Tommy Armour (1894–1968)

The Silver Scot scolds us a good deal for not realizing that golf is a simple game, and in fact his advice is fairly simple, emphasized by the plain line drawings of Lealand Gustavson in this book Armour co-wrote with Herb Graffis. He shows us how to take the correct grip, which in his case is slightly strong, with both Vs formed by thumb and forefinger pointing toward the right shoulder. His stance advice says closed for woods and open for short irons, with the ball placement moving from opposite the left heel to opposite the right heel. Keep your head still, he advises, pause at the top of the backswing, have the right knee come in fast during the downswing, and keep your wrists cocked until you whip the right hand in at the last moment.
He advises us to play the shot we know we can execute and the one that makes the next shot easy. We should forget the last shot and concentrate on what to do right with the present shot. We should choose shafts a little whippier than we think we need.
Armour gives standard advice about chipping (keep it low and get it on the green as soon as possible) and bunker play (little movement of body and legs), although he neglects the key advice of keeping the club face open throughout the bunker shot. About putting he repeats the necessity of keeping your head still and making the putter blade move squarely toward the hole.
Altogether the book is most notable for a gruff tone, as if he knows we’re not going to take his advice.… (more)