THE first two articles in this series dealt with

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1 THE TRIUMVIRATE ANALYZED Third Article By J. ALBERT SCOTT Article and photographs copyright by J. Albert Scott THE DOWN SWING THE first two articles in this series dealt with what I have called the fundamentals of the golf stroke; its foundations or essentials. But the down swing cannot be considered as a fundamental; it is rather the application of them, the result from cause. To one looking at a good player driving a golf ball, the down swing seems to be a very sudden affair, simply a bang at the ball, but this is not so, it is the result of the previous piling up of the forces I have set forth as the fundamentals. Nothing is really sudden; things seem sudden only because we do not foresee them; they disconcert us only when we are not prepared for them. A pistol shot is sudden, in the sense that it happens quickly, but it does not make us jump if we are prepared for it. It is lack of comprehension and preparation that makes a particular thing seem sudden. So with the golf stroke, the seeming suddenness, is only seeming. The "bursting of the tension" has been carefully led up to; we are ready for it, and knowing just when it is to occur, we can direct and control it. We do not "shoot an arrow into the air, to fall to the earth, we know not where;" on the contrary, to continue the simile, we have carefully aimed the arrow at a definite object, have drawn the bow string to full tension, and when the arrow is released, it is directed and controlled in its flight. Assuming the grip, stance and the back swing to be thoroughly understood, that the club can be taken to the top of the swing by an easy, natural, swinging motion, the hands following the track indicated, thus bringing the club shaft into position back of and over the neck, with the momentary feeling of tension, you are ready for the down swing, you have anticipated it and will be able to control and direct it, not only to the point of impact with the ball, but on through the whole sweep of the club. It may appear to be a foolish piece of advice, but as an actual fact is anything but that: " Never start the down swing until the back swing is completed." It is the doing of this very thing when swinging at the ball that causes a lot of the trouble, even when one has acquired a really good golfing stroke. The entire rhythm of the stroke is upset by this too eager desire to hit the ball, for the tendency is always to start the hands down before the club-head has dropped to position back of the neck, so essential to setting the tension, and the result is a jerk in this premature downward movement making the application of power practically impossible. Instead of a smooth swing and powerful impact, the result is a jerky hit, no coordination of the different parts of the body simply a "jumble." It is like trying to reverse an automobile while going ahead at full speed. At the top of the golf swing, there must be a distinct stop, without pause, a sensing of the ending of one series of movements before beginning another. There is no stopping with a jerk, no starting down with another jerk. Reverse smoothly and follow the methods I will try to make clear, and the full power of the stroke will come in its natural place, at the point where the club-head meets the ball. It is here that all the forces you have been preparing will come together and exert their power at the same instant. Everything which has been done, has been in preparation for this end. Every adjustment and action was for the purpose of allowing your full power to be applied without the restraint of tight or knotted muscles, or interference of any part of the body, but rather to bring them into the action smoothly and with their full force. As the hands were the leaders in the back swing, so they are the leaders in the down swing. The down swing is made with the hands. That is to say, the initial impulse of the forces of the body which has been prepared by the movements described in the back swing, is the starting of the hands toward the ball, in precisely the same manner one would throw a stone, after drawing the arm back to get the momentum. So far as any other part of the body is concerned, no conscious movement, no attempt on the part of the player to make any other part of the body move, to force any other part into the stroke, must be made. As I have said before, as the hands lead, the rest of the body must follow, and the sequence will be in the same order as in the back swing; hands first, arms and shoulders next, and then the body, legs and feet, following in due course. The hands are the "executive" connection between player, club, and ball. It is with them and through them that all the other parts of the body must exert their forces. To follow the description of the stroke this must be clearly understood and appreciated. It is the hands we must keep under control, permitting the rest of the body to respond naturally by not forcing it into the stroke. Don't misunderstand me, all other parts of the body must be allowed free response to the action of the 21

2 HARRY VARDON DRIVING Just after hitting the ball hands. Holding any part of the body back from its natural response to the swinging of the hands, is just as bad as forcing that part into the stroke. Much has been said about keeping the head still during the golf stroke, and certainly, on this point, there can be no question; it must be kept still. Stillness, however, does not mean rigidity, any more than tension means stiffness. Too many try to keep the head still by stiffening the neck muscles, a practice that is wrong, as stiffness in the neck, will cause stiffness in the shoulders, which must be allowed freedom. Rather relax the neck muscles. I have become convinced from my study of the play of the great golfers and from a careful analysis of the position of their bodies at different parts of the stroke, that the head is not the point or part we should concentrate on keeping still. In saying this I do not mean to imply that the head will not keep still or that it should not. It does, of course, keep in the same place all the time until after the ball has been hit, and this is particularly noticeable in Vardon. The particular part of the body to concentrate the mind on keeping still, is a point mid-way between the shoulder blades, at the spine. Imagine that at this place there is a "ball and socket" joint, on which the shoulders can turn to the right or left, and can go up and down for this is what they must do in swinging a golf club. In the up swing the left shoulder goes down and around, the right shoulder, up and around; in the down swing this movement is reversed. It is on the "ball and socket" joint, which I have asked you to imagine, that this action takes place. Now, presuming the shoulders have moved around the point indicated, in the manner described, and the neck muscles are relaxed, the head will remain still; there will be no tendency or cause to move it; it cannot, unless you try to move it. The photograph of Braid, showing him just after hitting the ball, admirably illustrates this point, in fact, absolutely proves it. So too, does the illustration of Vardon, at the same part of the stroke, although Vardon had not quite reached a position to bring it out so strongly as we see it in the illustration of Braid. Before describing my impression of the manner of actually making the down swing, it was necessary to prepare you by all that has gone before, so that the actual swing, as I will describe it, may be fully understood. Having reached the top of the swing, and having dropped the club to position with the sharp bending down of the wrists, and having surely waited until the back swing was completed, now, without any thought of the action of the club, or any thought of the action of the body, swing the club at the ball with the hands, and swing under the head. So far as swinging at the ball is concerned, this swinging the hands under the head, is, to my mind, one of the vital things to keep in mind, it is by swinging the hands well "inside" in this manner, that the good golfers get the punch in their strokes. This punch is one of the very noticeable things in the swing of the golfers of class, is the dividing line between the "class" player and the ordinary player. It prevents what JAMES BRAID DRIVING Just after hitting the ball 22

3 Vardon cautions his readers against, the ''mowing" motion, that is swinging a golf club as the farmer swings a scythe, a horizontal sweep from back to front. The swing under the head will give a vertical swing, so far as the hands are concerned; the same as they were swung in going back to the top of the back swing. The constant effort of the golfer who wishes to keep his ball on the line, should be to swing the hands straight back and then straight forward. No effort should be made from the position at the top of the swing to swing them out in front and around. This action will take care of itself, for the body will untwist in response to the swing of the hands, just as it twisted in response to their action in swinging back in the up swing. This untwisting of the body and rotating of the shoulders, will again bring the club head in line with the ball; the arms and shoulders will follow the lead of the hands; and right here will become apparent the reason for keeping the left arm as straight as possible, and as I have been careful to say, without undue strain, or stiffness. The swing to the ball from the position at the top of the back swing, is around the end of the left arm, the "heel" of the left hand. The right hand went around the left hand in going to the top of the swing, it will again go around it when swinging at the ball, and if the left arm has been kept fairly straight, then you have a definite and safe guide back to the point of impact. To consider the action of the club-head, in relation to the hands and wrists, I would suggest as an analogy, the action of the hand and arm in driving a nail with a hammer and the action of the hammer head. When a carpenter drives a nail, he places the hammer head on the nail, to get his "aim," then lifts the hand straight up. The wrist bends, and the forearm follows the hand and wrist, the hammer handle arriving at a vertical position, or slightly beyond that position, by these combined motions, only stopping when the wrist has been bent as much as possible, when the hand, wrist and forearm, are all in a state of tension. He then swings the hammer with his hand; or rather, he swings the hand and the hammer swings down with this impulse. The head of the hammer having a greater distance to go than the hand, increases its speed until the impetus thus gained will cause the hammer head to pass the hand, and the wrist to "snap" the hammer against the nail, with all the power of the hand, gripping, and the forearm, driving. Here is an almost perfect reproduction of the action of the golf club; which was swung back by the hands in a circle some forty inches greater in diameter than the circle taken by the hands and consequently travelled at a much greater rate of speed, but when the hands were stopped at the height of the right ear, the speed and weight of the club-head caused the wrists to bend sharply, setting J. H. TAYLOR At practically the finish of a drive up the tension. Having reached this point and surely restrained any downward movement of the hands until the back swing was completed, you now do what the carpenter does with the hammer: swing the club with the hands at the ball. The tension of the wrists will start the club-head travelling at a greater rate of speed than the hands; it will catch up with and pass them travelling so fast that it will cause the wrists to snap into the impact; will carry the clubhead well through the place where the ball was, and will finally cause the wrists to turn over, the right hand going around the left as the hands go up and around in response to the force of the swing. This is the "snap of the wrists," and it is not a conscious effort, but an "effect" from a very definite "cause." It will surely take place, if all has been done that has been described. You do not "put your wrists into the stroke," when hitting; you simply cannot keep them out if they were bent down at the top of the stroke, and the down stroke was not started 23

4 HARRY VARDON Finish of drive too soon. That point cannot be made too strong or too often repeated: don't start the down swing too quickly. You will now see the reason for having the hands, feet, and body so placed as to make this action come into effect at the right moment and in the right direction. It will also be seen, why no conscious relaxing of the grip must take place, as any distinct letting go with the hands at the top of the swing, will destroy the tension so necessary to starting the clubhead travelling on its journey to the ball. If the grip is relaxed, then there must be an effort to regrip and an effort to start the club. The hands will, sub-consciously, do their work if properly adjusted in the first instance and then allowed to work naturally. It is only in direction that they must be severely kept under control. If this one point regarding the hands is kept in mind, that they must be controlled and kept in the correct track, going to the top of the swing and back to the ball in the down swing, the other things will automatically adjust themselves. It is just as the carpenter wields his hammer. He concentrates on hitting the nail after taking hold of the hammer. He "aims" at the nail, swings the hammer up and then swings at the nail, and never thinks of whether his hand is tight or loose, he simply tries to hit the nail, and the tension of the hand is purely automatic. When swinging at the ball with the hands and swinging under the head, keep the point spoken of as the "ball and socket" joint in mind. Don't allow this part of the body to move. I have said that, with the exception of the hands, don't try to consciously get the arms, shoulders, or any other part of the body into the stroke. In fact they must not be allowed to anticipate their natural order of action. If the right shoulder is allowed to exert any influence on the beginning of the down stroke (this is by far one of the most common faults), it will push the "ball and socket" out of position, and with it will go the head and the left shoulder, both being pushed to the left, and the stroke will be a failure. If the right shoulder comes into action too soon, the balance of the body is disturbed. There is an instinctive, sub-conscious, effort to regain the balance; the hands will be thrown out of line and will be dragged into the ball, ahead of the club, instead of holding the club-head true to its track and directing the powerful snap which is the result of the impetus gained in its course some forty inches in extension to the course taken by the hands. This long sweep of the club-head must be directed at all times by the hands, therefore, nothing must be allowed to divert them from their course. Everything must be subordinated to the work of the hands, must be made true assistants to them, and each part must maintain its proper place and do its proper work at the right time. This is "timing the stroke," and the stroke will be timed, if the player does not try to force or press it. One of the things that impressed me, when I saw Vardon, Braid and Ray, play for the first time, was the way the right shoulder went under the head; the tremendous amount of power they seemed to get into their strokes with the right shoulder. If the swing is made under the head, the right shoulder will come down, forward and will go under the head, following the lead of the right hand and arm, and the player will be looking over this shoulder, at the spot where the ball was, for an instant, (see photo of Vardon just after hitting the ball) will be in this position easily and naturally, and then the power of the swing will carry the shoulders around with it and the head will straighten up and the chest will be toward the direction of the flight of the ball. The action of the left shoulder has been in unison with that of the right, working in an opposite direction; it has gone up and around. Now for the point I want to bring out strongly: the "ball and socket" is just where it was at the address; at the top of the back swing; and when hitting the ball. It has not moved. The shoulders have revolved around it in the 24

5 course of the down swing (as they did in the up swing), the right shoulder has gone forward, but the left has gone back. The hands and arms have at one time been reaching forward to the full stretch of the arms, but they have come around and back, the point of revolution, the "ball and socket," in the meantime remaining perfectly still. Everything else has, during the stroke, changed position. The head remained still until after the ball was hit, then it moved, but if the stroke was correctly made, this one point remained perfectly still. The head was compelled to move, after the ball was struck, to allow the right shoulder to go forward and around, following the hands and arms. If the head is held stiffly in place after the ball is hit, then there will be a "hunching" of the shoulders, a lack of freedom in the follow through. In fact, any determination to keep the head immovable, even after the impact, will effect the whole stroke. Keep the point of revolution still all the time, and have the head so placed in the beginning that the hands can be swung under it. Don't try to do more than this with the head. The club has been swung with the hands, under the head. We have seen how the club responds to this action and why. The arms and shoulders have been allowed to follow in their natural order and have been prevented from anticipating their action. The body has untwisted to its position at the address, and the wrists have snapped with the pace of the club-head, and further the club-head has been directed back to the ball by the straight left arm. The impact has taken place. Now what happens, and why? We will have to go back to the top of the swing, the starting point of the swing of the hands in the down stroke. When we start the hands on the down swing and determine to swing them under the head, we must at the same time, determine to keep them going straight with the ball after it is hit as far as we can reach, straight along the line on which they were taken back, i. e., a line in prolongation of the line across the feet, the line of flight, straight toward the hole, and at the same time keep the point of revolution, the "ball and socket" still. Do not allow this point to go forward; the right arm and shoulder will go under the head, the left shoulder will go around and back, and when the arms have reached out in the direction of the hole, as far as they will go, without permitting the body to go too, they will swing upward and around the body, and the club shaft will be over the left shoulder and back of the neck. With a full, free stroke, the club-head will finish below the horizontal, and in such a position that it can be seen out of the "corner" of the right eye, as it was seen with the left eye at the top of the swing. This is the "follow through" and it takes place naturally, if the point of revolution is kept still giving the arms and shoulders something definite to work on. If the body is allowed JAMES BRAID Finish of drive to sway, then there can be no real follow through, any more than there can be a firm and powerful stroke. A lever must have a fulcrum to work on: so must the golf stroke have a definite point to center on. If the photographs, used to illustrate this article, are examined carefully, the point I have spoken of as, the "ball and socket" joint, will be seen to have remained in the same place it was at the beginning of the stroke. The hands have been allowed a full and free follow through, the entire right side has been allowed to go forward, but the left side has gone back, the left foot and leg seem to be pushing the body back from the direction in which the ball has been driven, and it is quite evident that no attempt to "get the body into the stroke" has been made, so far as allowing it to swing forward is concerned. On the contrary, it seems as if these players have made a very determined effort to keep the body out of any forward movement. (The photograph of Braid, just after hitting the ball, shows him almost straining the upper part of his body backward.) The entire swing has been one of the arms (the hands, of course, leading), the rest of the body acting as the pivot for this swing of the arms. By this I do not mean that the 25

6 other parts of the body did not exert power, every part of the "machine" did exert its power, but all these forces were delivered through the arms and hands, rather than through any forward movement of their own. Like water, which inherently has no power, other than weight, but confined in a reservoir, flowing through pipes and delivered from the nozzle of a hose, will have sufficient power to knock a man down, or to tear mountains to pieces, depending on the amount of tension (the height of the reservoir above the point of delivery and the size of the aperture through which it is forced); so too, in the golf stroke, it is the delivery of all the forces of the body (prepared in the manner described in the article on the up swing), through the hands. HIP, LEG AND FOOT ACTION The action of the hips, legs and feet are of the utmost importance in the down swing, as they were in the back swing, but once more we find them responding in a perfectly natural manner through cause and effect. Things we are told we "must try to do," we find doing correctly of themselves. In the back swing, the right hip went up, as well as around and back, thus putting the right leg in tension. When the down swing of the hands takes place, the right side is allowed to follow the right arm and shoulder. This takes the right hip around, but it will go down as well as around, forcing the right leg to bend at the knee, the knee to turn in toward the left leg and point toward the line of flight of the ball, and the right foot to turn on the inside, from the ball of the foot to the great toe. This action of the right foot and leg, is the reverse of the action of the left in the back swing. Both actions are caused by turning "under the spine" while holding it still, as described in the article on the back swing. As the knees bend and "knuckle" in, in both the back swing and the down swing, they must not be allowed to sag, or work loosely; they will be like the wrists, working easily, but full of snap. In the back swing, due to turning under the spine, the right side is put in tension and the left in compression. In the down swing, this condition is reversed, the right side is put in compression and the left in tension. To the point of impact, in the down swing, the action of the hips, legs and feet has been exactly reversed, to their action in the back swing, but after impact, a change takes place, the lower end of the spine is allowed to go forward, slightly, but the point between the shoulder blades is kept still, it is the pivot point of the entire action of the whole body in the down swing, everything works on it and around it. At the moment of impact, the hips are thrust forward, or rather the right hip is driven forward and presses against the left, forcing it slightly forward, and thus we get a feeling of the muscles of the lower part of the back being forced into the stroke. Mr. Edward Blackwell, the famous Scotch amateur, reputed to be the longest driver in the world, says that he wants to feel his back muscles working, that if he does, he is surprised if he does not get a long ball. It is only by swinging as I have indicated, with the hands, under the head, keeping the point mid-way between the shoulder blades still, the right shoulder, side, hip and knee, going down and forward, with the impulse of the swing of the hands, hat this sensation can be obtained. If the club is swung out and around, then this compression of the right side does not take place, for the right shoulder, side and hip will also swing around, relieving tension, rather than inducing it, causing a sweeping hit, rather than a driving blow. From the top of the swing to the finish, the club-head has been taken in slightly more than a complete circle. This circle, so far as the hands alone are concerned, is a vertical circle. But the twisting of the body at the hips, the revolving of the shoulders, all natural movements, consequent to the original positions and the swing of the hands, has caused this circle to be an inclined one, at what angle I will not attempt to say. If only the hands and arms were allowed to work, then it would be practically vertical. If only the twisting motion of the hips took place, then it would be practically horizontal. The two circles are blended into one inclined circle, by the motions of the body working in harmony, without a break in the operation. The vertical swing of the hands, the straight forward movement after the ball is hit, is shown at the finish, in the same way it was shown at the top of the back swing they have departed from the straight line only so much as the turning of the body and the rotating of the shoulders took them. They are slightly more around the body, than was the case at the top of the back swing, and for this reason: In the back swing, the body had to be kept more severely under control, than it had after the impact. The tension had to be maintained and controlled until it had accomplished its work. After the impact and the full reaching out of the hands toward the direction of the flight of the ball, then some relaxation took place, which allowed of a more free sweep of the club around the body, than took place in the backward swing of the club. But even after impact, there was no complete breaking down of the tension, no collapsing, but a distinct sense of control was maintained until the follow through was completed. All the photographs of the finish show this. I took the photographs before the players had had time to "let go" of the tension and relax the body. The photograph of Taylor, especially, shows the maintenance of tension and control, long after the ball was struck, so far as the word long, in connection with time, can be applied to the golf stroke. It is used in a relative sense, only. I shall now recapitulate slightly on the down swing. Wait until the back swing is completed, until the wrists have dropped the club into position, which will give you a sense of complete control and will prevent the much dreaded "fast back." Then swing at the ball with the hands, and swing under the head. After impact, "stay with the ball"; that is, keep the hands and the club-head going straight after it as far as you can reach, without letting the point of revolution or "ball and socket" go forward. Do not try to relax the grip at the top of the swing and don't try to tighten it at the moment of impact. The grip, as described, will do all these things at the proper time and in the proper place; that is the reason for it. Devote your attention to swinging at the ball, but above all, do not try to "get the body into the stroke." Getting the body into the stroke, by any conscious effort on your part means pushing the right shoulder into the work ahead of its time, and that means disaster. Keep your eye on the ball. That means look at it while you are swinging the club back and continue to look at it until the club-head has driven it away, and you are conscious of looking at the spot where the ball was for an instant. If you do this, and swing in the manner described, you will see your right shoulder go under your head, and thus you will know you have not looked up too quickly. "Look at what you are going to hit and then hit what you are looking at while you are looking at it" Before concluding this analysis of the driving stroke of the famous golfers and I hope I have made myself clear on the points I have attempted to explain I would like to add a word about the position of the body at the address. It will be remembered that I said the principal reason for the left foot being back of the line of flight and having the ball opposite, or nearly so, the left heel about three inches to the right of the left heel, as a matter of fact was to automatically begin the turning of the body to the right. This is exactly so; but this position serves another purpose, hardly secondary to the original reason given, and that is, it takes the left side of the body out of the way after the impact, and permits the arms free and full opportunity to follow the line of flight of the ball. To prove this in a satisfactory way to yourself, stand with the toes of both feet touching the line across the feet (see stance photo- (continued on page 52) 26

7 52 GOLF The Triumvirate Analyzed (Continued from page 26) graphs), and try to swing the hands and club straight forward along the line of flight, keeping the point spoken of as the "ball and socket" from going forward in the slightest degree. Immediately the hands commence to go forward, after impact, a feeling of strain is felt in the left hip. There is a constantly increasing restraint, and one of two things must happen; the body will sway forward or the hands swing around to the left and away from the line of flight, too quickly, and there is no "follow on." Either of these actions will effect the stroke, not of themselves, but because they are the result of previous incorrect action. The sway will usually result in a slice or the "heeling" of the ball; the turning over of the hands too quickly, as the ball is being hit, will cause a "pull." You will then find, that by taking the left foot back from the line across the feet, no difficulty in swinging the club and hands straight forward. The feeling of restraint on the left hip will not occur. But drawing the left foot too far back from the line, will result in a "slice." You must therefore discover by experimenting the right degree of "open stance" for yourself, then stick to what you find is right." Be moderate in all things." If my efforts to analyze the methods of the great golfers, have helped you, I am glad. If you do not agree with me, cannot get good results from following the lines I have indicated, which are correct from my point of view after a most careful study of the "Triumphant Three," as well as others, at least give me credit for an honest effort to shed some light on a very difficult subject. I have not intended to indicate at any time, certainly I have never said or thought, that the golf stroke was an easy thing to accomplish correctly. But by intelligent study and practice, we can all do better. I suppose it will be the same until the end of time. One day we will be in the seventh Heaven of happiness, we have "got it at last," and the very next day we will be in quite an opposite frame of mind, will raise our voices in grief and lament, and will damn to the uttermost ends of the earth all the writers who have ever dared to attempt to lighten up, what, at the time, will appear to be one of the darkest mysteries on earth, the thing which at times we love the best, and at other times hate with a hate that passes understanding, the one and glorious game of all games, GOLF. If you feel that you must damn me and others who have tried to help you, do as the Chancellor in Charles Dickens's "Pickwick Papers" did, he "damned hisself in confidence" and thus escaped contempt of court. (There will be further articles from Mr. Scott in the future.)