The Soul of Golf

Abstract

THIS is a breezy, well-written book, full of valuable hints to the ambitious golfer. Much of the instruction takes the form of attack upon the writings of other exponents, and this makes lively reading. With a great deal of the criticism most golfers who have tried to formulate the principles of the game will agree. But ft is not human to be perfect, and Mr. Vaile does not escape falling into pitfalls himself, especially when dealing with the dynamical aspect of things. To the November number of The Fortnightly Review he contributed an article on the dynamics of golf, in which he seems to regard himself as a supreme authority. In one respect this article is an improvement on the book, for he accepts in its simplicity Newton's explanation of the swerve of the spinning ball advancing in air, and in one paragraph gives quite a good account of this phenomenon, very much as Tait did years ago. Unfortunately he obscures the explanation in a later paragraph when he says that it is “the continual friction on the lower portion of the ball which gradually forces it up.”

The Soul of Golf.

By P. A. Vaile. Pp. xiii + 356. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1912.) Price 6s. net.