In order to choose most wisely, think first of all about the weight. It would not be an exaggeration to say that two-thirds of the men who are attempting to play golf in America at the present time are using clubs which are far too heavy for the purpose. I constantly hear it said when any remonstrance is offered: "With my style I need a heavy club," or, "I am too weak to use a light club," or, " With my strength I really ought to be able to play with a heavy driver," and so on in a similar strain. If you really do find that you can do better with a heavily weighted club, you should at once change your style of play; there must be something radically wrong with it. For there is a universal consensus of opinion among good players upon the subject. Some, of course, use heavier clubs than others; it stands to reason that a man with very powerful arms and wrists can swing a club which a weaker player could not use at all. But even allowing for differences in individual strength, a careful examination of the drivers of all the good players in the world would show a surprisingly small variety in weight.

There is an easily understood reason why the beginner is naturally inclined to select a heavy club. He has not yet learned to sweep the ball away instead of hitting it as he would with a sledge hammer; and obviously if the ball is struck at as if it were a resisting object the heavier the club is the better will be the result. But this is not golf. It is possible, of course, to hit an occasional long ball with the sledge hammer stroke, but length must be sacrificed to accuracy, and the player who adopts this method generally goes from bad to worse, until he ruins his chances of ever becoming even a fairly good performer. The best players are also addicted at times to this hitting or chopping tendency, very often for the simple reason that they have unconsciously been using heavier clubs than they are accustomed to. Whenever this is the case it is not at all a bad plan to extract a little lead. But with the beginner or the young player who is not yet certain of his style, a more radical change is generally necessary. If he finds that he cannot get the necessary distance out of a driver of medium weight, it is almost certain that he is not sweeping the ball away at all; he is checking his swing as the club comes down instead of letting it follow through. In such a case there is nothing for him to do but to go back to first principles.

Having stated the reasons for using a light club, it is necessary to say exactly what the term implies. Advice of this sort is seldom of much service unless it is accompanied by figures. And yet the actual weight of a driver varies so much according to the balance and lie, that it is almost dangerous to be too definite. Still, a general estimate may be of some assistance. The weight of a driver head should not exceed seven ounces; the shaft should be no heavier; add the two and you will get a fairly good idea of what the whole club should weigh when a fraction of an ounce has been added for the glue and string used in splicing the two together.

I am perfectly certain that if beginners would observe these limits very carefully, they would not only get better results, but they would not risk their entire future prospects by ruining their styles at the outset. One cannot insist too strongly upon this point because, for the reasons already given, it is exceedingly hard to impress upon the young player the danger of using a heavy club. Even the more experienced golfer is apt to forget the difference that a fraction of an ounce will make in a long match of thirty-six holes. Just as in carrying a gun, an ounce or two is a matter of no importance when the morning is young, but the difference tells enormously at the end of a long day; so with a driver that is a shade too heavy, the first eighteen tee shots may be struck perfectly clean, but the last nine in the afternoon are apt to be very erratic.

And especially if a player does not possess great strength of wrist, should he be warned against the mistaken idea that extra weight in the club will make up for lack of muscle behind it. If the strong man should use a light club it is far more necessary that the weaker player should avoid a superabundance of lead. The main object is to hit the ball clean, and the distance will take care of itself. No one can be sure of a clean, steady stroke if he is using a club which is too heavy for him.