In making this stroke or any other style of stroke, remember that unless the club head is traveling along the line of flight while in contact with the ball, the ball won't go along that line, and your entire effort is simplified if you can stretch the length of the arc of travel in order that the timing may be easier.

In other words, the longer you can make the club head travel along that line the surer you will be of the ball going along the same line. Also, if the hands are not moving parallel with that line the club head cannot stay upon that line. This should enable the player to work out his own scheme to accomplish the purpose.

In practicing with the cleek I have found it to be a very decided advantage to practice hitting the ball true in the center of the club face and make no attempt to get over fifty to seventy-five yards. If you will have a piece of soft chalk handy and chalk the face of the club you will be able to observe just where you connect with the ball and soon get the gage. It is as necessary to educate the muscles to the correct gage as the eyes, because the eyes must be governed by the muscles in the end. It is no easy matter to hit a cleek shot perfectly true for even that distance, as the player will soon learn when he tries it.

I have found in my own case that when driving the ball with the deck a distance of, say, fifty yards, I let the weight of the club alone do the work and merely guide it. This is fine practice in learning to turn the hands over correctly as well as in grazing the turf after hitting down-ward through the ball. There is not much of a divot taken; it is more as though you were cutting the grass off at the roots after going through the ball. No attempt should be made to send the ball high, because that will take care of itself when you hit harder. In addition to this I practice with the idea of letting my arms swing freely and make no attempt to use the body.

The idea in this is to accustom the arms to work correctly in guiding the club and swinging smoothly. Then when I have succeeded in training the muscles to the correct swing and rhythm of the stroke, I find that it comes perfectly natural to get away a fine, long, low ball with a tremendous run.

I notice that I soon acquire the habit of watching my ball intently until the club head meets it, and I also find that I get the best results when I keep my head absolutely rigid. This was the scheme which made me learn to rely upon the cleek, and when it is properly used it will totally outclass any spoon shot ever invented. A spoon is not versatile. You cannot play a fine low ball into the wind with it nor will it get you out of the difficult lies with the accuracy that a sleek will. Because a player may get a better ball with a spoon is no evidence that the spoon is the better club inherently. It shows only that the player has not learned his sleek.

Once master your sleek and you can play all the other irons without any trouble. Using the spoon necessitates the same care and attention that would be used to master the next iron in line, and that is the midiron. In my own experience I have never seen a spoon player who played a really fine midiron shot. There was always a tendency to get a bad line.