ; let any one hit on a method of playing that will produce results and

1 SB^liM iiP. *

Top of Swing for the Driver or Brassey.

become sufficiently skilful, immediately a new school is started.

The first step of all is to decide just what you want to do and refuse to be persuaded to change your method every time you find yourself off your game. It is my purpose in this book to call attention to those things which, no matter what your form or method may be, must be observed in making a stroke, as they are fundamental principles. Much confusion arises in the mind of a beginner from the endless list of instruction regarding the grip of the hands, the position of the feet, the position of the ball, and the style and weight of clubs, length of shafts, keeping the eye on the ball, following through, and what not. I have tried conscientiously to think of six or eight things at once in endeavoring to play a shot, and it cannot be done. It requires intense concentration for just an instant in golf to make a stroke successfully, and the thing to do is to determine just what you must concentrate on and stick to that.

My object in this chapter is to bring out what I consider the foundation of a stroke with any

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club, and that is the matter of balance. As any part of the stroke, no matter whether it is the grip of the hands, the turn of the wrists, or any of the details which compose a swing, is rendered of no value if the player loses his balance in the delivery of the stroke, I think no one can gainsay that balance or equilibrium, or center of gravity (call it what you will), is the more important. A stroke may be partly saved by a heroic effort sometimes, but no properly played stroke is ever made when the balance is not maintained throughout the swing.

To keep one's balance may seem simple enough, and the majority of golfers will say that they do. True, indeed, they do; they waste the majority of the effort of their swing in doing it. Comparatively little of the energy expended goes into the ball; most of it goes into a death grip on the club, one leg trying to maintain the balance which the other leg is trying to disturb, a stiffening of the arms, shoulders and countless other losses, and a wild endeavor as the club nears the ball to throw everything into it and get the ball away anyhow. When the ball is struck the instinctive effort is to restore the equilibrium by pulling in the arms in order to keep from f ailing over. Every beginner I ever saw had to be warned to go at it easier. Now if the experience of all good players agrees that this is so, be sensible and at least consider what they say. All golf wisdom boiled down will only teach you to "master yourself."

That is where golf is so peculiar. This is the real foundation of golf, but I despair of ever putting that clearly enough before any one to have him understand it, so I start with the matter of balance, presuming that it is useless at the outset to try to bring out the philosophy of golf. That will be learned in what some one has called "the seven years it takes to become a golfer."

Few experienced golfers will deny that a little energy well directed and smoothly applied will drive the ball farther than a more vigorous effort which does not connect the ball and the center of the club. The more easily the balance is preserved, the more freedom you will have for the making of the stroke. If you can devise some way of keeping your head in one spot, by that I

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mean not swaying the head, your eyes will be able to see the ball (the object to be struck) clearly. To illustrate what I mean by keeping the head in one spot :

You will remember that when you have your photograph taken in a gallery the photographer places a rest back of your head, with a couple of prongs on it, to keep your head from swaying to the right or left, or up and down. Your head occupies one spot or position with reference to the camera. If the man jars the camera so that it sways during the exposure of the plate the image will be blurred, more than when you sway your head. Now, then, if your eye represents the camera and the ball the image, the more successful you become in keeping your head in one spot the better chance you have of seeing the ball clearly. No matter what method you use, this one thing must be mastered if you ever expect to play golf well. Certainly anything which tends to destroy your balance will make it impossible to see the ball clearly, and you cannot do this if your head moves from the spot you started from.

You will find from experience that you cannot keep your head in one spot if you stiffen your muscles in any way. Keep your mind on keeping your head in one spot, as I have described, and you will correct a hundred errors into which you would otherwise drift. It will make you loosen up unconsciously. It will prevent you from making any sudden exertion which would tend to destroy your balance and thereby make your head sway. It will cause you to finish the stroke smoothly, naturally and easily, and thus prevent slicing, because you will not have to draw in your hands to restore your balance, as you will not lose it.

Regardless of how much you perfect your style, you cannot develop any method which will not require you to keep the head still so that you can see your ball clearly. It is worthy of notice that I have never seen any first-class player or even a good player who did not observe this fundamental principle, and there are endless methods of swinging at a ball. Jerome D. Travers told me on his return from the West after winning his first national championship,

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in answer to my question as to what particular thing he kept his mind on most during his matches, that he kept repeating to himself as he walked up to the ball at each shot, "Keep your head still," "Keep your head still." This convinced me that it was the most important thing to be observed, and I can say that my improvement was more rapid after I began to master this one item than as a result of all other details put together. Now when I make a poor shot I put my entire attention on the next stroke to keeping my head still, and I find it gives the desired result.

You cannot play "hard" and observe this fundamental rule. When you stand with your legs spread rigidly apart and the muscles braced for the effort of your stroke, you will find at the very first attempt to draw your club back from the ball that unless you relax the muscles your head will move. Stand in front of your mirror, or, if out-doors, stand so that your shadow is cast toward the ball in front of you, and you will find that the muscles all over the body, with the exception of those which hold the head in position, must be relaxed or you cannot keep the head still when you are making your stroke. Allow this fact to sink into your mind and absorb it thoroughly, and then you will find that many of your faults will disappear.

From the foregoing it is obvious that it will be next to impossible to introduce a jerk or a sudden violent effort into any part of the swing without disturbing the balance or moving the head. You cannot jerk the club away from the ball and keep the head still; you cannot swing back too far, or too short, or any way other than is natural to your particular physique. No two persons have the same frame or type of muscles or equal physical development, and it is useless to try to give any rule for these details. Work them out for yourself, but the keeping of the head in one position is the base upon which you must start, because that is the only way you can see the ball clearly.

If your head is still, you see your ball clearly and can not fail to turn your hands at the right instant. You will find that you can not grip your club in the wrong way without introducing

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at some point in the swing a factor which will disturb your balance and make your head sway. You can not keep your balance at the finish of your swing without following through correctly. If the player will keep in mind this very important fact, and will govern his effort by his ability to keep his head still, he will readily work out for himself ways and means for accomplishing the desired result, and I believe that the average business man with the average physique is as capable of first-class golf as any youngster if he can acquire the right mental foundation upon which to build. Golf is mostly mental and players improve more from a correct grasp of the fundamentals than they do from merely playing around the course.

I want to drive home the fact that this is absolutely essential. Even though in trying to do it players may find they go off their game temporarily, they should realize that they never will learn to play well unless they have the courage to persist in acquiring a method which their common sense should tell them is the only way they can be sure of hitting the ball accurately.

You need have no fears of overswinging if your mind is concentrated on your balance or the position of the head, as you cannot possibly overswing and keep it still. You cannot jerk your club away without altering the position of your head. You cannot introduce too much effort at any one point and be successful. It will govern the extent of your follow through. It will take the stiffness out of your swing, and one thing that it especially accomplishes is to give that smooth, even rhythm to the swing, which does the work. It will give you the fine finish, which offers the least chance for a slice or a pull. In fact, it is the cure-all of a host of golfing errors.

Don't think because I have called attention to this important fact that you will be able to accomplish it in a week. It can't put you off your game if you go at it patiently and easily. You will find it very difficult at first to keep your head absolutely still. Don't compromise with yourself when you begin to improve; keep at it and fix your mind on acquiring the knack thoroughly and you have laid the foundation for real first-class golf.

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The great fault of all golfers, the root of all golfing errors, is the desire to swing hard. For the benefit of those who cannot master themselves sufficiently to swing easily and freely at the ball, I desire to make the following pertinent observation. The closer you bring your feet together the more you reduce your physical ability to swing hard. If you brace yourself, you are bound to use too much effort. Relax, and you will not. It is only the expert who can take a wide, open stance and swing easily.

It would seem a commonplace to say that it is far easier to maintain the balance on two legs than on one and yet most golfers fail to realize this and adapt the idea to their method. I desire to call especial attention to the fact that in trying to imitate a good player the vast majority of beginners seem to have an idea that he throws his weight first on the right leg and then on the left. In my opinion this idea or mental picture is one thing which makes for rigidity in the swing and right from the start seriously handicaps the player in his effort to develop a correct swing; as the majority of people go along the

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Following Through in the Drive.

lines of least resistance they never develop the proper way.

I know that to the uninitiated a good player seems to make such a shift of weight from one leg to another, but he really does not. If he did his head would move. It would have to move. His head stays still and his body moves, but the center of gravity remains in the same place, constant. I think it is the idea of most beginners when they are told to shift their weight that they must shift the center of gravity ; I know that is what I understood. So long as you have both feet on the ground in approximately the same position as when you start and you keep your head still, you will not change your center of gravity. The speed of the club is gained purely from a twist of the body and any method which depends upon a shifting of the weight or center of gravity (call it what you will) is to my mind extremely hazardous and unreliable.

If I am correct in my statement that the weight or center of gravity should not change, the whole scheme can be simplified by studying out some

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way of acquiring speed and power by the twist of the body and shoulders. It being evident that the feet or foundation must be kept in approximately the same position from start to finish in order to maintain the center of gravity constant, as in that way only can the head be kept still, the next step is to find out how you can exert the greatest muscular force to advantage while making your club travel along the line you desire to send the ball.

In the photograph showing the position immediately after striking the ball it is apparent that the legs play but little part in my stroke after I reach my ball and yet at the top of my swing, which you can see by reference to another illustration, you will observe that they have every appearance of exerting considerable power. They do, but it is very slowly applied, because the body should not return to the position assumed in the address until the club head reaches the ball, and that takes more time than players realize. Jumping at the ball destroys the whole foundation of the position held by the body with reference to the ball, and a sudden or extra effort made with either leg, or both, will cause your head to move so that you do not see the ball clearly and you change the position of the pivotal center with relation to the ball.

The speed with which, as well as the manner in which, you can utilize the power of the legs will be governed by your ability to keep the head absolutely still. In my own case I find that I am not conscious of any effort made with the legs at all ; apparently I use them principally to keep the tilt of the body constant. At any rate, it is plain from the photograph that my weight is well supported on the flat of my feet when I connect with the ball, and as in boxing, a blow delivered with the weight firmly planted on both feet has the greater power.

By observing the left arm you will see that it is in line with the club shaft. That should be evidence that the left arm is not applying power but is merely guiding the club. It will be seen from the photograph also that my head is still pointed at the spot upon which the ball rested, and I keep it there in order that the pivotal center will remain constant until the ball has left the

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club head. I then look up to see where my ball goes, and not before.

Many players keep their heads still until the instant before they connect with their ball and then they relax to get a heave which spoils the whole thing. When you connect properly with your ball with your head perfectly still there should be a total lack of the feeling of power, as everything should go into the ball and not to disturbing the frame. Everything is so smooth when you go through your ball properly that you are conscious of very little effort.

These two facts mastered thoroughly will do much to start you with a correct foundation upon which to develop a good game. The ability to hit the ball at all depends upon your being able to see what you are striking at and applying the power in a straight line during the time the club head is in contact with the ball is what governs your direction.

GETTING THE POWER INTO THE BALL

Chapter II Getting The Power Into The Ball

WHEN you have learned how to hit the ball, the next thing in order is the amount of energy or power you can apply to it. It is only the energy which is transmitted to the ball that counts. Let us then examine the different facts which confront us and determine their relative importance.

In the first place we must remember that it is necessary to maintain the balance or the head will move so that we cannot see the ball clearly. The next is that as the face of the club is to be connected with the ball in a straight line we must endeavor in starting our swing to do nothing which will prevent our bringing the club back to the ball in the same way. The natural tendency of the beginner is to brace himself for the effort. Every one knows that the beginner does not play good golf. His method must be wrong then.

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He is too stiff. It takes most golfers years to learn this simple fact, and they always have a lingering tendency to stiffen up. I know golfers who set themselves rigidly to start and unbend one muscle at a time till they have thought out each individual step in the process. They remind one of a mechanical toy playing golf.

If you will take a club in your hand and start your back swing easily and naturally, directing your attention to observing when your head starts to sway, you will find that it happens at the instant when you stiffen a single muscle. The slightest tendency to stiffen will instantly destroy the balance. It is well worth your while to convince yourself that this is so.

Many players can make a perfect practice swing, and yet the moment the ball is in front of them they swing in an entirely different manner. This is because in the trial swing the eye has no responsibility and the player allows the club to go where it will. The eye should observe in golf and not direct the lines of force or angles. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred beginners unconsciously try to bring the lines along which

GETTING THE POWER

the power is applied into the visible angles as interpreted by the eyes. In other words, the player is trying to see and direct everything as though he were shooting a rifle.

It takes a number of years in golf to learn to "shoot from the hips" or waist, so to speak. The vast majority of beginners are up on their toes in applying the power, instead of being well down on the flat of the foot with the weight well grounded. This desire to "aim" at the ball along the shaft is the worst fault and the hardest to change or cure in the older players. It is not so much their age or muscular equipment which is at fault, but their lack of adaptability and doggedness in holding to their own way of playing. They assume at the start that they cannot get a long ball, and promptly devise ways and means to absolutely prevent their doing it.