Golf Illustrated & Outdoor America, September, 1915, Vol. 3, No. 6, p. 9. Photos by Livingston Sporting Picture Company.
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TO be of value, an analysis must be perfectly frank. Fulsome T praise or harsh criticism is meaningless. I do not intend to indulge in either, and feel confident that Mr. Travers, the Editor of GOLF ILLUSTRATED and the reader, will appreciate that what I say is entirely impersonal. The fact that a man attains prominence in any effort makes him a legitimate subject for critical comment and careful study, it is from those who are successful, that we, who are less able, must learn. It is the duty of the critic to point out the good and warn against the less effective things, so far as it is in his power, and it remains for those who read the criticism to accept them or reject them, as they have confidence in the honesty and ability of the critic. The fact that Mr. Travers is the Open Champion of the United States, has been four times the Amateur Champion, as well as winning many more championships and important tournaments; the fact that I selected him, three years ago as one of the three amateur golfers for a place in the great golfers of the world (my judgment has been confirmed by what he has done since that time), has nothing to do with writing a description of his stroke; nor will his great prominence prevent me from frankly stating where he departs from the most effective methods of driving a golf ball. If there is a single department of the game in which Mr. Travers is less strong than any other, it is in his driving. Don't misunderstand, I don't say weak, I say less strong, which is quite a different thing. If he could drive as well as he plays that old driving iron, or get as uniformly good results with the wood as with the putter, well—"Good night, Miss Mitchell," as George Ade says, for the rest of the golfers in this country—he would easily equal the record of Mr. John Ball of England, who has twice won the Open Championship and eight times the Amateur Championship of Great Britain.
All of the foregoing being understood, here goes. First for the good things about the drive illustrated. The remarkable manner in which he keeps his head still during the entire time of the stroke. In No. 16, where the ball has been driven clean away, must be some fifty yards at least on its journey, the head is still in the place it was during the entire stroke to this point, with the slight exception of being lower down toward the place where the ball was driven from, this lower position being accounted for by the drive of the right shoulder under the head and the general lowering of the right side. The second strong point about this drive, is the fine swing of the arms from the top, No. 9, to and through the ball, with the accompanying shoulder action. The follow through is full and free, there has been not the slightest indication of sway of the body, the point of revolution of the stroke, a point mid-way between the shoulders, has been held quietly in place; well, I hear you say, what the deuce is the matter with it, everything seems to be pretty well covered?
The weakness is (for it is only one weakness, although the one leads to others, like large oaks from little acorns grow), overswinging, caused by a change in the style of the stroke, or rather two changes, during the back swing. First, he starts the club straight back from the ball, hands going straight backward also, see 2, 3 and 4. Then he suddenly begins to flatten the swing, either by pulling the right elbow back, or by quickly turning the left wrist over. Both will cause a very flat swing. Then at No. 7, he begins to come into the upright style again, and does so by lifting the right elbow, this causes the right shoulder to go up and the left one down, and also lifts the hands above the head. There are two very distinct divisions in this back swing. The break occurs between 6 and 7, and this break is the cause of what follows.
I said it was overswing. Perhaps overplacing would be better, for Mr. Travers has not swung to the position shown in No. 9, he placed the club there by the right elbow action described. When, in No. 6, he began to lift the right elbow, he also began to bend the left one, until in No. 9, the bend is very plain. The overswing is indicated by the position of the right foot, all the weight being on the outside edge. There has been too much pivoting of the hips, really a too lax condition of the left knee, a consequent strain on the right knee and hip. This excessive twist has taken the right leg and hip so far back that they do not again come back into place until too late to give any effective assistance to the swing of the arms, the result being a swing at the ball, but no body driving power.
That is the long and the short of it, he swings at the ball with the hands and arms, gets a good shoulder action, but by overswinging, twisting, etc., all caused by making two motions in the back swing, fails to back up this swing with body drive, he does not get his back into it, the thing which Mr. Edward Blackwell, the long driving Scotsman, shown in GOLF ILLUSTRATED. May, 1915, says is so essential. Just refer to that series of Mr. Blackwell, and see how he does get his right knee, right hip, and as a consequence, the back muscles, into the stroke. Perhaps the inception of the lack of correct knee action in Mr. Travers' stroke is at the address, where I think he stands too stiff legged. A slight bending of the knees, particularly the right, would change the entire character of the back swing, he would get to the position he is in at the top much more easily and directly. Then, standing with this easier poise, if he would simply continue what he starts (from No. 1 to No. 4), swinging straight to position, No. 8, the left arm would keep straight, he would not twist so much and would then be in such command of his legs and hips that he could drive the right hip and knee into the stroke, consequently the back muscles, as Mr. Blackwell does.
Alex Campbell, now of the Baltimore Country Club, formerly of the Brookline Country Club, "The Nipper," as he is known, put the matter of the right knee action in the fewest words and the most instructive, I ever heard it put, as follows:—"My right knee is my helium." So it is the helm, it steers the body into the stroke. It lets the right hip down into action, which is what Mr. Travers right hip fails to do, for, No. 13, 14 and 15 show that the right leg is being held so stiff that the knee cannot relax to let the hip into the stroke soon enough. He doesn't get the right hip down until No. 17, practically the finish, which shows where the right knee and hip should have been at the impact, or immediately after it.
If No. 15 is carefully examined, it will be seen that Mr. Travers is thrusting upward with his legs, really keeping the body out of the stroke, he is pushing upward so hard that he is on his toes. It is all due to overswing, caused by the action described, and a consequent sub-conscious effort to regain balance, which he does, but too late for the use of his body strength in the stroke. If he could get into the positions 16 and 17, during the period of the stroke illustrated by 14 and 15, he would add yards to his drive, as well as direction. It is only a matter of two-sixteenths of a second, but impact lasts only some very few thousandths of a second, so these two-sixteenths are vital.
A reference to the motion pictures of Mr. Blackwell, in the May number, Mr. Ouimet in the June number and Mr. Scott in the August number, of GOLF ILLUSTRATED, will fully illustrate the point I am making, about the right leg and hip action, Mr. Scott and Mr. Ouimet, especially, seem to be hitting with the right knee as well as the hands. Comparisons may be odious, but I do not think so, I think that we are all after information, and it is only by comparison, considering results from given causes, that we can really learn anything of value, especially in so difficult a thing as the golf stroke, the thing which is like the Irishman's flea, to many of us, when we put our hands on it, it isn't there.
I would also suggest reference to the driving photograph of Harry Vardon, just after hitting the ball, GOLF ILLUSTRATED, April, 1915, in the article on the Triumvirate Analyzed. This photograph shows how Vardon, surely one of the most perfect drivers in the world, gets his right knee and hip into the stroke. Compare this with Mr. Travers at the same point, No. 15, and the reason for Vardon's greater effectiveness as a driver will be seen. Vardon, writing about Ouimet, after the famous Open Championship where the latter defeated the former, said, "More power to his elbow." I would like to say to Mr. Travers, whom I admire very much, "More power to your right knee."
J. A. SCOTT.