The great fault of all golfers, the root of all golfing errors, is the desire to swing hard. The benefit of those who cannot master them-selves sufficiently to swing easily and freely at the ball, I desire to make the following pertinent observation. The closer you bring your feet together the more you reduce your physical ability to swing hard. If you brace yourself, you are bound to use too much effort. Relax, and you will not. It is only the expert who can take a wide, open stance and swing easily.

It would seem a commonplace to say that it is far easier to maintain the balance on two legs than on one and yet most golfers fail to realize this and adapt the idea to their method. I call special attention to the fact that in trying to imitate a good player the vast majority of beginners seem to have an idea that he throws his weight first on the right leg and then on the left. In my opinion this idea or mental picture is one thing which makes for rigidity in the swing and right from the start seriously handicaps the player in his effort to develop a correct swing; as the majority of people go along the lines of least resistance they never develop the proper way.

I know that to the uninitiated a good player seems to make such a shift of weight from one leg to another, but he really does not. If he did his head would move. It would have to move. His head stays still and his body moves, but the center of gravity remains in the same place, constant. I think it is the idea of most beginners when they are told to shift their weight that they must shift the center of gravity; I know that is what I understood. So long as you have both feet on the ground in approximately the same position as when you start and you keep your head still, you will not change your center of gravity. The speed of the club is gained purely from a twist of the body and any method which depends upon a shifting of the weight or center of gravity (call it what you will) is to my mind extremely hazardous and unreliable.

If I am correct in my statement that the weight or center of gravity should not change, the whole scheme can be simplified by studying out some way of acquiring speed and power by the twist of the body and shoulders. It being evident that the feet or foundation must be kept in approximately the same position from start to finish in order to maintain the center of gravity constant, as in that way only can the head be kept still, the next step is to find out how you can exert the greatest muscular force to advantage while making your club travel along the line you desire to send the ball.