I have also found that it is absolutely efficacious in a high wind. The harder the wind blows the more you should bring the feet together. This may not seem reasonable, but I have tried it out thoroughly and know it will accomplish the desired result.

It would seem as though the wind would blow you off your balance when you do not brace yourself against it, but that very bracing of the muscles makes accuracy still more difficult. The average player thinks that he should hit harder when driving into a wind, but it is not the way to get off a good ball. Be more careful to hit perfectly true and you will be astonished to see the distance you get.

I have tried the idea out with beginners and they invariably respond with an improvement. On short shots it has been absolutely reliable. It makes for an easy, graceful swing; it helps wonderfully in keeping the head still and it over-comes the tendency to stiffen up so common with beginners. It will teach you to use the body and shoulders more and correct most of the faults in "timing" the stroke. It overcomes the natural tendency to throw the balance off, or from one foot to the other, which will always disturb the position of the head and change the relative positions of the entire scheme upon which you take your gage.

Taken in connection with the first and most important rule of golf-that is, to keep the head absolutely still throughout the swing, it is probably one item which will accomplish more good than paying attention to fifty other things.

A suggestion in connection with these two rules is to allow the "follow through" to pull you around. This will stop your "hitting so blamed hard."

I have noticed that those players who use the "wide-open stance" invariably are hard hitters and very wild in direction. Just consider that if you spread your feet apart and brace yourself very firmly your natural instinct is to swing hard. The reason is probably the fact that the muscles have been trained by years of experience to respond with a great effort when such a position is assumed, and the desire to "kill the ball" which is so strong in everyone, and against which I have been warning players, is perfectly natural with a "wide-open stance."

If you had to balance yourself on one foot your effort would be very mild, no matter what your desire was. The instinct to keep your feet would be too strong to be resisted.

In the practice swings of the majority of players you will notice that they do not spread their feet apart; they merely try out the arms, and that is why they get such a smooth, easy swing. The moment they attempt to hit the ball the very firmness of the stance predisposes them toward a more violent effort, and that is where they "fall down"
on the shot.

The more difficult the shot the greater freedom you require for the play of the muscles to bring it off, and this same rule will apply to it. A little experimenting with this idea in mind will do much to help players who find they are "off their game."