In dissecting the golf drive into its component parts for the purpose of detailed consideration we find that it naturally falls into four divisions; the stance, the grip, the swing of the club, and the action of the body during the swing. Following our usual procedure we shall first present the subject of the stance. The reasons for beginning with the stance are that it is the easiest part of the act of driving, and that the somewhat complicated action of swinging the club and twisting the body cannot be properly executed if the feet are not placed in the right position in relation to the ball. It is difficult to follow the reasoning of Mrs. Ross when she says, The New Book of Golf, page 272, "I am inclined to think that the grip should be attended to first, then the swing, and lastly the stance. The stance is the easiest problem of the three to tackle, and may quite well be postponed." Why not attack the easiest problem first and clear it out of the way, especially when, as in this case, the most difficult problem, which is the complete act of swinging, depends directly upon the stance? There can be no doubt that the arrangement of the feet has a decided effect on the way in which the club comes through to the ball and beyond it. The slight turn of the body that is caused by placing one foot or the other in an advanced position makes itself felt from the shoulders to the arms and so on down to the head of the club. The movements of every part of the body are so closely inter-related during the drive that it is necessary, in order to piece together the whole action, to begin, literally, at the ground and to proceed from there upward.

It would be futile to attempt to state in feet and inches just how far the player should stand from the ball. Her height, the length of her arms, and the way in which she holds herself, whether erect or stooping, are all factors in determining where she should stand. By drawing too near the ball the player cramps her arms, loses distance by the shortening of her swing, and runs the risk of overreaching and thereby hitting the ball with the heel of her club. The dangers of standing too far away are loss of control of the swing and the tendency to hit with the toe of the club. A medium position must be taken, far enough away to insure free action of the arms and a wide swing, but not so far that the player will have the sensation of reaching out or straining for the ball. It is not possible to drive a long ball when the player stands in too closely, and, therefore, if a player is convinced that she is not getting the distance she should, considering the amount of strength she is using, she should first take her usual position on the tee, then wriggle her feet back an inch or two and try making her shot from that position. By moving back only an inch at a time, the player can gradually accustom herself to the change without upsetting her regular stroke, and she will find that her ball is gaining in length. She must stop this backward movement, however, the moment she feels that she is losing her sureness and her control of the club.

Because of the fact that, even when one uses the most closely interlocked grip, the left hand is nearer the body than the right and the left arm is consequently a little slack, it is not wise to stand so that the feet are exactly square with the ball. The expression "standing square with the ball" means that a line drawn from toe to toe would be parallel to the line in which the ball is expected to travel. In order to take up this slack and to make the arms draw evenly so that the right shall not dominate the left more than is natural, the left foot is drawn back a few inches. This slightly open stance has also the advantage of affording the body a firmer base on which to move. In a greatly modified degree it may be likened to the position of the feet of a person who is standing in a moving train. Those of us who are so unfortunate as to have had experience standing in trolley cars or subway trains know that to stand squarely facing the front of the car or the side windows is to court disaster. The expert "strap hanger" stands with her feet in a diagonal position so that she is braced against a jolt from any direction. So it is, in a lesser degree, that, by withdrawing the left foot slightly, a firmer base is established from which to make the concerted movements of the drive.

Miss Marion Hollins Good foot work in finish.

It is not to be supposed, however, that a player can safely stand with her left foot drawn back to any great extent. Ten or twelve inches would be far too much for the average person and would immediately cause her to slice, unless she had some personal peculiarity of swing that counteracted the effect of this decidedly open stance. It is to avoid the tendency to pull in the club that may follow even a slightly open stance that James Sherlock, "The New Book of Golf," page 194, in speaking of his own game, says: "Another important point that I have alluded to is what I have called hitting away from you. This is not easy to explain on paper but easy enough on the golf course. . . . Now if you keep well in your mind the idea of hitting away, you will be pretty certain to avoid the hitting towards; and it is this which is so important in driving.

"I am not afraid that many will succeed in actually hitting past the ball, because of the stance and the position of the ball, but the effort to do so will invariably result in the ball taking a straight flight.

"If this idea were more generally understood and acted upon, chronic slicing would be much less common than it is."

This is a practical hint that may help some player who is slicing even when she is standing normally. It is not my purpose to be led away to the subject of slicing in general, however, as I am reserving that for another place. These remarks of Sherlock's seemed to have pertinence here because it is very natural to suppose that, even when the stance is only slightly open and the ball a very little in advance of the player, there may be a slight inclination to draw the club in across the ball's intended line of flight. If a player should have this feeling, she may do well to keep in mind Sherlock's suggestions about hitting away. There can be no legitimate reason for adopting the position in which the left foot takes the lead and the right foot is placed in the background when the player wishes to make a straight drive. That is, of course, the position for the intentional pull, but for straight driving there is nothing at all to recommend it.

Having now arranged her feet to her liking, the player must see to it that she stands on them properly. By that I mean that the weight must be evenly distributed between the two feet and that she must not tilt forward on her toes. If it is impossible to reach the ball comfortably without throwing the weight upon the toes, the player must move nearer the ball and settle back a little on her heels, or at least be sure that the entire length of both her feet is firmly and flatly on the ground. This is another factor towards maintaining a steady base from which to begin the operation of the drive.