INSTRUCTORS FORUM
Gripping detail The science of hitting in polo by Devereux Milburn
When making a backhand stroke, place the thumb down the back of the mallet handle (above). For forehand strokes, use a finger grip (below) as opposed to a palm grip.
There is an art in hitting a polo ball and it can best be acquired by study and practice. It has always been a source of wonder to me that polo players in general devote so little time to the improvement of their hitting, as it is the foundation upon which their game must be built. No matter how sound a tactician a man may be, it will avail him little unless he can hit the ball where he wishes, and with reasonable consistency with regard to length. The grip of the mallet handle is of the first importance in hitting. For the purposes of a discussion of the grip, all polo strokes may be classified as either forehand or backhand strokes. The forehand strokes are the off-side fore shot and the near-side back shot. The backhand strokes are the near-side fore shot and the off-side back shot. For both backhand and forehand strokes, the correct grip is a finger grip as opposed to a palm grip. If the handle is gripped mainly by and in the fingers, the shaft becomes almost an exact prolongation of the wrist and forearm. This is conducive to ease and facility in hitting. A good many players thrust the handle well into the palm of the hand and wrap their fingers around it. The stick comes out of the hand at almost a right angle to the wrist and forearm, and the result is a cramped and awkward stroke. So far as polo is concerned the finger grip is unquestionably the correct one for the strokes mentioned. In forehand strokes the balls of the first and second fingers are the driving force in the hand. In backhand strokes, the handle should be shifted slightly in the hand and the thumb extended down the back of the handle to act as a rear brace. Another important factor in hitting is the brace from which the stroke is made. It consists in hitting from the feet in the stirrups, braced by the knees and the inside of the thighs against the saddle, and the feeling should be that of hitting from the stirrup irons rather than from the seat. The ball should be hit when it is about opposite the toe of the right foot, or a little behind the pony’s shoulder. The place
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where the ball is hit with relation to the pony varies slightly, according to the direction in which it is hit, i.e., whether it is cut, pulled, or driven straight ahead, but it is a good policy to hit early rather than late. The best American players hit in this way. A player should ride with long enough stirrups so he can come up into this brace easily when he is about to hit the ball, but not so long that he cannot properly control his pony. The third and last element of good hitting is the action of the body in making the different strokes. This varies with each particular stroke. In all strokes a player should lean out and get well over the ball when he is about to hit it. This is done by pivoting the body from the knees and waist. Lissomeness in the waist is a great asset, as it makes the process of pivoting and lean out fairly easy. Every stroke should be carried out thoroughly so far as the action of the body is concerned. This is especially true of near-side strokes, which are inherently more difficult because they are made on the side of the pony which is not the natural hitting side. When a player is in a hitting slump, it is a pretty sure sign that there is something the matter with the technique of his stroke. A little care and practice will generally rectify it. The off-side fore shot is the most common of all the strokes, and is used about 90% of the time, especially by the forwards. Get the right shoulder well back at the start of the stroke and follow through. It is a very common fault not to follow through, and it is a pretty sure sign that you are not doing so if you find yourself hitting your pony under the chin with the shaft of the stick at the finish of the stroke. Hold the stick in a perpendicular position until the arm is brought back to hit. The off-side back stroke is the hardest stroke in polo. It requires perfect timing, as the direction of the ball has to be reversed. The right shoulder should be brought forward at the start, so as to get it into the stroke as much as possible. The near-side fore shot is similar to the off-side backshot and is almost as difficult, except the speed and impetus of the pony are behind the shot so it is easier to make the ball travel. The main thing to remember about making this shot is to pivot the body and get the right shoulder well forward.
