Long driving has so many fascinations, especially for the beginner, that any discovery of a royal road toward acquiring the habit would be exceedingly welcome. Unfortunately there is no possibility of any such discovery. Long driving is simply another expression for clean hitting. No man who does not swing true will ever be a long driver. He may occasionally by some accident get the whole weight of his body into the stroke and hit the ball a very great distance, but that will not constitute him a long driver. It is the average that tells, and not the one good drive out of ten when the others are all bad. And a true swing can only be acquired by steady practice. At first perhaps only the arms can be brought into play. But by degrees the shoulders and the hips will become more supple. Examine the accompanying illustrations carefully, and you will see that at the top of the swing every ounce in the body almost rests on the right leg. As the club comes down, the balance is restored and the weight is almost evenly distributed as the ball is struck; but it is moving forward all the time until at the finish of the stroke it rests entirely on the left leg. And yet, although the weight changes, the body does not appear to alter its position to any great extent; the shoulders revolve upon an almost immovable axis. There must be no forward movement of the whole person as there is in baseball or cricket. The weight certainly moves, and that is where the strength of the stroke comes from, but it must be transferred almost invisibly, and the momentum must be applied to the ball chiefly through the medium of the right shoulder and forearm.

Now, all this may sound very vague, but if you study the illustrations you will understand partly what is meant, and if you will go out and watch a good driver at work you will understand a great deal better. In fact, if you want to succeed in the game you should never miss an opportunity of seeing a really first-class player exercising his art; it will do you far more good than a thousand verbal lessons.

And then, when you have learned to use your shoulders in the right way, and find that you are really getting the weight of your body into the stroke, you may be able to employ your wrists. There is a certain snap of the wrists which cannot possibly be described, but which nevertheless is the secret of all very long driving. In order to bring it into use, it is necessary that the muscles of the arm should not be taut; and that is equivalent to saying that the player must be at the very top of his game. Consequently for all practical purposes the wrists may be forgotten in driving. When the time comes to use them, the player will be beyond the reach of advice.