Golf Clinic One of Games Top Shows: Stars Show Gallery Just How Its Done, Daily Racing Form, 1955-06-06

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Golf Clinic One of Games Top Shows Stars Show Gallery Just How Its Done Snead, Middlecoff, Littler, Souchak Among Pro Brigade jn Million Dollar Lesson By STEVE SNIDER United Press Sports Writer GREAT NECK, N. Y., June 4 UP . — One of the best shows in golf today is the "Million Dollar Lesson," featuring Sam Snead, Cary Middlecoff, Mike Souchak, Gene Littler and all the other top pros. • ..It comes free with nearly every tourna-, ment on the year-round circuit and all the customer has to do is look. "If we can cut one or two strokes off the scores- of the folks who watch our clinic, we feel its worth the effort," said PGA champion Chick Harbert, one of several veteran pros who alternate as master of ceremonies at the "Million Dollar Lesson." Basic points in the lesson are the grip, stance, placing of the ball before the swing with each club in the bag and the usual business about "straight left arm and keep your head down." But the big kicks for the galleries come when the various pros illustrate "how-to-do-it" with each club. "We have to warn the spectators that all the top players have characteristics of their own, but no real deviations from the basic swing," said Harbert. Two Men Differ Greatly "Souchak is big enough to tear down a building, while Littler is smaller and more deliberate. Obviously, they wont hit exactly alike." Snead, on the tournament trail since 1937, is just as big a favorite today as he was when he first blazed out of the Virginia hills. His swing retains the old perfection and even the pros try to copy it. "Sam has been hitting them straight so i long, its hard for him to hit it crooked even when he tries," said Harbert, but the Slammer still can bend em, fade em, and hit high or low, depending on the needs of the moment. Chick has high praise for Souchak, the former Duke footballer, who is official money winner for the year with a total of 4,648.74 in PGA prize money. "He is very strong, one of the longest drivers in the world today," said Harbert, himself one of the games tremendous hitters. "Mike has wonderful hands and perfect body action. That and sheer power account for much of his success." Tommy Bolt is a "speedy" swinger, Johnny Palmer is monotonous with his steady rhythm, Souchak has the power and Snead is the picture swinger. "But," warns Harbert, "you cant get anywhere without starting off with the proper grip on the club. Ninety-eight per cent of the leading players use the Vardon or overlapping grip and thats what we show at the clinic." The tournament stars, most of them, at least, have become excellent teachers, but they dont want to change the basic styles of any players under instruction to their home club pro. "If hes a PGA pro," said Chick, "he has to be o. k." Berra. Playing Under Handicap Yogi Berra, the Yankee catcher, is playing with a pulled muscle in his right thigh.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1955060601/drf1955060601_2_1
Local Identifier: drf1955060601_2_1
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800