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Show El Uales of a -? (sJaimde Zfee By y y GRANTLAND RICE (Copyright. 1922, New York Tribune. Inc. If there Is one I lub In golf which deserves more kind words than any other, we should ay that It was tho jspoon. And strangelv enough. It is no uncommon un-common thing to find any number ot golfers from the duffer to the flrst-i flrst-i -loss player; who either have no such I w eapon In the bag or else rarely use It. , Yet the spoon Is frequently a llie-saver llie-saver for both, and this goes especially especial-ly for the average golfer who is fre-quentl fre-quentl inclined to have distinct dlf-feri-iii-e- with his other Clubs. SPOON USES. In the first place, the spoon is one of the most versatile implements of the entire lot. it is frequentlv a great club to use from the rough or from a cuupy He. where it is Important to get range. It is a great club for the long second sec-ond shot to the green, as It is easier to play lhan a driving Iron or a oleok. It Is one of the handiest of all clutvs when a bunke ror trap must be cleared and the ball held on the green. And when tho brassle Isn't working work-ing well It Is an excellent substitute as It Rets almost as far. "if tho golfer finds he Isn't picking th.- ball up well with his brassle. he should at least give the spoon a trial, until he can work his way again to tne longer wood, And If he finds his lone Irons are n..t behaving as properly trained irons Should, out with the spoon again for varied distances. WJ9QBKE IT HELPS. Suppose we take the case of a full mldlron shot to the green Say the distance Is from 165 to 175 yards For many polfers this Is on of the j hardest strokes In golf Now. If the player tikes ih spoon at the end of the" grip and lets n full wallop fly. ho will of course go too far. But there Is anothei wav. so effectively effec-tively shown by H H. Hilton. This 1s to grin the bather nearer trie bottom, somewhat below half way down (the leather nOl thfl shaft), and then use a flrnv. natural stroke. This doesn't mean to ease up or to hold back That Is why the rlp Is shortened, so that one cm srlll strlkel firmlv and not get ton far Vou can get the same distance with a spoon shot of this type with less effort than an iron requires, and therefore with better control It Is an ideal club on short holes ranging from 16.". to 13 yards Here, with the ball teed up. is one of the easiest strokes in the game and as the shot is generally hign, there is very little run at the ilnish This is especially es-pecially true if one uses an open stance, with the right foo" advanced, and also uses a fairly upright swing that should bring about a slight slice. This Is a much safer method for most golfers than slashing away with an Iron. The idea Is neither to kill the ball nor to hold back, hut merel) to use a natural, comfortable swing that is firmly struck. Hilton, possibly above all others, has shown to what rare uses one can put this club. We have 6een him grip near the bottom of the leather and use It where other golfers were using mash-ies mash-ies or Jlgxers from hardlj 160 yards away Hs also frequentl uses :t into in-to a wind, keeping the ball low off his right foot, without the same swing one would ub for a mashle. The eighth hole at Inverness, Toledo. To-ledo. Is about 190 yards. Vardon uesd a miairon nere una got rour is anting ant-ing the championship Bay used his spoon and had four 3s, playing the simpler, easier shot In eacn case And Ray then only beat Vardon by one stroke HI sfour spoon shots at this hole netted him a four-stroke lead-George lead-George Duncan Is another master spoon player and so Is Bobby Jones nonow prefers the spoon to the long Iron. Hagen and Barnes prefer the driving Iron to the spoon, as they have played the former effectively for many years, but Hutchison Is a fine spoon player, one of the best. During th amateur championship held at tho Knglneerg we followed the, Fownes-tlardner battle, which Pownes won. On three occasions wo saw. Fownes use his spoon from heavy lies in the rough and reach the green, nearly 20 y;i rds away. T-ator. at a crucial point of the match, coming to tho sixteenth hole, he playe a spooi shot from a fairly shallow bunker to j the left, go' the ball up over a row of maples and dropped It within eight i feet of the cup. over 200 ards away No other club In the bag would have Tccomplished any such miracle. I |