diff options
Diffstat (limited to '28107.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 28107.txt | 10821 |
1 files changed, 10821 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/28107.txt b/28107.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..79ab228 --- /dev/null +++ b/28107.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10821 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Complete Golfer [1905], by Harry Vardon + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Complete Golfer [1905] + +Author: Harry Vardon + +Release Date: February 17, 2009 [EBook #28107] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COMPLETE GOLFER [1905] *** + + + + +Produced by Steven Gibbs, Greg Bergquist and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + +THE COMPLETE GOLFER + + + + + THE + COMPLETE GOLFER + + + BY + HARRY VARDON + + OPEN CHAMPION, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903 + AMERICAN CHAMPION, 1900 + + + WITH SIXTY-SIX ILLUSTRATIONS + + + SECOND EDITION + + + METHUEN & CO. + 36 ESSEX STREET W.C. + LONDON + + + + + _First Published June 1905_ + + _Second Edition June 1905_ + + + + +PREFACE + + +Many times I have been strongly advised to write a book on golf, and now +I offer a volume to the great and increasing public who are devoted to +the game. So far as the instructional part of the book is concerned, I +may say that, while I have had the needs of the novice constantly in +mind, and have endeavoured to the best of my ability to put him on the +right road to success, I have also presented the full fruits of my +experience in regard to the fine points of the game, so that what I have +written may be of advantage to improving golfers of all degrees of +skill. There are some things in golf which cannot be explained in +writing, or for the matter of that even by practical demonstration on +the links. They come to the golfer only through instinct and experience. +But I am far from believing that, as is so often said, a player can +learn next to nothing from a book. If he goes about his golf in the +proper manner he can learn very much indeed. The services of a competent +tutor will be as necessary to him as ever, and I must not be understood +to suggest that this work can to any extent take the place of that +compulsory and most invaluable tuition. On the other hand, it is next to +impossible for a tutor to tell a pupil on the links everything about any +particular stroke while he is playing it, and if he could it would not +be remembered. Therefore I hope and think that, in conjunction with +careful coaching by those who are qualified for the task, and by +immediate and constant practice of the methods which I set forth, this +book may be of service to all who aspire to play a really good game. If +any player of the first degree of skill should take exception to any of +these methods, I have only one answer to make, and that is that, just +as they are explained in the following pages, they are precisely those +which helped me to win my five championships. These and no others I +practise every day upon the links. I attach great importance to the +photographs and the accompanying diagrams, the objects of which are +simplicity and lucidity. When a golfer is in difficulty with any +particular stroke--and the best of us are constantly in trouble with +some stroke or other--I think that a careful examination of the pictures +relating to that stroke will frequently put him right, while a glance at +the companion in the "How not to do it" series may reveal to him at once +the error into which he has fallen and which has hitherto defied +detection. All the illustrations in this volume have been prepared from +photographs of myself in the act of playing the different strokes on the +Totteridge links last autumn. Each stroke was carefully studied at the +time for absolute exactness, and the pictures now reproduced were +finally selected by me from about two hundred which were taken. In order +to obtain complete satisfaction, I found it necessary to have a few of +the negatives repeated after the winter had set in, and there was a +slight fall of snow the night before the morning appointed for the +purpose. I owe so much--everything--to the great game of golf, which I +love very dearly, and which I believe is without a superior for deep +human and sporting interest, that I shall feel very delighted if my +"Complete Golfer" is found of any benefit to others who play or are +about to play. I give my good wishes to every golfer, and express the +hope to each that he may one day regard himself as complete. I fear +that, in the playing sense, this is an impossible ideal. However, he may +in time be nearly "dead" in his "approach" to it. + +I have specially to thank Mr. Henry Leach for the invaluable services he +has rendered to me in the preparation of the work + + H.V. + + TOTTERIDGE, _May 1905_. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + +CHAPTER I + +GOLF AT HOME 1 + +The happy golfer--A beginning at Jersey--The Vardon family--An anxious +tutor--Golfers come to Grouville--A fine natural course--Initiation as a +caddie--Primitive golf--How we made our clubs--Matches in the +moonlight--Early progress--The study of methods--Not a single lesson--I +become a gardener--The advice of my employer--"Never give up golf"--A +nervous player to begin with--My first competition--My brother Tom +leaves home--He wins a prize at Musselburgh--I decide for +professionalism--An appointment at Ripon. + + +CHAPTER II + +SOME REMINISCENCES 11 + +Not enough golf--"Reduced to cricket"--I move to Bury--A match with +Alexander Herd--No more nerves--Third place in an open competition--I +play for the Championship--A success at Portrush--Some conversation and +a match with Andrew Kirkaldy--Fifth for the Championship at +Sandwich--Second at the Deal tournament--Eighth in the Championship at +St. Andrews--I go to Ganton--An invitation to the south of France--The +Championship at Muirfield--An exciting finish--A stiff problem at the +last hole--I tie with Taylor--We play off, and I win the Championship--A +tale of a putter--Ben Sayers wants a "wun'"--What Andrew thought of +Muirfield--I win the Championship again at Prestwick--Willie Park as +runner-up--My great match with Park--Excellent arrangements--A welcome +victory--On money matches in general--My third Championship at +Sandwich--My fourth at Prestwick--Golf under difficulties. + + +CHAPTER III + +THE WAY TO GOLF 25 + +The mistakes of the beginner--Too eager to play a round--Despair that +follows--A settling down to mediocrity--All men may excel--The sorrows +of a foozler--My advice--Three months' practice to begin with--The +makings of a player--Good golf is best--How Mr. Balfour learned the +game--A wise example--Go to the professional--The importance of +beginning well--Practise with each club separately--Driver, brassy, +cleek, iron, mashie, and putter--Into the hole at last--Master of a bag +of clubs--The first match--How long drives are made--Why few good +players are coming on--Golf is learned too casually. + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE CHOICE AND CARE OF CLUBS 37 + +Difficulties of choice--A long search for the best--Experiments with +more than a hundred irons--Buy few clubs to begin with--Take the +professional's advice--A preliminary set of six--Points of the +driver--Scared wooden clubs are best--Disadvantages of the socket--Fancy +faces--Short heads--Whip in the shaft--The question of weight--Match the +brassy with the driver--Reserve clubs--Kinds of cleeks--Irons and +mashies--The niblick--The putting problem--It is the man who putts and +not the putter--Recent inventions--Short shafts for all clubs--Lengths +and weights of those I use--Be careful of your clubs--Hints for +preserving them. + + +CHAPTER V + +DRIVING--PRELIMINARIES 52 + +Advantage of a good drive--And the pleasure of it--More about the +driver--Tee low--Why high tees are bad--The question of +stance--Eccentricities and bad habits--Begin in good style--Measurements +of the stance--The reason why--The grip of the club--My own method and +its advantages--Two hands like one--Comparative tightness of the +hands--Variations during the swing--Certain disadvantages of the two-V +grip--Addressing the ball--Freaks of style--How they must be compensated +for--Too much waggling--The point to look at--Not the top of the ball, +but the side of it. + + +CHAPTER VI + +DRIVING--THE SWING OF THE CLUB 64 + +"Slow back"--The line of the club head in the upward swing--The golfer's +head must be kept rigid--The action of the wrists--Position at the top +of the swing--Movements of the arms--Pivoting of the body--No +swaying--Action of the feet and legs--Speed of the club during the +swing--The moment of impact--More about the wrists--No pure wrist shot +in golf--The follow-through--Timing of the body action--Arms and hands +high up at the finish--How bad drives are made--The causes of +slicing--When the ball is pulled--Misapprehensions as to slicing and +pulling--Dropping of the right shoulder--Its evil consequences--No trick +in long driving--Hit properly and hard--What is pressing and what is +not--Summary of the drive. + + +CHAPTER VII + +BRASSY AND SPOON 78 + +Good strokes with the brassy--Play as with the driver--The points of the +brassy--The stance--Where and how to hit the ball--Playing from cuppy +lies--Jab strokes from badly-cupped lies--A difficult club to +master--The man with the spoon--The lie for the baffy--What it can and +cannot do--Character of the club--The stance--Tee shots with the +baffy--Iron clubs are better. + + +CHAPTER VIII + +SPECIAL STROKES WITH WOODEN CLUBS 85 + +The master stroke in golf--Intentional pulling and slicing--The +contrariness of golf--When pulls and slices are needful--The stance for +the slice--The upward swing--How the slice is made--The short sliced +stroke--Great profits that result--Warnings against irregularities--How +to pull a ball--The way to stand--The work of the right hand--A feature +of the address--What makes a pull--Effect of wind on the flight of the +ball--Greatly exaggerated notions--How wind increases the effect of +slicing and pulling--Playing through a cross wind--The shot for a head +wind--A special way of hitting the ball--A long low flight--When the +wind comes from behind. + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE CLEEK AND DRIVING MASHIE 98 + +A test of the golfer--The versatility of the cleek--Different kinds of +cleeks--Points of the driving mashie--Difficulty of continued success +with it--The cleek is more reliable--Ribbed faces for iron clubs--To +prevent skidding--The stance for an ordinary cleek shot--The +swing--Keeping control over the right shoulder--Advantages of the +three-quarter cleek shot--The push shot--My favourite stroke--The stance +and the swing--The way to hit the ball--Peculiar advantages of flight +from the push stroke--When it should not be attempted--The advantage of +short swings as against full swings with iron clubs--Playing for a low +ball against the wind--A particular stance--Comparisons of the different +cleek shots--General observations and recommendations--Mistakes made +with the cleek. + + +CHAPTER X + +PLAY WITH THE IRON 112 + +The average player's favourite club--Fine work for the iron--Its +points--The right and the wrong time for play with it--Stance +measurements--A warning concerning the address--The cause of much bad +play with the iron--The swing--Half shots with the iron--The regulation +of power--Features of erratic play--Forced and checked swings--Common +causes of duffed strokes--Swings that are worthless. + + +CHAPTER XI + +APPROACHING WITH THE MASHIE 118 + +The great advantage of good approach play--A fascinating +club--Characteristics of a good mashie--Different kinds of strokes with +it--No purely wrist shot--Stance and grip--Position of the body--No +pivoting on the left toe--The limit of distance--Avoid a full swing--The +half iron as against the full mashie--The swing--How not to loft--On +scooping the ball--Taking a divot--The running-up approach--A very +valuable stroke--The club to use--A tight grip with the right +hand--Peculiarities of the swing--The calculation of pitch and run--The +application of cut and spin--A stroke that is sometimes +necessary--Standing for a cut--Method of swinging and hitting the +ball--The chip on to the green--Points of the jigger. + + +CHAPTER XII + +ON BEING BUNKERED 131 + +The philosopher in a bunker--On making certain of getting out--The folly +of trying for length--When to play back--The qualities of the +niblick--Stance and swing--How much sand to take--The time to press--No +follow-through in a bunker--Desperate cases--The brassy in a +bunker--Difficulties through prohibited grounding--Play straight when +length is imperative--Cutting with the niblick. + + +CHAPTER XIII + +SIMPLE PUTTING 141 + +A game within another game--Putting is not to be taught--The advantage +of experience--Vexation of missing short putts--Some +anecdotes--Individuality in putting--The golfer's natural system--How to +find it--And when found make a note of it--The quality of instinct--All +sorts of putters--How I once putted for a Championship--The part that +the right hand plays--The manner of hitting the ball--On always being +up and "giving the hole a chance"--Easier to putt back after overrunning +than when short--The trouble of Tom Morris. + + +CHAPTER XIV + +COMPLICATED PUTTS 150 + +Problems on undulating greens--The value of practice--Difficulties of +calculation--The cut stroke with the putter--How to make it--When it is +useful--Putting against a sideways slope--A straighter line for the +hole--Putting down a hill--Applying drag to the ball--The use of the +mashie on the putting-green--Stymies--When they are negotiable and when +not--The wisdom of playing for a half--Lofting over the stymie--The +run-through method--Running through the stymie--How to play the stroke, +and its advantages--Fast greens for fancy strokes--On gauging the speed +of a green. + + +CHAPTER XV + +SOME GENERAL HINTS 160 + +Too much golf--Analysis of good strokes--One's attitude towards one's +opponent--Inaccurate counting of strokes--Tactics in match play--Slow +couples on the course--Asking for halves--On not holing out when the +half is given--Golfing attire--Braces better than belts--Shoes better +than boots--How the soles should be nailed--On counting your +strokes--Insisting on the rules--Play in frosty weather--Chalked faces +for wet days--Against gloves--Concerning clubs--When confidence in a +club is lost--Make up your mind about your shot--The golfer's +lunch--Keeping the eye on the ball--The life of a rubber-core--A clean +ball--The caddie's advice--Forebodings of failure--Experiments at the +wrong time--One kind of golf at a time--Bogey beaten, but how?--Tips for +tee shots--As to pressing--The short approach and the wayward +eye--Swinging too much--For those with defective sight--Your opponent's +caddie--Making holes in the bunkers--The golfer's first duty--Swinging +on the putting-greens--Practise difficult shots and not easy ones, etc. + + +CHAPTER XVI + +COMPETITION PLAY 177 + +Its difficulties--Nerves are fatal--The philosophic spirit--Experience +and steadiness--The torn card--Too much hurry to give up--A story and a +moral--Indifference to your opponent's brilliance--Never slacken when +up--The best test of golf--If golf were always easy--Cautious play in +medal rounds--Risks to be taken--The bold game in match play--Studying +the course--Risks that are foolishly taken--New clubs in +competitions--On giving them a trial--No training necessary--As to the +pipe and glass--How to be at one's best and keenest--On playing in the +morning--In case of a late draw--Watch your opponents. + + +CHAPTER XVII + +ON FOURSOMES 188 + +The four-ball foursome--Its inferiority to the old-fashioned game--The +case of the long-handicap man--Confusion on the greens--The man who +drives last--The old-fashioned two-ball foursome--Against too many +foursomes--Partners and each other--Fitting in their different +games--The man to oblige--The policy of the long-handicap man--How he +drove and missed in the good old days--On laying your partner a +stymie--A preliminary consideration of the round--Handicapping in +foursomes--A too delicate reckoning of strokes given and received--A +good foursome and the excitement thereof--A caddie killed and a hole +lost--A compliment to a golfer. + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +GOLF FOR LADIES 198 + +As to its being a ladies' game--A sport of freedom--The lady on the +links--The American lady golfer--English ladies are improving--Where +they fail, and why--Good pupils--The same game as the man's--No short +swings for ladies--Clubs of too light weight--Their disadvantages--A +common fault with the sex--Bad backward swings--The lady who will find +out for herself--Foundations of a bad style--The way to success. + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURSES 205 + +Necessity for thought and ingenuity--The long-handicap man's course--The +scratch player's--How good courses are made--The necessary land--A long +nine-hole course better than a short eighteen--The preliminary survey--A +patient study of possibilities--Stakes at the holes--Removal of natural +disadvantages--"Penny wise and pound foolish"--The selection of teeing +grounds--A few trial drives--The arrangement of long and short +holes--The best two-shot and three-shot holes--Bunkers and where to +place them--The class of player to cater for--The scratch man's +game--The shots to be punished--Bunkers down the sides--The best putting +greens--Two tees to each hole--Seaside courses. + + +CHAPTER XX + +LINKS I HAVE PLAYED ON 219 + +Many first-class links--The best of all--Sandwich--Merits of the Royal +St. George's course--Punishments for faults and rewards for virtue--Not +a short course--The best hole--The Maiden--Other good holes--Prestwick +an excellent course--The third and the ninth holes--The finest hole +anywhere--Hoylake--Two or three tame holes--A means of improvement--Good +hazards and a premium on straight play--St. Andrews--Badly-placed +bunkers--A good second hole--The finest one-shot hole to be found +anywhere--An unfair hole--The best holes at Muirfield--Troon--North +Berwick--Cruden Bay--Dornoch--Machrihanish--A splendid course at Islay--The +most difficult hole I know--Gullane--Kilspindie--Luffness--Links in +Ireland--Portrush--Portmarnock--Dollymount--Lahinch--Newcastle--Welsh +courses--Ashburnham--Harlech--On the south and south-west coasts--The +rushes at Westward Ho!--Newquay--Good holes at Deal--Littlestone--Rye--The +advantage of Cromer--Brancaster--Hunstanton--Sheringham--Redcar--Seaton +Carew--St. Anne's--Formby--Wallasey--Inland +courses--Sunningdale--A splendid course--Another at Walton +Heath--Huntercombe--London links--Courses in the +country--Sheffield--Manchester--Huddersfield--"Inland" courses at the +seaside--A warning. + + +CHAPTER XXI + +GOLF IN AMERICA 232 + +Good golf in the United States--My tour through the country--Mr. +Travis's victory in our Amateur Championship--Not a surprise--The man +who played the best golf--British amateurs must wake up--Other good +Americans will come--Our casual methods of learning golf--The American +system--My matches in the States--A good average--Driving well--Some +substantial victories--Some difficult matches--Course +records--Enthusiasm of the American crowds--The golf fever--The king of +baseball takes to golf--The American Open Championship--A hard fight +with J.H. Taylor--A welcome win--Curious experiences in Florida--Greens +without grass--The plague of locusts--Some injury to my game--"Mr. +Jones"--Fooling the caddies--Camping out on the links--Golf reporting in +America--Ingenious and good--Mistakes made by non-golfing +writers--Lipping the hole for a hundred dollars. + + +CHAPTER XXII + +CONCERNING CADDIES 245 + +Varieties of caddies--Advice to a left-handed player--Cock-shots at +Ganton--Unearned increments--An offer to carry for the fun of the +thing--The caddie who knows too much--My ideal caddie--His points--The +girl caddie--A splendid type--Caddies' caustic humour--Some specimens of +it--Mr. Balfour's taste in caddies--When the caddie is too anxious--Good +human kindness--"Big Crawford"--"Lookin' aifter Maister Balfour"--An +ingenious claim--A salute for the Chief Secretary--A story of a +distressed clergyman--Sandy Smith--The clothes he wore--An excess of +zeal--The caddies' common-sense--When his lot is not a happy one. + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +REFLECTIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS 259 + +Good golf to come--Giants of the past--The amateurs of to-day--The +greatness of "Freddy" Tait--Modern professionals--Good sportsmen and +good friends--A misconception--The constant strain--How we always play +our best--Difficult tasks--No "close season" in golf--Spectators at big +matches--Certain anecdotes--Putting for applause--Shovelling from a +bunker--The greatest match I have ever played in--A curious incident--A +record in halves--A coincidence--The exasperation of Andrew--The coming +of spring--The joyful golfer. + + +APPENDIX (Rules of the Game) 267 + + +INDEX 279 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +PORTRAIT _Frontispiece_ + +PLATE PAGE + +I. My set of clubs 48 + +II. The grip with the left hand 58 + +III. The overlapping grip 58 + +IV. The overlapping grip 58 + +V. The overlapping grip 58 + +VI. Driver and brassy. The stance 66 + +VII. Driver and brassy. Top of the swing 66 + +VIII. Driver and brassy. Top of the swing from behind 66 + +IX. Driver and brassy. Finish of the swing 66 + +X. How not to drive 72 + +XI. How not to drive 72 + +XII. How not to drive 72 + +XIII. How not to drive 72 + +XIV. Driver and brassy. Stance when playing for a slice 86 + +XV. Driver and brassy. Top of the swing when playing for a slice 86 + +XVI. Driver and brassy. Finish when playing for a slice 86 + +XVII. Driver and brassy. Playing for a pull. Stance 90 + +XVIII. Driver and brassy. Top of the swing when playing for a pull 90 + +XIX. Driver and brassy. Finish when playing for a pull 90 + +XX. Driver and brassy. Stance for a low ball against the wind 96 + +XXI. Driver and brassy. Stance for a high ball with the wind 96 + +XXII. Full shot with the cleek. Stance 102 + +XXIII. Full shot with the cleek. Top of the swing 102 + +XXIV. Full shot with the cleek. Finish 102 + +XXV. Full shot with the cleek. Finish 102 + +XXVI. The push shot with the cleek. Stance 106 + +XXVII. The push shot with the cleek. Top of the swing 106 + +XXVIII. The push shot with the cleek. Finish 106 + +XXIX. A low ball (against wind) with the cleek. Stance 106 + +XXX. A low ball (against wind) with the cleek. Top of the swing 106 + +XXXI. A low ball (against wind) with the cleek. Finish 106 + +XXXII. Faulty play with the cleek 110 + +XXXIII. Faulty play with the cleek 110 + +XXXIV. Faulty play with the cleek 110 + +XXXV. Faulty play with the cleek 110 + +XXXVI. Faulty play with the cleek 110 + +XXXVII. Full iron shot. Stance 114 + +XXXVIII. Full iron shot. Top of the swing 114 + +XXXIX. Full iron shot. Finish 114 + +XL. Play with the iron for a low ball (against wind). Stance 114 + +XLI. Play with the iron for a low ball (against wind). Top of the swing 114 + +XLII. Play with the iron for a low ball (against wind). Finish 114 + +XLIII. Mashie approach (pitch and run). Stance 122 + +XLIV. Mashie approach (pitch and run). Top of the swing 122 + +XLV. Mashie approach (pitch and run). Finish 122 + +XLVI. Mistakes with the mashie 122 + +XLVII. Mistakes with the mashie 122 + +XLVIII. Mistakes with the mashie 122 + +XLIX. Running-up approach with mashie or iron. Finish, with stance + also indicated 122 + +L. A cut approach with the mashie. Stance 122 + +LI. A cut approach with the mashie. Top of the swing 122 + +LII. A cut approach with the mashie. Finish 122 + +LIII. The niblick in a bunker. Top of an ordinary stroke when it is + intended to take much sand 136 + +LIV. "Well out!" Finish of an ordinary stroke in a bunker when + much sand is taken 136 + +LV. Another bunker stroke. Top of the swing when intending to + take the ball cleanly and with a little cut 136 + +LVI. Finish, after taking the ball cleanly from a bunker 136 + +LVII. Putting 146 + +LVIII. Putting 146 + + +DIAGRAMS. + +Trajectory of ball when a distant slice is required 89 + +Trajectory of ball in the case of a quick slice 90 + +Method and effect of pulling into a cross wind from the right 94 + +The push shot with the cleek 106 + +Putting with cut on a sloping green 154 + +Nails in golfing boots and shoes 167 + +Points to look at when addressing the ball 170 + + + + +THE COMPLETE GOLFER + + + + +CHAPTER I + +GOLF AT HOME + + The happy golfer--A beginning at Jersey--The Vardon family--An + anxious tutor--Golfers come to Grouville--A fine natural + course--Initiation as a caddie--Primitive golf--How we made our + clubs--Matches in the moonlight--Early progress--The study of + methods--Not a single lesson--I become a gardener--The advice of my + employer--"Never give up golf"--A nervous player to begin with--My + first competition--My brother Tom leaves home--He wins a prize at + Musselburgh--I decide for professionalism--An appointment at Ripon. + + +I have sometimes heard good golfers sigh regretfully, after holing out +on the eighteenth green, that in the best of circumstances as to health +and duration of life they cannot hope for more than another twenty, or +thirty, or forty years of golf, and they are then very likely inclined +to be a little bitter about the good years of their youth that they may +have "wasted" at some other less fascinating sport. When the golfer's +mind turns to reflections such as these, you may depend upon it that it +has been one of those days when everything has gone right and nothing +wrong, and the supreme joy of life has been experienced on the links. +The little white ball has seemed possessed of a soul--a soul full of +kindness and the desire for doing good. The clubs have seemed endowed +with some subtle qualities that had rarely been discovered in them +before. Their lie, their balance, their whip, have appeared to reach the +ideal, and such command has been felt over them as over a dissecting +instrument in the hands of a skilful surgeon. The sun has been shining +and the atmosphere has sparkled when, flicked cleanly from the tee, the +rubber-cored ball has been sent singing through the air. The drives have +all been long and straight, the brassy shots well up, the approaches +mostly dead, and the putts have taken the true line to the tin. Hole +after hole has been done in bogey, and here and there the common enemy +has been beaten by a stroke. Perhaps the result is a record round, and, +so great is the enthusiasm for the game at this moment, that it is +regarded as a great misfortune that the sun has set and there is no more +light left for play. These are the times when the golfer's pulse beats +strong, and he feels the remorse of the man with the misspent youth +because he was grown up and his limbs were setting before ever he teed a +ball. + +Well, at least I can say that I have not missed much of the game that I +love with a great fondness, for I played a kind of prehistoric golf when +I was a bad boy of seven, and off and on I have played it ever since. It +was fortunate for me that the common land at Jersey was years ago the +ideal thing for a golfing links, and that golfers from abroad found out +its secret, as they always do. If they had failed to do so in this case, +I might still have been spending my life in horticultural pursuits. For +I was born (on May 9, 1870) and bred in Jersey, at that little place +called Grouville, which is no more than a collection of scattered +cottages and farmhouses a few miles from St. Heliers. Both my parents +were natives of Jersey, and my father, who was seventy-four on the 5th +of last November, has been a gardener there all his life, holding the +proud record of having changed his place of employment only once during +the whole period. There was a big family of us--six boys and two +girls--and all, except one of my sisters, are still alive. My brothers +were George, Phil, Edward, Tom, and Fred, and I came fourth down the +list, after Edward. As most golfers know, my brother Tom, to whom I owe +very much, is now the professional at the Royal St. George's Club at +Sandwich, while Fred is a professional in the Isle of Man. In due course +we all went to the little village school; but I fear, from all that I +can remember, and from what I have been told, that knowledge had little +attraction for me in those days, and I know that I very often played +truant, sometimes for three weeks at a stretch. Consequently my old +schoolmaster, Mr. Boomer, had no particular reason to be proud of me at +that time, as he seems to have become since. He never enjoys a holiday +so much in these days as when he comes over from Jersey to see me play +for the Open Championship, as he does whenever the meeting is held at +Sandwich. But when I did win a Championship on that course, he was so +nervous and excited about my play and my prospects that he felt himself +unequal to watching me, and during most of the time that I was doing my +four rounds he was sitting in a fretful state upon the seashore. I was a +thin and rather delicate boy with not much physical strength, but I was +as enthusiastic as the others in the games that were played at that +time, and my first ambition was to excel at cricket. A while afterwards +I became attached to football, and I retained some fondness for this +game long after I took up golf. Even after my golfing tour in America a +few years ago, when quite at my best, I captained the Ganton football +team and played regularly in its matches. + +One day, when I was about seven years of age, a very shocking thing +happened at Grouville. All the people there lived a quiet, undisturbed +life, and had a very wholesome respect for the sanctity of the Sabbath +day. But of all days of the week it was a Sunday when a small party of +strange gentlemen made their appearance on the common land, and began to +survey and to mark out places for greens and tees. Then the story went +about that they were making preparations to play a game called golf. +That was enough to excite the wrathful indignation of all the +tenant-farmers round about, and without delay they began to think out +means for expelling these trespassers from the common land. A tale of +indignation spread through Grouville, and these golfers, of whom I +remember that Mr. Brewster was one, were not at first regarded in the +light of friendship. But they soon made their position secure by +obtaining all necessary authority and permission for what they were +about to do from the constable of the parish, and from that day we had +to resign ourselves to the fact that a new feature had entered into the +quiet life of Jersey. The little party went ahead with the marking out +of their course, though indeed the natural state of the place was so +perfect from the golfer's point of view that very little work was +necessary, and no first-class golf links was ever made more easily. +There were sand and other natural hazards everywhere, the grass was +short and springy just as it is on all good sea-coast links, and all +that it was necessary to do was to put a flag down where each hole was +going to be, and run the mower and the roller over the space selected +for the putting green. Rooms were rented at a little inn hard by, which +was forthwith rechristened the Golf Inn, and the headquarters of the +Jersey golfers are still at the same place, though a large club-room has +been added. That was the beginning of the Royal Jersey Golf Club. The +links as they were when they were first completed were really +excellent--much better than they are to-day, for since then, in order to +prevent the sand being blown all over the course by the strong winds +which sweep across the island, the bunkers have in most cases been +filled with clay, which has to a great extent spoiled them. + +When everything was ready, more of these golfers came across from +England to play this new game which we had never seen before, and all +the youngsters of the locality were enticed into their service to carry +their clubs. I was among the number, and that was my first introduction +to the game. We did not think much of it upon our first experience; but +after we had carried for a few rounds we came to see that it contained +more than we had imagined. Then we were seized with a desire to play it +ourselves, and discover what we could do. But we had no links to play +upon, no clubs, no balls, and no money. However, we surmounted all these +difficulties. To begin with, we laid out a special course of our very +own. It consisted of only four holes, and each one of them was only +about fifty yards long, but for boys of seven that was quite enough. We +made our teeing grounds, smoothed out the greens, and, so far as this +part of the business was concerned, we were soon ready for play. There +was no difficulty about balls, for we decided at once that the most +suitable article for us, in the absence of real gutties, was the big +white marble which we called a taw, and which was about half the size of +an ordinary golf ball, or perhaps a little less than that. But there was +some anxiety in our juvenile minds when the question of clubs came to be +considered, and I think we deserved credit for the manner in which we +disposed of it. It was apparent that nothing would be satisfactory +except a club fashioned on the lines of a real golf club, and that to +procure anything of the sort we should have to make it ourselves. +Therefore, after several experiments, we decided that we would use for +the purpose the hard wood of the tree which we called the lady oak. To +make a club we cut a thick branch from the tree, sawed off a few inches +from it, and then trimmed this piece so that it had a faint resemblance +to the heads of the drivers we had seen used on the links. Any elaborate +splicing operations were out of the question, so we agreed that we must +bore a hole in the centre of the head. The shaft sticks that we chose +and trimmed were made of good thorn, white or black, and when we had +prepared them to our satisfaction we put the poker in the fire and made +it red hot, then bored a hole with it through the head, and tightened +the shaft with wedges until the club was complete. With this primitive +driver we could get what was for our diminutive limbs a really long +ball, or a long taw as one should say. In these later days a patent has +been taken out for drivers with the shaft let into the head, which are +to all intents and purposes the same in principle as those which we used +to make at Grouville. + +By and by some of us became quite expert at the making of these clubs, +and we set ourselves to discover ways and means of improving them. The +greater elaboration of such brassies as we had seen impressed us, and we +also found some trouble with our oak heads in that, being green, they +were rather inclined to chip and crack. Ultimately we decided to sheathe +the heads entirely with tin. It was not an easy thing to make a good job +of this, and we were further troubled by the circumstance that our +respective fathers had no sympathy with us, and declined upon any +account to lend us their tools. Consequently we had no option but to +wait until the coast was clear and then surreptitiously borrow the tools +for an hour or two. We called these tin-plated drivers our brassies, and +they were certainly an improvement on our original clubs. Occasionally a +club was made in this manner which exhibited properties superior to +those possessed by any other, as clubs will do even to-day. Forthwith +the reputation of the maker of this club went up by leaps and bounds, +and he was petitioned by others to make clubs for them, a heavy price in +taws and marbles being offered for the service. The club that had +created all this stir would change hands two or three times at an +increasing price until it required the payment of four or five dozen +marbles to become possessed of it. But the boy who owned the treasure +was looked upon as the lord of the manor, and odds were demanded of him +in the matches that we played. + +We practised our very elementary kind of golf whenever we could, and +were soon enthusiastic. I remember particularly that many of our best +matches were played in the moonlight. The moon seemed to shine more +clearly at Jersey than in England, and we could see splendidly. Four of +us would go out together on a moonlight night to play, and our little +competition was arranged on the medal system by scores. Usually a few +marbles were at stake. To prevent the loss of taws one of us was sent +ahead to watch for their coming and listen for the faint thud of their +fall, while the other three drove from the tee. Then the three came +forward while the watcher went back to drive, and I am sorry to say that +our keenness in those days led us to disregard certain principles of the +sportsman's code of honour which we appreciated better as we grew up. +What I mean is that the watcher was often handicapped in a way that he +little suspected, for when he went back to the tee, and we went forward +and found that our balls were not always so well up as we had hoped, we +gave them a gentle kick forwards; for in the dim light we were able to +do this unknown to each other. But in legitimate play we often got a 3 +at these fifty-yard holes, and with our home-made clubs, our little +white taws, our lack of knowledge, and our physical feebleness all taken +into consideration, I say we have often done less creditable things +since then. + +After such beginnings, we progressed very well. We began to carry more +and more for the golfers who came to Grouville; we found or were given +real balls that took the place of the taws, and then a damaged club +occasionally came our way, and was repaired and brought into our own +service. Usually it was necessary to put in new shafts, and so we burnt +holes in the heads and put in the sticks, as we did with clubs of our +own make; but these converted clubs were disappointing in the matter of +durability. It happened once or twice that golfers for whom we had been +carrying gave us an undamaged club as a reward for our enthusiasm, and +we were greatly excited and encouraged when such a thing happened. I +used to carry clubs about twice a week. I remember that Mr. Molesworth +and Dr. Purves, both well known in the golfing world, were two players +for whom I very often carried, and only the other day when I saw the +former at the Professional Tournament at Richmond, watching the play, I +was able to remind him of those times and of a particular shot he once +played. We young caddies were very eager to learn the game thoroughly, +and we were in the habit of watching these golfers very closely, +comparing their styles, and then copying anything from them that seemed +to take our fancy. I may say at once, in reply to a question that I am +often asked, and which perhaps my present readers may themselves be +inclined to put, that I have never in my life taken a single golfing +lesson from anyone, and that whatever style I may possess is purely the +result of watching others play and copying them when I thought they made +a stroke in a particularly easy and satisfactory manner. It was my habit +for very many years after these early days, until in fact I had won the +Open Championship, to study the methods of good golfers in this way, and +there are few from whom one is not able to learn something. I cannot say +that the play of any one man particularly impressed me; I cannot point +to any player, past or present, and declare that I modelled my style on +his. It seemed to me that I took a little from one and a little from +another until my swing was a composition of the swings of several +players, and my approach shots likewise were of a very mixed parentage. +Of course when I took a hint from the play of anyone I had been watching +it required much subsequent practice properly to weld it into my own +system; but I think that this close watching of good players, and the +borrowing from their styles of all information that you think is good, +and then constantly practising the new idea yourself, is an excellent +method of improving your golf, though I do not recommend it as the sole +method of learning, despite the success which I personally have +achieved. However, this is a matter for later consideration. + +As we were such a large family and my father's means were very limited, +there was the necessity which is common in such cases for all of the +boys to turn out early in life and do something towards helping the +others, and accordingly I went to work when I was thirteen. Some time +afterwards I became gardener to the late Major Spofforth of Beauview, +who was himself a very keen golfer, and who occasionally gave me some of +his old clubs. Now and then, when he was in want of a partner, he used +to take me out to play with him, and I shall never forget the words he +spoke to me one day after we had played one of these matches. "Henry, my +boy," he said, "take my advice, and never give up golf. It may be very +useful to you some day." Certainly his words came true. I can only +remember about these games that I was in the habit of getting very +nervous over them, much more so than I did later on when I played +matches of far more consequence. I joined a working men's golf club that +had been formed, and it was through this agency that I won my first +prize. A vase was offered for competition among the members, the +conditions being that six medal rounds were to be played at the rate of +one a month. When we had played five, I was leading by so very many +strokes that it was next to impossible for any of the others to catch me +up, and as just then my time came for leaving home and going out into +the greater world of golf, the committee kindly gave me permission to +play my last round two or three weeks before the proper time. It removed +all doubt as to the destination of the prize, which has still one of the +most honoured places on my mantelpiece. At that time my handicap for +this club was plus 3, but that did not mean that I would have been plus +3 anywhere else. As a matter of fact, I should think I must have been +about 8 or 10. + +By this time my younger brother Tom had already gone away to learn +club-making from Lowe at St. Anne's-on-Sea. He played very much the same +game of golf as I did at that time, and it was his venture and the +success that waited upon it that made me determine to strike out. While +Tom was at St. Anne's he went on a journey north to take part in a +tournament at Musselburgh, where he captured the second prize. Thereupon +I came to the conclusion that, if Tom could do that, then I too with a +little patience might do the same. Indeed, I was a very keen golfer just +then. At last Lowe was summoned to Lord Ripon's place at Ripon, near +Harrogate, to lay out a new nine-holes course, and Tom wrote to me +saying that they would be wanting a professional there, and if I desired +such an appointment I had better apply for it without delay. I did so, +and was engaged. I was twenty years of age when I left home to assume +these duties. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +SOME REMINISCENCES + + Not enough golf--"Reduced to cricket"--I move to Bury--A match with + Alexander Herd--No more nerves--Third place in an open + competition--I play for the Championship--A success at + Portrush--Some conversation and a match with Andrew Kirkaldy--Fifth + for the Championship at Sandwich--Second at the Deal + tournament--Eighth in the Championship at St. Andrews--I go to + Ganton--An invitation to the south of France--The Championship at + Muirfield--An exciting finish--A stiff problem at the last hole--I + tie with Taylor--We play off, and I win the Championship--A tale of + a putter--Ben Sayers wants a "wun'"--What Andrew thought of + Muirfield--I win the Championship again at Prestwick--Willie Park + as runner-up--My great match with Park--Excellent arrangements--A + welcome victory--On money matches in general--My third Championship + at Sandwich--My fourth at Prestwick--Golf under difficulties. + + +No true golfer is satisfied with a little of the game, if there is no +substantial reason why he should not have much of it. I was greenkeeper +as well as professional to the Studley Royal Golf Club, Ripon; but golf +did not seem to have taken a very deep root there up to that time. There +was so little of it played that I soon found time hang heavily upon my +hands, and in the summer I was reduced to playing cricket, and in fact +played more with the bat than I did with the driver. There were one or +two good players on the links occasionally, and now and then I had some +good games with visitors to the place. One day after such a match my +opponent remarked very seriously to me, "Harry, if you take my advice +you will get away from here as quickly as you can, as you don't get half +enough golf to bring you out." I took the advice very much to heart. I +was not unduly conceited about my golf in those days, and the +possibility of being Champion at some future time had taken no definite +shape in my mind; but I was naturally ambitious and disinclined to waste +any opportunities that might present themselves. So, when I saw that the +Bury Golf Club were advertising for a professional, I applied for the +post and got it. It was by no means a bad nine-holes course that I found +at Bury, and I was enabled to play much more golf than at Ripon, while +there were some very good amateurs there, Mr. S.F. Butcher being one of +the best. I was now beginning to play fairly well, and the first +professional match of my life was arranged for me, Alexander Herd of +Huddersfield being my opponent in this maiden effort, upon the result of +which a stake of a few pounds a side depended. Herd was by that time a +famous player and accomplishing some very fine golf, so that on paper at +all events the unknown Bury professional had no chance whatever. So +indeed it proved. It was fixed that we were to play thirty-six holes, +home and home, Herd having the privilege of playing on his own course +first. I forget how many he was up at Huddersfield, but it was so many +that I had practically no chance of wiping out the difference when I +brought my opponent to Bury, and in the end he won quite easily. "Sandy" +Herd, as we all call him, and I have had many great matches since then, +and many of them of far greater consequence than this, but I shall never +forget this beginning. Neither in those days, nor in the others that +soon followed, when it became clear that I had a chance of becoming +Champion, was I ever in the least troubled with nervousness. I was +completely cured of my early complaint. Moreover, I have not known what +it is to be nervous even in a Championship round when my fate depended +upon almost every stroke, and particularly on those at the last few +holes. The feeling that was always uppermost in my mind was that I had +everything to gain and nothing to lose. It is only when a man has +everything to lose and nothing to gain that he should become uneasy +about his game. When you have won a few prizes and there are critical +eyes upon you, there may be some excuse for nerves, but not before. All +young players should grasp the simple truth of this simple statement; +but it is surprising how many fail to do so. No stroke or game ever +seemed to cause me any anxiety in those young days, and my rapid success +may have been in a large measure due to this indifference. + +In 1893 I decided that I would enter for the Open Championship, which in +that year was played for at Prestwick, and I went north in company with +my brother Tom, stopping on our way to take part in the tournament at +Kilmalcolm, which was attended by most of the other professionals. I did +fairly well in this, the first open competition for which I entered, +being bracketed with poor Hugh Kirkaldy for third place. But I failed in +the Championship competition, as, of course, I fully expected to do. +That was Willie Auchterlonie's year, and I was some way down the list. I +started in great style, and, though I broke down badly later on, there +was just the consolation left for me that after all I did better than my +partner, Willie Campbell. + +There were some curious circumstances attending the first big success of +any kind that I achieved. This was at Portrush in Ireland, shortly after +the Championship meeting, and the competition was a professional +tournament. I was drawn against Andrew Kirkaldy in the first round, and +his brother Hugh was one of the next pair, so it seemed that the two +Kirkaldys would meet in the second round. Andrew assumed that that would +happen, as he had every right to do, and he was heard to remark that it +was rather hard luck that the brothers should be set against each other +in this manner so early in the competition. The night before the +match-play part of the business commenced, I was walking down one of the +streets of Portrush when I encountered Andrew himself, and in his own +blunt but good-humoured way he remarked, "Young laddie, d'ye think y're +gaun to tak the money awa' with ye? Ye've no chance, ye ken." I said +nothing in reply, because I felt that he spoke the truth. Next day a +heavy gale was blowing, and I started very cautiously. The first hole +was on the side of a hill, and when my ball lay a yard from the flag and +I had the next stroke for the hole, it was trembling in the wind and +threatening every moment to start rolling. So I waited for it to steady +itself, and my waiting exasperated Andrew to such an extent that at +length he exclaimed, "Man, d'ye ken I'm cauld? Are ye gaun to keep me +waiting here a' nicht?" Then I took the putt and missed it, so the hole +was halved. However, I set about my opponent after that, and had begun +to enjoy the game immensely by the time we reached the turn. At this +point two of the holes ran parallel to each other, and as we were +playing one of them we passed Hugh and his partner going up to the +other. "Man, Andrew, hoo's the game?" called out brother Hugh. "Man +alive, I'm five doon!" Andrew replied in tones of distress. "Ma +conscience!" muttered Hugh as he passed along. Andrew was more than five +down at the finish of that game, and in the second round I had the +satisfaction of removing the remaining member of the Kirkaldy family +from the competition, while in the semi-final I beat an old Open +Champion, D. Brown. But in the final, Herd defeated me on the last +green, and so I had to be content with the prize given for runner-up. +Shortly afterwards I won another prize in a tournament at Ilkley, this +time accounting for Herd as well as my brother Tom and many other +well-known players. Tom was professional at Ilkley, and the course there +was a very difficult nine holes. + +I did better in the competition for the Open Championship in the +following year when the meeting was held at Sandwich, playing a +particularly good game on the second day, when my 80 and 81 were one of +the two lowest combined returns. At the finish I was fifth, and felt +very pleased to occupy the position, for the excellence of the golf that +I witnessed was a surprise to me. From Sandwich the professionals went +on to Deal, where a tournament was held, in which I managed to secure +second place. It was Herd who beat me once again. At St. Andrews in the +1895 Competition, I returned the lowest score in the first round, but +could only tie for the ninth place at the finish. My old friend, J.H. +Taylor, who made his first essay to capture the blue ribbon of golf at +Prestwick at the same time that I did, was the winner at both this and +the previous Championship meeting. A few months later I left Bury for +Ganton; Tom, who had been over there with some Ilkley players at the +Yorkshire meeting, having heard that they were in need of a new +professional, and written to me at once with advice to apply. Between +leaving Bury and going to Ganton I had three weeks of good golf at Pau, +in the south of France, the great and unexpected honour being paid me of +an invitation to form one of a small party of professionals for whom a +series of matches and competitions had been arranged there. Taylor, +Herd, Archie Simpson, Willie Auchterlonie, and Lloyd, the local +professional, were the others. Professional golfers when they are out +together usually manage to have a pretty good time, and this occasion +was no exception. Knowing a little French, I was once appointed cashier +and paymaster for the party, but I did not know enough of the language +to feel quite at home when large figures were the subject of discussion, +and I remember that the result was an awkward incident at Bordeaux on +the return journey. We were called upon to pay excess fare for the +luxury of travelling in the express, and, failing to understand the +ticket collector, I was filling his hand with francs, one by one, +waiting for him to tell me when he was in possession of the required +amount. But he needed more and more, and the situation was becoming +embarrassing, when the guard whistled and the train moved off. If it had +not been for that intervention we might still have been paying him +excess fare. I went to Ganton immediately on my return, and in the +spring of that year, 1896, a match between Taylor and myself was +arranged on my new course, when I had the satisfaction of winning. + +I was looking forward very keenly to the Open Championship that year. It +was at Muirfield, and it took place only four or five weeks after this +encouraging victory over Taylor. In the meantime I had been a little off +my game, and when I teed my first ball at Muirfield it seemed to me that +I was as likely to make a bad drive as a good one, and I was equally +uncertain with all the other clubs in my bag. But as it happened I was +fortunate enough to be playing well during the competition, and was +close up at the end of the first day, with Taylor in the next place +above me. The next day I was again playing well, and the result was +exciting. Taylor was doing his rounds only a few holes in front of me, +and late in the contest it became apparent that the issue would be left +between us. I did not know exactly what I had to do to win until about +four holes from the finish, when someone, who had seen Taylor putt out +at the last green, came up to me and told me what number of strokes was +still left to me to play if I were to tie with him. When I came to the +last hole I had set me what I think was the most anxious problem that +has ever come my way since I first took up golf. I had five strokes left +to play in order to tie with Taylor and give me the right to play off +with him for the Championship, and four left with which to win it +outright. It is a fairly long hole--a drive and a good brassy, with a +very nasty bunker guarding the green. Thus, while it was an easy 5, it +was a difficult 4, and the bold golfer who made his bid for the low +figure might possibly be punished with a 6. My drive was good, and then +I had to make my choice between the bold game and the sure one. A +Championship hung upon the decision. The prospect of being the winner in +less than five minutes was tempting. The brassy would give me the +Championship or nothing. The iron would admit me to the privilege of +playing off with Taylor another day. I hesitated. I think I would have +taken the iron in any case; but just when I was longing for an +inspiration, my eye wandered among the spectators some sixty or seventy +yards in front of me, and I caught sight of my friend James Kay of +Seaton Carew making frantic efforts to attract my attention, and +pointing with his hand to the ground on the near side of the bunker as a +hint to play short. That settled it. I played short, got my 5, and tied +with Taylor with a total score of 316. + +The play-off was full of interest and excitement. Taylor and I were +granted permission to take part in a tournament at North Berwick before +we settled the question between us. When at length we teed up again at +Muirfield, I felt as though I were fit to play for anything, and started +in a way that justified my confidence, for I picked up a useful lead of +five strokes in the first half-dozen holes. After that Taylor settled +down to most brilliant golf, and brought my lead down to a single +stroke; but at the end of the first round I was two to the good. To my +exasperation, this lead disappeared with the very first stroke that I +made after lunch. There is a wood running along the left-hand side of +the line of the first hole on this course. With my cleek shot from the +tee I pulled the ball into this dismal place, and by the rule in force +at the time I lost two strokes and played again from the tee, Taylor +holing out in 3 to my 5. However, at this crisis I came out again and +won a stroke at each of the next three holes, and only lost one of them +from that point to the seventeenth. Two strokes to the good and two +holes to go--that at least seemed good for the Championship. On the +seventeenth green, my brother Tom, who was carrying my clubs for me, +took a lot of trouble to point out the line of a putt the whole length +of the green, but something prompted me to take an entirely different +course, and I holed the putt, gaining another stroke. There we were, +Taylor and I, at that last hole again, but this time we were together, +and I had a big advantage over my good friend on this occasion. There +was more mental golf to be played, and though Taylor's ordeal was the +more trying, neither of us had any difficulty in coming to a decision. +My course was clear. With a lead of three strokes I had to play for a 5, +as on the previous occasion, because it was certain to give me the +Championship. Taylor's only chance was to blaze away with both his +driver and his brassy, and trust to getting his second shot so well +placed on the green as to secure a 3, which, in the event of my dropping +a stroke through an accident in the bunker or elsewhere and taking 6, +would enable him to tie. I obtained my 5 without difficulty, but +Taylor's gallant bid for 3 met with an unhappy fate, for his second shot +was trapped in the bunker, and it took him 6 to hole out. And so with a +score of 157 to Taylor's 161, I was Open Champion at last, and for the +first time in my life I felt some emotion as a golfer. I was too dazed +to speak, and it seemed as if my feet had taken root on the eighteenth +green, for I don't think I moved for several minutes. + +There is a little tale I want to tell about that Championship, +illustrating the old saying that golf is a very funny game, and giving +some point to a recommendation that I shall have to make later on. Never +in my life have I putted better than I did in those two rounds. If, when +I had a putt the whole length of the green, I did not actually rattle it +into the tin, I laid it stone dead on the lip of the hole; on no green +did I take more than two putts. Yet in the various rounds I had played +on several days before my putting had been very indifferent. How came +this remarkable change? It seems to me that it was entirely due to a +chance visit that I paid to Ben Sayers's shop when I was at North +Berwick in the interval between tieing with Taylor and playing the +deciding rounds. I told the clubmaker who was in charge that I was off +my putting, and wanted a new putter. Hitherto I had been playing with +one of the bent-necked variety. While I was looking about the shop my +eye was attracted by an old cleek that lay in a corner--a light and +neglected club, for which nobody seemed to have any use. The strange +idea occurred to me that this would make a grand putter, and so I told +the man to take out the old shaft and put a new and shorter one in, and +when this process had been completed I determined to experiment with it +in the play-off with Taylor. I fancied this new discovery of mine and +had confidence in it, and that was why I got all those long putts down +and achieved the golfer's greatest ambition. But though I keep it still +and treasure it, I have never played with that putter since. It has done +its duty. + +I must tell just one other story concerning this Muirfield Championship. +Among the favourites at the beginning of operations were Ben Sayers and +Andrew Kirkaldy, and a victory on the part of either of them would have +been most popular in the North, as it would have settled the cup on the +other side of the Tweed. Ben was rather inclined to think his own +prospects were good. Someone asked him the day before the meeting who +was the most likely Champion. "Jist gie me a wun' an' I'll show ye +wha'll be the Champion," he replied, and he had some reason for the +implied confidence in himself, for he knew Muirfield very well, and no +one had better knowledge of how to play the strokes properly there when +there was a gale blowing over the course, and pulling and slicing were +constantly required. But neither Ben nor Andrew was as successful as was +wished, and not unnaturally they thought somewhat less of Muirfield than +they had done before. Therefore it was not fair to ask Kirkaldy, after +the competition had been completed, what he really considered to be the +merits of the course. I was standing near him when a player came up and +bluntly asked, "What d'ye think o' Muirfield now, Andrew?" Andrew's lip +curled as he replied, "No for gowff ava'. Just an auld watter meedie. +I'm gled I'm gaun hame." But the inquirer must needs ejaculate, "Hooch +ay, she would be ferry coot whateffer if you had peen in Harry Fardon's +shoes." + +There was an exciting finish also to the 1898 Championship, which was +held at Prestwick. The final struggle was left to Willie Park and +myself, and at the end of the third round, when Willie was three strokes +to the good, it seemed a very likely victory for him. In the last round +I was playing a hole in front of him, and we were watching each other as +cats watch mice the whole way round the links. I made a reckoning when +we reached the turn that I had wiped out the three strokes deficit, and +could now discuss the remainder of the game with Park without any sense +of inferiority. I finished very steadily, and when Park stood on the +last tee just as I had holed out, he was left to get a 3 at this +eighteenth hole to tie. His drive was a beauty, and plop came the ball +down to the corner of the green, making the 3 seem a certainty. An +immense crowd pressed round the green to see these fateful putts, and in +the excitement of the moment, I, the next most concerned man to Park +himself, was elbowed out. I just saw his long putt roll up to within +about a yard of the hole, which was much too dead for my liking. Then, +while Park proceeded to carry out his ideas of accomplishing a +certainty, I stood at the edge of the crowd, seeing nothing and feeling +the most nervous and miserable man alive. Never while playing have I +felt so uncomfortable as during those two or three minutes. After what +seemed an eternity there rose from all round the ring one long +disappointed "O-o-o-h!" I didn't stop to look at the ball, which was +still outside the hole. I knew that I had won the Championship again, +and so I hastened light-heartedly away. I must admit that Park was +playing an exceedingly fine game at that time, and it was only the fact +that I was probably playing as well as ever I did in my life that +enabled me to get the better of him. The day after winning the +Championship I gained the first prize in a tournament at the adjoining +course of St. Nicholas, and thereafter I frequently took part in +competitions, winning much more often than not. + +But the most important event, and the biggest match I ever had with +anyone, was my engagement with Willie Park, who, not altogether +satisfied at having missed the Championship by a putt, challenged me to +play him home and home matches, thirty-six holes each time, for L100 a +side. There was some difficulty in arranging final details, but +eventually we agreed to play at North Berwick and Ganton, North Berwick +first. I have never seen such a golfing crowd as there was at North +Berwick the day we played there. All golfing Scotland seemed to be in +attendance, and goodness knows how many people would have been watching +the play if it had not happened that the lukewarm golfers went instead +to Edinburgh to see the Prince of Wales, who was visiting the capital +that day. As it was, there were fully seven thousand people on the +links, and yet this huge crowd--surely one of the very biggest that have +ever watched a golf match--was perfectly managed, and never in the least +interfered with a single stroke made by either Park or myself. The +arrangements, indeed, were admirable. In order to keep the crowd +informed of the state of the game at each hole, two flags were made, one +being white with a red "P" on it, and the other red with a "V" worked on +in white. When Park won a hole the flag with his initial was hoisted, +and the "V" was sent up when I won a hole, both flags being waved when +it was a half. At each teeing ground a rope three hundred yards long was +stretched, and fourteen constables and a like number of honorary +officials took control of it. In order to prevent any inconvenience at +the dyke on the course, a boarding, forty feet wide and fifty yards out +of the line from the tee to the hole, was erected, so that the crowd +could walk right over. Mr. C.C. Broadwood, the Ganton captain, acted as +my referee, and Lieutenant "Freddy" Tait served in the same capacity on +behalf of Park. One of the most laborious tasks was that undertaken by +the two Messrs. Hunter, who acted as forecaddies, and did their work +splendidly. In two practice rounds that I played before the great +encounter opened I did 76 each time, and I felt very fit when we teed up +on the eventful morning. And I played very steadily, too, though my +putting was sometimes a little erratic, and Park is one of the greatest +putters who have ever lived. The early part of the game was very +extraordinary in that the first ten holes were halved in 4, 5, 4, 4, 4, +4, 4, 5, 4, 4. Then Park drew first blood, but in the end I finished two +up on the day's play. When Park came to Ganton three weeks later, I beat +him on the two matches by 11 up with 10 to play. Naturally he was +disappointed, but he was very sportsmanlike. He was acknowledged to be +the greatest match-player of his time. I do not care for myself to lay +any more stress on the importance of this match, or of the value of my +own achievement; but those who have taken up golf quite lately can have +no conception of the stir that it caused. It was the event of my +lifetime. + +The remembrance of this encounter brings forward the question of big +money matches generally, which several people have declared they would +like to see renewed. Fifty years ago they were common enough, and there +are great stories told of foursomes between Allan Robertson and Tom +Morris on the one side and the brothers Dunn on the other for a stake of +L400, and so on. The sightseers of golf ask why there are no such +matches now. I think it is because golf professionals have to work too +hard for the money they earn, and they do not care for the idea of +throwing it away again on a single match. They do not receive large +"benefits" or gate money, as do professionals in other branches of +sport. So they deem it best to be careful of their savings. Besides, +such matches tend to create bad feeling among the players, and we +professionals are such a happy family that we distrust any scheme with +such a tendency. Moreover, golf at the present time is a delightfully +pure game, so far as gambling is concerned--purer than most others--and +such matches would very likely encourage the gambling idea. That would +be a misfortune. I contend that after all, for the best and fairest and +most interesting trial of strength there is nothing like a good +tournament where each player has to test himself against all comers. +Every man plays to win, the golf is generally good, and what more is +wanted? + +When I won the Championship again in the following year at Sandwich, my +success was chiefly due to my brassy play, which was better than it ever +was before or has been since. From my brassy strokes the ball was often +enough laid dead near the hole; certainly my second shots were always +the winning shots. The game seemed very easy to me then, and I gained +the Championship for the third time with less difficulty than on either +of the two previous occasions. In 1900 I made a long tour in America, +and won the American Championship. Concerning these events I desire to +write at some length in a later chapter. The greatest success which I +have ever achieved in face of difficulties was when I again became Open +Champion at Prestwick in 1903. For some time beforehand I had been +feeling exceedingly unwell, and, as it appeared shortly afterwards, +there was serious trouble brewing. During the play for the Championship +I was not at all myself, and while I was making the last round I was +repeatedly so faint that I thought it would be impossible for me to +finish. However, when I holed my last putt I knew that I had won. My +brother Tom was runner-up, six strokes behind, and, glad as I was of the +distinction of having equalled the record of the two Morrises in having +won the Championship four times, I could have wished, and did wish, that +Tom had been the victor. In all the circumstances I was very much +surprised that I did so well. The last day's work was an enormous +strain, yet on the following day I played in a tournament at Irvine, won +the first prize, and broke the record of the course. It is wonderful +what golf can be played when one's mind is given to the task, whatever +the adverse factors in the case may be. + +However, these are the events of recent golfing history, and I have no +desire to inflict upon my readers a narrative of any more of them. As +nearly as I can reckon, I have up to date won the first prize in +forty-eight first-class tournaments, and by being four times British +Open Champion and once American have still that record to my credit. And +I hope to play many of my best games in the future, for it takes longer +to kill the golf in a man than it does to breed it. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE WAY TO GOLF + + The mistakes of the beginner--Too eager to play a round--Despair + that follows--A settling down to mediocrity--All men may excel--The + sorrows of a foozler--My advice--Three months' practice to begin + with--The makings of a player--Good golf is best--How Mr. Balfour + learned the game--A wise example--Go to the professional--The + importance of beginning well--Practise with each club + separately--Driver, brassy, cleek, iron, mashie, and putter--Into + the hole at last--Master of a bag of clubs--The first match--How + long drives are made--Why few good players are coming on--Golf is + learned too casually. + + +There are different ways of learning to play the great game of golf, +each of which enjoys its share of patronage. Here as elsewhere, there +are, of course, the two broad divisions into which the methods of doing +all things are in the first instance classed--the right way and the +wrong way--and, generally speaking, the wrong way has proved the more +popular and is accountable for much of the very bad golf that one sees +almost every day upon the links. There are two mistakes to which the +beginner is much addicted, and to them is due the unhappy circumstance +that in so many cases he never gets his club handicap down to single +figures. Before he has ever played golf in his life, but at that +interesting period when he has made up his mind to do so, and has bought +his first set of clubs, he is still inclined to make the same error that +is made by so many people who know nothing of the game, and loftily +remark that they do not want to know anything--that it is too absurdly +simple to demand serious thought or attention, and can surely need no +special pains in learning to play. Is not the ball quite still on the +tee before you, and all that is necessary being to hit it, surely the +rest is but a question of strength and accuracy of aim? Well, we need +not waste time in discussing the opinions of the scoffers outside, or in +submitting that there never was a game less easy to learn than golf. But +the man who has been converted to golf most frequently has a vestige of +this superstition of his heathen days lingering with him, and thus at +the outset he is not inclined to waste any time, as he would say, in +tuition, particularly as it happens that these new converts when quite +fresh are invariably most delightfully enthusiastic. They have promised +themselves a new sensation, and they are eager to get on to the links +and see how much further than the two hundred yards that they have heard +about they can drive at the first attempt or two. Then comes the +inevitable disappointment, the despair, the inclination to give it up, +and finally the utter abject despondency which represents the most +miserable state on earth of the golfer, in which he must be closely +watched lest he should commit murder upon the beautiful set of clubs of +which at the beginning he was so proud, and which he spent his evenings +in brightening to the degree that they resembled the family plate. Then +after this passage through purgatory come the first gleams of hope, when +two holes in succession have been done in only one over bogey, and a 24 +handicap man has actually been beaten by 3 up and 2 to play--a conquest +which, if it is the first one, is rarely forgotten in the golfer's +lifetime. After that there is a steady settling down to mediocrity. +There is afterwards only an occasional fit of despair, the game is for +the most part thoroughly enjoyed, there are times when, after a round in +which driving and putting have been rather better than usual, the golfer +encourages himself over his cup of tea with the fancy that after all he +may some day win a medal and become a senior; but in the main the +conviction forces itself upon him that it is impossible that he can ever +become a really fine player. He argues that this is not at all his own +fault. He points out to himself that circumstances are too strong for +him. He considers that he is not very young--at least not so young as +many of the experts of his club who have been golfing ever since they +were boys. His limbs have not that suppleness which makes the scratch +player. His eye is not so keen as theirs. Besides, he is a business man +who has to give up so much of his time to the earning of his daily bread +that it is impossible he should ever devote himself to the game with +that single-mindedness which alone can ensure proficiency. He must take +himself as he finds himself, and be satisfied with his 18 handicap. +These are the somewhat pathetic excuses that he makes in this mood of +resignation. Of course he is wrong--wrong from the beginning to the +end--but there is little satisfaction in that for the earnest lover of +the game who would see all men excel, and who knows only too well that +this failure is but a specimen of hundreds of his kind--good golfing +lives thrown away, so to speak. If a man is not a cripple, if he suffers +from no physical defect, there is no reason why he should not learn to +play a good game of golf if he goes about it in the right way. There is +indeed a one-armed golfer who plays a very fair game, and one may admit +all these things without in any way suggesting that golf is not a game +for the muscles and the nerves and all the best physical qualities of a +well-grown man. No great amount of brute force is necessary, and +fleetness of foot, which men lose as they grow old, is never wanted; but +still golf is a game for manly men, and when they take it up they should +strive to play it as it deserves to be played. + +Now I know what severe temptation there will be to all beginners to +disregard the advice that I am about to offer them; but before +proceeding any further I will invite them to take the opinion of any old +golfer who, chiefly through a careless beginning (he knows that this is +the cause), has missed his way in the golfer's life, and is still +plodding away as near the limit handicap as he was at the beginning. +The beginner may perhaps be disposed to rely more upon the statement of +this man of experience and disappointment than on that of the +professional, who is too often suspected of having his own ends in view +whenever he gives advice. Let the simple question be put to him whether, +if he could be given the chance of doing it all over again from the +beginning, he would not sacrifice the first three or six months of play +to diligent study of the principles of the game, and the obtaining of +some sort of mastery over each individual shot under the careful +guidance of a skilled tutor, not attempting during this time a single +complete round with all his clubs in action, and refusing all +temptations to play a single match--whether he would not undergo this +slow and perhaps somewhat tedious period of learning if he could be +almost certain of being able at the end of it to play a really good game +of golf, and now at this later period of his career to have a handicap +much nearer the scratch mark than his existing one is to the border-line +between the senior and the junior? I am confident that in the great +majority of cases, looking back on his misspent golfing youth, he would +answer that he would cheerfully do all this learning if he could begin +again at the beginning. Now, of course, it is too late, for what is once +learned can only with extreme difficulty be unlearned, and it is almost +impossible to reform the bad style and the bad habits which have taken +root and been cultivated in the course of many years; and if it were +possible it would be far more difficult than it would have been to learn +the game properly at the beginning. + +My earnest advice to the beginner is to undergo this slow process of +tuition for nothing less than three months, and preferably more. It is a +very long time, I know, and it may seem painfully tedious work, simply +knocking a ball backwards and forwards for all those months; but if he +does not accept my suggestion he will have harder things to try his +patience during many years afterwards, while, if he takes my advice, he +may be down very near to scratch at the end of his first year, and he +will be very thankful that he spent the period of probation as he did. +He will constantly be giving a half to players who have been playing for +more years than he has months, and he will be holding his own in the +very best golfing company. He will be getting the finest delight out of +the game that it is possible to get. It is said that the long handicap +man gets as much pleasure out of the game as the short handicap man. As +the former has never been a short handicap man he is evidently not +qualified to judge. The scratch man, who has been through it all, would +never change his scratch play for that of his old long-handicap days--at +least I have never yet met the scratch man who would. No doubt the noble +army of foozlers derive an immense amount of enjoyment from the practice +of their game, and it is my earnest prayer that they may long continue +to do so. It is one of the glorious advantages of golf that all, the +skilled and the unskilled, can revel in its fascinations and mysteries; +but there is no golfing delight so splendid as that which is obtained +from playing the perfect game, or one which nearly approaches it. The +next best thing to it is playing what one knows to be an improving game, +however bad, and the golfer whose play has been incorrectly established +has not often even the knowledge that his game is improving. He declares +more often than not that it gets worse, and one is frequently inclined +to believe him. + +Now the middle-aged man may say that he is too old to go in for this +sort of thing, that all he wants is a little fresh air and exercise, and +as much enjoyment as he can get out of playing the game in just the same +sort of way that the "other old crocks" do. He would rather play well, +of course, if it were not too late to begin; but it is too late, and +there is an end of it. That is the way in which he puts it. So large a +proportion of our new converts to golf belong to this middle-aged class, +that it is worth while giving a few special words of advice to them. Mr. +Forty and Mr. Forty-Five, you are not a day too old, and I might even +make scratch men of you, if I were to take you in hand and you did all +the things I told you to do and for as long as I told you. Given fair +circumstances, there is no reason why any man should despair of becoming +either a scratch player or one who is somewhere very near it, and it is +as easy to learn to play well as it is to learn to play badly. + +So I advise every golfer to get hold of the game stroke by stroke, and +never be too ambitious at the commencement. I have heard it stated on +very good authority that when Mr. Balfour first began to play he +submitted himself to very much the same process of tuition as that which +I am about to advise, and that under the guidance of Tom Dunn he +actually spent a miserable fortnight in bunkers only, learning how to +get out of them from every possible position. The right honourable +gentleman must have saved hundreds of strokes since then as the result +of that splendid experience, trying as it must have been. He is in these +days a very good and steady player, and he might be still better if +parliamentary cares did not weigh so heavily upon him. I may humbly +suggest that the way in which he began to play golf was characteristic +of his wisdom. + +Therefore, when the golfer has become possessed of his first set of +clubs, let him proceed to the shop of a good professional +player--presumably it will be the shop where he bought his clubs--and +let him place himself unreservedly in the hands of this expert in the +game. Most professionals are good players and good teachers, and the +golfer cannot go far wrong in this matter if he allows himself to be +guided by his own instincts. I say that he should place himself +unreservedly in this man's hands; but in case it should be necessary I +would make one exception to this stipulation. If he thinks well of my +advice and desires to do the thing with the utmost thoroughness from the +beginning, he may request that for the first lesson or two no ball may +be put upon the ground at which to practise swings. The professional is +sure to agree that this is the best way, though he encounters so few +beginners who are prepared to make all the sacrifices that I have +suggested, that he might have hesitated in recommending this course of +procedure himself. + +A golfer's swing is often made for good or ill in the first week of his +experience. His first two days of practice may be of the greatest +importance in fashioning his style. If, when he takes his first lesson +or two and makes his first few swings, he has a ball on the ground +before him which he is trying to hit, all his thoughts will be +concentrated on what appears to him to be the necessity of hitting +it--hitting it at any cost. No matter what he has been told about the +way to swing, he will forget it all in this moment of anxiety, and swing +anyhow. In such circumstances a really natural and proper swing is +rarely accomplished, and, before the golfer is aware of the frightful +injustice he has done himself, his future prospects will probably have +been damaged. But if he has no ball before him he will surely learn to +swing his club in exactly the way in which it ought to be swung. His +whole mind will be concentrated upon getting every detail of the action +properly regulated and fixed according to the advice of his tutor, and +by the time he has had two lessons in this way he will have got so +thoroughly into the natural swing, that when he comes to have a ball +teed up in front of him he will unconsciously swing at it in the same +manner as he did when it was absent, or nearly so. The natural swing, or +some of its best features, will probably be there, although very likely +they will be considerably distorted. + +At the same time the young golfer must not imagine because he has +mastered the proper swing when there is no ball before him, that he has +overcome any considerable portion of the difficulties of golf, for even +some of the very best players find that they can swing very much better +without a ball than with one. However, he may now taste the sweet +pleasure of driving a ball from the tee, or of doing his best with that +object in view. His initial attempts may not be brilliant; it is more +than likely that they will be sadly disappointing. He may take comfort +from the fact that in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred they are so. +But by and by a certain confidence will come, he will cease, under the +wise advice of his tutor, to be so desperately anxious to hit the ball +anyhow so long as he hits it, and then in due course the correctness of +swing which he was taught in his first two days will assert itself, and +the good clean-hit drives will come. There will be duffings and toppings +and slicings, but one day there will be a long straight drive right away +down the course, and the tyro will be told that the professional himself +could not have done it better. This is one of the most pleasurable +moments in life. + +His system of practice thereafter should be upon the following lines. He +should continue to practise diligently with his driver until he gets +these good, long balls nearly every time, sternly resisting the +temptation even to so much as look at any of the other nice new clubs +that he has got in his bag, and whose mysteries he is exceedingly +curious to investigate. It may take him a week or a fortnight or a month +to master the driver; but he should do it before he gives a thought to +any other club. When he can use the driver with confidence, he may take +out his new brassy and go through the same process with that, until he +feels that on a majority of occasions, from a fairly decent lie, he +could depend upon making a respectable brassy shot. He will find +unsuspected difficulties in the brassy, and in doing his best to +overcome them he will probably lose to some extent the facility for +driving which he had acquired. Therefore, when he has become a player +with his brassy, he should devote a short space of time to getting back +on to his drive. It will not take him long, and then he should take out +both the clubs he has been practising with and hammer away at the two +of them together, until after a large amount of extra practice he finds +that he is fairly reliable in driving a ball from the tee to begin with, +and putting in a creditable second shot with his brassy from the lie +upon which he found his ball. + +During this second stage of learning he must deny himself the pleasure +of trying his iron clubs just as rigorously as he restrained himself +from the brassy when he was practising drives only; but when the driver +and the brassy are doing well, he may go forward with the cleek. He will +not find this learning such dull work after all. There will be something +new in store for him every week, and each new club as it is taken out of +the bag will afford an entirely new set of experiences. After the driver +and the brassy it will be like a new game when he comes to try cleek +shots, and in the same way he will persevere with the cleek until it is +evident that he really knows how to use it. The driver, the brassy, and +the cleek may then be practised with on the same occasion, and if he has +made the best use of his time and is an apt pupil, he will find himself +now and then, with these three shots taken in turn, getting beyond the +green at some of the longest holes. Next it will be the turn of the +iron, and so in due season he will be able to practise with the driver, +the brassy, the cleek, and the iron. The mashie will follow, and then +the five of them together, and at last he may have an afternoon on the +green trying his skill with a putter, and listening for the first time +to the music of the ball--no such music as this to the golfer's ear, +though it consists of but a single note--as it drops into the tin and is +holed out at last. + +He is at work now with all the clubs that are usually necessary to play +a hole; but at the risk of seeming over careful I would warn him once +more against going along too fast, and thinking that even at this stage +he is able to embark on match play with all the days of studentship left +behind. When he takes out his full set of clubs, he will find, in using +them as occasion demands, that he is strangely erratic all of a sudden +with one or two of them. Let him have half an hour's practice once more +alone with these troublesome fellows until the old order of things has +been restored. Let him treat all other offenders in the same manner. He +must be determined that there shall not be a club in his bag that shall +be allowed to play these tricks with him. Let one day's hard labour be +the invariable penalty, until at last they are all obedient in his +hands, and the joyful day comes when he feels that he can pick any tool +out of his golfing bag and use it skilfully and well, and that after +examining a ball in any lie, at any distance from the hole, or with any +hazard before him, he knows exactly how it should be played, and feels +that he has a very reasonable chance of playing it in that way and +achieving the success that such a shot deserves. Such a stroke will not +be brought off correctly every time; the golfer has not yet been born +who always does the right thing in the right way. But the more one +practises the more frequently will he succeed. Following Mr. Balfour's +good example, the beginner may do worse than spend a few days trying the +most difficult strokes he can discover on his links, for in actual play +he will find himself in these difficult places often enough to begin +with, and a little special study of such shots at the outset will prove +a very valuable investment of time. The ball should be thrown down +carelessly at different places, and should be played from the spot at +which it settles, however uninviting that spot may be. + +When he has secured a fair command over all his clubs, from the driver +to the niblick, the golf student may play a round of the links; but he +should do so only under the watchful eye of the professional, for he +will find that in thus marching on from hole to hole, and perhaps +getting a little excited now and then when he plays a hole more than +usually well, it is only too easy to forget all the good methods in +which he has been so carefully trained, and all the wise maxims he +knows so well by heart that he could almost utter them in his sleep. Let +him play a few rounds in this way, and in between them devote himself as +assiduously as ever to practise with individual clubs, before he thinks +of playing his first match. He must settle his game on a secure +foundation before he measures his strength against an opponent, for +unless it is thus safeguarded it is all too likely that it will crumble +to ruins when the enemy is going strongly, and the novice feels, with a +sense of dismay, that he is not by any means doing himself justice. Of +course I am not suggesting that he should wait until he has advanced far +towards perfection before he engages in his first match. When he has +thoroughly grasped the principles and practice of the game, there is +nothing like match play for proving his quality, but he should not be in +haste thus to indulge himself. Any time from three to six months from +the day when he first took a club in hand will be quite soon enough, and +if he has been a careful student, and is in his first match not overcome +with nerves, he should render a good account of himself and bring +astonishment to the mind of his adversary when the latter is told that +this is the first match of a lifetime. + +During the preparatory period the golfer will be wise to limit his +practices to three or four days a week. More than this will only tire +him and will not be good for his game. I have only now to warn him +against a constant attempt, natural but very harmful, to drive a much +longer ball every time than was driven at the previous stroke. He must +bring himself to understand that length comes only with experience, and +that it is due to the swing becoming gradually more natural and more +certain. He may see players on the links driving thirty or forty yards +further than he has ever driven, and, wondering why, he is seized with a +determination to hit harder, and then the old, old story of the foozled +drive is told again. He forgets that these players are more experienced +than he is, that their swing is more natural to them, and that they are +more certain of it. In these circumstances the extra power which they +put into their stroke is natural also. To give him an exact idea of what +it is that he ought to be well satisfied with, I may say that the +learner who finds that he is putting just two or three yards on to his +drive every second week, may cease to worry about the future, for as +surely as anything he will be a long driver in good time. + +In the course of this volume there are several chapters describing the +way in which the various strokes should be played, but I am no believer +in learning golf from books alone. I do not think it likely that the +professional teacher who is giving the pupil lessons will disagree with +any of the chief points of the methods that I explain, and, read in +conjunction with his frequent lessons at the beginning of his golfing +career, and later on studied perhaps a little more closely and +critically, I have hope that they will prove beneficial. At all events, +as I have already suggested, in the following pages I teach the system +which has won Championships for me, and I teach that system only. + +It is perhaps too much to hope, after all, that any very large +proportion of my readers will make up their minds to the +self-sacrificing thoroughness which I have advocated, and undertake a +careful preparation of from three to six months' duration before really +attempting to play golf. If they all did so we should have some fine new +players. It is because they do not learn to play in this way that so few +good players are coming to the fore in these days. One is sometimes +inclined to think that no new golfer of the first class has come forward +during the last few years. In my opinion it is all due to the fact that +nowadays they learn their game too casually. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE CHOICE AND CARE OF CLUBS + + Difficulties of choice--A long search for the best--Experiments + with more than a hundred irons--Buy few clubs to begin with--Take + the professional's advice--A preliminary set of six--Points of the + driver--Scared wooden clubs are best--Disadvantages of the + socket--Fancy faces--Short heads--Whip in the shaft--The question + of weight--Match the brassy with the driver--Reserve clubs--Kinds + of cleeks--Irons and mashies--The niblick--The putting problem--It + is the man who putts and not the putter--Recent inventions--Short + shafts for all clubs--Lengths and weights of those I use--Be + careful of your clubs--Hints for preserving them. + + +The good golfer loves his clubs and takes a great and justifiable pride +in them. He has many reasons for doing so. Golf clubs are not like most +other implements that are used in sport. A man may go to a shop and pick +out a cricket bat or a billiard cue with which he may be tolerably +certain he will be able to play something approaching to his best game +when he is in the mood for playing it. The acquaintance which is begun +in the shop is complete a few days later. But a man may see a golf club +which he strongly fancies and buy it, and yet find himself utterly +incapable of using it to good advantage. He may purchase club after +club, and still feel that there is something wanting in all of them, +something which he cannot define but which he knows ought to exist if +his own peculiar style of play is to be perfectly suited. Until he finds +this club he is groping in the dark. One driver may be very much like +another, and even to the practised eye two irons may be exactly similar; +but with one the golfer may do himself justice, and with the other court +constant failure. Therefore, the acquisition of a set of clubs, each +one of which enjoys the complete confidence of its owner, is not the +task of a week or even a year. There are some golfers who do not +accomplish it in many years, and happy are they when at last they have +done so. Then they have a very sincere attachment to each one of these +instruments, that have been selected with so much difficulty. It is not +always possible to give reasons for their excellence, for the subtle +qualities of the clubs are not visible to the naked eye. Their owners +only know that at last they have found the clubs that are the best for +them, and that they will not part with them for any money--that is, if +they are golfers of the true breed. In these days I always play with the +same set of irons. They are of different makes, and to the average +golfer they appear quite ordinary irons and very much like others of +their class. But they are the results of trials and tests of more than +one hundred clubs. + +Therefore no golfer in his early days should run away with the idea that +he is going to suit himself entirely with a set of clubs without much +delay, and though his purse may be a small one, I feel obliged to +suggest that money spent in the purchase of new clubs which he strongly +fancies, during his first few years of play, is seldom wasted. Many of +the new acquisitions may be condemned after a very short trial; but +occasionally it will happen that a veritable treasure is discovered in +this haphazard manner. With all these possibilities in view, the +beginner, knowing nothing of golf, and being as yet without a style to +suit or any peculiar tastes that have to be gratified, should restrain +himself from the desire to be fully equipped with a "complete outfit" at +the very beginning of his career. Let him buy as few clubs as possible, +knowing that it is quite likely that not one of those which he purchases +at this stage will hold a place in his bag a year or two later. As he +can have no ideas at all upon the subject, he should leave the entire +selection of his first bag to some competent adviser, and he will not +generally find such an adviser behind the counter at a general athletic +outfitting establishment in the town or city, which too often is the +direction in which he takes his steps when he has decided to play the +game. In these stores the old and practised golfer may often pick up a +good club at a trifling cost; but the beginner would be more likely to +furnish himself with a set which would be poor in themselves and quite +unsuited for his purpose. + +The proper place for him to go to is the professional's shop which is +attached to the club of which he has become a member. Nearly all clubs +have their own professionals, who are makers and sellers of clubs, and I +know no professional who is not thoroughly conscientious in this part of +his business. It pays him to give the completest satisfaction to his +clients, and particularly to the members of his own club. This +professional is also a first-class golfer, who knows all, or nearly all, +that there is to be known about the game, and who in his time has had +imposed upon him the difficult task of teaching hundreds of beginners +their first steps in golf. Thus he knows better than any man the erratic +tendencies of the golfing initiate and the best means of counteracting +them. Experience has given him the faculty for sizing up the golfing +points of the tyro almost at the first glance, and therefore he can +supply him at the beginning with those clubs with which certainly he +will have most chance of success. He will suit his height and his build +and his reach, and he will take care that the clubs in the set which he +makes up are in harmony with each other and will have that lie which +will best suit the player who is to use them. And even though, when the +beginner gathers knowledge of the game and finds out his own +style--which neither he nor the professional can determine in +advance--some of them may gradually become unsuitable to him, they are +nevertheless likely to be in themselves good clubs. + +A beginner may at the outset limit himself to the purchase of six new +clubs. He must have a driver, a brassy, a cleek, an iron, a mashie, and +a putter. At an early opportunity he may add a niblick to this small +set, but there is no need to invest in it at the outset, and as this +club is one which is least likely to require change, it is best that it +should not be bought until the player has some ideas of his own as to +what is wanted. By way of indicating what will be needful to make this +set complete for the purposes of good golf, when the player has obtained +a fairly complete experience, I may mention the instruments that I take +out when playing an important match. I have two drivers, one brassy, a +baffy or spoon, two cleeks (one shorter than the other), an iron, +sometimes one mashie, sometimes two (one for running up and the other +for pitch shots), a niblick, and sometimes two putters (one for long +running-up putts and the other for holing out). This selection may be +varied slightly according to the course on which the match is to be +played and the state of the weather, but in general principles the +constitution of the bag remains the same, and a player who is equipped +with such a set ought to be able to play any hole in any way, and if he +cannot do so it is his own skill that is lacking and not an extra club. +We may now consider in order a few of the points of these clubs. I shall +have occasion, when dealing with the method of play with each of them, +to call attention to many points of detail which can only be properly +explained when indicating particular objects which it is desired to +achieve with them, so for the present I shall confine myself chiefly to +general features. + +Take the driver to begin with, and the preliminary word of advice that I +have to offer concerning the choice of this club is at variance with the +custom of the present moment, though I am confident that before long the +golfing world will again come round to my view of the matter--not my +view only, but that of many of the leading amateur and professional +players. One of the problems which agitate the mind of the golf-club +maker deals with the best and most effectual method of attaching the +head of the club to the shaft. For a very long period this was done by +what we call scaring or splicing, the neck of the club having a long +bevel which was spliced with the shaft and bound round for several +inches with black twine. Latterly, however, a new kind of club has +become the fashion with all but the oldest and most experienced players, +and it is called the socket driver. The continuation of the neck of this +club is shorter than in the case of the spliced driver, and instead of +there being any splicing at all, a hole is bored vertically into the end +of the neck and the shaft fitted exactly into it, glued up, and finally +bound round for less than an inch. This club certainly looks neater than +the old-fashioned sort, and the man who is governed only by appearances +might very easily imagine that it is really more of one piece than the +other, that the union of the shaft with the head has less effect upon +the play of the club, and that therefore it is better. But experience +proves that this is not the case. What we want at this all-important +part of the driver is spring and life. Anything in the nature of a +deadness at this junction of the head with the shaft, which would, as it +were, cut off the one from the other, is fatal to a good driver. I +contend that the socket brings about this deadness in a far greater +degree than does the splice. The scared or old-fashioned drivers have +far more spring in them than the new ones, and it is my experience that +I can constantly get a truer and a better ball with them. When the wood +of the shaft and the wood of the neck are delicately tapered to suit +each other, filed thin and carefully adjusted, wood to wood for several +inches, and then glued and tightened up to each other with twine for +several inches, there is no sharp join whatever but only such a gradual +one as never makes itself felt in practice. Moreover, these clubs are +more serviceable, and will stand much more wear and tear than those +which are made with sockets. Sometimes they give trouble when the glue +loosens, but the socketed club is much easier to break. On club links +generally in these days you will probably see more socketed drivers and +brassies (for these remarks apply to all wooden clubs) than those that +are spliced; but this is simply the result of a craze or fashion with +which neat appearance has something to do; and if you desire to convince +yourself that I am right, take note of the styles of the drivers used by +the best players at the next first-class amateur or professional +tournament that you witness. The men who are playing on these occasions +are ripe with experience, and so long as they get the best results they +do not care what their clubs look like. + +The head of the club should be made of persimmon or dogwood--both very +hard and full of driving power. Usually the bare face of such a club is +good enough for contact with any ball on any tee, but the time will come +when the golfer, developing innumerable fads and fancies, will reach the +conclusion that he must have an artificial face of some kind fitted on +at the place of contact with the ball. Or such an artificial face may +become necessary by reason of the wear and tear on the face of the +driver. Why forsake the old leather face? There is an idea abroad in +these days that it is too soft and dead for the purposes of the new +rubber-cored ball; and the impression that the latter likes the very +hardest surface it is possible to apply to it has resulted in horn, +vulcanite, and even steel faces being fitted to drivers and brassies. I +do not think that in actual practice they are any better than leather, +though some golfers may persuade themselves that they are. If a man, who +is a good and steady driver, makes several drives from the tee with a +club which has a leather face, and several more with another possessing +a steel or vulcanite face, I am confident that he will on the average +get at least as far with the leather as with the other, and I shall be +surprised, if the test is fair and reliable, if he does not get further. +I have leather faces on my drivers, and I think that latterly I have +been driving further than I ever did. A point of objection to the +harder surfaces, which at times is very serious, is that the ball is +very much more liable to skid off them than off others, and thus the +golfer may often blame himself for shots that look like a mixture of +foozle and slice when the fault is not his at all, but that of the +peculiarity of the club with which he is so much in love. On the other +hand, it must be admitted that he scores over his opponent with the +leather-faced club when the weather is wet, for the leather is then +liable to soften and becomes very dead. + +Never select a club because it has a long head, but let your preference +be in favour of the shorter heads. The beginner, or the player of only +moderate experience, puts it to himself that it is a very difficult +thing always to strike the ball fairly on the face of the club, and that +the longer the face is the more room he has for inaccuracy of his +stroke. But he is wrong. Whatever the length of the face, unless the +ball is hit fairly and squarely in the centre, it will not travel +properly, and the effect is really worse when the point of contact is a +little off the centre in a long-faced club than when it is the same +distance removed from the centre of a short face. Moreover, despite this +fact, which will soon become apparent to the golfer, the knowledge that +he has a long-faced driver may very easily get him into a loose way of +playing his tee shots. He may cease to regard exactness as +indispensable, as it always is. The tendency of late years has been to +make the heads of wooden clubs shorter and still shorter, and this +tendency is well justified. + +The question of the whip or suppleness of the shaft must generally be +decided by individual style and preference; but I advise the beginner +against purchasing a whippy driver to start with, whatever he may do +later on. He should rather err on the side of stiffness. When a man is +well on his drive, has a good style, and is getting a long ball from the +tee every time, it is doubtless true that he obtains better results from +a shaft with a little life in it than from a stiff one. But the +advantage is not by any means so great as might be imagined, and many +fine players drive their best balls with stiff clubs. It must always be +remembered that when the stroke is not made perfectly there is a much +greater tendency to slice with a supple shaft than with a stiff one, and +the disadvantages of the former are especially pronounced on a windy +day. It is all a matter of preference and predilection, and when these +are absent the best thing to do is to strike the happy medium and select +a shaft that is fairly supple but which still leaves you in the most +perfect command of the head of the club, and not as if the latter were +connected with your hands by nothing more than a slender rush. + +Weight again is largely a matter of fancy, and there is no rule to the +effect that a slender player should use a light club and one of powerful +build a heavy one; indeed, one constantly finds the slim men employing +the most ponderous drivers, as if, as it were, to make up for their own +lightness, while heavy men will often prefer clubs that are like +pen-holders to them. Once more I suggest the adoption of the medium as +being generally the most satisfactory. I have a strong dislike to +drivers that are unusually light, and I do not think that anyone can +consistently get the best results from them. They entail too much +swinging, and it is much harder to guide the club properly when the +weight of the head cannot be felt. Of course a club that is strongly +favoured by a golfer and suits him excellently in all respects save that +it errs on the side of lightness, can easily be put right by the +insertion of a little lead in the sole. + +Little need be said in this place about the selection of the brassy. +Whatever may be the amount of whip in the shaft of the driver, the +brassy should not possess any undue suppleness, for it has heavier and +rougher work to do than the club which is used for the tee shots, and +there must be very little give in the stick if satisfactory results are +to be obtained when the ball is lying at all heavily. The head and the +face should be small; but in other respects the pattern of the driver +should be closely adhered to, for it is one of the principles of my +tuition that when the golfer takes his brassy in his hand to play his +second shot, he should be brought to feel as nearly as possible that he +is merely doing the drive over again. Many authorities recommend that +the shaft of the brassy shall be an inch or so shorter than that of the +driver; but I can see no necessity for its being shorter; and, on the +other hand, for the reason I have just stated, I think it is eminently +desirable that it should be exactly the same length. On this point I +shall have more to say in another chapter. Care should be taken that +both the brassy and the driver have exactly the same lie, that is to +say, that when the soles of both clubs are laid quite flat upon the +ground the shafts shall be projecting towards the golfer at precisely +the same angle. If they have not the same lie, then, if the player takes +up the same stance at the same distance from the ball when making a +brassy shot as when he struck the ball from the tee with his driver, the +sole of the club will not sweep evenly along the turf as it comes on to +the ball, and the odds will be against a good shot being made. + +I am a strong believer in having reserve drivers and brassies, even if +one is only a very moderate golfer. Everybody knows what it is to suffer +torture during the period when one is said to be "off his drive," and I +think there is no remedy for this disease like a change of clubs. There +may be nothing whatever the matter with the club you have been playing +with, and which at one time gave you so much delight, but which now +seems so utterly incapable of despatching a single good ball despite all +the drastic alterations which you make in your methods. Of course it is +not at all the fault of the club, but I think that nearly everybody gets +more or less tired of playing with the same implement, and at length +looks upon it with familiar contempt. The best thing to do in such +circumstances is to give it a rest, and it will soon be discovered that +absence makes the heart grow fonder in this matter as in so many others. +But the reserve clubs which are taken out while the first string are +resting should be in themselves good and almost as exactly suitable to +the player's style as the others. It is a mistake to take up a club +which has been regarded as a failure, and in which one has no +confidence. Therefore, I suggest that so soon as the golfer has really +found his style and is tolerably certain about it, and the exact kind of +club that he likes best, he should fit himself up with both a spare +driver and a spare brassy, and give them each a turn as occasion +demands. It is hardly necessary to add that whenever an important game +is being played, considerable wisdom will be exercised if the reserves +are taken out in the bag along with the clubs with which it is intended +to play, for though breakages are not matters of everyday occurrence, +they do happen sometimes, and nothing would be more exasperating in such +a contingency than the knowledge that for the rest of the game you would +be obliged to play your tee shots with your brassy or your brassy shots +with your cleek. + +The driving cleek, for long shots, should have a fairly straight face +with very little loft upon it. It should have a thick blade, should be +fairly heavy, and its shaft should be stout and stiff. This makes a +powerful club, with which some fine long work can be accomplished. I am +inclined to think that one reason why so many players find it extremely +difficult to get good work out of their cleeks, is that they use them +with heads too thin and light. A large proportion of the cleeks one sees +about are too delicate and ladylike. It is sometimes expected of a cleek +that it will despatch a ball for, say, a hundred and sixty yards, and no +club will do that, no matter how skilful the golfer who wields it may +be, unless there is sufficient weight in it. A second cleek, which will +be found in the bag of the experienced golfer, will have a thinner +blade and much more loft upon it, but in other respects will be very +much like the other one, though not nearly so heavy. This instrument is +for the shorter cleek-shot distances, which are just so long that an +iron cannot reach them. + +There is great diversity in irons, and the player may be left in the +first place in the hands of his professional adviser, and afterwards to +his own taste, with the single hint from me that undue lightness should +at all times be avoided. Of the two mashies which the complete golfer +will carry out with him on to the links, one, for pitching the ball well +up with very little run to follow, will have a deep face, will be of +medium weight, and be very stiff in the shaft. I emphasise the deep face +and the rigidity of the shaft. This mashie will also have plenty of loft +upon it. The other one, for use chiefly in running up to the hole, will +have a straighter face, but will otherwise be much the same. However, +not all golfers consider two mashies to be necessary, and I myself +depend chiefly upon one. Of the niblick it need only be said that it +must be strong, heavy, and well lofted. + +I have stated that the golfer may carry two putters in his bag; but I +mean that he should do so only when he has a definite and distinct +purpose for each of them, and I certainly do not advise his going from +one kind to the other for the same sort of putt. There is great danger +in such a practice. If he is doing very poor putting with one club, he +will naturally fly for help to the other one, and the probability is +that he will do just as badly with that. Then he returns to the first +one, and again finds that his putts do not come off, and by this time he +is in a hopeless quandary. If he has only one putter he will generally +make some sort of a success of it if he can putt at all, and my private +belief is that the putter itself has very little to do with the way in +which a golfer putts. It is the man that counts and not the tool. I have +tried all kinds of putters in my time, and have generally gone back to +the plainest and simplest of all. I have occasionally used the aluminium +putter. It has much to recommend it to those who like this style of +implement, and Braid always does very well with it. The Travis or +Schenectady putter, which was so popular for a short time after the +Amateur Championship last year, owing to the American player having done +such wonderful things with it, I do not succeed with. When I try to putt +with it I cannot keep my eye away from its heel. But the fact is, as I +have already indicated, that you can putt with anything if you hit the +ball properly. Everything depends on that--hitting the ball +properly--and no putter that was ever made will help you to hole out if +you do not strike the ball exactly as it ought to be struck, while if +you do so strike it, any putter will hole out for you. The philosophy of +putting is simple, but is rarely appreciated. The search for the magic +putter that will always pop the ball into the hole and leave the player +nothing to do will go on for ever. + +One other observation that I have to make on clubs in general is, that I +think it is a mistake to have the shafts any longer than is absolutely +necessary. Some golfers think that an iron or a cleek is just the right +length for them when there are still a few inches of stick projecting +inwards, towards their bodies, when they have made their grip. Why that +spare stick? It cannot possibly be of any use, and may conceivably be +harmful. It is surely better to have it cut off and then to grip the +club at the end of the handle. A larger sense of power and control is +obtained in this manner. My own clubs seem to most golfers who examine +them to be on the short side, and this is a convenient opportunity for +giving a few details concerning my favourites, which may prove of +interest to the readers of these notes. I should prefix the statement +with the observation that I am 5 feet 9-1/4 inches in height, and that +normally I weigh 11-1/2 stones. Young players who might be inclined to +adapt their clubs to my measurements should bear these factors in mind, +though I seem to be of something like average height and build. Here, +then, are the statistics of my bag:-- + + Club. Length. Weight. + Driver 42 inches 12-3/4 oz. + Brassy 42 " 12-1/2 " + Driving mashie 38 " 14-1/2 " + Driving cleek 37 " 13-1/2 " + Light cleek 37 " 13-1/2 " + Iron 35-1/2 " 15-1/4 " + Mashie 36-1/2 " 15-1/4 " + Niblick 37 " 19 " + Putter (putting cleek) 33-1/2 " 15 " + +Each measurement was made from the heel to the end of the shaft. + +[Illustration: _PLATE I._ MY SET OF CLUBS] + +I have two explanations to make concerning this list of dimensions. I +have included the driving mashie, of which I have said nothing in this +chapter. It is an alternative club, and it is better that it should be +discussed exclusively in its proper place, which is when cleek shots are +being considered. Again, on making a critical examination of these +measurements, the golfer of a little experience will promptly ask why my +mashie is an inch and a quarter longer than my iron. It is longer +because one has sometimes to play high lofting shots over trees and the +like, and in such cases the loft of the mashie is necessary and a +considerable amount of power as well--hence the extra stick. + +As I have said, the collection of a set of clubs that conform in +essentials to their owner's ideal is a very slow and often an expensive +process. A club that was bought in the shop for six shillings might have +cost its owner six sovereigns when the many unsatisfactory and discarded +articles that were bought while this one perfect gem was being searched +for are taken into account. Therefore it behoves the man who is to any +extent satisfied with his clubs to take a proper pride in them and look +well after them. I like to see a golfer play with bright irons, and +shafts that give evidence of tender and affectionate care. It jars upon +one's nerves to see rusty irons and mashies which have evidently not +been cleaned for months, and which are now past hope. Such a man does +not deserve to have good clubs, nor to play good strokes with them. But +many golfers, even when they have a tender and careful regard for the +excellent merits of their favourites, seem to imagine that the beginning +and end of their duty towards them is to keep their irons bright and +free from the slightest semblance of rust. More often than not the shaft +is never given a thought, and yet a perfect shaft that just suits the +man who has to play with it is one of the rarest and most difficult +things to discover. It would be difficult to replace it, and to keep it +in its best condition it needs constant care and attention. An +unreasoning golfer may play with his clubs on wet days, see that the +irons are brightened afterwards, and store his collection in his locker +without another thought concerning them. And then some time later when +he is out on the links snap goes one of his shafts, and "Confound that +rotten wood!" he exclaims. But it is not a case of rotten wood at all. +When shafts are constantly allowed to get wet and are afterwards merely +wiped with a rag and given no further attention, all the life dries out +of the wood, and they are sure to break sooner or later. It should be +your invariable practice, when you have been out on a wet day, first to +see that your shafts are well dried and then to give them a thoroughly +good oiling with linseed oil, applied with a rag kept specially for the +purpose. This will keep them in excellent condition. The tops of the +club heads may be oiled in the same way; but extreme care should be +taken that not a drop of oil is allowed to touch the face of the wooden +clubs. It would tend to open the grain, and then, when next you played +in the wet, the damp would get inside the wood and cause it gradually to +rot. I counsel all golfers when playing in wet weather to have covers or +hoods attached to their bags, so that the heads of their instruments may +always be kept in shelter. This will do much for their preservation, +and at the same time add materially to the satisfaction of the player, +for he can never feel that he has the means to do himself justice on the +tee when the head of his driver is in a half soaked state. No player, +whatever his abilities as a golfer, should refrain from exercising this +precautionary measure because he has seen only the very best players +doing so, and because he fancies it may be regarded by his friends as +affectation. The fact that it is chiefly the best players who do these +things only indicates that they know better than others what is due to +their clubs and how to look after them. There is no affectation in +copying their methods in this respect. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +DRIVING--PRELIMINARIES + + Advantage of a good drive--And the pleasure of it--More about the + driver--Tee low--Why high tees are bad--The question of + stance--Eccentricities and bad habits--Begin in good + style--Measurements of the stance--The reason why--The grip of the + club--My own method and its advantages--Two hands like + one--Comparative tightness of the hands--Variations during the + swing--Certain disadvantages of the two-V grip--Addressing the + ball--Freaks of style--How they must be compensated for--Too much + waggling--The point to look at--Not the top of the ball but the + side of it. + + +It has been said that the amateur golfers of Great Britain are in these +days suffering from a "debauchery of long driving." The general sense of +Mr. Travis's remark is excellent, meaning that there is a tendency to +regard a very long drive as almost everything in the playing of a hole, +and to be utterly careless of straightness and the short game so long as +the ball has been hit from the tee to the full extent of the golfer's +power. A long drive is not by any means everything, and the young golfer +should resist any inclination to strive for the 250-yard ball to the +detriment or even the total neglect of other equally important, though +perhaps less showy, considerations in the playing of a hole. But having +said so much, and conveyed the solemn warning that is necessary, I am +obliged to admit that the long driver has very full justification for +himself, and that the wisely regulated ambition of the young player to +be one is both natural and laudable. The long drive, as I say, is not +everything; but to play well it is as necessary to make a good drive as +to hole a short putt, or nearly so, and from the golfer who does not +drive well a most marvellous excellence is required in the short game if +he is to hold his own in good company, or ever be anything more than a +long-handicap man. The good drive is the foundation of a good game, and +just as one and one make two, so it follows that the man who drives the +longer ball has the rest of the game made easier and more certain for +him. This apart, there is no stroke in golf that gives the same amount +of pleasure as does the perfect driving of the ball from the tee, none +that makes the heart feel lighter, and none that seems to bring the glow +of delight into the watching eye as this one does. The man who has never +stood upon the tee with a sturdy rival near him and driven a perfect +ball, the hands having followed well through and finished nicely up +against the head, while the little white speck in the distance, after +skimming the earth for a time, now rises and soars upwards, clearing all +obstacles, and seeming to revel in its freedom and speed until at last +it dips gracefully back to earth again--I say that the man who has not +done this thing has missed one of the joys of life. I have heard the +completest sportsmen say that there are very few things in the entire +world of sport that can be compared with it, and none that is superior. + +So now let us get on to our drive. + +In the first place, the driver must be selected, and the hints I have +already given upon the choice of clubs will serve tolerably well in this +respect. Let it only be said again that the golfer should do his utmost +to avoid extremes in length or shortness. One hears of the virtues of +fishing-rod drivers, and the next day that certain great players display +a tendency to shorten their clubs. There is nothing like the happy +medium, which has proved its capability of getting the longest balls. +The length of the club must, of course, vary according to the height of +the player, for what would be a short driver for a six-foot man would +almost be a fishing-rod to the diminutive person who stands but five +feet high. Let the weight be medium also; but for reasons already +stated do not let it err on the side of lightness. The shaft of the club +should be of moderate suppleness. As I have said, if it is too whippy it +may be hard to control, but if it is too stiff it leaves too much hard +work to be done by the muscles of the golfer. Practising what I preach, +my own drivers are carefully selected for this delicate medium of +suppleness of shaft, and when a stick is found that is exactly perfect +it is well worth great care for ever. Also I reiterate that the head of +the club should not be too large; driving is not thereby made any +easier, and carelessness is encouraged. The face should not be quite +vertical: if it were, only the top edge and not the full face would be +seen when the stance had been taken and the club head was resting upon +the tee in its proper place. There must be just so much loft that the +face can be seen when the golfer is ready and in position for the swing. +But avoid having too much loft filed on the club as a fancied remedy for +driving too low and getting into all the bunkers. You do not fail to get +the ball up because there is not sufficient loft on the club, but +because you are doing something wrong which can easily be remedied; +while, on the other hand, be very careful of the fact that, as you add +loft to the face of the driver so at the same time you are cutting off +distance and losing both power and the delightful sense of it. When the +weather is wet, it is a good plan to chalk the face of the club, as this +counteracts the tendency of the ball to skid from it. + +Tee the ball low, rejecting the very prevalent but erroneous idea that +you are more certain of getting it away cleanly and well when it is +poised high off the ground. The stroke that sweeps the ball well away +from the low tee is the most natural and perfect, and it follows that +the ball, properly driven from this low tee, is the best of all. +Moreover, one is not so liable to get too much underneath the ball and +make a feeble shot into the sky, which is one of the most exasperating +forms of ineffectual effort in the whole range of golf. Another +convincing argument in favour of the low tee is that it preserves a +greater measure of similarity between the first shot and the second, +helping to make the latter, with the brassy, almost a repetition of the +first, and therefore simple and comparatively easy. If you make a high +tee, when you come to play your second stroke with your brassy, you will +be inclined to find fault with even the most perfect brassy lies--when +the ball is so well held up by the blades of grass that the best +possible shot with this far-sending club should be the result. If you +are favoured with an ordinary brassy lie, you imagine the ball to be in +a hole, exclaim that you are badly cupped, and call out vexatiously for +an iron. This is the regular result of playing from a high tee, whereas, +when the low one is systematically adopted, the difference between the +play with the driver and with the brassy from a good lie is +inconsiderable, the brassy is used more frequently, and the results are +regularly better. As I have already suggested, one of the principles of +my long game is to make the play with the brassy as nearly similar to +that with the driver as possible, and a low tee is the first step in +that direction. + +There are wide variations in the stances adopted by different players, +and extremes of one sort or another are usually the result of bad habits +contracted in the early stages of initiation into the mysteries of the +game. Sometimes the ball is seen opposite the toe of the left foot; at +others it is far away to the right. Either of these players may get long +balls constantly, but it is in spite of the stance and not because of +it, for they are contending against a handicap all the time, and have +unconsciously to introduce other mannerisms into their play to +counteract the evil which a bad stance inevitably brings about. It is +certain that if they had driven in the easier way from their youth +upwards, they would in their golfing prime have been getting longer +balls than those with which they are after all apparently satisfied. But +I have already admitted generally, and here again admit in a specific +instance, the dissatisfaction, and even danger, that is likely to +accrue from an attempt to uproot a system of play which has been +established in an individual for many years. One can only insist upon +the necessity of starting well, and plead earnestly to any readers who +may not yet be far advanced in their experience of the game, to see that +their play is based on wise and sure foundations. There is nothing of my +own discovery or invention in my stance for the drive. It is simply that +which is theoretically and scientifically correct, being calculated, +that is, to afford the greatest freedom of movement to the arms, legs, +and body in the swinging of the club, so that the strength may be +exerted to the fullest advantage at the right moment and continued in +its effect upon the ball for the longest possible period. + +First, then, as to distance from the ball. The player should stand so +far away from it that when he is in position and the club face is +resting against the teed ball, just as when ready to strike it, the end +of the shaft shall reach exactly up to his left knee when the latter is +ever so slightly bent. In this position he should be able, when he has +properly gripped the club, to reach the ball comfortably and without any +stretching, the arms indeed being not quite straight out but having a +slight bend at the elbows, so that when the club is waggled in the +preliminary address to the ball, plenty of play can be felt in them. I +must now invite the player who is following me in these remarks to give +his attention simultaneously to the photograph of myself, as I have +taken my stance upon the tee for an ordinary drive (Plate VI.), with the +object of getting the longest ball possible under conditions in all +respects normal; and to the small diagram in the corner of the picture +giving all the measurements necessary to a complete understanding of the +position. I may point out again that my height is 5 feet 9-1/4 inches, +and that the length of my driver from the heel to the end of the shaft +is 42 inches. My stature being medium, the majority of players who +desire to follow my suggestions will be able to do so without any +altering of the measurements given in these diagrams; and, indeed, until +any variation in height one way or the other becomes considerable, there +is no necessity to vary them. Remember that in this and all subsequent +illustrations the line marked A points to the direction in which it is +desired that the ball should travel, and that the B line over which the +player stands is at right angles to it. Those who wish at this moment to +examine the stance in the most practical manner, and to compare it with +that which they have been in the habit of playing from, need hardly be +informed that at the corners of nearly every carpet there are +rectangular lines either in the pattern or made by borders, which may be +taken to represent those in the diagram, and a penny placed at the +junction will stand for the ball. It will be observed that, for the most +lucid and complete exposition of the stances, in this and all subsequent +cases, the diagrams have been turned about, so that here the player has, +as it were, his back to the reader, while in the photographs he is, of +course, facing him. But the stances are identical. The diagrams have +been drawn to scale. + +It will be noticed, in the first place, that I have my toes turned well +outwards. The pivoting which is necessary, and which will be described +in due course, is done naturally and without any effort when the toes +are pointed in this manner. While it is a mistake to place the feet too +near each other, there is a common tendency to place them too far apart. +When this is done, ease and perfection of the swing are destroyed and +power is wasted, whilst the whole movement is devoid of grace. It will +be seen that my left foot is a little, but not much, in advance of the +ball. My heel, indeed, is almost level with it, being but an inch from +the B line at the end of which the ball is teed. The toe, however, is +9-1/2 inches away from it, all measurements in this case and others +being taken from the exact centre of the point of the toe. The point of +the right toe is 19 inches distant from the B line, and while this toe +is 27-1/2 inches from the A line the other is 34 inches from it, so that +the right foot is 6-1/2 inches in advance of the left. After giving +these measurements, there is really little more to explain about the +stance, particularly as I shall show shortly how variations from it +almost certainly bring about imperfect drives. Theoretically, the reason +for the position is, I think, fairly obvious. The right foot is in +advance of the left, so that at the most critical period of the stroke +there shall be nothing to impede the follow-through, but everything to +encourage it, and so that at the finish the body itself can be thrown +forward in the last effort to continue the application of power. It +would not be in a position to do so if the left foot were in front to +bar the way. The position of the ball as between the right foot and the +left is such that the club will strike it just at the time when it is +capable of doing so to the utmost advantage, being then, and for the +very minute portion of a second during which ball and club may be +supposed to remain in contact, moving in as nearly as possible a +straight line and at its maximum speed. + +[Illustration: _PLATE II._ THE GRIP WITH THE LEFT HAND] + +[Illustration: _PLATE III._ THE OVERLAPPING GRIP] + +[Illustration: _PLATE IV._ THE OVERLAPPING GRIP] + +[Illus ration: _PLATE V._ THE OVERLAPPING GRIP] + +Now comes the all-important consideration of the grip. This is another +matter in which the practice of golfers differs greatly, and upon which +there has been much controversy. My grip is one of my own invention. It +differs materially from most others, and if I am asked to offer any +excuse for it, I shall say that I adopted it only after a careful trial +of all the other grips of which I had ever heard, that in theory and +practice I find it admirable--more so than any other--and that in my +opinion it has contributed materially to the attainment of such skill as +I possess. The favour which I accord to my method might be viewed with +suspicion if it had been my natural or original grip, which came +naturally or accidentally to me when I first began to play as a boy, so +many habits that are bad being contracted at this stage and clinging to +the player for the rest of his life. But this was not the case, for when +I first began to play golf I grasped my club in what is generally +regarded as the orthodox manner, that is to say, across the palms of +both hands separately, with both thumbs right round the shaft (on the +left one, at all events), and with the joins between the thumbs and +first fingers showing like two V's over the top of the shaft. This is +usually described as the two-V grip, and it is the one which is taught +by the majority of professionals to whom the beginner appeals for first +instruction in the game. Of course it is beyond question that some +players achieve very fine results with this grip, but I abandoned it +many years ago in favour of one that I consider to be better. My +contention is that this grip of mine is sounder in theory and easier in +practice, tends to make a better stroke and to secure a straighter ball, +and that players who adopt it from the beginning will stand a much +better chance of driving well at an early stage than if they went in for +the old-fashioned two-V. My grip is an overlapping, but not an +interlocking one. Modifications of it are used by many fine players, and +it is coming into more general practice as its merits are understood and +appreciated. I use it for all my strokes, and it is only when putting +that I vary it in the least, and then the change is so slight as to be +scarcely noticeable. The photographs (Plates II., III., IV., and V.) +illustrating the grip of the left hand singly, and of the two together +from different points of view, should now be closely examined. + +It will be seen at once that I do not grasp the club across the palm of +either hand. The club being taken in the left hand first, the shaft +passes from the knuckle joint of the first finger across the ball of the +second. The left thumb lies straight down the shaft--that is to say, it +is just to the left of the centre of the shaft. But the following are +the significant features of the grip. The right hand is brought up so +high that the palm of it covers over the left thumb, leaving very little +of the latter to be seen. The first and second fingers of the right hand +just reach round to the thumb of the left, and the third finger +completes the overlapping process, so that the club is held in the grip +as if it were in a vice. The little finger of the right hand rides on +the first finger of the left. The great advantage of this grip is that +both hands feel and act like one, and if, even while sitting in his +chair, a player who has never tried it before will take a stick in his +hands in the manner I have described, he must at once be convinced that +there is a great deal in what I say for it, although, of course, if he +has been accustomed to the two V's, the success of my grip cannot be +guaranteed at the first trial. It needs some time to become thoroughly +happy with it. + +We must now consider the degree of tightness of the grip by either hand, +for this is an important matter. Some teachers of golf and various books +of instruction inform us that we should grasp the club firmly with the +left hand and only lightly with the right, leaving the former to do the +bulk of the work and the other merely to guide the operations. It is +astonishing with what persistency this error has been repeated, for +error I truly believe it is. Ask any really first-class player with what +comparative tightness he holds the club in his right and left hands, and +I am confident that in nearly every case he will declare that he holds +it nearly if not quite as tightly with the right hand as with the left. +Personally I grip quite as firmly with the right hand as with the other +one. When the other way is adopted, the left hand being tight and the +right hand simply watching it, as it were, there is an irresistible +tendency for the latter to tighten up suddenly at some part of the +upward or downward swing, and, as surely as there is a ball on the tee, +when it does so there will be mischief. Depend upon it the instinct of +activity will prevent the right hand from going through with the swing +in that indefinite state of looseness. Perhaps a yard from the ball in +the upward swing, or a yard from it when coming down, there will be a +convulsive grip of the right hand which, with an immediate +acknowledgment of guilt, will relax again. Such a happening is usually +fatal; it certainly deserves to be. Slicing, pulling, sclaffing, and the +foundering of the innocent globe--all these tragedies may at times be +traced to this determination of the right hand not to be ignored but to +have its part to play in the making of the drive. Therefore in all +respects my right hand is a joint partner with the left. + +The grip with the first finger and thumb of my right hand is exceedingly +firm, and the pressure of the little finger on the knuckle of the left +hand is very decided. In the same way it is the thumb and first finger +of the left hand that have most of the gripping work to do. Again, the +palm of the right hand presses hard against the thumb of the left. In +the upward swing this pressure is gradually decreased, until when the +club reaches the turning-point there is no longer any such pressure; +indeed, at this point the palm and the thumb are barely in contact. This +release is a natural one, and will or should come naturally to the +player for the purpose of allowing the head of the club to swing well +and freely back. But the grip of the thumb and first finger of the right +hand, as well as that of the little finger upon the knuckle of the first +finger of the left hand, is still as firm as at the beginning. As the +club head is swung back again towards the ball, the palm of the right +hand and the thumb of the left gradually come together again. Both the +relaxing and the re-tightening are done with the most perfect +graduation, so that there shall be no jerk to take the club off the +straight line. The easing begins when the hands are about shoulder high +and the club shaft is perpendicular, because it is at this time that the +club begins to pull, and if it were not let out in the manner explained, +the result would certainly be a half shot or very little more than that, +for a full and perfect swing would be an impossibility. This relaxation +of the palm also serves to give more freedom to the wrist at the top of +the swing just when that freedom is desirable. + +I have the strongest belief in the soundness of the grip that I have +thus explained, for when it is employed both hands are acting in unison +and to the utmost advantage, whereas it often happens in the two-V grip, +even when practised by the most skilful players, that in the downward +swing there is a sense of the left hand doing its utmost to get through +and of the right hand holding it back. + +There is only one other small matter to mention in connection with the +question of grip. Some golfers imagine that if they rest the left thumb +down the shaft and let the right hand press upon it there will be a +considerable danger of breaking the thumb, so severe is the pressure +when the stroke is being made. As a matter of fact, I have quite +satisfied myself that if the thumb is kept in the same place there is +not the slightest risk of anything of the kind. Also if the thumb +remains immovable, as it should, there is no possibility of the club +turning in the hands as so often happens in the case of the two-V grip +when the ground is hit rather hard, a pull or a slice being the usual +consequence. I must be excused for treating upon these matters at such +length. They are often neglected, but they are of extreme importance in +laying the foundations of a good game of golf. + +In addressing the ball, take care to do so with the centre of the face +of the club, that is, at the desired point of contact. Some awkward +eccentricities may frequently be observed on the tee. A player may be +seen addressing his ball from the toe of the driver, and I have even +noticed the address being made with the head of the club quite inside +the ball, while in other cases it is the heel of the club which is +applied to the object to be struck. The worthy golfers who are +responsible for these freaks of style no doubt imagine that they are +doing a wise and proper thing, and in the most effectual manner +counteracting some other irregularity of their method of play which may +not be discoverable, and which is in any case incurable. Yet nothing is +more certain than that another irregularity must be introduced into the +drive in order to correct the one made in the address. To the point at +which the club is addressed it will naturally return in the course of +the swing, and if it is to be guided to any other than the original +place, there must be a constant effort all through the swing to effect +this change in direction, and most likely somewhere or other there will +be sufficient jerk to spoil the drive. In the case where the ball is +addressed with the toe of the club, the player must find it necessary +almost to fall on the ball in coming down, and it is quite impossible +for him to get his full distance in such circumstances. + +A waggle of the head of the club as a preliminary before commencing the +swing is sometimes necessary after the stance and grip have been taken, +but every young golfer should be warned against excess in this habit. +With the stance and grip arranged, the line of the shot in view, and a +full knowledge of what is required from the stroke, there is really very +little more that needs thinking about before the swing is taken. One +short preliminary waggle will tend to make the player feel comfortable +and confident, but some golfers may be observed trying the patience of +all about them by an interminable process of waggling, the most likely +result of which is a duffed shot, since, when at last the stroke is +made, the player is in a state of semi-catalepsy, and has no clear idea +of what he is going to do or how he is going to do it. + +In addressing the ball, and during the upward and downward swings until +it has been safely despatched, the sight should be kept riveted, not on +the top of the ball, as is customary, but upon the ground immediately to +the right of it (see diagram on p. 170). To the point where the gaze is +fixed the head of the club will automatically be guided. That is why you +are told to keep your eye on the ball. But you do not want to hit the +top of the ball. So look to the side, where you do want to hit it. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +DRIVING--THE SWING OF THE CLUB + + "Slow back"--The line of the club head in the upward swing--The + golfer's head must be kept rigid--The action of the + wrists--Position at the top of the swing--Movements of the + arms--Pivoting of the body--No swaying--Action of the feet and + legs--Speed of the club during the swing--The moment of + impact--More about the wrists--No pure wrist shot in golf--The + follow-through--Timing of the body action--Arms and hands high up + at the finish--How bad drives are made--The causes of slicing--When + the ball is pulled--Misapprehensions as to slicing and + pulling--Dropping of the right shoulder--Its evil consequences--No + trick in long driving--Hit properly and hard--What is pressing and + what is not--Summary of the drive. + + +Now let us consider the upward and downward swings of the club, and the +movements of the arms, legs, feet, and body in relation to them. As a +first injunction, it may be stated that the club should be drawn back +rather more slowly than you intend to bring it down again. "Slow back" +is a golfing maxim that is both old and wise. The club should begin to +gain speed when the upward swing is about half made, and the increase +should be gradual until the top is reached, but it should never be so +fast that control of the club is to any extent lost at the +turning-point. The head of the club should be taken back fairly straight +from the ball--along the A line--for the first six inches, and after +that any tendency to sweep it round sharply to the back should be +avoided. Keep it very close to the straight line until it is half-way +up. The old St. Andrews style of driving largely consisted in this +sudden sweep round, but the modern method appears to be easier and +productive of better results. So this carrying of the head of the club +upwards and backwards seems to be a very simple matter, capable of +explanation in a very few words; but, as every golfer of a month's +experience knows, there is a long list of details to be attended to, +which I have not yet named, each of which seems to vie with the others +in its attempt to destroy the effectiveness of the drive. Let us begin +at the top, as it were, and work downwards, and first of all there is +the head of the golfer to consider. + +The head should be kept perfectly motionless from the time of the +address until the ball has been sent away and is well on its flight. The +least deviation from this rule means a proportionate danger of disaster. +When a drive has been badly foozled, the readiest and most usual +explanation is that the eye has been taken off the ball, and the wise +old men who have been watching shake their heads solemnly, and utter +that parrot-cry of the links, "Keep your eye on the ball." Certainly +this is a good and necessary rule so far as it goes; but I do not +believe that one drive in a hundred is missed because the eye has not +been kept on the ball. On the other hand, I believe that one of the most +fruitful causes of failure with the tee shot is the moving of the head. +Until the ball has gone, it should, as I say, be as nearly perfectly +still as possible, and I would have written that it should not be moved +to the extent of a sixteenth of an inch, but for the fact that it is not +human to be so still, and golf is always inclined to the human side. +When the head has been kept quite still and the club has reached the top +of the upward swing, the eyes should be looking over the middle of the +left shoulder, the left one being dead over the centre of that shoulder. +Most players at one time or another, and the best of them when they are +a little off their game, fall into every trap that the evil spirits of +golf lay for them, and unconsciously experience a tendency to lift the +head for five or six inches away from the ball while the upward swing is +being taken. This is often what is imagined to be taking the eye off the +ball, particularly as, when it is carried to excess, the eye, +struggling gallantly to do its duty, finds considerable difficulty in +getting a sight of the ball over the left shoulder, and sometimes loses +it altogether for an instant. An examination of the photograph showing +the top of the swing (Plate VII.) will make it clear that there is very +little margin for the moving of the head if the ball is to be kept in +full view for the whole of the time. + +[Illustration: _PLATE VI._ DRIVER AND BRASSY. THE STANCE] + +[Illustration: _PLATE VII._ DRIVER AND BRASSY. TOP OF THE SWING] + +[Illustration: _PLATE VIII._ DRIVER AND BRASSY. TOP OF THE SWING. FROM +BEHIND] + +[Illustration: _PLATE IX._ DRIVER AND BRASSY. FINISH OF THE SWING] + +In the upward swing the right shoulder should be raised gradually. It is +unnecessary for me to submit any instruction on this point, since the +movement is natural and inevitable, and there is no tendency towards +excess; but the arms and wrists need attention. From the moment when the +club is first taken back the left wrist should begin to turn inwards +(that is to say, the movement is in the same direction as that taken by +the hands of a clock), and so turn away the face of the club from the +ball. When this is properly done, the toe of the club will point to the +sky when it is level with the shoulder and will be dead over the middle +of the shaft. This turning or twisting process continues all the way +until at the top of the swing the toe of the club is pointing straight +downwards to the ground. A reference to Plate VII. will show that this +has been done, and that as the result the left wrist finishes the upward +swing underneath the shaft, which is just where it ought to be. When the +wrist has not been at work in the manner indicated, the toe of the club +at the top of the drive will be pointing upwards. In order to satisfy +himself properly about the state of affairs thus far in the making of +the drive, the golfer should test himself at the top of the swing by +holding the club firmly in the position which it has reached, and then +dropping the right hand from the grip. He will thus be enabled to look +right round, and if he then finds that the maker's name on the head of +the club is horizontal, he will know that he has been doing the right +thing with his wrists, while if it is vertical the wrist action has been +altogether wrong. + +During the upward swing the arms should be gradually let out in the +enjoyment of perfect ease and freedom (without being spread-eagled away +from the body) until at the top of the swing the left arm, from the +shoulder to the elbow, is gently touching the body and hanging well +down, while the right arm is up above it and almost level with the club. +The picture indicates exactly what I mean, and a reference to the +illustration showing what ought not to be the state of affairs generally +when the top of the swing is reached (Plate XI.), should convince even +the veriest beginner how much less comfortable is the position of the +arms in this instance than when the right thing has been done, and how +laden with promise is the general attitude of the player in the latter +position as compared with his cramped state in the former. I think I +ought to state, partly in justice to myself, and partly to persuade my +readers that the best way in this case, as in all others, is the most +natural, that I found it most inconvenient and difficult to make such +extremely inaccurate swings as those depicted in this and other +photographs of the "How not to do it" series, although they are by no +means exaggerations of what are seen on the links every day, even +players of several years' experience being constantly responsible for +them. + +In the upward movement of the club the body must pivot from the waist +alone, and there must be no swaying, not even to the extent of an inch. +When the player sways in his drive the stroke he makes is a body stroke +pure and simple. The body is trying to do the work the arms should do, +and in these circumstances it is impossible to get so much power into +the stroke as if it were properly made, while once more the old enemies, +the slice and the pull, will come out from their hiding-places with +their mocking grin at the unhappy golfer. + +The movements of the feet and legs are important. In addressing the ball +you stand with both feet flat and securely placed on the ground, the +weight equally divided between them, and the legs so slightly bent at +the knee joints as to make the bending scarcely noticeable. This +position is maintained during the upward movement of the club until the +arms begin to pull at the body. The easiest and most natural thing to do +then, and the one which suggests itself, is to raise the heel of the +left foot and begin to pivot on the left toe, which allows the arms to +proceed with their uplifting process without let or hindrance. Do not +begin to pivot on this left toe ostentatiously, or because you feel you +ought to do so, but only when you know the time has come and you want +to, and do it only to such an extent that the club can reach the full +extent of the swing without any difficulty. While this is happening it +follows that the weight of the body is being gradually thrown on to the +right leg, which accordingly stiffens until at the top of the swing it +is quite rigid, the left leg being at the same time in a state of +comparative freedom, slightly bent in towards the right, with only just +enough pressure on the toe to keep it in position. + +To the man who has never driven a good ball in his life this process +must seem very tedious. All these things to attend to, and something +less than a second in which to attend to them! It only indicates how +much there is in this wonderful game--more by far than any of us suspect +or shall ever discover. But the time comes, and it should come speedily, +when they are all accomplished without any effort, and, indeed, to a +great extent, unconsciously. The upward swing is everything. If it is +bad and faulty, the downward swing will be wrong and the ball will not +be properly driven. If it is perfect, there is a splendid prospect of a +long and straight drive, carrying any hazard that may lie before the +tee. That is why so very much emphasis must be laid on getting this +upward swing perfect, and why comparatively little attention need be +paid to the downward swing, even though it is really the effective part +of the stroke. + +Be careful not to dwell at the turn of the swing. The club has been +gaining in speed right up to this point, and though I suppose that, +theoretically, there is a pause at the turning-point, lasting for an +infinitesimal portion of a second, the golfer should scarcely be +conscious of it. He must be careful to avoid a sudden jerk, but if he +dwells at the top of the stroke for only a second, or half that short +period of time, his upward swing in all its perfection will have been +completely wasted, and his stroke will be made under precisely the same +circumstances and with exactly the same disadvantages as if the club had +been poised in this position at the start, and there had been no attempt +at swinging of any description. In such circumstances a long ball is an +impossibility, and a straight one a matter of exceeding doubt. The odds +are not very greatly in favour of the ball being rolled off the teeing +ground. So don't dwell at the turn; come back again with the club. + +The club should gradually gain in speed from the moment of the turn +until it is in contact with the ball, so that at the moment of impact +its head is travelling at its fastest pace. After the impact, the club +head should be allowed to follow the ball straight in the line of the +flag as far as the arms will let it go, and then, having done everything +that is possible, it swings itself out at the other side of the +shoulders. The entire movement must be perfectly smooth and rhythmical; +in the downward swing, while the club is gaining speed, there must not +be the semblance of a jerk anywhere such as would cause a jump, or a +double swing, or what might be called a cricket stroke. That, in a few +lines, is the whole story of the downward swing; but it needs some +little elaboration of detail. In the first place, avoid the +tendency--which is to some extent natural--to let the arms go out or +away from the body as soon as the downward movement begins. When they +are permitted to do so the club head escapes from its proper line, and a +fault is committed which cannot be remedied before the ball is struck. +Knowing by instinct that you are outside the proper course, you make a +great effort at correction, the face of the club is drawn across the +ball, and there is one more slice. The arms should be kept fairly well +in during the latter half of the downward swing, both elbows almost +grazing the body. If they are properly attended to when the club is +going up, there is much more likelihood of their coming down all right. + +The head is still kept motionless and the body pivots easily at the +waist; but when the club is half-way down, the left hip is allowed to go +forward a little--a preliminary to and preparation for the forward +movement of the body which is soon to begin. The weight is being +gradually moved back again from the right leg to the left. At the moment +of impact both feet are equally weighted and are flat on the ground, +just as they were when the ball was being addressed; indeed, the +position of the body, legs, arms, head, and every other detail is, or +ought to be, exactly the same when the ball is being struck as they were +when it was addressed, and for that reason I refer my readers again to +the photograph of the address (No. VI.) as the most correct position of +everything at the moment of striking. After the impact the weight is +thrown on to the left leg, which stiffens, while the right toe pivots +and the knee bends just as its partner did in the earlier stage of the +stroke, but perhaps to a greater extent, since there is no longer any +need for restraint. + +Now pay attention to the wrists. They should be held fairly tightly. If +the club is held tightly the wrists will be tight, and _vice versa_. +When the wrists are tight there is little play in them, and more is +demanded of the arms. I don't believe in the long ball coming from the +wrists. In defiance of principles which are accepted in many quarters, I +will go so far as to say that, except in putting, there is no pure wrist +shot in golf. Some players attempt to play their short approaches with +their wrists as they have been told to do. These men are likely to +remain at long handicaps for a long time. Similarly there is a kind of +superstition that the elect among drivers get in some peculiar kind of +"snap"--a momentary forward pushing movement--with their wrists at the +time of impact, and that it is this wrist work at the critical period +which gives the grand length to their drives, those extra twenty or +thirty yards which make the stroke look so splendid, so uncommon, and +which make the next shot so much easier. Generally speaking, the wrists +when held firmly will take very good care of themselves; but there is a +tendency, particularly when the two-V grip is used, to allow the right +hand to take charge of affairs at the time the ball is struck, and the +result is that the right wrist, as the swing is completed, gradually +gets on to the top of the shaft instead of remaining in its proper +place. The consequence is a pulled ball,--in fact, this is just the way +in which I play for a pull. When the fault is committed to a still +greater extent, the head of the club is suddenly turned over, and then +the ball is foundered, as we say,--that is, it is struck downwards, and +struggles, crippled and done for, a few yards along the ground in front +of the tee. I find that ladies are particularly addicted to this very +bad habit. Once again I have to say that if the club is taken up +properly there is the greater certainty of its coming down properly, and +then if you keep both hands evenly to their work there is a great +probability of a good follow-through being properly effected. + +When the ball has been struck, and the follow-through is being +accomplished, there are two rules, hitherto held sacred, which may at +last be broken. With the direction and force of the swing your chest is +naturally turned round until it is facing the flag, and your body now +abandons all restraint, and to a certain extent throws itself, as it +were, after the ball. There is a great art in timing this body movement +exactly. If it takes place the fiftieth part of a second too soon the +stroke will be entirely ruined; if it comes too late it will be quite +ineffectual, and will only result in making the golfer feel uneasy and +as if something had gone wrong. When made at the proper instant it adds +a good piece of distance to the drive, and that instant, as explained, +is just when the club is following through. An examination of the +photograph indicating the finish of the swing (No. IX.) will show how +my body has been thrown forward until at this stage it is on the outward +side of the B line, although it was slightly on the other side when the +ball was being addressed. Secondly, when the ball has gone, and the +arms, following it, begin to pull, the head, which has so far been held +perfectly still, is lifted up so as to give freedom to the swing, and +incidentally it allows the eyes to follow the flight of the ball. + +[Illustration: _PLATE X._ HOW NOT TO DRIVE + +_In this case the player's feet are much to close together, and there is +a space between the hands as there should never be, whatever style of +grip is favored. Also the right hand is too much underneath the shaft. +The result of these faults will usually be a pulled ball, but a long +drive of any sort is impossible._] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XI._ HOW NOT TO DRIVE + +_In this case the left wrist instead of being underneath the handle is +level with it--a common and dangerous fault. The left arm is +spread-eagled outwards, and the toe of the club is not pointing +downwards as it ought to be. The pivoting on the left toe is very +imperfect. There is no power in this position. Sometimes the result is a +pull, but frequently the ball will be foundered. No length is +possible._] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XII._ HOW NOT TO DRIVE + +_This is an example of a bad finish. Instead of being thrown forward +after the impact the body has fallen away. The usual consequence is a +sliced ball, and this is also one of the commonest causes of short +driving._] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XIII._ HOW NOT TO DRIVE + +_Here again the body has failed to follow the ball after impact. The +stance is very bad, the forward position of the left foot preventing a +satisfactory follow-through. The worst fault committed here, however, is +the position taken by the left arm. The elbow is far too low. It should +be at least as high as the right elbow. Result--complete lack of power +and length._] + + + +I like to see the arms finish well up with the hands level with the +head. This generally means a properly hit ball and a good +follow-through. At the finish of the stroke the right arm should be +above the left, the position being exactly the reverse of that in which +the arms were situated at the top of the swing, except that now the +right arm is not quite so high as the left one was at the earlier stage. +The photograph (No. IX.) indicates that the right arm is some way below +the level of the shaft of the club, whereas it will be remembered that +the left arm was almost exactly on a level with it. Notice also the +position of the wrists at the finish of the stroke. + +Having thus indicated at such great length the many points which go to +the making of a good drive, a long one and a straight one, yet abounding +with ease and grace, allow me to show how some of the commonest faults +are caused by departures from the rules for driving. Take the sliced +ball, as being the trouble from which the player most frequently +suffers, and which upon occasion will exasperate him beyond measure. +When a golfer is slicing badly almost every time, it is frequently +difficult for him to discover immediately the exact source of the +trouble, for there are two or three ways in which it comes about. The +player may be standing too near to the ball; he may be pulling in his +arms too suddenly as he is swinging on to it, thus drawing the club +towards his left foot; or he may be falling on to the ball at the moment +of impact. When the stance is taken too near to the ball there is a +great inducement to the arms to take a course too far outwards (in the +direction of the A line) in the upward swing. The position is cramped, +and the player does not seem able to get the club round at all +comfortably. When the club head is brought on to the ball after a swing +of this kind, the face is drawn right across it, and a slice is +inevitable. In diagnosing the malady, in cases where the too close +stance is suspected, it is a good thing to apply the test of distance +given at the beginning of the previous chapter, and see whether, when +the club head is resting in position against the teed ball, the other +end of the shaft just reaches to the left knee when it is in position, +and has only just so much bend in it as it has when the ball is being +addressed. The second method of committing the slicing sin is +self-explanatory. As for the third, a player falls on the ball, or sways +over in the direction of the tee (very slightly, but it is the trifles +that matter most) when his weight has not been properly balanced to +start with, and when in the course of the swing it has been moved +suddenly from one leg to the other instead of quite gradually. But +sometimes falling on the ball is caused purely and simply by swaying the +body, against which the player has already been warned. When the slicing +is bad, the methods of the golfer should be tested for each of these +irregularities, and he should remember that an inch difference in any +position or movement as he stands upon the tee is a great distance, and +that two inches is a vast space, which the mind trained to calculate in +small fractions can hardly conceive. + +Pulling is not such a common fault, although one which is sometimes very +annoying. Generally speaking, a pulled ball is a much better one than +one which has been sliced, and there are some young players who are +rather inclined to purr with satisfaction when they have pulled, for, +though the ball is hopelessly off the line, they have committed an error +which is commoner with those whose hair has grown grey on the links than +with the beginner whose handicap is reckoned by eighteen or twenty +strokes. But after all pulling is not an amusement, and even when it is +an accomplishment and not an accident, it should be most carefully +regulated. It is the right hand which is usually the offender in this +case. The wrist is wrong at the moment of impact, and generally at the +finish of the stroke as well,--that is, it is on the top of the club, +indicating that the right hand has done most of the work. In a case of +this sort the top edge of the face of the club is usually overlapping +the bottom edge, so that the face is pointing slightly downwards at the +moment of impact; and when this position is brought about with extreme +suddenness the ball is frequently foundered. If it escapes this fate, +then it is pulled. A second cause of pulling is a sudden relaxation of +the grip of the right hand at the time of hitting the ball. When this +happens, the left hand, being uncontrolled, turns over the club head in +the same manner as in the first case, and the result is the same. + +I have found from experience that it is necessary to enjoin even players +of some years' standing to make quite certain that they are slicing and +pulling, before they complain about their doing so and try to find cures +for it. In a great number of cases a player will take his stance in +quite the wrong direction, either too much round to the right or too +much to the left, and when the ball has flown truly along the line on +which it was despatched, the golfer blandly remarks that it was a bad +slice or a bad pull, as the case may be. He must bring himself to +understand that a ball is neither sliced nor pulled when it continues +flying throughout in the direction in which it started from the tee. It +is only when it begins performing evolutions in the air some distance +away, and taking a half wheel to the right or left, that it has fallen a +victim to the slice or pull. + +There is one more fault of the drive which must be mentioned. It is one +of the commonest mistakes that the young golfer makes, and one which +afflicts him most keenly, for when he makes it his drive is not a drive +at all; all his power, or most of it, has been expended on the turf +some inches behind the ball. The right shoulder has been dropped too +soon or too low. During the address this shoulder is necessarily a +little below the left one, and care must be taken at this stage that it +is not allowed to drop more than is necessary. At the top of the swing +the right shoulder is naturally well above the other one, and at the +moment of impact with the ball it should just have resumed its original +position slightly below the left. It often happens, however, that even +very good golfers, after a period of excellent driving, through sheer +over-confidence or carelessness, will fall into the way of dropping the +right shoulder too soon, or, when they do drop it, letting it go +altogether, so that it fairly sinks away. The result is exactly what is +to be expected. The head of the club naturally comes down with the +shoulder and flops ineffectually upon the turf behind the tee, anything +from two to nine inches behind the ball. Yet, unless the golfer has had +various attacks of this sort of thing before, he is often puzzled to +account for it. The remedy is obvious. + +I can imagine that many good golfers, now that I near the end of my +hints on driving, may feel some sense of disappointment because I have +not given them a recipe for putting thirty or forty yards on to their +commonplace drives. I can only say that there is no trick or knack in +doing it, as is often suspected, such as the suggestion, already alluded +to, that the wrists have a little game of their own just when the club +head is coming in contact with the ball. The way to drive far is to +comply with the utmost care with every injunction that I have set forth, +and then to hit hard but by the proper use of the swing. To some golfers +this may be a dangerous truth, but it must be told: it is accuracy and +strength which make the long ball. But I seem to hear the young player +wail, "When I hit hard you say 'Don't press!'" A golfer is not pressing +when he swings through as fast as he can with his club, gaining speed +steadily, although he is often told that he is. But it most frequently +happens that when he tries to get this extra pace all at once, and not +as the result of gradual improvement and perfection of style, that it +comes not smoothly but in a great jerk just before the ball is reached. +This is certainly the way that it comes when the golfer is off his game, +and he tries, often unconsciously, to make up in force what he has +temporarily lost in skill. This really is pressing, and it is this +against which I must warn every golfer in the same grave manner that he +has often been warned before. But to the player who, by skill and +diligence of practice, increases the smooth and even pace of his swing, +keeping his legs, body, arms, and head in their proper places all the +time, I have nothing to give but encouragement, though long before this +he himself will have discovered that he has found out the wonderful, +delightful secret of the long ball. + +Two chapters of detailed instruction are too much for a player to carry +in his mind when he goes out on to the links to practise drives, and for +his benefit I will here make the briefest possible summary of what I +have already stated. Let him attend, then, to the following chief +points:-- + +_Stance._--The player should stand just so far away from the ball, that +when the face of the driver is laid against it in position for striking, +the other end of the shaft exactly reaches to the left knee when the +latter is slightly bent. The right foot may be anything up to seven +inches in front of the left, but certainly never behind it. The left toe +should be a trifle in advance of the ball. The toes should be turned +outwards. Make a low tee. + +_Grip._--As described. Remember that the palm of the right hand presses +hard on the left thumb at all times except when nearing and at the top +of the swing. The grip of the thumb and the first two fingers of each +hand is constantly firm. + +_Upward Swing._--The club head must be taken back in a straight line for +a few inches, and then brought round gradually--not too straight up +(causing slicing) nor too far round in the old-fashioned style. The +speed of the swing increases gradually. The elbows are kept fairly well +in, the left wrist turning inwards and finishing the upward swing well +underneath the shaft. The body must not be allowed to sway. It should +pivot easily from the waist. The head must be kept quite still. The +weight is gradually thrown entirely on to the right leg, the left knee +bends inwards, the left heel rises, and the toe pivots. There must be no +jerk at the turn of the swing. + +_Downward Swing._--There should be a gradual increase of pace, but no +jerk anywhere. The arms must be kept well down when the club is +descending, the elbows almost grazing the body. The right wrist should +not be allowed to get on to the top of the club. The head is still +motionless. The left hip is allowed to move forward very slightly while +the club is coming down. The weight of the body is gradually transferred +from the right leg to the left, the right toe pivoting after the impact, +and the left leg stiffening. The right shoulder must be prevented from +dropping too much. After the impact the arms should be allowed to follow +the ball and the body to go forward, the latter movement being timed +very carefully. The head may now be raised. Finish with the arms well +up--the right arm above the left. + +_Slicing._--This may be caused by standing too near to the ball, by +pulling in the arms, or by falling on the ball. + +_Pulling._--Usually caused by the head of the club being turned partly +over when the ball is struck, or by relaxing the grip with the right +hand. + +I can only agree with those who have followed me so patiently through +these two chapters, that to drive a golf ball well is a thing not to be +learned in a week or a month. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +BRASSY AND SPOON + + Good strokes with the brassy--Play as with the driver--The points + of the brassy--The stance--Where and how to hit the ball--Playing + from cuppy lies--Jab strokes from badly-cupped lies--A difficult + club to master--The man with the spoon--The lie for the baffy--What + it can and cannot do--Character of the club--The stance--Tee shots + with the baffy--Iron clubs are better. + + +When to your caddie you say "Give me my brassy" it is a sign that there +is serious work to be done--as serious and anxious as any that has to be +accomplished during the six or seven minutes' journey from the tee to +the hole. Many golfers have a fondness for the brassy greater even than +for the driver, and the brassy shot when well played certainly affords a +greater sense of satisfaction than the drive--great as is the joy of a +good drive--because one is conscious of having triumphed over +difficulties. When the ball is lying very well when it has to be played +through the green, the driver is naturally taken, but when the lie is +very low, approaching even to a cuppy character, the brassy is called +for so that an effort may be made to pick the ball up cleanly and +despatch it to the full distance. Again, the stroke with the brassy must +always be a first-class one. One that is a little inferior to the best +may place the player in serious difficulties. On the other hand, the +brassy seldom flatters its user, though in the hands of a master player +it is perhaps the club that will gain a stroke for him more often than +any other, the last bunker being surmounted and the green reached +without any need for a short approach with an iron club. Therefore the +golfer must make up his mind to attain excellence with the brassy, for +mediocrity with it will always handicap him severely. + +I have already insisted that the method of play, the stance, the swing, +and all the rest of it, should be the same with the brassy as with the +driver, and that I do not believe in allowing the slightest difference, +the only result of which can be to increase the difficulty of the brassy +shot. Given a ball through the green lying fairly well, a level piece of +earth to stand upon, and a practically unlimited distance to be played, +then the brassy stroke is absolutely identical with the drive, and if +the ball is sufficiently well teed, or its lie is clean enough, there is +no reason whatever why the driver should not be taken for the stroke. +Obviously, however, as the lie which you get for your second shot +depends on chance, and must be taken as it is found, there are times +when a variation from the standard method of driving will be necessary, +and it is to the process of play on these occasions that I shall chiefly +direct my remarks in this chapter. + +First, however, as to the brassy itself. Its shaft should be slightly +stiffer than that of the driver, for it has much harder and rougher work +to accomplish, for which the whippy stick of a slender driver would be +too frail. In a desperate case, when the ball is lying in an apparently +impossible place, the brassy is sometimes taken, in the hope that the +best may happen and the situation be saved. That is why the brassy has a +sole of brass which will cut away obstructions behind the ball as the +head of the club is swept on to it. It often happens that you must hit, +as it were, an inch or two behind the ball in order to get it up. +Therefore let the shaft be strong. It should be exactly the same length +as that of the driver, and not a half inch or an inch shorter, as is +often recommended. I do not accept any argument in favour of the shorter +shaft. The golfer having driven from the tee needs to be persuaded that +he has again what is practically a driving shot to make for his second, +and thus to be imbued with that feeling of experience and confidence +which makes for success. When the clubs are of the same length there is +equal familiarity in using them; but if he is given a shorter club to +play his brassy shot with, he feels that there is something of a novel +nature to be done, and he wonders how. The face of the brassy should be +a little shorter than that of the driver, to permit of its being worked +into little depressions in which the ball may be lying; but this +variation of the construction of the head should not be carried to +excess. Obviously there needs to be more loft on the face of the club +than on that of the driver. + +The stance for the brassy stroke (see Plate VI.) is generally the same +as for the drive, and for reasons already stated my recommendation is +that, so far as circumstances will permit,--we are not on the teeing +ground when we are playing the brassy,--it should always be the same. If +the player feels it to be desirable, he may stand an inch or two nearer +to the ball, and perhaps as much behind the ball when he wishes to get +well underneath so as to lift it up. The swing should be the same, save +that more care should be taken to ensure the grip with the hands being +quite tight, for as the club head comes into contact with the turf +before taking the ball, the club may turn in the hands and cause a slice +or pull unless perfect control be kept over it. + +A more important question is, where and how to hit the ball. If it is +lying fairly well, it is only necessary to skim the top of the turf and +take it cleanly. There is no necessity in such a case, as is too often +imagined by inexperienced players, to delve down into the turf so that +the ball may be lifted up. If the stroke is played naturally, in the way +I have indicated, the loft on the face of the brassy is quite sufficient +to give the necessary amount of rise to the ball as it leaves the club. +But if, as so often happens, the ball is just a trifle cupped, a +different attitude must be adopted towards it. It is now desired that +the club should come down to the turf about an inch behind the ball, and +with this object in view the eyes should be directed to that point, but +as in addressing the ball the said point may be covered by the head of +the club, the sight should be set, not really on to the top of the club +head, but to an imaginary spot just at the side of the ball, so that +when the club is drawn back the turf and the point to look at come into +full view and retain the attention of the eyes until the stroke has been +made. When the club is swung down on to that spot, its head will plough +through the turf and be well under the ball by the time it reaches it, +and the desired rise will follow. Swing in the same manner as for the +drive. The commonest fault in the playing of this stroke comes from the +instinct of the player to try to scoop out the ball from its +resting-place, and in obedience to this instinct down goes the right +shoulder when the club is coming on to the ball. In the theory of the +beginner this course of procedure may seem wise and proper, but he will +inevitably be disappointed with the result, and in time he will come to +realise that all attempts to scoop must fail. What the club cannot do in +the ordinary way when pushed through the turf as I have indicated, +cannot be done at all, and it is dangerous to the stroke and dangerous +to one's game to trifle with the grand principles. + +When the ball is really badly cupped, a moment must be given for +inspection and consideration, for the situation is an awkward one. At +the first glance an iron club is usually suggested, but there are many +times when the golfer prefers to take the brassy if there is a +reasonable chance of its proving effective. In a case of this sort the +ordinary methods of brassy play must necessarily be departed from. What +is wanted is a jabbing-out stroke, and to effect it properly the sight +must be set (as before) and the club come down on a spot almost two +inches behind the ball. There must be no timidity about hitting the +ground or anxiety about the follow-through, for in this case the +follow-through, as we have understood it so far, is next to an +impossibility, and must not be sought for. In the upward swing the club +should be taken out straighter than usual, that is to say, the club head +should be kept more closely to the A line, and it should not be carried +so far back as if an ordinary shot were being played. Obviously the club +must be held with an absolutely firm grip, and for the proper execution +of a shot like this the shaft should be exceptionally strong and stiff. +If there is the least suggestion of whip in it the ball is not +extricated in the same way, and moreover there is sometimes a danger of +breaking a slender stick. However, if the golfer only carries one brassy +in his bag--and the average player will seldom carry two--this stroke +might as well be risked, when the necessity for it arises, with the +brassy that is carried for all-round work. + +Beyond these few observations there is little more to be said about +simple brassy play, although it is so difficult to master thoroughly, so +supremely important to a good game, and so full of variety and interest. +In the use of no club is constant and strenuous practice better rewarded +by improvement in play and strokes gained. + +The man with the spoon is coming back again to the links, and this seems +to be the most convenient opportunity for a few remarks on play with +this club--the baffy, as it is frequently called. One rarely mentions +the spoon without being reminded of the difficulty as to the +nomenclature of golf which beset a certain Frenchman on his first +introduction to the game. "They zay to me," he complained, "'Will you +take ze tee?' and I answer, 'Ah, oui,' but they give me no tea, but make +a leetle hill with the sand. Then they zay, 'Will you take the spoon?' +They have give me no tea, but no matter. I answer again, 'Ah, oui, +monsieur,' but they give no spoon either. So I give up the thought of +the tea, and play with the new club that they do give to me." However, +that is neither here nor there. The baffy, or spoon, is a very useful +club, which at one time was a great favourite with many fine players, +and if it has of late years been largely superseded by the cleek, it is +still most valuable to those players who are not so skilful or reliable +with this latter instrument as they would like to be. The baffy demands, +for the achievement of such success as it can afford, a fairly good lie, +and when this is given it is a tolerably easy club to play with. A good +lie is essential because of its wooden head and long face, which prevent +it from getting down to the ball when the latter is at all cupped, as +the cleek would do, or as the brassy may be made to do when the jab shot +is played. The baffy with its long face cannot be burrowed into the turf +so easily, nor can it nick in between the ball and the side of the cup, +but it makes a bridge over it, as it were, and thus takes the ball right +on the top and moves it only a few yards. A cleek would take the turf +and the ball and make a good hit. Therefore, when the lie is not +reasonably perfect, the baffy is of little use, though in favourable +circumstances it is a useful stick. The shaft should be slightly longer +than that of the cleek, but appreciably shorter than that of the brassy, +and it should be fairly stiff. Its face, as already remarked, is much +longer than that of the brassy, and it is given several degrees more +loft. + +The method of play with the spoon is very much the same as with the +brassy, with only such modifications as are apparently necessary. For +example, the club being shorter, the feet will be placed slightly nearer +to the ball; and although the baffy calls for a fairly long swing, the +player will find that he is naturally indisposed to take the club head +so far round to his back as he was with the other and longer wooden +clubs. In other respects, the upward and downward swing, the grip, the +follow-through, and everything else are the same. With many players the +club is a particular favourite for the tee shot at short holes of, say, +140 to 160 yards length with a tolerably high bunker guarding the +green--a type of hole very frequently encountered, and which simply +calls for steady, sure play to get the bogey 3. The baffy does its work +very well in circumstances of this kind, and the ball is brought up +fairly quickly upon the green; but the man who is skilled with his irons +will usually prefer one of them for the stroke, and will get the coveted +2 as often as the man with the spoon. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +SPECIAL STROKES WITH WOODEN CLUBS + + The master stroke in golf--Intentional pulling and slicing--The + contrariness of golf--When pulls and slices are needful--The stance + for the slice--The upward swing--How the slice is made--The short + sliced stroke--Great profits that result--Warnings against + irregularities--How to pull a ball--The way to stand--The work of + the right hand--A feature of the address--What makes a pull--Effect + of wind on the flight of the ball--Greatly exaggerated notions--How + wind increases the effect of slicing and pulling--Playing through a + cross wind--The shot for a head wind--A special way of hitting the + ball--A long low flight--When the wind comes from behind. + + +Which is the master stroke in golf? That is an engaging question. Is it +the perfect drive, with every limb, muscle, and organ of the body +working in splendid harmony with the result of despatching the ball well +beyond two hundred yards in a straight line from the tee? No, it is not +that, for there are some thousands of players who can drive what is to +all intents and purposes a perfect ball without any unusual effort. Is +it the brassy shot which is equal to a splendid drive, and which, +delivering the ball in safety over the last hazard, places it nicely +upon the green, absolving the golfer from the necessity of playing any +other approach? No, though that is a most creditable achievement. Is it +the approach over a threatening bunker on to a difficult green where the +ball can hardly be persuaded to remain, yet so deftly has the cut been +applied, and so finely has the strength been judged, that it stops dead +against the hole, and for a certainty a stroke is saved? This is a most +satisfying shot which has in its time won innumerable holes, but it is +not the master stroke of golf. Then, is it the putt from the corner of +the green across many miniature hills and dales with a winding course +over which the ball must travel, often far away from the direct line, +but which carries it at last delightfully to the opening into which it +sinks just as its strength is ebbing away? We all know the thrilling +ecstasy that comes from such a stroke as this, but it has always been +helped by a little good luck, and I would not call it the master stroke. +There are inferior players who are good putters. Which, then, is the +master stroke? I say that it is the ball struck by any club to which a +big pull or slice is intentionally applied for the accomplishment of a +specific purpose which could not be achieved in any other way, and +nothing more exemplifies the curious waywardness of this game of ours +than the fact that the stroke which is the confounding and torture of +the beginner who does it constantly, he knows not how, but always to his +detriment, should later on at times be the most coveted shot of all, and +should then be the most difficult of accomplishment. I call it the +master shot because, to accomplish it with any certainty and perfection, +it is so difficult even to the experienced golfer, because it calls for +the most absolute command over the club and every nerve and sinew of the +body, and the courageous heart of the true sportsman whom no difficulty +may daunt, and because, when properly done, it is a splendid thing to +see, and for a certainty results in material gain to the man who played +it. + +[Illustration: _PLATE XIV._ DRIVER AND BRASSY. STANCE WHEN PLAYING FOR A +SLICE] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XV._ DRIVER AND BRASSY. TOP OF THE SWING WHEN +PLAYING FOR A SLICE] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XVI._ DRIVER AND BRASSY. FINISH WHEN PLAYING FOR A +SLICE] + +I will try, then, to give the golfers who desire them some hints as to +how by diligence and practice they may come to accomplish these master +strokes; but I would warn them not to enter into these deepest +intricacies of the game until they have completely mastered all ordinary +strokes with their driver or brassy and can absolutely rely upon them, +and even then the intentional pull and slice should only be attempted +when there is no way of accomplishing the purpose which is likely to be +equally satisfactory. Thus, when a long brassy shot to the green is +wanted, and one is most completely stymied by a formidable tree +somewhere in the foreground or middle distance, the only way to get to +the hole is by working round the tree, either from the right or from the +left, and this can be done respectively by the pull and the slice. Of +the two, the sliced shot is the easier, and is to be recommended when +the choice is quite open, though it must not be overlooked that the +pulled ball is the longer. The slicing action is not quite so quick and +sudden, and does not call for such extremely delicate accuracy as the +other, and therefore we will deal with it first. + +The golfer should now pay very minute attention to the photographs (Nos. +XIV., XV., and XVI.) which were specially taken to illustrate these +observations. It will be noticed at once that I am standing very much +more behind the ball than when making an ordinary straight drive or +brassy stroke, and this is indeed the governing feature of the slicing +shot as far as the stance and position of the golfer, preparatory to +taking it, are concerned. An examination of the position of the feet, +both in the photograph (XIV.) and the accompanying diagram, will show +that the left toe is now exactly on the B line, that is to say, it is +just level with the ball, while the right foot is 25-1/2 inches away +from the same mark, whereas in the case of the ordinary drive it was +only 19. At the same time the right foot has been moved very much nearer +to the A line, more than 10 inches in fact, although the left is only +very slightly nearer. Obviously the general effect of this change of +stance is to move the body slightly round to the left. There is no +mystery as to how the slice is made. It comes simply as the result of +the face of the club being drawn across the ball at the time of impact, +and it was precisely in this way that it was accidentally accomplished +when it was not wanted. In addressing the ball there should be just the +smallest trifle of extra weight thrown on the right leg; but care must +be taken that this difference is not exaggerated. The golfer should be +scarcely conscious of it. + +The grip is made in the usual manner, but there is a very material and +all-important difference in the upward swing. In its upward movement the +club head now takes a line distinctly outside that which is taken in the +case of the ordinary drive, that is to say, it comes less round the body +and keeps on the straight line longer. When it is half-way up it should +be about two or three inches outside the course taken for the full +straight drive. The object of this is plain. The inflexible rule that as +the club goes up so will it come down, is in operation again. The club +takes the same line on the return, and after it has struck the ball it +naturally, pursuing its own direction, comes inside the line taken in +the case of the ordinary drive. The result is that at the moment of +impact, and for that fractional part of a second during which the ball +may be supposed to be clinging to the club, the face of the driver or +brassy is being, as it were, drawn across the ball as if cutting a slice +out of it. There is no means, so far as I know, of gauging how +unthinkably short is the time during which this slicing process is going +on, but, as we observed, when we were slicing unintentionally and making +the ball curl round sometimes to an angle of ninety degrees before the +finish of its flight, it is quite long enough to effect the most radical +alteration in what happens afterwards. In that short space of time a +spinning motion is put upon the ball, and a curious impulse which +appears to have something in common with that given to a boomerang is +imparted, which sooner or later take effect. In other respects, when a +distant slice is wanted, the same principles of striking the ball and +finishing the swing as governed the ordinary drive are to be observed. +What I mean by a distant slice is one in which the ball is not asked to +go round a corner until it is well on its way, the tree, or whatever it +is that has to be circumvented, being half-way out or more, as shown in +the diagram on opposite page. This is the most difficult kind of slice +to perform, inasmuch as the ball must be kept on a straight line until +the object is approached, and then made to curl round it as if by +instinct. In such a case the club should be drawn very gradually across, +and not so much or so suddenly as when the slice is wanted immediately. + +[Illustration: TRAJECTORY OF BALL WHEN A DISTANT SLICE IS REQUIRED.] + +[Illustration: TRAJECTORY OF BALL IN THE CASE OF A QUICK SLICE.] + +When the tree or thicket that stymies you is only twenty or thirty yards +away, the short sliced shot is not only the best but perhaps the only +one to play, that is to say, if it is first-class golf that is being +practised and there is an opponent who is fighting hard. Take a case for +exemplification--one which is of the commonest occurrence. There is a +long hole to be played, and some thirty yards from the point which will +be reached by a good drive, but well away to the right there is a spinny +of tall trees. The golfer is badly off the line with his drive, with the +result that he now has the trees in the direct line between him and the +hole which is the best part of a hundred yards from the other edge of +the wood, or say a hundred and forty from where the ball is lying. He +might by a wonderfully lofted shot play the ball over the obstacle, but +he would have to rise at such an angle that any length would be an +impossibility, and he would be short of the green. The only alternative +to the slice would be to accept the loss of a stroke as inevitable, play +away to the right or left, and then get on to the green with the next +one. Thus in either case a valuable stroke is lost, and if the enemy is +playing the correct game the loss may be most serious. The short or +quick slice comes to the rescue admirably. Turn the ball round the +spinny, give it as much length as you can in the circumstances, and if +the job has been well done you will be on the green after all with the +highly comforting sensation that for once you have proved yourself a +golfer of the first degree of skill, and have snatched a half when the +hole seemed lost. The diagram here presented illustrates the best +possibilities of a quick slice. I can explain in a line exactly how this +is done, but I cannot guarantee that my readers will therefore be able +to do it until they have practised, and practised, and practised yet +again. Instead of hitting the ball with the middle of the club face as +in playing for the distant slice as already explained, hit it slightly +nearer the heel of the club. Swing upwards in the same way, and finish +in the same way, also. Taking the ball with the heel results in the +slice being put on more quickly and in there being more of it, but I +need hardly observe that the stroke must be perfectly judged and played, +and that there must be no flaw in it anywhere, or disaster must surely +follow. As I say, it is not an easy shot to accomplish, but it is a +splendid thing to do when wanted, and I strongly recommend the golfer +who has gained proficiency in the ordinary way with his wooden clubs, to +practise it whenever possible until at length he feels some confidence +in playing it. It is one of those strokes which mark the skilled and +resourceful man, and which will win for him many a match. Beyond the +final admonition to practise, I have only one more piece of advice to +give to the golfer who wants to slice when a slice would be useful, and +that is in the downward swing he must guard against any inclination to +pull in the arms too quickly, the result of his consciousness that the +club has to be drawn across the ball. Whatever is necessary in this way +comes naturally as the consequence of taking the club head more outwards +than usual in the upward swing. Examine the photographs very carefully +in conjunction with the study of all the observations that I have made. + +[Illustration: _PLATE XVII._ DRIVER AND BRASSY. PLAYING FOR A PULL. +STANCE] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XVIII._ DRIVER AND BRASSY. TOP OF THE SWING WHEN +PLAYING FOR A PULL] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XIX._ DRIVER AND BRASSY. FINISH WHEN PLAYING FOR A +PULL] + +Now there is the pulled ball to consider; for there are times when the +making of such a shot is eminently desirable. Resort to a slice may be +unsatisfactory, or it may be entirely impossible, and one important +factor in this question is that the pulled ball is always much longer +than the other, in fact it has always so much length in it that many +players in driving in the ordinary way from the tee, and desiring only +to go straight down the course, systematically play for a pull and make +allowances for it in their direction. Now examine Plate XVII. and the +accompanying diagram illustrating the stance for the pull, and see how +very materially it differs from those which were adopted for the +ordinary drive and that in which a slice was asked for. We have moved +right round to the front of the ball. The right heel is on the B line +and the toe 4 inches away from it, while the left toe is no less than +21-1/2 inches from this line, and therefore so much in front of the +ball. At the same time the line of the stance shows that the player is +turned slightly away from the direction in which he proposes to play, +the left toe being now only 26-1/2 inches away from the A line, while +the right toe is 32 inches distant from it. The obvious result of this +stance is that the handle of the club is in front of the ball, and this +circumstance must be accentuated by the hands being held even slightly +more forward than for an ordinary drive. Now they are held forward in +front of the head of the club. In the grip there is another point of +difference. It is necessary that in the making of this stroke the right +hand should do more work than the left, and therefore the club should be +held rather more loosely by the left hand than by its partner. The +latter will duly take advantage of this slackness, and will get in just +the little extra work that is wanted of it. In the upward swing carry +the club head just along the line which it would take for an ordinary +drive. The result of all this arrangement, and particularly of the +slackness of the left hand and comparative tightness of the right, is +that there is a tendency in the downward swing for the face of the club +to turn over to some extent, that is, for the top edge of it to be +overlapping the bottom edge. This is exactly what is wanted, for, in +fact, it is quite necessary that at the moment of impact the right hand +should be beginning to turn over in this manner, and if the stroke is to +be a success the golfer must see that it does so, but the movement must +be made quite smoothly and naturally, for anything in the nature of a +jab, such as is common when too desperate efforts are made to turn over +an unwilling club, would certainly prove fatal. It follows from what has +been happening all the way through, that at the finish of the stroke the +right hand, which has matters pretty well its own way, has assumed final +ascendancy and is well above the left. Plates XVIII. and XIX. should be +carefully examined. + +The pulled ball is particularly useful in a cross wind, and this fact +leads us naturally to a consideration of the ways and means of playing +the long shot with the wooden club to the best advantage when there are +winds of various kinds to test the resources of the golfer. Now, +however, that this question is raised, I feel it desirable to say +without any hesitation that the majority of golfers possess vastly +exaggerated notions of the effect of strong cross winds on the flight of +their ball. They greatly overestimate the capabilities of a breeze. To +judge by their observations on the tee, one concludes that a wind from +the left is often sufficient to carry the ball away at an angle of +forty-five degrees, and indeed sometimes, when it does take such an +exasperating course, and finishes its journey some fifty yards away from +the point to which it was desired to despatch it, there is an impatient +exclamation from the disappointed golfer, "Confound this wind! Who on +earth can play in a hurricane!" or words to that effect. Now I have +quite satisfied myself that only a very strong wind indeed will carry a +properly driven ball more than a very few yards out of its course, and +in proof of this I may say that it is very seldom when I have to deal +with a cross wind that I do anything but play straight at the hole +without any pulling or slicing or making allowances in any way. If +golfers will only bring themselves to ignore the wind, then it in turn +will almost entirely ignore their straight ball. When you find your ball +at rest the aforementioned forty or fifty yards from the point to which +you desired to send it, make up your mind, however unpleasant it may be +to do so, that the trouble is due to an unintentional pull or slice, and +you may get what consolation you can from the fact that the slightest of +these variations from the ordinary drive is seized upon with delight by +any wind, and its features exaggerated to an enormous extent. It is +quite possible, therefore, that a slice which would have taken the ball +only twenty yards from the line when there was no wind, will take it +forty yards away with the kind assistance of its friend and ally. + +[Illustration: METHOD AND EFFECT OF PULLING INTO A CROSS WIND FROM THE +RIGHT.] + +However, I freely admit that there are times when it is advisable to +play a fancy shot when there is an excess of wind, and the golfer must +judge according to circumstances. Let me give him this piece of advice: +very rarely slice as a remedy against a cross wind. Either pull or +nothing. If there is a strong wind coming from the right, the immature +golfer who has been practising slices argues that this is his chance, +and that it is his obvious duty to slice his ball right into the teeth +of that wind, so that wind and slice will neutralise each other, and the +ball as the result will pursue an even course in the straight line for +the flag. A few trials will prove to him that this is a very +unsatisfactory business, and after he has convinced himself about it I +would recommend him to try pulling the ball and despatching it at once +along a line to the right directly against that same wind. When the pull +begins to operate, both this and the wind will be working together, and +the ball will be carried a much greater length, its straightness +depending upon the accuracy of allowance. The diagram explains my +meaning. But I reiterate that the ordinary shots are generally the +easiest and best with which to get to the hole. The principle of the +golfer should be, and I trust is, that he always wants to reach the hole +in the simplest and easiest way, with a minimum of doubt and anxiety +about any shot which he is called upon to play, and one usually finds +that without these fancy shots one comes to the flag as easily as is +possible in all the circumstances. Of course I am writing more +particularly with the wind in mind, and am not recommending the ordinary +shot when there is a tree or a spinny for a stymie, in contradiction to +what I have said earlier in this chapter. + +However, there is one kind of wind difficulty which it is certainly +necessary to deal with by a departure from the ordinary method of play +with the driver or the brassy, and that is when the wind is blowing +straight up to the player from the hole, threatening to cut off all his +distance. Unless measures are taken to prevent it, a head wind of this +description certainly does make play extremely difficult, the +comparative shortness of the drive making an unduly long approach shot +necessary, or even demanding an extra stroke at long holes in order to +reach the green. But, fortunately, we have discovered a means of dealing +very satisfactorily with these cases. What we want to do is to keep the +ball as low down as possible so as to cheat the wind, for the lower the +ball the less opportunity has the breeze of getting to work upon it. A +combination of two or three methods is found to be the best for +obtaining this low turf-skimming ball, which yet has sufficient driving +power in it to keep up until it has achieved a good length. Evidently +the first thing to do is to make the tee--if it is a tee shot--rather +lower than usual--as low as is consistent with safety and a clean +stroke. The player should then stand rather more in front of the ball +than if he were playing for an ordinary drive, but this forward position +should not by any means be so marked as it was in the stance for the +pulled drive. A reference to Plate XX. and the diagram will show that +now we have the ball exactly half-way between the toes, each toe being +twelve inches to the side of the B line, while both are an inch nearer +to the ball than was the case when the ordinary drive was being made. +But the most important departure that we make from the usual method of +play is in the way we hit the ball. So far we have invariably been +keeping our gaze fixed on a point just behind it, desiring that the club +shall graze the ground and take the ball rather below the centre. But +now it is necessary that the ball shall be struck half-way up and before +the club touches the turf. Therefore keep the eye steadily fixed upon +that point (see the right-hand ball in the small diagram on page 170) +and come down exactly on it. This is not an easy thing to do at first; +it requires a vast amount of practice to make sure of hitting the ball +exactly at the spot indicated, but the stroke when properly made is an +excellent and most satisfying one. After striking the ball in this way, +the club head should continue its descent for an instant so that it +grazes the turf for the first time two or three inches in front of the +spot where the ball was. The passage of the club through the ball, as it +were, is the same as in the case of the push shot with the cleek, and +therefore reference may usefully be made to the diagram on page 106, +which illustrates it. A natural result of the stance and the way the +stroke is played is that the arms are more extended than usual after the +impact, and in the follow-through the club head keeps nearer to the +turf. So excellent are the results obtained when the stroke is properly +played, that there are many fine players, having a complete command over +it, who systematically play it from the tee whether there is a wind to +contend against or not, simply because of the length and accuracy which +they secure from it. Braid is one of them. If the teeing ground offers +any choice of gradient, a tee with a hanging lie should be selected, and +the ball is then kept so low for the first forty or fifty yards that it +is practically impossible for the wind to take it off the line, for it +must be remembered that even when the wind comes dead from the front, if +there is the slightest slice or pull on the ball to start with, it will +be increased to a disconcerting extent before the breeze has done with +it. + +[Illustration: _PLATE XX._ DRIVER AND BRASSY. STANCE FOR A LOW BALL +AGAINST THE WIND] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXI._ DRIVER AND BRASSY. STANCE FOR A HIGH BALL +WITH THE WIND] + +When the wind is at the back of the player blowing hard towards the +hole, the situation presents no difficulty and needs very little +consideration. The object in this case is to lift the ball well up +towards the clouds so that it may get the full benefit of the wind, +though care must be taken that plenty of driving length is put into the +stroke at the same time. Therefore tee the ball rather higher than +usual, and bring your left foot more in a line with it than you would +if you were playing in the absence of wind, at the same time moving both +feet slightly nearer the ball. Plate XXI. will make the details of this +stance quite clear. The ball being teed unusually high, the golfer must +be careful not to make any unconscious allowance for the fact in his +downward swing, and must see that he wipes the tee from the face of the +earth when he makes the stroke. + +Though in my explanations of these various strokes I have generally +confined myself to observations as to how they may be made from the tee, +they are strokes for the driver and the brassy,--for all cases, that is, +where the long ball is wanted from the wooden club under unusual +circumstances of difficulty. Evidently in many cases they will be more +difficult to accomplish satisfactorily from a brassy lie and with the +shorter faced club than when the golfer has everything in his favour on +the teeing ground, and it must be left to his skill and discretion as to +the use he will make of them when playing through the green. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE CLEEK AND DRIVING MASHIE + + A test of the golfer--The versatility of the cleek--Different kinds + of cleeks--Points of the driving mashie--Difficulty of continued + success with it--The cleek is more reliable--Ribbed faces for iron + clubs--To prevent skidding--The stance for an ordinary cleek + shot--The swing--Keeping control over the right + shoulder--Advantages of the three-quarter cleek shot--The push + shot--My favourite stroke--The stance and the swing--The way to hit + the ball--Peculiar advantages of flight from the push stroke--When + it should not be attempted--The advantage of short swings as + against full swings with iron clubs--Playing for a low ball against + the wind--A particular stance--Comparisons of the different cleek + shots--General observations and recommendations--Mistakes made with + the cleek. + + +It is high time we came to consider the iron clubs that are in our bag. +His play with the irons is a fine test of the golfer. It calls for +extreme skill and delicacy, and the man who is surest with these +implements is generally surest of his match. The fathers of golf had no +clubs with metal heads, and for a long time after they came into use +there was a lingering prejudice against them; but in these days there is +no man so bold as to say that any long hole can always be played so well +with wood all through as with a mixture of wood and iron in the proper +proportions. It may be, as we are often told, that the last improvement +in iron clubs has not yet been made; but I must confess that the tools +now at the disposal of the golfer come as near to my ideal of the best +for their purpose as I can imagine any tools to do, and no golfer is at +liberty to blame the clubmaker for his own incapacity on the links, +though it may frequently happen that his choice and taste in the matter +of his golfing goods are at fault. There are many varieties of every +class of iron clubs, and their gradations of weight, of shape, of loft, +and of all their other features, are delicate almost to the point of +invisibility; but the old golfer who has an affection for a favourite +club knows when another which he handles differs from it to the extent +of a single point in these gradations. Some golfers have spent a +lifetime in the search for a complete set of irons, each one of which +was exactly its owner's ideal, and have died with their task still +unaccomplished. Happy then is the player who in his early days has irons +over all of which he has obtained complete mastery, and which he can +rely upon to do their duty, and do it well, when the match is keen and +their owner is sorely pressed by a relentless opponent. + +First of these iron clubs give me the cleek, the most powerful and +generally useful of them all, though one which is much abused and often +called hard names. If you wish, you may drive a very long ball with a +cleek, and if the spirit moves you so to do you may wind up the play at +the hole by putting with it too. But these after all are what I may call +its unofficial uses, for the club has its own particular duties, and for +the performance of them there is no adequate substitute. Therefore, when +a golfer says, as misguided golfers sometimes do, that he cannot play +with the cleek, that he gets equal or superior results with other clubs, +and that therefore he has abandoned it to permanent seclusion in the +locker, you may shake your head at him, for he is only deceiving +himself. Like the wares of boastful advertisers, there is no other which +is "just as good," and if a golfer finds that he can do no business with +his cleek, the sooner he learns to do it the better will it be for his +game. + +And there are many different kinds of cleeks, the choice from which is +to a large extent to be regulated by experiment and individual fancy. +Some men fancy one type, and some another, and each of them obtains +approximately the same result from his own selection, but it is natural +that a driving cleek, which is specially designed for obtaining length, +having a fairly straight face and plenty of weight, will generally +deliver the ball further than those which are more lofted and lighter. +Making a broad classification, there are driving cleeks, ordinary +cleeks, pitching cleeks, and cleeks with the weight in the centre. For +the last-named variety I have little admiration, excellent as many +people consider them to be. If the ball is hit with absolute accuracy in +the centre of the club's face every time, all is well; but it is not +given to many golfers to be so marvellously certain. Let the point of +contact be the least degree removed from the centre of the face, where +the weight is massed, and the result will usually be disquieting, for, +among other things, there is in such cases a great liability for the +club to turn in the hands of the player. + +As an alternative to the cleek the driving mashie has achieved +considerable popularity. It is undoubtedly a most useful club, and is +employed for the same class of work as the cleek, and, generally +speaking, may take its place. The distinctive features of the driving +mashie are that it has a deeper face than that of the cleek, and that +this depth increases somewhat more rapidly from the heel to the toe. By +reason of this extra depth it is often a somewhat heavier club, and +there is rather less loft on it than there is on the average cleek. When +you merely look at a driving mashie it certainly seems as if it may be +the easier club to use, but long experience will prove that this is not +the case. In this respect I think the driving cleek is preferable to +either the spoon or the driving mashie, particularly when straightness +is an essential, as it usually is when any of these clubs is being +handled. It frequently happens that the driving mashie is used to very +good effect for a while after it has first been purchased; but I have +noticed over and over again that when once you are off your play with +it--and that time must come, as with all other clubs--it takes a long +time to get back to form with it again,--so long, indeed, that the task +is a most painful and depressing one. Five years ago I myself had my +day with the driving mashie, and I played so well with it that at that +time I did not even carry a cleek. I used to drive such a long ball with +this instrument, that when I took it out of my bag to play with it, my +brother professionals used to say, "There's Harry with his driver +again"; and I remember that when on one occasion Andrew Kirkaldy was +informed that I was playing a driving mashie shot, he was indignant, and +exclaimed, "Mashie! Nay, man, thon's no mashie. It's jest a driver." +Then the day came when I found to my sorrow that I was off my driving +mashie, and not all the most laborious practice or the fiercest +determination to recover my lost form with it was rewarded with any +appreciable amount of success. After a time I got back to playing it in +some sort of fashion, but I was never so good with it again as to +justify me in sticking to it in preference to the cleek, so since then I +have practically abandoned it. This, I am led to believe, is a fairly +common experience among golfers, so the moral would seem to be, that you +should make the most of your good days with the driving mashie, that at +the first sign of decaying power with the club another and most thorough +trial should be given to the deserted cleek, and that at this crisis +that club should be persevered with in preference to the tool which has +failed. The driving mashie usually demands a good lie if it is to be +played with any amount of success. When, in addition to the lie being +cuppy, the turf is at all soft and spongy--and these two circumstances +are frequently combined--the ball very often skids off the face of the +club, chiefly because of its perpendicularity, instead of rising nicely +from the moment of impact as it would do when carefully played by a +suitable cleek. Of course if the turf is firm there is much greater +chance of success with the driving mashie than if it is loose. But one +finds by long experience that the cleek is the best and most reliable +club for use in all these difficult circumstances. Even the driving +cleeks have a certain amount of loft on their faces which enables them +to get nicely under the ball, so that it rises with just sufficient +quickness after being struck. And there is far less skidding with the +cleek. + +This question of skidding calls to mind another feature of iron clubs +generally, and those which are designed for power and length in +particular, which has not in the past received all the consideration +that it deserves. I am about to speak of the decided advantage which in +my opinion accrues from the use of iron clubs with ribbed faces in +preference to those which are smooth and plain. Some golfers of the +sceptical sort have a notion that the ribs or other marking are merely +ornamental, or, at the best, give some satisfaction to the fancy; but +these are certainly not their limits. The counteraction to skidding by +the ribbed face is undoubtedly very great, and there are certain +circumstances in which I consider it to be quite invaluable. Suppose the +ball is lying fairly low in grass. It is clear to the player that his +iron club, as it approaches it, will be called upon to force its way +through some of the grass, and that as it comes into contact with the +ball many green blades will inevitably be crushed between the face of +the club and the ball, with the result, in the case of the plain-faced +club, that further progress in the matter of the follow-through will be +to some extent impeded. But when the face of the club is ribbed, at the +instant of contact between ball and club the grass that comes between is +cut through by the ribs, and thus there is less waste of the power of +the swing. The difference may be only small; but whether it is an ounce +or two or merely a few pennyweights, it is the trifle of this kind that +tells. And, of course, the tendency to skid is greater than ever when +the grass through the green, or where the ball has to be played from, is +not so short as it ought to be, and the value of the ribbed face is +correspondingly increased. + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXII._ FULL SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. STANCE] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXIII._ FULL SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. TOP OF THE +SWING] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXIV._ FULL SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. FINISH] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXV._ FULL SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. FINISH] + +Now we may examine the peculiarities of play with the cleek, the term +for the remainder of this chapter being taken to include the driving +mashie. It will be found that the shaft of the cleek is usually some +two to four inches shorter than the driver, and this circumstance in +itself is sufficient to demand a considerable modification in the stance +and method of use. I now invite the reader to examine the photograph and +diagram of the ordinary cleek shot (Plate XXII.), and to compare it when +necessary with Plate VI., representing the stance for the drive. It will +be found that the right foot is only 21-1/2 inches from the A line as +against 27-1/2 when driving, and the left toe is only 24 inches from it +as compared with 34. From this it appears that the left foot has been +brought more forward into line with the right, but it is still behind +it, and it is essential that it should be so, in order that the arms may +be allowed a free passage through after the stroke. The feet remain +about the same distance apart, but it should be noticed that the whole +body has been moved forward some four inches in relation to the ball, +the distances of the right and left toes from the B line being +respectively 19 and 9-1/2 inches in the case of the drive and 15 and 12 +in that of the cleek shot. The stance in the case of all iron clubs +should be studied with great care, for a half inch the wrong way seems +to have a much greater power for evil than it does in the case of wooden +clubs. + +The handle of the cleek is gripped in the same manner as the driver, but +perhaps a little more tightly, for, as the club comes severely into +contact with the turf, one must guard against the possibility of its +turning in the hands. Ground the club behind the ball exactly in the +place and in the way that you intend to hit it. There is a considerable +similarity between the swings with the driver and the cleek. Great care +must be taken when making the backward swing that the body is not lifted +upwards, as there is a tendency for it to be. When pivoting on the left +toe, the body should bend slightly and turn from the waist, the head +being kept perfectly still. Thus it comes about that the golfer's system +appears to be working in three independent sections--first from the feet +to the hips, next from the hips to the neck, and then the head. The +result of this combination of movements is that at the top of the swing, +when everything has happened as it should do, the eyes will be looking +over the top of the left shoulder--just as when at the top of driving +swing. The body should not be an inch higher than when the address was +made, and the right leg will now be straight and stiff. When the club is +held tightly, there will be practically no danger of overswinging; but, +as with the drive, the pressure with the palms of the hands may be a +little relaxed at the top. The backward swing must not be so rapid that +control of the club is in any degree lost, and once again the player +must be warned against allowing any pause at the top. In coming down the +cleek should gain its speed gradually, so that at the time of impact it +is travelling at its fastest pace, and then, if the toes are right and +the shoulders doing their duty, the follow-through will almost certainly +be performed properly. The right shoulder must be carefully watched lest +it drops too much or too quickly. The club must, as it were, be in front +of it all the way. If the shoulder gets in front, a sclaffed ball is +almost sure to be the result, the club coming into contact with the turf +much too soon. If the stroke is finished correctly, the body will then +be facing the flag. + +So much, for the time being, for the full shot with the cleek. +Personally, however, I do not favour a really full shot either with the +cleek or any other iron club. When the limit of capability is demanded +with this or most other iron clubs in the bag, it is time to consider +whether a wooden instrument should not be employed. Therefore I very +seldom play the full cleek shot, but limit myself to one which may be +said to be slightly above the three-quarters. This is usually quite +sufficient for all purposes of length, and it is easier with this limit +of swing to keep the wrists and the club generally more under control. +Little more can be said by way of printed instruction regarding the +ordinary cleek shot, which is called for when the distance to be played +falls short of a full brassy, or, on the other hand, when the lie is of +too cuppy a character to render the use of the brassy possible with any +amount of safety. + +[Illustration: THE PUSH SHOT WITH THE CLEEK.] + +Many players, however, who are young in experience, and some who are +older too, seem to imagine that the simplest stroke, as just described, +is the limit of the resources of the cleek, and never give it credit for +the versatility which it undoubtedly possesses. There is another shot +with the cleek which is more difficult than that we have just been +discussing, one which it will take many weeks of arduous practice to +master, but which, in my opinion, is one of the most valuable and +telling shots in golf, and that is the push which is a half shot. Of all +the strokes that I like to play, this is my favourite. It is a half +shot, but as a matter of fact almost as much length can be obtained with +it as in any other way. It is a somewhat peculiar shot, and must be +played very exactly. In the first place, either a shorter cleek (about +two inches shorter, and preferably with a little more loft than the +driving cleek possesses) should be used, or the other one must be +gripped lower down the handle. A glance at Plate XXVI. and the diagram +in the corner will show that the stance is taken much nearer to the ball +than when an ordinary cleek shot was being played, that particularly the +right foot is nearer, and that the body and feet have again been moved a +trifle to the left. Moreover, it is recommended that in the address the +hands should be held a little more forward than usual. In this half shot +the club is not swung so far back, nor is the follow-through continued +so far at the finish. To make a complete success of this stroke, the +ball must be hit in much the same manner as when a low ball was wanted +in driving against the wind. In playing an ordinary cleek shot, the turf +is grazed before the ball in the usual manner; but to make this half or +push shot perfectly, the sight should be directed to the centre of the +ball, and the club should be brought directly on to it (exactly on the +spot marked on the diagram on page 170). In this way the turf should be +grazed for the first time an inch or two on the far side of the ball. +The diagram on this page shows the passage of the club through the ball, +as it were, exactly. Then not only is the ball kept low, but certain +peculiarities are imparted to its flight, which are of the utmost value +when a half shot with the cleek is called for. Not only may the ball be +depended upon never to rise above a certain height, but, having reached +its highest point, it seems to come down very quickly, travelling but a +few yards more, and having very little run on it when it reaches the +turf again. When this shot is once mastered, it will be found that these +are very valuable peculiarities, for a long approach shot can be gauged +with splendid accuracy. The ball is sent forwards and upwards until it +is almost overhanging the green, and then down it comes close to the +pin. I admit that when the ball is hit in this way the shot is made +rather difficult--though not so difficult as it looks--and, of course, +it is not absolutely imperative that this method should be followed. +Some good players make the stroke in the same way as the full shot, so +far as hitting the ball is concerned, but in doing so they certainly +lose the advantages I have pointed out, and stand less chance of scoring +through a finely placed ball. I may remark that personally I play not +only my half cleek stroke but all my cleek strokes in this way, so much +am I devoted to the qualities of flight which are thereby imparted to +the ball, and though I do not insist that others should do likewise in +all cases, I am certainly of opinion that they are missing something +when they do not learn to play the half shot in this manner. The +greatest danger they have to fear is that in their too conscious efforts +to keep the club clear of the ground until after the impact, they will +overdo it and simply top the ball, when, of course, there will be no +flight at all. I suggest that when this stroke is being practised a +close watch should be kept over the forearms and wrists, from which most +of the work is wanted. The arms should be kept well in, and the wrists +should be very tight and firm. It should be pointed out that there are +some circumstances in which it is not safe to attempt to play this +stroke. When the club comes to the ground after impact with the ball, +very little turf should be taken. It is enough if the grass is shaved +well down to the roots. But if the turf is soft and yielding, the club +head will have an inevitable tendency to burrow, with the result that it +would be next to impossible to follow-through properly with the stroke, +and that the ball would skid off, generally to the right. The shot is +therefore played to greatest advantage on a hard and fairly dry course. + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXVI._ THE PUSH SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. STANCE] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXVII._ THE PUSH SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. TOP OF THE +SWING] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXVIII._ THE PUSH SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. FINISH] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXIX._ A LOW BALL (AGAINST WIND) WITH THE CLEEK. +STANCE] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXX._ A LOW BALL (AGAINST WIND) WITH THE CLEEK. +TOP OF THE SWING] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXXI._ A LOW BALL (AGAINST WIND) WITH THE CLEEK. +FINISH] + +Many people are inclined to ask why, instead of playing a half shot with +the cleek, the iron is not taken and a full stroke made with it, which +is the way that a large proportion of good golfers would employ for +reaching the green from the same distance. For some reason which I +cannot explain, there seems to be an enormous number of players who +prefer a full shot with any club to a half shot with another, the result +being the same or practically so. Why is it that they like to swing so +much and waste so much power, unmindful of the fact that the shorter the +swing the greater the accuracy? The principle of my own game, and that +which I always impress upon others when I have an opportunity, is, +"Reach the hole in the easiest way you can." The easier way is generally +the surer way. When, therefore, there is a choice between a full shot +with one club or a half shot with another, I invariably ask the caddie +for the instrument with which to make the half shot. Hence, apart from +the advantageous peculiarities of the stroke which I have pointed out, I +should always play the half cleek shot in preference to the full iron, +because, to my mind, it is easier and safer, and because there is less +danger of the ball skidding off the club. In the same way I prefer a +half iron shot to a full one with the mashie. If the golfer attains any +proficiency with the stroke, he will probably be very much enamoured of +it, and will think it well worth the trouble of carrying a club +specially for the purpose, at all events on all important occasions. + +There is another variety of cleek shot which calls for separate mention. +It is played when a low ball is wanted to cut its way through a head +wind, and for the proper explanation of this useful stroke I have +supplied a special series of photographs from which it may be studied to +advantage. As will be seen from them, this stroke is, to all intents and +purposes, a modified half or push stroke, the most essential difference +being in the stance. The feet are a trifle nearer the ball and +considerably more forward, my right heel as a matter of fact being only +2-1/2 inches from the B line. Take a half swing, hit the ball before the +turf as in the case of the push, and finish with the shaft of the club +almost perpendicular, the arms and wrists being held in severe +subjection throughout. The ball skims ahead low down like a swallow, and +by the time it begins to rise and the wind to act upon it, it has almost +reached its destination, and the wind is now welcome as a brake. + +Having thus dealt with these different cleek shots separately, I think +some useful instruction may be obtained from a comparison of them, +noting the points of difference as they are set forth in the +photographs. An examination of the pictures will at once suggest that +there is much more in the stance than had been suspected. In the case of +the full cleek shot it is noticeable that the stance is opener than in +any of the others, and that the body is more erect. The object of this +is to allow freedom of the swing without altering the position of the +body during the upward movement. I mean particularly that the head is +not so likely to get out of its place as it would be if the body had +been more bent while the address was being made. It ought not to be, but +is the case, that when pivoting on the left foot during the progress of +a long upward swing, there is a frequent inclination, as already pointed +out, to raise the body, so that the position of the latter at the top of +the swing is altogether wrong, and has to be corrected in the downward +swing before the ball is reached. When, as often happens, this is done +too suddenly, a sclaff is the result. Therefore an obvious +recommendation is to stand at the ball with the same amount of erectness +as there will be at the top of the swing. And remember that when you +pivot on the left toe, the lift that there is here should not spread +along to the head and shoulders, but should be absorbed, as it were, at +the waist, which should bend inwards and turn round on the hips. Once +the head has taken its position, it should never move again until the +ball has been struck. Mind that you do not fall away from the ball when +the club is about to come into contact with it. I have observed a +considerable tendency in that direction on the part of many young +players. I have pressed several of these points home in other places, +but the success of the stroke is so bound up with a proper observation +of them that I think they cannot be too frequently or too strongly +insisted upon. + +If we take one more glance at all the different cleek stroke +photographs, we shall see that in each case the toes are turned well +outwards. I find that unless they take this position the player has not +the same freedom for turning upon them. In the case of full shots the +weight is more evenly divided upon both feet than in the case of others. +Thus, when the stance for a half or three-quarter cleek shot is taken, +the weight of the body falls more on the right leg than on the left. As +you have not to swing so far back, you are able to maintain this +position. You could not do so if a full stroke were being taken; hence +you would not then adopt it. Again, one allows the wrists and muscles +less play in the case of half shots than in full ones. There is more +stiffness all round. This, however, must not be taken to suggest that +even in the case of the full shot there is any looseness at the wrists. +If there were, it would be most in evidence just when it would be most +fatal, that is to say, at the moment of impact. The wrists must always +be kept severely under control. It will also be noticed from the +photographs, that at the top of the swings for both the full shot and +the half shot the body is in much the same position, but when the low +shot against the wind is being played it is pushed a little forward. I +mention these details by way of suggesting how much can be discovered +from a close and attentive study of these photographs only. Little +things like these, when not noticed and attended to, may bother a player +for many weeks; while, on the other hand, he may frequently find out +from a scrutiny of the pictures and diagrams the faults which have +baffled him on the links. In this connection the "How not to do it" +photographs should be of particular value to the player who is in +trouble with his cleek. Look at the faulty stance and address in Plate +XXXII. At the first glance you can see that this is not a natural +stance; the player is cramped and uncomfortable. The grip is altogether +wrong. The hands are too far apart, and the right hand is too much under +the shaft. The body would not hold its position during the swing, and in +any case a correct swing would be impossible. Yet this photograph does +not exaggerate the bad methods of some players. In Plate XXVII. we have +the player in a stance which is nearly as bad as before; but it is +evident that in this case the body has been lifted during the upward +swing, and the left hand is rather too much on the top of the shaft. + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXXII._ FAULTY PLAY WITH THE CLEEK + +_The stance in this case is very bad. The whole of the weight is on the +left leg instead of being evenly divided. The hands are too far apart, +and the right hand is far too much underneath the shaft. Moreover the +player is bending too far towards his ball. He must stand up to his +work. The almost certain consequence of this attitude is a foozle._] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXXIII._ FAULTY PLAY WITH THE CLEEK + +_Some very common and very fatal defects in the swing are illustrated +here. It is evident that both the body and the head have been lifted as +the club has been swung up, and the whole arrangement is thus thrown out +of gear. Both hands are in wrong positions (compare with XXIII) with the +result that the toe of the club is pointing sideways instead of to the +ground. Result--the player is likely to strike anything except the +ball._] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXXIV._ FAULTY PLAY WITH THE CLEEK + +_Here at the finish of the stroke the position of the arms is +exceedingly bad. They are bent and huddled up towards the body, plainly +indicating that they did not go through with the ball. There was no +power in this stroke, nothing to send the ball along. Therefore length +was impossible, and a foozle was quite likely. Compare with XXIV._] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXXV._ FAULTY PLAY WITH THE CLEEK + +_The mistakes here are numerous, but less pronounced than before. The +stance is not accurate, but it is not bad enough to be fatal in itself. +The play is very uncomfortable with his left arm, which is in a badly +cramped position. The hands are too far apart and the left wrist is too +high. The result is rather doubtful. Quite possibly the ball will be +pulled. Anyhow a good shot is out of the question._] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXXVI._ FAULTY PLAY WITH THE CLEEK + +_In the case of this finish the player has fallen away from the ball +instead of going forward with it as in XXIV. It is evident that the club +has been drawn across the ball. Result--a slice._] + + +Evidently it will take some time to bring the cleek completely into +subjection. There is, of course, no such thing as an all-round club in +golf, but the nearest to it is this one, and the man who is master of it +is rarely in a serious difficulty. He can even play a respectable round +with a cleek alone, and there is no form of practice less wearisome, +more diverting, or more eminently valuable and instructive, than that +which is to be obtained on a fine afternoon by taking out the cleek and +doing a round of the course with it from the tee to the hole in every +case, and making use of all the different strokes that I have described +in the course of this chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +PLAY WITH THE IRON + + The average player's favourite club--Fine work for the iron--Its + points--The right and the wrong time for play with it--Stance + measurements--A warning concerning the address--The cause of much + bad play with the iron--The swing--Half shots with the iron--The + regulation of power--Features of erratic play--Forced and checked + swings--Common causes of duffed strokes--Swings that are worthless. + + +When I mention that useful iron-headed club that goes by the simple name +of iron, I am conscious that I bring forward a subject that is dear to +the hearts of many golfers who have not yet come to play with certainty +with all their instruments. For the iron is often the golfer's favourite +club, and it has won this place of affection in his mind because it has +been found in the course of long experience that it plays him fewer +tricks than any of the others--that it is more dependable. This may be +to some extent because with the average golfer such fine work is seldom +required from the simple iron as is wanted from other clubs from time to +time. The distance to be covered is always well within the capabilities +of the club, or it would not be employed, and the average golfer of whom +we speak, who has still a handicap of several strokes, is usually +tolerably well satisfied if with it he places the ball anywhere on the +green, from which point he will be enabled to hole out in the additional +regulation two strokes. And the green is often enough a large place, so +the iron is fortunate in its task. But it goes without saying that by +those who have the skill for it, and sufficiently realise the +possibilities of all their tools, some of the finest work in golf may be +done with the iron. When it is called for the player is within easy +reach of the hole. The really long work has been accomplished, and the +prime consideration now is that of accuracy. Therefore the man who feels +himself able to play for the pin and not merely for the green, is he who +is in the confidence of his iron and knows that there are great things +to be done with it. + +The fault I have to find with the iron play of most golfers is that it +comes at the wrong time. I find them lunging out with all their power at +full shots with their irons when they might be far better employed in +effecting one of those pretty low shots made with the cleek at the half +swing. It is not in the nature of things that the full iron should be as +true as the half cleek, where there is such a reserve of strength, and +the body, being less in a state of strain, the mind can be more +concentrated on straightness and the accurate determination of length. I +suspect that this full shot is so often played and the preference for +the iron is established, not merely because it nearly always does its +work tolerably satisfactorily, but because in the simple matter of looks +there is something inviting about the iron. It has a fair amount of +loft, and it is deeper in the face than the cleek, and at a casual +inspection of its points it seems an easy club to play with. On the +other hand, being a little nearer to the hole, the average player +deserts his iron for the mashie much sooner than I care to do. Your +10-handicap man never gives a second thought as to the tool he shall use +when he has arrived within a hundred yards of the hole. Is he not then +approaching in deadly earnest, and has he not grown up in golf with a +definite understanding that there is one thing, and one only, with which +to give the true artistic finish to the play through the green? +Therefore out of his bag comes the mashie, which, if it could speak, +would surely protest that it is a delicate club with some fine breeding +in it, and that it was never meant to do this slogging with long swings +that comes properly in the departments of its iron friends. I seldom use +a mashie until I am within eighty yards of the hole. Up to that point I +keep my iron in action. Much better, I say, is a flick with the iron +than a thump with the mashie. + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXXVII._ FULL IRON SHOT. STANCE] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXXVIII._ FULL IRON SHOT. TOP OF THE SWING] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XXXIX._ FULL IRON SHOT. FINISH] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XL._ PLAY WITH THE IRON FOR A LOW BALL (AGAINST +WIND). STANCE] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XLI._ PLAY WITH THE IRON FOR A LOW BALL (AGAINST +WIND). TOP OF THE SWING] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XLII._ PLAY WITH THE IRON FOR A LOW BALL (AGAINST +WIND). FINISH] + +The iron that I most commonly use is nearly two inches shorter than my +cleek. It follows that the stance is taken slightly nearer to the ball; +but reason for moving closer to our A line is to be found in what I +might describe as the more upright lie of an iron as compared with a +cleek. When the lower edge of the club is laid evenly upon the level +turf, the stick will usually be found to be a trifle more vertical than +in the case of the cleek, and therefore for the proper preservation of +the natural lie of the club the golfer must come forward to it. +Consequently I find that when I have taken my stance for an iron shot +(Plate XXXVII.), my right foot has come forward no less than 8-1/2 +inches from the point at which it rested when I was taking a tolerably +full shot with the cleek. The left foot is 3-1/2 inches nearer. Thus the +body has been very slightly turned in the direction of the hole, and +while the feet are a trifle closer together, the ball is rather nearer +to the right toe than it was when being addressed by the cleek. Those +are the only features of the stance, and the only one I really insist +upon is the nearness to the ball. The commonest defect to be found with +iron play is the failure to address the ball and play the stroke through +with the sole of the club laid evenly upon the ground from toe to heel. +When the man is too far from the ball, it commonly follows that the +blade of the club comes down on to the turf heel first. Then something +that was not bargained for happens. It may be that the ball was taken by +the centre of the iron's face, and that the upward and downward swings +and the follow-through were all perfection, and yet it has shot away to +one side or the other with very little flight in it. And perhaps for a +week or two, while this is constantly happening, the man is wondering +why. When, happily, the reason is at last made apparent, the man goes +forward to its correction with that workmanlike thoroughness which +characterises him always and everywhere, and lo! the erring ball still +pursues a line which does not lead to the green. At the same time it may +very likely be noticed that the slight sense of twisting which was +experienced by the hands on the earlier occasion is here again. The +truth is that the first fault was over-corrected, and the toe of the +club, instead of the heel, has this time had the turf to itself while +the ball was being removed. Obviously, when either of these faults is +committed, the club head is twisted, and nothing is more impossible than +to get in a perfect iron shot when these things are done. I am making +much ado about what may seem after all to be an elementary fault, but a +long experience of the wayward golfer has made it clear to me that it is +not only a common fault, which is accountable for much defective play +with the iron, but that it is often unsuspected, and lurks undiscovered +and doing its daily damage for weeks or even months. The sole of the +iron must pass over the turf exactly parallel with it. + +There is nothing new to say about the swing of the iron. It is the same +as the swing of the cleek. For a full iron the swing is as long as for +the full cleek, and for the half iron it is as long as for the half +cleek, and both are made in the same way. The arms and wrists are +managed similarly, and I would only offer the special advice that the +player should make sure that he finishes with his hands well up, showing +that the ball has been taken easily and properly, as he may see them in +the photograph (Plate XXXIX.), which in itself tells a very good story +of comfortable and free play with the club, which is at the same time +held in full command. The whole of the series of photographs of iron +shots brings out very exactly the points that I desire to illustrate, +and I cannot do better than refer my readers to them. + +When it is desired to play a half iron shot that will give a low ball +for travelling against the wind, the same methods may be pursued as +when playing the corresponding shot with the cleek. + +When one comes to play with the iron, and is within, say, 130 yards of +the hole, the regulation of the precise amount of power to be applied to +the ball becomes a matter of the first importance, and one that causes +unceasing anxiety. I feel, then, that it devolves upon me to convey a +solemn warning to all players of moderate experience, that the distance +the ball will be despatched is governed entirely by the extent of the +backward swing of the club. When a few extra yards are wanted, put an +additional inch or two on to the backward swing, and so on; but never, +however you may satisfy yourself with excuses that you are doing a wise +and proper thing, attempt to force the pace at which the club is +travelling in the downward swing, or, on the other hand, attempt to +check it. I believe in the club being brought down fairly quickly in the +case of all iron shots; but it should be the natural speed that comes as +the result of the speed and length of the upward swing, and the gain in +it should be even and continuous throughout. Try, therefore, always to +swing back at the same rate, and to come on to the ball naturally and +easily afterwards. Of course, in accordance with the simple laws of +gravity and applied force, the farther back you swing the faster will +your club be travelling when it reaches the ball, and the harder will be +the hit. Therefore, if the golfer will learn by experience exactly how +far back he should swing with a certain club in order to get a certain +distance, and will teach himself to swing to just the right length and +with always the same amount of force applied, the rest is in the hands +of Nature, and can be depended upon with far more certainty than +anything which the wayward hands and head of the golfer can accomplish. +This is a very simple and obvious truth, but it is one of the main +principles of golf, and one that is far too often neglected. How +frequently do you see a player take a full swing when a half shot is all +that is wanted, and even when his instinct tells him that the half shot +is the game. What happens? The instinct assumes the upper hand at the +top of the swing, and the man with the guilty conscience deliberately +puts a brake on to his club as it is coming down. He knows that he has +gone too far back, and he is anxious then to reduce the speed of the +club by unnatural means. But the principles of golf are not to be so +lightly tampered with in this manner, and it affords the conscientious +player some secret satisfaction to observe that very rarely indeed is +anything of a success made of shots of this sort. A duffed stroke is the +common result. In such cases the swing is of no more value than if it +had not taken place at all. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +APPROACHING WITH THE MASHIE + + The great advantage of good approach play--A fascinating + club--Characteristics of a good mashie--Different kinds of strokes + with it--No purely wrist shot--Stance and grip--Position of the + body--No pivoting on the left toe--The limit of distance--Avoid a + full swing--The half iron as against the full mashie--The + swing--How not to loft--On scooping the ball--Taking a divot--The + running-up approach--A very valuable stroke--The club to use--A + tight grip with the right hand--Peculiarities of the swing--The + calculation of pitch and run--The application of cut and spin--A + stroke that is sometimes necessary--Standing for a cut--Method of + swinging and hitting the ball--The chip on to the green--Points of + the jigger. + + +There is an old saying that golf matches are won on the putting greens, +and it has often been established that this one, like many other old +sayings, contains an element of truth, but is not entirely to be relied +upon. In playing a hole, what is one's constant desire and anxiety from +the tee shot to the last putt? It is to effect, somehow or other, that +happy combination of excellent skill with a little luck as will result +practically in the saving of a whole stroke, which will often mean the +winning of the hole. The prospect of being able to exercise this useful +economy is greatest when the mashie is taken in hand. The difference +between a good drive and a poor one is not very often to be represented +by anything like half a stroke. But the difference between a really good +mashie approach stroke and a bad one is frequently at least a stroke, +and I have known it to be more. Between the brilliant and the average it +is one full stroke. Of course a stroke is saved and a hole very often +won when a long putt is holed, but in cases of this kind the proportion +of luck to skill is much too great to give perfect satisfaction to the +conscientious golfer, however delightful the momentary sensation may be. +When a man is playing his mashie well, he is leaving himself very little +to do on the putting green, so that, if occasionally he does miss a +putt, he can afford to do so, having constantly been getting so near to +the flag that one putt has sufficed. When the work with the mashie is +indifferent or poor, the player is frequently left with long putts to +negotiate, and is in a fever of anxiety until the last stroke has been +made on the green. It often happens at these times that the putting also +is poor, and when this is the case a sad mess is made of the score. +Therefore, while I say that he is a happy and lucky man who is able +constantly to save his game on the putting greens, happier by far is he +who is not called upon to do so. In this way the skilled golfer +generally finds the mashie the most fascinating club to play with, and +there are few pleasures in the game which can equal that of laying the +ball well up to the pin from a distance of many yards. One expects to +get much nearer to it with this last of the irons than with the cleek or +the simple iron, and the more nearly the flag is approached the greater +the skill and experience of the player. Here, indeed, is a field for +lifelong practice, with a telling advantage accruing from each slight +improvement in play. + +First a word as to the club, for there is scarcely an article in the +golfer's kit which presents more scope for variety of taste and style. +Drivers and brassies vary a little, cleeks and irons differ much, but +mashies are more unlike each other than any of them. So much depends +upon this part of the game, and so much upon the preferences and +peculiarities of the player, that it is unlikely that the first mashie +in which he invests will go alone with him through his experience as a +golfer. To his stock there will be added other mashies, and it is +probable that only after years of experiment will he come to a final +determination as to which is the best for him to use. In this question +of the choice of mashie it is necessary that taste and style should be +allowed to have their own way. However, to the hesitating golfer, or to +him whose mashie play so far has been somewhat disappointing, I give +with confidence the advice to use a mashie which is very fairly lofted +and which is deep in the blade. I can see no use in the mashie with the +narrow blade which, when (as so often happens when near the green) the +ball is lying in grass which is not as short as it might be, often +passes right under the ball--a loss of a stroke at the most critical +moment, which is the most exasperating thing I know. Again, for a last +hint I suggest that he should see that his shaft is both stiff and +strong. This instrument being used generally for lighter work than the +other iron clubs, and the delicacy and exactness of it being, as a rule, +the chief considerations, there is a natural tendency on the part of the +golfer sometimes to favour a thinner stick than usual. But it should be +borne in mind that there should be no trace of "give" in the shaft, for +such would be all against the accuracy that is wanted, and a man when he +is playing the short approach shot wants to feel that he has a club in +his hand that can be relied upon in its every fibre. Moreover, gentle as +is much of its work, even the mashie at times has some very rough jobs +to accomplish. So let the stick be fairly stiff. + +Of mashie shots there is an infinite variety. In this stroke not only +are the lie of the ball and the distance it has to be sent controlling +factors in the way it has to be played, but now the nature and qualities +of the green which is being approached constitute another, and one which +occasions more thought and anxiety than any. Generally all mashie shots +may be separated into three groups. There is what we may call the +ordinary mashie shot to begin with--meaning thereby a simple lofted +stroke,--there is the running-up mashie shot, and there is the special +stroke which applies extra spin and cut to the ball. There are very +pronounced differences between these strokes and the ways of playing +them. One is often told that "all mashies should be played with the +wrist." I beg to differ. As I have said before, I contend that there is +no such thing as a purely wrist shot in golf--except on the putting +green. If anybody really made up his mind to play his mashie with his +wrist and his wrist alone, he would find the blade of his club in +uncomfortable proximity to his face at the finish of the stroke, and I +should not like to hazard a guess as to where the ball might be. The +fact of the matter is, that those who so often say that the mashie must +be played with the wrist never attempt to play it in this way +themselves. They are merely misled by the fact that for the majority of +mashie strokes a shorter swing and less freedom of the arms are +desirable than when other iron clubs are being employed. An attempt has +been made to play a pure wrist shot in the "How not to do it" +photograph, No. XLVIII., and I am sure nobody ever made a success of a +stroke like that. + +The stance for the mashie differs from that taken when an iron shot is +being played, in that the feet are placed nearer to each other and +nearer to the ball. Comparison between the photographs and diagrams will +make the extent of these differences and the peculiarities of the stance +for the mashie quite clear. The right toe is advanced until it is within +11 inches of the A line, the ball is opposite the left heel, the left +foot is turned slightly more outwardly than usual. As for the grip, the +only observation that it is necessary to make is, that if a very short +shot is being played it is sometimes best to grasp the club low down at +the bottom of the handle, but in no circumstances do I approve of the +hands leaving the leather and getting on to the wood as players +sometimes permit them to do. When the player is so desperately anxious +to get so near to the blade with his hands, he should use a shorter +club. It should also be noticed that the body is more relaxed than +formerly, that there is more bend at the elbows, that the arms are not +so stiff, and that there is the least suspicion, moreover, of slackness +at the knees. The whole attitude is arranged for ease, delicacy of +touch, and extreme accuracy, whereas formerly simple straightness and +power were the governing considerations. To the eye of the uninitiated, +many of these photographs may seem very much alike; but a little +attentive study of those showing the stances for the iron and mashie +will make the essential differences very apparent. In the address the +right knee is perceptibly bent, and all the weight of the body is thrown +on to it. In the backward swing the right knee stiffens and the left +bends in, the left foot leaning slightly over to facilitate its doing +so. There is a great tendency on the part of inexperienced or uncertain +players to pivot on the left toe in the most exaggerated manner even +when playing a very short mashie stroke. Unless a full shot is being +taken, there should not only be no pivoting with the mashie, but the +left heel, throughout the stroke, should be kept either touching the +ground or raised only the least distance above it. In the backward swing +the right knee is stiffened and the left knee bends in towards the ball, +simply in order to let the club go back properly, which it could hardly +do if the original pose were retained. It is particularly requisite +that, though there is so much ease elsewhere, the club in the case of +these mashie shots should be held quite tightly. They are not played +with the wrists alone, but with the wrists and the forearms, and a firm +grip is an essential to success. + +[Illustration: _PLATE XLIII._ MASHIE APPROACH (PITCH AND RUN). STANCE +(_Distance 70 to 80 yards from the hole._)] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XLIV._ MASHIE APPROACH (PITCH AND RUN). TOP OF THE +SWING (_Distance 70 to 80 yards from the hole._)] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XLV._ MASHIE APPROACH (PITCH AND RUN). FINISH +(_Distance 70 to 80 yards from hole._)] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XLVI._ MISTAKES WITH THE MASHIE + +_The hands are too far apart. Whatever method of grip is favoured at +least the right thumb should be down the shaft to guide it in the case +of this delicate shot. The face of the club is turned in slightly from +the toe, and the face also is too straight up and is not allowed its +natural angle. The toe of the club is likely to come on to the ball +first, and that will cause a pull. In any case the club cannot be guided +properly, and there can be no accuracy._] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XLVII._ MISTAKES WITH THE MASHIE + +_Here in this upward swing the body is being held too stiffly. It is not +pivoting from the waist as it ought to do. Besides the hands being too +far apart, the left one is spoiling everything. It is out of control and +is trying to get above the shaft, instead of being underneath it at this +stage. The result will either be a foozle or a pulled ball. The face of +the mashie will not be straight at the moment of impact._] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XLVIII._ MISTAKES WITH THE MASHIE + +_This is merely a "wrist shot," such as is often recommended, and which +I say cannot possibly give a good result. There is no mere wrist shot. +The result of an attempt of this kind is always very doubtful. In any +case, even when the ball is fairly hit, there can be no length from the +stroke._] + +[Illustration: _PLATE XLIX._ RUNNING UP APPROACH WITH MASHIE OR IRON. +FINISH, WITH STANCE ALSO INDICATED] + +[Illustration: _PLATE L._ A CUT APPROACH WITH THE MASHIE. STANCE] + +[Illustration: _PLATE LI._ A CUT APPROACH WITH THE MASHIE. TOP OF THE +SWING] + +[Illustration: _PLATE LII._ A CUT APPROACH WITH THE MASHIE. FINISH] + +When considering the nature of the backward swing, the question arises +as to how far it should be prolonged, and I have already declared myself +against making long shots with the mashie. It is my strong conviction +that a man is playing the best and safest golf when he attempts nothing +beyond eighty yards with his mashie, using an iron or a cleek for +anything longer. It is very seldom that I play my mashie at a distance +of over eighty yards, and the limit of the swing that I ever give to it +is a three-quarter, which is what I call an ordinary mashie stroke, and +should be sufficient to do anything ever to be attempted with this +club. But some golfers like taking the fullest mashie stroke that they +can, and, when hesitating between the use of an iron or the lofting +club, they usually decide in favour of the latter. "I think I can reach +it with my mashie," they always say, and so they whirl away and commit +the most frightful abuse on a splendid club, which was never intended to +have its capabilities strained in order to reach anything. Instead of +saying that "they think they can reach it with their mashie," these +golfers should try to decide that "a half iron will not carry them too +far." It is easier and safer. Whenever a ball has a distance to go, I +believe in keeping it fairly low down, as low as the hazards will +permit, believing that in this way by constant practice it is possible +to ensure much greater accuracy than in any other way. No golfer has +much control over a ball that is sent up towards the sky. The mashie is +meant to loft, and it is practically impossible to play a long shot with +it without lofting the ball very much and exposing it to all the wind +that there is about. As very little driving power has been imparted to +the ball, what wind there may be has considerably more effect upon it +than upon the flight of other balls played with other iron clubs. + +The line of the backward swing should be much the same as that for the +half shot with the cleek, but the body should be held a little more +rigidly, and not be allowed to pivot quite so much from the waist as +when playing with any of the other clubs which have been described. The +downward swing is the same as before, and in the case of the ordinary +stroke which we are speaking of, the turf should be hit immediately +behind the ball. As soon as the impact has been effected, the body +should be allowed to go forward with the club, care being taken that it +does not start too soon and is in front. + +The great anxiety of the immature player when making this stroke is to +get the ball properly lofted, and in some obstinate cases it seems to +take several seasons of experience to convince him completely that the +club has been specially made for the purpose, and, if fairly used, is +quite adequate. This man cannot get rid of the idea that the player +lofts the ball, or at least gives material assistance to the club in +doing it. What happens? Observe this gentleman when he and his ball are +on the wrong side of a hazard which is guarding the green, and notice +the very deliberate way in which he goes about doing the one thing that +he has been told hundreds of times by the most experienced players can +only be attended by the most disastrous and costly failure. He has made +up his mind that he will scoop the ball over the bunker. He will not +trust to his club to do this important piece of business. So down goes +the right shoulder and into the bunker goes the ball, and one more good +hole has been lost. He doesn't know how it happened; he thinks the +mashie must be the most difficult club in the world to play with, and he +complains of his terrible luck; but by the time the approach shot to the +next hole comes to be played he is at it again. There is nobody so +persistent as the scooper, and the failure that attends his efforts is a +fair revenge by the club for the slight that is cast upon its +capabilities, for the chances are that if the stroke had been played in +just the ordinary manner without any thought whatever of the bunker, and +if the ground had been hit just a trifle behind the ball, the latter +would have been dropped easily and comfortably upon the green. Some +golfers also seem to imagine that they have done all that they could +reasonably be expected to do when they have taken a divot, and even if +the shot has proved a failure they derive some comfort from the divot +they have taken, the said divot usually being a huge slab of turf, the +removal of which makes a gaping wound in the links. But there is nothing +to be proud of in this achievement, for it does not by any means imply +that the stroke has been properly made. To hit the ball correctly when +making an approach with the mashie, it is necessary to take a +little--just a very little--turf. This is so, because the ball will not +fly and rise properly as the club desires to make it do, unless it is +taken in the exact middle of the club, which has a deeper face than +others. I mean middle, not only as regards the distance from heel to +toe, but between the top edge of the blade and the sole. A moment's +consideration will make it clear that if the stroke were to be made +quite cleanly, that is to say, if the club merely grazed the ground +without going into it, the ball would inevitably be taken by the lower +part of the blade near to the sole and much below the centre where the +impact ought to be. Therefore it is apparent that, in order to take it +from the centre, the blade must be forced underneath, and if the swing +is made in the manner directed and the turf is taken just the least +distance behind the ball--which, of course, means keeping the eye just +so much more to the right than usual--all that is necessary will be +easily accomplished. Apart from the loft, I think a little more accuracy +is ensured by the removal of that inch or two of turf. + +Now there is that most valuable stroke, the running-up approach, to +consider. When skilfully performed, it is often most wonderfully and +delightfully effective. It is used chiefly for short approaches when the +ground outside the putting green is fairly good and there is either no +hazard at all to be surmounted, or one that is so very low or sunken as +not to cause any serious inconvenience. When the running-up shot is +played in these circumstances by the man who knows how to play it, he +can generally depend on getting much nearer to the hole than if he were +obliged to play with a pitch alone. It is properly classified as a +mashie shot, but there are golfers who do it with an iron. Others like a +straight-faced mashie for the purpose; and a third section have a +preference for the ordinary mashie, and play for a pitch and run. These +are details of fancy in which I cannot properly interfere. The stance +for the stroke differs from that for an ordinary mashie shot in that the +feet and body are further in front, the right toe, for instance, being +fully six inches nearer to the B line (see Plate XLIX.). The club may +be gripped lower down the handle. Moreover, it should be held forward, +slightly in front of the head. The swing back should be very straight, +and should not be carried nearly so far as in playing an ordinary mashie +stroke, for in this case the ball requires very little propulsion. This +is one of the few shots in golf in which the right hand is called upon +to do most of the work, and that it may be encouraged to do so the hold +with the left hand should be slightly relaxed. With the right hand then +fastening tightly to the handle, it comes about that the toe of the club +at the time of the impact is slightly in front of the heel, and this +combination of causes tends to give the necessary run to the ball when +it takes the ground. The work of the right hand in the case of this +stroke is delicate and exact, and it must be very carefully timed, for +if it is done too suddenly or too soon the result is likely to be a +foundered ball. The club having been taken so straight out in the +backward swing, the natural tendency will be to draw it very slightly +across the ball when contact is made, and the blade, then progressing +towards the left foot, should to finish be taken a few inches further +round towards the back than in the case of an ordinary mashie shot. One +cannot very well compare the two in words, however, for the finishes are +altogether different, as an examination of the illustration of the +finish of the running-up stroke will show. In this case the swing stops +when the shaft of the club is pointing a little to the left of the +direction of the ball that is speeding onwards, the blade being on a +level with the hands. It will be observed that at the finish the right +hand is well over on the handle. This is the kind of stroke that the +practised and skilful golfer loves most, for few others afford him such +a test of calculation and judgment. It will not do to make the stroke +haphazard. Before the blade of the club is moved for the upward swing, a +very clear understanding should have been formed as to the amount of +pitch that is to be given to the ball and the amount of run. They must +be in exactly the proper proportion to suit the circumstances, which +will vary almost every time the stroke is made. Nearly everything +depends on the state of the land that is to be traversed. The fact of +the matter is, that this shot is really a combination of lofting and +putting with many more uncertain quantities to be dealt with than when +one is really putting on the green. When one has decided where the pitch +must be, the utmost pains should be taken to pitch there exactly, which, +as the distance will usually be trifling, ought not to be a difficult +matter. An error of even a foot in a shot of this kind is sometimes a +serious matter. When properly done it is an exceedingly pretty shot, and +one which brings great peace to the soul of the man who has done it. + +And now we come to that exquisite stroke, the approach, to which much +cut and spin have been applied for a specific purpose. It is a shot +which should only be played when circumstances render it absolutely +necessary. There are times when it is the only one which will afford the +golfer a good chance of coming well through a trying ordeal. When we +play it we want the ball to stop dead almost as soon as it reaches the +turf at the end of the pitch. If there is a tolerably high bunker +guarding the green, and the flag is most awkwardly situated just at the +other side, it is the only shot that can be played. A stroke that would +loft the ball over the bunker in the ordinary manner would carry it far +beyond the hole--too far to make the subsequent putting anything but a +most difficult matter. Or, on the other hand, leaving out of the +question the hole which is hiding just on the other side of the hazard +protecting the green, it often happens in the summer-time, when greens +are hard and fiery, that it is absolutely impossible to make a ball +which has been pitched on to them in the ordinary manner stay there. +Away it goes bouncing far off on to the other side, and another approach +shot has to be played, often by reason of a hazard having been found, +more difficult than the first. If there must be a pitch, then the thing +to do is to try to apply a brake to the ball when it comes down, and we +can only do this by cutting it. There are greens which at most seasons +of the year demand that the ball reaching them shall be cut for a dead +drop, such as the green laid at a steep angle when the golfer has to +approach it from the elevated side. A little cut is a comparatively easy +thing to accomplish, but when the brake is really wanted it is usually a +most pronounced cut, that will bring the ball up dead or nearly so, that +is called for, and this is a most difficult stroke. I regard the +ordinary mashie as the best club with which to make it, but there are +some good golfers who like the niblick for this task, and it is +undoubtedly productive of good results. However, I will suppose that it +is to be attempted with the mashie. + +The stance is quite different from that which was adopted when the +running-up shot was being played. Now the man comes more behind the +ball, and the right foot goes forward until the toe is within 8 inches +of the A line, while the instep of the left foot is right across B. The +feet also are rather closer together. An examination of Plate L. will +give an exact idea of the peculiarities of the stance for this stroke. +Grip the club very low down on the handle, but see that the right hand +does not get off the leather. This time, in the upward swing let the +blade of the mashie go well outside the natural line for an ordinary +swing, that is to say, as far away from the body in the direction of the +A line as is felt to be comfortable and convenient. While this is being +done, the left elbow should be held more stiffly and kept more severely +under control than the right. At the top of the swing--which, as will be +seen from the picture of it (Plate LI.), is only a short half swing, and +considerably shorter than that for an ordinary mashie shot--neither arm +is at full length, the right being well bent and the left slightly. When +this upward swing has been made correctly, the blade of the mashie +naturally comes across the ball at the time of impact, and in this way a +certain amount of cut is applied. But this is not the limit of the +possibilities of cutting, as many golfers seem to imagine, nor is it +sufficient to meet some of the extreme cases which occasionally present +themselves. To do our utmost in this direction we must decide that +extremely little turf must be taken, for it is obvious that unless the +bare blade gets to work on the ball it cannot do all that it is capable +of doing. The metal must go right underneath the ball, just skimming the +grass in the process, and scarcely removing any of the turf. It is also +most important that at the instant when ball and club come into contact +the blade should be drawn quickly towards the left foot. To do this +properly requires not only much dexterity but most accurate timing, and +first attempts are likely to be very clumsy and disappointing. But many +of the difficulties will disappear with practice, and when at last some +kind of proficiency has been obtained, it will be found that the ball +answers in the most obedient manner to the call that is made upon it. It +will come down so dead upon the green that it may be pitched up into the +air until it is almost directly over the spot at which it is desired to +place it. In playing this stroke a great deal depends on the mastery +which the golfer obtains over his forearms and wrists. At the moment of +impact the arms should be nearly full length and stiff, and the wrists +as stiff as it is possible to make them. I said that the drawing of the +blade towards the left foot would have to be done quickly, because +obviously there is very little time to lose; but it must be done +smoothly and evenly, without a jerk, which would upset the whole swing, +and if it is begun the smallest fraction of a second too soon the ball +will be taken by the toe of the club, and the consequences will not be +satisfactory. I have returned to make this the last word about the cut +because it is the essence of the stroke, and it calls for what a young +player may well regard as an almost hopeless nicety of perfection. + +There is another little approach shot which is usually called the chip +on to the green, but which is really nothing but the pitch and run on a +very small scale. It is used when the ball has only just failed to +reach the green, or has gone beyond it, and is lying in the rougher +grass only a very few yards from the edge of it. It often happens in +cases of this sort that the putter may be ventured upon, but when that +is too risky a little pitch is given to the ball and it is allowed to +run the last three or four yards to the hole. An ordinary iron will +often be found the most useful club for the purpose. + +Latterly a new kind of club has become fashionable in some quarters for +approaching. They call it the jigger, and, having a longer blade than +the ordinary mashie, its users argue that it is easier to play with. +That may be true to a certain extent when the ball is lying nicely, but +we are not always favoured with this good fortune, and I have no +hesitation in saying that for inferior or cuppy lies the jigger is a +very ineffectual instrument. The long head cannot get into the cups, and +the accuracy that is always called for in approaching is made +impossible. If a jigger must be carried in the bag, it should be merely +as an auxiliary to the ordinary mashie. + +Such are the shots with the mashie, and glad is the man who has mastered +all of them, for he is then a golfer of great pretensions, who is to be +feared by any opponent at any time or place. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +ON BEING BUNKERED + + The philosopher in a bunker--On making certain of getting out--The + folly of trying for length--When to play back--The qualities of the + niblick--Stance and swing--How much sand to take--The time to + press--No follow-through in a bunker--Desperate cases--The brassy + in a bunker--Difficulties through prohibited grounding--Play + straight when length is imperative--Cutting with the niblick. + + +This is a hateful subject, but one which demands the most careful and +unprejudiced consideration, for are not even the best of us bunkered +almost daily? There is nothing like the bunkers on a golf links for +separating the philosophic from the unphilosophic among a golfing crowd, +and when a representative of each section is in a bunker at the same +time it is heavy odds on the philosopher winning the hole. There are two +respects in which he differs from his opponent at this crisis in his +golfing affairs. He does not become flurried, excited, and despondent, +and give the hole up for lost with a feeling of disgust that he had +committed the most unpardonable sin. He remembers that there are still +various strokes to be played before the hole is reached, and that it is +quite possible that in the meantime his friend may somewhere lose one +and enable him to get on level terms again. When two players with plus +handicaps are engaged in a match, a bunkered ball will generally mean a +lost hole, but others who have not climbed to this pinnacle of +excellence are far too pessimistic if they assume that this rule +operates in their case also. The second matter in which the philosophic +golfer rises superior to his less favoured brother when there is a +bunker stroke to be played, is that he fully realises that the bunker +was placed there for the particular purpose of catching certain +defective shots, and that the definite idea of its constructors was that +the man who played such a shot should lose a stroke as penalty for doing +so--every time. It is legitimate for us occasionally to put it to +ourselves that those constructors did not know the long limits of our +resource nor the craftiness we are able to display when in a very tight +corner, and that therefore, if we find a favourable opportunity, we may +cheat the bunker out of the stroke that it threatens to take from us. +But this does not happen often. When the golfer has brought himself to +realise that, having played into a bunker, he has lost a stroke or the +best part of one, and accepts the position without any further ado, he +has gone a long way in the cultivation of the most desirable properties +of mind and temperament with which any player of the game can be +endowed. This man, recognising that his stroke is lost, when he goes up +to his ball and studies the many difficulties of its situation, plays +for the mere purpose of getting out again, and probably putting himself +on the other side in that one stroke which was lost. It does not matter +to him if he only gets two yards beyond the bunker--just far enough to +enable him to take his stance and swing properly for the next shot. +Distance is positively no object whatever, and in this way he insures +himself against further loss, and goes the right way to make up for his +misfortune. + +Now, what does the other man do in like circumstances? Unreasonably and +foolishly he refuses to accept the inevitable, and declines to give up +the idea of getting to a point a hundred yards or more in front with his +next shot, which he would have reached if he had not been in the bunker. +He seems to think that the men who made the bunkers did not know their +business. Having been bunkered, he says to himself that it is his duty +to himself and to the game to make up for the stroke which was lost by +supremely brilliant recovery under the most disheartening +circumstances. He insists that the recovery must be made here in the +bunker, and thereafter he will progress as usual. It never occurs to him +that it would be wiser and safer to content himself with just getting +out the hazard, and then, playing under comparatively easy and +comfortable conditions, to make his grand attempt at recovering the lost +stroke. He would be much more likely to succeed. A stroke lost or gained +is of equal value at any point on the route from the tee to the hole, +and it is a simple fact, too often never realised, that a long putt +makes up for a short drive, and a mashie shot laid dead for a previous +stroke from which the ball was trapped in the bunker. But the +unphilosophic gentleman, who is ignorant of, or tries to resist, these +truths, feels that his bunkered stroke must be compensated for by the +next one or never. What is the result? Recklessly, unscientifically, +even ludicrously, he fires away at the ball in the bunker with a cleek +or an iron or a mashie, striving his utmost to get length, when, with +the frowning cliff of the bunker high in front of him and possibly even +overhanging him, no length is possible. At the first attempt he fails to +get out. His second stroke in the hazard shares the same fate. With a +third or a fourth his ball by some extraordinary and lucky chance may +just creep over the top of the ridge. How it came to do so when played +in this manner nobody knows. The fact can only be explained by the +argument that if you keep on doing the same thing something is sure to +happen in the end, and it is a sufficient warning to these bunkered +golfers that the gods of golf have so large a sense of justice and of +right and wrong that by this time the hole has for a certainty been +lost. The slashing player who wants to drive his long ball out of the +bunker very rarely indeed gets even this little creep over the crest +until he has played two or three more, and is in a desperate state of +lost temper. An alternative result to his efforts comes about when he +has played these three or four more, and his ball is, if anything, more +hopelessly bunkered than ever. All sense of what is due to the game and +to his own dignity is then suddenly lost, and a strange sight is often +seen. Five, six, and seven more follow in quick succession, the man's +arms working like the piston of a locomotive, and his eyes by this time +being quite blinded to the ball, the sand, the bunker, and everything +else. As an interesting feature of what we might call golfing +physiology, I seriously suggest that players of these habits and +temperament, when they begin to work like a steam-engine in the bunker, +do not see the ball at all for the last few strokes. The next time they +indulge in their peculiar performance, let them ask themselves +immediately afterwards whether they did see it or not, and in the +majority of cases they will have to answer in the negative. When it is +over, a few impious words are uttered, the ball is picked up, and there +is a slow and gloomy march to the next tee, from which it is unlikely +that a good drive will be made. The nervous system of the misguided +golfer has been so completely upset by the recent occurrences, that he +may not recover his equanimity until several more strokes have been +played, or perhaps until the round is over and the distressing incidents +have at last passed from his mind. + +This has been a long story about a thing that happens on most links +every day, but the moral of it could hardly have been emphasised +properly or adequately if it had been told in fewer words, or if the +naked truth had been wrapped up in any more agreeable terms. The moral +obviously is, that the golfer on being bunkered must concentrate his +whole mind, capabilities, and energies on getting out in one stroke, and +must resolutely refrain from attempting length at the same time, for, in +nine cases out of ten, length is impossible. There are indeed occasions +when so light a sentence has been passed by the bunker on the erring +ball that a long shot is practicable, but they are very rare, and come +in an entirely different category from the average bunkered ball, and we +will consider them in due course. On the other hand, there are times +when it is manifestly impossible even to get to the other side of the +bunker in a single stroke, as when the ball is tucked up at the foot of +a steep and perhaps overhanging cliff. Still the man must keep before +himself the fact that his main object is to get out in the fewest +strokes possible, and in a case of this sort he may be wise to play +back, particularly if it is a medal round that he is engaged upon. If he +plays back he is still in the running for his prize if his golf has been +satisfactory up to this point, for an addition of two strokes to his +score through such an accident, though a serious handicap, is seldom a +hopeless one. If he does not play back his chance of victory may +disappear entirely at this bunker. His instinct tells him that it +probably will do so. Which then is the wiser and better course to take? + +Now, then, let us consider the ways and means of getting out of bunkers, +and take in our hands the most unpopular club that our bags contain. We +never look upon the niblick with any of that lingering affection which +is constantly bestowed on all the other instruments that we possess, as +we reflect upon the splendid deeds that they have performed for us on +many memorable occasions. The niblick revives only unpleasant memories, +but less than justice is done to this unfortunate club, for, given fair +treatment, it will accomplish most excellent and remunerative work in +rescuing its owner from the predicaments in which his carelessness or +bad luck in handling the others has placed him. There is little variety +in niblicks, and therefore no necessity to discourse upon their points, +for no professional is ever likely to stock a niblick for sale that is +unequal to the performance of its peculiar duties. It has rougher and +heavier work to do than any other club, and more brute force is +requisitioned in employing it than at any other time. Therefore the +shaft should be as strong as it is possible for it to be, and it should +be so stiff that it will not bend under the most severe pressure. The +head should be rather small and round, with plenty of loft upon it, and +very heavy. A light niblick is useless. + +[Illustration: _PLATE LIII._ THE NIBLICK IN A BUNKER. TOP OF AN ORDINARY +STROKE WHEN IT IS INTENDED TO TAKE MUCH SAND] + +[Illustration: _PLATE LIV._ "WELL OUT!" FINISH OF AN ORDINARY STROKE IN +A BUNKER WHEN MUCH SAND IS TAKEN. THE BALL MAY BE SEEN RISING ABOVE THE +BUNKER] + +[Illustration: _PLATE LV._ ANOTHER BUNKER STROKE. TOP OF THE SWING WHEN +INTENDING TO TAKE THE BALL CLEANLY AND WITH A LITTLE CUT] + +[Illustration: _PLATE LVI._ FINISH AFTER TAKING THE BALL CLEANLY FROM A +BUNKER] + +It is difficult to advise as to the stance that should be taken for a +niblick shot in a bunker, inasmuch as it so frequently happens that this +is governed by circumstances which are quite beyond the golfer's +control. He must learn to adapt himself in the best possible manner to +the conditions in which he finds himself, and it will often happen that +he is cramped for space, he may be unable to get a proper or comfortable +place for one or both of his feet, or he may be obliged to stand with +one foot--generally the left one--considerably above the other. But when +there are none of these difficulties besetting him, it may be said that +generally the stance most suited to a stroke with the niblick is similar +to that which would be taken for a long shot with an iron, except +perhaps that the player should stand a little nearer to the ball, so +that he may be well over it while making his swing. The most important +respect in which the swing differs from that of the iron is that the +club is brought up much straighter. By this I mean that the head of the +club should not be allowed to come round quite so much, but throughout +its course should be kept as nearly as possible overhanging what we have +been calling the A line. The swing, indeed, is much more of what I call +an upright character than that of any other stroke in the game, and at +the top of it, the blade having passed over the right shoulder and the +golfer's head, the shaft should be nearly horizontal and right over the +back of the head, an example of which may be seen in Plate LIII., where +I have a fairly good lie, but am rather badly bunkered for all that, +being only a couple of feet from the base of a high and tolerably steep +bank. + +If there is such a thing as an average bunker shot, this is the one, and +I am now describing the method of dealing with cases of this and similar +character. There must be no thought of hitting the ball cleanly with the +club in a case of this kind, or in any other than the most exceptional +situations or emergencies when bunkered. The club must hit the sand, and +the sand must move the ball, but the iron blade of the niblick must +hardly ever come into contact with the ball. To prevent its doing so, +and to ensure the blade getting underneath sufficiently to lift the ball +up at the very sharp angle that is necessary if it is to surmount the +obstruction in front of it, the sand should be struck at a point fully +two inches behind the ball. If the sand is exceedingly light and dry, so +that it offers very little resistance to the passage of the club, this +distance may be slightly increased, or it may be diminished if the lie +in the bunker is very heavy, consisting of gravel or clay. It is on this +point, so far behind the ball, that the eye must, of course, be sternly +and rigidly fixed, and it is a duty which the beginner frequently finds +most difficult to fulfil. In the downward swing the club should be +brought on to the spot indicated with all the speed and force of which +the golfer is capable. At other times he may have had a yearning to +press, which he has with difficulty stifled. He may make up for all +these ungratified desires by pressing now with all the strength in his +body, and the harder the better so long as he keeps his eye steadily +fixed on that point behind the ball and is sure that his muscular +efforts will not interfere with his accuracy. After all, the latter need +not be quite so fine in this case as in the many others that we have +already discussed, for an eighth of an inch one way or the other does +not much matter in the case of a niblick shot where there are two inches +of sand to plough through. Swing harder than ever on to the sand, with +the knowledge that the swing will end there, for a follow-through is not +desired and would in many cases be impossible. When the heavy blade goes +crash into the sand and blows it, and the ball with it, up into the air +as if the electric touch had been given to an explosive mine, the club +has finished its work, and when the golfer is at rest again and is +surveying the results of his labours--with his eyes, let us hope, +directed to the further side of the hazard--the blade will still remain +in the cavity that it has made in the floor of the bunker. If any +attempt were made to follow through, it is highly probable that +sufficient sand would not be taken to make the ball rise up soon enough. + +However, the more one reflects upon bunkers and niblicks, the more does +one feel that the circumstances must govern the method of playing each +of these strokes, and there is no finer field for the display of the +golfer's judgment and resource than this. The next best accomplishment +to the negative one of avoiding bunkers is that of getting out again +with the least waste of strokes and distance; and, indeed, I should say +that the man who is somewhat addicted to being bunkered but invariably +makes a good recovery, is at least on level terms with another who is in +trouble not quite so frequently but who suffers terribly when he is. The +golden rule--I say it once again--is to make certain of getting out; but +now that I have sufficiently emphasised this point, I am ready to +consider those few occasions when it appears a little weak and +unsatisfactory. Certainly there are times, as we all know, when the +enemy, having had matters his own way at a hole, it will not be of the +slightest use merely to scramble out of a bunker in one stroke. The case +is so desperate that a stroke that will carry the ball for perhaps 100 +or 120 yards is called for. Such a necessity does not affect my rule as +to making certain of getting out, for in practical golf one cannot take +any serious account of emergencies of this kind. But there are times +when every player must either attempt the shot that most frequently +baffles his superiors, or forthwith give up the hole, and it is not in +human nature to cave in while the faintest spark of hope remains. In +thus attempting the impossible, or the only dimly possible, we are +sometimes led even to take the brassy in a bunker. In a case of this +sort, of course, everything depends on the lie of the ball and its +distance from the face of the bunker. When it is a shallow pot bunker, +the shot is often practicable, and sometimes when one is bunkered on a +seaside course the hazard is so wide that there is time for the ball to +rise sufficiently to clear the obstruction. But the average bunker on an +inland course, say four feet high with only six feet of sand before it, +presents few such loopholes for escape. The difficulty of playing a shot +from a bunker when any club other than the niblick, such as the brassy, +is chosen with the object of obtaining length by hitting the ball clean, +is obviously increased by the rule which prohibits the grounding of the +club in addressing. To be on the safe side, the sole of the club is +often kept fully an inch and a half above the sand when the address is +being made, and this inch and a half has to be corrected down to an +eighth in the forward swing, for of all shots that must be taken +accurately this one so full of difficulty must be. In making his +correction the man is very likely to overdo it and strike the sand +before the ball, causing a sclaff, or, on the other hand, not to correct +sufficiently when the only possible result would be a topped ball and +probably a hopeless position in the hazard. It is indeed a rashly +speculative shot, and one of the most difficult imaginable. It comes off +sometimes, but it is a pure matter of chance when it does, and the lucky +player is hardly entitled to that award of merit which he may fancy he +deserves. + +When the situation of the bunkered ball is unusually hopeful, and there +does really seem to be a very fair prospect of making a good long shot, +I think it generally pays best to play straight at the hazard, putting +just a little cut on the ball to help it to rise, and employing any club +that suggests itself for the purpose. I think, in such circumstances, +that it pays best to go straight for the hazard, because, if length is +urgently demanded, what is the use of playing at an angle? Again, though +there is undoubtedly an advantage gained by taking a bunker crossways, +and thus giving the ball more time to rise, the advantage is often +greatly exaggerated in the golfer's mind. When a ball is bunkered right +on the edge of the green, it is sometimes best to try to pick it up not +quite but almost cleanly with the niblick or mashie, in the hope that +one more stroke afterwards will be sufficient either to win or halve the +hole, whereas an ordinary shot with the niblick would not be likely to +succeed so well. If, after due contemplation of all the heavy risks, it +is decided to make such an attempt, the stroke should be played very +much after the fashion of the mashie approach with cut. I need hardly +say that such a shot is one of the most difficult the golfer will ever +have occasion to attempt. The ordinary cut mashie stroke is hard to +accomplish, but the cut niblick is harder still. I have already given +directions for the playing of such shots, and the rest must be left to +the golfer's daring and his judgment. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +SIMPLE PUTTING + + A game within another game--Putting is not to be taught--The + advantage of experience--Vexation of missing short putts--Some + anecdotes--Individuality in putting--The golfer's natural + system--How to find it--And when found make a note of it--The + quality of instinct--All sorts of putters--How I once putted for a + Championship--The part that the right hand plays--The manner of + hitting the ball--On always being up and "giving the hole a + chance"--Easier to putt back after overrunning than when short--The + trouble of Tom Morris. + + +Putting in golf is a game within another game. While I am not prepared +to endorse the opinion that is commonly expressed, that a golfer is born +and not made, I am convinced that no amount of teaching will make a +golfer hole out long putts with any frequency, nor will it even make him +at all certain of getting the short ones down. But it will certainly put +him in the right way of hitting the ball, which after all will be a +considerable gain. Experience counts for very much, and it will convert +a man who was originally a bad putter into one who will generally hold +his own on the greens, or even be superior to the majority of his +fellows. Even experience, however, counts for less in putting than in +any other department of the game, and there are many days in every +player's life when he realises only too sadly that it seems to count for +nothing at all. Do we not from time to time see beginners who have been +on the links but a single month, or even less than that, laying their +long putts as dead as anybody could wish almost every time, and getting +an amazing percentage of them into the tin itself? Often enough they +seem to do these things simply because, as we should say, they know +nothing at all about putting, which is perhaps another way of saying +that their minds are never embarrassed by an oppressive knowledge of all +the difficulties which the ball will meet with in its passage from the +club to the hole, and of the necessity of taking steps to counteract +them all. They are not afraid of the hole. The fact is that putting is +to a far greater extent than most of us suspect purely a matter of +confidence. When a man feels that he can putt he putts, and when he has +a doubt about it he almost invariably makes a poor show upon the greens. +Do I not know to my cost what it is to feel that I cannot putt, and on +those occasions to miss the most absurdly little ones that ever wait to +be popped into the hole without a moment's thought or hesitation? It is +surely the strangest of the many strange things in golf, that the old +player, hero of many senior medal days, victor in matches over a hundred +links, will at times, when the fortunes of an important game depend upon +his action, miss a little putt that his ten-year-old daughter would get +down nine times out of ten. She, dear little thing, does not yet know +the terrors of the short putt. Sometimes it is the most nerve-breaking +thing to be found on the hundred acres of a golf course. The heart that +does not quail when a yawning bunker lies far ahead of the tee just at +the distance of a good drive, beats in trouble when there are but thirty +inches of smooth even turf to be run over before the play of the hole is +ended. I am reminded of a story of Andrew Kirkaldy, who in his young +days once carried for a young student of divinity who was most painfully +nervous on the putting greens, and repeatedly lost holes in consequence. +When Andrew could stand this reckless waste of opportunities no longer, +he exclaimed to his employer, "Man, this is awfu' wark. Ye're dreivin' +like a roarin' lion and puttin' like a puir kittlin'." But the men whose +occupations are of the philosophical and peaceful kind are not the only +ones who may be fairly likened to Andrew's "puir kittlin'" when there +are short putts to be holed. Is there not the famous case of the +Anglo-Indian sportsman, one of the mightiest of hunters, who feared +nothing like the hole when it lay so near to him that his tears of agony +might almost have fallen into it? It was this man who declared, "I have +encountered all the manifold perils of the jungle, I have tracked the +huge elephant to his destruction, and I have stood eye to eye with the +man-eating tiger. And never once have I trembled until I came to a short +putt." Yet with such facts as these before us, some people still wonder +wherein lies the fascination of golf. How often does it happen that an +inch on the putting green is worth more than a hundred yards in the +drive, and that the best of players are confounded by this circumstance? +It is very nearly true, as Willie Park has so often said, that the man +who can putt need fear nobody. Certainly a player can never be really +great until he is nearly always certain to hole out in two putts on the +green, and to get down a few in one. The approach stroke has been well +played when the ball comes to rest within four or five feet of the pin, +but what is the use of that unless the ball is to be putted out more +often than not in one more stroke? + +For the proper playing of the other strokes in golf, I have told my +readers to the best of my ability how they should stand and where they +should put their feet. But except for the playing of particular strokes, +which come within the category of those called "fancy," I have no +similar instruction to offer in the matter of putting. There is no rule, +and there is no best way. Sometimes you see a player bend down and hold +the putter right out in front of him with both wrists behind the shaft. +This is an eccentricity, but if the player in question believes that he +can putt better in this way than in any other, he is quite justified in +adopting it, and I would be the last to tell him that he is wrong. The +fact is that there is more individuality in putting than in any other +department of golf, and it is absolutely imperative that this +individuality should be allowed to have its way. I believe seriously +that every man has had a particular kind of putting method awarded to +him by Nature, and when he putts exactly in this way he will do well, +and when he departs from his natural system he will miss the long ones +and the short ones too. First of all, he has to find out this particular +method which Nature has assigned for his use. There ought not to be much +difficulty about this, for it will come unconsciously to his aid when he +is not thinking of anybody's advice or of anything that he has ever read +in any book on golf. That day the hole will seem as big as the mouth of +a coal mine, and putting the easiest thing in the world. When he stands +to his ball and makes his little swing, he feels as easy and comfortable +and confident as any man can ever do. Yet it is probable that, so far as +he knows, he is not doing anything special. It may happen that the very +next day, when he thinks he is standing and holding his club and hitting +the ball in exactly the same way, he nevertheless feels distinctly +uncomfortable and full of nervous hesitation as he makes his stroke, and +then the long putts are all either too short, or too long, or wide, and +the little ones are missed. + +I don't think that the liver or a passing variation in temperament is +altogether the cause of this. I believe it is because the man has +departed even by a trifle from his own natural stance. A change of the +position of the feet by even a couple of inches one way or the other may +alter the stance altogether, and knock the player clean off his putting. +In this new position he will wriggle about and feel uncomfortable. +Everything is wrong. His coat is in the way, his pockets seem too full +of old balls, the feel of his stockings on his legs irritates him, and +he is conscious that there is a nail coming up on the inside of the sole +of his boot. It is all because he is just that inch or two removed from +the stance which Nature allotted to him for putting purposes, but he +does not know that, and consequently everything in the world except the +true cause is blamed for the extraordinary things he does. A fair +sample of many others was the clergyman who, having missed a short putt +when playing in a match over a Glasgow links, espied in the distance on +an eminence fully a quarter of a mile away from the green, an innocent +tourist, who was apparently doing nothing more injurious to golf than +serenely admiring the view. But the clerical golfer, being a man of +quick temper, poured forth a torrent of abuse, exclaiming, "How could I +hole the ball with that blockhead over there working his umbrella as if +it were the pendulum of an eight-day clock!" When this is the kind of +thing that is happening, I advise the golfer to try variations in his +stance for putting, effecting the least possible amount of change at a +time. There is a chance that at last he will drop into his natural +stance, or something very near it, and even if he does not there is some +likelihood that he will gain a trifle in confidence by the change, and +that will count for much. And anyhow there is ample justification for +any amount of manoeuvring of the body and the feet when one is off +one's putting, for at the best, to make use of something like an +Irishism, the state of things is then hopelessly bad, and every future +tendency must be in the way of improvement. There is one other +suggestion to make to those golfers who believe what I say about the +natural stance, and by this time it will have become more or less +obvious to them. It is that when they are fairly on their putting, and +are apparently doing all that Nature intended them to do, and are +feeling contented in body and mind accordingly, they should take a sly +but very careful look at their feet and body and everything else just +after they have made a successful long putt, having felt certain all the +time that they would make it. This examination ought not to be +premeditated, because that would probably spoil the whole thing; and it +usually happens that when one of these long ones has been successfully +negotiated, the golfer is too much carried away by his emotions of +delight to bring himself immediately to a sober and acute analysis of +how it was done. But sometime he may remember to look into the matter, +and then he should note the position of everything down to the smallest +detail and the fraction of an inch, and make a most careful note of them +for future reference. It will be invaluable. So, as I hold that putting +is a matter of Nature and instinct, I make an exception this time to my +rule in the matter of illustrations, and offer to my readers no diagram +with stance measurements. From the two photographs of myself putting in +what I had every reason to believe at the time was my own perfectly +natural stance, they may take any hints that they may discover. + +[Illustration: _PLATE LVII._ PUTTING] + +[Illustration: _PLATE LVIII._ PUTTING] + +In the matter of putters, of which there is an infinite variety and a +new one invented almost every month, I believe in a man playing with +just that kind that he has most confidence in and which he fancies suits +him best. Whether it is a plain gun-metal instrument, a crooked-necked +affair, a putting cleek, an ordinary aluminium, a wooden putter, or the +latest American invention, it is all the same; and if it suits the man +who uses it, then it is the best putter in the world for him, and the +one with which he will hole out most frequently. In no other sense is +there such a thing as a best putter. The only semblance of a suggestion +that I will presume to offer in this connection is, that for very long +putts there is something to be said in favour of the wooden and +aluminium putters, which seem to require less exertion than others, and +to enable the player to regulate the strength of the stroke more +exactly. For the shorter ones, I like the putting cleek best. But even +these are matters of fancy, and what a great deal even the vaguest, most +unreasoning belief in a putter has to do with the success with which it +is manipulated I have as good a reason as anyone to understand, since I +owe my first Championship largely to the help of a putter which I had +never used before, and which was really not a putter at all, but, as I +have explained elsewhere, simply a little cleek which I picked up +accidentally in a professional's shop on the eve of the struggle, and in +which I had a new shaft fixed to my own liking. On that occasion I +putted with this instrument as the winner of a championship ought to +putt, but I have never been able to do any good with it since, and in +these days it is resting idly in my shop, useless but quite +unpurchasable for any money. I do believe that it is a good thing to be +the possessor of two putters, with both of which you have at one time or +another done well, and in which you have unlimited confidence. Don't +carry them both in the bag at the same time, but keep one safe in the +locker, and when the day comes, as it surely will, when you are off your +putting, take it out on to the links for the next round and see what you +can do with it. Your weakness on the green may no more have been the +fault of the other putter than the tourist was the cause of the +clergyman missing the little one at Glasgow, but very much will be +gained if you can persuade yourself that it was. + +It is to a certain extent possible to be definite in remarking upon the +grip. Some good golfers clasp their putters tightly with both hands; +others keep the left hand loose and the right hand firm; and a third +selection do the reverse, each method being justified on its day. But in +this part of the game it is quite clear that the right hand has more +work to do than the left. It is the right hand that makes the stroke, +and therefore I consider that it should be allowed plenty of play, and +that the left wrist should be held more loosely than the right. For my +part I use the same overlapping grip in putting as in all the other +strokes, making just this one small variation, that instead of allowing +the right thumb to fall over the shaft, as when driving or playing +through the green, I place it on the top of the shaft and pointing down +it. This seems to me to make for accuracy. + +In playing what we may call an ordinary putt, that is to say, one +presenting no difficulties in the way of stymies, slopes of the green, +or anything of that kind, I think it pays best in the long run to make a +point of always hitting the ball with the middle of the face of the +club, although, I believe, Willie Park, one of the greatest of putters, +always hits the ball off the toe of the club and comes in to the hole +from the right-hand side of it. Other players consistently and by design +half top the ball when they are putting. There should be no sharp hit +and no jerk in the swing, which should have the even gentle motion of a +pendulum. In the backward swing, the length of which, as in all other +strokes in golf, is regulated by the distance it is desired to make the +ball travel, the head of the putter should be kept exactly in the line +of the putt. Accuracy will be impossible if it is brought round at all. +There should be a short follow-through after impact, varying, of course, +according to the length of the putt. In the case of a long one, the club +will go through much further, and then the arms would naturally be more +extended. In the follow-through the putter should be kept well down, the +bottom edge scraping the top of the grass for some inches. It is easy to +understand how much more this course of procedure will tend towards the +accuracy and delicacy of the stroke than the reverse method, in which +the blade of the putter would be cocked up as soon as the ball had left +it. + +Before I close my remarks on the simple putt, I feel that it is a duty +to repeat once more those wise maxims relating to putting that have been +uttered some tens of thousands of times already. "Never up, never in." +There is nothing so true, and the number of matches and medals that have +been lost through the reckless and foolish disregard of this rule must +be enormous. The hole will never come to you; therefore make up your +mind that you will always go to the hole, and let it be an invariable +practice to play for the back of the tin so that you will always have +just a little in hand. The most deadly accuracy and the nicest +calculations are all wasted if the ball is just half a turn short of the +opening, and there is nothing in the whole of the play between one tee +and the next more exasperating than the long putt which hesitates and +stops on the very lip of the hole. There is another very good reason for +always playing very well up to the hole, which may not have occurred to +all golfers who read these lines. Suppose that in the exercise of this +rule about always being up at any cost, too much has been put into the +ball, and, refusing to die when it ought to do, it skips over the hole +and comes to a standstill several inches beyond. "That's the result of +being up!" exclaims the irritated golfer. But he feels at any rate that +he has given the hole the chance for which it asked, and has a far +greater sense of satisfaction and of duty done than if the ball had +stopped a foot or more short of the place that was made for it. This may +be the reason why an eighteen-inch or two-feet putt back to the hole +from the far side always seems easier and is less frequently missed than +a putt of the same distance from the original side, which is merely +making up for the shortage in the first putt. Whether that is the reason +or not, there is the fact, and though they may not have considered the +matter hitherto, I feel confident that on reflection, or when they take +note of future experiences, most of my readers will admit that this is +so. It is a final argument for playing to the back of the hole and never +being short. One of the greatest worries of the glorious life of old Tom +Morris was that for a long time when in the middle of his career he was +nearly always short with his long putts, and his son, young Tom, used +wickedly to say that his father would be a great putter if the hole were +always a yard nearer. Tom, I believe, was always conscious of his +failing, and made the most strenuous efforts to correct it, and this +only shows what a terrible and incurable habit this one of being short +can become, and what necessity there is for the golfer to exercise his +strength of mind to get rid of it in his early days, and establish the +practice of being up every time. Often enough he will run over, but +sometimes the kind hole will gobble the ball, and on the average he will +gain substantially over the nervous, hesitating player who is always +short. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +COMPLICATED PUTTS + + Problems on undulating greens--The value of practice--Difficulties + of calculation--The cut stroke with the putter--How to make + it--When it is useful--Putting against a sideways slope--A + straighter line for the hole--Putting down a hill--Applying drag to + the ball--The use of the mashie on the putting green--Stymies--When + they are negotiable and when not--The wisdom of playing for a + half--Lofting over the stymie--Running through the stymie--How to + play the stroke, and its advantages--Fast greens for fancy + strokes--On gauging the speed of a green. + + +Now we will consider those putts in which it is not all plain sailing +from the place where the ball lies to the hole. The line of the putt may +be uphill or it may be downhill, or the green may slope all the way from +one side to the other, or first from one and then the other. There is no +end to the tricks and difficulties of a good sporting green, and the +more of them the merrier. The golfer's powers of calculation are now in +great demand. + +Take, to begin with, one of the most difficult of all putts--that in +which there is a more or less pronounced slope from one side or the +other, or a mixture of the two. In this case it would obviously be fatal +to putt straight at the hole. Allowances must be made on one side or the +other, and sometimes they are very great allowances too. I have found +that most beginners err in being afraid of allowing sufficiently for the +slope. They may convince themselves that in order to get near the hole +their ball should be a yard or so off the straight line when it is +half-way along its course, and yet, at the last instant, when they make +the stroke their nerve and resolution seem to fail them, and they point +the ball but a few inches up the slope, with the result that before it +reaches the hole it goes running away on the other side and comes to a +standstill anything but dead. Putting practice on undulating greens is +very valuable, not so much because it teaches the golfer exactly what +allowance he should make in various cases, but because it helps by +experience to give him the courage of his convictions. It is impossible +to give any directions as to the precise allowance that should be made, +for the simple reason that this varies in every case. The length of the +putt, the degree of slope, and the speed of the green, are all +controlling factors. The amount of borrow, as we term it, that must be +taken from the side of any particular slope is entirely a matter of +mathematical calculation, and the problem will be solved to satisfaction +most frequently by the man who trains himself to make an accurate and +speedy analysis of the controlling factors in the limited amount of time +available for the purpose. The putt is difficult enough when there is a +pronounced slope all the way from one particular side, but the question +is much more puzzling when it is first one and then the other and then +perhaps a repetition of one or both. To begin with, there may be a slope +of fifteen degrees from the right, so the ball must go away to the +right. But a couple of yards further on this slope may be transformed +into one of thirty degrees the other way, and after a short piece of +level running the original slope, but now at twenty degrees, is reverted +to. What in the name of golf is the line that must be taken in a +tantalising case of this kind? It is plain that the second slope if it +lasts as long as the first one more than neutralises it, being steeper, +so that instead of borrowing from the first one we must start running +down it in order to tackle the second one in good time. But the third +slope again, to some extent, though not entirely, neutralises the +second, and this entirely upsets the calculation which only included the +first two. It is evident that the first and third hold the advantage +between them, and that in such a case as this we should send the ball +on its journey with a slight borrow from the first incline with which it +had to contend. As I have just said, in these complicated cases it is a +question of reckoning pure and simple, and then putting the ball in a +straightforward manner along the line which you have decided is the +correct one. + +But there are times when a little artifice may be resorted to, +particularly in the matter of applying a little cut to the ball. There +is a good deal of billiards in putting, and the cut stroke on the green +is essentially one which the billiard player will delight to practise. +But I warn all those who are not already expert at cutting with the +putter, to make themselves masters of the stroke in private practice +before they attempt it in a match, because it is by no means easy to +acquire. The chief difficulty that the golf student will encounter in +attempting it will be to put the cut on as he desires, and at the same +time to play the ball with the proper strength and keep on the proper +line. It is easy enough to cut the ball, but it is most difficult, at +first at all events, to cut it and putt it properly at the same time. +For the application of cut, turn the toe of the putter slightly outwards +and away from the hole, and see that the face of the club is kept to +this angle all the way through the stroke. Swing just a trifle away from +the straight line outwards, and the moment you come back on to the ball +draw the club sharply across it. It is evident that this movement, when +properly executed, will give to the ball a rotary motion, which on a +perfectly level green would tend to make it run slightly off to the +right of the straight line along which it was aimed. Here, then, the +golfer may arm himself with an accomplishment which may frequently prove +of valuable service. He may dodge a stymie or circumvent an inconvenient +piece of the green over which, without the cut, the ball would have to +travel. But most frequently will the accomplished putter find the cut of +use to him when there is a pronounced slope of the green from the +right-hand side of the line of the putt. In applying cut to the ball in +a case of this kind, we are complicating the problem by the introduction +of a fourth factor to the other three I have named, but at the same time +we are diminishing the weight of these others, since we shall enable +ourselves to putt more directly at the hole. Suppose it is a steep but +even slope all the way from the ball to the hole. Now, if we are going +to putt this ball in the ordinary manner without any spin on it, we must +borrow a lot from the hill, and, as we shall at once convince ourselves, +the ball must be at its highest point when it is just half-way to the +hole. But we may borrow from the slope in another way than by running +straight up it and straight down again. If we put cut on the ball, it +will of itself be fighting against the hill the whole way, and though if +the angle is at all pronounced it may not be able to contend against it +without any extra borrow, much less will be required than in the case of +the simple putt up the hill and down again. Now it must be borne in mind +that it is a purely artificial force, as it were, that keeps the ball +from running down the slope, and as soon as the run on the ball is being +exhausted and the spin at the same time, the tendency will be not for +the ball to run gradually down the slope--as it did in the case of the +simple putt without cut--but to surrender to it completely and run +almost straight down. Our plan of campaign is now indicated. Instead of +going a long way up the hill out of our straight line, and having but a +very vague idea of what is going to be the end of it all, we will +neutralise the effect of the slope as far as possible by using the cut +and aim to a point much lower down the hill--how much lower can only be +determined with knowledge of the particular circumstances, and after the +golfer has thoroughly practised the stroke and knows what he can do with +it. And instead of settling upon a point half-way along the line of the +putt as the highest that the ball shall reach, this summit of the ascent +will now be very much nearer to the hole, quite close to it in fact. We +putt up to this point with all the spin we can get on the ball, and when +it reaches it the forward motion and the rotation die away at the same +time, and the ball drops away down the hill, and, as we hope, into the +hole that is waiting for it close by. Now, after all this explanation, +it may really seem that by using the cut in a case of this kind we are +going about the job in the most difficult manner, but when once the +golfer has made himself master of this cut stroke, and has practised +this manner of attacking slopes, he will speedily convince himself that +it is the easier and more reliable method--certainly more reliable. It +seems to be a great advantage to be able to keep closer to the straight +line, and the strength can be more accurately gauged. The diagram which +I have drawn on this page shows relatively the courses taken by balls +played in the two different styles, and will help to explain my meaning. +The slope is supposed to be coming from the top of the page, as it were, +and the plain curved line is the course taken by the ball which has had +no cut given to it, while that which is dotted is the line of the cut +ball. I am giving them both credit for having been played with the +utmost precision, so that they would find their way to the tin. I submit +all these remarks as an idea, to be followed up and elaborated in much +practice, rather than as a definite piece of instruction, for the +variety of circumstances is so bewildering that a fixed rule is +impossible. + +[Illustration: PUTTING WITH CUT ON A SLOPING GREEN.] + +One of the putting problems which strike most fear into the heart of the +golfer is when his line from the ball to the hole runs straight down a +steep slope, and there is some considerable distance for the ball to +travel along a fast green. The difficulty in such a case is to preserve +any control over the ball after it has left the club, and to make it +stop anywhere near the hole if the green is really so fast and steep as +almost to impart motion of itself. In a case of this sort I think it +generally pays best to hit the ball very nearly upon the toe of the +putter, at the same time making a short quick twitch or draw of the club +across the ball towards the feet. Little forward motion will be imparted +in this manner, but there will be a tendency to half lift the ball from +the green at the beginning of its journey, and it will continue its way +to the hole with a lot of drag upon it. It is obvious that this stroke, +to be played properly, will need much practice in the first place and +judgment afterwards, and I can do little more than state the principle +upon which it should be made. But oftentimes, when the slope of the +green is really considerable, and one experiences a sense of great risk +and danger in using the putter at all, I strongly advise the use of the +iron or mashie; indeed, I think most golfers chain themselves down too +much to the idea that the putter, being the proper thing to putt with, +no other club should be used on the green. There is no law to enforce +the use of the putter, but even when the idea sometimes occurs to a +player that it would be best to use his mashie on the green in +particular circumstances, he usually rejects it as improper. On a steep +incline it pays very well to use a mashie, for length in these +circumstances can often be judged very accurately, and, the ball having +been given its little pitch to begin with, does not then begin to roll +along nearly so quickly as if the putter had been acting upon it. There +are times, even when the hole is only a yard away, when it might pay +best to ask for the mashie instead of the instrument which the caddie +will offer. + +Upon the very difficult and annoying question of stymies there are few +hints that I can offer which will not suggest themselves to the player +of a very little experience. The fact which must be driven home is that +some stymies are negotiable and others are not--not by any player or by +any method. When the ball that stymies you dead is lying on the lip of +the hole and half covering it, and your own is some distance away, the +case is, to all intents and purposes, hopeless, but if you have only got +this one stroke left for the half, you feel that an effort of some kind +must be made, however hopeless it may be. The one chance--and even that +is not always given--is to pass the other ball so very closely that +yours will touch the rim of the hole and then, perhaps, if it is +travelling slowly enough, be influenced sufficiently to tumble in. Luck +must necessarily have a lot to do with the success of a stroke of this +kind, and the one consolation is that, if it fails, or if you knock the +other ball in--which is quite likely--things will be no worse than they +appeared before you took the stroke. If, in the case of a dead and +hopeless stymie of this kind, you had two strokes for the half and one +for the hole, I should strongly advise you to give up all thoughts of +holing out, and make quite certain of being dead the first time and +getting the half. Many golfers are so carried away by their desire to +snatch the hole from a desperate position of this sort, that they throw +all prudence to the winds, attempt the impossible, and probably lose the +hole at the finish instead of halving it. They may leave themselves +another stymie, they may knock the other ball in, or they may be +anything but dead after their first stroke,--indeed, it is when defying +their fate in this manner that everything is likely to happen for the +worst. + +The common method of playing a stymie is by pitching your ball over that +of your opponent, but this is not always possible. All depends on how +near the other ball is to the hole, and how far the balls are apart. If +the ball that stymies you is on the lip and your own is three yards +away, it is obvious that you cannot pitch over it. From such a distance +your own ball could not be made to clear the other one and drop again +in time to fall into the tin. But, when an examination of the situation +makes it clear that there is really space enough to pitch over and get +into the hole, take the most lofted club in your bag--either a highly +lofted mashie or even a niblick--and when making the little pitch shot +that is demanded, apply cut to the ball in the way I have already +directed, and aim to the left-hand side of the tin. The stroke should be +very short and quick, the blade of the club not passing through a space +of more than nine inches or a foot. The cut will make the ball lift +quickly, and, with the spin upon it, it is evident that the left-hand +side of the hole is the proper one to play to. Everything depends upon +the measurements of the situation as to whether you ought to pitch right +into the hole or to pitch short and run in, but in any case you should +pitch close up, and in a general way four or five inches would be a fair +distance to ask the ball to run. When your own ball is many yards away +from the hole, and the one that makes the stymie is also far from it as +well as far from yours, a pitch shot seems very often to be either +inadequate or impossible. Usually it will be better to aim at going very +near to the stymie with the object of getting up dead, making quite +certain at the same time that you do not bungle the whole thing by +hitting the other ball, or else to play to the left with much cut, so +that with a little luck you may circle into the hole. Evidently the +latter would be a somewhat hazardous stroke to make. + +There is one other way of attacking a stymie, and that is by the +application of the run-through method, when the ball in front of you is +on the edge of the hole and your own is very close to it--only just +outside the six inches limit that makes the stymie. If the balls are +much more than a foot apart, the "follow-through method" of playing +stymies is almost certain to fail. This system is nothing more than the +follow-through shot at billiards, and the principles upon which the +strokes in the two games are made are much the same. Hit your own ball +very high up,--that is to say, put all the top and run on it that you +can, and strike the other ball fairly in the centre and fairly hard. The +object is to knock the stymie right away over the hole, and to follow +through with your own and drop in. If you don't hit hard enough you will +only succeed in holing your opponent's ball and earning his sarcastic +thanks. And if you don't get top enough on your own ball you will not +follow through, however hard you bang up against the other. This is a +very useful stroke to practise, for the particular kind of stymie to +which it applies occurs very frequently, and is one of the most +exasperating of all. + +Most of these fancy putting strokes stand a very poor chance of success +on a very slow green. Cut and top and all these other niceties will not +work on a dull one. It is the sharp, fiery green that comes to the +rescue of the resourceful golfer in circumstances such as we have been +discussing. It seems to me that golfers in considering their putts very +often take too little pains to come to an accurate determination of the +speed of the greens. There are a score of changing circumstances which +affect that speed, but it frequently happens that only a casual glance +is given to the state of the turf, and the rest of the time is spent in +considering the distance and the inclines that have to be contended +against. The golfer should accustom himself to making a minute survey of +the condition of things. Thus, to how many players does it occur that +the direction in which the mowing machine has been passed over it makes +an enormous difference to the speed of the particular piece of the green +that has to be putted over? All the blades of grass are bent down in the +direction that the machine has taken, and their points all face that +way. Therefore the ball that is being putted in the opposite direction +encounters all the resistance of these points, and in the aggregate this +resistance is very considerable. On the other hand, the ball that has to +be putted in the same direction that the machine went has an unusually +smooth and slippery surface to glide over. It is very easy to see which +way the machine has gone. On a newly-cut green there are stripes of +different shades of green. The points of the grass give the deeper +tints, and therefore the machine has been coming towards you on the dark +stripes, and along them you must putt harder than on the others. + +The variety of the circumstances to be taken into consideration render +putting on undulating greens very attractive to the man who makes a +proper and careful study of this part of the game, as every player ought +to do. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +SOME GENERAL HINTS + + Too much golf--Analysis of good strokes--One's attitude towards + one's opponent--Inaccurate counting of strokes--Tactics in match + play--Slow couples on the course--Asking for halves--On not holing + out when the half is given--Golfing attire--Braces better than + belts--Shoes better than boots--How the soles should be nailed--On + counting your strokes--Insisting on the rules--Play in frosty + weather--Chalked faces for wet days--Against gloves--Concerning + clubs--When confidence in a club is lost--Make up your mind about + your shot--The golfer's lunch--Keeping the eye on the ball--The + life of a rubber-core--A clean ball--The caddie's + advice--Forebodings of failure--Experiments at the wrong time--One + kind of golf at a time--Bogey beaten, but how?--Tips for tee + shots--As to pressing--The short approach and the wayward + eye--Swinging too much--For those with defective sight--Your + opponent's caddie--Making holes in the bunkers--The golfer's first + duty--Swinging on the putting greens--Practise difficult shots and + not easy ones, etc. + + +The following are detached suggestions, each of which, I think, is of +value and importance. In most cases they are such as I have not had an +opportunity of making in any other chapter; but in a few others they are +repetitions of former injunctions, for the sake of further emphasis:-- + + * * * * * + +Don't play too much golf if you want to get on in the game. Three rounds +a day are too much for any man, and if he makes a practice of playing +them whenever he has the opportunity, his game is sure to suffer. He +often says that his third round is the best of the day. But what about +the first next morning? Two rounds a day are enough, and these two +rounds on three days of the week are as much golf as is good for any +player who does not want to become careless and stale. + + * * * * * + +Remember that the player who first settles down to the serious business +of a hard match has the advantage. In a majority of cases concentrated +purpose is the secret of victory. + + * * * * * + +You must be thoughtful if you want to get on in golf. Most players when +they make an exceptionally good stroke gaze delightedly at the result, +and then begin to talk about it to their opponent and the caddie. They +rarely give a thought as to exactly how they did it, though it must be +obvious that for that good result to have been obtained the stroke must +have been played in a particularly correct and able manner. Unless by +pure accident, no good ever comes of a bad stroke. When you have made a +really wonderfully good shot--for you--bring yourself up sharply to find +out exactly how you did it. Notice your stance, your grip, and try to +remember the exact character of the swing that you made and precisely +how you followed through. Then you will be able to do the same thing +next time with great confidence. Usually when a player makes a really +bad stroke you see him trying the swing over again--without the +ball--wondering what went wrong. It would pay him much better to do the +good strokes over again in the same way every time he makes them, so as +to impress the method of execution firmly upon his mind. + + * * * * * + +Don't praise your own good shots. Leave that function to your partner, +who, if a good sort, will not be slow in performing it. His praise will +be more discriminating and worth more than yours. And don't say spiteful +and unkind things about his good shots, or be continually talking about +his luck. If you do he will hate you before the game is over. + + * * * * * + +When a hole is being keenly contested, and you look as though you are +having the worst of it, try not to appear pleased when your opponent +makes a bad stroke or gets into serious trouble, however relieved or +even delighted you may feel. It is human nature to feel the better for +your opponent's mistake in a crisis of this kind, but it is not good +manners to show that you feel it. And, however well you may know your +friend, it is not half so funny as you think it is to laugh at such a +time or shout out that you rejoice. It is simply bad taste, for your +opponent at that time is suffering from a sense of keen disappointment, +and is temporarily quite unable to appreciate jokes of this kind. He is +inclined to think he has been mistaken in you all along, and that you +are much less of a gentleman and a sportsman than he had imagined. + + * * * * * + +If he is playing several more in a vain endeavour to extricate himself +from a bunker, do not stand near him and audibly count his strokes. It +would be justifiable homicide if he wound up his pitiable exhibition by +applying his niblick to your head. It is better to pretend that you do +not notice these things. On the other hand, do not go out of your way to +say that you are sorry when these misfortunes happen. Such expressions +imply a kind of patronage for which your opponent will not thank you, +and he knows all the time that you do not really mean it, and therefore +infers that you are a hypocrite. The best golf is that which is played +in comparative silence. + + * * * * * + +At the beginning of a match do not worry yourself with the idea that the +result is likely to be against you. By reflecting thus upon the +possibilities of defeat one often becomes too anxious and loses one's +freedom of style. + + * * * * * + +Take more risks when you are down to your opponent than when you are up +on him. If you play a difficult shot successfully, the circumstance will +probably have some effect upon the other man. + + * * * * * + +It is a mistake continually to exercise extreme caution. One's play is +severely cramped by an excess of care. + + * * * * * + +Try, whenever possible, to make matches with opponents who are at least +as good, if not better than yourself. This will do your game more good +than playing with an inferior player against whom you will always be +liable to play in a careless manner. + + * * * * * + +Always make an effort to improve your game, and do not content yourself +with the idea that you go out on the links for the exercise only. It is +no more difficult or less pleasant trying to play better than it is to +go on continually in the same old way. + + * * * * * + +When making a match, do not try to get a greater allowance of strokes +than that to which you are entitled on your handicap, alleging to your +opponent that the said handicap is an unfair one. Your opponent may +think you are a little too "keen"; and if he grants your improper +request, and you should then win the match, he may think some other +things besides. + + * * * * * + +Remember that more matches are lost through carelessness at the +beginning than through any other cause. Always make a point of trying to +play the first hole as well as you have ever played a hole in your life. +The favourite saying of some players, "I never try to win the first +hole," is the most foolish thing ever said in connection with the game +of golf. Win as many holes as you can in the early part of the game. +They may be useful for you to fall back upon later on. + + * * * * * + +Try to avoid an unnecessary expenditure of nerve force by treating your +adversary--with all due respect to him--as a nonentity. Whatever +brilliant achievements he may accomplish, go on quietly playing your +own game. There is always the probability that sooner or later he will +make enough mistakes to bring him back to you. It is the steadier player +who plays his own game from the first tee to the last green, and who +never allows himself to be upset by anything that happens, who wins the +match. + + * * * * * + +Never hurry when playing a match or a medal round, or indeed any kind of +golf. Haste will affect your nerves and spoil your play. The record for +playing a round in the shortest possible space of time is not worth the +holding. Take time enough, but don't be unnecessarily slow. + + * * * * * + +If from any cause whatever you are playing a very slow game, don't miss +an opportunity of inviting the couple behind you to pass. It will please +them, and will be far more comfortable for you. But if your match is +behind a slow one, do not be offensive in pressing upon the match in +front by making rude remarks and occasionally playing when they are +within range. You do not know what troubles they are enduring. Remember +the story of the old player, who, on a ball being driven past him by the +couple behind, sent his caddie with his card to the offender, and with +it the message, "Mr. Blank presents his compliments, and begs to say +that though he may be playing slowly he can play a devil of a lot more +slowly if he likes!" + + * * * * * + +Be careful that you always stand on the proper side of the tee when your +opponent is preparing to drive. At this most anxious moment for your +friend do not be practising your own swing or move about or talk. You +would be intensely annoyed with him if he did these things when you were +driving. If he lost the match through a foozled drive, he would be +justified in saying that you did not play the game. + + * * * * * + +In playing through the green, avoid as far as possible getting in your +opponent's line of sight when he is making his stroke. Also do not stand +so near to him that he can see you through the corner of his eye when he +is taking his swing. + + * * * * * + +Do not get into the habit of asking for a half on the putting green when +in your own opinion you are lying dead and have one stroke left for the +half. You may not be as dead as you think, and your opponent may not +consider you are dead at all. He naturally wonders why you ask for the +half when it would be so easy to putt the ball. It would be excusable if +he were to offer to make you a present of the ball you have on the +match. These propositions about the giving of halves should invariably +come from the other side. Besides, when you have asked for a half and +your opponent says "No; putt it out," you not only look foolish, but you +are so irritated that you may very likely miss the putt. Then you will +look more foolish than ever, and the next thing you will lose is the +match. + + * * * * * + +But when your opponent of his own free will says, "I will give you +that," meaning the little putt for the half, show your appreciation of +his confidence in your putting by picking up the ball and saying no more +about it. Don't insist on putting the ball into the hole either with one +hand or in any other way. You are sure to be playing carelessly; and +suppose you fail to hole? Your opponent said he gave you the half, and +yet you failed afterwards to get it when you insisted on playing. Of +course you have a right to the half that he gave you, but you will have +an uneasy conscience, and your friend will be sorry that he was so +generous. Also, when you have carelessly missed a six inch putt for the +half, do not remark to your opponent, as some players do, "Of course, if +you insist upon it, I will give you the hole." It is no question of +insistence; it is the rule of the game. I say, stick to the rules of +the game. + + * * * * * + +Never use long headed clubs. The shorter headed clubs are easier to play +with and are more accurate. + + * * * * * + +Do not wear too tightly fitting clothes. Particularly be careful to see +that there is plenty of spare cloth under the arms. Tightness here, +where there should be the utmost freedom, means the wholesale ruination +of what would otherwise have been good strokes. + + * * * * * + +Always use braces in preference to a belt round the waist. I never play +with a belt. Braces seem to hold the shoulders together just as they +ought to be. When a man plays in a belt he has an unaccustomed sense of +looseness, and his shoulders are too much beyond control. It is a +mistake to imagine you can swing better with a belt than with braces. +For the same reason I do not advise a golfer to play without his coat, +even on the warmest day, if he wants to play his best game. + + * * * * * + +Whenever possible, use shoes for golfing instead of boots. They allow +more freedom to the ankles, and make it much easier to pivot on the +toes. Keep the leather of your boots and shoes soft and pliable. Apply +dubbin to them in the winter. + + * * * * * + +Take care that there are plenty of nails on the soles of your boots and +shoes, and that they are in good condition and the heads not worn away. +Nails in this state are almost useless, and create a great tendency +towards slipping. Aluminium nails, though very light, wear away too +quickly, and have a tendency to drop out. I do not like big nails of any +description, nor do I favour small ones arranged in clusters. Those that +I prefer have round heads about the size of a small pea, and are fluted +down the sides. I have the soles and heels of my boots freely studded +with these, and always according to the same system. There are +twenty-five nails on the sole of each boot and fourteen on each heel, +and they are arranged as in the accompanying diagram. It will be +observed that there are plenty of nails in the fore part of the sole on +which the pivoting is done, and where there is the greatest tendency to +slip. + +[Illustration: NAILS IN GOLFING BOOTS AND SHOES.] + + * * * * * + +Do not get into the habit of counting your strokes from the beginning of +the round in every match that you play, in the hope that each time you +may be able to beat your own record for the course. If you do so, and +play one or two bad holes to begin with, you will suffer from a sense of +disappointment which may have a bad effect upon your play for the +remainder of the game. + + * * * * * + +Obtain a thorough knowledge of the rules of the game, always play +strictly according to them, and adhere rigidly to the etiquette of golf. +When you insist upon the rules being applied to yourself, even to your +own disadvantage, you are in a stronger position for demanding that your +opponent shall also have the same respect for them. When play is always +according to the rules, with no favour shown on either side, the players +know exactly where they are. When the rules are occasionally overthrown, +difficulties and dissatisfaction constantly ensue. + + * * * * * + +When playing in frosty weather, do not take it for granted that because +the greens are hard they are also fast. Unless the greens were +exceedingly smooth when the frost began, they will be covered with an +abundance of little frozen knobs and pimples which greatly retard the +progress of the ball. + + * * * * * + +In wet weather it is a good thing to carry a piece of chalk in your +pocket, and to rub the face of the driver and brassy with it each time +before making a stroke. It prevents the ball from skidding. + + * * * * * + +Unless you have a very good and special reason for doing so, do not play +in gloves. The grip is seldom so secure and exact as when it is effected +with the bare hands. + + * * * * * + +Always use the club that takes the least out of you. Play with an iron +instead of forcing your shot with a mashie. Never say, "Oh, I think I +can reach it with such and such a club." There ought never to be any +question of your reaching it, so use the next more powerful club in +order that you will have a little in hand. It will be easier, and the +result will be much better, or at least it ought to be. + + * * * * * + +Never use thick handle grips. They place weight at the wrong end of the +club. I like the thinnest I can get. I do not advise playing with rubber +grips if they can be avoided. On a wet day they might be the cause of a +lost match. + + * * * * * + +Always use spliced in preference to socketed clubs. They are better in +every way. + + * * * * * + +Do not be tempted to invest in a sample of each new golfing invention as +soon as it makes its appearance. If you do you will only complicate and +spoil your game and encumber your locker with much useless rubbish. Of +course some new inventions are good, but it is usually best to wait a +little while to see whether any considerable section of the golfing +public approves of them before rushing to a shop to order one. + + * * * * * + +If you have completely lost confidence for the time being in any +particular club, even though it may be one with which you have performed +brilliantly in days gone by, leave it out of your bag altogether for a +short season and try to forget all about it. The day will come before +very long when you will feel that it is once more the very club you are +wanting to make your game perfect, and you will rejoice to renew its +acquaintance when you take it out of your locker. We can see too much of +even our best friends. + + * * * * * + +Always make up your mind definitely and finally before taking up your +stance what club you are going to use and exactly the kind of shot that +you want to play with it. When you have taken up your position but still +ponder in a state of uncertainty, it is very probable that your mind +will be affected by your hesitation, and then your swing and the result +thereof will be bad. + + * * * * * + +There are fewer certainties in golf than in any other game, and dogged +pluck is rarely so well rewarded as on the links. + + * * * * * + +If you are playing golf in the afternoon, do not lunch any more heavily +that you feel to be necessary. A heavy lunch tends to take the keenness +out of a golfer, and at the same time it has--what very few people +suspect--a very serious effect upon the eye and its capacity for work. +The golfer's eyes often give way to the strain that is put upon them +long before his limbs. + + * * * * * + +When we talk about keeping the eye on the ball, we do not mean the top +of the ball. Your object is not to hit the top of the ball with the +bottom of your club. For an ordinary stroke keep your attention fixed on +the grass immediately behind the ball. This should result in the sole of +your club sweeping evenly along the turf and taking the ball just as it +ought to be taken. But there are special occasions, as when a low shot +against the wind is wanted (fully explained in previous chapters), when +it is desirable to hit the ball rather higher up. The eye should then be +fixed on the edge of the ball just half-way up from the bottom to the +top. The accompanying diagram shows exactly the points to be looked at +when playing the different strokes. You may get in good strokes when +looking at the top of the ball, but it is only because you have +accustomed yourself by long experience to make a small allowance for so +doing. The practice is theoretically bad, and it is mainly the reason +why beginners top their balls so frequently. Of course when you look +down the side of it in the manner indicated, you have the ball always in +view. + +[Illustration: POINTS TO LOOK AT WHEN ADDRESSING THE BALL--(I.) FOR AN +ORDINARY STROKE; (II.) FOR A PUSH SHOT.] + + * * * * * + +The life of a rubber-cored ball does not always last as long as its +shell, and its best driving capacity has often disappeared when there is +scarcely a scratch upon it. Therefore, if you are playing in an +important match with a ball that has already been used at a large number +of holes, it may be advisable to put down a new one when long work with +the driver and brassy is a vital necessity. A close watch for loss of +shape should also be kept on these rubber-cored balls. They vary very +much in this respect, and not only is it impossible to putt well with a +ball that is not perfectly round, but it never flies so well as one +which is quite true. + + * * * * * + +Always use a clean ball, and carry a sponge to keep it clean with. It +detracts from the pleasure of a game more than you may imagine if your +ball is always dirty and cannot be seen from a distance. Besides, the +eye is less strained when a clean white ball is played with, and there +is less likelihood of foozled strokes. Moreover, your dirty ball is a +constant irritation to your opponent. + + * * * * * + +Don't act upon the advice of your caddie when you are convinced in your +own mind that he is wrong. If you do so, you will very likely play the +stroke hesitatingly and without confidence, and the result in these +circumstances is seldom satisfactory. It is not impossible that the +caddie knows less about the game than yourself, and, on the other hand, +his views as to the best thing to do in a particular situation are often +regulated by what he has seen the scratch men do at such times. You may +not be a scratch man. + + * * * * * + +When playing in a foursome, never forget that you have a partner. If you +are the inferior player, make a rule, when in any doubt, of asking him +what he would prefer you to do. + + * * * * * + +When you are addressing the ball, and a conviction forces itself on your +mind just before making the stroke that your stance or something else is +radically wrong, do not be persuaded that it is best to get the stroke +done with notwithstanding. In such circumstances it is almost certain to +be a failure, and you will wish then that you had taken a fresh stance, +as you knew you ought to have done, and made a proper job of it, even at +the risk of annoying your partner by fiddling about on the tee. + + * * * * * + +At a crisis in a match, some golfers, fighting desperately for victory +or a half, give themselves up when on the tee to hideous thoughts of all +the worst ways in which they have ever made that particular drive and of +the terrible consequences that ensued. This is fatal. A golfer must +never be morbid. If he cannot school himself to think that he is going +to make the best drive of his life, just when it is most wanted, he +should try not to think of anything at all. + + * * * * * + +Don't try experimental shots on a new system when your opponent is +dormy. It may be quite true that those you make on the old system are +very bad, but you had better stick to them until the end of this match +at any rate. + + * * * * * + +Do not attempt to play two kinds of golf at the same time; that is to +say, if you are playing for a medal, do not keep up a hole-to-hole match +with your partner. You will become confused, with no clear idea of what +you are trying to do, and you will probably win neither the medal nor +the match. If you feel that you must match yourself in some manner with +the man who is going round with you, back your net return against his. + + * * * * * + +Because you do a hole in bogey, or even sometimes in one stroke less, do +not always take it for granted that you have therefore played perfect +golf. Some bogeys are very easy, and some shots are very fluky. A man +may miss his drive, run a bunker, and hole out with his mashie, beating +bogey by a stroke. But he would be well advised not to say anything +about it afterwards, lest he should be asked for details. Not the +smallest credit attaches to him for this remarkable performance. + + * * * * * + +Always play from a low tee, except when the wind is behind you. + + * * * * * + +See that your head remains rigid, from the moment when you have finally +taken up your position and are ready for your swing, until you have +struck the ball. + + * * * * * + +In addressing, always oppose to the ball that part of the face of the +club with which you want to hit it. + + * * * * * + +Go slowly back, but be quick on the ball. But do not swing back too +slowly or you will lose control over your club. Gain speed gradually. + + * * * * * + +At the finish of the swing for a full shot, the right heel should be +well up and the toe pointed downwards. The chest should then be facing +the hole. But these and all similar movements should be quite natural. +If they are forced they are useless and dangerous, and only indicate +that your methods and your swing are altogether wrong. In such a dilemma +study the photographs in this volume, particularly those that show you +how you ought _not_ to do the various strokes. If these do not provide +you with a cure, consult the professional at your club. + + * * * * * + +Don't press, but note the definition of pressing in Chapter VI. You can +hit hard without pressing, which really means jumping at the ball. When +your swing is working to perfection and you are full of confidence, you +may let yourself go as much as you please. It is not true, as some +golfers say, that a gently hit ball will travel as far as one which has +been hit with much more force, but otherwise in precisely the same +manner. + + * * * * * + +You must be particularly on your guard against pressing--real +pressing--when you are two or three holes down, and are becoming anxious +about the match. Perfect confidence and a calm mind are necessary for +the success of every stroke. + + * * * * * + +Keep your eye on the side of the ball, particularly when you are near +the hole and perhaps playing a little chip shot on to the green. There +is a tendency at such a time, so great is the anxiety of the golfer to +know whether he is laying himself dead or not, to take the eye from the +ball and direct its attention to the pin before the downward swing is +complete and the stroke has been made. But I do not approve of keeping +the eye fixed upon the place where the ball lay, so that the grass is +seen after the ball has departed. Keep your eye on the ball until you +have hit it, but no longer. You cannot follow through properly with a +long shot if your eye remains fastened on the ground. Hit the ball, and +then let your eye pick it up in its flight as quickly as possible. Of +course this needs skilful timing and management, but precision will soon +become habitual. + + * * * * * + +When you hit the small of your back with the head of your club in the +upward swing, it is not so much a sign that you are swinging too far +back as that your wrists are enjoying too much play, that you are not +holding your club with sufficient firmness, and that your arms are +thrown too much upwards. Try a tighter grip. Remember that the grip with +_both_ hands should be firm. That with the right hand should not be +slack, as one is so often told. + + * * * * * + +If your eyesight is not good and you are obliged to resort to artificial +aids when playing the game, wear spectacles rather than eye-glasses, and +specially made sporting spectacles in preference to any others. It is of +the utmost importance that the glasses should not only be perfectly +steady at all times, but that the rims should not be so near to the +centre of vision as to interfere with it under any circumstances. The +sporting spectacles which I recommend are similar to those used for +billiards and shooting. The rims and the glasses are circular and not +oval in shape, and they are unusually large--about 1-1/2 inches in +diameter. By the use of them the player is afforded a field of vision as +wide as with the naked eye, so that practically he is not conscious that +he is wearing glasses at all. The eye is a factor of such immense +importance in the proper playing of golf, that this is a matter to be +strongly insisted upon. My own eyesight is perfect, and I have never had +occasion to resort to artificial assistance of it, but I adopt these +suggestions from players of experience who have worn these glasses and +upon whose judgment I can rely. + + * * * * * + +If you have no caddie, do not order your opponent's caddie about as if +you were paying for his services. Any assistance that he may give you is +an act of courtesy extended to you by your opponent. + + * * * * * + +Always fill in afterwards every hole that you make in a bunker. If all +players do that, both you and the others will benefit constantly. + + * * * * * + +Make a point of seeing that your caddie always replaces your divots, or +replace them yourself if you have no caddie. This, as we all know, is a +golfer's first duty. If your ball at any time came to rest in a hole +where a divot had not been replaced, you would be extremely annoyed, +would say hard things about the other players on the links, and would +declare that the course was badly kept. + + * * * * * + +Never practise swinging on the putting green. It is not good for the +green, and the greenkeeper who takes a pride in the results of his work +is not usually in the best of tempers when he sees you at this little +game. + + * * * * * + +When carrying your own clubs, do not throw the bag down on the greens. +If you do so the toes of the iron clubs are certain to make marks, which +neither improve the greens nor the game of the players who follow you. + + * * * * * + +Never try your shots over again when there are other players behind you. +It makes your partner uncomfortable, and he feels that he ought to +apologise on your behalf to those who are kept waiting. + + * * * * * + +When practising, use the club that gives you the most trouble, and do +not waste your time in knocking a ball about with the tool that gives +you the most satisfaction and with which you rarely make a bad stroke. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +COMPETITION PLAY + + Its difficulties--Nerves are fatal--The philosophic + spirit--Experience and steadiness--The torn card--Too much hurry to + give up--A story and a moral--Indifference to your opponent's + brilliance--Never slacken when up--The best test of golf--If golf + were always easy--Cautious play in medal rounds--Risks to be + taken--The bold game in match play--Studying the course--Risks that + are foolishly taken--New clubs in competitions--On giving them a + trial--No training necessary--As to the pipe and glass--How to be + at one's best and keenest--On playing in the morning--In case of a + late draw--Watch your opponents. + + +It is the same game whether it is match or medal play, and the same +whether you are merely engaged in friendly rivalry with an old friend, +with half a crown or nothing at all but the good game itself at stake, +or testing your skill and giving rein to your ambition in a club or open +tournament with gold medals and much distinction for the final victors. +But, same game as it is, how convinced have we all been at times that it +is a very hard thing to play it always in the same way. How regularly +does an evil fate seem to pursue us on those days when we are most +desirous of doing ourselves full justice. Five times in a week will a +golfer go round the course and beat bogey, reckoning after each +performance that he has only to repeat it on Saturday to win the prize +which he covets, with several strokes to spare. Then Saturday comes, and +a sad falling off is there. By the time the sixth or seventh hole is +reached, the all-important card has perhaps been torn up into little +pieces and flung contemptuously into a convenient ditch. + +Of course much of this sort of thing is due to nervousness, and there +is no game in which full control of the nerves and extreme coolness are +more necessary than in golf. Let the player be as keen as he likes--the +keener the better--but if he is apt to become too anxious at the +critical stage of a round or match, he is not the man who will ever win +prizes in great competitions. He who is the most composed when in +difficulties and when the game is going against him, and who treats each +fresh trouble as it comes along as a part of the ordinary day's work to +be surmounted in the best manner possible, is the player who will most +frequently come out the conqueror. In many cases the tendency to fall +into a highly nervous state at the smallest provocation will disappear +with time and lengthening experience. Each year of golf should bring +increasing steadiness, and the steadier a golfer becomes the more +frequently will he do his best scores when they are most wanted. And so +I must leave it to time and practice and the proper cultivation of the +best methods to bring the ambitious beginner along into the front rank +of his contemporaries. But still there are some useful hints which I may +offer him and which may facilitate his progress towards the acquisition +of medals and cups. + +To begin with, there is a little sermon to be preached on that torn +card. "Nil desperandum" should always be the motto of the competition +player, and it is a motto that will probably pay better in golf than in +any other game. I think it is very likely that some scores of monthly +medals have been lost through a too precipitate destruction of the +scoring card when everything seemed to be going the wrong way. Every +player should remember that it is indeed a perfect card that is without +a blemish, and that on the other hand there are few rounds played by a +man who knows anything about the game that are bad all through. But some +men, because they have the misfortune to be debited with a couple of 8's +in the first four or five holes, forthwith give up the ghost and rend +their cards into small pieces with many and varied expressions of +disgust. Thereafter they play well, and at the conclusion of the match +are inclined to think that they were rather in too much of a hurry to be +out of the competition in its early stages. If they had made a fine card +for fourteen or fifteen holes from the beginning, they might have taken +two 8's towards the end much less seriously to heart. They would have +said to themselves that at all events there were many very fine holes, +and the misfortunes which came later were not sufficient to spoil their +chances of success. Well, then, when these annoyances happen near the +beginning, why not take a philosophical view of them and say that as +they had to come it was best that they should come quickly and be done +with, and then go on playing hole after hole coolly and properly until +at the end it is found that the early misfortunes have been amply +retrieved? I am aware that this is very simple advice, and that it +appears like a string of platitudes, but it is extremely sound and yet +it is ignored on every medal day. Never, never tear up your card, for +golf is indeed a funny game, and no man knows what is going to happen +when it is being played. There are numberless historic instances to +support this counsel, but I will quote only one which came under my +personal observation recently, and which to my mind is one of the most +remarkable of all. It occurred at a London club. Six players were left +in the final round for a cup competition, and the conditions of playing +in this final were that a medal round should be played on two different +Saturdays. On the first Saturday three of the players tore up their +cards, and so only three remained to fight out the issue on the second +Saturday. On this occasion one of the remaining three tore up his card +very early, and soon afterwards a second did so, each being unaware of +the other's action, the third player being likewise ignorant of the fact +that his rivals had disappeared from the contest, and that now, being +the only man left in, he could make any return he liked and become the +possessor of the cup. Presently he also fell into grievous +difficulties, and was on the point of tearing up his card like the +others, when the player who was marking for him stayed his hand. He had +some idea of what had happened, and, bad score as his man's was, he +insisted on its being completed, with the result of course that he was +hailed as the winner of the tournament. He at all events would for the +rest of his golfing days respect the moral which I have here endeavoured +to convey; and what must have been the reflections of the other +competitors who threw up the sponge, when they discovered afterwards +that if they had kept plodding along they would still have had an +excellent chance! + +Similarly in match-play competitions, do not get into the way of +thinking that your chance is hopeless just because your opponent becomes +two or three up on you, or even more than that, early in the game; and, +above all, do not alter your style of play in consequence. Nothing pays +like your own best and steadiest game and a stolid indifference to all +the brilliant things that your opponent is doing. It is unlikely that he +will keep on doing them all through the game, and when the reaction +comes you will speedily make up the leeway. There are many ups and downs +in a game of golf; and when the players are at all evenly matched, and +neither has lost his head, early differences have a way of regulating +themselves before the game is very far advanced. No doubt it is +disconcerting to be three down after only three have been played; but +are there not fifteen still to come? But it often appears that an even +greater danger awaits the inexperienced golfer than that of funk when +things are going against him, in that he is too frequently apt to become +careless when he has obtained a trifling advantage. Never slacken your +efforts when you are two or three holes up, but continue to play with +all your might and with an extreme of cautiousness until at last you are +one more up than there are holes still to play, for not until then are +you sure of victory. When a man has once held a good lead, but by +playing carelessly has allowed his opponent to get on level terms with +him again, the moral effect upon him is usually extremely bad. When this +has happened he is inclined to regard himself not as still on equal +terms with his opponent, but as having suffered a great loss and being +in grave danger of defeat. And this feeling is the prelude to actual +defeat and the bitter self-accusations that must inevitably follow. I +may have seemed to labour these simple points, but every old golfer will +bear me out in saying that a proper regard for the essence of this +advice is the first necessity for the man who covets honours in the +golfing world. + +I say that all golf is the same, and no matter whether it is match or +medal play, the simple object is to hole out each time in the fewest +number of strokes; but the fact that a single bad hole counts far more +heavily against you in a medal round, where all the strokes are added +together at the finish, than in match play, where the bad hole is simply +one of eighteen, and in which there is only one man to be beaten, of +whose performances you are a spectator, instead of an invisible +field--this difference generally calls for a change in tactics, +particularly on the part of the player who knows to a nicety his own +capabilities and limitations. Score play is not, of course, so generally +interesting as match play, and for this reason will never be so popular; +but from my point of view it is the best golf and the best test of golf; +indeed, in these respects I think there is really no comparison between +the two systems. Score play tests the qualities of both the golfer and +the sportsman. If he makes a bad hole and drops two or three to bogey, +he must not lose his temper, which proceeding is both useless and fatal, +but must screw up his determination, and realise that if he can snatch a +stroke from bogey at the next two or three holes, all will be just as +well as ever. He must always be hopeful. If we never made a bad hole, +were never set any difficult task, always did just what we tried to +do--well, what then would be the use of playing golf? We should very +soon ask ourselves this question, and as there would be no satisfactory +answer to it, we should cease to play. The difficulties and the +annoyances of golf are after all the things that make the game so +attractive and render it so subtly fascinating. + +But all the same, when you are playing a medal round in a competition, +give due consideration beforehand to this overwhelming fact, that bad +holes do tell more heavily against you than in match play, and that when +they are made they are not over and done with, but are on permanent +record as faults to be atoned for before the round is completed. When +the score player sends his ball into a bunker, takes two to escape, and +holes out in eight strokes instead of in five, his punishment is not +completed at this stage, as in match play. The case is held over in view +of what his future conduct may be. He is, in fact, ordered to come up +for judgment if called upon. Now, to avoid the pain and anxiety of all +this, I suggest to the player who takes out a card in a score +competition, that he should make up his mind at the beginning of the +round that from the first hole to the finish he will be more than +usually cautious. By this I do not mean to say that he should always +play the strict safety game, for the man who invariably plays for safety +and nothing else will soon find his card running up very high. Certain +risks must be taken; but do not accept the very doubtful risks. In match +play, I say always play the bold game. Go for everything that you can. +If there is a bunker somewhere about the limit of your best possible +carry, go for it. If you have a long putt for the hole, give the hole a +chance, and either be in or beyond. But I do not suggest that these +things should also be done in score-play competitions. If the hole is +guarded by a bunker, and you have reason to fear that you cannot carry +that bunker, it is in these circumstances a thousand times better to +play short than to take the risk of putting your ball into it and +making a serious blot upon your card. Similarly, when on the putting +green, and there is a long distance between your ball and the hole, +bring your mind to realise that it is really of less importance that you +should hole out in one stroke than that you should do so in not more +than two, and therefore concentrate your whole energies on placing +yourself dead for the second putt. Therefore I say, accept a risk now +and then when there is a fairly good prospect of success, and when the +reward for it will be commensurate with the danger that was incurred. + +The last-named is an important clause. The course should be studied hole +by hole for medal play, and the competitor should come to an exact +understanding with himself as to the things that must be done and what +things need not be done. Thus it frequently happens that a player, +seeing a bunker some distance in front of him but yet not quite out of +his range, goes for it as a matter of course. Obviously he must incur a +certain amount of risk, and it may happen that even if he carries it in +safety he may not be better off at all than if he were ten or fifteen +yards on the playing side. In either case it may be an easy shot to the +green, and it may even happen that of the two the longer one would be +the easier for this particular golfer. But it is quite likely that he +never took any account of that when taking the risk of the bunker. Now +this man is to be remonstrated with, for, with the best intentions, he +has displayed not courage but folly. He must realise that all bunkers +are not of necessity to be carried with long shots. If all golfers +played the same game, and always their best game, and, moreover, if all +bunkers were placed in the proper places for bunkers, then it would be +their duty to go for them every time. But either through the very good +or the very bad shots that have gone before, we find that these carries +vary very much, and, besides, the bunkers on all courses are certainly +not placed exactly where they ought to be, and so for reckoning up the +proper mode of play in order that the hole may be captured in the +fewest possible number of strokes, they can sometimes for all practical +purposes be disregarded. + +A golfer is often in an anxious state of mind when the day of a +competition in which he wishes to do well arrives, and he is painfully +conscious that he is completely off his play with one or other of his +clubs, and has an abiding fear that it will bring him to grief. When he +feels like this about the club, it will probably do so. Now the question +is, whether at this crisis he shall take out a new one with which he is +entirely unfamiliar and trust to luck with it, or put his faith once +more in the instrument which of late has repeatedly spoilt his game. He +is usually advised that in such circumstances he should not indulge in +any risky experiments, and that it is madness to take a new and untried +club out with him when it is more or less imperative that he should play +one of his best rounds. But I am not by any means sure that this advice +is well founded. No golfer plays well with a club in which he has +completely lost confidence. It may not be the fault of the club at all; +but there is the fact. On the other hand, the player is always possessed +of a certain amount of hope when he takes a new implement in his hands. +He has convinced himself beforehand, or at least ought to have done, +that its points are just what he most admires, and that he is likely to +do well with it. And so he probably will, even if it is only for a round +or two. It is the confidence trick again. What I suggest, therefore, is +that when this grave uncertainty exists about the kind of performance +that will probably be made with one of the articles in the bag, and +there is a new and good substitute ready at hand, the latter should not +be disregarded because of a kind of instinct that in a big fight it is +best to stick to the old weapons. Take the new one out with you, but do +not call it into service for the first hole or two. During this +preliminary stage give the old but disappointing favourite another +chance to show that it will not desert you in the hour of need; but if +it fails to rise to the occasion and you blunder with it during the play +at the first and second holes, pass sentence upon it forthwith and +relegate it finally to your bag. Then at the third hole let the new one +have its trial. Over and over again have I found this method succeed +most wonderfully, and I am a particular believer in it in connection +with putters. A golfer may have been putting badly for a long time, but +directly he takes a new putter in his hand he feels that a great change +for the better has been effected, and forthwith he begins to astonish +himself by holing out from almost anywhere, or at least always getting +his ball dead the first time. There is no accounting for these things. +They seem very absurd. But there they are, and no doubt it will be +agreed that a medal or a cup is worth a new putter any time. + +I do not believe in any sort of training for important golf matches. It +is not necessary, and it generally upsets the man and throws him off his +game. If he is a smoker let him smoke all the time, and if he likes an +occasional glass of wine let him take it as usual. A sudden stoppage of +these luxuries causes a feeling of irritation, and that is not good for +golf. The game does not seem the same to you as it was before. For my +part I am neither a non-smoker nor an abstainer, and I never feel so +much at ease on the links and so fully capable of doing justice to +myself as when smoking. But at the same time I believe in the most +complete moderation. Only by the constant exercise of such moderation +can that sureness of hand and eye be guaranteed which are absolutely +necessary to the playing of good golf. On one occasion when I had a +championship in view I stopped the tobacco for a short period +beforehand, and I am bound to confess that the results seemed excellent, +and perhaps some day I may repeat the experiment. But there was nothing +sudden about the abstinence in this case, and by the time the big days +came round I had become thoroughly accustomed to the new order of +things, and the irritation had passed away. However, these are matters +which every man may be left to decide for himself according to his own +good common sense, and the only object I had in introducing them was to +counsel the avoidance of sudden whims and freaks, which are never good +for golf. + +Another question is how much or how little golf should be played +beforehand when a man desires to give himself the best chance of playing +his best game on a certain specified day. That depends largely upon how +much golf he is in the habit of playing in the ordinary course. If he is +a man who plays regularly, almost every day when it is fine, I think he +will generally do far better for himself by abstaining altogether for a +day or two before the competition. Then, when he goes out to play in it, +he will experience a zest and keenness which will be very much in his +favour. There is no danger that in this brief period of rest he will +have forgotten anything that he knew before, but, on the other hand, he +will have a greatly improved capacity for taking pains, and every stroke +will be easy to him. His confidence will be refreshed. If he continues +to play his round or two rounds every day right up to the date of the +competition, he will undoubtedly be "over-golfed," will have a great +tendency to fall into errors, and will be generally careless. But if the +would-be prize-winner is a man who has usually to content himself with +week-end golf, it would be all in his favour if he could put in a day or +two of practice before taking part in the big event. There will be no +possibility of his becoming stale by so doing. + +When a competitor has the choice of playing his round either in the +morning or the afternoon, I strongly advise him to select the former and +get the thing over as soon as possible. I am positive that his chances +of success are usually greater when he does so, especially if, in case +of his electing to play in the afternoon, he has nothing particularly to +occupy his mind and attention in the interval except his prospects in +the forthcoming contest. Golfers are freshest and keenest in the +morning, their bodies and limbs are most vigorous and anxious for work, +and--a very important consideration--their eyes are most to be depended +upon. And it is not an unimportant consideration that there is no +indigestible lunch to interfere with the perfect ease of mind and body +which are necessary to the making of a good card. + +But often, particularly in the case of important open competitions, the +times of starting are decided by lot, and the competitor, on arriving at +the course, finds that he has to accept the disadvantages of a late +draw, and must endure a period of waiting for his turn to tee up. It is +best to dispose of these wearisome periods not in hanging about the tee +or in the vicinity of the club-house, but by going out with one of the +early couples, watching their methods, and making note of the exact +manner in which their best holes are played. If the course is a strange +one, the information which the watcher thus derives will be invaluable +to him when he comes to play his own round, for he will now be possessed +of the most excellent hints as to difficulties which demand special +efforts to avoid, and of particular strokes which it is in the highest +degree necessary to play well. Not until he has watched the play of +others in this manner will the enormous significance of the position of +a particular bunker be made clear to him; he will discover the great +danger of being short with certain strokes, and of overrunning the green +at various holes. By thus watching other competitors' play he will +probably learn more about the nature and peculiarities of the course and +the way it is playing on this particular occasion, than if he were doing +a round with his own clubs. Therefore, if there is time to be killed, +this is most decidedly the way in which to kill it, and I may add that +it is the method which I myself adopt on every possible occasion. I know +that in championships and tournaments I have reaped great advantage in +watching closely the play of my fellow-competitors, their triumphs and +their failures, while waiting for my own turn to begin. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +ON FOURSOMES + + The four-ball foursome--Its inferiority to the old-fashioned + game--The case of the long-handicap man--Confusion on the + greens--The man who drives last--The old-fashioned two-ball + foursome--Against too many foursomes--Partners and each + other--Fitting in their different games--The man to oblige--The + policy of the long-handicap partner--How he drove and missed in the + good old days--On laying your partner a stymie--A preliminary + consideration of the round--Handicapping in foursomes--A too + delicate reckoning of strokes given and received--A good foursome + and the excitement thereof--A caddie killed and a hole lost--A + compliment to a golfer. + + +I think it is to be regretted that the old-fashioned foursome, in which +the respective partners play together with the same ball, has so +completely lost favour of late, and that it has been superseded to a +large extent by the four-ball foursome. To my mind the old foursome +provided a much more interesting and enjoyable game than its successor, +and tended much more to the cultivation of good qualities in a golfer. +It seems to me that this new four-ball game is a kind of mongrel +mixture. It is played, I presume, because men feel that they would like +to have a game of partners and yet are unwilling to sacrifice half the +strokes of a round, as they do in the old game, and also because the man +who is on his game desires all his power and brilliancy to count, and +that they may not be interfered with by the possibly erratic procedure +of his partner. But this is a selfish spirit, and quite opposed to that +which should properly animate the men who play in combination. When a +golfer is thus anxious for the display of his skill, surely an ordinary +single-ball match is the proper thing for him. The four-ball foursome, +I admit, has much to recommend it when the partners are equally matched, +when both are really good players--more likely to do a hole in bogey +than not--and when the course is clear and there is no prospect of their +protracted game interfering with other players who may be coming up +behind. When a short-handicap man is mated with a long one, the place of +the latter in a foursome of the new kind is to my thinking not worth +having. Is it calculated to improve his golf, or to afford him +satisfaction of any kind whatever, if he plays his ball round in what is +for him very good form, and yet only contributes the halving of a single +hole as his share of the victory of the combination? Very likely after +such a game he will feel that he must fall back once more on that old +excuse of the golfer for a disappointing day, that at all events he has +had the fresh air and the exercise. The tasting of the pure atmosphere +and the working of limb and muscle are splendid things, enough to +justify any day and any game, but no golfer is heard to put them in the +forefront of the advantages he has derived from his day's participation +in the game unless the golf he has played has been miserably +disappointing. This new foursome is also a selfish game, because it is +generally played with too little regard for the convenience and feelings +of other golfers on the links. It is very slow, and couples coming up +behind, who do not always care to ask to be allowed to go through, are +often irritated beyond measure as they wait while four balls are played +through the green in front of them, and eight putts are taken on the +putting green. The constant waiting puts them off their game and spoils +their day. + +Another objection that I urge against this kind of game is, that even +when there is nobody pressing behind and there is no particular reason +for hurry, there is a natural tendency on the part of each player to +make haste so that he shall not delay the other three. This is the case +all the way through the green, and particularly when the hole is +reached and the putters are taken out. Then everybody's ball seems to be +in the way of the others, there is continual lifting and replacing, more +hurrying, and then, to make matters worse, there is a doubt as to what a +man should do in order to help his side--whether he should hole out in +one or two, or whether there is any use in holing out at all. +Consequently his mind is in a confused state of reckoning and doubt when +he makes his putt, and poor putt it is likely to be in such +circumstances. Frequently, when a blind hole is being played, it needs a +few minutes' close examination to decide which ball is which after the +drive, unless each has been carefully marked to distinguish it from the +others. As a final indictment against this species of golf, I would say +that even when the partners are equally matched and both good players, +there is still a tendency for their individual play to be spoiled, +inasmuch as there is the feeling constantly present in the mind of each, +that even if he does happen to do a bad hole it will not matter very +much after all, as the other man is sure to come to the rescue. When it +happens that just the same thought enters the brain of that other man, a +lost hole is likely to be the result. Decidedly this is not the sort of +game to improve the golfer's play. + +The four-ball foursome is so very like two single matches that there is +little special advice to offer concerning the playing of it. One of the +few special points to be observed by the player who is taking part in +such a match is that, without being unduly selfish and grasping, he +should as frequently as possible avoid being the last man of the four to +make his drive from the tee. The man who drives last is at a very +obvious disadvantage. In the first place, if he has seen the other three +make really good drives, he is too much tempted to try to beat them all, +and the usual result of such temptation is a bad stroke. On the other +hand, if he has seen two or three foozles, it is quite possible that he +will follow the bad example that has been set him. Thus, whatever has +happened before, the last man has no real encouragement offered to him. +In addition to these objections, when three men have driven from the tee +they are somewhat impatient to be moving on and playing their second +shots, and in this mood they have little care for what happens to the +last drive. They have already had quite enough of driving. The fourth +man is quite conscious of this impatience on their part, even though it +may not be openly expressed by the smallest sign. So he is in a hurry to +oblige, and his effort is then disappointing. I seldom hit my best ball +when I am driving fourth in a four-ball foursome. Of course somebody +must drive last, but not necessarily the same man every time. All that I +wish to suggest is, that a player should not be too self-sacrificing, +and should not, with too much modesty about his own prowess on the tee, +always volunteer to drive after his partner. + +The old-fashioned or two-ball foursome makes a really fine and enjoyable +game. It brings golfers together on even more intimate and friendly +relations than usual. Partners in a foursome see very deep down into the +human nature of each other. They are overwhelmingly conscious of each +other's faults and weaknesses. They are enormously dependent upon each +other. At the same time I do not think that even this kind of foursome +is the best thing in the world for the improvement of a man's game, and +I advise the young player to resist the temptation to take part in too +many foursomes, to the neglect of ordinary match play in singles. For +one thing, the partners, of course, only get half as much golf as they +would if they were playing a round in a single match, and for another, +they are too constantly anxious to play their best game. The sense of +responsibility is frequently a little too much for their nerves, and you +often see a man, a most dogged and persistent player in an ordinary +match, who is a consistent failure in foursomes, and who in this style +of game ought to be rated at six strokes higher handicap than his +allowance for ordinary purposes. One feels in a foursome that one must +be so very careful, and take so much extra pains, and when that feeling +is uppermost in the mind while the stroke is being made, the result is +often disastrous. + +It is unwise to interfere unduly with a partner's system of play while a +match is in progress. He may be missing his drive because his stance is +wrong or his swing is faulty, but the state of affairs would probably be +worse than ever if an attempt were made to put him right while the game +is going on. The hint will be more useful when the match is over. And if +he has a particular fancy for playing his brassy, when experience tells +you that an iron club should be taken, it will not generally pay to make +the suggestion at the time. The man naturally takes the club with which +he has most confidence and with which he believes he can make the shot +that is wanted. It is fatal to interfere with confidence of this kind, +and to substitute for it the hesitation and doubt which inevitably take +possession of the man when he takes in his hands a weapon with which he +rarely does well, and which, whatever you may tell him, he is convinced +is utterly inadequate for the purposes of the situation. Let each man +play the various strokes that have to be made in a foursome in his own +way without interference, for nothing but chaos and a lost match can +follow upon the enforcement upon each other of individual ideas and +methods. + +This, of course, is not saying that each man should not play his game so +that it may fit as well as possible into that of his partner. He may +play with the club he particularly fancies, and play it in his own way, +but there should be some sort of a general understanding about what he +is going to do and the exact effect which his performance is likely to +have upon the way the hole is played if everything happens according to +programme. This makes it very desirable that the partners in a foursome +match to which any importance is attached, should have more than a +passing knowledge of each other's play, and of individual weaknesses and +excellences. One partner may be particularly good at making a fairly +full iron shot, but shaky indeed when it comes to a little pitch with +the mashie over the bunker that guards the green. It is clear, on +reflection, that the chief part in this playing up to each other's game +should be taken by the man who has the longer handicap, and is therefore +the weaker all-round player. The scratch man, being a wise and +experienced golfer, will naturally place his nervous 18-handicap friend +in as few difficulties as he can, and will constantly exert himself to +leave him a comparatively simple shot which he may be depended upon with +some certainty to accomplish in a workmanlike fashion. But the junior +player must remember that it behoves him to be the most careful and +considerate in matters of this kind, for in an emergency it is generally +the senior who must be depended upon to win the hole or pull the match +out of the fire. Let him, therefore, impose upon himself a considerable +measure of self-sacrifice, playing up to his partner for all he is +worth, contented in the knowledge that he is doing the proper thing, and +that, though he is sinking his own individuality and doing much of what +can only be described as donkey work, he is being considerably honoured +by being invited to play in such superior company. It is not always the +place of the junior partner to take risks; that is the prerogative of +the senior. There may be a particular carry on the course which the +young player is always doubtful about, but which when playing alone he +constantly makes an attempt to accomplish, and very properly so. But if +his effort is as often as not a failure--with the result that he is +badly bunkered and the hole is lost--it would be madness for him to +attempt the carry when he is playing in a foursome with a far better man +than himself as his partner. He must depart from his usual custom, and +play short for safety. It will be a great relief to his partner. Not +lately, but in the early years of my experience, I have seen this +principle carried to a curious excess. When there was a difficult carry +from the tee, and an inferior player and short driver had the turn to +make the stroke, I have seen his partner instruct him to miss the ball +altogether--not tap it off the tee, but miss it. Thus the other man, +presumably a good driver, had the ball left teed for him. These men +reckoned between them that on an average it would prove of more +advantage to be well over the far hazard in two strokes, than to take +the risk of being short with the tee shot and possibly not getting over +with the second or even the third. However, there is no doubt that +performances of this kind were a violation of the spirit of golf. It is +the game to hit the ball, and it is unsportsmanlike to try to miss it. +Nowadays the golfing world quite realises that this is the case. + +In the same way, in playing through the green and in putting, it must be +the constant object of the junior to play the safety game and to feed +his skilful partner with as many as possible of those strokes at which +he is best. Do not let him try for a desperately long second, emulating +the example which his partner set him on the tee, in the hope that he +may land the ball on the green. He is not expected to do anything of the +kind. If he should happen to be successful, his partner would know that +it was not his usual custom, that he had played beyond himself, and that +therefore there was something of the fluke in the stroke after all. He +would be much more likely to fail and foozle, and then what a miserable +golfer would he be! His obvious duty is to play a simple, easy stroke +which will be practically certain of placing the ball in such a position +that his partner will have no difficulty in getting on the green with +his third. And on the putting green, when anything over ten feet +distance intervenes between the ball and the hole, while always giving +the latter a chance, he should remember that his first duty is to lay +the ball dead. If he holes out, well and good, but his partner insists +first of all that the ball should be laid dead. At this crisis, also, he +should be particularly careful that he never commits the unpardonable +sin of laying himself, or rather his partner, a stymie. Of all the +stymies in the world, that which has been laid you by your own partner +in a foursome is the most exasperating. + +Of course, for the proper blending of each partner's game with that of +the other, it is advisable, or rather necessary, that before the first +stroke in the match is taken there should be some kind of general +understanding about the policy that is to be pursued. First +consideration is given to the turn in which the tee shots are to be +taken, and the drives are so arranged that the better player takes them +at a majority of the tees where good drives are most wanted. But it +seems to me that very often an arrangement of this sort is arrived at +without sufficient consideration. For example, it frequently happens +that a long-handicap man is a very good driver indeed, better in fact +than the man who is his partner and has a handicap of many strokes less. +And in the same way it commonly occurs that a short-handicap man may be +decidedly weak with his short approaches. On the average of the play +from the tee to the hole the senior player may be fully so much better +than the other as the difference in their handicaps suggests, but it by +no means follows that in particular features of the game there is the +same difference. Therefore the wise partners will adapt themselves to +each other, so that they will get all the good out of themselves and +leave untouched that which is bad. And when this compact is completed +and honourably adhered to, there are at hand the makings of a victory. + +When four players have decided among themselves to play a foursome, and +there are wide differences in their respective handicaps, there is often +considerable difficulty in arranging the best partnerships. It is good +to be guided by mutual preferences, for preference means confidence, and +that is everything in foursome play. But at the same time it is always +advisable to sort out the players in such a manner that there is as +little as possible of giving and receiving strokes. For example, where +there is a scratch man, two 9's (or a 6 and a 10), and an 18, the best +and most enjoyable match is always likely to result from a combination +of the scratch man with the 18 against the two players of medium +handicaps, although the scratch man, if a selfish player, may not be +disposed to saddle himself with the unreliable person at the other end +of the scale. It is a point to be borne in mind that the 18 man, if, +despite his handicap, he is a real and conscientious golfer, is more +likely to play above his handicap than the scratch man. It is much +easier for an 18-handicap player to perform like a 12 than it is for a +scratch man to play like a plus 3. In my opinion the arranging of +strokes to be given and received in foursome play is far too delicate +and complicated. In ordinary single-match play handicapping does not +always work out very well, and it is often made to look foolish in a +foursome. Far better is it than adding up and dividing by clumsy +fractions, and then finding that one party gets five strokes or eight, +that the players should take a broad view of their respective merits, +and then decide that they will either play on level terms or that a +third or a half shall be given and received. The best foursome of all is +one played on level terms, and an effort should always be made, and even +a point strained here and there, to effect such partnerships as will +make this arrangement feasible. + +A really good foursome, when the partners play harmoniously and the +holes are well fought out, is a splendid diversion from the ordinary +game of golf. The interest and excitement of each member of the party +often seems to affect the others, and to lead up to an intense mutual +keenness which is often superior even to that experienced in single +play. There is a wholesome satisfaction in the community of interests. +The winning of a hole is coveted as it was never coveted before. Have +you heard what should be a classical story about the foursome? The match +was all square on the sixteenth green, and one excited Scot stood by +while his partner made a drive upon which the fortunes of a hard-fought +game might rest. The caddies had been sent forward. The tee shot was +pulled, and the ball went twisting round in the direction of the +driver's boy. It struck him and he fell flat upon the ground. The +driving partner dropped his club, and, with his face turned pale, +muttered hoarsely to his friend, "Tonalt, I've kilt the caddie!" But +Donald's mind was fixed upon other matters than the mere question of +life and death, and with many excited gestures and a shriek of despair +he exclaimed, "Then, tamn it all, we've lost the hole," as under Rule 25 +they had. + +At the end of this chapter I will make the simple remark, that you can +pay a golfer no higher compliment than to say that he is a good foursome +player, for such a one must not only be a good golfer and a steady one, +but a man of the serenest and even most delightful temperament. You must +always feel that you could not play in the company of such a man too +often, either with him or against him. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +GOLF FOR LADIES + + As to its being a ladies' game--A sport of freedom--The lady on the + links--The American lady golfer--English ladies are + improving--Where they fail, and why--Good pupils--The same game as + the man's--No short swings for ladies--Clubs of too light + weight--Their disadvantages--A common fault with the sex--Bad + backward swings--The lady who will find out for + herself--Foundations of a bad style--The way to success. + + +Some people say that golf is not a ladies' game, and from time to time +one hears of something in the nature of dissensions within the family +circle when there are wives and sisters anxious to take up the sport +which palpably affords their male relatives one of the greatest +enjoyments of life, and when there are husbands and brothers who, it is +said, advance arguments which for number and ingenuity would do credit +to a King's Counsel, designed to show the absurdity and the futility of +the desire expressed. It is a question upon which it would be out of +place for me here to take any side, though it seems to me that there is +something to be said for the complete separation of the men's golf from +the ladies' golf, particularly in the case of large clubs and crowded +courses. Golf is essentially a sport of freedom. Restraint of even the +most trivial and conventional character in regard to manners and customs +is irksome when there are holes to be played and tight matches to be +pulled out of the fire. I like to see a lady go out on the golf links in +whatever costume she thinks fit to wear for her own comfort and good +play, and generally to do as she likes, as if there were nothing but +Nature and a little white ball and the hole with the flag in it in all +the world. I have a great admiration for the American lady golfer, whom +I have several times had the opportunity of studying on her native tees, +and the other day I read the perfectly true story of an American +clergyman making a scathing attack from the pulpit one Sunday upon lady +golfers, of whom he numbered many in his congregation. The reverend +gentleman exclaimed that some of the lady members of his congregation +attended divine service in the customary manner on the Sabbath, and then +"swore like troopers" on the golf links on the Monday. The conduct of +these ladies was no doubt exaggerated; but it appears as if it may have +been reprehensible. However, it shows the keenness and the enthusiasm of +the American lady golfer; and I am not at all sure that the answer of +the English lady player, when she was asked if those bad words were ever +uttered in this country, that the Englishwoman made fewer bad shots and +had no occasion for an extended vocabulary, was entirely convincing. One +hears that the ladies have coined new words for the expression of their +disgust at the results of their strokes, and, on the other hand, that +the limits of expletive which they permit themselves when bunkered +consist of the chiding utterance, "Oh, you naughty, naughty little +ball!" However this may be, I know not, and I would only remark, without +presumption, to the ladies, as I have done in another place to their +husbands and brothers, that golf is a game for thought and silence. + +Now, I am glad to see so many ladies taking up the game year by year, +and thus giving the best possible answer to the question whether it is a +real ladies' game or not. And furthermore, I am pleased to bear witness +that the standard of ladies' golf in this country is improving every +season, so that now it needs a fine man golfer to give a third to the +best of the gentler sex. These good lady players, or some of them, are +attiring themselves in these days as I like to see lady golfers +attired, that is to say, there is evidence that they think a trifle less +of fashion and dainty appearance than they do of security, comfort, and +freedom of limb and muscle. But the majority of lady players do not +attach the proper amount of importance to these considerations, and that +is why one is sometimes a little doubtful as to the prospects of ladies' +golf generally in this country in comparison with those of American +ladies' golf. The American girls are adopting the game more +whole-heartedly and thoroughly than their English sisters, and their +devotion to it will tell. The lady of the States who is a golfer dresses +for golf and for golf only. Very seldom do you see in America a lady +golfer wearing a hat, or head covering of any description. When she has +one, it is almost invariably a light tam o'shanter, or something very +small and soft, which clings closely to the hair and does not get in the +way of the swing of the club. She tucks up her sleeves like a man, and +in the soles of her shoes she has plenty of goodly sized nails. And she +does not look a tittle the worse for any of these things; indeed, the +picture of the determined, strenuous, and yet charming lady golfer was +one of the most attractive that I saw when in America. The average +English girl does not appear willing to make so many sacrifices for golf +as the American. She seems too often to say to herself that it is only a +little game after all, and there is an end of it; and yet she is always +desirous of getting on and reducing her handicap. I need hardly say that +this is not the proper spirit in which to achieve success at golf. We +see too many ladies on our links with big hats and no nails in their +shoes. I have no faith whatever in their future as golfers. It is +impossible to play good golf if one is not fitted out properly for the +game, whether the player be lady or man. Few players of our sex would +dream of going on to the links in a tightly fitting coat and +smooth-soled shoes. But the ladies are more venturesome. + +After this brief lecture on attire, let me at once declare that there +are many points about our English lady golfer that I greatly admire. It +has been my privilege to teach the first principles of the game to many +of them, and I am bound to say that for the most part I have found them +excellent pupils--better generally than the men learners. They seem to +take closer and deeper notice of the hints you give them, and to retain +the points of the lesson longer in their memories. They are painstaking; +and if she begins to play early enough in her life, adopts sensible +methods, and is possessed of an average amount of athleticism, I can see +no reason why any lady should not become a very fair golfer. Many +somewhat spoil their prospects by concluding too hastily that they must +play an altogether different game from that of their men friends, that +they must have special clubs, special methods, and so forth. This is not +the case. No doubt it is well for ladies to admit at once that they +cannot drive as far as the men. But otherwise the man's game and the +lady's game are the same in principle and in practice. As for the manner +in which to play, I have not a single special piece of instruction to +offer, and can only refer the lady neophyte to the previous pages, in +which I have set forth as well as I am able the precise method in which +each of the many strokes in golf should be played. I have merely to +insist that they shall not deviate from these methods in one or two +special matters in which they are advised or inclined to do. + +Ladies are frequently advised that they ought never to take a full +swing. Of course in the foregoing pages I have frequently insisted that +a golfer should avoid the absolutely full swing with all iron clubs, +believing that he gets for the most part at least as good results with a +good three-quarter swing. But those people who warn the ladies against +the full swing, not only with their irons but with their wooden clubs +also, advise the half swing because they say it is better for them for +physical reasons, and that their results will be practically as good as +if they had taken the three-quarter or the full. Now I am convinced +that this is altogether wrong, and, without encouraging any of my lady +readers to the development of a big swing and a slashing style, I do say +that they will do well for themselves and for their golf if they will +train themselves to the making of at least a full three-quarter. I +believe that the half swing entails a severer strain upon the body when +made under these circumstances than the full three-quarter, and that the +body does altogether more work than is good for it, while the delusion +is entertained by those who recommend the short swing that the opposite +is the case. In this half swing the body seems to get too much in front +of the club and to labour heavily, while in the three-quarter the arms +do most of the work, as they ought to do, and the body comes in at the +proper time for the remainder. Though in previous chapters I have +strongly advised golfers to play a half shot with one club in preference +to a full shot with one more powerful, I only do so obviously when the +distance is fixed and the half shot will reach it. In playing from the +tee it is an altogether different matter. In this case the distance is +not fixed. The object is usually to drive as far as possible, so no half +shots are wanted here. + +As a general rule, ladies make use of clubs that are far too light for +them. Frequently they do so by advice, and then their own instinct +suggests to them that they should employ weapons less weighty than those +of their male relations. This would be very sensible and proper if the +clubs which men make use of were the heaviest that they could swing with +effect. But a man only uses a club of a certain weight, because +experience has proved that it is the best and most effectual for its +purpose, and usually he has a very great reserve of strength which could +be employed with heavier clubs if necessary. There is no reason at all +why ladies should not employ clubs of good average weight instead of +featherweights. By so doing they would spare themselves a great amount +of exertion, and they would certainly get better results, for it is +always much more difficult to get good results with a light club than +with one of medium weight. With the featherweight the swing is very +liable to get out of gear. It is cut short, and is apt to wander out of +its proper direction. There is, in fact, no such control over the club +as there is when one can feel the weight of the head at the end of the +shaft. A lady may require clubs a trifle shorter in the shaft, but this +is the only difference which need exist, and it is not of itself +sufficient to make any perceptible difference in the weight. + +So far as I have discovered, ladies have no special faults or weaknesses +of their own, as distinct from other players, but I have found them more +than usually addicted to inaccuracy in the backward swing, causing the +toe of the club to be pointing upwards instead of downwards at the +turning-point. This is the result of wrong action and loss of control +over the wrists, and a study of my remarks on driving, where this matter +is specially dealt with, should do much to obviate it. It is possible, +however, that the lady's inferior strength of wrist, as compared with a +man's, may have much to do with the fault, but even in that case it only +needs caution and care to bring about a cure. I should say that fully +three ladies out of every five whose play I have watched make this +mistake, and it is a fault which has very serious consequences. I should +advise all of them to make a periodical examination of the position of +the club head at the top of the swing, as I indicated when discussing +the drive, and if they find the toe is upwards they must make up their +minds to get rid of this bad habit at any cost. If it has already become +a part of the player's system, it will not be abolished without +considerable difficulty. To begin with, she would try swinging back more +slowly, as a too rapid backward swing has often much to do with it. + +Finally, I would suggest that any lady who aspires to be a really good +golfer should take numerous lessons from those players superior to +herself who are qualified to give them. I have already said that I have +found ladies exceedingly good pupils, and when they set about learning +the game in the right way, they often make really astonishing progress. +But it must be confessed that in too many cases they do not treat the +difficulties of the game with sufficient seriousness, and are inclined +to think that they can get on best in their own way and by the adoption +of their own methods. When once a lady has been given a couple of +lessons in the swing for the drive, she often insists on finding out the +rest for herself, and then a bad result is inevitable. All the practice +and patience in the world will not make a good lady golfer if she does +not learn the game in the right way. The simple fact is that, when a man +sets about the game he admits its difficulties from the beginning, and +goes about surmounting them in the right manner if he is really +ambitious and covetous of a short handicap. But it often seems that +ladies will not admit these difficulties, and persist in their attempt +to make golfers of themselves unaided. Perhaps that is one reason why +ladies do not always continue with the game with that increasing +eagerness and enthusiasm which is an almost invariable characteristic of +the man golfer. Learn properly, and practise much; and--well, yes, do +the rest like a man, and not as if there were a special woman's way. +That is the essence of my counsel to the lady aspirant on the links. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURSES + + Necessity for thought and ingenuity--The long-handicap man's + course--The scratch player's--How good courses are made--The + necessary land--A long nine-hole course better than a short + eighteen--The preliminary survey--A patient study of + possibilities--Stakes at the holes--Removal of natural + disadvantages--"Penny wise and pound foolish"--The selection of + teeing grounds--A few trial drives--The arrangement of long and + short holes--The best two-shot and three-shot holes--Bunkers and + where to place them--The class of player to cater for--The shots to + be punished--Bunkers down the sides--The best putting greens--Two + tees to each hole--Seaside courses. + + +Many as are the golf courses with which the coast, the country, and the +suburbs of the towns and cities of Great Britain are studded, they will +no doubt be still more numerous as time goes on, and it is earnestly to +be desired that in the laying out of links in the future, more thought +and ingenuity may be exercised than has been the case in far too many +instances during the past few years, when clubs have been formed and +links have been made in a hurry. Certainly some are excellent, and I +cast not the least disparagement upon them. I enjoy them. Frequently the +hand of the master architect of golf is visible where one observes how +shrewdly and exactly the hazards have been placed, and the peculiarities +of the conformation of the country turned to the utmost account when +useful, or cunningly dodged when it has been considered that they could +be no good to the golfer. Without a doubt, generally speaking, those +courses are the best which have been designed by good players, because +none know better than they what makes the best golf. A man whose +handicap is some distance removed from scratch, but who has played golf +for many years, and thinks with good reason that he knows a fine course +when he sees one, would nevertheless, in designing a new one, be led +unconsciously to make holes which would be more or less suited to his +own style of play. He might, indeed, in a most heroic spirit, place a +bunker at a point which he knew would be more than usually dangerous for +him, and he would feel a better and a braver man for this act; but a +hundred of its kind would not prevent the course from being the ideal of +the long-handicap man and not the ideal of the fine player. If plans +were prepared for a new links over a particular piece of territory by a +12-handicap man and a scratch player, it is highly probable that in the +most material matters they would differ greatly, and it is fairly +certain that a committee of the oldest and most experienced golfers +would unanimously pick out the scratch player's plans from all the +others as being the best and soundest, and that without knowing who had +prepared them. Time and the aggregate of pleasure given to golfers of +all degrees would justify the selection. + +Therefore, when a new club is established and a new course is to be laid +out, I suggest that it is the wiser and the better plan to take time +over it and to secure the best advice. A good links is not made in a day +or a week. Perhaps the cleverest and most ingenious constructor could +not in a whole year make one which was in all respects the best that the +land could give. Almost every time that the course was played over +during the first hundred rounds, a new thought for its improvement in +some small detail would occur. The moving of a tee twenty yards to the +right, the addition of a couple of yards to the end of one of the +bunkers, the placing of a shallow pot bunker some eight or ten yards +across at some particular point--all these and many other matters of +equal significance will constantly suggest themselves. My experience +tells me that the perfection of a good course is slowly attained. Like +wine, it takes time for the richness of its qualities to mature. +Therefore, when the committee of a new club in the country sits in +conference with a plan of its newly-acquired land laid on the table, and +decides unanimously that a tee shall be placed at a point marked A, a +bunker along the line B, another bunker at C, and the hole at D, and so +forth, I protest that they are doing poor justice either to themselves +or to the game. But on many links made during the past few years--made +in a hurry--the results of such mechanical methods are only too +apparent. I hope that the few hints that I offer in this chapter may be +of service to old clubs with improvable courses and new ones with none +as yet, and to those fortunate individuals who contemplate laying out a +course in their private grounds for the use of themselves and their +friends. Private courses are increasing in number; and for my part, +though I must obviously be guilty of prejudice, I can conceive of no +more enjoyable acquisition to a country house than a nine-hole course, +and assuredly the possessor of it will be envied and his invitations to +week-ends much coveted. + +The question of the amount of land that shall be called into service for +the fulfilment of a scheme for a new links is one that is usually +outside the control of those who project it. They have to cut according +to their cloth. I need only say here, therefore, that in a general way +some thirty or forty acres of land are necessary to make such a +nine-hole course as shall possess a satisfactory amount of variety, and +not less than seventy acres for a full-sized eighteen-hole course, this +as a matter of fact being the acreage of the South Herts Club's course +at Totteridge, with which I am at present associated. By great economy +of space and the exercise of unlimited ingenuity, courses might be made +from a trifle less land, but they are better when they are made from +more. Two or three hundred acres are sometimes utilised for a good +links. Where land is very scarce, and there is no possibility of +obtaining more of it, I earnestly advise private owners and committees +to content themselves with a nine-hole course which will have plenty of +length and good sporting quality about it, rather than sacrifice the +good golf that is thus within their reach in a desire to possess a +regulation eighteen-hole links that could only give complete +satisfaction to ladies and children. Too many courses, with scarcely a +brassy shot upon them, have been ruined by this greed for holes. + +When the land has been allotted to the purpose, a very thorough and +careful survey should be made of all its features. This is not to be +done in one morning. The land, no doubt, is very rough, and at the first +glance it looks ill-adapted to the golfer's purpose. Many times I have +had the task of making a course from materials which at first seemed so +unpromising as to be hopeless. There should be no hurry at this time. +Let those who are designing the links walk slowly and meditatively over +nearly every square yard of the land at least two or three times before +coming to any final decision as to where to place a single tee, bunker, +or hole. An open mind is the best to begin with. After one or two of +these preliminary surveys, some general idea of the possible formation +of the links will begin to shape itself in the mind, and this having +been done, it will be practically impossible for an intelligent person +to make additional journeys over the land without being struck with an +idea for a great improvement at one or other of the holes which he has +fashioned in his mind. If it is possible, take two or three weeks over +this slow process of creation of the links. They may be altered +afterwards to some extent, but for good or ill their main features will +probably remain as at the beginning, and may endure for centuries. +Having secured to the mind this general and somewhat vague idea of the +plan of the links, it is a good thing to plant a stake at each spot +where it is proposed to make a hole; and when the land is all staked out +in this manner, there is, as it were, a solid foundation upon which to +build up the links. The location of the stakes can be inspected from a +distance and from different points of view, and it will constantly +happen on these occasions that for the improvement of one or other of +the holes its removal to a different place will be suggested. Continue +your walks, examining the stakes from north, south, east, and west, and +moving them here and there until you begin to feel a trifle weary of the +business, and confident that you have planned the best possible holes +out of the country that you have to deal with. Then you may proceed with +perhaps the more interesting but certainly the harder part of your task. + +It is useless to think about fashioning the links from the plan which +will now have been formed, until those natural disadvantages of the +land, which cannot be allowed to remain, have been removed. Gorse and +rocks may have to be cleared, and it is essential that at this stage an +effort should be made to rid the course of rabbits and other undesirable +vermin if any should infest it. Rabbits help to keep the grass nice and +short; but they make too many holes in the course, and there is no +alternative but to regard them as the enemies of golf, and to make out +the death warrants of them all accordingly. The quickest and surest way +of getting rid of them is to search for every hole, apply the ferrets, +stop up the holes afterwards, and to keep a watch for any that return. +If only one or two are left here and there, they will play much havoc +with the course in the future. From this point the way in which the work +is proceeded with will naturally depend to a large extent on the length +of the schemers' purse, and on their optimism or otherwise as to their +future prospects; but I am sure that it is best to employ as many men as +can be afforded at the outset, and so grapple with the execution of the +plans in a thorough and determined manner. In the making of a golf +course it is very easy to be "penny wise and pound foolish." + +The situation of the greens having been decided upon, the question as +to the length of the holes, as to which some general impression will +already have been formed, comes up for decision. A proposed teeing +ground should be selected for each hole, the lengths of the holes then +examined and compared, and the tees moved nearer or further back as +seems desirable for the improvement of individual holes or the increase +of variety. If at this stage there is any chance of finding a ball +afterwards, it is a good thing to drive a few from each tee and play +them with the brassy, cleek, irons, or mashie up to the green. If you +drive half a dozen from each tee and play them through the green to the +place where the holes will be, there will surely be one or two that have +turned out excellently if you are a player of any skill whatever, and a +study of the strokes which have been applied to these one or two, the +point of pitching, and the final lie, will reveal the entire character +of the hole you are making, and tell you plainly how it must be +bunkered. In a nine-hole course I think there should be seven medium or +long holes, and two short ones to break the monotony and test the golfer +at all points. The situation of these short holes in the round will +naturally be decided to a large extent by the land and other +circumstances, but when the power of selection is left to the designer, +I incline to the belief that Nos. 3 and 7 are the best for these +dainties. I like a short hole to come early in the round, as at No. 3, +because then a golfer who has made a bad start is given a chance of +recovering before he is hopelessly out of the hunt. He has a better +prospect of making such a recovery (or thinks he has, which is much the +same thing) at a short hole than at a long one, and, being put in a good +temper again, he will very likely go on very well for the next two or +three, when he will be favoured with another short one. The plight of +the player who has discovered at the beginning of a medal round that he +is off his drive and brassy, and that six or seven holes have to be +played before a little one is reached, is certainly not pleasant. I call +a good short hole one that can be reached by good play at any time with +an iron club, because it fails to be a short hole when it is necessary +to take wood upon the tee in order to get to the green. In an +eighteen-hole course you might have three or four short holes--I think +three are sufficient--and it would be well to vary their length so as to +test the capacity of the golfer with different clubs, and to bring out +all his qualities of resource. For a fourth hole on the short side +plenty of sporting chance would constantly be afforded by one of 200 +yards length. This could not be called a short hole, because under +ordinary circumstances and on most days it would be too far for even a +good driver to reach from the tee, but he would often be tempted to +nerve himself to a superior effort, and an occasional strain of this +kind is advantageous in the long run. Besides, when the wind was at his +back he would frequently be successful, and on such occasions he would +experience more pleasure and satisfaction from this particular tee shot +than from any other of the whole round. + +The remainder of the course should be made up of a variety of two-shot +and three-shot holes. The lengths should be varied as much as possible, +and with limits of 370 yards, and, say, 530 to work between, it should +surely not be so difficult as it appears to have been in so many cases +of inland links to get fourteen or fifteen quite different holes. Those +of from 230 to 330 yards, with which so many courses abound, are not +good holes in my opinion, because they give an almost equal chance to +the man who has driven well and the man who has driven badly. Take a +common sort of hole, 280 yards in length. A player misses his drive, and +his ball travels only for, say, 100 or 120 yards. He may still reach the +green with his brassy, and should be able to do so. Now the man who +drove well at this hole would need to make a second stroke with an iron +club to reach the green, and would thus gain nothing from his better +play. This is unfair, and what is unfair is bad. The good two-shot hole +is one of the nicest and best holes on a course when it is really good. +Its length is about 370 to 380 yards. Thus it will be perceived that a +first-class drive from the tee must be followed up by a fine second, as +straight as it is long, if the green is to be reached. The good player +who has done all that he ought is thus rewarded by the clear gain of a +stroke and the capture of a hole in 4, whilst the man who is a trifle +weak with either his drive or his second, or has faltered to the +slightest extent at either stroke, has for a certainty to use his mashie +before he can call for the putter. When a two-shot hole is to be +adjusted to this nicety of perfection, there is plainly not much margin +for the variation of its length; but it is not necessary, nor is it even +desirable, to demand continually such unerring skill from the golfer. My +idea of a good three-shot hole is one that stretches for 500 to 530 +yards, three fine shots being wanted. For holes of much greater length +than this I have no fancy. Perhaps no serious objection can be laid +against an occasional hole of 550 yards length, but what is really +gained by such long journeys? Certainly the true skill of the golfer is +not being more severely tested. When we come to such monstrosities as +holes of 600 yards in length, it is time to call out "Enough!" for by +this time we have descended to slogging pure and simple, and the hard +field work at which an agricultural labourer would have the right to +grumble. So I repeat that the best hole for golfing is that good +two-shotter which takes the ball from the tee to the green in two +well-played strokes without any actual pressing. As for total length, it +should be borne in mind that a links over 6000 yards long is considered +a long one, and that there are championship greens, Prestwick and +Muirfield, which are (or were until quite recently; there is a tendency +to stretch everywhere since the rubber-cored ball became predominant) +shorter than 6000 yards. + +In making the plan of the course, a point of interest and importance to +decide upon is the direction in which the holes shall be played. Some +golfers prefer that the first and succeeding holes shall lie to the +right of the starting-point, while others like best to go out on the +left-hand side, that is, to play round the course in the same direction +as that pursued by the hands of a clock. It is largely a matter of +fancy, but personally my choice is for going out to the left because I +think in this case the holes are generally more difficult, and the +boundary usually being near to the left, constant precautions must be +taken against pulling. Another matter particularly to be remembered is +that the first tee and the last green should be close together, and +neither of them more distant from the club-house than is necessary. A +wide separation of these points always seems to be contrary to the +proper order of things. + +And now we come to the perplexing problem of bunkers and where to place +them, and in this connection I would remark that it would be well not to +regard the lengths of the holes, as so far arranged, as final and +irrevocable, and not to establish permanent teeing grounds accordingly, +for it must necessarily happen, as the bunkers come to be formed on the +course, and more trial rounds are played, that one's ideas will undergo +considerable change, and it is easier to lengthen a hole at this stage +of the proceedings, by simply placing the tee further back, than it will +be afterwards. + +It has been a great question with some committees of newly-established +clubs or of older ones in search of new courses, as to whether, in +laying out their greens and settling upon the location of all their nice +new bunkers, they should keep more particularly in mind the excellences +of the scratch player or the trials and troubles of the 12 to 18 +handicap men. On the one hand, the scratch player is the experienced +golfer, the man who plays the true game as it should be played, and who +finds no real enjoyment in so-called golf wherein he is never called +upon to do more than tap the ball over an obstacle ninety or a hundred +yards in front. Such links never put up a fight against him, and he +finishes his listless round with something as near to the sense of +weariness as it is possible for the golfer ever to experience. But these +scratch players, in common with the men with all handicaps up to 5 or 6, +are in a very heavy and hopeless minority in most clubs to-day. The bulk +of the membership is made up of players of from 6 to 24, with a +concentration of forces between 12 and 18. These men say, or at all +events think, that as they run the club they have a right to be +considered, and in their hearts the committee believe that they are +justified. These men with long handicaps--some of whom have not even a +desire to reduce them to any considerable extent, deriving the utmost +pleasure in playing the game in their own way--can find no fun in being +always and inevitably in the same bunkers, and regard driving from a +tee, when they are either obliged to play short deliberately with an +iron or be bunkered for a certainty with their driver, as the most +dismal occupation with which a Saturday or Sunday sportsman could ever +be afflicted. Therefore they cry loudly for shorter carries. They say +the others are not fair, and from their particular point of view the +remark is possibly justified. Even the young golfer who is determined to +be a scratch man some day, though he is eighteen strokes from that +pinnacle of excellence as yet, becomes rather tired in the long run of +finding constant punishment waiting upon his valiant attempts to drive +his longest ball, and thinks the committee should be reminded that there +are others in the world besides the immediately coming champions. Amidst +these conflicting desires, committees and course designers appear +frequently to have attempted a compromise with no particular +satisfaction to anybody. It is impossible to lay out a course to suit +all the different players in a club, and my own most decided opinion is +that the bunkers and other hazards should always be placed to test the +game of the scratch player, and not that of the handicap man. A course +that is laid out for the latter very often inflicts severe punishment +on the scratch player, and it is surely hard that the man who has spent +many years in the most patient and painstaking practice should be +deliberately treated in this manner when the comparative novice is +allowed to go scot free. Moreover, when a bunker is so placed that a +long carry is needed from the tee, the handicap man will find his game +much improved by playing on the course. At first he finds he cannot +carry the hazard, and for a little while contents himself with playing +short. But he soon tires of this timidity, takes more pains with his +strokes, braces himself up to bigger efforts, and at last the day comes +when his ball goes sailing over the obstruction. Afterwards the +performance is repeated quite easily, and the views of one man as to the +unfairness of that particular carry have undergone a radical change. It +is better for the beginner that he should have a hard course to play +over than an easy one, and, much as he may grumble at the beginning, he +will in the end be thankful to those who imposed a severe experience +upon him in his early days as a golfer. + +Therefore, if it is decided that there must be a bunker in the centre of +the course in the line of the drive, I suggest that it should be placed +at a distance of about 130 to 145 yards from the tee. The second bunker, +if there is to be another stretching across the course with a view to +imposing difficulties on second shots or guarding the green, should be +rather less than this distance from the first, so that the man who has +topped his drive and is short of the first hazard should still have a +chance of clearing the next one with his second shot. Recovery ought +never to be impossible. But really I am no believer at all in bunkers +placed across the course. Certainly let there be one in front of the tee +to catch the bad drive, and another to guard the green; but, generally +speaking, the merely short ball carries its own punishment with it in +the distance that has been lost and has to be made good again. The +straight driver is not the man to be punished. It is the player who +slices and pulls and has obviously little command over his club and the +ball, and who has taken no pains to master the intricate technique of +the drive, for whose careless shots traps should be laid. As often as +not the bunker in the centre of the course lets off the ball with a bad +slice or pull on it. So I say that bunkers should be placed down both +sides of the course, and they may be as numerous and as difficult as the +controlling authority likes to make them. But hazards of any description +should be amongst the last features to be added to a newly-made golf +links. Not until the course has been played over many times under +different conditions, and particularly in different winds, can anyone +properly determine which is the true place for a hazard to be made. At +the beginning it may have been placed elsewhere in a hurry, and it may +have seemed on a few trials to answer its purpose admirably, but another +day under different conditions it may be made clear that it is in the +very place where it will catch a thoroughly good shot and allow only a +bad one to escape. I would not have insisted so much on this need for +deliberation and patience, if it did not so often happen that as the +result of placing the hazards on a new course in too much haste, they +are found afterwards to be altogether wrong and have to be moved, with +the waste of much time and money. + +There is little to the point that I can say about the making of the +putting greens, as so much depends upon the natural conditions and +opportunities. Sometimes there is nothing to do but to cut the grass +short and pass the roller over it a few times and the green is made, and +a first-class green too. At other times there is need for much digging, +and the turf with which the carpet is to be relaid may have to be +carried to the spot from a considerable distance. Particularly when so +much trouble is being taken over the laying of the greens, do I beg the +makers of courses to see that they are not made dead level and as much +like a billiard table as possible, which often seems to be the chief +desire. To say that a putting green is like a billiard table is one of +the worst compliments that you can pay to it. By all means let it be +true in the sense of being smooth and even, and presenting no lumps or +inequalities of surface that are not plainly visible to the eye, and the +effect of which cannot be accurately gauged by the golfer who has taught +himself how to make allowances. But on far too many greens the man with +the putter has nothing to do but gauge the strength of his stroke and +aim dead straight at the hole. He derives infinitely less satisfaction +from getting down a fifteen-yards putt of this sort than does the man +who has holed out at ten feet, and has estimated the rise and fall and +the sideway slope of an intervening hillock to begin with and a winding +valley to follow, his ball first of all running far away to the right, +then trickling across to the left, and finally wheeling round again and +rolling into the tin. Only when there is so much calculation to be done +and it is so precisely accomplished does the golfer practise the real +art of putting, and taste the delights of this delicate part of the +game. The other is dull and insipid in comparison. There is the less +excuse for making the flat and level greens, inasmuch as even the +beginners can appreciate the sporting quality of the others and enjoy +practice upon them from the first day of their play. Let there be plenty +of undulations, and then with the changing positions of the hole a +player can practically never come to any particular green upon which he +may have putted hundreds of times without having a problem set him +entirely different from any that he has had to work out before. Greens, +of course, are of all sizes, from fifteen to fifty yards square, and I +beg leave to remark that large size is a fault in them, inasmuch as the +bigger they are the less is the skill required in the approach shot. + +It is perhaps unnecessary for me to point out as a final word, that when +tees have to be specially prepared and turfed, it is a decided +improvement to a course to have two at different points for each hole, +one nearer and more to one side than the other. Not only do these +alternative tees enable each of them to be given a periodical rest for +recovery from wear and tear, but they afford an interesting variation of +the play, make it possible to impose a more severe test than usual upon +the players when it is felt desirable to do so, as on competition days, +and also in some measure to counteract the effects of winds. Of course +when tees have not to be specially made there is endless variety open. + +It is obvious that the greater part of the foregoing remarks applies +chiefly to the construction of inland courses. Seaside links laid over +the dunes are made by Nature herself, and generally as regards their +chief features they must be taken or left as the golfer decides. A new +hazard may be thrown up here and there, but usually the part of the +constructor of a seaside course is to make proper use of those that are +there ready made for him, and which are frequently better than any that +could be designed by man. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +LINKS I HAVE PLAYED ON + + Many first-class links--The best of all--Sandwich--Merits of the + Royal St. George's course--Punishments for faults and rewards for + skill--Not a short course--The best hole--The Maiden--Other good + holes--Prestwick an excellent course--The third and the ninth + holes--The finest hole anywhere--Hoylake--Two or three tame + holes--A means of improvement--Good hazards and a premium on + straight play--St. Andrews--Badly-placed bunkers--A good second + hole--The finest one-shot hole to be found anywhere--An unfair + hole--The best holes at Muirfield--Troon--North Berwick--Cruden + Bay--Dornoch--Machrihanish--A splendid course at Islay--The most + difficult hole I know--Gullane--Kilspindie--Luffness--Links in + Ireland--Portrush--Portmarnock--Dollymount--Lahinch--Newcastle--Welsh + courses--Ashburnham--Harlech--On the south and south-west + coasts--The rushes at Westward Ho!--Newquay--Good holes at + Deal--Littlestone--Rye--The advantage of + Cromer--Brancaster--Hunstanton--Sheringham--Redcar--Seaton + Carew--St. Anne's--Formby--Wallasey--Inland courses--Sunningdale--A + splendid course--Another at Walton Heath--Huntercombe--London + links--Courses in the + country--Sheffield--Manchester--Huddersfield--"Inland" courses at + the seaside--A warning. + + +Of all the golf courses that have any pretensions to being considered +first class, or even good second class, I can call to mind very few over +which I have not played a round, and at a time when the reputations of +so many of them are being severely overhauled, and their merits and +demerits criticised, some expression of my own opinions may prove +interesting alike to the golfers who know them well and to others who +are looking forward with eagerness to the enjoyment of games upon them +at future holiday times. Recent championships and big matches have +resulted in such wonderful scores, that some golfers are inclined to +ask despairingly whether we have any really first-class course at all; +and links which in the past have been considered perfect are spoken of +contemptuously as fit only for handicap men who want their golf made +easy. If they attach any importance to my opinion, then let them be +assured that we still have many links which come near to being perfect, +and that, notwithstanding the advent of the rubber-cored ball, there is +no reason to complain about them or agitate for great alterations. We +have them in England, Scotland, and Ireland--perhaps more in Scotland +than elsewhere, but that is chiefly due to accidental circumstances. + +I am constantly asked, when the discussions to which I have referred are +taking place, which in my opinion is the best course in the world. Many +considerations enter into such a reckoning; but, after making it +carefully, and with full knowledge of the fact that my answer is at +variance with many of the best authorities on the game, I say Sandwich. +Then let me tell you why I consider the links of the Royal St. George's +Club to be the best that are to be found anywhere. There is, in the +first place, not a single tee shot in the round where good play must not +be shown by the golfer if he wants to achieve success. There is scarcely +a hole at which a player who only half hits his ball from the tee does +not find himself in grave difficulties, demanding an unusually brilliant +recovery and sterling play until he has holed out, if he is to have any +chance of getting on level terms with his opponent again, assuming that +the latter is playing the proper game. The bunkers are so placed that a +good shot has to be made every time to carry them. On the other hand, +you are always satisfied that virtue is properly rewarded at Sandwich, +and that if your tee shot is hit truly and well you are certain to be +nicely situated for your second. Elementary considerations as these may +appear to be, there are many courses having the reputation of being +first-class where this reward is not always so sure as it is at +Sandwich. The greens on that course are in all cases well protected, +and they abound in character and variety. Some critics say that the +carries over the first bunkers from the tees are too long; but I do not +agree with them. Without being a particularly long driver, anybody who +hits his ball truly can carry any bunker at Sandwich that ought to be +carried from the tee. Then at the Championships in 1904 everybody was +declaring, with much knowledge that had come after the event, that the +course was on the short side, as was proved, they said, by the +phenomenal scores that were made in the Open competition. I do not +agree. The scores made by two or three players were certainly low, but +that was because they played exceptional golf. If I admit that the +course is the merest trifle on the short side in going out, I hasten to +add that a man must be playing perfect golf to get to the turn with a +low score, while, unless his play does come within these narrow limits +of perfection, he may find, grand player though he be, that he may +easily run up a total for his nine holes that would look foolishly +large. Coming in, there is certainly no shortness about the holes, and +there is plenty of scope for the man who wants to open out his shoulders +with his driver and his brassy, while there are hazards everywhere for +the punishment of the balls that are not kept in the fairway. These are +the chief considerations which lead me to give an emphatic vote in +favour of Sandwich when I am asked which is the best course--that is to +say, the best test of golf--that is to be found in the British Isles, or +elsewhere so far as I know, and I ask to be given no more favourable +opportunity of studying a golfer's points, than to see him play a round +or two over the St. George's links. + +I should say that the third hole at Sandwich, although a short one, is +in golfing quality one of the best of the eighteen, because it is so +splendidly protected with bunkers and rushes everywhere, so that the +player who would get on to the green from the tee does indeed need to be +bold, and as accurate as he is bold. No faintness of heart, no doubtful +stroke, will ever in the result be flattered by this third hole. The +sixth or Maiden, famous everywhere, is very fine indeed, though it is +not nearly so difficult as it used to be. The eighth is another beauty, +well guarded by bunkers; a trifle on the short side if the wind is +following, but a terror in length if the breeze is coming from the +green. The ninth is good. The tenth calls for a perfect drive straight +down the middle of the course, in default of which the second shot will +abound with difficulty; and at the fifteenth another very straight tee +shot is wanted. If there is a breath of wind to help the ball from the +tee, a plucky player may then come to the conclusion that he has a +chance of reaching the green with his second, and a fine shot will take +him over the treacherous little bunker that guards it, giving him a 4 of +which he may be proud in the best of company. These are the gems of +Sandwich. + +Next to this course, I think that Prestwick with its Himalayas and its +Alps is the finest that we have. It is an excellent test to apply to a +would-be champion, although there have been complaints that this course +also is short. Yet it is longer than it used to be, and it is merely the +rubber-filled ball that makes it seem short. The third hole at Prestwick +is one that stirs the soul of the dare-devil golfer, for, after he has +despatched the ball safely and well from the tee, he finds a big, gaping +bunker, the famous "Cardinal," ahead of him for his second--an ugly +brute that gives a sickening feeling to the man who is off his game. +Defy this bunker, be on the green with your brassy, put a 4 on your +card, and you have done something which should make you happy for the +morning. The ninth again is an excellent hole at which the straight +driver is rewarded all the way, and, if he does his duty, is given a 5. +I have no hesitation in giving my judgment that the seventeenth is the +finest hole to be found on any links. I say so because it is the best +specimen of a really perfect two-shot hole. If there is the slightest +flaw in either the drive or the second stroke, all prospect of reaching +the green in two vanishes into thin air. Mr. Laidlay once lost a match +and an amateur championship because his second shot here was not quite +good enough. A good tee shot well into the middle of the course, a +second that is as clean as a shot can be and as straight as a bullet +from a gun, with the gods of golf smiling approval all the way and +particularly when your second is nearing the green--with all these you +may ask for your putter for the third stroke. But there is a bunker +before the green, a bunker just beyond the green, and rushes to the +right and left, so that the second shot has indeed to be a beauty for +its maker to be wholly satisfied. This is the sort of hole that all good +golfers best like to play, because they know that the good shots are +certain of their reward, and that not merely the bad shots but the +indifferent ones are met with just penalties every time. It is said that +no two golf strokes are ever alike, but there is just enough similarity +about them to prevent individual strokes from living very long in +history except in a few striking cases. Perhaps the most memorable shot +ever played in golf was that made at this hole by the late Mr. Fred Tait +when he was engaging with Mr. John Ball, jun., in the final tie of the +Amateur Championship in 1899. The Scottish favourite was in the bunker +guarding the green with his second, and it so happened that the bunker +on this occasion was filled with rain water, in which the ball was +floating. Mr. Tait chipped the ball out beautifully on to the green, and +saved a hole which seemed a certain loss. It is hard to find many holes +that are worthy of being put in the same class as this. Man cannot make +such holes. They are there when he seeks out the land for the first time +with his golf clubs. + +Hoylake is a good course. There are one or two holes on it that must be +admitted to be very tame. If the land in the middle of the course which +is at present out of bounds were taken in and made playable, these holes +could be much improved. The hazards are good and plentiful, and a +satisfactory premium is put upon straight play. The ninth is a nice +hole, a really good drive helping the player considerably. The eleventh +is another pretty one, neither long nor short, but just that length +which a fine shot from the tee will reach, and accuracy is demanded by +the rushes which seem all over the course as you stand to drive. + +I call St. Andrews a good course generally; but its bunkers are badly +placed. They punish the man who is driving well more than the man who is +driving badly, for they are generally the length of a good long drive. +If this defect could be remedied, and if there were a few more bunkers +at the sides to catch the pulled and sliced balls, then St. Andrews +would be a fine links indeed. As it is, there are some excellent holes. +The second is beautiful--beautiful if the flag is put in the centre of +the green--because then a good second shot is rewarded as it ought to +be. But it generally happens when big matches are being played there +that the hole is placed in a corner, which frequently spoils the +prospects of these good second shots. The seventh is good, calling for a +most accurate second, and the eleventh is the finest one-shot hole to be +found anywhere. The green is on a plateau with bunkers all about it, and +if you overpitch it your ball will be in the rushes beyond. Many golfers +swear by the seventeenth; but I am not one of them. I declare that it is +a very unfair hole, and there is no encouragement here to be plucky. The +player must be pawky all the way, for it is fully two to one against +there being anything but punishment as the result of bold tactics. The +man who tries to place his long shot on the green may try again and +again, and he will be convinced that it is next to impossible to stop +there when he reaches it. + +For some reasons I like Muirfield; but it does not enjoy so many +advantages as the other championship courses. There are not so many +sandhills. It is on the flat side, and at the first glance you might +take it to be an inland course; but after a single round you are greatly +impressed by the good golf that is to be obtained upon it. The turf is +capital, some of the hazards are very fine, and on the whole I think it +may fairly be regarded as a very good championship test of golf. The +fourth, twelfth, and eighteenth holes all call for first-class seconds +if the greens are to be reached. + +There are so many other good links in the north that a further selection +becomes increasingly difficult. Troon, abounding in sandhills, is very +fine, and the player needs to be very skilful to get round it in a low +score. North Berwick is also good, and it is surprising to see how well +the links are preserved considering the enormous amount of play to which +they are subjected. There are many good holes at popular Carnoustie, +with a fine length about them which calls for good brassy play, and +which is calculated to bring out all the good points that a golfer has +in him. Cruden Bay and Dornoch are enjoyable; but those who want to get +the best golf in Scotland need not always go to those places that revel +in reputation and where an inconvenient crowd may at most times be +depended upon. Some of the gems of North Britain are hidden away in +inaccessible corners, and the golfers who would reach them must make +tedious journeys by land and sea. But he who is worthy of the game is in +my opinion amply rewarded for these travelling labours, by the quality +of the golf that is vouchsafed to him at his journey's end, and he is +spared the annoyance of being obliged to book his starting time +overnight and of having a couple of hours to wait upon the tee if he is +a minute late in the morning. I believe that Machrihanish is one of +these very fine but out-of-the-way courses, but it happens to be one +over which I have not hitherto played. I can tell of another where the +most glorious golf is to be obtained, and which I can strongly recommend +to those on the lookout for a place at which to spend a golfing holiday. +It is at Islay. There the air is grand, there is excellent +accommodation to be obtained at the combined hotel and club-house, and +as for the quality of the golf I do not hesitate to say that the course +is in every respect fit for the championships to be decided upon it. +There is one hole here, the third, which is the most difficult anyone +can imagine. If I were asked to select one from all the thousands of +holes that I have played in my time, I should pick this one out for +difficulty. They call it Mount Zion, and I think it is a good name for +it. You must make three very good shots to reach the green, and in the +matter of accuracy the third needs to be a gem if any satisfaction +whatever is to be got out of the whole business. The green is on a +plateau, and it is protected by every contrivance that ingenious Nature +has vouchsafed to the makers of courses. If you are short you are in a +running stream; if you pull you go out of bounds; and if your ball +trickles over the green, away it goes into the sea--tortures the most +terrible for the erring ball. Yes, decidedly I think this is the hardest +hole I have ever seen. The first time I played it I took 10 to hole out, +and yet won it from a very fine professional player who is an +ex-champion! I have never done a hole better in my life than when I once +halved this with Taylor in 4 in the course of a match which Taylor won +at the twenty-fourth hole. The seventh is also a very fine hole with a +bunker in front of the tee, which is very similar to the Maiden at +Sandwich. An old golfer who lives there told me he can remember the time +when it was a rabbit scrape. Like all golfers who know them, I sing the +praises of Gullane, Kilspindie, and Luffness. + +There is a variety of good golf to be obtained in Ireland also. +Portrush, Portmarnock, Dollymount, Lahinch, and Newcastle (co. +Down)--all these are fine links. For a place to visit for an enjoyable +golfing holiday, when health is a governing consideration also, I should +select Portrush as one of the very best, while golfers who wish to play +at Portmarnock and elect to put up in a Dublin hotel have an experience +of pleasant variety which I at all events have found very agreeable, for +you have first the train, then the car, and last of all the boat to take +in order to reach the course, and not an inch of the journey is +wearisome. Of course this proceeding cannot be recommended to those +golfers who prefer to sleep in close proximity to the first tee, +regardless of all other pleasures that are to be obtained without any +sacrifice of the game. The course I like best in Wales is that at +Ashburnham, over which the Welsh Championship was last played for. It is +one of those excellent natural links which require very little +attention. The Royal St. David's course at Harlech is also very good. + +Coming back to England again, I agree with all others that splendid golf +is to be obtained at Westward Ho! although there is one quite unique +feature of this course of which some golfers, myself among the number, +do not bear the pleasantest recollections. I refer, of course, to the +rushes of a peculiar growth which are to be found there in such +abundance. I can conceive no nightmare more horrible to a player than +one in which during his hours of troubled sleep he is in imagination +vainly trying to rescue his unhappy ball from the clutches of these +famous rushes. They stand full five feet high, strong and stiff like +stout twigs, and they have sharp and dangerous points which seem as if +they might be made of tempered steel. A kind of blossom appears on them +in the season as if to disguise their evil features. Any player who is +unlucky enough to put his ball into them (and there are one or two holes +at which even a good shot may find its way there) must always encounter +a considerable risk of breaking his club in the endeavour to play out +again. I believe that attempts have been made to grow these rushes +elsewhere, but the seeds that have been carried away from their native +Westward Ho! have never prospered. Perhaps some golfers may reflect that +this is just as well, though with all their faults and dangers I +certainly do not condemn them as a hazard. They are a novelty, and all +things that come from Nature must be admitted without question into the +game of golf. On the south coast there are several fine links. Newquay +is excellent for a holiday, and the course of the Cinque Ports Club at +Deal, now that it is eighteen holes, is very fine. I have not enjoyed +recent acquaintance with it, but the short fourth hole which they call +the Sandy Parlour struck me when I was last down there as being a very +sporting little piece of golf. Both Littlestone and Rye are admirable, +and I have pleasant memories of the latter, particularly in connection +with a match I once played there with Mr. Fred Tait. + +Again, on the east coast of England there are courses in number which +afford the best opportunities for enjoyable and skilful golf. Cromer is +a mixture of inland and seaside. It is one of those seaside courses +which don't look what they are, but some parts of it are good, +especially those which lie through the sand dunes. The lower part is +tame. However, the air is beautiful, and the golfer who makes his +headquarters at this place enjoys the material advantage of having three +or four other first-class links within easy reach. For example, there is +Brancaster, which, though a long distance from any railway station, is +worth any amount of trouble that may be expended on the journey. The +turf is excellent, the hazards well placed, and the golfer who does not +keep straight is penalised as he ought to be. It is a fine course. Then +there is Hunstanton, which is also very good, and Sheringham too. Higher +up there is golf at Redcar and Seaton Carew which none need despise. On +the north-west coast there is more golf to be had that is well worthy of +the name. St. Anne's and Formby are both capital, and fine golf is +necessary to get round these courses at all well. Wallasey is highly +satisfactory. Both my space and my memory are unequal to giving a +complete list of all the seaside courses that should be commended, and +the absence of any particular one from my little list does not imply +that I rank it as inferior, although I have tried to mention all those +that I consider the very best. + +So far I have said nothing about inland links, because the golfer who +is going away from his own for a brief period for pleasure and +improvement usually elects to play at the seaside, and wisely so, for, +apart from the superior hygienic properties of atmosphere, there is no +getting rid of the fact, however much we may be attached to some inland +courses, that seaside golf, when it is the real thing, is entirely +different from any other. It is better in every respect; in fact it is +usually ideal. It gives more benefit to the mind and body of the +overworked player, it pulls out his game and makes a golfer of him as +nothing else can ever do, and it affords such variety of a true sporting +character as nothing but Nature can provide. But in thus extolling the +seaside game, I do not wish for a moment to be considered as disparaging +the golf that is to be had almost everywhere throughout the country in +these days. Inland golf is a necessity to all except the leisured people +who have no occupation which chains them to cities and towns, and there +is now so much of it that it has taken a dominant place in the golfing +world. And if the inland turf does not possess those glorious qualities +that distinguish the seaside article, and if the bunkers constantly bear +evidence of having been carted to the place where they are situated, and +if, moreover, the evenness of many green fields becomes somewhat +monotonous, nevertheless the golf which is to be obtained at many of +these places is thoroughly enjoyable, and at the same time as severe a +test of skill as the most conceited player could ever wish for. Take +Sunningdale, for instance. This course, in my opinion, is the best of +all the inland links with which I am familiar, and it requires the very +finest golf to get round it in anything like a decent score. Unless the +golfer plays with his head as well as with his club, he will find +himself in difficulties all the way. Walton Heath is another good +example. Here also a capital player must be on the top of his game to +get round in anything like bogey. Those who made this course have +mastered the undesirable eccentricities of the rubber-cored ball as few +others have done. This ball is too apt to despise the average inland +bunker, particularly in the summer-time, and goes skipping over it as if +there were no obstruction in sight. But it does not do that at Walton +Heath, where they have made the bunkers so deep that the ball inevitably +stops in, and there is nothing for it but to ask the caddie for the +niblick and resign yourself to losing a stroke. I should like to see the +managers of other courses take a leaf out of the Walton Heath book. +Bunkers that were once quite deep in the old days of the gutty are in +too many cases shallow and useless under the new conditions. I do think +that the splendid state of the Walton Heath links is marvellous +considering the short time that has elapsed since the club was formed. I +have never played at Huntercombe, over which my old friend and opponent, +Willie Park, has spent so much care and time and money, but I believe +that it is similarly good, and I have heard golfers, for whose opinion I +have the highest respect, declare enthusiastically that it is one of the +best inland courses to be found anywhere, while the high hill air is +splendid. + +Considering the many disadvantages under which they labour, particularly +in the matter of soil, which is mostly of the clay variety, the links +round about London may be considered good, and though the metropolitan +golfer may not always appreciate the fact, during one period of the year +he scores over all others. This is in the summer-time, when the hot sun +has at last dried and burnt up the grass on many seaside links and made +them slippery and difficult even to walk upon. At such time the grass on +the London links is still usually quite fresh and green, and not until +some weeks later does it yield to the scorching rays. For the most part, +too, the London links are exceedingly well kept. Lees, the greenkeeper +at the Mid-Surrey course at Richmond, is the best man for that duty that +I know. + +I cannot attempt to give any adequate information about the hundreds of +links that are now dotted about all over the shires. It must suffice to +say, in confining myself to large centres, that I have pleasant memories +of good golf that I have had on the fine course at Lindrick in the +Sheffield district, and at Trafford Park near Manchester. This is indeed +a very nice inland course, with gravelly soil and a capacity for keeping +dry during the winter. At Timperley there is another good links. The +Huddersfield course is a splendid one to play upon, and very tricky too. +Its merits are indicated by the quality of golfers that it breeds. It +has made several men who have won the Yorkshire championships, and in +club matches the Huddersfield team is a very hard one to beat. + +There is one class of course of which I have not yet made any mention, +and which I do not think it is necessary to do more than refer to. It is +that mongrel kind which is both seaside and inland, but which is in the +full sense neither, situated, that is, at a seaside resort, and may be +in the very closest proximity to the sea, but with none of the +properties of the real seaside course--no seaside turf, no sand dunes, +no wild natural golf. These courses are usually elevated on cliffs. In +many cases the golf that is to be obtained upon them is excellent, and I +only wish to point out to unpractised golfers who are about to start for +a holiday and have taken no advice, that if they are making for a +seaside place and want that kind of golf which they have heard is to be +had at Deal, Sandwich, Rye, Westward Ho! Littlestone, St. Andrews, North +Berwick, and scores of other places, they should make quite certain that +they are taking their railway tickets in the proper direction. +Otherwise, when they arrive upon the links that they have chosen, they +may fail to discover any difference between the course visited and that +on which they are in the habit of playing when at home. I only mention +the matter because I have known so many cases of severe disappointment +arise through mistakes of this kind. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +GOLF IN AMERICA + + Good golf in the United States--My tour through the country--Mr. + Travis's victory in our Amateur Championship--Not a surprise--The + man who played the best golf--British amateurs must wake up--Other + good Americans will come--Our casual methods of learning golf--The + American system--My matches in the States--A good average--Driving + well--Some substantial victories--Some difficult matches--Course + records--Enthusiasm of the American crowds--The golf fever--The + king of baseball takes to golf--The American Open Championship--A + hard fight with J.H. Taylor--A welcome win--Curious experiences in + Florida--Greens without grass--The plague of locusts--Some injury + to my game--"Mr. Jones"--Fooling the caddies--Camping out on the + links--Golf reporting in America--Ingenious and good--Mistakes made + by non-golfing writers--Lipping the hole for a hundred dollars. + + +I have a higher opinion of both the present and the future of golf in +America than that which seems to be entertained by a large number of +eminent players in this country. I think that American golf is very good +at the present time--much better than it is given credit for being--and +I am convinced that it will be still better in the future. I made a long +golfing tour through the United States in 1900, when Englishmen for the +most part regarded the game in that country with as much seriousness as +they would have bestowed upon golf in Timbuctoo if they had heard that +it was being played there. At that time it seemed to be taking a firm +grip of our cousins, and I saw enough to convince me that America was +coming on quickly, and that before long the old country would have +reason to fear her. Everything that has happened since then has +strengthened my belief, and the eyes of the British were at last fairly +opened when the Championship was played for at Sandwich in June of last +year, when, to the chagrin of our own leading amateurs, an American, in +the person of Mr. Walter J. Travis, became the victor, and took back +with him across the Atlantic the Amateur Championship Cup. So far from +surprising me, that event was exactly what I expected. When I was in +America I played against Mr. Travis once or twice, and though he was +then in the improving stage and evidently not at the top of his career, +I felt that he was a man who might very likely do great things in the +future. Afterwards I followed his play with some curiosity and interest. +I saw that in course of time he beat many good men whose form I +understood precisely. I knew that he was one of the steadiest golfers I +had ever seen--a man of fine judgment and marvellous exactness, who +always played with his head, and was constantly giving the closest +possible study to the game. I felt that when he came to play for our +Championship he would make a very bold bid for it. When I heard that he +was going to Sandwich last year, I made him my "tip" for premier +honours, and before the first round was played I said to many friends, +"Mark my words; if Travis gets anything like a fairly easy draw to start +with he will go right through." And so he did. I saw him play on this +memorable occasion, which will never be forgotten as long as any of the +events of golfing history are remembered, and, in opposition to the +opinions of other British critics expressed in many columns of print +during the weeks following, it was and is my absolute conviction that +his was the best golf played in that tournament, and that he thoroughly +deserved to win. He played with his head the whole way through, and his +golf was really excellent. It was only natural that our people should be +very downhearted when they saw what had happened, for it seemed nothing +else than a great disaster. I do not think that in the long run it will +prove to have been so, for the inevitable effect of it was to wake up +our British golf, which stood sadly in need of arousing. I think that +amateur golf in this country has been steadily depreciating for some +time, and at the present moment I think that the standard of merit of +our best players is lower than in the days when Mr. Harold Hilton, Mr. +John Ball, jun., and the late Mr. Freddy Tait were at their best. And +despite the American shock, I cannot profess that the outlook at the +present moment is particularly encouraging. There are other good golfers +in the States besides Mr. Travis, and, frankly, I think that unless we +wake up in this country the Cup will go there again. For the moment our +numerical strength in the Championship tournament is in our favour. When +there are only half a dozen Americans entered out of a total number of +over a hundred, the odds are evidently against them, but an "American +invasion" is threatened, and then we shall see what we shall see. + +The chief reason why it is difficult to feel optimistic about the +prospects of amateur golf in this country is because the rising +generation, upon whom we must depend for our future champions, do not +take sufficient pains to make themselves masters of the game. They are +too haphazard in learning it. The beginners on our side are too apt to +say to themselves, "I will go and teach myself to hit a ball first, and +then I will take a lesson," which is, of course, entirely wrong. Then +one of their friends tells them to do a certain stroke in one way, and +another tells them the opposite, and thus at the end of six months they +have got into such a thoroughly bad style that it is the most difficult +task in the world for a professional to set them right. Those who have +the future of British golf at heart cannot afford to disregard or wink +at these vagaries on the part of beginners, on whom we depend to +constitute the national system in coming years. Now the national system +of America is altogether different. They are not haphazard there. They +seem to take a deeper interest in the game and its science, and they +never think of trying to learn it by the chance methods which are so +much in favour with us. They take the game with the utmost seriousness +from the very beginning, and obtain the very best advice that they can. +The professionals never have a minute to spare, and their +engagement-books are constantly filled up for three weeks in advance, so +that without that length of notice nobody stands a chance of getting a +lesson for love or money. That is the way in which the people of America +are learning to play golf, and it is the proper way. It is slow but it +is very sure; and unless I am very much mistaken, there will in the +future be other players coming across the Atlantic to take part in our +championships who will be as great as Travis if not greater, and if we +on our part do not forthwith begin to take our golf more seriously it +may be a sad day for us when they do come. + +As I have said, American golf was only just budding when I made my tour +through the country in 1900; but nevertheless I found that tour +extremely interesting and enjoyable, and everywhere I was given the +heartiest and most enthusiastic reception. Nobody even begrudged me the +American Championship which I brought back with me, and nobody made any +unkind criticisms of my play, or suggested that I did not in any way +deserve the victory. My tour began in March and did not finish until the +end of the year, but was interrupted for a short period at the beginning +of the summer, when I made a flying trip home in order to take part in +our own Open Championship. As it happened, the best that I could do was +to finish second to Taylor, but I may add that this result was better +than I expected, considering the sudden change of golf and climate that +I experienced. I had to cover several thousands of miles in order to +play the matches in which I took part in America. Of these matches I +only lost two when playing against a single opponent, and each time it +was Bernard Nicholls who beat me, first at Ormonde and then at Brae +Burn. There was not a blade of grass on the course on which Nicholls won +his first match from me, and I leave my readers to imagine what playing +on a links consisting of nothing but loose sand was like. Altogether I +suffered only thirteen defeats, but in eleven of them I was playing the +best ball of two or more opponents, which was the task that was +generally set me. I won over fifty matches and halved two. Some of my +victories were somewhat substantial. At Point Comfort I beat Willie Dunn +by sixteen up and fifteen to play, and at Scarsdale I got the better of +the same opponent to the extent of fifteen and fourteen. Such wide +margins naturally suggest opponents of inferior ability; but if I may +modestly say so, I do not think that was wholly the case. I consider +that at that time I was playing better golf than I had ever played +before or have done since. As was the custom there, I used to go out on +the links in the very thinnest and airiest costume. In Florida it was +too warm to play with either coat or vest, so both were discarded and +shirt sleeves rolled up. Generally, like my opponents, I wore no jacket, +but a neat waistcoat with sleeves which helped to keep the arms +together. In such attire one was afforded a delightful sense of ease and +freedom which considerably helped one's golf. Then again, whether it was +due to the fine dry atmosphere--as I think it was--or not, the ball +certainly seemed to fly through the air with less resistance offered to +it than I had ever experienced before. Never have I driven so well as I +did with the old gutty in America in that year. Many of the +professionals whom I met were men who were taught their golf in this +country, and were players who would usually hold their own in the best +of professional company. The American papers gave very lengthy reports +of all the matches in which I took part, the headlines and what followed +them being frequently very flattering. There was "The Golf King," and +many such as that, in type nearly an inch deep. Perhaps I may, without +offence, be permitted to quote from the account given in a leading daily +newspaper of the second match in which I defeated Willie Dunn--at +Scarsdale--which I only do for the purpose of showing that the +conditions of play were sometimes really trying, and not at all +conducive to big victories or record breaking. This paper said: "If it +were necessary to dwell upon the extraordinary consistency of the +champion's game, one has only to refer to his card for the four rounds +(it was a nine-hole course) in yesterday's match, as his worst nine +holes totalled forty-one and his best thirty-seven. If the turf could +only unearth a thoroughbred as reliable as Vardon, poolrooms in Greater +New York would be past history in very short order. Vardon's skill +probably never underwent a severer test than in the match yesterday. +Everything was against his exhibiting anything approaching championship +form. He had not only to contend against a biting north-west wind, which +temporarily got mixed up with a flurry of snow, but the course itself, +from the character of the land, is about as difficult to score over as +any in the country. The ground is one succession of 'kopjes,' while +seven of the nine holes are 'on the collar' all the time, and at an +angle of from twenty to thirty degrees. The course is only 2677 yards in +playing distance. On paper this gives the impression of being nothing +out of the ordinary, but confronted with it in actuality, it is about as +hard a proposition as any victim of the golf habit could tackle. The +only course one can compare with it here is Oakland, and the latter is a +billiard table by the side of it. At the finish of the thirty-six holes +Vardon said, 'I never felt so fagged out in my life. In fact I could +play seventy-two holes on the other side every day for a week and not +have been fatigued half so much.'" I do not remember that I ever +committed myself to such an extravagant statement as this, but the +course was certainly a very trying one that day. Yet on that occasion I +lowered the eighteen holes record for the course. Altogether I beat most +of the records of the courses during my tour. The first time I ever took +my clubs out on American soil, on the course of the Lawrence Harbour +Country Club, I reduced the record for the nine holes (held by Willie +Dunn) from forty-one to forty. Yet the weather was so bad just then, +and the clay greens were in such a state of puddle, that temporary +greens had to be made on the fairway. I won my first match by nine up +with eight to play. On one or two occasions I was obliged to beat the +record in order to win my game. Thus, when playing on the Wheaton links +at Chicago, Will Smith was three up on me at one time, but by beating +the links record I won at the finish by two up with one to play. This +was one of the very toughest struggles I had over there. + +There was no mistaking the enthusiasm of the American spectators. They +came to the matches in great crowds--always a large proportion of +ladies--and they seemed bent on learning all that they could from the +play. Everybody seemed to be trying to practise my grip. All kinds of +theories were invented to account for the manner in which my shots came +off. On one occasion, after I had got in a good one with a cleek, an +excited spectator jumped the ropes, ran up to a friend of mine and +screamed, "Say, which arm did he do that with?" I looked to see if all +my arms and legs were intact, or if there was anything that appeared +unusual about them. I discovered afterwards that by "arm" he meant +"club." Many places of business were closed for the afternoon when I was +playing in certain districts, and on one occasion the Stock Exchange did +so. A letter to one of the papers, concerning the extraordinary manner +in which America was taking the golf fever, contained these +sentences:--"I went into a leading business house to-day and found the +three partners of the firm in a violent discussion. As I thought they +were talking business I concluded that my presence was unnecessary, and +started to edge away. Suddenly I noticed the head of the firm rush into +his office and rush out again with a cane. As the words were heated I +was just about to interfere when I saw a weapon appear on the scene, but +the head partner wasn't looking for blood. Instead of hitting anyone he +swiped the cane along the ground, and then I heard the words--'This is +how Vardon holds it.' I wanted to make an appointment with one of the +partners, but he told me that he wouldn't be in. However, I guess I'll +meet him, because I'm going out to Dixie myself." The professionals and +the golf shops suddenly began to do an enormous trade in sticks, and +Bernard Nicholls, the only man who defeated me single-handed, preferred +not to play me again for a long time. He said his victory had done an +enormous amount of good to his business, and he did not want to spoil +it. From numerous quarters I received all kinds of offers to "star" in +one way or another, some very big fees being suggested. Would I become a +store manager at a huge salary? Would I make an exhibition for so many +hours daily of driving golf balls in a padded room in the city? And so +on. I actually did accept an offer one day to do exhibition swings in a +room in a Boston store. I was to start at 9.30 and continue until 5 each +day, doing tee and other shots into a net for half an hour at a time, +and then resting for an hour before taking the next turn. There was a +fresh "house" of about two hundred people every time, and it was part of +the bargain that my manager should stand by and explain everything. But +he had had enough of it after one or two turns. Then I found it became +terribly monotonous, and to interest myself I kept trying to hit a +particular spot on the wall near the ceiling, until the stores manager +came forward in a state of great excitement, declaring that only six +inches from that spot was the tap of a patent fire extinguishing +arrangement, and that if I hit it the room would be flooded by a series +of waterspouts in less time than I could imagine! By four o'clock my +hands were blistered badly, and at that stage I had had enough and went +out. In the meantime I was the constant recipient of numerous presents +of all kinds, and the invitations that I received to dinners were far +too many for any professional golfer to accept. I do not mention these +things with any desire for self-glorification. They are ancient history +now, and nobody cares about them. But they serve to show the +whole-hearted manner in which America was going in for golf, and the +tremendous hold that it took on the people. We talk on this side of the +"golfing fever" and of people "going mad" about the game. Believe me, +the Britisher is a mere dallier in comparison with his American golfing +cousin. + +An interesting incident happened when the American Championship was +played for on the Wheaton course, when, as I was informed, the game of +golf achieved the most notable victory that it had ever achieved in the +United States. This was the complete surrender to it of the veteran +champion and overlord of baseball, the American national game. How that +came about I will leave one of the Chicago newspapers to relate:--"Cap. +Anson surrendered to golf yesterday. The capitulation of the veteran of +America's national game took place on the links at Wheaton during the +race between Harry Vardon and J.H. Taylor. 'Cap.' says the game of golf +is a go. He has stood out against it and ridiculed it ever since it +began to get the people. Anson knows Charles S. Cox, Vardon's manager, +and accepted an invitation yesterday morning to look in on the game. On +the links he balked at the proposition of walking four miles in one trip +around the course, but he lined up with the crowd to see Vardon drive +off. The ball went higher than any fly 'Pop' ever saw in his life. It +sailed 220 yards. Anson was first to start the applause with a 'Good +boy. She's a homer.' Then he led the gallery to the first green. He was +puffing when he pulled up at the eighteenth hole, but he felt better +than if he had stolen second base. 'I'd like to take a crack at that +golf ball,' he said. 'You can put me down for a trial the first chance I +get. Wouldn't mind togging up in kilts just to give the Prince of Wales +a run for his money.'" For the sake of giving prominence to it, this +paragraph was put in a fancy border and let into the middle of the sheet +of newspaper, so the Chicago people evidently attached some importance +to the capitulation of the worthy captain, and I hope that by this time +he has had many thousands of cracks at the golf ball and that his +handicap is low. + +I was intent on making a bold bid for this American Open Championship. +Victory in it seemed to be the one thing essential to make my trip the +greatest possible success. My friend Taylor, who had just beaten me for +the Open Championship at St. Andrews, had himself come over to the +States, and was also a candidate for the premier honours of American +golf. As it turned out, we had practically the whole contest at Wheaton +to ourselves, and a rare good duel it was, at the end of which I was at +the top of the list, but only two strokes in front of my English +opponent, while he was eight in front of the next man. The system of +deciding the championship was the same as on this side, that is to say, +four medal rounds were played, two on one day and two on the next. At +the end of the first day's play I was just one stroke better than +Taylor, my score for the two rounds bring 157 to his 158, and on the +second day I did 156 to his 157, so that on the whole event I was 313 to +his 315. Taylor waited on the edge of the green while I holed out my +last putt, and was the first to grasp my hand in sincere congratulation. +Beautiful weather, the biggest golfing crowd ever seen in America up to +that time, and a good links, made the tournament a great success. The +partner who went round with me during this championship competition was +Will Smith, the holder, who finished fifth. + +I had some curious experiences in the course of my journeyings about the +country, and I am not sure that they were all good for my game. During +the early months I was down in Florida away from the cold and the snow. +I met some good golfers there. It was necessary to play an entirely +different game from that to which we are accustomed in this country. +There was no grass on the putting "greens." They were simply made of +loose sand, sprinkled on the baked ground and watered and rolled. When +there was a shortage of water and there was wind about, the fine part +of the sand was blown away, and the surface of the "greens" then +consisted of nothing but little pebbles. It was not easy to putt over +this kind of thing, but I must not convey the impression that these sand +"greens" were wholly bad. When properly attended to they are really nice +to putt upon after you have become accustomed to them. It was impossible +to pitch on to them, and one had to cultivate the habit of running up +from a very long distance. Thus I got into the way of playing a kind of +stab shot. The tees consisted not of grass but of hard soil, and one had +to tee up much higher than usual in order to avoid damaging the sole of +the driver. This provoked the habit of cocking the ball up, and as a +corrective all the teeing grounds in Florida sloped upwards in front. +Locusts were responsible for eating all the grass away from some +courses, and I had a unique experience when I played Findlay at +Portland. When we were on the putting greens, men had constantly to be +beating sticks to keep the locusts off the lines of our putts. If it +struck a locust the ball would come to a sudden stop. Acres and acres of +land about there were without a single blade of grass. The locusts had +eaten it all away. After we left Florida we reached some good courses, +and resumed the old kind of play. It has often been suggested that the +peculiar conditions of play in America, to which I was subjected for a +long period, resulted in a permanent injury to my game as played at +home, and in the light of reflection and experience I am persuaded to +think that this is so. I have played well since then, have felt equal to +doing anything that I ever did before, and have indeed won the +Championship, but I think I left a very small fraction of my game in the +United States. + +In the way of other novel experiences I might mention that on one +occasion I played as "Mr. Jones." I wanted a quiet day, and did not wish +a too attentive public to know where I was. Three friends joined me in a +foursome, but when we went into the club-house after our game, another +anxious golfer went up to my partner when I was standing by, and +inquired of him whether he had heard that Vardon was playing on the +links. My friend declared that he knew nothing of such a rumour, and I +could hardly refrain from laughter as the anxious one went to pursue his +inquiries in other quarters. Another time two other professionals and +myself visited a course where we were unknown, and, hiding our identity, +pretended that we were novices at the game, and begged of our caddies to +advise us as to the best manner of playing each shot, which they did +accordingly. We deliberately duffed most of our strokes at several +holes, but this course of procedure tired us immensely, and so at last +we abandoned it and began to play our natural game. Imagine the +consternation and the indignation of those caddies! Each one of them +threw down his bag of clubs, and, declining to carry them for another +hole, walked sulkily off the course. On one occasion we camped out for +the night on the links on which we were playing, and a very pleasant +variation from the ordinary routine we found it. + +The American newspapers, to which I have frequently referred, do their +golf reporting very well. Their journalism may be "sensational" or +whatever you like to call it, but the golfing section of it was usually +interesting, ingenious, and very intelligent and reliable. On the +occasion of one match in which I played, a paper gave up nearly the +whole of one of its pages to a large panoramic view of the links. The +flight of my ball and that of my opponent, and the places where they +stopped after every stroke, from the first to the last, were accurately +marked. Thus the whole game was illustrated in a single picture in a +very effective manner. As was inevitable, I was sometimes victimised by +interviewers who wrote "interviews" with me which I had never accorded, +containing most amazing particulars about my methods and habits. +Occasionally a reporter was turned on to describe a game when he knew +nothing about golf, and then the results were sometimes amusing. One of +these writers had it that I "carried away the green with my drive." +Another said I "dropped dead at the hole." When playing at Washington +against two opponents, I happened to beat bogey at the first hole. One +of the reporters was told of this achievement, but did not quite +understand it. Going to the next hole, we were walking through a bunker +when he came up to me and politely inquired if that--the bunker--was the +kind of bogey that I had beaten. I was told a very good story of +American golf reporting. A match was arranged between two well-known +amateurs, one of whom happened to be a very rich banker. One reporter, +who admitted that he "knew nothing about the darned game," arrived +rather late on the course, and borrowed the "copy" of an experienced +golfing journalist for information of what had already happened. When +this "copy" was duly returned with thanks, the late-comer remarked to +his obliging friend, "Say, you made a bad mistake in one part." "What +was it?" the other asked. "Waal, you say that So-and-so 'lipped the hole +for a half.'" "Yes, that is right." "Oh, go away; you don't mean to tell +me that a rich man like that would be playing for a paltry fifty cents. +I've altered it to 'lipped the hole for a hundred dollars.'" And I +remember that once when I was playing the best ball of two amateurs, one +of the reporters had been instructed by his chief to keep the best ball +score. I happened to lose the match on the last green, but on looking +through the paper the next morning I was surprised to see it stated that +I was beaten by not one but many holes, making this defeat in fact the +biggest inflicted on me during my tour. The paper said that it was. I +could not make anything out of it for some time, until at last I +discovered that the reporter had reckoned my score also in the best ball +figures! Obviously I could not beat myself. The best I could do was to +get a half, and that was how it came about that I never won a single +hole in the "Harry Vardon _v._ Harry Vardon and two others" match. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +CONCERNING CADDIES + + Varieties of caddies--Advice to a left-handed player--Cock-shots at + Ganton--Unearned increments--An offer to carry for the fun of the + thing--The caddie who knows too much--My ideal caddie--His + points--The girl caddie--A splendid type--Caddies' caustic + humour--Some specimens of it--Mr. Balfour's taste in caddies--When + the caddie is too anxious--Good human kindness--"Big + Crawford"--"Lookin' aifter Maister Balfour"--An ingenious claim--A + salute for the Chief Secretary--A story of a distressed + clergyman--Sandy Smith--The clothes he wore--An excess of zeal--The + caddies' common-sense--When his lot is not a happy one. + + +The caddie is an indispensable adjunct to the game of golf, and for the +most part he fulfils his functions very capably; but there are caddies +of every imaginable variety, and their vagaries are such as to cause +wonderment on the part of their employers sometimes, amusement at +others, and not infrequently exasperation. Some of them know too much +about the game, and others far too little, and I hardly know which of +these classes is in the long run the worse for the golfers who engage +them to carry their clubs. + +An incident of which I heard that happened to a well-known player on the +North Berwick links, must have been very trying to him. On a busy day +all the regular caddies had been engaged, and the fishermen were drafted +into the club-carrying service. The player, having asked one of these +fishermen if he knew anything about the game, and having been informed +that he had only a little knowledge of it, resigned himself calmly to +the inevitable, and told the man complacently that he would do. This +player happened to be left-handed, and took up his stance on the first +tee accordingly, whereupon the son of the sea at once adopted the part +of tutor, and with some warmth and show of contempt exclaimed loudly, "I +dinna ken much aboot the game, but ye dinna ken a wee bit. Mon, ye're +standing on the wrong side of the baw! Awa' to the other side!" Golfers +at the beginning of a round are proverbially susceptible to small +influences, and when a player is accustomed to lean somewhat upon his +caddie, as even some of the best occasionally do, I can well imagine +that such a trivial matter as this is enough to mar a tee shot. + +There were some strange specimens of the caddie species at Ganton when I +was there. "Make a tee, boy," said a golfer to one of them, evidently a +novice, one day. The player had been waiting about for something under a +minute, while his servant showed no sign of making the usual +preparations for the tee shot. The boy did not seem to understand. "Make +a tee, boy," exclaimed the player a second time sharply, but still there +was no response, and then the man called for some sand, bent down and +made the tee himself. At this the boy attributed the failure of his +understanding to the player's limited powers of expression, and somewhat +scornfully exclaimed, "Why, if you had told me it was a cock-shot that +was wanted, I should have known what you meant!" On competition days at +Ganton we had often to secure a number of lads who had never seen the +game played before, and very interesting specimens of the youth of +Yorkshire they often were. One day, I remember, a competitor pulled his +ball very badly, and his caddie, who had gone on a little way in front, +received it hard on a very tender part of his head. He was not seriously +hurt, but much pained, and forthwith, excusably perhaps, he gave way to +tears. To soothe him his employer presented him with half a sovereign. +The tears suddenly ceased, the boy's face broke into a happy smile, and +a moment later, when the two were trudging away towards the hole, the +youngster ingenuously inquired, "Will you be coming out again this week, +sir?" + +There is a kinship between this story and that of the caddie at North +Berwick, son of the greenkeeper there, some years ago, when first he +began to carry clubs. He was a very precocious little fellow, and the +player for whom he had been engaged to carry for the day was a +well-known golfer from the south. When the day's play was far advanced, +and the time of reckoning was drawing nigh, the boy seized an +opportunity of sidling close up to his patron and asking him, "D'ye ken +Bob S----?" the said Bob being one of the notabilities of the links. The +player answered that he had not the pleasure of Mr. Robert's +acquaintance so far, and inquired of the boy why he asked such a +question. "Weel," was the answer, "it's a peety ye dinna ken Bob S----. +He's a rale fine gentleman, for he aye gies twa shillin' a roond for +carryin' till'm; no like some that ca' themsels gentlemen, an' only gie +a shillin'." + +But lest it should be imagined from the recital of these incidents that +the caddie is invariably over-greedy, and that he has no soul for +anything but the pecuniary reward of his service, let there by way of +contrast be told the story of the boy who was willing to carry clubs for +nothing--the one solitary instance of such a disposition to +self-sacrifice that there is on record. This time the golfer was not a +great one. He had his faults, and they were numerous, and for their +conquest and suppression he came to the conclusion that it would be +better if he went out alone over the links and wrestled with them +determinedly. A caddie watched him going out thus solitary, and felt +sorry, so he said to him, "I will carry your clubs for a shilling, sir." +But the golfer replied, "No, my boy, not to-day, thanks; I will carry +them myself." The golfer missed his drive, foozled his second, put his +third into a bunker, and endured other agonies. The caddie had been +following at a respectful distance, and when the ball had been duly +picked up out of the bunker, he made a further appeal. "I will carry +for ninepence, sir." "No, I do not want a caddie," was the answer again. +"I will carry for sixpence, then." "No, go away." On the next tee the +player, overcome by conflicting emotions, missed the ball altogether two +or three times, and then was the caddie's opportunity, which he seized +without hesitation. "I will carry for the fun of the thing, sir!" + +This is a digression, but I fear that digressions are inevitable when +one enters upon the subject of caddies, and is persuaded to dip into +one's recollection of caddie stories. The ignorant caddie is trying, but +not less is the one who knows too much about the game, or thinks he +does, and insists upon inflicting his superior knowledge upon you during +the whole course of the round. Once when I was playing for the +Championship, my clubs were carried by a caddie who swore horribly at me +all the time, notwithstanding that from the beginning I was going +strongly for the first place. That boy got on my nerves. I was +approaching well, but my putting was certainly not so sure and confident +as it might have been. "What the ---- is the good of shooting at the flag +if you can't putt worth a d----!" he exclaimed in great disgust on one +occasion when I had the misfortune to miss holing out a somewhat short +putt. He has begged to be allowed to carry for me many times since then, +but I have steadfastly refused his offer, for I would not be handicapped +with him upon any consideration. The caddie I like best of all, and he +who I am convinced is the best servant for the average golfer, is he who +thoroughly understands the game, has a deep knowledge of the course that +is being played over, knows exactly what club to give you upon any and +every occasion, and limits his functions to giving you that club without +being asked for it. This caddie is a silent caddie, who knows that words +of his are out of place, and that they would only tend to upset his +master's game. It will generally be found that he, above all others, is +the one who takes a deep and sympathetic interest in that game. He +never upon any consideration gives advice without being asked for it. On +the other hand, he takes care that no act or omission of his shall ever +cause his man the most momentary irritation, for he has sufficient +knowledge of the golfer's temperament to know that these trifles are a +constant source of bad holes. When the player is preparing for his shot, +and his eye is wandering anxiously between the ball and the hole, he +puts out his hand whilst still continuing his survey of the ground, and +as he puts it out he feels it grasp the handle of the exact club that is +wanted. There is little need to look at it. The caddie knew and acted. +The stance is taken while the player is still in his thoughtful mood, +the shot is made while his mind is still concentrated to the utmost +extent on the difficult task in hand, and then, after a happy result, +the player and this faithful, truly sympathetic caddie go quietly on +their way. When you are on the green he never needs to be told to go to +the pin. He is always there, standing at the hole as soon as the time +has come to putt; and while, if the putt is a poor thing, he has nothing +to say (for silence is more than ever welcome at such a time of sorrow +and disappointment), he permits himself a few courteous words of +congratulation if a great success has been achieved at the last stroke +at the hole, and the crown been placed upon an effort that has been +truly praiseworthy throughout. This is my ideal caddie, and I am +prepared to make some concessions to have him always at my side during +the most trying rounds that I have to play. If he always performs the +duties I have named, promptly and quietly, I do not care whether he +really knows much about the game or not. If a caddie does the round of a +course often enough in the company of good golfers, he knows the club to +use for every particular stroke, even though he may have no practical +knowledge of the game, and I ask nothing more of him than that he should +always hand that club to me without keeping me waiting for a single +moment. These caddies are a rarer species than the others. + +I am no advocate of female labour, but I have often, after an +experience of the girl caddie, been tempted to wish that there were more +of them in the land, for they are uncommonly good. The little girl of +humble lot seems, nine times out of ten, to possess all those qualities +which go to the making of a good caddie--according to my standard of a +good caddie--in a remarkable degree. Unlike some of her elder sisters, +she never talks; but she always watches the game very closely and takes +a deep interest in it. She is most anxious--if anything too anxious--to +do her service properly and well, and to the most complete satisfaction +of the gentleman who will reward her for it at the finish. She never +keeps you waiting for your bag. The clubs are always there at your hand. +If it is obvious to this little girl's simple intelligence that you want +your brassy, she has it ready for you. If there is a doubt about the +club, she does not make the mistake of offering you one on chance, as it +were. She is too timid for that. She holds the bag before you and lets +you choose yourself and carry all the responsibility on your own +shoulders. The good boy caddie, whom I have referred to as my ideal, +does that also. I said he was always waiting with the club ready, but if +it is evident to him, as to the player, that it is a difficult question +of judgment as to which particular club should be taken in somewhat +puzzling circumstances, he allows the golfer to make his choice from the +whole collection in the bag, making no suggestion of his own either by +word or movement, unless invited to do so. Cannot every golfer recall +numberless instances of bad shots and holes lost because in one of these +moments of doubt, when his own inclination was leaning to the employment +of one particular club, his caddie thrust another before him? Feeling +that there must be something good in the caddie's recommendation, he has +been tempted in spite of himself to use it. How frequently are the +consequences disastrous in such circumstances as these, and how +unenviable are the golfer's after reflections upon his own weakness! +Yes, decidedly the girl caddie excels. I have seen her on many links up +and down the country, and she is always good. In one of my last matches +last season--at Luton--I had one to carry for me, and she was as good as +any. Perhaps it may be urged by some players that it is not a good thing +for girls to do this work. About that I have nothing to say. I only know +that they do their duty well. + +A peculiarly caustic but half-unconscious humour is the characteristic +of caddies everywhere, but particularly in the north, and while golfers +continue to lack absolute perfection, and their ministering attendants +to expect it from them every time, it will probably remain a +characteristic. A fair specimen was the remark of his caddie to a player +whose handicap was several strokes removed from scratch, and who, having +become badly bunkered on one occasion, tried nearly every iron club in +his bag in a vain endeavour to get out. The case was heartbreaking, and +he turned despairingly to his caddie with the question, "What on earth +shall I take now?" There was little encouragement in the answer, "Take +the 4.5 train." There is a good story also of a certain Welshman of +title who became enthusiastic over the game, though he did not excel at +it. He conceived that it would be a good thing to make a tour of the +famous Scottish courses with the object of improving his play, and in +due season he arrived at a certain famous green, where he employed as +his caddie an individual who had a considerable reputation for blunt +candour. The turf suffered severely every time this player made use of +his irons, and the caddie shook his head gloomily and sadly as he +witnessed the destructive work that went on daily. At last there came a +day when he could stand it no longer, and when the Welshman had taken a +mighty swipe at the ball with a heavy iron and made a deep excavation +for several inches behind it, the club carrier moaned painfully, "O +lord, man, hae mercy on puir auld Scotland!" It is said that the golfer +played no more on those links. It was on this same course that two +players went out one morning to play, and found a friend waiting alone +on the first tee, who said that he had fixed up a match with a certain +Captain Blank, who would be coming along presently. The possibility of a +foursome was considered, and a question was asked as to what kind of a +player the Captain was, his partner replying, "Oh, he is excellent. He +drives a good ball, plays his irons well, and is exceedingly useful at +the short game; in fact, he is a first-rate all-round man." Expecting +confirmation of this eulogium, he turned to his caddie and said, "You +know the Captain's play well enough. Now, what sort of a player would +you say he is?" The caddie replied scornfully, "Captain Blank! He canna +play a shot worth a d----. He's nae better than yoursel'!" + +The fact is that no player is great in the eyes of his caddie, for on +one occasion when two gentlemen who were very fair hands at the game +were doing a round and being closely pressed by a couple behind, who +seemed to be driving inordinately long balls, one of them observed that +perhaps they had better let them go through as they seemed to be playing +both well and quickly. "Na, na, naething o' the kind," interposed one of +the caddies. "They're just twa duffers like yersels!" And great eminence +in other fields counts for nothing with the caddie if his man cannot +golf in good style. There is the story told by Mr. Balfour of the +distinguished general, hero of many battles, who, having duly found his +way into his twentieth bunker, was startled by a cry of irritation from +his caddie, "Come, come, old gentleman, this will never do!" This great +statesman-golfer relates another anecdote showing that caddies are much +the same the whole world over. An English golfer was playing at Pau and +had a French caddie attending upon him. He made one particularly fine +approach shot, and, as golfers will at such times, he turned round to +the boy with excusable vanity for applause. But the boy's English +vocabulary so far comprised only two words which he had heard uttered +on several occasions, but the sense of which he did not understand. +Feeling sure, however, that they must be appropriate to this occasion, +and desiring to be appreciative, he smiled pleasantly into the golfer's +face and murmured, "Beastly fluke!" Mr. Balfour, by the way, has a +particular and decided taste in caddies, for he has written that he can +gladly endure severe or even contemptuous criticism from them; can bear +to have it pointed out to him that all his misfortunes are the direct +and inevitable result of his own folly; can listen with equanimity when +failure is prophesied of some stroke he is attempting, and can note +unmoved the self-satisfied smile with which the fulfilment of the +prophecy is accentuated; but ignorant and stupid indifference is +intolerable to him. The caddie, in the statesman's opinion, is not, and +ought not, to be regarded as a machine for carrying clubs at a shilling +a round, but rather occupies, or ought to occupy, the position of +competent adviser or interested spectator. The caddie ought to be as +anxious for the success of his side as if he were one of the players, +and should watch each move in the game with benevolent if critical +interest, being always ready with the appropriate club, and, if need be, +with the appropriate comment. + +But I don't like to see this anxiety for the success of one's fortunes +upon the links carried to excess. It is then a disturbing factor, and +its humorous aspect does not always appeal to one as it should. Some +golfers might be flattered when they come to know that their caddies +have backed them to the extent of half the remuneration they will +receive for carrying the clubs for the round. It is a touching +expression of the caddie's belief in them. But after all this kind of +thing does not help to make a good caddie. Apart from other +considerations, it does not make the boy carry any the better because he +is over-anxious about the result of the match, and, though some golfers +might be inclined to ridicule the suggestion, it nevertheless is a +disturbing element in one's game if one knows that even the caddie will +be very deeply concerned if every stroke does not come off just as well +as it ought to do. The caddie is not above letting you know of his +wager; sometimes he will even tell you of it. Two golfers of some +Highland celebrity were playing a match one day at Luffness, and after a +hard round they came to the eighteenth tee all square and but this one +hole to play. At this critical stage of the game the caddie of one of +them approached his master and nervously whispered to him, "Please, sir, +wad ye do your very best here, for there's money on this match." And the +golfer did try to do his very best indeed, but he pressed and he +foozled, and he lost the hole and the match. Sympathetically he turned +to his caddie to ask him what was the amount of the lost wager that he +might pay it for him and soften his disappointment. "It was a penny, +sir," said the boy. + +But despite his constant sarcasm and his utter inability to tolerate +anything except the very best in golf, there is after all much good +human kindness in your caddie if he is worthy of the name. "Big +Crawford" will always be remembered as a fine specimen. On the day when +Mr. A.J. Balfour played himself into the captaincy of the Royal and +Ancient club, a gentleman who was looking on, and who was well +acquainted with the fact that when Mr. Balfour was in Ireland as Chief +Secretary he never played a round of any of the Irish links without +having plain-clothes detectives walking fore and aft, inquired very +audibly, "Is there no one looking after Mr. Balfour now?" "Big Crawford" +was carrying for him that day, and he heard the question. He turned with +a look of severe pride towards the quarter whence it came, and answered +it as loudly, "Aw'm lookin' aifter Maister Balfour." There was nothing +more to be said. The chief of the Conservatives has certainly an +enormous popularity with the caddies. He so evidently loves his golf so +much, and he has great sympathy with them. He bears amiably with their +weaknesses. He was one day playing a match with Tom Dunn, who was his +tutor, at North Berwick, and by a mixture of skill and luck was enabled +to hole out at "Pointgarry out" in two. It happened that he received a +stroke from Dunn at this hole, and the caddie ingeniously pointed out to +him that he was thus entitled to consider that he had done the hole in +one. "How excellent!" he said. But in the same breath the caddie begged +leave to remind him that it was customary for all good golfers to +celebrate the performance of this particular feat by the bestowal of +some special token upon their caddies. Mr. Balfour was amused. He +tantalised the boy by observing that rather than that he should have to +pay anyone for watching him do these great things, he surely ought to +receive remuneration from all spectators for doing them. The boy felt +that there was truth in this new view of things, and a sad look was +stealing over his face, when the right honourable gentleman handed over +to him the customary fee. Another time on the links, two officers, a +Colonel and a Major, were playing in front of Mr. Balfour and his +partner, when the latter were courteously invited to go through so that +their enjoyment of the round would not be interfered with by any +waiting. At the moment when Mr. Balfour was passing the others, he was +surprised to hear a word of command called out by the Colonel's caddie, +who happened to be a Lucknow veteran. "Attention! Eyes front! Shoulder +arms! Present arms!" And thereupon each of the caddies took from his bag +a driver and with it presented arms in proper soldierly style, Mr. +Balfour, who was Chief Secretary at the time, smiling with pleasure at +the interesting compliment and acknowledging the salute. He has a +remarkable memory for the caddies who have served him, and once, when on +the tee, just about to engage in a foursome, he recognised one of his +opponents' caddies as a boy who on a former occasion had carried his own +clubs, and he nodded to him kindly. Naturally the caddie was immensely +pleased, and turning to one of his colleagues he remarked, "Ye see hoo +we Conservatives ken ane anither!" + +Another instance of the deep humanity of "Big Crawford," whom I have +just mentioned, occurred on one occasion when he was carrying for an +Edinburgh clergyman, who, in going for the Redan, had the misfortune to +be badly bunkered, his ball, in addition to the other difficulties of +the situation, lying in a deep heel mark. He was palpably in great agony +of mind, all the greater in that he never uttered a word. Crawford crept +quietly to his side and whispered gently, "What a peety! What a peety! +But gin an aith wad relieve ye, sir, dinna mind me, dinna mind me!" and +thereupon he discreetly retired for some little distance. Sandy Smith, +another famous caddie, was one day carrying for a player who had the +good fortune to be no fewer than six holes up on his opponent by the +time the eighth hole was reached. At this green, something having gone +wrong with the reckoning of the strokes, there was a mild dispute as to +whether the hole had been won by Sandy's man or whether it had been +halved. Eventually it was agreed that it was halved, but as the players +moved away to the next tee, he who was six down being out of earshot in +front, his opponent remarked to Sandy, "You know, Sandy, I still think I +won that hole after all." Sandy seemed shocked at such a cold-blooded +greed for holes, and reprovingly, very seriously, and sharply said to +his employer, "Haud yer tongue, sir; haud yer tongue. Wad ye break the +man's heart?" Sandy used to remark that "the finest gowffer on the green +was Maister Edward Blyth," and it was not until he had expressed this +opinion with an almost wearying frequency that his hearers suspected +that there was some connection between his choice and the fact, which he +admitted one day, that "his auld claes fits me best." Apparently he had +the measure of every player on the course. "I'm wantin' a word wi' ye, +Mr. Blyth," he said to his favourite one day. "What is it, Sandy?" "It's +no' muckle, sir; it's jist this, ye ken. I'm wantin' an auld suit o' +claes frae ye; ye're the only man hereaboot that'll fit me." But +apparently there were others, for one day when a player for whom he was +carrying asked him if he knew the Lord Justice-Clerk, who happened just +then to be passing in a foursome, Sandy replied, "That's Lord Kingsbury, +ye mean. O ay, he's a great freen' o' mine. Naebody kens his lordship +better nor me. Thae's his breeks I've on." + +Golfers should, I think, sometimes be on their guard lest a too +kind-hearted caddie, in an excess of zeal for his employer, should be +tempted to transgress the laws of the game, or depart from strict +truthfulness in his behalf. Sometimes it is done with a wonderful air of +innocence and simplicity. Caddies have been known, when their employers +have been in doubt as to exactly how many strokes they have played at +certain holes, to give an emphatic, but none the less untruthful +declaration, on the side of fewness. They mean well, but mistakenly, and +it is better for everybody concerned, but particularly for the caddies, +that they should be severely reprimanded when there is reason to doubt +their good faith. + +And who shall say that another, and for our purposes the final +characteristic of the average caddie of experience, is not a wonderful +amount of solid worldly common-sense of a variety specially adapted to +golf? And what golfer is there who has not at one time or another had +the advantage of it? But he may at the time have been unconscious of the +assistance. There is the historic case of the caddie on the Scottish +links who warned a beginner, dallying too much on the tee, that he +"maunna address the ba' sae muckle." Forthwith the southern tyro, +greatly exasperated at his own failures, burst out, "So far as I know I +haven't said a word to the infernal thing, but the irritation of this +beastly game is enough, and if I have any more of your confounded tongue +you may repent it!" Then the caddie murmured to himself, "I dinna like +'is look. I'll better get 'm roond as pleesant as possible." Could any +advice have been more delicately worded than that of the caddie to the +stout clergyman who with all his strength made a most mighty swing at +his ball on the tee with the usual result--a foozle? "It'll nae do, sir; +ye ken ye canna drive as far as that." "Wha--wha--what do you mean by +such a remark? As far as what?" gasped the reverend but irate gentleman. +"I jist mean, sir, that ye canna drive as far as ye wad like." + +Perhaps we shall never hear the best caddie stories, for is it not +likely that a great abundance of them are made and told in the sheds +after the day's play is over, and when the golfer's tools are being +wiped and cleaned, and his irons burnished to a beautiful brightness? It +is then that the caddie is in his happiest vein, his tongue and +disposition untrammelled by the presence of the club members. "What're +ye doin' cleanin' them clubs so grand?" asked one caddie of another, who +was evidently bestowing unusual pains on the polishing of the set that +were in his keeping. The caddie was in a thoughtful mood. He was the +regular attendant of an old golfer who had had a most disastrous day. +"I'm to clean 'em better than ever," he answered. "And when I've cleaned +'em I've got to break 'em across my knee. And then I've got to chuck 'em +in the bloomin' river." Sometimes, we see, if he is a simple-hearted, +faithful caddie, his lot is not a happy one. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +REFLECTIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS + + Good golf to come--Giants of the past--The amateurs of to-day--The + greatness of "Freddy" Tait--Modern professionals--Good sportsmen + and good friends--A misconception--The constant strain--How we + always play our best--Difficult tasks--No "close season" in + golf--Spectators at big matches--Certain anecdotes--Putting for + applause--Shovelling from a bunker--The greatest match I have ever + played in--A curious incident--A record in halves--A + coincidence--The exasperation of Andrew--The coming of spring--The + joyful golfer. + + +I think that every good golfer of experience reflects upon his past +history with mingled pleasure and sorrow--pleasure when he calls to mind +all the many glorious matches in which he has taken part, and sorrow +when the thought arises that all that golf has been played and done +with, and can never be played again. But we have all this abiding +consolation, that even if we cannot retain our very best form to the end +of our days, we can hope still to play a good game to the finish, and +there is the heroic example of rare old Tom Morris to stimulate us in +this hope. Much is given to golfers,--perhaps more than to the +participators in any other sport,--but they are rarely satisfied. The +wonderful fascination of golf is indicated in this eternal longing for +more. Sometimes when I glance over the records of the history of the +game, I feel a twinge of regret that it was not possible for me to play +with, or even to see, such giants of the past as Allan Robertson, David +Strath, the Dunns, Willie Campbell, Willie Park, senior, or the famous +young Tom Morris. Golf is great to-day, but it must have been great in +those days also, even if there was less of it than there is now. + +But I have had the good fortune to play with all the well-known amateurs +and professionals of my own time, and it is pleasant to think that they +are nearly all still alive, and that therefore I may sometime or another +play with them again. There is one great exception--Mr. Fred Tait, who +was killed in South Africa. I don't think anyone could ever have the +smallest doubt about the reason for his enormous popularity. I had the +delight of playing against him two or three times, and I thought that he +was not only a very fine golfer indeed, but one of the very finest +gentlemen that I could imagine. It is something for me to remember that +I played in the last important match in which he figured before he went +out to the war--an international foursome, England _v._ Scotland, that +was played at Ganton, Willie Park and Mr. Tait representing Scotland, +while Mr. John Ball, junior, and I were for England. From all the +amateurs with whom I have ever come in contact I have always received +the very greatest kindness and encouragement, and I do not know a single +one with whom I would not like to play again some day or other. It has +always seemed to me that there is something about golf that makes a man +a good fellow whether he is amateur or professional. + +I wish to speak in the same way about my professional brothers as I have +done about the amateurs. I have always found them all first-class +sportsmen in the strictest and best sense of the word, and some of the +best friends I have in the world are among them. There are some very +fine players among the professionals of to-day. I have often watched and +greatly admired the splendid skill of such friends and constant +opponents as J.H. Taylor, James Braid, Alexander Herd, Jack White, and +many others whose names would fill a page, not forgetting my own brother +Tom. I have from time to time been indebted to many of them for various +acts of kindness. There is a fine spirit of freemasonry amongst us +professionals. Whenever we play against each other each of us does his +level best to win, and gives no quarter with a single stroke, but it has +been my invariable experience that when the match is over the loser is +always the first to congratulate the winner, and to do it not as a mere +matter of form but with the very utmost sincerity. + +And here I should like to say a few words with the object of removing a +misconception which still seems to linger in the minds of followers of +the game. "Dear me, Vardon, what a grand time you fellows have, +travelling all over the country in this manner, and doing nothing but +playing golf on the very best courses," is the kind of remark that often +greets me when I have just returned from playing in one match or +tournament, and am due to start for another in a day or two. But I am +not sure that we have such a grand time as those who say these things +seem to think. We enjoy it just because we enjoy everything connected +with golf, and particularly the playing of it; but playing these +exhibition matches is not quite the same thing as going away for the +week-end and having a quiet round or two with a friend, however hard you +may try to beat him. Some people entertain a fancy that we do not need +to strain ourselves to the utmost in these engagements, and that +therefore we take things easily. I can answer for myself, and I am sure +for all my brother professionals, that we never take things easily, that +we always play the very best golf of which we are capable, and that if a +championship rested on each match we could not play any better. It must +be remembered that when we are invited by any club to play an exhibition +match, that club expects to see some golf, and thus it happens that the +fear of a great responsibility is always overhanging us. We dare not +play tricks with such reputations as we may have had the good fortune to +obtain. We are always well aware that there are very good golfers in the +crowd, who are watching and criticising every stroke that we make. +Therefore we keep ourselves in the very best of condition, and do our +utmost always to play our best. How difficult is our task when sometimes +we are not feeling as well as we might wish--as must occasionally +happen--I will leave the charitable reader to imagine. Has he ever felt +like playing his best game when a little below par in either mind or +body? This is where the really hard work of the professional's life +comes in. There is no "close season" in golf, as in cricket, football, +and other sports. When a cricketer plays indifferently, after two months +of the game, his admirers cry out that he is stale and needs a rest. But +there are eleven players on each side in a cricket match, and constant +rests for all of them, so that to my mind their work is very light in +comparison with that of the golfer, who enjoys no "close season," and +has all the work of each match on his own shoulders. Surely he also must +become stale, but such a state on his part is not tolerated. Again, one +often hears that a certain match between professional players has been +halved purposely--that is to say, that it was an arranged thing from +start to finish. Such things may have happened in other sports, but take +it from me that it never, never happens in golf. One man never plays +down to another, whatever disparity there may be in their respective +degrees of skill. It does not matter how many holes one is up on one's +opponent; there is never any slackening until the game has been won. It +makes no difference if the man you are playing against is your very best +friend or your brother, and one has sometimes to pass through the trying +ordeal of straining his every nerve to win a match when in his heart of +hearts, for some particular reason, he would like the other man to win. +I intrude these affairs of our own in these concluding reflections only +for the purpose of indicating that, though we love our game and always +enjoy it, professional golf is not quite the same thing as that played +by amateurs, and must not be judged from the same standpoint. I think it +is because of this continual sense of a great responsibility, and the +custom and necessity of always--absolutely always--trying to play our +very best game, that the leading professionals are constantly a stroke +or two better than the most skilful amateurs, even though the latter +practise the game quite as much, and have apparently just as much +opportunity, or even more, of making themselves perfect. + +I have mentioned the spectators. I have generally found the crowds who +follow a big professional match round the links both highly intelligent +and exceedingly considerate. But sometimes we overhear some strange +things said. Taylor and I were once fulfilling an important engagement +together, and when my opponent had a particularly difficult shot to +play, two ladies came up quite close to him and persisted in talking in +a loud tone of voice. Taylor waited for a little while in the hope that +their chatter would cease, but it did not. Then, in a feeling of +desperation, he attempted to address his ball; but the task was +hopeless. The conversation went on more loudly than ever, and he was +doomed to certain failure if he attempted his stroke in these +circumstances. So he stood up again, and looked round in the direction +whence the voices came. "Oh," said one of the ladies then, "you can go +on now. We've quite finished." We must be thankful for small mercies. +James Braid and I were once playing down at Beckenham. At one of the +putting greens we were both a long way from the hole. My ball was a +trifle the more distant of the two, and so I played the odd, and managed +to get down a wonderfully fine putt. Then Braid played the like and +holed out also. These were two rather creditable achievements with our +putters. When his ball had trickled safely into the hole, and the +spectators were moving towards the next tee, Braid and I were amused, +but not flattered, by the words of a man who was speaking to a friend in +such a loud voice that we could all hear. "Oh," he exclaimed +deprecatingly, "those fellows only do that sort of thing for the sake of +the applause!" How happy we should be if we could always make certain +of those long putts without any applause at all! It was with Braid also +that I was playing in a match at Luton towards the close of last year, +when I overheard a singular remark. I happened to be bunkered at the +fourteenth, and took my niblick to get out, but lost the hole. We walked +on together to the next tee, and Braid was taking his stance when we +heard two gentlemen eagerly discussing and explaining the recent bunker +incident. Evidently one of them was supposed to know something of golf +and the other nothing at all. "You see," said the former to his friend, +"there is really no rule in the matter at all. Vardon or any other +player could have used a shovel in that bunker and have simply shovelled +the ball over on to the other side." I was surprised that Braid got his +next tee shot in so well as he did. And how very often have I heard the +question asked in the crowd, "Why do those fellows chalk the faces of +their clubs?" and how invariably has the answer been, "So that they can +see afterwards where they hit the ball!" When I write my recollection of +these things, I do not wish it to be imagined that I am making any sort +of accusation against golf crowds generally. They are excellent from all +points of view; but it must inevitably happen that there are some people +among them who know little of the game, and others who do not appreciate +what a trying ordeal a hard-fought match usually is. + +Such questions are often put to me as, "Vardon, what was the greatest +match in which you ever played?" or, "What was the most extraordinary +occurrence you have ever seen on the links?" and so forth. They are +questions which it is difficult to answer, for is not nearly every match +that we play brimful of incident and interest, and at the time do we not +regard many of the incidents as most extraordinary? It would, then, be +too serious a task to attempt a selection from such a huge mass. But, +looking back over the last few years, it seems that my L100 match with +Willie Park is that which remains uppermost in my mind, and the one +that I am least likely to forget. There was more talking and writing +about it than about any other match in which I have played. The +"gallery" that followed this match was the greatest I have ever seen or +heard of. And as I am questioned also about the curious and the singular +in golf, I may say that there was a coincidence in this game that struck +me at the time as being quite unusual. In a closely-fought match it is +often interesting to notice how nearly each player's ball often follows +the other. Frequently they are side by side within one or two clubs' +length after the drives from the tee. But in the first stage of this +match against Park, after he had driven a long ball from the tee at the +eleventh hole, I drove and my ball pitched exactly on the top of his! +The Messrs. Hunter were kindly serving in the capacity of forecaddies, +and they were both positive upon this incident. My ball after striking +his rebounded slightly, and then stopped dead about two feet behind. Its +position rather affected my follow-through, so that I duffed my stroke +and lost the hole. This record--if it was a record--was also the means +of eclipsing what I believe was another record in first-class golf. The +first ten holes in this match were halved, and it was the incident of +which I have just been speaking and the duffed stroke that followed it +that led to the breaking of the sequence. + +"Now, Vardon, how often have you holed out in one?" they ask me also, +regardless of the fact that this event demands not only a perfect shot +but a perfect fluke, and that the professional player is no more likely +to accomplish it than anyone else. Well, I have only been guilty of this +fluke on one occasion--and that was not so very long ago--and when it +happened it was at a hole a little over two hundred yards in length. On +one occasion, also, I have enjoyed the coincidence of holing out with my +mashie approach at the same hole twice in one day. That was in the +course of a tournament at Elie, in which I had the good fortune to +finish first. As it happened, Andrew Kirkaldy, who hoped to end high up +in the list, was my partner for the first round, and it came about also +that he was watching me play when the holing-out process was +accomplished for the second time. Then he lifted up his hands in horror +and delivered himself of his famous remark, "Ye're enough to break the +heart of an iron ox!" During the last round of this same tournament +Andrew, who was playing some holes behind me, and was then himself in +the running for the first place, was kept posted up by a friend as to my +score for each hole. He did not seem to derive much encouragement from +the reports, for when the last one was carried to him he asked the +friend who brought it if he thought that there was nobody who could play +golf besides Vardon, and intimated at the same time that if anyone else +brought him any more of those tales he would strike him with his +niblick! Of course we all know what a really fine fellow is Andrew +Kirkaldy, and how much poorer the golf world would be without his +presence and his constant humour. + +And now I think I have holed out on the last green and this long match +is finished. After all it is better to play golf than to write or read +about it. What anticipation is more gloriously joyful than that of the +man who handles his driver on the first tee on a bright morning of the +spring-time! He has all the round, and all the day, and all the spring +and summer and autumn before him. And at this moment another spring is +breaking brightly, and the golf that is before each of us promises to be +as momentous and soul-satisfying as any that has gone before. + + + + +APPENDIX + +THE RULES OF GOLF + + _Authorised by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, + revised by the Club to September 27, 1904, and in force at the date + of publication of this work._ + + +1. DEFINITIONS.--(_a_) The Game of Golf is played by two sides, each +playing its own ball. A side consists either of one or of two players. +If one player play against another the match is called a "single." If +two play against two, it is called a "foursome." One player may play +against two playing one ball between them, when the match is called a +"threesome." Matches constituted as above shall have precedence of and +be entitled to pass any other kind of match. + +(_b_) The game consists in each side playing a ball from a teeing-ground +into a hole by successive strokes, and the hole is won by the side which +holes its ball in fewer strokes than the opposite side, except as +otherwise provided for in the Rules. If the sides hole out in the same +number of strokes, the hole is halved. + +(_c_) The "teeing-ground" is the starting-point for a hole, and shall be +indicated by two marks placed in a line as nearly as possible at right +angles to the course. + +The hole shall be 4-1/4 inches in diameter, and at least 4 inches deep. + +(_d_) The "putting-green" is all ground within 20 yards of the hole, +except hazards. + +(_e_) A "hazard" is any bunker, water (except casual water), sand, path, +road, railway, whin, bush, rushes, rabbit scrape, fence, or ditch. Sand +blown on to the grass, or sprinkled on the course for its preservation, +bare patches, sheep tracks, snow, and ice are not hazards. Permanent +grass within a hazard is not part of the hazard. + +(_f_) "Through the green" is any part of the course except hazards and +the putting-green which is being played to. + +(_g_) "Out of bounds" is any place outside the defined or recognised +boundaries of the course. + +(_h_) "Casual water" is any temporary accumulation of water (whether +caused by rainfall or otherwise) which is not one of the ordinary and +recognised hazards of the course. + +(_i_) A ball is "in play" as soon as the player has made a stroke at the +teeing-ground in each hole, and remains in play until holed out, except +when lifted in accordance with the Rules. + +(_j_) A ball has "moved" only if it leave its original position in the +least degree, and stop in another; but if it merely oscillate, without +finally leaving its original position, it has not "moved." + +(_k_) A ball is "lost" if it be not found within five minutes after the +search for it is begun. + +(_l_) A "match" consists of one round of the links, unless it be +otherwise agreed. + +A match is won by the side which is leading by a number of holes greater +than the number of holes remaining to be played. If each side win the +same number of holes, the match is halved. + +(_m_) A "stroke" is any movement of the ball caused by the player, +except as provided for in Rule 3, or any downward movement of the club +made with the intention of striking the ball. + +(_n_) A "penalty stroke" is a stroke added to the score of a side under +certain rules, and does not affect the rotation of play. + +(_o_) The "honour" is the privilege of playing first from a +teeing-ground. + +(_p_) A player has "addressed the ball" when he has taken up his +position and grounded his club, or if in a hazard, when he has taken up +his position preparatory to striking the ball. + +(_q_) The reckoning of strokes is kept by the terms--"the odd," "two +more," "three more," etc., and "one off three," "one off two," "the +like." The reckoning of holes is kept by the terms--so many "holes up," +or "all even," and so many "to play." + +2. A match begins by each side playing a ball from the first +teeing-ground. + +The player who shall play first on each side shall be named by his own +side. + +The option of taking the honour at the first teeing-ground shall be +decided, if necessary, by lot. + +A ball played from in front of, or outside of, or more than two club +lengths behind the marks indicating the teeing-ground, or played by a +player when his opponent should have had the honour, may be at once +recalled by the opposite side, and may be re-teed without penalty. + +The side which wins a hole shall have the honour at the next +teeing-ground. If a hole has been halved, the side which had the honour +at the previous teeing-ground shall retain the honour. + +On beginning a new match, the winner of the long match in the previous +round shall have the honour, or if the previous match was halved the +side which last won a hole shall have the honour. + +3. If the ball fall or be knocked off the tee in addressing it, no +penalty shall be incurred, and it may be replaced, and if struck when +moving no penalty shall be incurred. + +4. In a threesome or foursome the partners shall strike off alternately +from the teeing-grounds, and shall strike alternately during the play of +the hole. + +If a player play when his partner should have done so, his side shall +lose the hole. + +5. When the balls are in play, the ball further from the hole which the +players are approaching shall be played first, except as otherwise +provided for in the Rules. If a player play when his opponent should +have done so, the opponent may at once recall the stroke. A ball so +recalled shall be dropped, in the manner prescribed in Rule 15, as near +as possible to the place where it lay, without penalty. + +6. The ball must be fairly struck at, not pushed, scraped, nor spooned, +under penalty of the loss of the hole. + +7. A ball must be played wherever it lies or the hole be given up, +except as otherwise provided for in the Rules. + +8. Unless with the opponent's consent, a ball in play shall not be moved +nor touched before the hole is played out, under penalty of one stroke, +except as otherwise provided for in the Rules. But the player may touch +his ball with his club in the act of addressing it, provided he does not +move it, without penalty. + +If the player's ball move the opponent's ball through the green, the +opponent, if he choose, may drop a ball (without penalty) as near as +possible to the place where it lay, but this must be done before another +stroke is played. + +9. In playing through the green, any loose impediment (not being in or +touching a hazard) which is within a club length of the ball may be +removed. If the player's ball move after any such loose impediment has +been touched by the player, his partner, or either of their caddies, the +penalty shall be one stroke. If any loose impediment (not being on the +putting-green) which is more than a club length from the ball be +removed, the penalty shall be the loss of the hole. + +10. Any vessel, wheel-barrow, tool, roller, grass cutter, box or similar +obstruction may be removed. If a ball be moved in so doing, it may be +replaced without penalty. A ball lying on or touching such obstruction, +or on clothes, nets, or ground under repair or covered up or opened for +the purpose of the upkeep of the links, may be lifted and dropped +without penalty as near as possible to the place where it lay, but not +nearer the hole. A ball lifted in a hazard, under such circumstances, +shall be dropped in the hazard. + +A ball lying in a golf hole or flag hole, or in a hole made by the +greenkeeper, may be lifted and dropped without penalty as near as +possible to the place where it lay, but not nearer the hole. + +11. Before striking at a ball in play, the player shall not move, bend, +nor break anything fixed or growing near the ball, except in the act of +placing his feet on the ground for the purpose of addressing the ball, +in soling his club to address the ball, and in his upward or downward +swing, under penalty of the loss of the hole, except as otherwise +provided for in the Rules. + +12. When a ball lies in or touches a hazard, nothing shall be done to +improve its lie; the club shall not touch the ground, nor shall anything +be touched or moved before the player strikes at the ball, subject to +the following exceptions:--(1) The player may place his feet firmly on +the ground for the purpose of addressing the ball; (2) in addressing the +ball, or in the upward or downward swing, any grass, bent, whin, or +other growing substance, or the side of a bunker, wall, paling, or other +immovable obstacle, may be touched; (3) steps or planks placed in a +hazard by the Green Committee for access to or egress from such hazard +may be removed, and if a ball be moved in so doing, it may be replaced +without penalty; (4) any loose impediments may be removed from the +putting-green; (5) the player shall be entitled to find his ball as +provided for by Rule 31. The penalty for a breach of this Rule shall be +the loss of the hole. + +13. A player or caddie shall not press down nor remove any +irregularities of surface near a ball in play. Dung, worm-casts, or +mole-hills may be removed (but not pressed down) without penalty. The +penalty for a breach of this Rule shall be the loss of the hole. + +14. (1) If a ball lie or be lost in water or in casual water in a +hazard, a ball may be dropped in or as far behind the hazard as the +player may please, under penalty of one stroke; but if it be impossible +from want of space in which to play, or from any other cause, to drop +the ball behind the hazard, the player may drop a ball at the side of +the hazard as near as possible to where the ball lay, but not nearer to +the hole, under penalty of one stroke. (2) If a ball lie or be lost in +casual water through the green, or if casual water through the green +interferes with the player's stance, the player may drop a ball, without +penalty, within two club lengths from the margin directly behind the +place where the ball lay, or from the margin nearest to the place where +the ball lay, but not nearer to the hole. If the ball when dropped roll +into the water, or rest so that the water interferes with the player's +stance, it may be re-dropped, without penalty, as near to the margin as +the nature of the ground permits, but not nearer to the hole. (3) In +dropping a ball behind the spot from which the ball was lifted, the +player shall keep that spot, or, in the case of water, the spot at which +the ball entered, in a line between himself and the hole. Wherever it is +impossible to drop a ball as prescribed in sections (1) and (2), it +shall be dropped as near as possible to the place where it lay, but not +nearer to the hole. (4) If a ball lie in casual water on a +putting-green, a ball may be placed by hand behind the water without +penalty. The penalty for a breach of this Rule shall be the loss of the +hole. + +15. A ball shall be dropped in the following manner:--The player himself +shall drop it. He shall face the hole, stand erect and drop the ball +behind him from his head. If the ball when dropped touch the player he +shall incur no penalty, and if it roll into a hazard it may be +re-dropped without penalty. The penalty for a breach of this Rule shall +be the loss of the hole. + +16. When the balls lie within six inches of each other on the +putting-green, or within a club length of each other through the green +or in a hazard (the distance to be measured from their nearest points), +the ball nearer the hole may, at the option of either the player or the +opponent, be lifted until the other is played, and shall then be +replaced as near as possible to the place where it lay. If the ball +further from the hole be moved in so doing, or in measuring the +distance, it shall be replaced without penalty. If the lie of the lifted +ball be altered by the player in playing, the ball may be placed in a +lie as nearly as possible similar to that from which it was lifted, but +not nearer the hole. + +17. Any loose impediments may be removed from the putting-green, +irrespective of the position of the player's ball. The opponent's ball +may not be moved except as provided for by the immediately preceding +Rule. If the player's ball move after any loose impediment lying within +six inches of it has been touched by the player, his partner, or either +of their caddies, the penalty shall be one stroke. + +18. When the ball is on the putting-green, the player or his caddie may +remove (but not press down) sand, earth, dung, worm-casts, mole-hills, +snow, or ice lying around the hole or in the line of his putt. This +shall be done by brushing lightly with the hand only across the putt and +not along it. Dung may be removed by a club, but the club must not be +laid with more than its own weight upon the ground. The line of the putt +must not be touched, except with the club immediately in front of the +ball, in the act of addressing it, or as above authorised. The penalty +for a breach of this Rule is the loss of the hole. + +19. When the ball is on the putting-green, no mark shall be placed, nor +line drawn as a guide. The line of the putt may be pointed out by the +player's caddie, his partner, or his partner's caddie, but the person +doing so must not touch the ground. + +The player's caddie, his partner, or his partner's caddie, may stand at +the hole, but no player nor caddie shall endeavour, by moving or +otherwise, to influence the action of the wind upon the ball. + +The penalty for a breach of this Rule is the loss of the hole. + +20. When on the putting-green, a player shall not play until his +opponent's ball is at rest, under penalty of one stroke. + +21. Either side is entitled to have the flag-stick removed when +approaching the hole, but if a player's ball strike the flag-stick +which has been so removed by himself, or his partner, or either of +their caddies, his side shall lose the hole. If the ball rest against +the flag-stick when in the hole, the player shall be entitled to remove +the stick, and if the ball fall in, it shall be deemed as having been +holed out at the last stroke. If the player's ball knock in the +opponent's ball, the latter shall be deemed as having been holed out at +the last stroke. If the player's ball move the opponent's ball, the +opponent, if he choose, may replace it, but this must be done before +another stroke is played. If the player's ball stop on the spot formerly +occupied by the opponent's ball, and the opponent declare his intention +to replace, the player shall first play another stroke, after which the +opponent shall replace and play his ball. If the opponent's ball lie on +the edge of the hole, the player, after holing out, may knock it away, +claiming the hole if holing at the like, and the half if holing at the +odd, provided that the player's ball does not strike the opponent's ball +and set it in motion. If after the player's ball is in the hole, the +player neglect to knock away the opponent's ball, and it fall in also, +the opponent shall be deemed to have holed out at his last stroke. + +22. If a ball _in motion_ be stopped or deflected by any agency outside +the match, or by the forecaddie, the ball must be played from where it +lies, and the occurrence submitted to as a "rub of the green." If a ball +lodge in anything moving, a ball shall be dropped as near as possible to +the place where the object was when the ball lodged in it, without +penalty. If a ball _at rest_ be displaced by any agency outside the +match, excepting wind, the player shall drop a ball as near as possible +to the place where it lay, without penalty. On the putting-green the +ball shall be replaced by hand, without penalty. + +23. If the player's ball strike, or be moved by an opponent or an +opponent's caddie or clubs, the opponent shall lose the hole. + +24. When a player has holed out and his opponent has been left with a +putt for the half, nothing that the player can do shall deprive him of +the half which he has already gained. + +25. If a player's ball strike, or be stopped by himself or his partner, +or either of their caddies or clubs, his side shall lose the hole. + +26. If the player, when not intending to make a stroke, or his partner, +or either of their caddies, move his or their ball, or by touching +anything cause it to move when it is in play, the penalty shall be one +stroke. If a ball in play move, after the player has grounded his club +in the act of addressing it, or, when in a hazard, if he has taken up +his stand to play it, he shall be deemed to have caused it to move, and +the movement shall be counted as his stroke. + +27. Except from the tee a player shall not play while his ball is +moving, under penalty of the loss of the hole. If the ball only begin to +move while the player is making his upward or downward swing, he shall +incur no penalty for playing while it is moving, but is not exempted +from the penalty stroke which he may have incurred under Rules 9, 17, or +26, and in a foursome a stroke lost under Rule 26 shall not, in these +circumstances, be counted as the stroke of the player so as to render +him liable for having played when his partner should have done so. + +28. If the player when making a stroke strike the ball twice, the +penalty shall be one stroke, and he shall incur no further penalty by +reason of his having played while his ball was moving. + +29. If a player play the opponent's ball, his side shall lose the hole, +unless (1) the opponent then play the player's ball, whereby the penalty +is cancelled, and the hole must be played out with the balls thus +exchanged, or (2) the mistake occur through wrong information given by +the opponent or his caddie, in which case there shall be no penalty, but +the mistake, if discovered before the opponent has played, must be +rectified by placing a ball as near as possible to the place where the +opponent's ball lay. + +If a player play a stroke with the ball of a party not engaged in the +match, and the mistake be discovered and intimated to his opponent +before his opponent has played his next stroke, there shall be no +penalty; but if the mistake be not discovered and so intimated until +after the opponent has played his next stroke, the player's side shall +lose the hole. + +30. If a ball be lost, except as otherwise provided for in the Rules, +the player's side shall lose the hole; but if both balls be lost, the +hole shall be considered halved. + +31. If a ball lie in fog, bent, whins, long grass, or the like, only so +much thereof shall be touched as will enable the player to find his +ball; but if a ball lie in sand, the sand shall not be touched. The +penalty for a breach of this Rule shall be the loss of the hole. + +32. If a ball be played out of bounds, a ball shall be dropped at the +spot from which the stroke was played, under penalty of loss of the +distance. A ball played out of bounds need not be found. + +If it be doubtful whether a ball has been played out of bounds, another +may be dropped and played; but if it be discovered that the first ball +is not out of bounds, it shall continue in play without penalty. + +A player may stand out of bounds to play a ball lying within bounds. + +33. A player shall not ask for advice from anyone except his own caddie, +his partner, or his partner's caddie, nor shall he willingly be +otherwise advised in any way whatever, under penalty of the loss of the +hole. + +34. If a ball split into separate pieces, another ball may be put down +where the largest portion lies; or if two pieces are apparently of equal +size it may be put where either piece lies, at the option of the player. +If a ball crack or become unfit for play, the player may change it on +intimating to his opponent his intention to do so. Mud adhering to a +ball shall not be considered as making it unfit for play. + +35. When no penalty for the breach of a rule is stated, the penalty +shall be the loss of the hole. + +36. If a dispute arise on any point, the players have the right of +determining the party or parties to whom it shall be referred, but +should they not agree, either side may refer it to the Rules of Golf +Committee, whose decision shall be final. If the point in dispute be not +covered by the Rules of Golf, the arbiters must decide it by equity. + +37. An umpire or referee, when appointed, shall take cognisance of any +breach of rule that he may observe, whether he be appealed to on the +point or not. + + +SPECIAL RULES FOR STROKE COMPETITIONS. + +1. In Stroke Competitions, the competitor who holes the stipulated +course in fewest strokes shall be the winner. + +2. If the lowest scores be made by two or more competitors, the tie or +ties shall be decided by another round to be played on the same day. But +if the Green Committee determine that to be inexpedient or impossible, +they shall then appoint the following or some subsequent day whereon the +tie or ties shall be decided. + +3. New holes shall be made for Stroke Competitions, and thereafter +before starting no competitor shall play on any of the putting-greens, +nor shall he intentionally play at any of the holes nor on to any of the +putting-greens, under penalty of disqualification. + +4. The scores for each hole shall be kept by a special marker, or by the +competitors noting each other's scores. The scores marked ought to be +called out after each hole, and on completion of the round the cards +shall be signed by the marker, under penalty of disqualification, and +handed in. Competitors must satisfy themselves before the cards are +handed in that their scores for each hole are correctly marked, as no +alteration can be made on any card after it has been returned. If it be +found that a score returned is below that actually played, the +competitor shall be disqualified. For the addition of the scores marked +the Secretary or his deputy shall be responsible. + +5. If a competitor play from outside the limits of the teeing-ground, +the penalty shall be disqualification. + +6. If a ball be lost (except as otherwise provided for in the Rules of +Golf), the competitor shall return as near as possible to the spot from +which the lost ball was struck, tee a ball, and lose a penalty stroke. +The lost ball shall continue in play, if it be found before the player +has struck another ball. The penalty for a breach of this Rule shall be +disqualification. + +7. If a competitor's ball strike himself, his clubs or caddie, the +penalty shall be one stroke. + +8. If a competitor's ball strike another competitor, or his clubs or +caddie, it is a "rub of the green," and the ball shall be played from +where it lies. If a competitor's ball which is at rest be moved by +another competitor or his caddie, or his club or his ball, or by any +outside agency excepting wind, it shall be replaced as near as possible +to the place, where it lay without penalty. + +9. A competitor shall hole out with his own ball at every hole, under +penalty of disqualification. But if it be discovered, before he has +struck off from the next teeing-ground, or if the mistake occur at the +last hole, before he has handed in his card, that he has not holed out +with his own ball, he shall be at liberty to return and hole out with +his own ball, without penalty. + +10. A ball may be lifted from any place under penalty of two strokes. A +ball so lifted shall be teed if possible behind the place where it lay. +If it be impossible to tee the ball behind the place where it lay, it +shall be teed as near as possible thereto, but not nearer the hole. The +penalty for a breach of this Rule shall be disqualification. + +11. All balls shall be holed out under penalty of disqualification. When +a competitor's ball is within 20 yards of the hole, the competitor shall +not play until the flag has been removed, under penalty of one stroke. +When both balls are on the putting-green, if the player's ball strike +the opponent's ball the player shall lose a stroke. The ball nearer the +hole shall, on request of the player, be either lifted or holed out at +the option of the owner, under penalty of his disqualification. Through +the green a competitor may have any other competitor's ball lifted, if +he find that it interferes with his stroke. + +12. A competitor, unless specially authorised by the Green Committee, +shall not play with a professional, and he may not willingly receive +advice from any one but his caddie, in any way whatever, under penalty +of disqualification. + +A forecaddie may be employed. + +13. Competitors shall not discontinue play or delay to start on account +of bad weather, nor for any other reason whatever, except such as is +satisfactory to the Committee of the Club in charge of the competition. +The penalty for a breach of this Rule is disqualification. + +14. Where in the Rules of Golf the penalty for the breach of any Rule is +the loss of the hole, in Stroke Competitions the penalty shall be the +loss of two strokes, except where otherwise provided for in these +Special Rules. + +15. Any dispute regarding the play shall be determined by the Rules of +Golf Committee. + +16. The Rules of Golf, so far as they are not at variance with these +Special Rules, shall apply to Stroke Competitions. + + +RULES FOR THREE-BALL MATCHES. + +In matches in which three players play against each other, each playing +his own ball (hereinafter referred to as "a three-ball match"), or in +which one player plays his own ball against the best ball of two players +(hereinafter referred to as "a best ball match"), the Rules of Golf +shall apply, subject to the following modifications:-- + +1. Where, in a three-ball match, at any teeing-ground no player is +entitled to claim the honour from both opponents, the same order of +striking shall be followed as at the previous teeing-ground. + +2. Except as hereinafter provided, the side whose ball is furthest from +the hole shall play first, but a ball lying nearer the hole and +belonging to one of that side may, at their option, be played before the +ball lying furthest from the hole. If a player play when his opponent +should have done so he shall incur no penalty. + +3. If a player consider that an opponent's ball on the putting-green +might interfere with his stroke, he may require the opponent either to +lift or to hole out his ball at the opponent's discretion. + +4. If an opponent consider that the ball of another opponent might be of +assistance to the player, he may require that it be either lifted or +holed out at the other opponent's discretion. + +5. If an opponent consider that his own ball might be of assistance to +the player, he is entitled to lift it or hole out at his discretion. + +6. If an opponent consider that the player's partner's ball might be of +assistance to the player, he may require that it be either lifted or +holed out at the player's partner's discretion. + +7. In a three-ball match, a ball on the putting-green, which is moved by +another ball, must be replaced as nearly as possible where it lay. + +8. In a best ball match, if a player's ball move his partner's ball or +an opponent's ball, the opponent shall in either case decide whether the +moved ball shall be replaced or not. + +9. If in a three-ball match a player's ball strike or be moved by an +opponent or an opponent's caddie or clubs, that opponent shall lose the +hole to the player. As regards the other opponent, the occurrence is "a +rub of the green." + +10. In a best ball match, if a player's ball strike or be moved by an +opponent or an opponent's caddie or clubs, the opponent's side shall +lose the hole. + +11. In a best ball match, if a player's ball (the player being one of a +side) strike or be stopped by himself or his partner or either of their +caddies or clubs, that player only shall be disqualified for that hole. + +12. In all other cases where a player would by the Rules of Golf incur +the loss of the hole, he shall be disqualified for that hole, but the +disqualification shall not apply to his partner. + + +ETIQUETTE OF GOLF. + +1. A single player has no standing, and must always give way to a +properly constituted match. + +2. No player, caddie, or onlooker should move or talk during a stroke. + +3. No player should play from the tee until the party in front have +played their second strokes and are out of range, nor play up to the +putting-green till the party in front have holed out and moved away. + +4. The player who has the honour from the tee should be allowed to play +before his opponent tees his ball. + +5. Players who have holed out should not try their putts over again when +other players are following them. + +6. Players looking for a lost ball must allow other matches coming up to +pass them. + +7. On request being made, a three-ball match must allow a single, +threesome, or foursome to pass. Any match playing a whole round may +claim the right to pass a match playing a shorter round. + +8. If a match fail to keep its place on the green, and lose in distance +more than one clear hole on those in front, it may be passed, on request +being made. + +9. Turf cut or displaced by a stroke should be at once replaced. + +10. A player should carefully fill up all holes made by himself in a +bunker. + +11. It is the duty of an umpire or referee to take cognisance of any +breach of rule that he may observe, whether he be appealed to on this +point or not. + + + + +INDEX + + + Addressing the ball, 62, 81, 171, 173. + + Alps at Prestwick, 222. + + Amateur Championship. _See_ Championship. + + Amateur golf in Great Britain, 233, 234. + + America, golf in, 232, 234; + tour in, 235; + spectators in, 238; + novel experiences in, 242, 243, 244. + + American Championship, 23, 235, 241. + + Anson, American baseball player, and golf, 240. + + Approach play. _See_ Mashie, play with the. + + Arms, action of the, in driving, 67, 69, 72. + + Ashburnham links, 227. + + Auchterlonie, Willie, 13, 15. + + + Backward swing in the drive, 65, 68, 173, 174. + + Baffy, possibilities of play with, 83; + stance for, 83. + + Balfour, Mr. A.J., how he learned golf, 30; + anecdotes by, 252; + preference in caddies, 253; + and "Big Crawford," 254; + interesting compliment, 255. + + Ball, clean, 170; + rubber-cored. _See_ Rubber-cored balls. + + Ball, Mr. John, jun., 223, 234, 260. + + Beckenham, incident at, 263. + + Beginners, advice to, 25. + + Beginning, Vardon's, at golf, 2, 4; + first clubs, 5; + first matches, 6; + how he learned, 8. + + Berwick, North, 17, 21, 225, 245, 247, 254. + + "Big Crawford," 254. + + Birth, Vardon's, 2. + + Blyth, Mr. Edward, 256. + + Body action in following through, 71. + + Boomer, Mr. (Schoolmaster), 3. + + Boots and shoes, 167. + + Braces and belts, 166. + + Brae Burn, match at, 235. + + Braid, James, 96, 260, 263, 264. + + Brancaster links, 228. + + Brassy, play with in Championship, 23. + + ---- the, points of, 44, 49, 79. + + ---- play with the, first attempts, 32; + occasion for, 78; + stance for, 79, 80; + from good lie, 80; + from cuppy lie, 80, 81. + + Brewster, Mr., at Jersey, 4. + + Broadwood, Mr. C.C., 21. + + Brown, D., 14. + + Bunkers and bunker play, 131; + mistakes in regard to, 133; + swing with niblick in, 136; + long balls from, 138; + filling holes in, 175. + + Bury Golf Club, professional to, 12. + + Butcher, Mr. S.F. (Bury), 12. + + + Caddie, advice of, 171; + opponent's, 175; + anecdotes of, 245 _et seq._; + the ideal, 248; + girls as, 249; + caustic humour of, 250; + human kindness of, 254; + excess of zeal of, 257; + sorrows of, 258. + + Campbell, Willie, 259. + + Care of clubs, 50. + + Carnoustie, merits of course, 225. + + Championship, the Amateur, 233, 234. + + ---- the American, 23. + + ---- the Open, 3, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 23, 248. + + Cleek, the, varieties of and characteristics, 46, 49, 99. + + ---- play with the, first attempts, 33; + versatility of, 99; + stance, 103; + swing, 104; + push shot with, 105; + shot for low ball against wind, 108; + comparison of different shots, 108. + + Clothes for golf, 166. + + Clubs, golf (implements), 37; + first purchases, 38; + limitations, 40; + care of, 50; + for different strokes, 168; + experiments in competitions, 184. + + Competition play, disappointments in, 177; + steadiness in, 178; + continuing + with card, 179; + tactics in, 181; + caution in medal play, 182; + new clubs, 184; + time of play, 186; + watching opponents, 187. + + Counting strokes, 167. + + Course, studying in competition play, 183; + construction of. _See_ Links. + + Cox, Mr. Charles S., 240. + + Cricket, 3. + + Cromer links, 228. + + Crowds, great golfing, 21. + + Cruden Bay links, 225. + + Cupped lies, play from, 81. + + Cut stroke, the, with the mashie, 127. + + + Deal, tournament at, 15; + merits of links at, 228. + + "Debauchery of long driving," 52. + + Despair, golfer's, 26. + + Diagrams, explanation of, 57. + + Divots, replacing, 175. + + Dogwood heads, 42. + + Dollymount links, 226. + + Dornoch links, 225. + + Driver, the, points of, 40; + scared and socketed clubs, 41; + heads of, 42; + length and weight, 49, 53; + loft on face of, 54. + + ---- play with, first attempts, 32; + long balls with, 35, 36, 52, 75; + pleasure of, 53; + stance, 55, 56, 57; + the grip, 58; + the address, 62; + backward swing, 64; + follow-through, 71; + faulty driving, 72; + summary of advice, 77; + intentional pulling and slicing with, 85. + + Dunn, Tom, 22, 30, 254, 259. + + Dunn, Willie, 236, 237. + + Dwelling at the tarn, 68. + + + Etiquette of golf, 161, 164, 165, 175, 277. + + Excuses, golfer's, 26. + + Experiments in golf, 172. + + Eye on the ball, how and where to keep, 63, 65, 169. + + Eyesight, defective, 174. + + + Faces, artificial, to wooden clubs, 42. + + Findlay, American golfer, 242. + + Finish of swing, 72, 173. + + Florida, golf in, 236, 241. + + Follow-through, the, in the drive, 71. + + Football at Ganton, 3. + + Formby links, 228. + + Foursomes, partners in, 171; + old style, 188; + four-ball, 189; + tactics in, 190; + sociability of, 191; + mutual understanding in, 192; + junior partner in, 193; + handicapping in, 195; + classical story of, 196. + + Freaks of style, 62. + + Frosty weather, play in, 167. + + + Ganton, professional at, 15; + match with Willie Park at, 22; + caddies at, 246; + international foursome at, 260. + + Gloves, 168. + + Greens, putting, gauging strength of, 158; + etiquette and policy on, 165; + damaging, 175. + + Grips, Vardon's overlapping, 59; + the two-V, 59; + tightness of, 60; + thickness of handle, 168. + + Grouville, 2; + golf introduced to, 3. + + Gullane links, 226. + + + Hands, right and left, grip with, 59, 60, 61; + variations of tightness, 61. + + Harlech, links at, 227. + + Head still, keeping the, 65, 172. + + Herd, Alexander, 12, 14, 15, 260. + + Hilton, Mr. Harold, 234. + + Himalayas at Prestwick, 222. + + Hints, general, 160. + + Hoods for golf-bags, 50. + + Hoylake, merits of course, 223; + best holes at, 224. + + Huddersfield links, 231. + + Hunstanton links, 228. + + Hunter, the brothers, 21, 265. + + Huntercombe links, merits of, 230. + + + Ilkley, 14. + + Impact, moment of, 69, 70. + + Improving one's game, 163. + + Inland golf, 229. + + Ireland, links in, 226 _et seq._ + + Iron, the, points of, 47, 49, 113. + + ---- play with the, first attempts, 33; + time for, 113; + stance for, 114; + swing, 115; + relation of swing to distance, 116. + + Islay, splendid links at, 225; + most difficult hole, 226. + + + Jersey, golf at, 2, 4. + + Jersey Golf Club, Royal, 4. + + Jigger, the, use of, 130. + + + Kay, James, 17. + + Kilmalcolm, tournament at, 13. + + Kilspindie links, 226. + + Kingsbury, Lord, 257. + + Kirkaldy, Andrew, 13, 14, 19, 142, 266. + + Kirkaldy, Hugh, 13, 14. + + + Ladies, faults of, 71; + freedom on links, 198; + improvement of ladies' play, 199; + keenness of American, 200; + good pupils, 201; + same game as men's, 201; + swing for, 201; + clubs for, 202; + bad upward swings, 203; + need for tuition, 204. + + Lahinch links, 226. + + Laidlay, Mr. J.E., 223. + + Lawrence Harbour (U.S.), match at, 237. + + Leach, Henry, vi. + + Learn golf, how to, 25. + + Leather faces, 42. + + Length of clubs, 48, 49. + + Lie of clubs, 45. + + Lindrick links, 231. + + Links, on construction of, 205; + made in a hurry, 205; + long handicap men's links, 206; + time and study needed, 206; + maturing of, 206; + land required for, 207; + preliminary survey of, 208; + clearing of land, 209; + "penny wise and pound foolish," 209; + experimental drives, 210; + short holes, 210; + varieties of holes, 211; + too lengthy, 212; + direction of course, 213; + position of bunkers, 213; + class of player to suit, 213; + bunkers at the side, 215; + undulating greens, 216; + double tees, 217; + the best links, 219 _et seq._; + superiority of Sandwich, 220. + + Littlestone links, 228. + + Lloyd, Joseph, 15. + + London links, 230. + + Long heads, 43. + + Lowe, George (St. Anne's-on-Sea), 9, 10. + + Luffness links, 226, 254. + + Lunch, golfer's, 169. + + Luton, incident at, 264. + + Machrihanish links, 225. + + Maiden at Sandwich, 222. + + Manchester links, 231. + + Mashie, the, points of, 47, 49, 119. + + ---- play with the, first attempts, 33, + value of good, 119; + varieties of, 120; + stance for ordinary shot, 121; + the swing, 122; + danger of scooping, 124; + taking a divot, 124; + the running-up shot, 125; + the cut stroke, 127; + stance for, 128; + points of, 129; + chip on the green, 129; + the jigger, 130; + mashie on the putting green, 155. + + Mashie, the driving, 49, 100. + + ---- ---- play with, 100; + difficulties of, 101. + + Master stroke in golf, 85. + + Match play, 171, 172, 180. + + Medal play, 178, 181, 182, 183; + rules, 274. + + Middle-aged golfers, 29. + + Mid-Surrey links, 230. + + Molesworth, Mr., at Jersey, 7. + + Money matches, 22. + + Morris, Old Tom, 22, 23, 149. + + Morris, Young Tom, 23, 259. + + Mount Zion at Islay, 226. + + Muirfield, first Championship at, 16, 19; + merits of course and best holes, 224. + + + Nails in boots and shoes, 166. + + Nervousness, 9, 12. + + Newcastle (co. Down) links, 226. + + Newquay links, 228. + + Niblick, the, points of, 47, 49, 135; + swing with, in bunker, 136. + + Nicholls, Bernard, matches with, 235, 239. + + North Berwick. _See_ Berwick, North. + + Novelties, avoidance of, 168. + + + Oakland (U.S.), 237. + + Oiling clubs, 50. + + One-armed golfer, 27. + + Open Championship. _See_ Championship. + + Opponent, one's attitude towards, 161. + + Ormonde, match at, 235. + + Over-golfed, 186. + + Overlapping grip, 59. + + + Park, Willie, senior, 259. + + Park, Willie, junior, 20, 21, 148, 230, 260, 264. + + Pau, visit to, 15. + + Persimmon heads, 42. + + Photographs, vi. + + Pivoting of the body, on the waist, 67. + + ---- on the toes, 68. + + Pleasures of golf, 1, 29, 32, 53, 266. + + Point Comfort, match at, 236. + + Pointgarry out, Mr. Balfour at, 255. + + Portland (U.S.), novel experience at, 242. + + Portmarnock, merits of links, 226. + + Portrush, tournament at, 13; + merits of links, 226. + + Practice, early system of, 32; + amount of, 35. + + Pressing, 75, 173. + + Prestwick, 13, 20, 23; + best holes at, 222. + + Professional golfers, money matters, 22; + difficulties of, 261. + + Professional tuition, 30. + + Pulling, causes of, 67, 71, 73, and Plates X. and XI.; + method of intentional, 91; + in a cross wind, 92. + + Purves, Dr., at Jersey, 7. + + Push shot, the, 105; + advantage of, 106. + + Putter, the, points of, 47, 49, 146. + + Putting, a curious experience, 18; + first attempts, 33; + confidence in, 142; + no rule for, 143; + the natural stance, 144; + the grip, 147; + hitting the ball, 148; + the swing, 148; + on being up, 148; + on undulating greens, 150; + borrowing from slopes, 151; + the cut stroke, 152; + down steep inclines, 154; + use of mashie, 155; + playing stymies, 156; + running through, 157; + gauging strength of greens, 158; + etiquette and policy, 165. + + + Redan, the, 256. + + Redcar links, 228. + + Regrets, golfer's, 28. + + Reserve clubs, 45. + + Ribbed faces to iron clubs, advantages of, 102. + + Ripon, golf at, 10. + + Risks, on taking, 162. + + Robertson, Allan, 22, 259. + + Rubber-cored balls, life of, 170. + + Rules of golf, 167, 267. + + Running-up approaches, 125. + + Rye links, 228. + + + St. Andrews, 15; + merits of course and best holes, 224. + + ---- style of play, 64. + + St. Anne's links, 228. + + St. David's, Royal, links, 227. + + St. George's Golf Club, Royal, Sandwich, 3. + + Sandwich, 3, 14, 23; + the best course, 220; + reasons for selection, 221; + best holes at, 221, 222. + + Sandy Parlour at Deal, 228. + + Sayers, Ben, 18, 19. + + Scared clubs, advantage of, over socketed, 41. + + Scarsdale (U.S.), match at, 236. + + Scotland, links in, 222 _et seq._ + + Seaside courses, advantages of, 229. + + Seaton Carew links, 228. + + Shafts of clubs, 43. + + Sheffield links, 231. + + Sheringham links, 228. + + Shoes, golfing, 166. + + Shoulder, right, movement of, 66; + dropping, 74. + + Simpson, Archie, 15. + + Skidding with iron clubs, 102; + with driver, 168. + + Slicing, cause of, 67, 69, 72; + how to find, 73, Plate XII.; + method of intentional, 87; + distant slice, 88; + short slice, 89. + + "Slow back," 64. + + Smith, Will, American champion, 238, 241. + + Smoking, on, 185. + + Spectators at golf matches, 263. + + Speed of the club, 69. + + Spofforth, Major (Jersey), 9. + + Spoon. _See_ Baffy. + + Strath, David, 259. + + Stroke competitions, rules for, 274. + + Studley Royal Golf Club, Ripon, professional to, 11. + + Stymies, playing, 156; + running through, 157. + + Successes in competitions, 9. + + Sunningdale links, merits of, 229. + + Swaying during stroke, 67. + + Swinging, first attempts at, 31. + + + Tait, Lieut. Fred, 21, 223, 234, 260. + + Taylor, J.H., 15, 16, 240, 241, 260, 263. + + Tee, the, for the ball, 54; + disadvantage of high tee, 55; + low tee with wind, 172. + + Teeing grounds, 217. + + Three-ball matches, 276. + + Tightness of grip, 61. + + Tobacco and golf, 185. + + Trafford Park links, 231. + + Training, on, 185. + + Travis, Mr. Walter J., 233. + + Troon, merits of course, 225. + + Turf, replacing, 175. + + Two-V grip, 59, 62. + + + Upward swing. _See_ Backward swing + + + V, two-, grip, 59, 62. + + Vardon family, the, 2. + + Vardon, Fred, 3. + + Vardon, Tom, 3, 4, 9, 10, 15, 17, 23, 260. + + + Waggling the club, 63. + + Wales, links in, 227. + + Wallasey links, 228. + + Walton Heath links, merits of, 229. + + Washington (U.S.), match at, 244. + + Weather, wet, care of clubs in, 50, 168. + + Weight of body, how balanced, 67, 70. + + Weight of club, 44, 49. + + Westward Ho! merits of links, 227. + + Wheaton links at Chicago, 238, 241. + + Whip of shafts, 43, 44. + + White, Jack, 260. + + Wind, play in a, 92; + pulling in a cross, 94; + driving against, 95; + driving with, 96; + low tee with, 172. + + Wrists, action of the, 66, 70. + + ---- mistaken notions concerning, 70. + + + Yorkshire championships, 231. + + + + + _Printed by_ + MORRISON & GIBB LIMITED + _Edinburgh_. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Complete Golfer [1905], by Harry Vardon + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COMPLETE GOLFER [1905] *** + +***** This file should be named 28107.txt or 28107.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/1/0/28107/ + +Produced by Steven Gibbs, Greg Bergquist and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |