We have now considered the stance for putting, the grip, and the relative position of the ball to the player, but there is one more point to be thought of before the player actually makes her stroke; this is the condition of the green. Whether the grass is short or long, and whether the ground is damp or dry makes a great difference in the amount of distance the ball will cover, given a blow of a certain force. It is a common occurrence to hear players complaining of the fastness of the green when their balls overrun the hole, or of its heaviness when they find themselves "not up." Such complaints should never be made as excuses because, when a player first sets foot upon the smooth turf, she should carefully observe its condition. In fact, if she has a short approach shot, she would do well to look at the green before her ball is actually upon it, because a well made approach may often be run down in one stroke, and thus one stroke of the traditional "two on the green" may be saved.

Taking The Line

The process of taking the line to the hole is accompanied by a great deal of useless and annoying delay by fussy players, but a certain amount of time may permissibly be spent in standing or crouching behind the ball and looking over it to its destination. The habit of looking from the hole to the ball is one that, so far as I can see, has little to recommend it. The different line of view does not seem to have any particular advantage, while the time spent in looking this way and that tends to make the player self-conscious, and certainly does not tend to make her opponent more amiable.