1. That the hands should be held as near together as possible.

2. That the knuckles of the left hand should be turned perceptibly upward, though not to an extent that will cramp the player.

3. That the handle of the club shall not be too deeply embedded in the palm of the right hand, nor held with that hand in too cast-iron a grip. The left thumb may do what it pleases, but the right thumb will be better round the handle of the club than straight along it.

With the first two I fully concur, but from the last, with all due deference, I differ slightly. I would encourage my beginner to grip firmly and evenly with both hands, and I would have her keep both her thumbs down the shaft, not round it. This may be merely a personal preference on my part, as I began golf in that way myself, but I do think that a great deal more control can be obtained over the club with the thumbs down, and it is certainly easier to drive straight with them down than round. A little length may be lost, but in the first stages of golf length is not the most important consideration. When growing power demands every facility of outlet, the change of the position of the thumbs from down the shaft to round it can be effected with very little trouble. The hands should be held so closely together that the middle joint of the first finger of the left hand should rest in the angle where the little finger of the right hand joins the palm.

The second of Mr. Darwin's provisoes is a very important one. The beginner is very apt to grasp the club in the fashion which comes most naturally, namely, with the left-hand knuckles right under the shaft. It is, however, impossible to swing correctly with this grip, and the upward turn of the left knuckles is one of the chief features of a correct grip. One other remark - that it will probably make matters easier not to grasp the club at the extreme end of the handle - and then we come to the swing.

Of swings there are an endless variety. Nevertheless, in the essentials there are points of resemblance between them all. For instance, with nearly all good players the ball is swept away with the impact of the face of the club, rather than hit away. Then the pace with which the backward swing is taken is always appreciably less than that with which the down swing is brought forward. The latter is gradually accelerated as the club nears the ball. In connection with this the question of correct timing comes in, but we will return to that subject later on. Thirdly, the head is kept still, while the body turns on its axis, the axis, roughly speaking, being the player's waist line. It is very necessary that these points should be borne in mind, as they form the basis of all good golf. In addition the beginner must remember, that in the grip with thumbs down-.

Grip for driving: thumbs round.

wrong grip: as sometimes used by beginners.

back VIEW of grip: showing how CLOSE HANDS SHOULD BE TOGETHER.

[To face p. 274.

process of the up swing the face of the club should be gradually turned away from the ball. How and why this should be done is very minutely and carefully explained in the chapter on 'The Principles of the Swing' by Mr. Darwin. It will be found that the turning away of the face of the club will necessitate the turning away of the hands and wrists. There should be nothing rigid about the swing, nothing cramped, but, on the other hand, the club should never be allowed to get out of control. Overswinging is a fault to which women are particularly prone. Among the common phenomena of the links are players whose swings are so exaggerated that they look almost like acrobats in a circus. The club head seems to be trying its utmost to reach the ground behind their backs. The marvel is how they ever get it to come up again. The result of this is that all energy is spent by the time the head draws near to the ball. Instead of being able to put on extra speed for the last few inches, as should be done, the player merely flops against the ball, and then is surprised because it does not travel any considerable distance.

The swing should be practised incessantly. The general opinion seems to be that at first the player should not be allowed to swing at a ball. A blade of grass or a daisy serves the purpose equally well, in fact better, as it is more important to get the motions of the swing correct than to find out how far the player can hit the ball. Swing first with the left hand in the style recommended in the earlier chapters of this book, afterwards with both hands. But swing, swing, and swing again until the movement becomes an absolutely natural one. The arms should not be kept too close in to the body, but neither should they be let fly too far out. A happy medium may be cultivated by allowing the left elbow to brush lightly against the chest as the club goes up. The head must be kept rigidly still, and the eye fixed on the back of the ball. The recent attempt of Toogood to prove this latter rule unnecessary has ended in a dismal fiasco, and the doctrine will be more firmly established in the future than ever.

The course of the down swing is precisely that of the up swing in a reverse direction. It is a well-established golfing theory that a correct up swing will produce a correct down swing. The chief point to emphasise is that the down swing must not be forced; it should follow in a natural sequence from the up swing. Above all, the player must not try to help it forward by putting her body into the stroke; she must just let the arms come down and through instinctively and naturally. The crucial point of the swing is the added impetus given to the club immediately before it comes into contact with the ball. Here comes in what is known in golfing language as correct timing. Miss Leitch states that this spurt, as she calls it, should commence when the club is about eighteen inches from the ball. It is difficult to dogmatise about the exact distance, and only experience will teach the player to know instinctively when to apply the extra force. The spurt must not be added in such a laboured fashion as to cause a recognisable jerk or jump at the ball. The smoothness of the swing is of tremendous importance. After the ball is hit the arms must follow on in the direction of its flight, but again we must repeat the caution, that the movement must be the natural outcome of the swing - not a forced push.