Whereas the mid-iron is universally popular with the rank and file of golfers, the cleek is generally viewed with much misgiving. As a rule, it is the expert player who really enjoys using a cleek, and who has thorough confidence in his or her ability to manage it successfully. There is a certain uncompromising quality inherent in the cleek that demands that it be treated with great respect. It is not a club to be trifled with and, consequently, as is frequently the case, excessive respect produces in the heart a suggestion of fear and trepidation. It is unfortunate that this should be true, and a golf player who earnestly desires to become proficient should early in her career rid herself of this somewhat superstitious awe of this exceedingly useful club. On account of its straight head and the moderate slope of its face, the cleek does not adapt itself readily to unfavorable conditions, but there are certain times at which the cleek is, without doubt, the only club to use. At such times the player should be able to take it from her bag with absolute confidence in the success of the shot she is about to make.

In general the stance and the swing for the cleek are the same as that employed for the mid-iron. The question of whether or not a full swing of the kind that is used with a driver and brassie should be used with a cleek is one on which there is much difference of opinion. Many players say that a full shot should never, or almost never, be played with an iron club. It is true that in a half or threequarter shot there is less room for error than there is in a full shot. On the other hand it requires very strong forearms and wrists to make the ball carry very far when a greatly curtailed swing is used. Discretion and common sense must guide each player in deciding this question for herself. As a definite rule, it can be said only that it is unwise to try to force a club at any time. It is better to play a three-quarter cleek shot than a full shot with a mid-iron; if there is any doubt about the mashie's carrying the ball to the green, the player should take a mid-iron and use a shortened swing. On the other hand, to cite another possible case, if the player wishes to send a long, low ball against the wind, there is no reason why she should not take her cleek, swing the club around back of her neck and hit for all she is worth. One of the distinguishing signs that differentiates an expert player from an ordinary one is the skill and accuracy with which she can make half shots with her iron clubs. It is far from easy to learn just how far back to carry the club, and to learn to keep the body and club under absolute control during the stroke, but steadiness and accuracy in iron shots must be attained if the player is to raise herself above the level of ordinary slashers. Women, on the whole, are inclined to over-swing with their iron clubs and for this reason they should make a special effort to practice half and three-quarter shots long and diligently. Patient work in this direction will bring its reward in the sureness and finish it will give to the player's game.

Mrs. W. J. Faith Getting out of the rough.

In using iron clubs it is a common fault among women to make the ball rise too high in the air and, by so doing, to lose the distance that the ball should carry and, also, to expose the ball to the dangers of a crosswise or contrary wind. Usually it should be the earnest endeavor of the player to keep the ball as low as possible. Unless there is rising ground to be surmounted or a bunker to be cleared, there is nothing to be gained by the ball's abruptly climbing into the air. I must except, of course, such shots as pitched mashie shots when the ball is played so that it will drop dead upon the green; I refer now to ordinary mid-iron or cleek shots. The reason a woman's iron club shots are inclined to fly high is because she picks up the ball at the bottom of the swing. In order to overcome this failing it is necessary to hit the ball while the club is still on its downward journey. A slight change of stance, so that the ball is a little nearer the right foot than the left, will accomplish this result, and if a player finds that she is regularly hitting the ball too high into the air, it would be wise for her to try standing a little ahead of the ball in this way. It follows naturally that when she is making the address her hands will be a trifle in advance of the ball. Such a position is perfectly correct; in fact, as I have said before, many players believe that, in playing all shots with iron clubs, the hands should be ahead of the ball. The danger, which I must again emphasize, of this position lies in the fact that, if it is at all exaggerated, the player may, in making the stroke, bring her hands through so much before the head of the club that the face of the club will be turned out and the ball will fly off to the right.

It is generally conceded that in iron play it is better to aim at a point a little behind the ball than at the ball itself. Theoretically this advice is unsound, but practically it works itself out as a convenient concession to safety. If one were playing with an iron ball on an iron floor, one would not take an iron club and aim at the floor in order to hit the ball. The resulting shock would hurt the hands, and, by the time the club had rebounded from the floor to the ball, there would be little force left in the blow. With an outfit of iron such as I have described the player would undoubtedly aim at the ball and at nothing else, but - and here is the point of this illustration - unless she were a wonder of accuracy, she would almost as undoubtedly "top" the ball. It is for this reason that, when a player has springy-turf or loose sand before her, she may safely and wisely aim behind the ball and thus greatly lessen the chances that a little unsteadiness on her part will cause her to spoil her shot by "topping." Although the game of golf is based on scientific principles, a few concessions must be made to the inexactness of the movements of the human body.