Fig. 20. - A Cupp'Ed Ball.

A heavy-lying ball is frequently got on inland courses - that is, a ball lying more or less imbedded in grass or rushes. For such a lie a brassy or a cleek should be used, unless the ball be actually buried, when an iron may bo the best club. A driving-mashie is excellent for all heavy lies, as the small head minimises the loss of force through contact with surrounding obstructions, and its deep face lessens the danger which always exists of cutting in below the ball, and causing it to jump up into the air instead of being driven forward. The secret of playing such strokes well lies in accurate hitting and playing with jerk. The reason for the jerk in these cases is that if the usual sweeping swing be taken the club will catch in the grass or rushes before it reaches the ball, and a great part of the force will be taken out of the stroke.

In a preceding part of this chapter I (The Game Of Golf) have cautioned golfers against jerking their swing, and this must not be confounded with, the jerk necessary in playing cupped and heavy-lying balls. In the former case it is the swing that is jerked, owing to excessive force being put into it suddenly at any particular stage: in the latter the swing is smooth and easy - it is the ball that is jerked out of its lie.

On links where the ground is uneven and hummocky, a ball will often be found lying at the back of one of these little hillocks. It is hardly necessary to point out that it the ball is driven into the hillock all the force will be taken out of the stroke, and the ball will bound into the air and travel a comparatively short distance thereafter. It is therefore necessary to use a club with sufficient loft to make the ball clear the obstruction. A sliced ball will rise more quickly, but of course its flight will be deflected off the straight course, and due allowance must be made therefor.

A hanging ball - that is, a ball lying on ground sloping downward in the direction of play - frequently occurs, and it is surprising how few golfers are able to play it with any degree of success. A brassy or spoon is the appropriate club, the desideratum being loft on the face. The mistake usually made is trying to do something that will aid in lofting the ball. Such an effort is entirely unnecessary, and is the very thing that ruins nine-tenths of these strokes. All that is required is to play the ball as if it lay on a level surface, and leave the rest to the loft on the face of the club. Provided a club be used with sufficient loft, there is no fear of the stroke failing. It is possible, too, to get the ball lying on the side of a hillock, so that the ball is in one case below the spot where the player stands, and in the other case above it. In such cases it is necessary that extreme care be taken to make absolutely sure of hitting the ball truly. In the first case, however truly the ball is struck, there is a tendency, from the position in which the player must stand, to slice; and in the other case there is, for a similar reason, a tendency to pull. Sometimes a perfectly straight shot will be got away, but it is well to allow for slicing or pulling.

It occasionally happens on greens where there are walls or fences, that the ball may be found lying up against them, so close that there is danger of hitting them. It is to be kept in view that the ball will travel in the direction in which the club-face looks, or at right angles to the line of the face; and hence, if the nose of the club be held in so that the face looks slightly away from the wall or fence, it may be possible to drive the ball in that direction. A good deal of nerve is required to play such a stroke successfully, as the proximity of the obstacle is always suggestive of prospective damage to the club. When the ball lies close to a wall or fence, and it is desired to play it out at right angles, it may sometimes be found impossible to swing the club even sufficiently to enable a wrist stroke to be taken. In such cases I have seen a stroke cleverly made by the player facing the wall, straddling his legs, and playing the ball through between them, stooping down and grasping the club very short. It is a stroke quite worth trying in a tight position.

The causes of slicing, heeling, pulling, and hooking have been explained before. As will hereafter be pointed out, experienced golfers occasionally heel and pull intentionally when they consider themselves justified in running risks to obtain a probable advantage. To pull, the club must be swung with a scythe-like movement, or the left arm pulled round. It is not usual, and not a good practice, either to slice or hook intentionally, because the shot will probably be a very wild one. The difficulty, however, with which most players have to contend is not how to put on heel or pull, but how to cure the persistent habit of getting a spin on the ball unconsciously. Many golfers are hardly able to play a straight shot, and instead of being an aid, as it may occasionally be, it becomes a serious drawback. As already stated, the cultivation of a proper swing and follow-through is the cure, and the only real one, for all these faults. I have heard it recommended to stand nearer the ball for pulling and hooking and further away for slicing and heeling, and the opposite advice in each case has also been given; but the faults cannot be cured by either of these devices. They, in fact, only increase the evil; and though there may be an apparent improvement at the time, the old fault will reappear, possibly in an aggravated form, until the defective swing, which is the root of the trouble, has been displaced by one modelled on the orthodox lines.

Topping and sclaffing are other evils that dog the golfer, the first consisting in not getting down sufficiently to the ball, and the other in getting down too far. These faults generally arise from taking the eye off the ball. Keep the eye on the ball seems a simple enough precept to act up to, but there is an irresistible desire in the untutored golfer to allow his eye to wander off the ball before it is struck, and to glance in the direction of its intended flight. The only remedy is to rigidly obey the rule, and not permit the eye to leave the ball until it is struck. Topping and sclaffing may also be the result of playing with too short or too long a club. A golfer, when he is aware that the fault may arise from this cause, should have no difficulty in determining whether in his case it is due to the club or not.

Golfers cannot be too carefully cautioned against pressing; it is an insidious habit that creeps into the game in playing against a stronger opponent. Pressing is very often supposed to consist of putting extra force into a stroke; but, to my mind, this definition is not strictly accurate, as I do not think that the mere fact of using extra force will spoil any stroke, provided the force be put in gradually. The evil of pressing consists in the force being exerted suddenly and with visible effort in the course of the downward swing. I do not in any, unless exceptional cases - as, for instance, when a very long stroke is absolutely necessary - recommend putting extra force into a stroke. The more easily the club is swung, the less likelihood is there of mistakes being made. At the same time, if a ball is to be driven any distance it must be hit, and hit hard, and the golfer who merely lets the club descend on the ball without putting pith into the swing will never drive a long ball, and will never rank as a class player: but, beyond the amount of force usually employed, he should under ordinary circumstances never go. Unless required by the character of the lie of the ball, he should not play with jerk. As before explained, the jerk makes the swing more up and down, and is designed to slip the club-head in between the ball and some obstruction behind it: this is not applicable in the case of a clear-lying ball. Where it is at all possible, the ball should be swept away, as explained in the chapter describing the swing.

Fig. 27. - A Good Drive.

Fig. 28. - A Bad Drive.

With a bad-lying ball it is a common error, more especially among inexperienced players, to imagine that the difficulty is to be overcome by using brute force, and this force is exercised in pressing. A more fatal mistake cannot be made. Golf is not a game of force; it is a game of skill, and every stroke is more or less of a delicate nature, as are the implements employed in the play of it. Pressing disturbs the accuracy of aim - the all-important part, - and a miserable foozle is the result. Great accuracy is the essence of the successful negotiation of a difficult stroke, whether caused by a bad lie or otherwise, and to ensure this the swing must be easy. By using a short club, or taking a shorter grip, more command over it can be obtained, and the grip should be firmer with both hands to prevent its being turned by contact with an obstruction or with the ground. Putting on a little slice or cut is of great assistance in enabling the ball to get away; but, as before explained, allowance must be made for deflection in the direction of the drive.

A well hit drive should be almost all carry: the ball should not run any distance after it falls, and should go away low and rise gradually, as shown in Fig. 27. If it goes away high at first (Fig. 28), it is a pretty good sign that it has been undercut. Undercut and the remedy have been before explained.