In presenting the pictures to the public a great hurrah was raised to the effect that Bobby Jones, the peerless champion, had a flaw in his swing. No one wanted to study a defect, so there was no interest in the films.

It is regrettable that the pictures were not regarded for their true worth. Subsequent study of the golf swing has proven that the club cannot and does not travel back and forth on the same line.

As emphasized in this book, there are two swings to a golf stroke—there is an upswing during which the player is balanced on his right foot, and the axis upon which the body is being utilized causes the club to travel on a certain path. Then as the downswing and follow through is made, the player has shifted his weight to his left foot— his body now is functioning on a different axis and the club is coming down and through on an entirely different path. The club, in other words, does a loop during the course of the swing, and this loop action naturally instills in the golf swing a natural whip or snap action.

By comparison a club going back and forth on the same line would tend to create a "stiff-arm dead stick" effect.

Recently a certain group conducted extensive studies of the various aspects of a golf swing with a series of motion pictures taken against a square-lined background. Towards the end of the research it was discovered that the path of the club could be traced against this lined background, and the club did not go back and forth on the same path.

In Chapter Six, when explaining the new concept of body action in a golf swing, I stated that a turning action with the body produced a low flat around the belt line type of swing. By comparison, the correct action of the body, the diagonal stretch action, produced a more upright type of swing that traveled higher and more around the head and neck of the player.

I'd like to present a further comparison of these two swings.

In the low flat type of swing, caused by the faulty turning action, the club actually travels on a convex arc as it goes back, and on a similar convex arc as it goes through the ball. Traveling thus, all the force of the swing is thrown out and beyond the ball.

However, in the correct swing, which is produced by the diagonal stretch action of the body, the club travels on a concave arc on the backswing. It comes in sharply, then goes up straight and arches out slightly, then on the downswing and follow through it again travels concavely. As the left side pulls the club into the ball it draws it inward so that the left and right hands can be applied squarely to the ball. The club can be held in that square position until the ball has been dispatched, at which point the club turns over into the follow through.

If a player deliberately followed the convex pattern of swinging, there would be an excessive turning action which would be constantly rolling the player onto his toes and off balance. On the other hand, if the player deliberately applied the concave pattern of swinging, there would be a controlled body action on the upswing as well as a similar controlled body action on the follow through. The player would find himself solidly balanced on the right heel as the backswing was made and solidly balanced on the left heel as the downswing and follow through were made. Try this in practicing your swing-it is a helpful, relaxing routine.

  To return to the subject originally discussed, if you are slicing don't start to swing from the inside out, because that will only be a temporary cure for your slice. It is bound to lead you to more difficulties later. It is far better to correct that faulty backswing and that erroneous club position on the backswing, so that you can bring the club through naturally and squarely to the ball.