For the benefit of those who want an easy scheme for playing it I have made a sketch of what they should try to do. The idea is to let them play the shot as they are accustomed to do in every detail except that of purpose. That purpose should be to drive the ball into the ground, as is shown in position 3. The ball is supposed to be held up by the grass, and the only object the player should have in mind is to drive the ball into the ground as suggested.

The ball will actually follow along the dotted line which shows its flight, but that should not alter the player's purpose.

The great difficulty with players is that they cannot bring themselves to believe that the ball will get up, and at the last instant, before hitting it, they change their purpose and try to hit up. Any one can see this by watching a player who has trouble with his mid-iron.

This is a habit which has been so firmly imbedded in the minds of most golfers that they cannot seem to overcome it. It is a persistent enemy of all the iron shots, and unless a player firmly decides to actually drive that ball down, he will find that the old de-sire to hit up will be too strong to be resisted. All the things which happen to the ball should be eliminated from the mind; the scheme of play will take care of the shot.

Do not try to see all the steps in the stroke. Make your swing freely and do not spare the turf. Hit the ball clean and true and you can-not possibly make any mistake. Remember that the fact that you take turf is no excuse for hitting harder for the reason that at the time the turf begins to stop your club the ball is away on its journey. It will feel as though it needed more power but it does not.

The scheme gives a great deal more leeway for the shot to be brought off in the first place and there is nothing in the blow being delivered which requires more power. The same thing I have spoken of before, regarding accuracy giving distance, applies here, as in fact to every club in the bag.

If you are to get the ball up you must make your stroke down as I show in the cut; otherwise the shot will be of no value. mid-iron shots will never be well played by a player who is afraid of spoiling the turf.