Figure 3.
WRONG GRIP.
Figure 4.
CLUB HEAD WRONG. HANDS WRONG. RESULT OF A GRIP, AS SHOWN IN FIG. 3.
Figure 5.
"TOE" OF DRIVER POINTING DOWNWARDS. HANDS RIGHT.
The left foot should be slightly in advance of the right, rather turned in if anything, and both feet some sixteen inches or thereabouts apart, the ball, club, and hands being as nearly as possible in direct line with your waist buckle, perhaps slightly inclined to the left. The hands then require to grip the club as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the left hand should hold with a grip of iron, the right much more easily, but still with a tenacious grasp, turned well over so that the back of the hand is to the front. Care should be taken that the thumb is not as shown in Figure 3, for such a grip would cause the head of the club, when at the top of the swing, to be turned broadway as in Figure 4, instead of pointing toe downwards as in Figure 5. When off your drive entirely, and when instead of being able to swing your ball nicely and cleanly away, you can only keep hitting down on the top of it, called smothering, take a swing with the club, pausing at the top (that is to say when the club has reached its usual high curve over the right shoulder, and just before its descent is commenced) to note the angle of the head. This will generally be found as in figure 4, whilst the position of the hands will be as in figure 3. Then alter your grip to as near that of figure 2 as possible, when the angle of the club-head at the top of the swing, will become as in figure 5. But to continue, being in the correct position for addressing the ball both as regards distance and grip, after a short preliminary waggle which will give the needed impetus, raise the club away to the right, not too quickly, with a scythe-like sweep, till well over the right shoulder, at the same time lifting the left heel and turning the body slightly on the toes of the left foot. Figure 6. The action of the swing should be entirely done from the shoulder, and not with a twist of the whole body as is often seen. Descending again and driving away the ball, then continue the swing till it finishes up quite naturally over the left shoulder, called "the follow through," Figure 7, thus describing an entire circle round the body, the whole of which must be as evenly performed, without the least signs of force or disjointedness, as though it was the revolution of a wheel. Many players stand to drive with the ball in a line with, or even outside, their left foot, but having the ball nearer the centre of the body, as described above, is the more usual position, and one to be recommended.
Figure 6.
GRIP WHEN AT THE TOP OF SWING.
