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This section is from the book "Present-Day Golf", by George Duncan, Bernard Darwin. Also available from Amazon: Present-Day Golf.

The Methods Of Champions. Power In The Long Game And How They Get It. Continued

I have said that Vardon's right hand has a lot to do in the making of his swing. As a matter of fact, whether a man has an upright swing or a flat one entirely depends upon whether he is a two-handed swinger, or a left-handed swinger such as J. H. Taylor. In Taylor and Vardon we have the two greatest exponents of the two methods. Taylor works the club to the top of his swing, which is flat, with a gradual turning of the left wrist, so that at the top of the swing this wrist is under the club-handle. His greatest trouble is to keep the right hand out of his up-swing. Vardon is the upright swinger, who slings the club to the top with both hands employed. The movement that I call the 'sling ' comes from a sudden bending of both wrists, which takes place when the club-head has travelled six inches from the ball. Mitchell, Braid, and Ray are all two-handed swingers. Ray adopts Vardon's method of letting the hands lead the way for a few inches, and then comes the sudden wristwork which actually carries the club to the top. Braid and Mitchell make the club-head lead, so that their swings are flatter, and the wristwork to the top is more gradual. Moreover, they have a way of pivoting suddenly with the body, and this helps the club to the top.

The length of swing varies in the case of these different players, and in a very interesting way. The swings of Vardon, Ray, and Mitchell all go beyond the horizontal, while those of Braid and Taylor do not. On account of its flatness Taylor's swing never could have been a long one, such as Vardon had a number of years ago. Personally I am rather in favour of the shorter swing, and to-day there is a general tendency towards a shortening of the swing. If one looks at the photographs taken fifteen years ago and compares them with recent ones, it becomes clear that swings have been cut down considerably. And a good thing too, as nobody can hit the ball any further with a swing that goes beyond the horizontal than it can be hit with a shorter swing. Only the other day Mitchell was telling me that he had ricked a shoulder muscle, which made his swing for the time being quite perceptibly shorter, and he described in very forcible language the length of the shots he was hitting. 'What hopes would he have had with the gutty? 'we often hear people say when some one with a swing such as is commonly called a half swing knocks a modern ball two hundred and thirty yards. As a matter of fact one of the longest drivers I ever saw with a gutty was a man whose swing was well short of the horizontal. I never saw the long-hitting Douglas Rolland, but I have been told that he had a 'full'swing-that is, one that went beyond the horizontal. There may be this to be said in favour of the long swing. There is not the same tendency to hit straight away as soon as ever the player has arrived at the top. He is not yet in a position to deliver a blow, since his wrists are relaxed and his hands open. There may thus be less danger of his hitting too soon. On the other hand, the player in this style has to readjust his grip before the blow can be delivered, and this is not an easy matter by any means.