In the same article we read, "The club head should not come back so close to the ground: it should come back more abruptly, so that the player can hit slightly down on the ball (which should bite the turf a little)."

This admonition of Duncan's to "Hit slightly down on the ball" would result, if followed, in "drag" or "back-spin." Many players advocate "drag" in putting on the theory that a ball with back-spin keeps to the ground closely and is not apt to rim the cup. That is, in general, the explanation they give for advocating this style of putting. Statements to that effect are so numerous and so familiar that it is hardly necessary to quote them. They all have this fundamental mistake: a ball with back-spin has a tendency to rise and it is the ball with "top" that clings to the ground. If one thinks for an instant of a drive that has been under-cut and remembers how the ball rose in the air and abruptly fell again, then recollects how a "topped" drive resulted in the ball's jumping from tee to earth, there to roll a little way to its inglorious end, one will readily comprehend that the inclination of the ball on the green is the same as that of the ball in the air.

"Drag" is obtained either by hitting down on the ball, or hitting it below its center, or by using a putter that is heavily weighted on its lower edge. "Top" is obtained by hitting the ball when the club is on the rise, or by striking the ball at a point above its center. A ball played with "drag" will be under the influence of two contending forces, the back-spin that has been placed upon it and its own natural forward roll. As a result of this conflict of forces the ball "skids" along until the back-spin is beaten and it may then proceed in its regular way.

On account of the friction of the grass a ball cannot hold its backward rotation long, so, unless the put is a very short one, the ball is rolling forward by the time it reaches the hole. It is seldom, therefore, that when it arrives at the hole, a ball really has the back-spin that is going *to insure its dropping in neatly. The question that arises is, why try to put with "drag" if the "drag" won't last all the way to the hole? Or, in case of a short put, why resort to an unnatural method when the natural one should be perfectly easy?

I believe that, as a matter of fact, the reason so many players, especially men, favor imparting back-spin to the ball is psychological. All through the fairway they have been making shots that required a certain amount of physical force. On arriving at the green the problem is changed, roughly speaking, from that of distance to aim, from strength to delicacy of touch. The mental readjustment is difficult. The put played with "drag" may be hit much harder than one without it, consequently the player favors this method because, unconsciously, he has more faith in himself while delivering a fairly strong blow than he has while making a gentle swing at the ball. As having confidence in oneself is the greatest possible help in putting, gaining this advantage may be sufficient excuse for advocating the put with back-spin. Except on some such ground, however, there is no reason why it should be considered superior to a regularly rolled up put.

I would certainly not advise women players to cultivate this way of getting the ball to the hole. A firmly hit blow, with the center of the club face meeting the portion of the ball that is farthest from the hole, and a clean follow-through, is the safest and sanest method of putting. It is far better for a player to master this simple and natural stroke so that it is completely at her command than to be led away by the factitious advantages of backward rotation. At best, the putting stroke is difficult to perfect in spite of its apparent simplicity. Possibly in its very simplicity lies the explanation of why it is not easy to accomplish. To aim straight, to hit the ball with the center of the face of the club, to carry the club head in the line from hole to ball as far as possible, to use the proper amount of force - there is nothing complicated about any of these acts; yet consistently. to make what might be called thoroughly harmonious puts requires an infinite amount of patience and practice.