Thomas Kincaid's diary: extract 5
An extract from the diary of golf enthusiast and Edinburgh medical student Thomas Kincaid.
Transcription
'the necessity and way of hitting the ball exactly Jan 21
'it is almost alltogether improbable that a bad player will gain it on[ce] in 20 times, whereas if he gett the advantadge in the game, he may be fair to win it every time, at least he will readily win it at some time. Therefore with these that are worst gamesters than yourselfe make always the game depend upon mo[r]e hazards then on[e], and the mo[r]e the better, but with these that are better gamesters make always the game to depend upon on[e] hazard.
'I found that the first point to be studied in playeing at the golve is to hitt the ball exactly; for if you hitt the ball exactly though the club have butt little strength yett the ball will fly verie farre. The way to attain this perfection is to play with little strenth at first but yet acuratly observeing all the rules of poustaur [posture] and motion before sett down, and then when ye have acquired ane habit of hitting the ball exactly ye most learn to incresse your strenth or force in the stroak by degrees, staying still so long upon every degree till you have acquired ane habit of it; neither will the knowledge of these degrees be altogither uselese afterward, for they will serve for halfe chops, and quarter chops and for holling the ball. But then in going through all these degrees of strenth you most be verie attentive and carefull not to alter that postaur of your body of [or] way of moveing and bringing about the club, which ye observed when ye playd with little strenth ...'
More diary extracts:
extract 1 | extract 2 | extract 3 | extract 5 | extract 6 | extract 7 | extract 8 | extract 9 | extract 10 | extract 11 | extract 12