Golf. EYE ON THE BALL

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 6, 30 September 1937, Page 13

Golf. EYE ON THE BALL

"Stymie.")

ttHpdrlance at the Moment of Impact HASTINGS TOURNAMENT

(By

"Keep your eye on the baE" is parhaps the slogan that one hears most often and its importance cannot be over-stressed. If the eye is not "on the ball, if ybU do not see the club head strike the bait, tnen yoa can be sure your head is not in the proper place and therehy the other physicai mehlbers of the boay are also oht bf place, with the result that the tiining of the sfiot goes ail awry. Many plhyers, although they are not aware of it, close their _ eyes at the moment, of impact. It is a naturai, involuntary action on ihe part of th'e nerves controllihg the eyes and the roasou for it is protection for the eyes. Another invblUntary fiction oi the eyes is to look ahead br move in fidvance of the hands. If a person goes to pick Up any object the eyes are ahead of the hands and the latter only mov'e after the eyea have telegraphed the position of the object. the directibh and distance to the hands. Looking at the ball this information is conveyed to th'e hands of the golfer and his hands get into action, but the eyes, if nbt undcr controlj move pn iiliead to the next fiction. This, with a golfef, is tho ball in flight, to see the eff'eet of the actio.fi produce'd by his hands. So then, in kceping the eyeS on ihe ball, we havb to bvercome at lefisl two nafural tendehcies of the eyes to move and when we say eyes, we also mean head, for the latter movee to allow gfeater freedom for the feyCs to fdeus. With the Cyes and head inoving away from the ball the shoiiiders come fouh'J, and ihstbad of being squfire to the ball when contaet is made with the clubhead the shouldcrS have moved in frpnt of tlie hands and there is no possible chanco of tho club-i'ace iiieetihg the ball squareiy or to tffivel throUgh the bali on the right line — ihe line 'of flight. With the shouiders rouhd, the club-head will probably circle down outside the are of the upswing and strike the ball with an outside-in movement that imparts a slicing spin, or the club-head will be closed so that the ball is partly smothered and hooked well to the left. Therefore, keep the eyes open and fixed on the object to be struck until it is actualty hit. To do this oue must concentrate to overcome the naturai tendencics of tho eyes to close or move on. Ladies ' Tbm-nameut. The Hastings Ladies' 'Golf Club is to be congratulated on the success of its recent tournament. Tho entrice, thoiigh somewhat siiialler in iiulnber than previous years, wero widely repreSentar tive, but hardly up to what was expected with the ladies' Now Zealand championship staged for Napier tho following week. No doubt the faet that the Wanganui ladies held their tournament on the satoe dates precluded a number of liiely cohtPstants who are engaged at Napier attending thc Hast- . ings meetings However, those who did attend voiced their appreciation of the course, management and hospitality accorded them. They also had a vari.ety of conditions to play under. Raifi the first day, cairn and line the second day, with a strong, gusty southerly Wind On the fihal day, prPvidod conditions to try out the best of players. Miss Mplly Jefferd, the title-holder, successfully defonded her title against strong local and outside competition. It waa Uiidoubtedly . her ability to coutrol her shots in the wind that carried her through to victory and enabled her to retain the hahdsome cup for anoth&r ybar. Miss P. Helefin, who has beeh chosen to represent New Z'efiland in tho Tasman Cup contest at Nfipier this week, played Well on the first day and h'eaded the list in both qiialifying rdunds With 78 and 81, her nbarest opponents recbfdiiig 83 and 83 refepectively. It was quite ^xpecteA-that sfifl Woiild go oii afid ^^ -ii^ht out/ but meeting Miss Jefferd in a fighting mood, and with the luek of the game going against her, Miss Hblean WaS never at any stage in the lead. The other semi-final between Mrs D. Wilson,' Lower Hutt, and Mrs W. J; Crerar, Hastings, was a well-contested game through out> and it was not until the fmal stroke was played on the 18th green that Mrs Wilson could clairii •victory. In the final Mrs Wilson played well^ but could not contend against the wind> which was much stronger -than in the morning, and it was at the holes playing directly into the teeth of the wind that her opponent Was the superior. A "Double" at GolfvTwo strange playeis on holiday met oii "a, golf course and. enjoyed a good game. Frateriiising in the nincteenth, Jones said, "You know, Mac, I feel 1 have met you before somowhere. But MacDuff replied, "I think not, as I have never sceu you before to my certaiii knowledge." "Ob, well, then, you must have ii double^ Mac." " Yes, thanks, I certainly will."