If you follow this advice you will probably find yourself in the best condition when the tournament begins. But that is not all you have to consider. It is absolutely necessary that your mind should also be clear and untroubled. There is no game in the world where the mental strain is so great. It begins with the first day of the tournament, and lasts through every hole until the final stroke is played. In entering the game, therefore, you must make up your mind to two thing's:

First of all, you must give your opponent no possible chance through any carelessness on your part. However easy the match may seem, you must play your hardest. Remember that you not only want to win, but you want to win easily, so that you use up as little of your store of energy as possible. That is where many players lose themselves in tournaments where there are several rounds of match play. They forget that one victory only leads to another contest, and they often allow a much weaker opponent to bring the match to a close finish, thus wearing themselves out needlessly.

In the second place, concentrate your attention upon the game itself, and never think for a moment of the final result. This is the hardest task of all, but it must be accomplished if you desire to win. As soon as you begin to think of the possibility of defeat, you will become over-anxious, and you will lose your freedom of style. It may seem almost impossible for a player to divest himself entirely of all hopes and fears for the future. But it is a faculty which comes readily with practice in tournament play. Some acquire it more quickly than others. There are several cases in the history of golf championships of victories won by very young men. Mr. P. C. Anderson and Mr. Allen were both of tender golfing years when they defeated all the other amateurs of Great Britain. It is seldom, however, that the necessary confidence and concentration come to a man until he has had several years of experience in big matches, and that is why there are probably more first-class players over the age of thirty than there are below it.

There are other habits which even the youngest player may possess, with the exercise of a little intelligence. There is a strong tendency among American players of the first rank in the direction of extreme caution and deliberation in tournament play. It requires no argument to prove that slowness is for every reason a thing to be discouraged for the sake of the general welfare. But apart from the good of your fellow-creatures, you have your own chances of success to consider, and you are assuredly waging war upon yourself if you get beyond a certain point in exercising care. The fault arises not from your caution in match play, but more probably from a want of speed and freedom in ordinary practice.

There is nothing which retards a man's improvement in the game so much as a lack of freedom. It is a matter of common observation that even a good golfer holes his short puts with far greater accuracy when he is not trying than when he has the strain of an important match upon him. In the same way the indifferent player swing's more freely at a daisy than at a ball. Now, if you cramp yourself by excess of care in an ordinary game, as so many young players do, how much more will you check your natural impulses in a tournament! Therefore if you have the main end in view, you will prefer to play quickly and swing freely, even to the verge of carelessness in your every-day round, so that when the occasion does really call for deliberation you will be able to put a certain restraint upon yourself without entirely losing your freedom.

It is an extraordinary fact that a small and inconsiderable gutta percha ball has the most paralyzing effect upon the minds and muscles of sane and healthy men, causing them to tremble and grow rigid before it. This unnatural, yet universal, obsession can only be overcome by constant practice.

You must learn to rid yourself of this terror by pretending to disregard it. Go up to the ball and hit it just as if you were not in the least afraid of it. Assume a freedom of manner, even if it belies your feeling's, and in time you will break down the influence of the bugbear to such an extent that even in an important match you will bear yourself with courage and indifference.

You must be careful, on the other hand, not to overdo the quickness of your play in practice. That is to say, you may swing freely and address your ball, especially on the putting green, with speed and decision; but do not get too much into the habit of racing around the links, because if you do you will find the waiting which is a necessary part of tournament play, excessively irksome. Even with the best arrangements, the progress of the various couples in a large competition must be somewhat slow, and if you have not inured yourself to the tedium of long waits, such as you may suffer any day at the high hole at St. Andrews, or on any teeing ground at North Berwick, you will find yourself the victim of much inward irritation.

Of two contradictories, therefore, in spite of the logic books, you must choose both. In practice, accustom yourself to playing quickly and freely. Learn also in practice to play slowly. As a result you will be able on great occasions to add something of caution to your game, without suffering from what has been well termed ball shyness; and you will also be in a position to wait for a slow couple in front, or for the many deliberations of your opponent, without losing that equanimity which is indispensable to success.

Summary

To sum up, then, I should advise every golfer to live a healthy life. Thereafter it is unnecessary to change in any way your habits of existence with a view to success in a competition.

Do not play too much, and above all, do not reach the top of your game too soon.

Learn to concentrate your attention upon each stroke, and not upon the general result.

Finally, practice the utmost freedom of swing and address in ordinary play, so that you may exercise deliberation in competition, without becoming abnormally slow. But do not accustom yourself so much to rapidity that the waits in a tournament affect your nerves.