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Show J HOW TO PLAY GOLF . I jBB ', -BY CHARLES (CHICK) EVANS, JR. . IMPORTANCE OF BEGINNING RIGHT i3 ! In golf, as in- every othor game de- ' -wk mandlng skill, beginning right Is of ' 'S tno utmost importance. It fitly Illus- m trates the old saying that a good be- 'M ginning is half the battle. Nothing of j2lv consequence can bo done In a hap- '- iBr-" hazard manner. It hardly seems nee- p&fJtSl essary to say that if one builds an JEPm.l edifice that one hopes will endure the SgKJ foundation must be carefully laid with sBflH fdue regard to the laws that covern I the construction of good buildings. Yet in spite of this time-worn and time- proven assertion, golfers begin with a little careless instruction from friends, who themselves play an indifferent game and expect to develop in a few years into fine players, i The poor swings, the indifferent stances, all the faults in fact of a wholly unrhythmical game, frequently are due to a wrong start. All subsequent subse-quent practice can only confirm the errors of the wrong starL Practice does make perfect, but the repetition of error merely sends one farther along the wrong road. There is 'no virtue in practice unless it is tho right kind. The wrong kind only confirms bad habits. It is here that good professional ins;ruclion, beginning begin-ning with the first swing attempted, makes itself felt. I do not say that! a good game cannot be built up with-j out professional instruction I do not want to discourage a man, who fori any reason, cannot get good profes-- profes-- sional instruction but the chances 3i are acainst tho solf-tatisht. man. for he fJE sets forth upon a long, difficult road, t and unless he has the courage and Hl strength to retrace many a step, to H pause and tear down and constantly n build anew, he will never accomplish H1 the thing he has set out to do. Bfi It is because I have wasted many H,v precious hours undoing faulty work k that I try to emphasize the importance H of starting right. I learned my first B golf at a transition period when the B' rubber cored ball was just beginning V to be substituted for the old gutta. H New methods of play were then being H instituted. Courses had been built for Hj the old ball and the new distances H made changes inevitable. I did a vast; H amount of experimenting and much Hj of my labor had to be thrown away K unless it could be placed on the side V of general training in patience and en- H durance. Experiments that fail are H discouraging things and for that rea- H son, as well as for the saving of time, H I advise beginning with the very best H obtainable advice. Lean heavily on Bp your instructor at the start and save l the exercise of any independence of &M style for a later date when you have ';$& learned to stand alone. JSr (Editor's Note: Mr. Evans' next K7S article will be entitled, Practicing with SB Different Clubs.) lm. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Hi QUESTION I have been using Rf thick handle grips on my clubs. But B I am told that thin handles give bet- ter results. What is your opinion? ANSWER Thick handle grips are hardly advisable, because they place the weight at the wrong end of the club. QUESTION I do not seem able to overcome my fault of trying to hit the ball too hard. Can you suggest anything any-thing that will help me? ANSWER Since you have dlaernos- , ed your difficulty the remedy is in your own hands. When you are driving, driv-ing, just stop and remember that in swinging too hard the chances are 99 out of 100 that you will slice, "pull" or top the ball. It is just a question of confidence and calmness with you. Remember that what little you might gain in distance when you swing too hard you will more than likely lose because of lack of precision. QUESTION I find that I shall have to wear glasses to play well. What kind should I get? ANSWER Wear sporting spectacles specta-cles rather than eye-glasses. They are J steady at all times, and because the : rims and glasses are large yon will j get a field vision so big that you will be hardly conscious you are wearing glasses. i I Mr. Evans will be pleased to answer questions from our readers on golf. Stamped addressed envelope must be enclosed to insure reply. oo |