A sardonic observer has defined golf as consisting in striking a small ball into a 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., halfway 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 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, etc, which will be dealt with later; and it is towards the consistent and harmonious accomplishment of this object that a golfers 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 constitution. 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 the manner in which the club is handled to attain these objects. Individual idiosyncrasies of stature, strength, and temperament are sufficient 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 agree, and to pay no attention to the unimportant 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 during the process of swinging.

Until recently, when golf became popular in England, there was, speaking generally, but one recognised way of holding and swinging a golf club. It is true that there were what have been called "the opposing schools of St. Andrews and Musselburgh," but the difference 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 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 Crip.

one that can be recommended for the adoption 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 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 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 backward, 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.

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