AS regards the merits or demerits of inland and - seaside courses, the question is of the widest As for a comparison of a course, by the sad sea waves, with a course embowered in trees, I think there is but one thing to be said. It is my pet theory, and one shared, I may add, by many other players, that an inland course is far more difficult and presents greater tasks to be accomplished by the player than one that may be situated upon the seashore or near to it.

Any golfer, I feel certain, who has had experience on the differently situated courses will support me in this contention.

This very real difference is to be explained, I suppose, by the varying qualities attaching to the soil and subsoil of the two courses. Taking the great majority of the inland courses, do you not find that the soil is of a clayey character ? And it is an absolutely proven fact that this does not lend itself to the playing of the game pure and simple, like the light and sandy bottom to be found near the seashore.

I may instance the playing of a shot with an iron club after you have left the tee. Upon an inland course the ball develops a persistent knack of skidding away from the face of the club. This of course occurs when you are performing upon a seaside course occasionally, but if you are afflicted by wet or damp weather inland, then indeed you may of a certainty anticipate trouble such as I have mentioned.

The grass of the countryside is always found to be of a more or less watery character, and to this must be attributed many of the failures experienced in attempting to play a particular stroke. It is a by no means uncommon occurrence upon an inland course for the ball to fly off at a tangent, at right angles, it may be, or to duck like a wounded bird after being struck squarely and truly.

This does not occur if you are playing over links situated by the seaside. In such places there is invariably a certain proportion of sand in the soil which gives the turf the necessary quality. This "grittiness," if I may so call it, makes the face of the club in a measure grip the ball, and so it flies direct to the mark in a true line when struck properly.

TOP OF SWING WITH CLEEK.

As for the 'lies" a golfer is favoured with on the respective courses, there is really no comparison. When you are inland the ball never "sits" up to any great extent, but on a sandy soil the golfer finds it possible to pick the ball up readily.

This difference of soil naturally exercises a great effect upon the art of putting. It is difficult at the best of times when inland to succeed in getting the ball to keep the line of the hole, while under certain atmospheric conditions I do not hesitate to say that to putt with any degree of certainty is a practical impossibility.

At the seaside it may be found that the greens become, to a certain degree, fiery after a prolonged spell of dry weather, but the ball does not take it into its head to perform curious circus tricks. Suppose, however, you are favoured with a drought inland, then it is that real fun (for the spectator) is experienced, for the ball bobs about in all directions except that desired by the player.

In the case of inland greens it is a far easier matter to putt in wet weather than in dry; but should the surface become baked beneath the influence of a scorching sun, the ball turns off at unexpected angles, and you are left uselessly lamenting at the hardness of your fate and of the ground.

Should it fall to the lot of a young beginner to be initiated into the mysteries of the game upon an inland course, he discovers the difference immediately he transfers his play to the links nearer the sea. I invariably find the game altogether less difficult to play by the sea; the strokes appear to come off much more readily, especially when you find it necessary to requisition the services of an iron club to any great extent.

This being the case, there is but one thing to be said, and that is, should a golfer learn the game at the seaside he is frequently quite at sea, figuratively speaking, when he transfers himself inland, although, provided he is capable of adapting himself to the altered circumstances, he should not find the task of playing himself into form a too difficult one, after he has tried just a few experimental rounds.

For the first few games he may find himself "out of the hunt"; after that he is able to gauge his capabilities to a greater extent. He learns the tricks of the greens, and makes himself at home with anything that may crop up at more or less frequent intervals as he goes along.

As for the Championships and this question of inland links, the premier competitions of the year have never yet been decided upon a course absolutely removed from the sea, nor do I think they ever will be. There is, though, one thing to be considered in regard to this, viz. that the younger generation are being almost entirely taught in the green valleys and dales of the country.

Seaside courses possess a considerable advantage over any other, seeing that they are fairly natural in character as far as obstacles are concerned. Bunkers, sand dunes, clumps of bulrushes (the latter a particular feature at Westward Ho only, as far as my experience has extended) are not to be found ready made upon other courses.

If you are forced to leave the seaside and come inland, what do you discover? That the course is, nolens volens, of a more or less artificial character, and that the hazards have been laid down with mathematical precision.

They cannot be risked ; absolutely nothing can be left to chance. They are there with wide, yawning mouths waiting for you, and the playing of a bad stroke means that a severe penalty will be exacted. At the seaside the obstacles are more or less scattered in a natural way. Inland the reverse is the case, but hedges and trees are none the less dangerous because they happen to have grown naturally.

It is also a matter of much more difficulty to play out of a bunker upon an inland course, for the reason that as it is a matter of expense to get the sand to the inland bunkers they are not invariably so well attended to in this respect as they should be; while in the majority of instances the sand used for bunker purposes is dug in the locality.

This, however, is a great disadvantage, for there is always a certain percentage of clay mixed with inland sand, and it cakes under the influence of wind and weather. Thus another difficulty is added to those already surrounding a player who may be fated to drop his ball into the trap lying in his path.

Moreover, the positions of inland putting greens cannot be shifted with the same ease as at the seaside. There is but a certain area within which they may be made. By the seaside you are not faced with this limitation, for the space at your disposal is practically boundless.

Then there is the sameness and monotony to be faced upon an inland course as opposed to the varied character of a course that is more fortunately situated. This is a great disadvantage, against which it is most difficult to contend; it is the bane of many links, for this monotony tends to upset the nerves of a player, and, quite as naturally, his style of play, for there are the same kinds of shots, hole after hole.

As for the idea that a man is favoured by the decision of a match upon his own links, be he clubman or professional, this is simply a common mistake. There is no advantage to a man so situated, quite the reverse; for he is so well aware of all the difficulties around him that they loom up before him and awe him as he plays, and the class of his game suffers in consequence.

FINISH OF FULL CLEEK SHOT.

When playing upon a strange or a little-known course he is not aware exactly of what may be met with, so he accepts chances, and in nine cases out of ten, if skilfully calculated, they "come off."

Seaside courses repair themselves almost naturally. Inland courses must never be allowed to get out of hand. Bunkers need re-turfing and re-sanding; the grass is coarser and harder, and soon wears bare. Renovation must be carried on continually, and in consequence of the greater amount of wear and tear - for they are much harder worked - the inland courses suffer terribly at times.

In the country the season arrives and is in full swing at the worst possible time of the year, as far as the turf is concerned; at the seaside the links have at least some rest.

What I have said may perhaps be a partial explanation of the differences that are found to exist between the inland and seaside courses.