The Sportswoman's Library, Vol. 1 of 2

by Unknown

The above describes the stroke exactly. The stance for putting is as shown in Figure 10, at least that is about the usual position, but many people putt with the ball about mid-way between the right foot and the left, in a straight line with the centre of the body (Figure 11). The crooked left elbow is certainly a great help in keeping the ball on the right road to the hole, while the right elbow should be resting against the hip. Iron shots too can be kept from diverging with the vagaries of the wind during a gale, if the left elbow is well crooked towards the front, so as to follow through in that position over the line of flight of the ball. A very similar position to that of playing forward at cricket.

In golf there is a good deal of etiquette to be observed, but again all hints will be found in the book of St. Andrew's rules, or in that very useful compendium The Golfer's Referee, which was compiled lately by the Editor of The Golfer, in Edinburgh. It may be as well to mention that No. 2 of these rules is one to be observed, if not for courtesy's sake, at least for the sake of danger, a blow from a golf ball being no light matter. Therefore out of pure humanity it is only right to let the party in front play their second shots, or get off the green, so that they may be out of range of those behind. Besides match and medal play, another species of competition has of late years been started, namely, "Bogey." This is simply a score fixed for each of the eighteen holes, the same as the par of the green, the player having to hole out in one less than the given par, it she would win the hole, or in the like for a half. At each hole, any strokes taken beyond the number of the fixed par, count as a loss to the player and as a win to "Bogey." The mode of marking this on the competition cards being + for a win and O for a half, and - for a loss.

Figure 11.
PUTTING WITH BALL BETWEEN THE FEET.

One of the greatest features of golf is that although you may only perhaps be a third-class player, and your opponent a first-class, or as it is termed, scratch player, yet by the system of handicapping you will both play on equal terms. In match play the difference between handicaps is allowed as follows: in singles, three-fourths of the difference between handicap allowances, in foursomes, three-eighths of the difference of the aggregate handicap allowance on either side, a half stroke of over counting as one, but smaller fractions not being reckoned. Thus if the difference between your own and your opponent's handicap in a single is 12, you will have to allow her nine strokes, or a half, viz.: a stroke every other hole, whereas if in a foursome the difference of handicap between yourself and partner and your opponent and her partner was likewise 12, you would then only give an allowance of five strokes. As a rule, clubs have their own special table of holes, at which the strokes are to be taken in matches.

Nerves undoubtedly play a great part in golf, for the person who can go on quietly and steadily when her opponent is two up at the turn has an immense advantage. For as nothing is certain in life, still less is it so in golf! A topped drive, or a short putt, and the whole luck of the game may alter. Therefore the player who has perfect control over her nerves has a decided advantage over one who becomes flustered, and she will very often come in with a rush and flourish of trumpets at the last. When playing a tight match never risk going for the hole if a halved one will answer as well, for there is always the chance in going for it from some way off of placing the ball out of holeing distance for the next shot, and so losing the hole altogether.

Much the same in medal play: never risk a very long carry or dangerous shot if instead, by playing short and then over the difficulty, you can insure more safety. Medal play is essentially a matter of stolid steadiness, while match play bristles with excitements from start to finish, but it is by no means the case that the best match player will be the best in a medal round, the almost mechanical steadiness of play required in the latter being often found too irksome and tedious.

Of the faults that a golfer may drift into, slicing, hooking, and topping are the most common, and these are often too the most difficult to cure. Slicing is caused by drawing the club across the ball and towards yourself. This will cause the ball to dive off to the right, and is either the result of an error in the stance, or the grip of one or both hands, or possibly because the club is being swung away too quickly, causing more of a straight up and down stroke than is the case in the proper and rounded swing. If hooking is the fault, then the ball will fly off to the left. The reason of this may be either that you are standing with the ball too much opposite to the left foot, or that you are hitting it with the club's face turned in, the latter being the result of faulty gripping. Topping as the name denotes is simply not getting well down to the ball, and means the ruin of both its shape and paint! Yet another fault is that of heeling, or hitting the ball off the neck of the club, this can generally be cured by standing a little farther away from the ball and letting the arms go out well free of the body.