The young golfer who has learned with some difficulty to play a moderately steady game is certain to experience relapses from time to time, and it is the object of the present chapter to point out the most fruitful sources of error in driving from the tee and through the green.

Faults To Be Avoided

When he is alternately hitting his ball on the top, and striking the ground several inches behind it, he will probably be told that he is pressing or taking his eye off the ball. But neither of these reasons is sufficient to explain consistent bad play.

The most frequent fault which assails all golfers, both good and bad, consists in standing too much in front of the ball. That is to say, the ball is placed opposite the right foot, instead of being very nearly opposite the left. The consequence is that the club comes down upon the top of the ball or behind it, as the case may be, instead of meeting it just as the head is on the rise. The effect on the swing itself is extremely detrimental, for not only does the player strike the ball at the wrong point of the circle, but he begins to chop down upon it instead of sweeping it away. Whenever, therefore, you find yourself hitting your ball on the top or else getting it very high in the air, examine carefully your position, and you will generally find that your ball is too near your right foot.

Another fault which manifests itself in various ways consists in falling back at the end of the stroke. The arms and shoulders, instead of following the line of the ball's flight, are drawn quickly round to the left, and the consequence is a terrific pull; or else the ball is struck on the toe of the club and flies off to the right. The effect in both cases is disastrous, and the two shots are so entirely unlike that the novice does not recognize the fact that both are caused by the same error in style. Very often, too, the driving is loose and fails in the matter of distance because the player is not standing up squarely to the ball. His hands are getting too low, the angle between the arms and the shaft is too pronounced, and the sole of the club is not placed evenly on the ground when the ball is addressed. Very often, too, the club is being held too loosely, the thumbs are straying down the shaft instead of across it, and the club is allowed to turn as it strikes the ball.

All these errors, however slight, will have a bad effect upon the flight of the ball. So that generally speaking, when a player is driving poorly, he ought to brace himself up, take a firmer grip of his club, stand more erect, and be sure that he is soling the head of his club squarely behind the ball, so that both toe and heel are on the ground, and the surface of the face makes a right angle with the surface of the earth. In attempting this cure, he may perhaps go to the other extreme and become almost rigid. But that is the better fault of the two. It is only when a man is at the very top of his game, when eye and hand are in exact accord, that he can with safety loosen every muscle in his body in order to get every ounce of weight into the swing. When a player gets to this state he is a long way beyond advice. He can hold his club with the very lightest grip, he can swing rapidly and with all his might, and it does not matter very much whether he looks at the ball or not.

This is a state of things, however, which rarely comes to any one except the first-class player. The average golfer must be content for the most part to purchase accuracy at the expense of a little flexibility.

After all, driving is mainly a matter of following the stroke through with the arms and shoulders, and for that reason the half swing should be continually practiced, because there a man is bound to follow through in order to get any distance at all; so that when you are driving short or slicing badly, go back to a half swing for an hour or two and learn to get the arms and shoulders well away after the ball.

The Refinements Of Driving

The rules for driving off the tee and brassey play are rather similar to the rules for the fourth hand at whist. All you have got to do is to hit the ball. But there are a few refinements which may be brought into play with a little practice.