him and the
hole which is the best part of a hundred yards from the other edge of
the wood, or say a hundred and forty from where the ball is lying. He
might by a wonderfully lofted shot play the ball over the obstacle, but
he would have to rise at such an angle that any length would be an
impossibility, and he would be short of the green. The only alternative
to the slice would be to accept the loss of a stroke as inevitable, play
away to the right or left, and then get on to the green with the next
one. Thus in either case a valuable stroke is lost, and if the enemy is
playing the correct game the loss may be most serious. The short or
quick slice comes to the rescue admirably. Turn the ball round the
spinny, give it as much length as you can in the circumstances, and if
the job has been well done you will be on the green after all with the
highly comforting sensation that for once you have proved yourself a
golfer of the first degree of skill, and have snatched a half when the
hole seemed lost. The diagram here presented illustrates the best
possibilities of a quick slice. I can explain in a line exactly how this
is done, but I cannot guarantee that my readers will therefore be able
to do it until they have practised, and practised, and practised yet
again. Instead of hitting the ball with the middle of the club face as
in playing for the distant slice as already explained, hit it slightly
nearer the heel of the club. Swing upwards in the same way, and finish
in the same way, also. Taking the ball with the heel results in the
slice being put on more quickly and in there being more of it, but I
need hardly observe that the stroke must be perfectly judged and played,
and that there must be no flaw in it anywhere, or disaster must surely
follow. As I say, it is not an easy shot to accomplish, but it is a
splendid thing to do when wanted, and I strongly recommend the golfer
who has gained proficiency in the ordinary way with his wooden clubs, to
practise it whenever possible until at length he feels some confidence
in playing it. It is one of those strokes which mark the skilled and
resourceful man, and which will win for him many a match. Beyond the
final admonition to practise, I have only one more piece of advice to
give to the golfer who wants to slice when a slice would be useful, and
that is in the downward swing he must guard against any inclination to
pull in the arms too quickly, the result of his consciousness t