| All crack players feel that they swing | | | | And why do I say, "who is not a pupil of |
| from in-to-out when driving. | | | | mine?" Well because I never just tell |
| I have been doing this so long that it | | | | them that! It is quite useless to tell a |
| no longer feels a "guided" or unnatural | | | | pupil he has done wrong when acting |
| swing to me. | | | | instinctively unless you tell him why he |
| Indeed if I feel myself making any other | | | | did wrong and so enable him to avoid the |
| sort of swing I know it will result in a | | | | fault in future. That I always do. |
| bad shot. | | | | The player who comes down outside is |
| Yet with the beginner this in-to-out | | | | almost invariably thinking of where he |
| swing does feel unnatural and gives an | | | | wants to put the ball, and the only |
| impression that the ball will be pushed | | | | effective way of overcoming his trouble |
| into the rough to the right. This | | | | is by getting him to concentrate on the |
| feeling will of course be corrected by | | | | swing that experience tells him will |
| experience. | | | | place it there. If this is done his |
| This disparity in feeling about shots as | | | | conscious control-his feeling for the |
| between the crack and the beginner must | | | | right movements, plus a steady intention |
| never be lost sight of in teaching. | | | | to follow will inhibit his natural |
| Here we come back again to my reason for | | | | desire to take disastrous short cuts. |
| standardizing as many shots as possible | | | | So it is best to build up a swing which |
| so that they can all be played with the | | | | can be accepted by the mind as well as |
| same set of "controls." Only so I | | | | the muscles as a satisfactory means to |
| believe can you learn to play entirely | | | | the end desired, and then concentrating |
| by sense of feel. | | | | on the production of that swing. With a |
| Today, if I play a bad shot I do not | | | | properly felt swing, the swing becomes |
| start asking myself why I played it | | | | the aim and the matter of where the ball |
| badly, what I did wrong, etc. questions | | | | will fly is left (as it should be) to |
| which are liable to lead to more bad | | | | take care of itself. |
| shots as we all know! I just take an | | | | And finally, the good golfer feels his |
| easy club and try it until I get the | | | | swing as all one piece. It is produced |
| right feel again. | | | | by a psycho-physical unison and its |
| Then because my shots are felt I know | | | | control is outside the mind of the |
| that the right feeling must lead to the | | | | player. Any control that is within the |
| right shot-and further, that as all my | | | | mind is subject to the state of the mind |
| shots are made fundamentally the same, I | | | | and is therefore unreliable. |
| know that if I get the right feel with | | | | Every teacher has to keep continually in |
| say a No. 5 iron, a very easy club, I | | | | mind the fact that the natural thing for |
| shall be making my shots with even the | | | | any golfer to do if he thinks first of |
| difficult clubs correctly and with | | | | hitting the ball to the hole rather than |
| confidence. | | | | of making the shot correctly-is to swing |
| What usually happens is that before the | | | | the club head down the desired line of |
| back swing is completed, the player | | | | flight. The urge to do this is so strong |
| transfers his attention from the matter | | | | that a merely academic knowledge of |
| of making the correct swing to the | | | | where the club head ought to be felt to |
| matter of where he wants to hit the | | | | go cannot stand against it. William |
| ball, i.e., somewhere at the top of his | | | | James said that where there is a |
| swing he switches from a correct | | | | conflict between the Will and the |
| in-to-out swing to one along the desired | | | | Imagination, the Imagination always |
| line of flight. Consequently he comes | | | | wins. So no Will to make a correct |
| down outside the ball. | | | | swing-unless reinforced by our conscious |
| Anyone who is not a pupil of mine will | | | | control-can resist, when imagination of |
| admit that "you came down outside" is | | | | the ball flying straight for the hole |
| their tutor's most frequent admonition. | | | | supervenes. |