We go back to January, 1921 to read this instructional article by James Braid, a five time British Open Champion This is not only a detailed description of the functioning of the hands, arms, legs and feet in swinging a golf club, but an intellectual description of the golf swing as well.
His approach, like most of top golfers in that era, differs from modern golf swings in recommending a three-quarter swing for control; while today's top players swing completely and with full force on nearly all iron shots. The finish of the swing pictured, with the iron shaft about perpendicular, is in stark contrast to that of modern professionals slinging both woods and irons well behind their backs on the follow through.
The various types of irons shots are discussed: High balls, run-up shots, push shots, etc, all of which are comparable to today's term of "working the ball". A description of an iron shot technique of that day required a "sharp, crisp and determined flick of the forearms and hands". Such an action would be roughly comparable to the "punch shot" of today.
Surprisingly, we see the terms pronation and supination defined and used at this early time, over thirty years before Ben Hogan popularized them in his famous book "Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf" in the 1950's.
In contrast to the modern style of initially shifting the weight to the left side at the start of the downswing, Mr. Braid recommends keeping the weight on the right leg in "raising the ball in the air". Such an action today would be dangerous. A "fat" shot will nearly always result from staying on the right side during the downswing.
Read on, and enjoy the examination of the golf swing as it was taught in 1921.
