First Published June 1905
Second Edition June 1905
PREFACE
Many times I have been strongly advised to write a book on golf, and now I offer a volume to the great and increasing public who are devoted to the game. So far as the instructional part of the book is concerned, I may say that, while I have had the needs of the novice constantly in mind, and have endeavoured to the best of my ability to put him on the right road to success, I have also presented the full fruits of my experience in regard to the fine points of the game, so that what I have written may be of advantage to improving golfers of all degrees of skill. There are some things in golf which cannot be explained in writing, or for the matter of that even by practical demonstration on the links. They come to the golfer only through instinct and experience. But I am far from believing that, as is so often said, a player can learn next to nothing from a book. If he goes about his golf in the proper manner he can learn very much indeed. The services of a competent tutor will be as necessary to him as ever, and I must not be understood to suggest that this work can to any extent take the place of that compulsory and most invaluable tuition. On the other hand, it is next to impossible for a tutor to tell a pupil on the links everything about any particular stroke while he is playing it, and if he could it would not be remembered. Therefore I hope and think that, in conjunction with careful coaching by those who are qualified for the task, and by immediate and constant practice of the methods which I set forth, this book may be of service to all who aspire to play a really good game. If any player of the first degree of skill should take exception to any of these methods, I have only one answer to make, and that is that, just as they are explained in the following pages, they are precisely those which helped me to win my five championships. These and no others I practise every day upon the links. I attach great importance to the photographs and the accompanying diagrams, the objects of which are simplicity and lucidity. When a golfer is in difficulty with any particular stroke—and the best of us are constantly in trouble with some stroke or other—I think that a careful examination of the pictures relating to that stroke will frequently put him right, while a glance at the companion in the "How not to do it" series may reveal to him at once the error into which he has fallen and which has hitherto defied detection. All the illustrations in this volume have been prepared from photographs of myself in the act of playing the different strokes on the Totteridge links last autumn. Each stroke was carefully studied at the time for absolute exactness, and the pictures now reproduced were finally selected by me from about two hundred which were taken. In order to obtain complete satisfaction, I found it necessary to have a few of the negatives repeated after the winter had set in, and there was a slight fall of snow the night before the morning appointed for the purpose. I owe so much—everything—to the great game of golf, which I love very dearly, and which I believe is without a superior for deep human and sporting interest, that I shall feel very delighted if my "Complete Golfer" is found of any benefit to others who play or are about to play. I give my good wishes to every golfer, and express the hope to each that he may one day regard himself as complete. I fear that, in the playing sense, this is an impossible ideal. However, he may in time be nearly "dead" in his "approach" to it.
I have specially to thank Mr. Henry Leach for the invaluable services he has rendered to me in the preparation of the work
H.V.
Totteridge, May 1905.
CONTENTS
| [CHAPTER I] | |
| PAGE | |
| Golf at Home | 1 |
The happy golfer—A beginning at Jersey—The Vardon family—An anxioustutor—Golfers come to Grouville—A fine natural course—Initiation as acaddie—Primitive golf—How we made our clubs—Matches in themoonlight—Early progress—The study of methods—Not a single lesson—Ibecome a gardener—The advice of my employer—"Never give up golf"—Anervous player to begin with—My first competition—My brother Tomleaves home—He wins a prize at Musselburgh—I decide forprofessionalism—An appointment at Ripon. | |
| [CHAPTER II] | |
| Some Reminiscences | 11 |
Not enough golf—"Reduced to cricket"—I move to Bury—A match withAlexander Herd—No more nerves—Third place in an open competition—Iplay for the Championship—A success at Portrush—Some conversation anda match with Andrew Kirkaldy—Fifth for the Championship atSandwich—Second at the Deal tournament—Eighth in the Championship atSt. Andrews—I go to Ganton—An invitation to the south of France—TheChampionship at Muirfield—An exciting finish—A stiff problem at thelast hole—I tie with Taylor—We play off, and I win the Championship—Atale of a putter—Ben Sayers wants a "wun'"—What Andrew thought ofMuirfield—I win the Championship again at Prestwick—Willie Park asrunner-up—My great match with Park—Excellent arrangements—A welcomevictory—On money matches in general—My third Championship atSandwich—My fourth at Prestwick—Golf under difficulties. | |
| [CHAPTER III] | |
| The Way to Golf | 25 |
The mistakes of the beginner—Too eager to play a round—Despair thatfollows—A settling down to mediocrity—All men may excel—The sorrowsof a foozler—My advice—Three months' practice to begin with—Themakings of a player—Good golf is best—How Mr. Balfour learned thegame—A wise example—Go to the professional—The importance ofbeginning well—Practise with each club separately—Driver, brassy,cleek, iron, mashie, and putter—Into the hole at last—Master of a bagof clubs—The first match—How long drives are made—Why few goodplayers are coming on—Golf is learned too casually. | |
| [CHAPTER IV] | |
| The Choice and Care of Clubs | 37 |
Difficulties of choice—A long search for the best—Experiments withmore than a hundred irons—Buy few clubs to begin with—Take theprofessional's advice—A preliminary set of six—Points of thedriver—Scared wooden clubs are best—Disadvantages of the socket—Fancyfaces—Short heads—Whip in the shaft—The question of weight—Match thebrassy with the driver—Reserve clubs—Kinds of cleeks—Irons andmashies—The niblick—The putting problem—It is the man who putts andnot the putter—Recent inventions—Short shafts for all clubs—Lengthsand weights of those I use—Be careful of your clubs—Hints forpreserving them. | |
| [CHAPTER V] | |
| Driving—Preliminaries | 52 |
Advantage of a good drive—And the pleasure of it—More about thedriver—Tee low—Why high tees are bad—The question ofstance—Eccentricities and bad habits—Begin in good style—Measurementsof the stance—The reason why—The grip of the club—My own method andits advantages—Two hands like one—Comparative tightness of thehands—Variations during the swing—Certain disadvantages of the two-Vgrip—Addressing the ball—Freaks of style—How they must be compensatedfor—Too much waggling—The point to look at—Not the top of the ball,but the side of it. | |
| [CHAPTER VI] | |
| Driving—The Swing of the Club | 64 |
"Slow back"—The line of the club head in the upward swing—The golfer'shead must be kept rigid—The action of the wrists—Position at the topof the swing—Movements of the arms—Pivoting of the body—Noswaying—Action of the feet and legs—Speed of the club during theswing—The moment of impact—More about the wrists—No pure wrist shotin golf—The follow-through—Timing of the body action—Arms and handshigh up at the finish—How bad drives are made—The causes ofslicing—When the ball is pulled—Misapprehensions as to slicing andpulling—Dropping of the right shoulder—Its evil consequences—No trickin long driving—Hit properly and hard—What is pressing and what isnot—Summary of the drive. | |
| [CHAPTER VII] | |
| Brassy and Spoon | 78 |
Good strokes with the brassy—Play as with the driver—The points of thebrassy—The stance—Where and how to hit the ball—Playing from cuppylies—Jab strokes from badly-cupped lies—A difficult club tomaster—The man with the spoon—The lie for the baffy—What it can andcannot do—Character of the club—The stance—Tee shots with thebaffy—Iron clubs are better. | |
| [CHAPTER VIII] | |
| Special Strokes with Wooden Clubs | 85 |
The master stroke in golf—Intentional pulling and slicing—Thecontrariness of golf—When pulls and slices are needful—The stance forthe slice—The upward swing—How the slice is made—The short slicedstroke—Great profits that result—Warnings against irregularities—Howto pull a ball—The way to stand—The work of the right hand—A featureof the address—What makes a pull—Effect of wind on the flight of theball—Greatly exaggerated notions—How wind increases the effect ofslicing and pulling—Playing through a cross wind—The shot for a headwind—A special way of hitting the ball—A long low flight—When thewind comes from behind. | |
| [CHAPTER IX] | |
| The Cleek and Driving Mashie | 98 |
A test of the golfer—The versatility of the cleek—Different kinds ofcleeks—Points of the driving mashie—Difficulty of continued successwith it—The cleek is more reliable—Ribbed faces for iron clubs—Toprevent skidding—The stance for an ordinary cleek shot—Theswing—Keeping control over the right shoulder—Advantages of thethree-quarter cleek shot—The push shot—My favourite stroke—The stanceand the swing—The way to hit the ball—Peculiar advantages of flightfrom the push stroke—When it should not be attempted—The advantage ofshort swings as against full swings with iron clubs—Playing for a lowball against the wind—A particular stance—Comparisons of the differentcleek shots—General observations and recommendations—Mistakes madewith the cleek. | |
| [CHAPTER X] | |
| Play with the Iron | 112 |
The average player's favourite club—Fine work for the iron—Itspoints—The right and the wrong time for play with it—Stancemeasurements—A warning concerning the address—The cause of much badplay with the iron—The swing—Half shots with the iron—The regulationof power—Features of erratic play—Forced and checked swings—Commoncauses of duffed strokes—Swings that are worthless. | |
| [CHAPTER XI] | |
| Approaching with the Mashie | 118 |
The great advantage of good approach play—A fascinatingclub—Characteristics of a good mashie—Different kinds of strokes withit—No purely wrist shot—Stance and grip—Position of the body—Nopivoting on the left toe—The limit of distance—Avoid a full swing—Thehalf iron as against the full mashie—The swing—How not to loft—Onscooping the ball—Taking a divot—The running-up approach—A veryvaluable stroke—The club to use—A tight grip with the righthand—Peculiarities of the swing—The calculation of pitch and run—Theapplication of cut and spin—A stroke that is sometimesnecessary—Standing for a cut—Method of swinging and hitting theball—The chip on to the green—Points of the jigger. | |
| [CHAPTER XII] | |
| On being Bunkered | 131 |
The philosopher in a bunker—On making certain of getting out—The follyof trying for length—When to play back—The qualities of theniblick—Stance and swing—How much sand to take—The time to press—Nofollow-through in a bunker—Desperate cases—The brassy in abunker—Difficulties through prohibited grounding—Play straight whenlength is imperative—Cutting with the niblick. | |
| [CHAPTER XIII] | |
| Simple Putting | 141 |
A game within another game—Putting is not to be taught—The advantageof experience—Vexation of missing short putts—Someanecdotes—Individuality in putting—The golfer's natural system—How tofind it—And when found make a note of it—The quality of instinct—Allsorts of putters—How I once putted for a Championship—The part thatthe right hand plays—The manner of hitting the ball—On always beingup and "giving the hole a chance"—Easier to putt back after overrunningthan when short—The trouble of Tom Morris. | |
| [CHAPTER XIV] | |
| Complicated Putts | 150 |
Problems on undulating greens—The value of practice—Difficulties ofcalculation—The cut stroke with the putter—How to make it—When it isuseful—Putting against a sideways slope—A straighter line for thehole—Putting down a hill—Applying drag to the ball—The use of themashie on the putting-green—Stymies—When they are negotiable and whennot—The wisdom of playing for a half—Lofting over the stymie—Therun-through method—Running through the stymie—How to play the stroke,and its advantages—Fast greens for fancy strokes—On gauging the speedof a green. | |
| [CHAPTER XV] | |
| Some General Hints | 160 |
Too much golf—Analysis of good strokes—One's attitude towards one'sopponent—Inaccurate counting of strokes—Tactics in match play—Slowcouples on the course—Asking for halves—On not holing out when thehalf is given—Golfing attire—Braces better than belts—Shoes betterthan boots—How the soles should be nailed—On counting yourstrokes—Insisting on the rules—Play in frosty weather—Chalked facesfor wet days—Against gloves—Concerning clubs—When confidence in aclub is lost—Make up your mind about your shot—The golfer'slunch—Keeping the eye on the ball—The life of a rubber-core—A cleanball—The caddie's advice—Forebodings of failure—Experiments at thewrong time—One kind of golf at a time—Bogey beaten, but how?—Tips fortee shots—As to pressing—The short approach and the waywardeye—Swinging too much—For those with defective sight—Your opponent'scaddie—Making holes in the bunkers—The golfer's first duty—Swingingon the putting-greens—Practise difficult shots and not easy ones, etc. | |
| [CHAPTER XVI] | |
| Competition Play | 177 |
Its difficulties—Nerves are fatal—The philosophic spirit—Experienceand steadiness—The torn card—Too much hurry to give up—A story and amoral—Indifference to your opponent's brilliance—Never slacken whenup—The best test of golf—If golf were always easy—Cautious play inmedal rounds—Risks to be taken—The bold game in match play—Studyingthe course—Risks that are foolishly taken—New clubs incompetitions—On giving them a trial—No training necessary—As to thepipe and glass—How to be at one's best and keenest—On playing in themorning—In case of a late draw—Watch your opponents. | |
| [CHAPTER XVII] | |
| On Foursomes | 188 |
The four-ball foursome—Its inferiority to the old-fashioned game—Thecase of the long-handicap man—Confusion on the greens—The man whodrives last—The old-fashioned two-ball foursome—Against too manyfoursomes—Partners and each other—Fitting in their differentgames—The man to oblige—The policy of the long-handicap man—How hedrove and missed in the good old days—On laying your partner astymie—A preliminary consideration of the round—Handicapping infoursomes—A too delicate reckoning of strokes given and received—Agood foursome and the excitement thereof—A caddie killed and a holelost—A compliment to a golfer. | |
| [CHAPTER XVIII] | |
| Golf for Ladies | 198 |
As to its being a ladies' game—A sport of freedom—The lady on thelinks—The American lady golfer—English ladies are improving—Wherethey fail, and why—Good pupils—The same game as the man's—No shortswings for ladies—Clubs of too light weight—Their disadvantages—Acommon fault with the sex—Bad backward swings—The lady who will findout for herself—Foundations of a bad style—The way to success. | |
| [CHAPTER XIX] | |
| The Construction of Courses | 205 |
Necessity for thought and ingenuity—The long-handicap man's course—Thescratch player's—How good courses are made—The necessary land—A longnine-hole course better than a short eighteen—The preliminary survey—Apatient study of possibilities—Stakes at the holes—Removal of naturaldisadvantages—"Penny wise and pound foolish"—The selection of teeinggrounds—A few trial drives—The arrangement of long and shortholes—The best two-shot and three-shot holes—Bunkers and where toplace them—The class of player to cater for—The scratch man'sgame—The shots to be punished—Bunkers down the sides—The best puttinggreens—Two tees to each hole—Seaside courses. | |
| [CHAPTER XX] | |
| Links I have Played on | 219 |
Many first-class links—The best of all—Sandwich—Merits of the RoyalSt. George's course—Punishments for faults and rewards for virtue—Nota short course—The best hole—The Maiden—Other good holes—Prestwickan excellent course—The third and the ninth holes—The finest holeanywhere—Hoylake—Two or three tame holes—A means of improvement—Goodhazards and a premium on straight play—St. Andrews—Badly-placedbunkers—A good second hole—The finest one-shot hole to be foundanywhere—An unfair hole—The best holes at Muirfield—Troon—NorthBerwick—Cruden Bay—Dornoch—Machrihanish—A splendid course atIslay—The most difficult hole Iknow—Gullane—Kilspindie—Luffness—Links inIreland—Portrush—Portmarnock—Dollymount—Lahinch—Newcastle—Welshcourses—Ashburnham—Harlech—On the south and south-west coasts—Therushes at Westward Ho!—Newquay—Good holes atDeal—Littlestone—Rye—The advantage ofCromer—Brancaster—Hunstanton—Sheringham—Redcar—Seaton Carew—St.Anne's—Formby—Wallasey—Inland courses—Sunningdale—A splendidcourse—Another at Walton Heath—Huntercombe—London links—Courses inthe country—Sheffield—Manchester—Huddersfield—"Inland" courses atthe seaside—A warning. | |
| [CHAPTER XXI] | |
| Golf in America | 232 |
Good golf in the United States—My tour through the country—Mr.Travis's victory in our Amateur Championship—Not a surprise—The manwho played the best golf—British amateurs must wake up—Other goodAmericans will come—Our casual methods of learning golf—The Americansystem—My matches in the States—A good average—Driving well—Somesubstantial victories—Some difficult matches—Courserecords—Enthusiasm of the American crowds—The golf fever—The king ofbaseball takes to golf—The American Open Championship—A hard fightwith J.H. Taylor—A welcome win—Curious experiences in Florida—Greenswithout grass—The plague of locusts—Some injury to my game—"Mr.Jones"—Fooling the caddies—Camping out on the links—Golf reporting inAmerica—Ingenious and good—Mistakes made by non-golfingwriters—Lipping the hole for a hundred dollars. | |
| [CHAPTER XXII] | |
| Concerning Caddies | 245 |
Varieties of caddies—Advice to a left-handed player—Cock-shots atGanton—Unearned increments—An offer to carry for the fun of thething—The caddie who knows too much—My ideal caddie—His points—Thegirl caddie—A splendid type—Caddies' caustic humour—Some specimens ofit—Mr. Balfour's taste in caddies—When the caddie is too anxious—Goodhuman kindness—"Big Crawford"—"Lookin' aifter Maister Balfour"—Aningenious claim—A salute for the Chief Secretary—A story of adistressed clergyman—Sandy Smith—The clothes he wore—An excess ofzeal—The caddies' common-sense—When his lot is not a happy one. | |
| [CHAPTER XXIII] | |
| Reflections and Recollections | 259 |
Good golf to come—Giants of the past—The amateurs of to-day—Thegreatness of "Freddy" Tait—Modern professionals—Good sportsmen andgood friends—A misconception—The constant strain—How we always playour best—Difficult tasks—No "close season" in golf—Spectators at bigmatches—Certain anecdotes—Putting for applause—Shovelling from abunker—The greatest match I have ever played in—A curious incident—Arecord in halves—A coincidence—The exasperation of Andrew—The comingof spring—The joyful golfer. | |
| [Appendix] (Rules of the Game) | 267 |
| [Index] | 279 |