Not being a psychologist I cannot explain the reason, but I am sure that every one has had the same experience in regard to things that are committed to memory in childhood and those learned in later years. A proverb, a rule of grammar, a poem memorized in our school days will remain fixed in our minds all through life, but it is only those of us who have particularly well trained minds that can, when we have reached mature years, read a verse and, deciding that it is worth remembering, repeat it in its literal form after a few days have passed. So it is that the things learned in childhood seem to become part of one's self, while things learned during mature years are a sort of superstructure that may easily tumble down. For this reason it is well to lay the foundation of all games early in life when the imitative faculty is strong, and when mind and muscle fall easily into habits that, if permitted, cling all through life. Although it is desirable to begin at an early age to learn any game, it is especially advantageous in learning to play golf. Golf is a game that requires very exact coordination of the mind, the eye and almost all the muscles of the body. In other words, there are so many things to be done at once that, if one had to think of them all, it would be practically impossible not to neglect something important, and everything is important as there are no trifles in golf. It is, therefore, necessary to commit all the physical motions to muscular memory, if I may use the expression, so that the mind may be left free to concentrate on the one factor of prime importance, hitting the ball.

Every one has seen caddies, sometimes little fellows only nine or ten years old, surreptitiously swinging their employers' clubs, and has noticed the almost perfect form in which they do it. When one realizes that almost all the greatest professionals have been caddies and have acquired their early training watching and imitating the best of the players that have employed them, one can appreciate the value of beginning early.

For a woman I believe the best age at which to start a golf career is about fifteen. The mind still has the imitativeness and adaptability of childhood and the muscles the flexibility of youth, while nervousness and self-consciousness, two formidable foes, have not yet made their appearance in the personal make up. Unfortunately every one is not able to begin at this early age and not doing so does not preclude the possibility of acquiring a good game, especially if the beginner, no matter what her years, will make a determined effort to approach the game "as a little child" in spirit and will add that indispensable factor of perfect golf, her own mature intelligence.

The grown woman who wishes to start playing, should immediately put herself into the hands of a good professional teacher. It is far better to go to some one whose business it is to teach and who has had experience along that line than to heed the instructions of well meaning friends. It has been demonstrated over and over again that even the best players are frequently absolutely unable to describe accurately their method of making strokes, so it is not at all safe to suppose that because a person can play well he or she has also the faculty of imparting information to others. The novice should select a teacher who has had experience in teaching women and should, if possible, observe some of his pupils in order to judge the results of his instruction. She should keep in mind also the fact that there are two sides to teaching golf: one, the ability to demonstrate clearly what should be done; and the other, the ability to see the pupil's faults and to correct them. Many instructors can tell a pupil what to do, but when the pupil appears not to be getting the desired result, cannot perceive where the fault lies and so correct it. Once having chosen an instructor, the pupil should put herself entirely under his tutelage and obey his behests as well as in her lies. She should not dispute with him at every point and above all should never say or think "I can't," but, on the other hand, she should not hesitate to ask any question that comes to her mind. She should know the "reason why" for every move she makes, and no false shame at displaying ignorance should prevent her from asking even what may seem a foolish question.

That the business of teaching women the game of golf is not one without its difficulties from the point of view of the instructor is apparent from the rather rueful statement of a well-known professional who says, "They are hard to teach as from the first they persist in forming theories of their own, which, needless to say, are far from being correct. . . . They are full of strange fancies, and having once made up their minds on a certain point it takes the tact of a court chamberlain and the diplomacy of a Bismarck to make them alter." This poor man apparently has had many troubles, and his remark, though probably not intentionally so, is rather a reflection on his pupils. There is no reason why women should require at the hands of their teacher diplomacy of any kind, and certainly "strange fancies" have no rightful place in a player's mental equipment.

It is rather amusing to note what some of the most famous professionals say about teaching women. J. H. Taylor in "Taylor on Golf," page 106, says: "Ladies, however, I fear are not always absolutely obedient to the dictates of the tutor. They have probably spent more or less time upon the links watching other players, and so have formed opinions of their own as to how this or that particular stroke should be played. Then, generally speaking, the idea of a novice is altogether wrong, and it becomes necessary to explain it away. This is always a difficult task for an instructor, but it has to be done, and once this feat is accomplished, the pupil becomes terribly keen upon improving her game by the regular methods. Once a lady can be induced to think out what will be the results of a certain method of playing a stroke, it is quite certain she is more open to conviction than a man, and she should improve quite as rapidly in her play."

Harry Vardon, in "The Complete Golfer," page 201, speaks rather more cheerfully of his women pupils when he says: "... I am bound to say that for the most part I have found them excellent pupils - better generally than the men learners. They seem to take closer and deeper notice of the hints you give them, and to retain the points of the lesson longer in their memories." So far so good, but a little later, page 204, Vardon, on further consideration of the peculiarities of womankind, unfortunately feels it necessary to add, "But it must be confessed that in too many cases they do not treat the difficulties of the game with sufficient seriousness, and are inclined to think that they can get on best in their own way and by the adoption of their own methods."

Throughout the chapters "for the ladies" that are inserted in many of the books of the most famous golf players and teachers, it is apparent that the writers are somewhat vague and troubled in mind as to what they should say or leave unsaid. It is evident that they wish to speak a kind and helpful word for women, but it is equally evident that they do not in the least know how to go about it, and that they close the chapters with a feeling of relief. Let us hope that they teach with more conviction than they write; otherwise their "learners" must have rather a discouraging time of it.

When a woman engages the services of a professional teacher her whole mind and attention should be given to finding out everything she can in the time at her disposal. If she will do this assiduously and will practice between lessons what she has learned, she will soon become well grounded in the rudiments of the game. When she has reached this point she must keep on practicing patiently and intelligently, returning now and then to her teacher for advice and criticism if she finds she has unconsciously fallen into errors that she cannot correct by herself. Golf is a game that requires a great deal of practice at all stages, even when one ranks as a really good player. It is so easy to fall into careless habits of stance or swing that there must never at any time be any mental slackness while playing, for, if there is, a carefully built-up form will fall to pieces in a few days.

Speaking of form brings to mind an error that many players make. They regard "good form" as the goal to be striven for, whereas, as a matter of fact, "good form" is merely the outward and visible sign of strokes made correctly as to stance, grip, swing, and timing. If one learns to stand, to hold her club, to make her swing and to time her stroke correctly, she will find that she has achieved good form without being aware of it, but no one can obtain "good form" by trying to cultivate it for its own sake.

The first requisite in beginning to play is, of course, to have the proper clubs and balls. In the selection of clubs it is best for the pupil to be guided by the advice of the instructor as he will know from his experience what lengths and weights will be most suitable. It is well, however, for the pupil to have in mind the fact that her clubs should be well matched, and, for that reason, she should, if convenient, get them all at the same time and at the same place. This is not necessary of course, but, if the player wishes to buy her clubs separately, she should have with her the clubs she already possesses when selecting a new club so that she can compare the new with the old and match them accordingly.

For the player who is not under the immediate tutelage of a professional I will make a few general comments about the different varieties of clubs and for what qualities they should be chosen. The essential clubs are the driver, the brassie, the cleek, the mid-iron, the mashie, the niblick, and the putter. These are the clubs most in use and are all that are really necessary, although as the player becomes expert and feels the need of other clubs for special situations there are the spoon, the driving iron, the light-weight mashie, the jigger, and various rather hybrid clubs.

Mrs. Ronald H. Barlow Stance and address for approach.

It is commonly supposed that a woman shorter than the average should have clubs correspondingly short and that a tall woman should have clubs proportionately long. This is just the reverse of the truth, especially as regards the wooden clubs from which the greatest distance is expected. A moment's consideration will show that a woman . shorter than the average will need a longer club in order to give her a length of swing that will enable her to compete with a taller opponent, and, conversely, a woman with long arms can well afford to use a shorter club. The average length of a driver, the longest club, is from forty-one to forty-three inches. The shaft should be slightly springy and the "lie," or angle between the head of the club and the shaft, should be such that, when the player is addressing the ball, the sole of the club will rest evenly on the ground. The face of the club should be slightly lofted and should be neither very long nor very short, as either extreme is apt to develop difficulties for the player.

The brassie should be of the same general construction as the driver, the differences being that the shaft is a little stiffer, the face a little more lofted, and the club head, of course, soled with brass. Braid says that the shafts of the two clubs should be the same length, but I believe that for a woman it is just as well to have the shaft of the brassie an inch or so shorter than that of the driver.

The iron clubs, beginning with the cleek and proceeding in the order I have mentioned, grow shorter as to shaft and more upright as to lie until the extreme is reached in the putter. It is advisable to select iron clubs with the shorter and broader type of head rather than the long, narrow one. Some persons feel that a narrow-headed club gets under the ball more easily and therefore raises the ball more surely and also puts more back spin on it than will a broader faced club. This is a mistake, however, as the narrow-headed club is inclined to cut under the ball entirely, while a broader-faced club, if sloped back properly, will raise the ball sufficiently, especially if weighted correctly along the lower edge. All iron clubs should have their faces scored with some horizontal lines or squares as a certain roughness of surface enables the club to get a better grip on the ball and so put on the desired spin. It is said that some old Scotchmen deliberately allow their clubs to become coated with heavy rust in the belief that they thereby obtain a better hold on the ball, a practice that is followed by some players here.

This leads to the much-disputed question of the marking of golf balls. Many persons maintain that the brambly ball on account of its rough surface will take more spin from the club and will also hold its course more accurately while in the air than a ball without excrescences. It is a well-known fact, and one that has never been satisfactorily explained, that an absolutely smooth ball will not maintain the course of its flight so well as a rough one, but it has been demonstrated recently that the brambly ball is not the best solution of the problem. The ball with indentations or dimples has been found more satisfactory for several reasons. Strictly speaking, the place of contact between a sphere and a plane is one point, but as the sphere under consideration is resilient and the plane generally meets it with decided force, the point of contact, in the case of ball and club, grows to a spot of some definite size. It may easily be seen that a ball covered with excrescences will not leave the club so smoothly as will a ball with a lined or dimpled surface.

During its flight through the air the brambly ball does not excel the dimpled one in holding its course, and, once on the green, it develops a new shortcoming. The tendency of the lumpy ball to rest on three of its points may, especially on a hard, close-cut green, cause it to come to a stop before the dimpled ball would in the same circumstances. Although the difference in length of roll between the two balls may be only the slightest fraction of an inch, yet that little inequality may mean the difference between dropping into the hole and hanging on the edge. So it is that the dimpled marking for golf balls has become generally accepted as the most satisfactory, although whether or not dents have any superiority over transverse rings, such as were scored on the old guttie balls, is open to some question.

It is unfortunate that the manufacturers of golf balls have not produced as yet a mechanically perfect sphere. The rubber-core ball, the one generally in use, is made by winding on a small rubber core hundreds of feet of rubber stretched under tension. The sphere made in this way is then covered by two hemispherical, gutta-percha shells which are pressed on and cemented together. The facts that a cube is often used as a foundation, that the subsequent winding is not always done symmetrically and that the cover is frequently of uneven thickness, result in the balls being unbalanced.

It is especially important for putting that a ball should be correctly centered because otherwise it is certain to wander off its course in a greater or less degree, depending upon how unbalanced it is, with what force it is hit, and the conditions of the green. For accuracy in rolling the old guttie balls are better than the modern balls because, as they were made of a solid lump of compressed guttapercha, they are practically sure to be evenly balanced. They lack the resiliency of the rubber-core ball however, and because they will not spring off the club so elastically and, therefore, cannot be driven quite the distance of this new favorite, they have been relegated to the background.

There is one subject on which it should be unnecessary to speak even to beginners at the game of golf, but which is neglected alike by old players and those who are just starting their golfing career: this is, having a thorough and exact knowledge of the rules of the game. Probably because counting the score is so simple and there are not so many "faults" to be considered as there are, for example, in the game of tennis, players start out, and frequently continue, without learning the well-defined restrictions and regulations that are laid down in the rules. Women are probably greater offenders in this respect than men. There have been many instances when, in a tournament, a woman has been humiliated by having her score questioned or rejected on account of an entirely unconscious breach in the observance of some general or local rule. The fact that the fault committed was a mistake of ignorance does not in any way mitigate the mortification of the unfortunate offender, but it should make her determine firmly never to be placed again in such a position; strangely enough such a resolution is not always carried out. It surely is a simple thing to buy a copy of the rules of the game and to study them carefully. Some women I have known carry a copy of the rules in the pocket of their golf bags so that if any discussion arises it may be settled immediately without trusting to memory. This is a very sensible practice and if, added to this, a woman, when visiting a club strange to her, will look over the local ground rules which are printed on the back of her score card, the possibility of a mistake on her part will be eliminated.

There is, in a great many clubs, a rule that women shall not play on Saturday afternoons, Sundays, or holidays, except during such hours as make the rule practically prohibitive. This regulation is made on the theory that women can play at any time, while men have only their holidays and week-ends. It follows that the links are crowded at these times, so the women should keep away. There is some justice in this position taken by men, but it works out unfairly to a great many women. There are, on the one hand, an increasing number of women who work during the week and therefore cannot play, and there are, also, many husbands and wives who are prevented by this rule from playing together. It seems to me that it would be a far more equitable arrangement if women were allowed to become active club members by paying full dues, and to have the rule read that any woman whose average score is under a hundred or even one hundred and ten should be allowed to play at any time. That would eliminate any woman that could possibly be accused of "cluttering up" the links. If it is found that a club's links are too congested for comfort on certain days, I think it might not be a bad plan to have a certain qualification as to score required of men players. This would probably raise a frightful howl among the disqualified ones, but certainly an arrangement by which poor players were eliminated during crowded hours would be much fairer than a prohibition based on sex. In glancing over the index of this book it may surprise some of my readers to find that I have reversed the usual order of things and have started with putting instead of with driving, which is the customary method of procedure. I am doing this for certain, well-defined reasons, and I believe that, upon consideration, almost every one will agree with me that in learning to play golf the most sensible and logical course is to do first that which is the most simple and to progress by natural stages to the most difficult. There are now many professionals who are teaching golf in this way and they are thoroughly convinced by results that it is the most practical system.

In no other sport does the beginner aspire to accomplish the most difficult shots before having learned the simpler ones, but there is a certain fascination about swinging a driver that lures one away from the less exciting putter. Putting seems rather dull sport when taken by itself and the beginner is apt to get tired of it very quickly and to long to get on to something else. If, however, one can muster sufficient patience and self-control to practice on the green until a fair amount of accuracy is achieved in making short puts and long puts and puts on all varieties of slopes, a foundation will be laid that will make the more complex strokes seem easy as they are taken up one after another.

Miss Elaine Rosenthal Putting, stance and address.

Putting compels concentration of mind, delicacy and firmness of touch, a nice calculation of distance and slope, and, last, but perhaps most important of all, it forms the habit of keeping the eye on the ball. While putting, the eyes of the player are immediately above the ball and, as the body is held still and the stroke is made principally with the wrists and forearms, there is not the temptation to move the head and consequently the eyes that there is in making the more extended strokes. In this way the habit of attention, which is the greatest essential of the game, is formed.