main in contact, moving in as nearly as possible a
straight line and at its maximum speed.

[Illustration: _PLATE II._ THE GRIP WITH THE LEFT HAND]

[Illustration: _PLATE III._ THE OVERLAPPING GRIP]

[Illustration: _PLATE IV._ THE OVERLAPPING GRIP]

[Illus ration: _PLATE V._ THE OVERLAPPING GRIP]

Now comes the all-important consideration of the grip. This is another
matter in which the practice of golfers differs greatly, and upon which
there has been much controversy. My grip is one of my own invention. It
differs materially from most others, and if I am asked to offer any
excuse for it, I shall say that I adopted it only after a careful trial
of all the other grips of which I had ever heard, that in theory and
practice I find it admirable--more so than any other--and that in my
opinion it has contributed materially to the attainment of such skill as
I possess. The favour which I accord to my method might be viewed with
suspicion if it had been my natural or original grip, which came
naturally or accidentally to me when I first began to play as a boy, so
many habits that are bad being contracted at this stage and clinging to
the player for the rest of his life. But this was not the case, for when
I first began to play golf I grasped my club in what is generally
regarded as the orthodox manner, that is to say, across the palms of
both hands separately, with both thumbs right round the shaft (on the
left one, at all events), and with the joins between the thumbs and
first fingers showing like two V's over the top of the shaft. This is
usually described as the two-V grip, and it is the one which is taught
by the majority of professionals to whom the beginner appeals for first
instruction in the game. Of course it is beyond question that some
players achieve very fine results with this grip, but I abandoned it
many years ago in favour of one that I consider to be better. My
contention is that this grip of mine is sounder in theory and easier in
practice, tends to make a better stroke and to secure a straighter ball,
and that players who adopt it from the beginning will stand a much
better chance of driving well at an early stage than if they went in for
the old-fashioned two-V. My grip is an overlapping, but not an
interlocking one. Modifications of it are used by many fine players, and
it is coming into more general practice as its merits are understood and
appreciated. I use it for all my strokes, and it is only whe