496 PLAN FOR STOPPING A BALL DEAD 



moment the iron touches it, it shoots off anywhere but 

 the right way, without getting the ball true. 



Loose sand is also treacherous, and the grip of 

 the iron must be shortened and held firmly, and 

 the sand must be struck just under the ball, so as to 

 shoot the latter up out of the sand-hole or bunker. 



There is no necessity on such occasions to do more 

 than to put out on good ground, close by where the 

 spoon or brassie or cleek can be used to send it far 

 away, and make up for a lost stroke. If too much is 

 tried in a bunker, a miss will follow, or worse still, the 

 ball is placed under the bank of the bunker. 



There is a certain method by which Mr. Hutchinson 

 explains that a ball can be made to stop dead, better 

 than by any other means. It is a very difficult stroke, 

 and should be well practised before trying it on in a 

 match. We will suppose that the hole is close to the 

 side of an intervening bunker. The position is the 

 same as for the half stroke, but the right hand is held 

 loosely, for the club, wielded by the grip of the left 

 hand and the turn of the left wrist, is allowed to turn 

 up on the web between the right thumb and fore- 

 finger, the right hand being moved but very slightly 

 from the position it was in when the ball was being 

 addressed. The club is thus raised straighter from the 

 ball than it can be by any other means. As it is 

 brought down, the arms must not be allowed to swing 

 any farther than back to the same position in which 

 they were when the ball was being addressed, and the 

 stroke, rather across the ball than straight forward, is 

 to be finished up by the wrists alone. This stroke is 

 seldom resorted to except in case of emergency. The 

 more loosely the club is held (provided it is held accu- 



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