Why, if putting is as simple a matter as it is cracked up to be—and it
is even simpler—why practise it, as the doctors enjoin? Why not merely
do it? Whatever genius may be in the fine arts, genius in the gentle art
of putting is _not_ infinite capacity for taking pains; it is possible
to putt well and take no pains whatever. If a man must practise, let
him practise the fine careless rapture of the singing thrush, for this
includes confidence, relaxation and everything else that the doctors
say should enter into the least complex of strokes. If anyone should
not comprehend what is meant by this fine careless rapture, we might
reply with Burke—or somebody—that we are not obliged to find him a
comprehension.
Perhaps the next simplest thing to putting is rolling off a log. Prithee
consider what would happen if a man practised _that_ for an hour each
day, paying excessive care to the position of his hands and feet, the
relaxing of his muscles, the eye fixed on the ground, and so forth!
Eventually he would execute the roll-off in a self-conscious, constrained
manner, and, if it were possible, he would miss the ground once out of
five times. If he also practised following through he would stand an
excellent chance of breaking his neck.