IT would be an almost impossible task to trace the history of golf from its origin. Were we to pin our faith to our old friend Punch, we should be in the happy position of believing that the game had reached Great Britain almost as soon as King Hubba the Dane had planted his standard at Westward Ho - at a time, for instance, when a ball might be lost in the maw of a prehistoric monster and the player be forced to fly upon the wings of the wind to ensure his personal safety.

Then there is the old, very old story of the Scottish herdsman who beguiled the tedium of his watches by inventing a game in which white stones and his shepherd's crook played prominent parts.

But it is not my intention to search the ancient archives. Golf, as far as I have known it, has only existed for twenty years or so; farther back than that my recollection refuses to go. While a lad I played golf many hundreds of times at Westward Ho, which I still think one of the finest courses in the country. That was in the early days when I was learning the game by slow but by no means easy stages, and it was not until 1891 that I actually embarked upon the pastime in a professional sense.

Golf at that time was steadily pushing its way to the front, but it had not nearly reached the point it is fortunate enough to have gained at the present moment. There were a fair number of courses dotted about the country, but signs of the "boom" in the game were hardly yet visible.

My very first professional match was played during the 1891 season, at which time I was engaged as professional at Burnham, in Somersetshire. Andrew Kirkcaldy was then similarly engaged at the Winchester course, and there was a discussion over my probable merits as a new recruit to the ranks. Eventually a match was ratified between us, a 36-hole contest, home and home, and this match I was fortunate enough to win by 4 up and 3 to play.

Still, there can be no doubt that the game as generally played at that time had not reached its present pitch of excellence, and the cause of this being so may be readily explained.

Golf was not then played so extensively; it had not really become one of the all-popular pastimes, but as additional players and enthusiasts were brought into contact with the clubs, the ball, and the greens, the style of play improved steadily.

In 1891 the best professionals, men who were at the actual head of affairs, were probably Andrew and Hugh Kirkcaldy, Douglas Rolland, the man of mighty drives, Ben Sayers, David Brown, Willie Fernie, and Willie Park, jun.

They were the leaders, the professionals who were in the first flight of players; but since then ten years have passed, and the list of first-class players is now almost as long as in cricket.

Good courses, too, even in 1891, were not so very plentiful. Even around and in the immediate vicinity of London, the hub of the universe, the game had not really attracted full attention.

There were a few clubs of standing certainly, but golf was principally played on Wimbledon Common and at Blackheath. Now almost all the great lines have put on special trains offering facilities for London golfers.

In a small way this rapid advance in the popularity of golf from 1890 onward may be ascribed partly- to the sudden enthusiasm shown by Mr. A. J. Balfour and in a short time by many other well-known men.

The world and his wife came and watched the game, began to understand the nicer points and skill attached to it, and then, seeing it was a healthful, fairly energetic, and decidedly interesting pastime, they determined they would take it up.

And they did! Courses were laid out, clubs sprang up as though by magic, and at last no resort was thought really up to date unless a golf links could be found within easy walking or riding distance.

The game securing a hold upon all classes of society became a fashionable exercise, and nothing could stay its progress after that. And yet, curiously enough, golf has possibly secured the strongest following not in London proper, but in the north, more particularly Lancashire, and it is still increasing its hold upon that portion of the United Kingdom.

Lancashire, indeed, is a grand county from a golfer's point of view; perhaps, on the whole, the best county in the kingdom. There are three or four absolutely first-class natural courses to be found within the borders, such as St. Anne's, Formby, the West Lancashire Golf Club Links, and Southport.

They are all particularly good, but of the quartette I should select Formby as being the best. The turf at this spot is in a greater degree naturally adapted to the game. It is smooth, yet firm, and I can only say that the course is indeed one of the best I have yet discovered in the whole of England, Scotland, Ireland, or Wales. Yorkshire is also a county that lends itself in a great measure to the laying out of attractive links, but it is not so well off in this respect as Lancashire.

But despite the greater natural advantages possessed by some few particular English counties- the Lancashire sea-board especially-golf is going strongly and well, and quite maintaining its hold upon the affections of the public in all quarters of the kingdom. And yet, notwithstanding all this, it may be that the game has almost reached its zenith of prosperity. It is a hard matter to decide, and I trust I may be mistaken ; but it is impossible to close one's eyes to everyday facts and remain oblivious of what is daily becoming a more pressing danger.

This is the problem with which we are unfortunately confronted on every side. Where shall we go in order to secure additional space for our game?

If it is impossible to secure ample room, golf cannot be played. We are being faced by this difficulty wherever we turn, and matters will not improve in this respect as time goes on and the population continues to increase.

The condition of things in England is almost equalled in Scotland, where the population is great, and the links are dotted about all over the country.

There is but one spot where we are not faced by this question of room, and that is Ireland, which, as I shall point out later on, has great possibilities, and where no links are likely to be endangered by the growth of population.