RETIRED GOLF 145 



ability of the player to strike the ball without 

 moving his head. The constantly repeated in- 

 junction to " keep your eye on the ball " is, 

 indeed, very often misleading, this optical im- 

 mobility being only enjoined as the most prac- 

 tical method of ensuring that the head shall be 

 kept perfectly still. 



Few men, alas ! are privileged to possess 

 swivel-eyes, and for those fortunate beings who 

 are thus naturally equipped with the advan- 

 tages usually monopolized by chameleons it is 

 easy to remove the gaze mthout shifting the 

 head. But with the majority of mankind the 

 eye cannot be raised with impunity, the tempta- 

 tion to lift up their heads — after the fashion of 

 the Psalmist's everlasting gates — at the moment 

 of hitting the ball being almost irresistible. 

 Many systems have therefore been invented by 

 golfers anxious to break themselves of this per- 

 nicious habit, but it will be sufficient for my 

 purpose if I describe the two most successful 

 now in vogue at St. Andrews. 



The first (and perhaps the simplest) consists 

 in wearing a taU hat in which a number of 

 small sleigh-bells have been carefully concealed. 

 It then becomes the player's chief ambition to 

 strike his ball -without ringing the bells, and 

 whenever he succeeds in so doing he may be 

 quite sure that, whatever other fault he may 



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