STACK
ANJtcX
SMITH
CM.IF. Lisiuwr, LOS
GOLF
BY
GARDEN G. SMITH
I
GOLF
BY
GARDEN G. SMITH
WITH A CONTRIBUTION BY
MRS. MACKERN
NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
GOLF
THE game of golf consists in playing a
ball, in as few strokes as possible, from cer-
tain starting places, called teeing-grounds,
with various clubs, suited to the nature of the
stroke, into a succession of holes cut in the
ground at varying distances.
Golf may be played on any park or com-
mon, but its original home is the " Links," or
common land which is found by the seashore,
where the short close turf, the sandy subsoil,
and the many natural obstacles in the shape
of bents, whins, sand-holes and banks, supply
the conditions which are essential to the
proper pursuit of the game.
Eighteen is the usual number of holes in a
golf course, and in arranging the succession
of these holes care should be taken that they
are so placed that parties playing to one
1C9L74G
8 GOLF
hole shall not be crossed or met by parties
playing to another. If sufficient suitable
ground be not available to admit of this
being done, it is better to limit the number
of holes to 15, 12 or 9.
The extent and nature of the ground
available will determine the distances between
the individual holes, and these should be
placed so as to take advantage of any natural
features in the shape of hillocks, hollows,
ditches or other obstacles, to test the skill of
the golfer, and lend variety and interest to
the play. As a general rule, a hole should
not be much shorter than 100 yards, or longer
than 500 yards, while the entire course, if
made up of 1 8 holes, and measured from hole
to hole, should be from 2| to 3f or 4 miles in
length. For each hole there is a starting
point, called the teeing-ground. The first of
these is usually marked out near the club-
house, and the others are placed near the
hole previously played, but in such a position
that parties playing from it will be out of
the line of fire of those playing to the previous
hole.
The game commences at the first teeing-
ground, and the hole to which the ball is to
GOLF g
be played is cut in a well-cared-for green,
called the putting-green. The hole is round,
4^ inches in diameter, and should be at least
4 inches in depth. To preserve its shape, it
is usually lined with tin or iron, but this
lining should be pressed down into the hole,
so as to leave half an inch of turf above its
upper rim. If this is not done, and the metal
rim is left flush with the surface of the grass,
many balls that would otherwise go in, will
either run round the rim or jump over the
hole. A movable flag or disc, mounted on a
stick or pin, is placed in the hole to indicate
its position.
The putting-green, technically, is all ground
within 20 yards of the hole (Rule 30), and
all this space, if possible, should be of the
closest and smoothest turf. It is not desira-
ble to have the surface flat like a billiard-
table ; and an undulating surface, provided
the turf be equal and true, will be found to
make the putting more interesting and
difficult.
Between the teeing-ground and the put-
ting-green should be found, whether they
be natural or artificially formed, various
" hazards " in the shape of sand-pits or
jo GOLF
" bunkers," ditches, gorse, roads, or other
obstacles ; and these should be placed so as
to catch and punish badly-played balls,
while plenty of open space and good turf
should be found between them to reward
well- hit strokes.
Thus, supposing a hole be 250 yards in
length measured from the teeing-ground,
there should be a hazard of some sort ex-
tending right across the line of the hole,
about 100 or 130 yards from the tee. Be-
yond this, the ground should be good ; but,
guarding the hole again, and some 30 or 40
yards in front of it, there should be another
hazard which the player would have to carry
before reaching the putting-green. In addi-
tion, hazards may be placed on either side of
the course to catch crooked balls, and also
beyond the hole to punish those that are
hit too strongly, but "blind" hazards i.e.,
hazards which are not visible to the player,
such as sunk ditches or holes, should either
be marked or filled up.
The Ball used in playing golf is made in
various sizes, but that most in use measures
about if inches in diameter. It is usually
made of well-seasoned gutta-percha, grooved
GOLF ii
or notched on the surface, and painted white.
Prior to the introduction of gutta-percha,
golf-balls were made of feathers, forced into
a case of leather, and the figures 27 and
2/|-, &c., which are used to-day in differ-
entiating the various sizes of balls, represent
the weight in pennyweights of the old feather
balls. Several kinds of composition balls,
known generically as " putties," in contradis-
tinction to the "gutties" or gutta-percha
balls, though they have had a certain vogue,
have failed to take the place of those made of
the raw material. Balls made of fresh gutta-
percha are properly seasoned and at their
best about six months after being made and
painted, but care should be taken that they
are kept at an even and moderate tempera-
ture. If they are kept longer they are apt to
become brittle, and, when struck, the paint
will crack off.
There are many varieties of golf Clubs,
but those most commonly in use, and all that
are really necessary for the player, are as
follows : Driver, Brassy, Cleek, Mashie,
Iron, Niblick, and Putter.
All other golf clubs are either adaptations
or modifications of these.
i > GOLF
The driver and brassy are wooden clubs,
and the putter may also be of the same
material. The heads of the others are made
of malleable iron. The heads of wooden
clubs are usually made of well-seasoned
beech-wood. Apple-wood is also used, but
it is hard, and lacks the spring of beech-
wood. The best shafts, both for wooden
and iron clubs, are made of hickory, although
good shafts are also made of ash, lance
wood, greenheart, lemon tree, and a variety
of other woods. The best heads for clubs
are those in which the grain of the wood
runs down the neck and along the head.
If the grain runs across the neck, the club
is sure to break in course of play. The
finest shafts, though they are difficult to
obtain, are made of split hickory i.e.,
hickory which is split from the wood with
the grain, and not sawn off the plank.
The Driver The driver is the club used
from the tee if the hole be long, or if the
ball lie well, whenever it is desired to play
it as far as possible towards the hole. It
is a wooden club with a long powerful shaft.
The head should have plenty of wood in it
and the face or hitting part of the head
SET OF CLUBS.
14 GOI.F
should be fairly deep. It should not be
hollowed out in the middle, nor sloped
back when the club head is laid on the
ground.
The Brassy The head of the brassy is
smaller and shorter than that of the driver,
and the sole is shod with brass, to preserve
the wood when the ball has to be played
from stony or hard ground. The face of
the brassy is often " spooned " or sloped
backward, so as to raise the ball in the air,
and the smaller size of the head admits
of its being used when the ball lies in
a " cup " or indentation of the ground,
which the driver head would be too large
to enter.
The Cleek The cleek is an iron-headed
club with a straight and narrow face. The
shaft is longer than that of other iron clubs,
and it is chiefly used in playing full shots
through the green, when the ball lies badly,
or when a wooden club would take it too
far.
The Iron The iron has a deeper blade
or face than the cleek and is shorter in the
shaft. Irons are made' of various weights
and with various degrees of pitch or loft,
GOLF 15
and are chiefly used for approaching the
hole, or for lifting the ball over hazards or
out of sand.
The Mashie The mashie is shorter in
the head than the iron, and bears much the
same relation to it that the brassy does
to the driver. Like the iron, it is also made
of various weights and degrees of loft, for
particular strokes, and its uses are practically
the same.
The Niblick The niblick is used when
the ball lies badly in sand, mud, whins or
other hazards, or wherever it is necessary
to use ojeat f orce to extricate the ball from
o
its position. The head is round, small, and
very heavy.
The Putter The putter is used chiefly
after the ball has been played on to the
putting-green, to play the ball into the hole.
The head is made either of wood or metal.
It is more upright and the shaft is much
shorter than that of any other club, and
should be quite stiff. There are many
varieties of metal putters, no one of which
can be said to be better than another. The
chief points to be looked to in a putter, its
appearance and make being secondary con-
1 6 GOLF
siderations, are that it should be well balanced
and not too heavy.
A Bulger is a wooden driver or brassy
with a convex face instead of a straight one.
It is claimed by its admirers that a ball
struck on the heel or toe off this convex
face, will still go straight, unlike a ball simi-
larly struck from an ordinary club, which will
fly to the right or left respectively. If, how-
ever, the club be drawn in towards the body,
or thrown out from it in striking, as very
commonly happens, the convex face will con-
siderably augment the curve thus put upon
the ball, so that any advantage it may possess
in the one case is counterbalanced by its
disadvantage in the other. It is generally
conceded, however, that a ball, if struck
truly with the apex of the convexity, will
fly off quicker, and consequently travel far-
ther, from the bulger than from a straight-
faced club, where the area of contact is
larger.
Spoons, or wooden clubs of different
lengths, with their faces hollowed out at
various angles, are now almost obsolete.
The long spoon, mid spoon, short spoon
or barring spoon or baffy (the latter used
GOLF
for approaching the hole), are now rarely
seen, having been supplanted by the brassy,
and the modern irons and mashics.
METHODS OF PLAYING THE GAME.
The game is played by two or more
sides, each playing its own ball (Rule i)
and the object of each side is to hole the
ball in fewer strokes than the other.
There are two methods by which matches
can be played, viz. : Match Play and Medal
Play. In the former the players count by
holes, and in the latter by strokes.
Match Play In a match by holes the
usual number of players is two, and the
players begin at the first teeing -ground.
The ball is placed on a small elevation,
usually a pinch of sand, called a " tee."
The player who strikes first, the order of
starting being usually settled by agreement
or by toss, is said to have the " honour,"
and this he retains until his opponent wins
a hole. After both have struck from the
tee, the player whose ball is farthest from
the hole plays again, and so on until each
player has played his ball into the hole
i8 GOLF
The player who has done the hole in the
fewest strokes wins the hole, and if both
have taken the same number, the hole is
said to be " halved." At the end of the
round, the player who has won most holes
wins the match, and if both have won an
equal number, the match is said to be
"halved" or "drawn." It must be observed
in " Match Play," that the total number of
strokes taken to the various holes does not
directly affect the result, as for instance,
A may take 3 to the first hole and B 8,
but A only wins i hole. At the second
hole A may take 6 and B 5, which makes
them " all square " or "all even" in holes,
although A's total strokes are only 9, while
B's are 13.
Should one of the players, A, find himself
a number of holes to the good, equal to the
number remaining to be played, or, in other
words, in such a position that his opponent,
B, even by winning all the remaining holes,
could only tie with him, A is said to be
" dormy," and should A win the next hole,
the match is over, as he must eventually win
by i hole at least.
Supposing A were 3 holes to the good,
GOLF 19
with but 3 holes remaining to be played, he
would be " dormy three," and should he win
the next hole he would win by 4 holes and
2 to play.
The remaining holes in this case are only
two, called the " bye," and A would be said
to have won the " Long Match."
In Match Play the game is counted be-
tween the holes by the terms, " the odd,"
" the like," " 2 more," " i off 2," and so on.
Thus when A has played one more than B,
he is said to have played " the odd," and
when B plays he has played " the like." If
A has played two or three more strokes than
B, B then plays one off 2 or 3, as the case
may be, and so on.
A plays the "long odds" to B, when B
lies much nearer the hole in the same number
of strokes.
Foursome A match by holes is often
played by four players, two against two, and
is called a foursome. Only two balls are
used, the partners striking alternately, both
from the tees and throughout the green.
A stroke exacted as a penalty under any
of the rules does not affect the rotation
of play. For example, if A and B are
u 2
20 GOLF
partners, and A plays their ball into water,
from which it has to be lifted and dropped
under a penalty of one stroke, the next stroke
is played by B and not by A.
Three-ball Match Three-ball matches
are played by three players, each playing his
own ball, but if the play is by holes, the
scoring becomes somewhat difficult and
complicated, and, if the three players are all
playing against each other, it makes a better
game to count by strokes.
A good three-ball match can be made
when one of the players plays what is called
the "best ball" of the other two. This
means that in order to win a hole, he must
do it in fewer strokes than either of the other
two. It is obvious that in this form of match
the conceder of odds must be superior to
each of the other two players.
" Colonel Bogey " A method of scoring
by holes which has lately become popular
is for the players to compete against a score
supposed to have been made by " Colonel
Bogey." This gentleman is simply the com-
mittee's embodiment of a first-rate player,
and his score represents approximately
the number of strokes which ought to be
GOLF 21
taken to each hole without serious mistakes.
The players play each hole, not directly
against each other, but against the " Bogey '
score for the hole, and they win, lose, or
halve it with " Colonel Bogey," according
as their respective scores are better or worse
than or equal to his. The player who is most
holesuporleastholesdown to "Colonel Bogey"
at the end of the round wins the match.
Inter -Club Matches Inter-club
matches are usually played by teams of
varying numbers, representing the best
players in each club. The individual mem-
bers of each team play hole matches against
each other, the players being pitted against
each other, as far as possible, in order of
merit. At the end, the total number of
holes won by each side is added up, and the
club having a balance in its favour wins the
match. Another, and perhaps fairer, method
of judging the result, is to count the number
of individual matches won, instead of the
number of holes. This latter method sup-
plies a fairer test of the general strength of
the teams. By the former method it fre-
quently happens that the failure of one
member of the team brings defeat to his side
22 GOLF
For example, suppose two clubs play a
match with teams of six a-side with the
following result :
X 7
A .... 4 G . o
B .... i H....O
C . . . . o I .... 10
I) .... o J . . . 6
E .... 2 K . . . . o
F....I L....O
8 16
It will be seen that though the X team
won four of the six matches, they yet lost by
eight holes, although the Z team only gained
two matches of the six.
Club Tournaments are played on the
same principle as the Amateur Championship
competition. The competitors are drawn
against each other in couples, and at the
conclusion of the first round, the winner
of the first couple plays against the winner
of the second couple, for their places in the
third round, and so on until the final stage is
reached, the survivor of which is the ultimate
winner.
In arranging a club tournament or match
of this nature, it frequently happens that the
number of entries is such that, by drawing
GOLF 23
the couples together in the usual way, it will
not be possible to conclude the tournament
without having byes right up to the final
stages. This is rightly felt to be unfair,
and in such a case the Bagnall-Wild system
will ensure that no byes will occur after the
first round. 1
Medal Play. (See special rules for Medal
Play).
Medal Play is the method of playing a
match, by counting the number of strokes re-
quired for the whole round, without reference
to the number of individual holes lost or won.
The player who completes the round in the
fewest actual strokes is the winner, if it be a
scratch competition, and subject to his allow-
ance or penalty if it be played under handi-
cap. Ties are usually settled by playing
another round.
A record score for a green should be a
score played under medal play, and not, as
too often happens, a score compiled by a
player playing a hole match.
1 By this system, after the competitors have been
paired, the number of couples (counting the odd man, if
there be one, as a couple) is subtracted from the nearest
higher power of two, and the number forming the re-
mainder is the number of byes.
24 GOLF
Handicapping In order to enable an
inferior player to make an even match with a
superior, it is necessary that he should receive
points, and there are various ways of doing
this. In medal play, the weaker player
simply receives a given number of strokes,
which are deducted from his score at the end
of the round. This same method is the usual
one employed in match play, subject to
certain regulations dealt with later.
Another method is for one player to con-
cede the other a given number of strokes'
which may be used singly or together at any
hole or holes at the discretion of the receiver
of the odds. These strokes are known as
" bisques."
Still another method is for the better player
to allow the inferior a given number of holes
to start with. For example, A gives B three
holes of a start. B is then three holes up
with eighteen to play, if the match is one of
eighteen holes, but he has to play A level
throughout the entire round. A has thus to
beat B by four holes on the round to win the
match.
Medal Play For club competitions the
handicaps of the members are settled by a
GOLF 25
committee, who usually proceed as follows :
A score for the round is agreed upon as a
good scratch score, say 80, and each player
who is below scratch form receives strokes
sufficient to bring his average score down to
this figure. It is usual to compel a new
member of a club, or one whose play is not
known, to hand in three or more scores for
the information of the committee before he
is allowed to compete for a prize, and upon
the average of these scores the committee
o
decide what handicap he is to receive.
It is well to make the outside limit of all
handicaps in club competitions 18 strokes.
By this means overcrowding on competition
days is avoided, and the absurdity of having
a medal carried off by a beginner who is re-
ceiving, as sometimes happens, two strokes a
hole from the scratch player is done away with.
When a player wins a prize, if his score be
a good one, his handicap should be reduced
immediately by one or two strokes, as the
occasion may seem to demand, while, at the
same time, the form of the other players
must be watched by the committee, and their
handicaps adjusted from time to time, irre-
spective of their winning prizes.
2 6 GOLF
Should a scratch player be found to be
winning too many handicap prizes, the best
plan is to penalise him to the required extent
by adding to his actual score. Thus, if he is
penalised three strokes, and he hands in a
card of 79, his score would read 79 + 3 = 82.
This saves the necessity of raising the
handicaps of all the rest of the members.
Match Play Reference has before been
made to one or two methods of playing
matches under handicap, but the one usually
employed in club competitions is as
follows :
The handicaps for match play are based on
the number of strokes received in medal
play, but a smaller proportion is allowed in
match play. The reason for this has been
indicated above (see Match Play), viz., that
an inferior player may take eight to a hole
which his opponent does in three, but the
latter thereby only gains one hole, and not
five strokes, as he would in medal play.
It is impossible to settle absolutely what
the proportionate difference should be in the
handicaps of players for medal and match
play respectively, as these would vary with
every two players. For the purposes of club
GOLF
competitions, however, the table of match
play odds adopted by the Royal Wimbledon
Golf Club, and now in general use, which is
here appended, will be found to work fairly
satisfactorily.
Table of Match Play Odds.
In singles, three-fourths of difference be-
tween handicap allowances.
In foursomes, three-eighths of difference be-
tween the aggregate handicap allowances on
either side. A half-stroke or over, both in
singles and foursomes, shall count as one.
Smaller fractions count as nothing.
Strokes in
Strokes in
Strokes in
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2 3 GOLF
Thus, in a single, if A's handicap is 2, and
B's 9, the difference between them is 7, f- of
7 is 5^, or 5, as the quarter is not counted ;
5 is thus the number of strokes B receives
from A.
In a foursome, A's handicap is 15, and B's
4, making 19, and their opponents C and
D -f 2 and 14 respectively, making 12. The
difference between them is 7, f of / is 2, or
three strokes, which is the allowance A and
B receive.
The number of strokes being settled in
the above manner, they are to be taken,
should they exceed or be less than 18, at the
holes specified in the club table, in which it
is clearly set forth. If the strokes to be
given are 18, one is, of course, taken at each
hole. If more or less than 18, it is well to
have the table arranged, so that, as far as
possible, strokes should be taken at the more
difficult holes. It is usual to print this table
for easy reference on the back of the club
scoring card.
STYLE.
A sardonic observer has defined golf as
consisting in striking a small ball into a
GOLF 2y
succession of small holes with instruments
very ill adapted for the purpose. Though
this is but a limited definition, it is strictly
true as far as it goes. The golf club is not a
weapon of precision. The length of its shaft,
the shortness of the head, and its exceedingly
restricted hitting surface, the small size of
the ball, the inequalities of the ground, and
the state of the weather, are all matters that
make a successful stroke at golf most difficult
of accomplishment. Moreover, it is not
sufficient to hit the ball with the correct
strength and direction, wherever it lies, on
the proper part of its surface ; it must also
be hit with the proper part of the club. If
both these things are not done, the result,
unless favoured by luck, will be failure.
The part of the club used in accurate
striking is the centre of the face, i.e., half-
way between the sole and the crown of the
head, and half-way between the toe and the
heel. The ball is hit correctly with the
club when it is struck on the centre or a little
below, at the back of the ball ; and it is this
spot, and not the top of the ball, that the
aim should be taken from, and the eye kept
on, in the process of striking. These two
30 GOLF
points, then, must be brought in contact, if
the stroke is to be successful, no matter how
the ball lies, except in the case of sand, &c.,
which will be dealt with later ; and it is
towards the consistent and harmonious ac-
complishment of this object that a golfer's
style should be built up.
As the best players all exhibit differences
more or less marked in the matter of style, it
is impossible to say, except perhaps from the
aesthetic point of view, that any one style is
more correct than another. The measure of
the excellence of any particular style is its
consistent success, as consistent failure must
point to some radical defect in its constitu-
tion. It must further be observed that the
divergences in style amongst good players
are the result, not of any essential difference
in the force and accuracy with which the club
head ultimately reaches the ball, but in thj
manner in which the club is handled to attain
these objects. Individual idiosyncrasies of
stature, strength, and temperament are suffi-
cient to account for these differences; and the
beginner, in trying to develop a good style of
golf, will do well to observe the points where
the styles of good players will be found to
GOLF 3 ,
agree, and to pay no attention to the un-
important details where they differ. Style
may be said to cover the player's grip, or
grasp of the club, his stance, and his manner
of swinging.
Grip The grip of the club is a most
important matter, as on it depends largely
the command obtained over the club durino-
O
the process of swinging.
Until recently, when golf became popular
in England, there was, speaking generally,
but one recognised way of holding and swing-
ing a golf club. It is true that there were what
have been called " the opposing schools of St.
Andrews and Musselburgh," but the differ-
ence in their practice in this respect was
practically nil, and any other differences that
existed between them were the result either
of the natural rivalry between two great
golfing centres, or due to the different
character of the two greens, each of which
favoured the practice of certain kinds of shots
more than others. But of late years in
England a class of golfers has sprung up,
born and bred altogether outside the old
golfing traditions ; men whose traditions are
all of cricket, and to whom, perforce, a golf
32 GOLF
club is but a kind of bat wherewith to hit the
ball. With this view of the matter, these
players have developed a method of holding
the club and hitting the ball which, while it
has in a few cases met with success, is not
CRICKET GRIP.
one that can be recommended for the adop-
tion of beginners. The grip for this hitting
or cricketing method of using a golf club may
be dismissed shortly. It requires great
strength of hand, wrist, and forearm, and the
GOLF
33
club is gripped tightly with the palms of the
hand, the fingers holding firmly, the back of
the right hand being kept well under, as
shown in the illustration. For the proper or
swinging method of using a golf club, a
PROPER GRIP.
correct grip is of the first importance, and
the hold is not so much a grip as a grasp.
The club should be held firmly, but not
tightly, with the fingers of both hands equally,
the handle resting on the part of the palm
c
34 GOLF
just below the fingers, and not gripped with
the hollow of the palms. The hands should
touch each other, and the thumbs should lie
over the handle of the club in an oblique
direction, and not point down it. By this
means the club will have the requisite play in
the hands during the process of swinging ;
for it must be observed that, in swinging, the
palms open out as the club is swung back-
ward, so that it is gripped at the top of the
swing practically by the fingers alone. As
the club descends again, the palms close on
it, and the stroke is delivered with the hands
as shown in the illustration. To hold on
tightly with the same immovable grip all
through would check the swing, and prevent
the club describing the true arc in the air
which is essential to accurate and far hitting.
The grip, or the manner of it, should not
vary with different strokes, and as a matter
of style, a player should endeavour, as far as
possible, to make all the various strokes in
his play, in regard to grip, stance, and swing,
in the same way. His half shot should be a
part or segment of his full shot, his quarter
shot like part of his half shot, and his putt
but a smaller stroke in the same manner.
GOLF
35
Nothing looks worse or is more fatal to
good and consistent golf than for a player
to have a different grip and stance for his
various strokes ; to play, for example, his full
shots off the left leg and his quarter shots off
J. II. TAYLOR'S GRIP. TOP OF SWING.
the right, or to stand more or less erect for
his full strokes and to huddle himself into a
heap when playing an approach. The part
of the handle to be gripped will depend en-
tirely upon the manner of swinging adopted
c 2
36 GOLF
by the player. If the swing be long, more
command will be obtained over the club by
holding it near the top of the leather, if the
swing be short, or, if the hitting or cricketing
method be employed, it will be found that a
shorter grip will be the more serviceable.
Stance The position of the player's feet
relative to each other, their distance apart,
and the distance of the ball from each, de-
pend on a variety of considerations, and it is
impossible to lay down any hard and fast
rule in these respects. The best players ex-
hibit wide differences in the matter of stance,
but these are entirely due to differences in
stature, length ojf reach, and the length of
club used. As a general rule, however, it
will be found that the player has most com-
mand over the ball if he stand so that it lies
opposite him at a point nearer his left foot
than his right. The player should stand
easily, facing the ball, his legs apart, but not
too much straddled, with his toes slightly
pointed outwards, at such a distance from
the ball that he can reach it comfortably by
placing the club head behind the ball, and
by holding the handle opposite the middle
of his body, with the arms slightly bent
GOLF 37
outwards. His position should not be so
far away from the ball that he has to reach
forward in order to hit it, nor so close that his
motions are cramped in the act of striking it.
It is not of importance whether the feet are
placed in a line with the ball or whether the
right or left foot be slightly advanced, as
the best players exhibit all these variations.
The important matter is to take up, as far as
the nature of the ground and the length of
the club will permit, the same stance for each
stroke. If a player is constantly changing
his stance, it will have an absolutely fatal
effect on his play, and will be the most
fruitful cause of heeling, toeing, slicing and
topping the ball
Swing For all balls that lie fairly on tne
turf, tee-shots of course included, the player
will do well at the outset to think of the
course to be described in the air by his club
head during the stroke, as a circle or segment
of a circle. It must not be supposed that it
is meant that the club head must describe
with geometrical accuracy a segment of a
circle, if the stroke is to be a correct one ;
but simply that the course described by a
club head, when the club is truly swung,
3 8 GOLF
more nearly resembles a circle than any
other geometrical figure. With this view of
his swing clearly in his mind, it will be ob-
vious to the player that, to strike the ball
fairly, the club face must reach it when the
head is at the lowest point of its circumfer-
ence ; that is, after it has ceased to be de-
scribing its downward course and before it
has commenced its upward. If this be
not done, the stroke must be more or less
missed, and the player must so arrange his
stance as to ensure, if he swing accurately,
that the club face will find the ball in the
right place when it descends.
Addressing the Ball In taking aim
or addressing the ball, it is the almost in-
variable practice to pass or flourish the club
head a few times backwards and forwards
over the top of the ball, in the direction of the
proposed stroke. This is called the " waggle,"
and has for its object the freeing of the wrists
and arms, and of ensuring that the club lies
properly in the hands. In addition, it is
essential after the waggle to rest the club
head for a moment on the ground close
behind the ball, in the exact position in
which the player wishes it to return on the
GOLF
ball. To do otherwise, as, for example, to
place the toe or heel of the club opposite the
ball, to place the club on the ground alto-
gether clear of the ball, or not to ground it at
JOHN BALL, JUNR. FULL SWING.
all, is to court failure. If any of these eccen-
tricities be indulged in, the difficulties of
the stroke are enormously increased, as the
player, after, as it were, leaving the rails to
40 GOLF
start with, has to find them again before
reaching the ball, with consequent loss of
force and great risk of inaccuracy.
The ball having been addressed in accord-
ance with the foregoing instructions, the
waggle, which must not be unduly prolonged,
satisfactorily accomplished, and the aim
taken, the next consideration is the swing-
ing of the club.
As the swing is to be circular, the club
head must be made to pursue the same orbit
in the upward swing as in the downward, if
the maximum of force and accuracy is to be
attained, and all the motions of the hands,
wrists, arms, and legs used in the upward
swing will be simply reversed as the club
comes downwards.
In commencing the upward swing there
should be no swaying of the body to the
right side, nor should the swing of the club
be commenced by pulling the hands to the
right in advance of the club head, as this will
throw the swing out of gear at its commence-
ment. The club should be swept backwards
and gradually upwards evenly and without
jerk, the shoulders turning round as the club
rises till it is well over the neck or right
GOLF 41
shoulder. The wrist and elbows will bend,
following the upward motion of the club, and
the grip open, as before indicated, as the
JOHN BALL, JUNR. FULL SWING.
club reaches the top of the swing. The back-
bone must be kept as rigid as possible and
used as a pivot, round which the shoulders
must work in making the swing. The head
42 GOLF
must also be kept steady, and the eye firmly
fixed on the ball.
As the club is swung upwards the player
will gradually transfer his weight, which in
addressing the ball rests on both legs equally,
to the right leg, his left knee turning inwards
and his left heel rising in response to the
turning of his shoulders as the club goes
round. As has been said, the downward
swing is an exact reversal of all these mo-
tions. There should be no pause at the
top of the swing. The upward swing and
the downward are one act and should be
as harmonious and continuous as possible
in every respect. A great deal of nonsense
has been written and talked about the neces-
sity of swinging " slow-back," and the curious
thing is that the very players who are respon-
sible for the dictum are themselves notorious
for the rapidity with which they swing the
club both backwards and forwards. The
truth is that, so long as it returns on the ball
faster than it went up, and the balance is
maintained, the club cannot be taken too fast
back, This holds true with regard to all
golfing strokes. Even on the putting-green,
the backward movement of the club should be
GOLF 43
of the same nature as the forward, and the
ball should not be struck with any sudden or
jerky motion,
Up to a certain point, in a full shot, the
longer the swing, the better, as the larger the
circumference described by the club head the
greater momentum will it gather before it
reaches the ball ; but care must be taken
that the club is not swung so far round that
the balance is lost and force expended
uselessly in recovering it.
It must not be supposed that the stroke is
finished when the club head has reached the
ball, as both force and direction are imparted
by what is technically known as the " follow
through." The arms and shoulders following
the direction of the swing are, as it were,
thrown after the ball, and, the body turning
round as the club descends, its weight is also
thrown in, and the player at the end of the
swing is facing the direction in which the
ball has flown, the club going up over his
left shoulder. The player should have the
habit, so important is this " following
through," of regarding the ball merely as a
point through which the club head is to pass
in the course of its circuit, and not a point
44 GOLF
where it is to be arrested. Another im-
portant matter to be noticed is that the club
is swung at that angle round the shoulders
which gives the player most command over
it both for direction and distance. It must
not be swung at too upright an angle, which
will be found to prevent the player getting
the weight of his body into the stroke, nor
must it be swung too low round the body, as
this will cramp the player's motions and
prevent the free use of his arms. Con-
sistently with getting the weight of the body
into the swing, a high or perpendicular
swing is better than a low or more horizontal
one.
Various Kinds of " Lies " -When a
ball has been struck from the tee, the variety
of places where it may ultimately rest await-
ing the next stroke is infinite. If it be hit
fairly and on the proper line it should lie
fairly well, but if topped or hit to the right
or left of the course, " grief," in the shape of
a bunker or other hazard, will probably be
its portion.
The method of hitting a ball that lies
fairly on the turf, not being in any kind of
hollow, is the same as for the tee stroke.
GOLF 45
There is no necessity to hit the ground with
the club in striking the ball, as this can only
check the force of the blow and most
probably will have the effect of sending the
ball in a contrary direction to what was
intended. On the best of links, however,
there are numerous small indentations on
the sward, into which a golf ball frequently
rolls, and a lie of this kind demands for its
proper negotiation a considerable modification
of the method used in hitting a fair lying
ball. If the cup is only a slight one, the
driver is the club to use, but if it be at all
deep the brassy or cleek, with their slightly
sloped faces, will be found of more service.
The stand should be taken with the ball a
shade nearer the right foot than usual, and
the club gripped a little more firmly. It
will be obvious that were the swing used in
playing a fair lying ball to be employed, the
ball would be either partially topped and
driven into the far side of the cup, or the
ground would be hit by the club head before
it reached the ball, and its force checked.
To avoid this, it is necessary to play the
stroke with a more downward swing, so as to
slip the club face in between the back of the
46 GOLF
cup and the ball. The " follow-through " in
this case goes into the ground, but the ground
is not touched by the club head till the ball
is away. The slope on the face of the club,
if the ball be truly hit, will raise it over the
opposing slope of the cup, and a long shot
will be the result. This stroke is called a
"jerk."
A ball that lies fairly and not cupped on
a slope towards the hole is known as a
" hanging-ball," and should be played in the
same way, with the exception, of course, that
the club head does not strike the ground at
all after the ball has been hit.
It frequently happens that a ball rests
on a slope, either above or below the player.
In both cases the sole of the club, in taking
aim, must be grounded squarely with the
slope. If the ball lies above the player,
the club should be held shorter, and, if below
him, allowance must be made for pulling the
ball, which is in this case very difficult to
avoid.
If a ball lies in thick bents, rushes, or
long grass, a niblick or heavy mashie is
the best club to use, as their weight enables
them to cut through the grass better, and
GOLF
47
they present less surface for the grasses to
catch on than the longer faced clubs.
Balls in Sand When a ball lies in a
sand bunker the first consideration for the
player should be, " Shall I play it backwards,
or sideways on to the grass, or try to get
it over the face of the bunker nearer the
hole ? " and the nature of the lie, the width
of the bunker, and the distance and height of
the opposing face will decide his choice. If
the ball lie close under or near the opposing
face, he will have no alternative but to play
it out to one side or the other. Unless it be
very much buried, however, and if the face
to be lofted over is not too near, the ball
may be extricated in a forward direction.
A firm downward and slightly forward stroke
with a niblick or heavy mashie on the sand
immediately behind the ball, on which spot,
and not on the ball, the eye must be fixed,
will cause the ball to spout upward and
forward. Sometimes a ball is found actually
teed in a bunker, in which case, of course,
any club may be used that will take the ball
the required distance. Great care must be
taken with these shots, however, as to be
successful the ball must be picked off quite
48 GOLF
clean, and it must also be remembered that
it is not permissible to ground the club
before striking.
When the ground is hard, a ball may
sometimes lie close to, and in front of, a
steep hazard, such as a hedge or fence, in
a deep cup or heel mark. To loft such a
ball over the hazard looks a hopeless task,
but it may be very simply effected. It is
only necessary to strike it sharply downwards
against the opposing side of the cup with an
iron putter, when it will jump upwards and
forwards over the obstacle. The face of the
putter must be held downwards, and care
must be taken that the ball, in rebounding,
does not strike the player or his club.
Approaching and Putting The term
" approach " is applied to all shots with iron
clubs that are intended to reach the putting
green, and it need hardly be said that in
playing an approach the player's object
should be to lay the ball as near the hole as
possible, and with luck, to hole it.
For approach shots of from 80 to 150
yards, or thereby, it used to be common to
take what were known as half-shots with
various clubs. A half-shot is a shot played
GOLF
49
with a half-swing. This, however, is an
extremely difficult stroke to master or to
play consistently, and nowadays, when cleeks,
JOHN BALL, JUNR. APPROACHING.
mashies, and irons are made with all degrees
of loft, it is only an unnecessary complication
of the game. A full approach shot with
a lofted club is much more easy to play than
D
50 GOLF
a half-shot with a straighter faced club, for
the reason that in the former the player is
only concerned with hitting the ball clean
and straight, whereas in the latter, he has
also to think what strength he must use
to reach the required distance. Once the
art of hitting truly with an iron club is
acquired, full shots with either cleek, mashie,
or iron should present no difficulty, and it
is only when the approach is shorter, say
from 80 to 100 yards, and full strokes are no
longer possible, that difficulty will be experi-
enced. These shorter approaches are often
called quarter-shots, on the same principle
as half shots, to indicate that a quarter-swing
is used in playing them.
The stance for an approach shot is of the
same nature as for any other, though the ball
may be a little more opposite the middle of
the fork, and of course the shorter handle of
the iron club will necessitate a stance some-
what nearer the ball.
The player must stand firmly on his feet,
which, together with his legs, must on no
account be moved, and the shot is played
with the arms and wrists alone, the body
being kept as steady as possible.
GOLF 51
For wrist shots the player may permit
himself a more exuberant waggle than for
full shots, as this will ensure the wrists being
JOHN BALL, JUNR. APPROACHING.
kept free. The grip should be firm, so that
the muscles of the fore arm are taut, and the
ball should be struck sharply. In this stroke,
the right should be the master arm and the left
D ?
52 GOLF
only used to steady the club and help to bear
its weight. If there be much pitch on the
face of the iron or mashie, it will be almost
necessary to take a little turf in making a
quarter-stroke, even if the ball lie well, for
it will be found that, unless this is done, the
ball will be struck with the lower part of the
face, and consequently will not be lofted
sufficiently. Some of the best players in-
variably take a good deal of turf, no matter
how the ball lies, but it must be pointed out
that if this shot be played accurately, the
piece of turf cut out by the iron is the piec^
immediately under and in front of the ball,
and not the turf behind it, and that the ball
is struck, if not first, at any rate simultane-
ously with the ground. It is of course evident
that these shots can only be played where the
ground is more or less soft.
It is sometimes desirable to make the ball
stop as dead as possible after it reaches the
ground, as, for instance, if the hole be close
to the edge of a bunker ; and this may be
done in two ways, either by putting cut on
it or by imparting a back-spin to it which will
counteract its forward motion.
Cut is put on the ball by drawing the arms
GOLF 53
in, and the face of the club across the ball in
the act of striking. This has the effect of
putting a right-hand spin or slice on the ball,
and due allowance must be made for this in
deciding the line to the hole. Back- spin is
imparted in a similar way, but the swing is
of a downward nature, and the ball is struck
by the face of the iron as it crashes down into
the turf. Both these strokes are of extreme
difficulty, though the latter, as it permits the
player to play straight at the hole, is perhaps
the easier and more advisable. If the ground
o
be at all hard, and there are no hazards in-
tervening, it is always better to play an ap-
proach by running the ball up with a straight-
faced club, such as a cleek or putter. On
hard ground, apart from the difficulty of
hitting accurately with a lofting club, the ball
is much more likely to be deflected from its
course on alighting, than when it is run along
the ground. There is an idea that it is not
sportsmanlike to use a putter for these shots.
Nothing could be more ridiculous. The
object of an approach is to get the ball as
near the hole as possible, and the best
club to use is the one that will achieve this
most successfully and consistently.
54 GOLF
Putting It is commonly said that matches
are won or lost on the putting-green, and
experience certainly bears out the remark.
It will not be contended that putting is more
difficult than any other branch of the game,
for there can be no doubt that, as a general
rule, between good and bad players is there
less difference on the putting-green than any-
where else. But probably the explanation
lies in the fact that there is no part of his
game in which a player goes off more com-
pletely than his putting.
He will consistently hole out two-yard putts
one day, and the next as persistently miss
those of a foot, and be quite unable to account
for his failure.
Without an " infinite capacity for taking
pains " a man will never be a good putter. A
player cannot begin to study his putt too
soon. Even for the approach shot, unless it
is a very long one, he should first of all go
forward and examine the ground, so as to
select the spot for his ball to pitch on that
will give him the best putt for the hole. The
ball having been played on to the putting-
green, if it is still some yards from the hole,
it is well, before approaching the ball, to walk
GOLF
55
first to the hole and examine the geography
in its immediate neighbourhood. A putting-
green is not flat like a billiard table, and even
JOHN BALL, JUNR. PUTTING.
the best of them have their differences of
surface, one part being keen and smooth, and
another stiff and rough, according to the
nature of the grass. Then there are the un-
56 GOLF
dulations and slopes of the ground which will
have their effect on the ball as it travels to-
wards the hole. But more particularly, in a
long putt, the ball will be travelling slowest,
if it has strength to reach the hole, in the
last yard or so, and it will consequently be
then that it will be most affected by any in-
equalities or irregularities on the green. The
line that the player will ultimately select to
play the ball at the hole will therefore be
determined chiefly by the character of this
last crucial yard or thereby, and those few
feet of turf ought to be the first object of his
consideration in studying a putt. When this
examination has been made, the player
should walk slowly to his ball, removing any
loose obstacles from the line likely to deflect
it from its course, and taking a mental note of
any other facts likely to influence it, but
bearing in mind that the higher rate of speed
at which the ball will be travelling at its
start, will minimise considerably any inequali-
ties of the green that may there exist.
Having arrived at his ball, the player
should get behind it and survey the ground
to be traversed from that position ; for it is
from the ball to the hole that the line must
GOLF 57
be taken, and not from the hole to the ball.
The information gathered from his examina-
J. II. TAYLOR. PUTTING.
tion of the ground near the hole is only to be
applied to modify his opinion of the line after
5 8 GOLF
he has arrived at his ball. If he has also
studied the line from the hole to the ball, he
will most probably only confuse his mind
with two quite distinct lines. He will now
determine the strength with which it will be
necessary to hit the ball, to enable it to
reach the hole, by travelling on the selected
line, and thereafter address himself to the
ball.
The stance for putting, as before indicated,
should be of the same nature as for other
strokes, except that as the putter is more up-
right and shorter in the shaft than other
clubs, it will be necessary to stand more over
the ball. The player should not stoop low
over his putt nor straddle his legs too much.
It is a good and useful plan to place the head
of the putter in front of the ball, and then
behind it, searching in this manner to get the
head of the putter absolutely at right-angles
to the projected line of the putt, but in doing
this, care must be taken that the ball be not
moved. In a long putt, if there be any
point half or three-quarters way to the hole,
on the direct line, which is marked by a daisy
or can otherwise be remarked from the ball,
it will simplify matters very much if the
GOLF 59
player plays his ball for that point, giving the
ball, of course, the requisite strength to reach
the hole.
The club being firmly grasped in the usual
way, the aim taken, and the eye firmly fixed
on the back of the ball, it should not be
allowed to wander off again to the hole before
striking, but the club should immediately be
drawn backwards, and returned on the ball
at the same angle, and with the required
strength. Great care must be taken to aim
with the very centre of the putter. A ball
struck on the toe or heel of the club will not
run straight any distance.
If the green be at all rough, a putter with
its face slightly set back will be found to keep
the ball in a truer course. With an abso-
lutely perpendicular face there is a tendency,
unless the green be very smooth, for the ball
to be deflected at its start. The lofted face
enables the player to start the ball straight,
as it will be slightly lofted for the first foot or
so. In shorter putts, to which the line is
straight, the ball should be played firmly for
the back of the hole. If the player aims at
the near lip, the chances are that the ball
either " lingers shivering on the brink " and
60 GOLF
does not go in, or rolls off to one side or the
other before reaching.
To take too long over a putt is as grave an
error as to hurry it. Everything, however,
should be done carefully and deliberately,
and the player, having made up his mind
as to the strength and direction, should
hit the ball confidently, always bearing in
mind the putter's golden maxim, " Never
up, never in."
It sometimes happens that the player who
is furthest from the hole plays his ball, which
does not go in, but gets between the hole and
his opponent's ball. If it rests less than six
inches from the other's ball, it has to be lifted
till the other is played. If more than six
inches, it is called a " Stymie," and there are
two ways of negotiating it, viz., either by
playing round the obstructing ball, or by
lofting over it. To play round it, unless
favoured by the lie of the ground, is ex-
tremely difficult, and must be done by putting
on spin or cut, either with the toe or heel of
the putter. The lofting shot is also a very
delicate stroke. It must be played with a
firm wrist, from a well-lofted mashie or iron,
and not too strongly.
GOLF 61
Topping, Duffing, Sclaffing, Heeling,
Toeing, Pulling, and Slicing Having
considered heretofore the various ways of
playing golf strokes correctly, it will now be
necessary to deal with the various vices or
faults into which players fall. With the ex-
ception of failing to hit the ball at all, or
" missing the globe," as it is termed, the
above list forms a complete catalogue of the
seven deadly golfing sins.
Topping, as its name implies, consists in
striking the ball on the top, with the lower
edge of the club face, whereby an ugly gash
is inflicted on the ball's surface, and it travels
along the ground but a short distance. This
is one of the most distressing maladies from
which the golfer's game suffers, and its causes
may be manifold. A firm determination to
keep the eye on the back of the ball, and not
on the top, and a little attention to stance,
will usually correct it.
Duffing The verb "to duff" does not
mean, as might at first appear probable, to
play as a " duffer " or hopelessly bad player,
but simply to hit the ground first, behind the
ball, so that the ball is struck with the upper
edge of the face, and sent only a short way into
62 GOLF
the air. Here, again, a little attention to the
stance will probably correct the fault, as
duffing is very frequently caused by the
player having his ball too near his right foot.
It may also be caused by the player un-
consciously ducking his body in the act of
striking.
Sclaffing Sclaffing is also the result of
striking the ground behind the ball, but in
this case the club head skids more over the
surface of the ground and the ball may after
all be hit perfectly truly and with little
diminution of force. Sometimes a sclaffed
ball travels a very long distance, as the club
head comes off the ground in an upward
direction, and seems to impart a forward
spin to the ball, which takes great effect as
soon as the ball touches the ground. Sclaff-
ing, however, is a vice like duffing or topping,
and must be corrected if a golfer's game is
to become good and steady.
The terms "Heeling" and "Toeing"
explain themselves, meaning as they do
simply to hit the ball with the heel or near
part of the face, or the toe or farther part.
As the weight of the head is concentrated
immediately behind the centre of the face,
GOLF 63
a ball struck anywhere outside this point will
not travel so far as it would if hit exactly
with the centre. If hit on the heel, the ball
has a tendency to fly off to the right, and if
on the toe, to the left. The usual cause of
heeling is that the player is standing too
near his ball, and of toeing, that he is too
far away. If attention is paid to the stance,
and if the player is careful to place the centre
of the club face opposite his ball in address-
ing it, and before swinging, the tendency to
heel or toe will probably disappear. As
before pointed out, this correct aiming is a
most important matter. It is quite common
to see players who have contracted the habit
of heeling the ball, endeavouring to cure it,
by aiming with the toe, and vice versa, in
the hope that a compromise may be effected.
The result of this can only be, that the
player gets rid of one fault to contract the
other, and however badly he may be play-
ing, the golfer should never aim with any
part of the face, except the part he desires
to hit the ball with.
Slicing A ball is sliced, when the club
face is drawn more or less across it, by the
player pulling his arms in towards him as the
64 GOLF
club descends, thereby imparting a right-
hand spin to the ball, which robs it of much
of its force and causes it to curl to the right.
Though the cause of slicing is obvious, it is
a very difficult vice to eradicate. It can only
be cured by earnest endeavours to " follow
through," by throwing the arms well out
after the ball, and not checking the down-
ward swing. It should be remembered that
it is perfectly possible to slice with the toe as
well as the heel, or indeed with any part of
the club face.
Pulling A pulled ball is one hit on the
toe of the club, the left arm being pulled
round at the finish of the swing, and the
head of the club slightly hooked inward.
The ball flies off with a left-hand curve on
it, and sometimes travels a great distance.
Pulling is not necessarily a vice, as many
players habitually play for it. If the wind
be blowing across the course from right to
left, and a little behind the player, a pulled
ball, if it be not hit too much on the toe, will
travel farther than a clean hit one. The
player plays his ball well to the right of the
line, and more or less into the wind. As the
ball begins to descend, the pull will take
GOLF 65
effect, and the ball will turn inwards towards
the hole, so that the wind will blow directly
behind it. It will thus travel farther than if
played direct for the hole, as in that case the
wind would be blowing across it during the
whole course of its flight. Unless intention-
ally played for, however, pulling is as serious
a vice as heeling, and both will land the
player in endless difficulties.
Though we have thus briefly enumerated
the chief forms of golfing error, and indicated
a few of their most common sources, it is an
impossible task to diagnose accurately every
case of golfing disease or to prescribe its
proper remedy. There are so many ways of
playing a stroke wrongly. The machinery
called into operation in a golfing stroke is so
complex, both in its parts and in its working,
that it defies analysis, and only the most
general treatment can be prescribed. There
are some cases so bad, by reason of organic
disease of style, that they are beyond the
reach of cure, and the golfing physician can
only administer opiates to ease the agony of
the sufferer.
If a player, however, who has grasped the
correct theory of the golfing stroke, goes
66 GOLF
completely off his game, and has been play-
ing pretty constantly for some time, a few
days of rest will probably restore his form.
Some players get " stale," as it is termed,
after a week of play, and others require many
days of steady practice before they get into
their game.
Players after a time get to know their own
golfing constitutions, and in golf, as in the
other affairs of life, a knowledge of one's self
is of more value than all the nostrums of
philosophy.
ETIQUETTE OF GOLF.
The following customs belong to the es-
tablished Etiquette of Golf and should be
observed by all players :
1. No player, caddie, or onlooker should
move or talk during a stroke.
Note. When a stroke is being played,
no person should move or stand behind
the line of fire. The proper place for
all onlookers is either behind the
player's back at a safe distance or
directly opposite him as he addresses
the ball.
2. No player should play from the tee
GOLF 67
until the party in front have played their
second strokes and are out of range, nor play
to the putting-green till the party in front
have holed out and moved away.
3. The player who leads from the tee
should be allowed to play before his opponent
tees his ball.
Note. The object of this is to leave the
player unhampered in his choice of tee
and unobstructed in his movements by
his opponent and his caddy. The
player who leads from the tee, after
playing his stroke, should at once step
aside and remain quiet until his oppo-
nent has in turn teed and struck off.
In playing through the green, a player
should take care that he does not get
in front of, or obstruct in any way,
his opponent's play.
4. Players who have holed out should not
try their putts over again when other players
are following them.
5. Players looking for a lost ball must
allow any other match coming up to pass
them.
Note. After giving permission for a
match to pass, players should not play
E 2
63 GOLF
again, but remain where they are until
o /
the match has passed and gone out of
range.
6. A party playing three or more balls
must allow a two-ball match to pass them.
Note. A player playing by himself has
no status and must allow all matches
to pass him if required.
7. A party playing a shorter round must
allow a two-ball match playing the whole
round to pass them.
8. A player should not putt at the hole
when the flag is in it.
Note. A player should be careful, in
studying his putt, that he does not
walk across or along the line of his
putt. The penalty for this is the loss
of the hole. (See Rule 34.)
9. The reckoning of the 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 the
holes is kept by the terms, so many " holes
up " or " all even," and so many " to play."
10. Turf cut or displaced by a stroke in
playing should be at once replaced.
GARDEN G. SMITH,
GOLF 69
LADIES' GOLF.
ONE of the earliest references to Ladies'
Golf (if we exclude the probably apocryphal
story of Mary Queen of Scots as a golfer)
says that in the eighteenth century " the
women of Musselburgh often played Golf
on holidays." And on the minutes of the
Musselburgh Club is recorded, in 1810, the
decision to present prizes ("a new creel, a
shawl, and two silk handkerchiefs "), to be
played for by the fish-wives of the town.
Leaving these earlier records, we find that
some of the oldest Ladies' Golf Clubs are the
Westward Ho ! Club, which was originally
founded in 1868 and reconstituted in 1893 5
the London Scottish, started in 1872 and
reconstituted (as the Wimbledon Ladies' Golf
Club) in 1890; the Pau Club, founded in
1874 ; and the Lytham and St. Anne's, in
1886. Several other clubs, notably the Royal
Eastbourne, Blackheath, Ashdown Forest,
70 GOLF
and the Royal Belfast came into existence
within the years 18871889. The Ladies'
Links at St. Andrews is only a putting course,
and this club can hardly be included among
serious golf clubs.
The progress of ladies' golf can only be
appreciated by those who have carefully
watched the scores returned in club competi-
tions, the records of inter-club matches, the
championships, and, above all, the extra-
ordinary improvement in style displayed by
ladies on the links. This progress has only
been attained by infinite perseverance and
pluck, and in the face of many adverse
criticisms by captious golfers of the other
sex. At this point \ve may say, without
undue conceit, that the form displayed in the
Ladies' Championship this year (1897) at
Gullane has done much to dispel the doubt,
still lingering in the minds of old-fashioned
golfers, of the ability of women to play golf
well.
In many clubs where six or seven years
ago there were only two or three good
players, there are now often eight or ten,
whose freedom and accuracy of play would
hold their own on any links. As every
GOLF 71
year the tendency is to lengthen ladies'
links, giving them more brassy and cleek
play through the green, ladies' golf is sure
to improve still more. This will make them
stronger players, and induce greater steadi-
ness of play, with those qualities of endurance
and grit so necessary for a successful golfer.
Even now, all the best lady-golfers play
regularly over the full men's courses, where,
in almost every instance, they are welcomed
and encouraged by the members.
This desire of scratch lady-players for a
longer course and one of eighteen holes is
perfectly natural ; for they know that if they
are given longer carries, and many and more
difficult' hazards to negotiate, they will, with
practice and determination, surmount these
obstacles, and become longer drivers and
more skilful in their approaching. Ladies
will not be satisfied now with the drive from
the tee and the short approach shot that have
hitherto been their portion. True, there are
still very few eighteen-hole courses, and not
many long ladies' links, but it is safe to
predict that this will not be the case a few
years hence. The smallness of the greens
on ladies' links is also a very real grievance,
72 GOLF
as the approach - putt becomes almost an
unknown quantity. There is certainly too
great an element of luck in approaching on
to a small green, as any inequality in the sur-
rounding ground may unduly punish a good
approach, which, if played to a really large
green, would pitch on it, and, of course, stay-
there.
In speaking of the leading qualities of
ladies' play, one does not intend to draw any
comparison with that of men, but simply to
discuss as shortly as possible the points in
which the average player shines or fails.
So, while freely acknowledging her many
excellent qualities, one is bound to say that
it is more often in the lack of nerve or the
fault of judgment, than in any actual defect
of play, that her mistakes are made. And
yet a woman's natural quickness of perception
and rapidity of thought should stand her in
good stead at critical moments in a match.
Having found this one fault, it is difficult
to speak too highly of the quality of a really
scratch lady-golfer's play. Her easy full-
swing in driving, her accurate approaching,
and her marvellous putting compel admira-
tion from the coldest critic. Perhaps the
GOLF 73
most striking feature of her play is her
accuracy. She may not be an enormously
long driver, but the ball is driven as straight
as a die, and no distance is wasted by driving
out of the course. And this straightness is
what scores so heavily in her favour in the
long run. For where a long and somewhat
wild driver may drive some excellent balls
from the tee, or through the green, many
of the other drives will probably land the
ball in hopeless trouble, far out of the course.
Her accuracy in approaching is remarkable,
whether in the short chop stroke on to the
green, or in the far prettier and more scien-
tific wrist shot. It is this neatly played wrist
stroke which puts the hall-mark of excellence
on any golfer. Her accuracy on the green is
often wonderful, and perhaps needs less com-
ment than other points of her game. But
here it must frankly be confessed that, on
the green, many indifferent lady players, who
at other points of the game take a very
humble position, come well to the front, and
putt with consistent excellence. Both in the
long approach putt from the far edge of the
green, and also in the deadly yard-long putt
which is the undoing of so many players, she
74 GOLF
holds her own with the best. Indeed, one is
often much disconcerted by the play on the
green of a lady who has excited sincere pity-
by her efforts to reach it.
The golf-clubs used by ladies are in almost
every case rather lighter in weight than men's
clubs, and, of course, shorter, in proportion to
the height of the player. All good pro-
fessionals advise ladies to use light clubs,
especially light drivers and brassies, and in
very many instances this advice is followed
with complete success.
In these up-to-date times it is hardly
necessary to say anything about the suitable
dress for lady golfers. For though at any
open meeting one still sees a few grotesque
figures, either aping man's attire, or limply
trailing about in frilled petticoats and flower-
trimmed hats, the bulk of the players are
neatly and serviceably dressed in plain
tailor-made coats and skirts, sailor-hats, and
strong nailed boots.
With the numerous golfers' annuals,
guides, &c., giving particulars of the eighty
or ninety ladies' golf clubs in the United
Kingdom (fifty-four of which are in England),
it is, perhaps, rather invidious to single out
GOLF 75
any club for special notice. It is enough to
say that, of the London clubs, Prince's
(Mitcham) is perhaps the best, or very soon
will be so, when the new eighteen-hole
course has been put into thorough order.
Of the provincial clubs, the West Lancashire
(eighteen holes) is quite one of the best.
Other good links are the Ashdown Forest,
which is a very sporting course of nine holes,
and immensely improved lately ; the Mid-
Surrey, in Richmond Park, which is a long
course, but somewhat monotonous ; and
Wimbledon, which is short and tricky, and
most unhappily hedged in by the restrictions
of the Conservators of the Common.
In the management of their club affairs
women succeed all along the line. Many
clubs that one could name are excellently
carried on, the tact, energy, and resource
displayed by the secretaries being truly
admirable. It takes all those qualities, and
more, successfully to carry through the work
of a large open meeting of players from all
parts, to say nothing of the everyday work
of the club itself. Very careful financing is
also needed in managing the funds of
ladies' clubs, as in many cases the
75 GOU<
subscription is a moderate, not to say an
insignificant, one, and much is expected by
the members in the up-keep of the green,
and in many other ways.
The Ladies' Golf Union, which was
founded in 1893, has done much in bringing
together the various clubs belonging to it,
and in trying to institute some approximately
uniform system of handicapping. To the
Union's excellent hon. secretary, Miss
Pearson, is due practically all its success.
The Union also inaugurated the Ladies'
Championship, which was held first at
Lytham and St. Anne's in 1893; tnen at
Littlestone-on-Sea in 1894; at Portrush in
1895 ! at Hoylake in 1896, and at Gullane
(N.B) in 1897. The winners of their
respective years were, in 1893, ^94, and
1895, Lady Margaret Scott ; in 1896, Miss
Pascoe ; and in 1897, Miss E. C. Orr. This
year's championship was of very special
interest for several reasons. The entries
(over 100) were more numerous than ever
before ; the championship was held for the
first time in Scotland ; and last, but certainly
not least, the Scotch representatives came
splendidly to the front.
GOLF 77
If women will only strive to keep up the
steady progress in the royal and ancient
game which they have shown during the last
few years, they may face their golfing fate
with a light heart.
LOUIE MACKERN.
78 GOI.F
GLOSSARY
Addressing the ball The player's method of
standing and handling the club preparatory to striking
the ball.
All Even An expression used to describe the
position or result of a match when neither side has
gained any advantage. See HALVED.
All Square Synonymous with All Even,
Approach The stroke by which the ball is played
on to the putting green.
Baff To play a ball high into the air with a back-
ward spin.
Baffing Spoon or Baffy A short wooden club
with a deeply lofted face, formerly used for playing
approaches.
Bents The long wiry grasses found on sea-shore
links.
Bisque A point taken by the receiver of odds at
any period during the game.
Blind Hole or Hazard A Blind hole is one of
which the putting-green is not visible to the player as he
plays his shot. A Blind hazard is also a hazard which is
hidden from his view.
Bogey See p. 20. A method of scoring by holes
against an imaginary opponent. The number of strokes
which ought to be taken to each hole without serious
mistakes.
GOLF 73
Bone The piece of horn, vulcanite, or other material
let into the sole of wooden clubs to protect the lower
edge of the face.
Borrow To play a ball up a hill or slope, instead of
straight across it, so that the slope will cause the ball to
return towards the hole.
Brassey A wooden club soled with brass.
Break Club Any hard object lying near the ball,
which might break the club in the act of striking.
Bulger A convex-faced club.
Bunker Originally a natural sand hole on the golf
course. Now used also of artificially made hazards with
built-up faces.
Bye The hole or holes of the stipulated course that
remain unplayed, after a match is finished.
Caddie The boy or man who carries the players'
clubs, tees his ball, and from whom he takes advice.
Carry The distance which a ball travels from the
club face to the spot where it first alights on the ground.
Cleek An iron club with a long and narrow face
used for long shots through the green when a ball lies
badly or when a wooden club would take it too far.
Club Any legitimate implement used in striking the
ball.
Course The ground within the limits of which the
game is played.
Cup Any small indentation on the ground.
Cut To put right-hand or backward spin on the ball
so as to check its rolling forward after its fall.
Dead A ball is said to lie dead when it lies so near
the hole that the player is certain to hole it in the next
So GOLF
stroke. A ball is also said to " fall dead " when it does
not roll after reaching the ground.
Divot The slice of turf cut out by the club in playing
a stroke.
Dormy A player is said to be dormy when he is as
many holes up as there remain to be played, so that he
cannot be beaten, and at the worst must halve the
match.
Down A player is said to be down when his oppo-
nent has one or more holes than he has.
Draw Synonymous with Pull.
Driver The wooden clubs used for playing the
longest strokes.
Duff To hit the ground so far or so deep behind
the ball that the ball only travels a short distance.
Face The hitting surface of a club head.
Fog Thick mossy grass.
Follow-through The forward following of the club
after hitting the ball.
Foozle Any thoroughly bad stroke short of missing
the ball altogether.
Fore ! The word shouted by the golfer when about
to strike to give warning to parties in front
Fore-caddie The boy who precedes the players to
show the line to the hole and to mark where the balls
lie.
Full shot A shot played with a full swing, and
intended to travel as far as possible.
Gobble A ball played too hard at the hole which
nevertheless goes in.
GOLF 8 i
Green Synonymous with Links or Course ; also
used as a contraction for putting-green.
Grief When a player has played his ball into a
hazard of any description he is said to be in grief.
Grip First, the upper part of the club shaft gripped
by the player ; second, the manner of gripping the club ;
third, a narrow ditch on the course used as a drain.
Gutty A gutta-percha golf ball.
Half-one A handicap of one stroke at every second
hole.
Half shot -A shot played with a half swing, and not
intended to go as far as a full shot.
Halved A halved hole is one to which both sides
have taken the same number of strokes. A match is
halved when no advantage has been gained on either
side.
Hanging ball A ball which lies on a downward
slope in the direction in which it has to be driven.
Hazard Any kind of difficulty, not being the
ordinary grass of the course, into which a golf ball may
get, with the exceptions mentioned in Rule 15.
Heel First, the part of the face or hitting surface of
the club head nearest the shaft ; second, to hit the ball
with the heel so as to cause it to fly to the right.
Hole First, the entire space of ground between the
teeing ground and the hole ; second, the hole itself ;
third, to play the ball into the hole.
Hole High A ball is said to be hole high when it
has been played as far as the hole, but not necessarily
on to the putting-green.
Home A ball is said to be home when it is played
on to the putting-green from a distance.
F
82 GOLF
Honour The privilege of playing first from the tee.
Hook To pull the ball round to the left with the toe
of the club. Synonymous with Pull and Draw.
Horn See BONE.
Hose The Hose or socket is that part of the head
of an iron club into which the shaft is fitted.
Iron A club with an iron head, used chiefly for
approaching the hole and for lifting the ball over
obstacles.
Jerk To play a ball so that the club head strikes
into the ground after hitting the ball.
Lie The position of a ball anywhere on the course
after it has been played.
Lift To take a ball out of a hazard and drop it or
tee it according to the Rules.
Like To play the like at a given hole is to play a
stroke which equalises the number played by the opposite
side.
Links The ground on which the game is played.
Loft To raise a ball into the air.
Lofter An iron club used to loft the ball.
Made A player is said to be made when he is within
a full shot of the green.
Mashie An iron club which is shorter in the head
than the iron.
Match play The method of playing a game of golf
by counting the number of holes gained or lost by each
side.
Medal play The method of playing a game of golf
by counting the number of strokes taken to the round by
each side.
GOLF 83
Miss the globe An expression used to describe
the failure of a player to move the ball at all, after
striking at it.
Neck -The curved part of the head next the shaft.
Niblick An iron club with a round, small, and very
heavy head, used when great force is necessary to extract
a ball from its position.
Nose -The end of the head farthest from the shaft.
Odds To play the odds, at a given hole, is to play
one stroke more than the opposite side.
One off two, one off three, &c. When the op-
posite side has played two or three strokes more, the
other side plays " one off two " or " one off three " as
the case may be.
Par The par of a hole or round is the total number
of strokes which should be required for them without
mistakes.
Press To put an extra amount of force into the
swing.
Pull Synonymous with Draw or Hook.
Putt A stroke played with a putter on the putting-
green with the object of playing the ball into the hole.
Putter A club with either a wooden or metal head,
used on the putting-green to play the ball into the hole.
Putty A golf-ball made of composition.
Quarter shot A shot played with a quarter swing
from the wrists.
Round A term used to describe a game over the
whole course.
F 2
84 GOLF
Run First, the distance a ball travels after alighting
on the ground ; second, to make the ball travel along
the ground instead of lofting it.
Scare The part of the c'ub where the head and
shaft are joined.
Sclaff To scrape the surface of the ground with the
sole of the club head before striking the ball.
Scratch player A good player, who receives
neither handicap nor penalty.
Set The player's equipment of clubs.
Shaft The handle of the club.
Short game Approaching and putting.
Slice To draw the face of the club across the ball
so that it curves to the right.
Socket See HOSE.
Sole The flat part of the club-head which rests on
the ground.
Spoon A wooden club with a lofted face.
Spring The elasticity of the club shaft.
Stance The position of the player's feet in playing
a stroke.
Steal A long putt holed unexpectedly.
Stymie A stymie occurs on the putting-green when
one of the balls lies directly in front of the other on
the line to the hole, and the balls are more than six
inches apart
Swing The method in which the club is swung in
the act of striking.
Swipe A full shot.
GOLF 85
Tee The small elevation, usually a pinch of sand,
from which the ball is struck for the first stroke to each
hole.
Teeing-ground The marked out space from which
the ball must be struck at the commencement of each
hole.
Third A handicap of one stroke given at every
third hole.
Toe Synonymous with Nose.
Top To hit the ball above its centre.
Up A player is said to be up when he has gained
one or more holes upon his opponent.
Wrist shot A short stroke played with the wrists.
GARDEN G. SMITH.
86 GOLF
RULES.
1. The Game of Golf is played by two or more sides,
each playing its own ball. A side may consist of one or
more persons.
2. The game consists in each side playing a ball
from a tee into a hole by successive strokes, and the
hole is won by the side holing its ball in the fewest
strokes, except as otherwise provided for in the rules. If
two sides hole out in the same number of strokes, the
hole is halved.
3. The teeing ground shall be indicated by two marks
placed in a line at right angles to the course, and the
player shall not tee in front of, nor on either side of,
these marks, nor more than two club lengths behind
them. A ball played from outside the limits of the
teeing ground, as thus defined, may be recalled by the
opposite side.
The hole shall be 4^ inches in diameter, and at least
4 inches deep.
4. The ball must be fairly struck at, and not pushed,
scraped, or spooned, under penalty of the loss of the
hole. Any movement of the club which is intended to
strike the ball is a stroke.
GOLF 87
5. The game commences by each side playing a ball
from the first teeing ground. In a match with two or
more on a side, the partners shall strike off alternately
from the tees, and shall strike alternately during the play
of the hole.
The players who are to strike against each other shall
be named at starting, and shall continue in the same
order during the match.
The player who shall play first on each side shall be
named by his own side.
In case of failure to agree, it shall be settled by lot or
toss which side shall have the option of leading.
6. If a player shall play when his partner should have
done so, his side shall lose the hole, except in the case of
the tee shot, when the stroke shall be recalled at the
option of the opponents.
7. The side winning a hole shall lead in starting for
the next hole, and may recall the opponent's stroke
should he play out of order. This privilege is called the
" honour." On starting for a new match, the winner
of the long match in the previous round is entitled to
the " honour." Should the first match have been halved,
the winner of the last hole gained is entitled to the
" honour."
8. One round of the Links generally 18 holes is a
match, unless otherwise agreed upon. The match is
won by the side which gets more holes ahead than there
remain holes to be played, or by the side winning the
last hole when the match was all even at the second last
hole. If both sides have won the same number, it is a
halved match.
88 GOLF
9. After the balls are struck from the tee, the ball
furthest from the hole to which the parties are play-
ing shall be played first, except as otherwise provided
for in the rules. Should the wrong side play first,
the opponent may recall the stroke before his side has
played.
10. Unless with the opponent's consent, a ball struck
from the tee shall not be changed, touched, or moved
before the hole is played out, under the penalty of one
stroke, except as otherwise provided for in the rules.
1 1. In playing through the green, all loose impediments,
within a club length of a ball which is not lying in or
touching a hazard, may be removed, but loose impedi-
ments which are more than a club length from the ball
shall not be removed under the penalty of one stroke.
12. Before striking at the ball, the player shall not
move, bend, or 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, and in soling his
club to address the ball, under the penalty of the loss of
the hole, except as provided for in Rule 18.
13. A ball stuck fast in wet ground or sand may be
taken out and replaced loosely in the hole which it has
made.
14. When a ball lies in or touches a hazard, the club
shall not touch the ground, nor shall anything be touched
or moved before the player strikes at the ball, except
that the player may place his feet firmly on the ground
for the purpose of addressing the ball, under the penalty
GOLF 89
of the loss of the hole. But if in the backward or in the
downward swing, any grass, bent, whin, or other grow-
ing substance, or the side of a bunker, a wall, paling, or
other immovable substance be touched, no penalty shall
be incurred.
1 5. A " hazard " shall be any bunker of whatever
nature : water, sand, loose earth, mole hills, paths,
roads or railways, whins, bushes, rushes, rabbit scrapes,
fences, ditches, or anything which is not the ordinary
green of the course, except sand blown on to the grass
by wind, or sprinkled on grass for the preservation of
the Links, or snow or ice, or bare patches on the
course.
1 6. A player or a player's caddie shall not press down
or remove any irregularities of surface near the ball,
except at the teeing ground, under the penalty of the
loss of the hole.
17. If any vessel, wheelbarrow, tool, roller, grass-
cutter, box, or other similar obstruction has been placed
upon the course, such obstruction may be removed. A
ball lying on or touching such obstruction, or on clothes,
or nets, or on ground under repair or temporarily covered
up or opened, may be lifted and dropped at the nearest
point of the course, but a ball lifted in a hazard shall
be dropped in the hazard. A ball lying in a golf hole or
flag hole may be lifted and dropped not more than a
club length behind such hole.
1 8. When a ball is completely covered with fog, bent,
whins, &c., only so much thereof shall be set aside as
that the player shall have a view of his ball before he
plays, whether in a line with the hole or otherwise.
9 o GOLF
19. When the ball is to be dropped, the player shall
drop it. He shall front the hole, stand erect behind the
hazard, keep the spot from which the ball was lifted (or
in the case of running water, the spot at which it entered)
in a line between him and the hole, and drop the ball
behind him from his head, standing as far behind the
hazard as he may please.
20. When the balls in play lie within six inches of
each other measured from their nearest points the ball
nearer the hole shall be lifted until the other is played,
and shall then be replaced as nearly as possible in its
original position. Should the ball further from the hole
be accidentally moved in so doing, it shall be replaced.
Should the lie of the lifted ball be altered by the opponent
in playing, it may be placed in a lie near to, and
as nearly as possible similar to, that from which it was
lifted.
21. If the ball lie or be lost in water, the player may
drop a ball, under the penalty of one stroke.
22. Whatever happens by accident to a ball in motion,
such as its being deflected or stopped by any agency
outside the match, or by the fore caddie, is a " rub of the
green," and the ball shall be played from where it lies.
Should a ball lodge in anything moving, such ball, or, if
it cannot be recovered, another ball shall be dropped as
nearly as possible at the spot where the object was when
the ball lodged in it. But if a ball at rest be displaced
by any agency outside the match, the player shall drop
it or another ball as nearly as possible at the spot where
it lay. On the Putting Green the ball may be replaced
by hand.
GOLF 91
23. If the player's ball strike, or be accidentally moved
by an opponent or an opponent's caddie or clubs, the
opponent loses the hole.
24. If the player's ball strike, or be stopped by himself
or his partner, or either of their caddies or clubs, or if,
while in the act of playing, the player strike the ball
twice, his side loses the hole.
25. If the player when not making a stroke, or his
partner or either of their caddies touch their side's ball,
except at the tee, so as to move it, or by touching any-
thing cause it to move, the penalty is one stroke.
26. A ball is considered to have been moved if it
leave its original position in the least degree and stop
in another ; but if a player touches his ball and thereby
cause it to oscillate, without causing it to leave its
original position, it is not moved in the sense of
Rule 25.
27. A player's side loses a stroke if he play the
opponent's ball, unless (i) 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, in which case the mistake, if
discovered before the opponent has played, must be
rectified by placing a ball as nearly as possible where the
opponent's ball lay.
If it be discovered before either side has struck off at
the tee that one side has played out the previous hole
with the side of a party not engaged in the match, that
side loses that hole.
92 GOLF
28. If a ball be lost, the player's side loses the hole.
A ball shall be held as lost if it be not found within five
minutes after the search is begun.
29. A ball must be played wherever it lies, or the
hole be given up, except as otherwise provided for in the
Rules.
30. The term " putting green " shall mean the ground
within 20 yards of the hole, excepting hazards.
31. All loose impediments may be removed from the
putting green, except the opponent's ball, when at a
greater distance from the player's than six inches.
32. In a match of three or more sides, a ball in any
degree lying between the player and the hole must be
lifted, or, if on the putting green, holed out.
33. When the ball is on the putting green, no mark
shall be placed, nor line drawn as a guide. The line to
the hole may be pointed out, but the person doing so may
not touch the ground with the hand or club.
The player may have his own or his partner's caddie
to stand at the hole, but none of the players or their
caddies may move so as to shield the ball from, or expose
it to, the wind.
The penalty for any breach of this rule is the loss of
the hole.
34. The player or his caddie may remove (but not
press down) sand, earth, worm casts or snow lying around
the hole or on the line of his putt. This shall be done by
brushing lightly with the hand only across the putt and
GOLF 93
not along it. Dung may be removed to a side by an iron
club, but the club must not be laid with more than its
own weight upon the ground. The putting line must
not be touched by club, hand, or foot, except as above
authorised, or immediately in front of the ball in the
act of addressing it, under the penalty of the loss of the
hole.
35. Either side is entitled to have the flag-stick re-
moved when approaching 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 considered as holed out in the previous stroke.
36. A player shall not play until the opponent's ball
shall have ceased to roll, under the penalty of one stroke.
Should the player's ball knock in the opponent's ball,
the latter shall be counted as holed out in the previous
stroke. If, in playing, the player's ball displace the
opponent's ball, the opponent shall have the option of
replacing it.
37. A player shall not ask for advice, nor be know-
ingly advised about the game by word, look, or gesture
from any one except his own caddie, or his partner
or partner's caddie, under the penalty of the loss of the
hole.
38. 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 unplayable, the player may
change it, on intimating to his opponent his intention to
do so.
94 GOLF
39. A penalty stroke shall not be counted the stroke
of a player, and shall not affect the rotation of play.
40. Should any dispute arise on any point, the players
have the right of determining the party or parties to
whom the dispute shall be referred ; but should they not
agree, either party may refer it to the Green Committee
of the green where the dispute occurs, and their decision
shall be final. Should the dispute not be covered by
the Rules of Golf, the arbiters must decide it by equity.
SPECIAL RULES FOR MEDAL PLAY.
1. In Club competitions, the competitor doing the
stipulated course in fewest strokes shall be the winner.
2. If the lowest score be made by two or more com-
petitors, the ties shall be decided by another round
to be played either on the same or on any other day
as the Captain, or, in his absence, the Secretary shall
direct.
3. New holes shall be made for the Medal Round, and
thereafter no member shall play any stroke on a putting
green before competing.
4 The scores shall be kept by a special marker, or
by the competitors noting each other's scores. The scores
marked shall be checked at the finish of each hole. On
completion of the course, the score of the player shall
be signed by the person keeping the score and handed
to the Secretary.
GOLF 95
5. If a ball be lost, the player shall return as nearly as
possible to the spot where the ball was struck, tee an-
other ball, and lose a stroke. If the lost ball be found
before he has struck the other ball, the first shall con-
tinue in play.
6. If the player's ball strike himself, or his clubs or
caddie, or if, in the act of playing, the player strike the
ball twice, the penalty shall be one stroke.
7. If a competitor's ball strike the other player, or his
clubs or caddie, it is a " rub of the green/' and the ball
shall be played from where it lies.
8. A ball may, under a penalty of two strokes, be
lifted out of a difficulty of any description, and be teed
behind same.
9. All balls shall be holed out, and when play is on
the putting green, the flag shall be removed, and the
competitor whose ball is nearest the hole shall have the
option of holing out first, or of lifting his ball, if it be in
such a position that it might, if left, give an advantage
to the other competitor. Throughout the green a com-
petitor can have the other competitor's ball lifted, if he
find that it interferes with his stroke.
10. A competitor may not play with a professional,
and he may not receive advice from any one but hi?
caddie.
A fore caddie may be employed.
11. Competitors may not discontinue play because of
bad weather.
96 GOLF
12. The penalty for a breach of any rule shall be
disqualification.
13. Any dispute regarding the play shall be deter-
mined by the Green Committee.
14. The ordinary Rules of Golf, so far as they are not
at variance with these special rules, shall apply to medal
play.
GOLF 97
DIRECTORY OF LEADING GOLF
CLUBS
THE ROYAL AND ANCIENT GOLF CLUB OF ST. ANDREWS
Club House, St. Andrews, Fife, N. D. Entrance fee,
^15. Annual subscription, ^3. Hon. Sec., C. S.
Grace, Esq., the Club House.
THE HONOURABLE COMPANY OF EDINBURGH GOLFERS
Club House, Muirfield, East Lothian, N.B. En-
trance fee, 12 I2S. Annual subscription, ^3 35.
Hon. Sec., A. G. G. Asher, Esq. W.S., 18 Hill
Street, Edinburgh.
PRESTWICK GOLF CLUB Club House, Prestwick, Ayr,
N.C. Entrance fee, ^15. Annual subscription, 2.
Hon. Sec. and Treasurer, Harry Hart, Esq., 5 Fort
Street, Ayr.
ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB Club House, Hoy-
lake, Cheshire. Entrance fee, 10 los. Gentlemen
under 21 years of age, ^5 $s. Annual subscription,
;3 3,?. Secretary, W. Ryder Richardson, Esq , Club
House.
ST. GEORGE'S CLUB, SANDWICH Club House, Sand-
wich, Kent. Entrance fee, ^15 15$. Annual
subscription, ^3 35-. Hon. Sec., \V. Rutherford,
Esq, 3 Plowden Buildings, Middle Temple, London,
E.C
G
9 8 GOLF
LITTLESTONE GOLF CLUB Club House, Littlestonc,
Kent. Entrance fee, jio 105. Annual subscription,
i is. Hon. Sec. and Treasurer, H. E. Johnson,
Esq., 23 Knightrider Street, London, E.G.
CINQUE PORTS GOLF CLUB, DEAL Club House, Deal,
Kent. Entrance fee, $ 5*. Annual subscription,
^3 3.?. Hon. Sec. and Treasurer, Lieut. -Col.
Hungerford, Walmer, Deal.
ROYAL NORTH DEVON GOLF CLUB, WESTWARD Ho !
Club House, Westward Ho ! Entrance fee, ,10 io^.
Annual subscription, LOS. 6d. Hon. Sec., Major
Winter, Yorke House, Bideford.
FELIXSTOWE GOLF CLUB Club House, Felixstowe,
Suffolk. Entrance fee, 10 los. Annual subscrip-
tion, i is. Hon. Sec., J. Hutchison Driver, Esq.,
Club House.
SEAFORD GOLF CLUB Club House, Seaford, Sussex.
Entrance fee, ^5 5^. Annual subscription, 2 2s.
Secretary and Treasurer, T. Gilroy, Esq., Bay Hotel,
Seaford.
RYE GOLF CLUB Club House, Rye, Sussex. Entrance
fee, $ S s - Annual subscription, 2 2s. Hon
Sec., H. S. Colt, Esq., 33 Havelock Road, Hastings.
GREAT YARMOUTH GOLF CLUB Club House, Great
Yarmouth, Norfolk. Entrance fee, .5 5^. - Annual
subscription, i io.y. Hon. Sec., C. Hope, Esq.,
Gorleston Priory, Great Yarmouth.
ROYAL WEST NORFOLK GOLF CLUB, BRANCASTER
Club House, Brancaster. Entrance fee, ^5 $s.
Annual subscription, i is. Hon. Sec., W. H.
Simms Reeves, York Cottage, Brancaster.
GOLF 99
ROYAL CROMER GOLF CLUB Club House, Cromer,
Norfolk. Entrance fee, ^5 5^. Annual subscrip-
tion, 2 2s. Hon. Sec., P. M. Lucas, Esq., Cromer.
ROYAL NORWICH GOLF CLUB Club House, Norwich.
Entrance fee, 2 23. Annual Subscription, \ 1 1 s. 6d.
Hon. Sec., C. Steward, Esq., King Street House,
Norwich.
ALDEBURGH GOLF CLUB Club House, Aldeburgh,
Suffolk. Entrance fee, ^"5 5*. Annual subscription,
i is. Hon. Sec., John Fry, Esq., Club House.
BRIGHTON AND HOVE GOLF CLUB Club House, Hove,
Brighton. Entrance fee, ^5 $s. Annual subscrip-
tion, 2 2s. Hon. Sec., H. J. Percival, Esq., Club
House.
SCARBOROUGH GOLF CLUB Club House, Canton,
Yorkshire. Entrance fee, 2 2$. Annual subscription,
2 2$. Hon. Sec., F. Bedwell, Esq., 32 Queen Street,
Scarborough.
ALNMOUTH GOLF CLUB Club House, Alnmouth,
Northumberland. Entrance fee, 2. Annual sub-
scription, 1. Hon. Sec., J. de C. Paynter, Esq.,
Belvidere, Alnwick.
ROYAL ISLE OF WIGHT GOLF CLUB Club House,
Bembridge, Isle of Wight. Entrance fee, ^5 55-. Annual
subscription, 2 2$. Hon. Sec., Davenport Knight,
Esq., Club House.
ROYAL ' DUBLIN GOLF CLUB Club House, Dolly-
mount. Entrance fee, ^8 8s. Annual subscription,
2. Hon. Sec., G. C. May, Esq., 13 Fitzwilliam
Square, Dublin.
loo GOLF
ROYAL PORTRUSH GOLF CLUB Club House, Portrush,
Ireland. Entrance fee, ^5 5^. Annual subscription,
i is. Hon. Sec., J. M. Russell, Esq., 25 Mark
Street, Portrush.
ROYAL CORNWALL GOLF CLUB Club House, Bodmin,
Cornwall. Entrance fee, 1. Annual subscription,
i. Hon. Sec., H. Young Jamieson, Esq., St.
Petrocks, Bodmin.
ROYAL JERSEY GOLF CLUB Club House, St. Helier,
Jersey. Entrance fee, 2 2$. Annual subscription,
i los. Hon. Sec., Captain T. S. Robin, 4 Qaremont
Terrace, Jersey.
ROYAL GUERNSEY GOLF CLUB Club House, L'Aucresse
Vale, Guernsey. Entrance fee, ^3. Annual sub-
scription, i IQS. Hon. Sec., T. S. Dobree, Esq.,
Club House.
LONDON GOLF CLUBS.
ROYAL BLACKHEATH GOLF CLUB Club House, Black-
heatb. Entrance fee, $ $s. Annual subscription,
^3 3*. Hon. Sec., W. G. Barnes, Esq., 93 Black-
heath Hill, S.E.
ROYAL WIMBLEDON GOLF CLUB Club House, Wimble-
don Common. Entrance fee, ,10 IQJ. Annual
subscription, ^3 35-. Hon. Sec., N. R. Foster, Esq.,
i Sunnyside, Wimbledon.
LONDON SCOTTISH GOLF CLUB Club House, Wimble-
don Common. Entrance fee, $ 5-f. Annual subscrip-
tion, 2. Hon. Sec., J. Gow, Esq., Kingswood, Gipsy
Lane, Putney, S.W.
GOLF 101
BALHAM GOLF CLUB Entrance fee, ^3 35-. Annual
subscription, $ $s. Hon. Sec , A. Cole, Esq., Oak
Lodge, Telford Park, S.W.
BECKENHAM GOLF CLUB Entrance Fee, $ 5^. Annual
subscription, ^3 35. Hon. Sec., P. G. Collins, Esq.,
21 The Avenue, Beckenham.
CHISWICK. GOLF CLUB Entrance fee, 2 2s. Annual
subscription, ^4 4*. Hon. Sec., E. H. Lawrie, Esq.,
21 Earl's Court Square, S.W.
CRAVEN PARK GOLF CLUB Entrance fee, i is.
Annual subscription, \ IQS. Hon. Sec., Dr. H. J.
Buck, 23 Clapton Common, N.E.
DULWICH AND SYDENHAM HILL GOLF CLUB Entrance
fee, ^5 5*. Annual subscription, ^3 3^. Hon.
Sec., J. McNab, Esq., the Club House.
EALING GOLF CLUB Annual subscription, 4 4$. Hon.
Sec., A. T. W. McCaul, 21, St. Helen's Place, Bishops-
gate Street, E.G.
EAST FINCHLEY GOLF CLUB Entrance fee, i is
Annual subscription, $ 35-. Hon. Sec., J. W. P.
Scott, Esq., 17 North Road, Highgate, N.
ELTHAM GOLF CLUB Entrance fee, ;io los. Annual
subscription, ^5 5*. Sec. and Treasurer, R. A.
Collingwood, Esq., the Club House, Eltham, Kent.
ROYAL EPPING FOREST GOLF CLUB, CHINGFORD
Entrance fee, ^3 3*. Annual subscription, i is.
Sec., T. F. Caldwell, Esq., Queen's Grove Road, Ching-
ford, Essex.
102 GOL>F
FINCHLEY GOLF CLUB Entrance fee, 2 2S. Annual
subscription, 2 zs. Hon. Sec., A. F. Drew, Esq.,
22 Cyprus Road, Finchley, N,
HAMPSTEAD GOLF CLUB Entrance fee, ^5 5*. Annual
subscription, $ 3*. Hon. Sec., H. Knox, Esq.,
Club House.
HONOR OAK AND FOREST PARK GOLF CLUB Annual
subscription, ^4 4-r. Hon. Sec., W. Wingate, Esq.,
37 Mark Lane.
MID SURREY GOLF CLUB, OLD DEER PARK, RICH-
MOND Entrance fee, 10 IQS. Annual subscription,
^5 5-r. Sec. and Treasurer, J. C. Montgomerie, Esq.,
the Club House.
MUSWELL HILL GOLF CLUB Entrance fee, ^3 3.?.
Annual subscription, 2 zs. Hon. Sec., D. A.
"Watson, Esq., Tottenham Wood House, Wood
Green.
NEASDEN GOLF CLUB Entrance fee, $ 5*. Annual
subscription, ;6 6*. Hon. Sec., S. Clifford, Esq.,
Club House.
NORBURY GOLF CLUB Entrance fee, 2 2s. Annual
subscription, ^3 3*. Hon. Sec , A, W. Macfarlane,
Esq., 34 Kempshott Road, Streatham, S.W.
PRINCE'S GOLF CLUB, MITCHAM Entrance fee, 6 6*.
Annual subscription, 4 45. Hon. Sec., R. Hippisley
Cox, Esq., the Club House.
GOLF 103
RAYNES PARK GOLF CLUB Annual subscription, ^3 3*.
Joint Hon. Sees., F. W. Butler, Esq., and W. H.
Elanville, Esq., the Club House.
RICHMOND GOLF CLUB, SUDBROOK PARK, RICHMOND
Entrance fee, 10 los. Annual subscription, ^5 5^.
Hon. Sec., Capt. C. E. Reade, R.N., Downe Lodge,
Richmond, Surrey.
ROM FORD GOLF CLUB Club House, Romford, Essex.
Entrance fee, \ 4S. Annual subscription, 2 zs.
Hon. Sec., W. H. Bose, Esq., Golf Club, Romford.
STANMORE GOLF CLUB Club House, Stanmore.
Middlesex. Entrance fee, ^5 $s. Annual subscrip-
tion, 4 4-f. Sec., C. Adams, Esq., Stanmore,
Middlesex.
THE INCORPORATED WEST HERTS GOLF CLUB Club
House, Cassiobury Park, Watford. Entrance fee,
-] is. Annual subscription, ^4 4^. Sec., Ernest
R. Harby, Esq., Greenhill Lodge, Watford.
TOOTING EEC GOLF CLUB, FURZEDOWN Entrance fee,
;i5 15*. Annual subscription, 3 $s. Sec., J.
Duthie Matthew, Esq., 171 Bedford Hill, Balham,
S.W.
WANSTEAD PARK GOLF CLUB, SNARESBROOK, ESSEX
Entrance fee, ^3 $s. Annual subscription, ^3 3^.
Hon. Sec., F. W. Rawlinson, Esq., Deepdene, Snares-
brook, Essex.
WEST DRAYTON GOLF CLUB Entrance fee, $ 3*.
Annual subscription, ^3 3^. Hon. Sec , A. T. Tallent,
Esq., 4. Field Court, Gray's Inn, W.C.
104 GOLF
WEST MIDDLESEX GOLF CLUB Club House, Hanwell.
Entrance fee, ^7 7*. Annual subscription, ,5 5?.
Hon. Sec., W. Jackson, Esq., the Club House.
WILLESDEN GOLF CLUH Entrance fee, 2 zs. Annual
subscription, $ 35. Hon. Sec., B. Pierpont, Esq.,
44 Plympton Road, Brondesbury, N.W.
WOODFORD GOLF CLUB Entrance fee, ^3 3*. Annual
subscription, 2 2S. Hon, Sec., F. Mugford, Esq.
Beaulieu, Wood ford Green.
CI.AV ANP SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BUNGAV
000 032 094 5