usually a little looser. I have heard some say to have your index finger pointing down the cane. After jamming my fingers badly a few times with under the neck shots, I abandoned that theory and closed my index back to my thumb. If you want a quick rotating mallet,
focus on gripping with just the tips of your fingers and release the base of your hand. This allows you to twirl the mallet around quicker. A quicker mallet is often the tool of choice, but transition back to the firm grip when you are looking for loft and distance. Another common problem that limits loft, distance, and accuracy is hitting off center. The sweet spot is where the cane joins the mallet head and is the desired place to connect with the ball when looking for power. Some players don’t get close enough to the ball while others are too far away. Practically speaking, unless you are on
a virgin field, the ball bounces around, seldom rolling true. Added to that, the
ball at the sweet spot. Maintain a strong grip just in case you don’t. If you are on a virgin, grass field (lucky you) or a freshly dragged arena then most agree the ball should be about 12 to 18 inches off your stirrup. Before you play, check your
Where the cane joins the mallet head, here shown in blue, is the desired place to connect with the ball.
horse jumps around, players bash into you and push you laterally, you push towards them before they bash you again, or the ball hits and bounces in any direction off of one of hundreds of divots or thousands of bumps from previously unrepaired divots. So, learn to adjust how far you reach out to line your swing up to hit the
mallets for any ringers. No, I don’t mean the underrated player on the other team. The ringer in this case refers to the part of the cane that is glued into the mallet head being broken. If you hold the head of the mallet with one hand and grip the cane with the other hand and twist,
the head of the mallet should not turn independently of the cane. If it does, you have a ringer and an awful great excuse for why your hitting isn’t where it should be. If you are hitting absolutely dead center with a ringer you may be OK, but if you are off even a fraction, your broken mallet head will be determining the angles the ball takes instead of you.
POLO PLAYERS EDITION 13
ALEX PACHECO
