J. H. Taylor, winner of The Open at Hoylake in 1913, is slightly at odds with James Braid and Harry Vardon, the latter describing the left knee as moving only “when and in response to the body turning.” Taylor, on the other hand, suggests that “the left knee commences to turn almost immediately the club head leaves the ball.” Back in the late 19th and


early 20th centuries - as I’m discovering here - golf clothing was much more restrictive than it is now. This may well have influenced the golf swings of the day, including those of two of Hoylake’s most famous sons, Hilton and Ball.


J. H. Taylor


Harold Hilton


John Ball


Jack Graham


These photographs from Great Golfers, complete with helpful grid markings, reveal how both men allowed the left heel to lift and the left knee to fold.


Jack Graham on the other hand, displays a more modern and perhaps more athletic approach, though his open stance is unusual, and perhaps reminiscent of Lee Trevino’s. Interestingly, Jack is described as


“a man of peculiar physique. He possesses a lithe and supple frame with long legs and long arms. The reach thus obtained has been well utilised with the result that he is a consistently long driver.” Graham was five feet ten inches


tall, which means that today his build would hardly be thought of as “peculiar”. Instead, he would be described as having long levers which he maintains throughout the swing.


ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB 2019–2020 MAGAZINE 23


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