Chapter 1 - The Method Its Objective

Positive teaching Fundamentals Shaping the swing Delivery of the club head Every ball is driven forward Dangerous clichs What is the point of curing a slice by planting the germ of a hook which erupts within the next few days? The wretched golfer, overjoyed at losing his slice, is soon in despair again as he struggles on the lefthand side of the course instead of the right. Solving one problem by creating another simply adds to the pupil's confusion and depresses his morale. It is NEGATIVE teaching which can never lead to lasting progress. The method of instruction to be outlined in this book is not built upon a vague series of hit-or-miss experiments one or other of which may give temporary tidiness to a pupil's game. My aim is a POSITIVE one to build a sound and lasting technique in which all the fundamentals which go to make consistent stroke-making are fitted together into one cohesive swing unit. What precisely are these fundamental parts of the movement ? How are they applied to the precise task of controlling and building up power in the club head? That you will discover in the course of this book. In settling upon them I drew on a close and lengthy study of the strongest features of the swings of outstanding players over the years such as Abe Mitchell before the Second World War and Ben Hogan since. Let me make it clear that I am not concerned with individual characteristics and mannerisms, only with common factors some of which were, and are, more distinctly demonstrated by one player than by another. I am not prepared to waste time on gimmicks or smart tricks, and I will admit at once that I know of no short cut to success at this fascinating game. It demands hard work and practice before one even begins to master the precise art of delivering the centre of the club-face firmly and squarely to the back of the ball and on through along the line of flight.

There is positively no secret tip which can turn a mediocre player into a good one overnight. Yet there are players struggling vaguely along, pathetically looking out for this elixir of a new golfing life in the upper strata of the game. I have in mind a pupil who came into my school for the first and only time some two years ago. He really had no swing worth the description. He moved the club head sharply backwards and forwards in a series of wristy jerks the Crown Prince of Snatchers. I set him to work on the first and elementary stage which leads in due course to the shaping of a serviceable swing. I had quickly seen that this player lacked the ability to become good at the game, but I could have worked a definite improvement in him had he been prepared to listen to my first instructions. I never saw that pupil again though. And this is why. Meeting the person who had introduced him to me he said with unconcealed amazement, "Do you know, he treated me as if I were a beginner!'' I was genuinely sorry to lose him as a pupil, notwithstanding that I always have more work than I can fit in. My secretary is regularly working on my appointments book for weeks ahead and claims a constant headache as a result. But I could have given him a sound foundation and helped to build on that foundation a modest but none the less rewarding game. This player, however, quite obviously had a sadly inflated assessment of his own ability and potential. In this attitude of mind he came to me expecting to impress with what he already knew, requiring me to provide the subtle (or simple) tip which would shoot him straightaway into the single-figure handicap class. He flattered not only himself but me as well. I could work no sudden miracle. I had to treat him as the beginner that he was desperate to run before he could walk. In sharp contrast is the case of Ian Caldwell, 1961 English Amateur Champion who came to me at the beginning of i960 in an unhappy frame of mind about his game. I decided that his swing needed re-shaping on a major scale, and I set to work on him in exactly the same way as I had done with the pupil I have just referred to.

Caldwell, be it noted, was already a good and experienced player with a very fine international record behind him. Yet, in a sense, he was more humble than the other man, the raw novice. He did not expect a golden tip which would solve his problems overnight. And he was not disconcerted when I warned him that what I proposed to do would take some time but would bring about some marked degree of improvement within a few months. So it proved. Four months later, in the Spring of i960 he reached the semi-final of the English Amateur Championship, where he went down to Douglas Sewell. We kept at work and the following year he won the English title. Even then I had not completed my task. I was certain that Caldwell could be a still better player. Yet, for all his golfing gifts, he had his own complex problems of approach to master, and the measure of his ultimate progress must depend on the extent to which he overcomes these problems. However, the headway he made under me following a long period of uncertainty was most revealing. He has put his swing into my hands and shown a readiness to work over a period, while the player at the other end of the scale of golfing class had expected me to produce a gimmick which would turn him into a golfer overnight. That sort of miracle simply cannot be worked. Even a noted professional tournament player like the South African Harold Henning was prepared to accept my blunt assessment of his swing. At the suggestion of a friend he came to my school a few years ago and I told him quite frankly that he had a terrible loop in his backswing which kept his right shoulder riding high as he came into the ball. He took my advice and when I went up to Royal Birkdale to observe the practice prior to the 1961 Open Championship I saw at once that Henning had smoothed out his backswing and so given himself a very fine club-line through the ball. If he can regain his old remarkable putting touch he must have a wonderful run of success. Henning at Birkdale remembered how I had advised him and came up and thanked me for what I had told him two or three years earlier when we had last met. This book offers no trick transition from rabbit to tiger class. Its theme will be the gradual shaping of a sound, smooth swing which, once acquired, will stand up under pressure if given the chance.

Such is my objective with every pupil who comes to me. I set out to implant in his mind a picture of the shape he needs to acquire, taking him along, stage by stage, until he can sense the shape developing. Let it be understood that I teach a definite method based on years of experience and proven principles. Various people have their own particular problems arising from characteristics of bone-structure and general build. I note these and prescribe accordingly. But the fundamentals laid down in this book will apply in the main to anyone capable of swinging a golf club through an arc. The shaping of the swing is all-important. Once you have it keep it. Don't bend it out of shape by tinkering. This is where many a better than average performer, in fact many a very good one, leads himself still further off the rails when his game goes temporarily sour on hemi What happens? He looks for a remedy all along the route of the movement everywhere but where he should look. Soon he is pushing the shape out of the swing. Professionals, assistant professionals and leading amateurs, after striving in vain to recapture form in this groping fashion, come to my school for advice. It is at once clear to me that they have not given themselves a real chance. They have failed to dwell, as they should have done, on the matter of timing and consolidating the DELIVERY OF THE CLUB HEAD TO THE BALL. Naturals like Dai Rees, Christy O'Connor and Douglas Sewell do not tinker with their movement. When their game shows signs of sagging they give their attention to the delivery. Convincing proof that this is the way in which the more or less mature player must approach the problem of temporary loss of form is provided by an experience of my old neighbour Archie Compston, one of the truly great golfers of the pre-1939 era, a personality with an extensive knowledge of the game. Archie confessed that he went so stale towards the end of a trip to America that, making his way through the crowd on to the first tee at the start of a match against the celebrated American, Macdonald Smith, he didn't know whether he would hit the ball or miss it. He decided then and there to devote all his attention to "delivering a firm wallop through the ball and let the rest take care of itself". It did. He hit the stick three times in the round and trimmed Mac. Smith.

Compston, you see, kept faith in the shape of his swing, a shape which had matured with years of training and experience. "Watch the delivery" was his answer to the challenge. You will be introduced in this book to terms you may not have heard before, such as the "apex" of the swing (which more clearly than anything else tells me a golfer's class), "upper-arm-leverage" (Ben Hogan is a wonderful exponent of this feature which I have believed in and taught for years). And you will be warned to take no heed of dangerous clichs like, "Make sure the wrists are fully cocked at the top of the swing", "Take the club head back on the inside", "Keep the club head close to the ground on the backswing." There are inherent dangers in these wellmeant theories. But more of this in due course. There is just one more point I want to press home at this juncture. The whole of my teaching is founded on the fact that every well-struck ball from the full tee-shot down to the approach putt is DRIVEN FORWARD. Let me repeat the operative word DRIVEN not flicked or slapped which is the manner of striking of ninety-nine per cent of golfers. You do not, or you should not, flick that simple approach shot from, say, one hundred yards out. You drive it forward. Driving the ball forward you blend power with control, keeping the club-face on the ball along the line for that vital fraction of time which ensures firm, accurate shot-making. If you are already a good player you will notice in dry weather that a large splodge of paint becomes imprinted on the face of the lofted iron club after a firmly struck full shot. Now take a ball and place it against the face of the same marked club. The area of contact is only a fraction the size of the splodge of paint. The splodge got on to the club-face because the ball, in being driven, had been spread across the metal by the speed and force of impact. It needs little imagination or knowledge of ballistics to realize that this ball had a better chance of holding its course and biting the green than a ball which had more quickly parted company with the club-face. The method I am about to expound is the master-key to good golf, the best golf YOU are capable of playing, which is the golf you would like to play.

It is the master-key to all the doors in the labyrinth in which so many desperately keen but frustrated players grope and stumble not knowing where to turn. Some pass easily over one threshold and the next, and the one after that until they find further progress checked. This method which I teach has proved itself many times. I am convinced that if you read this book as it is meant to be read those doors which have hitherto been closed will begin to swing open. Chapter 2 - The Grip Hands must work as one unit Watch the thumbs And the right forefinger Parallel "Vs" The coin test Tendencies to avoid The role of the hands in the operation of sending the ball to its objective is a subject of endless argument. The importance I attach to the hands may be gauged in the first place by what I have to say about the grip. I want to deal with it at some length and in considerable detail. My belief is that while the beginner needs to give a lot of attention to applying his hands in the manner in which they can retain control and impart feel of the club head and obtain the maximum power from the shaft, the more experienced and advanced player, having developed strong and well-trained hands, more naturally gets the hands fitting into the swing unit as a whole without always realizing it. For one thing the top golfer has developed a sound and constant grip on the club which in itself PERMITS the hands to work properly. You may find the odd good player with a suspect grip, but you will seldom find a bad one with a good grip. At this point let me draw attention to Eric Brown, deservedly one of the outstanding professionals of the post-war era. Brown's achievements speak for themselves, and yet I often wonder how still greater they might have been if only he had schooled himself to grip the club in the more orthodox way. It is remarkable that a player of the Scottish professional's admirable golfing qualities he has a very fine movement into the ball should grip the club with the right hand so much under the shaft which sets the "V" of this hand at an angle to the "V" of the left hand. What I want to point out is that Brown has reached his position in the game IN SPITE of this flaw in his technique, not

BECAUSE of it. He has succeeded while so many others have failed. The grip is the first step we take towards the shaping of the swing. Slackness or movement on or away from the shaft at any stage of the swing can throw the whole operation out of line and completely wreck the timing. I go so far as to say that conscientious work on the grip until it is correct in all its details will contribute more than any other factor towards the building of a finely shaped swing. The feet, legs, back, shoulders all have their essential parts in the movement, and good hand-action in itself will not bring these members into play as some pundits would have us believe. But without the proper use of the hands these other physical members will not be able to function as smoothly as they must. Now the first and main function of the hands is their correct placement on the shaft of the club. Master the grip and the rest of the hand-action will present no serious problem. For visual proof of the priceless asset which a perfect grip confers, watch Christy O'Connor addressing the ball. The Irishman's great natural gifts include a splendid hand-action which, more than anything, provides that smooth unhurried rhythm which is such an outstanding feature of his play. If he can be faulted by the purists it is perhaps that his wrists at address are rather lower than most. Be that as it may, O'Connor's hands fit the club as if welded to the shaft, as if he were born with his hands correctly holding a golf club with the muscular response of the fingers naturally developing through the years until they appear to be part of the shaft itself. Like the majority of the top players, O'Connor uses the Vardon overlapping grip in which the little finger of the right hand is hooked on top of, or round, the forefinger of the left. This is designed to bring the hands into closer unity. It is the grip I generally teach unless the pupil has small hands and short fingers. In such cases the double-handed grip favored by Dai Rees, Norman Sutton and Americans Art Wall and Bob Rosberg is often more suitable. A third style is the interlocking grip used with marked success by the famous Whitcombe family and American Gene Sarazen. This is perhaps the most individualistic grip of the three, and I consider it should be learned and developed only under personal supervision. I do not propose to deal with it here.

All three of these grips, however, have one common factor when practiced by players of the class I have named. They are applied in such a way as to ensure that the hands work together as one. For remember, golf is a two-handed game. Learn to regard the left hand as the controller, then you need not fear the right. In the Vardon and double-handed grips the same principles apply except that in the double-handed version the little finger of the right hand does not overlap the left forefinger. Instead it is on the shaft, firm and CLOSE against the left forefinger. Now for the Vardon grip and how to apply it. With the club soled on the ground in front of you, apply the open left hand so that the shaft lies diagonally across the roots of the fingers, from the middle knuckle of the forefinger to a point just below the base of the little finger (Fig. i). Close the hand on the shaft with the thumb not (repeat NOT) on the top of the shaft but rather to the right, about one-quarter to one-third of the way round. Fig. 2 shows the position you should have formed at this stage. The next point is vitally important and it is stressed in the drawings. The top three fingers must remain close together and not spread.

The forefinger will be very slightly, no more than one-eighth of an inch, away from the next finger to help support the "short thumb" which I

am Figure 1

about

to

describe.

First act in taking up a sound secure grip. Note the angle of the shaft across the base of the fingers of the left hand.

Figure 2 Ideal left hand-grip. Last three fingers close together. The "Short" thumb. Figure 3 The "Long" thumb-Wrong. The thumb is stretched too far down the shaft. Result: A Ham-handed" grip and the "V" formed by thumb and forefinger cannot be closed. Another fault: Grip has been applied at the extreme end of shaft. DON'T stretch the left thumb down the shaft (Fig. 3). Draw it up as far as is comfortably possible so that the ball of the thumb, the fleshier part, is pressed with a gentle firmness on to the shaft (Fig. 2). Here we may encounter one of the problems of bone-structure referred to briefly in my opening chapter. Some people cannot draw the thumb

up the shaft sufficiently to attain the ideal position. They have only a limited degree of movement in the thumb joint. But while it is an advantage to have a thumb joint which allows the thumb to be drawn up the shaft it is by no means calamitous not to be able to do so. Just draw it up as close as possible. The real danger lies in stretching it down the shaft, which leads to a marked tendency to over-swinging and a consequent lack of control. With this placement of the left hand raise the club head from the ground with the left hand only. If the grip has been correctly applied the top end of the shaft will be balanced and kept secure by the pressure of the fleshy pad towards the heel of the hand against the top side of the shaft (Fig. 4).

Figure 4 Applying the left hand test for security in the grip.

This is absolutely essential to firm gripping of the club in the left hand. Test it by slowly opening the fingers. The club shaft should remain balanced in the hand. Return the sole of the club to the ground and restore the left hand-grip as outlined. Now to fit the right hand on to the shaft. Place the open palm of the right hand alongside the shaft, the palm being parallel with the face of the club in other words facing what would be the line of flight. Close the two middle fingers round the shaft with the upper of these two fingers drawn up closely against the forefinger of the left hand (Fig. 5). This leaves the right little finger to overlap the left forefinger. I

prefer the little finger to pass behind the left forefinger and slip into place in the crevice between the first two fingers of the left hand.

Figure 5 The grip almost completed. Note the placing of the fingers of the right hand. This placement makes for still closer unity of the two hands but many fine players (the late Pam Barton, a pupil of mine, was one) find it more suitable to lay the little finger on top of the left forefinger. We now come to the right thumb and forefinger and vitally important they are. The club-shaft, so far, is lying in the little fingers (not the palm, remember) of the right hand. Now it will also fall snugly and securely into the bent right forefinger, which, thus placed, automatically provides added power and firmness to the swing as well as helping to steady the club at the top of the backswing. The right thumb is tremendously important. Never, never have it pressed on top of the shaft, or, still worse, on the right side of the shaft. In either of these positions the wrist is locked and the thumb is restricting the swinging of the club head. This leads to a fatal recoil action at the top of the swing which at once throws the club head off line. Look for the player with the right thumb firmly on the shaft and there you have a snatcher. No, the correct position for the right thumb is

diagonally across the shaft with the tip of the thumb meeting, or almost meeting, the tip of the forefinger. Only the right portion of the ball of the thumb is actually against the shaft, thus permitting the free, controlled, but unimpeded movement of the club when swung. We have now built up a placement of the hands on the shaft in which the back of the left hand and the palm of the right are directly aligned facing the proposed line of flight (Fig. 6a).

The grip is mainly in the fingers, not ruggedly in the palms which would be sheer ham-fisted ness. It is through the fingers that the feel of the club head is transmitted and the main pressure will be applied by the top two or three fingers of the left hand and the two middle fingers of the right. The third finger of the left hand is vital in my opinion, but I will deal with that separately before we leave the grip. Vs closed ah fop and in alignment

Figure 6a The complete grip front view. Two views, back and front, of the completed grip. This way the two hands are correctly aligned and can work together as a single unit. Note placing of the right thumb.

Figure 6b The complete grip back view. The two "V"s formed by the thumbs and forefingers on the shaft will be parallel. This is of paramount importance a must if the two hands are to work in cohesion. The "V"s will be closed, and they should point to a spot between the chin and the right shoulder. Within these narrow limits you can work to find which is most suitable for you. It is advisable to have half an inch or an inch of the top of the shaft protruding above the heel of the left hand when the grip is completed (Fig. 6b). This is what the Americans call "choking" the shaft and it gives better balance and feel of the club head. We are almost there but not quite. To further weld the hands into one unit of control the right hand must rise as high as possible on the left.

It may not come easily or appear comfortable at first, but I urgently stress the need to work on this aspect of the grip. In this drawn up position the fleshy pad below the base of the right thumb will fit snugly over the left thumb, so closely that a coin placed by a friend between the pad below the right thumb and the upper side of the left thumb will not fall out the swing with the coin in place. If it slips out the hands have loosened like a pair of scissors opening. You must train yourself to avoid this "scissors" action at the top of the swing if you are to strike the ball consistently. (Fig- 7)To carry this test further take the club back to the top of When the hands part company in this way the base of the right thumb losing contact with the left the right hand makes an involuntary effort to restore contact with the left. The result is a breakdown in the timing, with the club head, as likely as not, thrown out.

How tightly should the club be gripped? You hold it firmly enough to maintain control, firmly enough not to stifle the feel of the club head which you must acquire, firmly enough not to freeze or lock the wrists. Figure 7 The final test of a secure grip throughout the swing. A coin placed between the base of each thumb in the completed grip should still be securely in place at the top of the swing.

You must fight against what may be a natural tendency to apply a vicelike grip. I have already described how the left thumb is pressed with a "gentle firmness" on the shaft. That is the degree of pressure to be applied to the grip as a whole a "gentle firmness" in contrast to a vicelike seizure of the shaft. Too tight at address invariably means too slack at impact. Now I return to the fingers of the left hand. You know now that the main pressure will be in the top two or three fingers of the left hand and the two middle fingers of the right. Henry Cotton continually stresses the importance of finger placement and finger pressure, and how right he is. My personal conviction is that many teachers and writers of text books on golf tend to over-emphasize the left little finger. The player is urged to concentrate on wrapping this left little finger round the shaft, but I prefer to put the emphasis on its next-door neighbor, the longer and stronger finger, for two reasons. In the case of the majority of people the little finger is very short and has limited strength because it is so rarely used in the various tasks which the hands perform in the general activities of life. Secondly, too much applied pressure with the little finger of the left hand has a stiffening effect on the wrist. Take a club and try it for yourself. Do you not detect a definite tightening in the wrist? Now switch your attention to the next finger, the third finger of the left hand which you will notice is quite a bit longer and undoubtedly stronger than the little one. When you wrap this third finger firmly on the shaft the little finger will still fulfill its rightful task of augmenting the security of the left handgrip, but you will feel (with the third finger dominant) that the wrist retains its suppleness and the power in the left hand-grip is concentrated more through the centre of the hand. If any finger is the master finger in the left hand-grip it is the third finger, more suited by nature for the job. I can cite the case of a scratch golfer to illustrate this fact. During the war this player had a mishap which deprived him of the use of the left little finger which remained permanently bent over. He thought this was the finish of golf for him. He could not even place the little finger on the shaft, but a year or two after the war he was persuaded to give it a try once more.

Almost at once he began to hit the ball well, resumed playing with a handicap of 3, was back to scratch in no time at all, and won his county championship and this with a useless little finger he could not even place on the club. His salvation was the third finger of which he had full use. Until your hands have been strengthened and trained you may find the correct form of gripping in all the detail which I have described strange and uncomfortable. With this may come a tendency towards a vice-like grip and an urge to spread the hands on the shaft. Resist both these temptations. Instead, strengthen your hands. Train them to the point where the correct grip will give you a feeling of confidence and security throughout the swing. Next I will describe how best to work towards that objective.

Chapter 3 - Strengthening The Hands

An all-important need Some exercises Strong hands, wrists and fingers are essential to the retention of a correct and constant grip in every detail and the development of the feeling that it is fitted snugly to the shaft. You may well ask why this emphasis on strength in view of my warning against a vice-like grip of the club. After all, a golf club only weighs between twelve and fifteen-and-a-half ounces. Here is the answer. For all its comparatively light weight the club head moves in a wide arc and works up to a high speed at impact. To keep complete control of it without restriction of the life and power of the swing it is necessary to develop a measure of strength which permits firm mastery without the fullest physical effort to apply it. The novice, learning to drive a car, starts by clenching the steering wheel. Smooth steering thereby is impossible and if he were to drive any distance the arms would soon be aching. Similarly with the novice boxer. Clenching his fists inside his gloves and holding his arms rigid he cannot throw a proper punch or react quickly enough to parry one from his opponent. His arms rapidly tire and feel as heavy as lead. It is this same muscular tension against which I am warning you as a golfer. A fierce grip on the shaft locks the wrists and deprives the movement of LIFE, but if the hands are not conditioned to their task the natural instinct is to grip fiercely.

You will read very little in this book about the part which the wrists play. You should not be conscious of, or worried about, your wrists at any stage of the swing. Any deliberate attempt to apply them destroys immediately the smooth progress of the club head which should be swung smoothly through its arc BY THE ARMS. The hands, correctly gripping the club in the manner which I have described in such detail, will permit the arms to do this. Now you will know why I deplore the clich "make sure the wrists are fully cocked at the top of the swing" used by people who, almost in the same breath, warn you, very properly, that there should be no conscious effort to cock the wrists. How, I ask you, can you, or anybody, "make sure the wrists are fully cocked at the top of the swing" without consciously making an effort to ensure this? You need not, must not, worry about the function of the wrists. Get the grip right and the wrists and elbows properly positioned at address, (we shall come to that when we deal with the stance) and the wrists will look after themselves. We have heard and read about " stiff-wristed" methods of American golfers. Utter rubbish! I declare that no American, from Hogan, Snead and Palmer down, would break 90 playing with stiff wrists. I feel that this stiff-wristed illusion arose from the very fact that the Americans make no great play of the wrist action in their game. They keep their wrists under control. Jackie Burke, one of their outstanding stylists, declared that the wrists are rarely, if ever, mentioned in American locker rooms or on the practice grounds. I repeat, the wrists will play their automatic part IF the arms and hands function correctly. Yet strength in the wrists is required if they are to take the strain which the swing movement imposes on them. Floppy wrists make golf a penance. See that they become strong and supple. Now for ways to train and strengthen the hands, fingers and wrists. I am not among the advocates of swinging a specially weighted club. Do all your club-swinging with a club of the swing-weight you will use out on the course. That to me makes common sense. A practiceswinging club with ounces of extra lead poured into the head simply provides you with a clumsy, unwieldy implement in sharp contrast to the finely balanced product which the manufacturer has turned out for your use.

No, I advise a selection of simple exercises such as pressing the spread finger-ends of the two hands against each other and compressing a spring grip obtainable for two or three shillings and easily carried in the pocket. This spring grip also builds up the forearm muscles, and when you can fully compress it without strain you will be on the way to your objective. But probably the best method of strengthening the fingers is by using a simple piece of apparatus which you can rig up in a few minutes. Take a broom handle and bore a hole half-way along its length. Run a piece of string through the hole and fix a weight at the other end of the string. Holding the pole with both hands apart and parallel to the ground, turn it with the fingers clockwise towards the body thus winding the string towards the pole and drawing the weight up to it. Release the weight slowly back to the ground by turning the fingers in the opposite direction. One word of warning. Make sure your equipment is strong enough for its work. An assistant professional sent to my school by his employer failed to take this necessary precaution. I had found that this player's hands were not working properly together. The right hand was overpowering the left, so I set him this broom-handle exercise. So keen was he to get to work that immediately on his return to his employer's workshop he picked up the first weighty article which met his eye a large jar of varnish used for coating wooden club heads and whipping.

The exercise was going well until, with the jar almost up to the pole, the string snapped. Down went the jar, spilling its sticky contents across the floor of the shop!

You cannot put in too much work on the hands and fingers those vital extremities which are your sole contact with the club, the means by which you feel and sense the position of the club head throughout the movement. Train them and condition them, and you will find that the rest of the technique which goes to the shaping of the swing will become less of a chore and more of a pleasure. Your progress will be more rapid and sure. Possibly the strongest hands in golf belong to Bill Shank land, husky former Australian rugby player, and a prominent tournament regular until a few years ago. Shank land has such strength in his hands and fingers that he can spread his fingers, fit crown corks of beer bottles in the angles thus formed between the fingers and close them with a pressure which bends the metal works. Observe Harry Weetman. This immensely powerful British professional is one of the most exciting players to watch by reason of the unbelievable recoveries he makes from almost impossible spots in the heavy rough. The great strength stored in his forearms, wrists, hands and fingers enable Weetman to perform these spectacular recoveries which draw gasps from the gallery. With this great reservoir of strength from the elbows down he can retain his grip through the thickest trouble-spots without being too tensed-up to keep the club head swinging. The great Henry Cotton worked, perhaps harder than anyone, to condition his hands. Strong man Arnold Palmer has immense power stored in his hands. Gary Player does seventy fingertip press-ups a day. Finally, here is a significant admission by American Ryder Cup Captain, Jerry Barber. Last year he declared he was hitting the ball farther than he had ever done before, thanks to hand exercises with a spring grip. Barber, no big man physically, was already a big money winner, but, still not content, he set to work "increasing the playing strength in my hands and forearms and gained greater control over the club. That is why I am hitting the ball farther than ever."