So much for the stroke itself. Perhaps it is a great deal too much, and yet the subject is so difficult and mysterious that there are doubtless enormous tracts both of knowledge and speculation that I have left untouched. Now, by a process of putting the horse behind the cart, I come to those preliminary investigations of the line which have to be mastered before the ball is struck.

That the time spent on studying the line is very well spent may be seen from the example of nearly all the best putters; of whom none putt really quickly, and some with a deliberation that, in the eyes of the irreverent, amounts to slowness. I remember once to have watched a match-play tournament for young assistant professionals, and never did I see matches played at such break-neck speed. Much of the golf from the tee and through the green was excellent, but the putting was, with one or two exceptions, dreadfully weak. Hardly any of the players took any time to consider their putts, their sole desire being apparently to get a tiresome business over as soon as possible; it was a desire that really defeated its own end, for many of them played a sadly large number of shots upon the green. I do not know if any of the competitors learned wisdom from that tournament, but I feel sure that some of the spectators must have done so. The golfer who is inclined to self-consciousness is rather apt to put himself off by a very solemn study of his putts; he thinks he is taking too long and that other people are thinking that he is taking too long, so that his last state is worse than his first. It is a natural feeling, but it is one to be fought against with might and main, for, save possibly on a green which is as flat as a pancake and so unworthy of the name of green, putting is not a thing to be done quickly.

Some very fine putters make a practice of always or nearly always scanning the line of the putt, not only from ball to hole, but from hole to ball. This must sometimes, one is inclined to think, be a work of supererogation, and in any case it must in a measure depend on the individual temperament of the player whether such extreme deliberation is a benefit or a hindrance, but in all instances of real difficulty it is certainly a wise precaution to take. The line seen from behind the hole sometimes differs materially from that seen from behind the ball, and it is, I think, a maxim of most good putters that in cases of doubt the line seen from the hole is the one to adopt.

Besides the line there are other considerations, such, of course, as the pace of the green and - less obviously - the wind. Putting in a strong wind is always a most unpleasant business, because it is so very hard to keep the body still, but, apart from this, it is a very common fault to underestimate the effect of the wind upon the travelling power of the ball. Nothing is commoner than to see a man hopelessly short when playing a long putt on a big open green in the teeth of a strong wind. I am also reminded by reading again the excellent work of Braid, one of the most thoughtful of putters, that it is very well worth observing whether or not the green has recently been cut, and if so which way the machine cutter has been taken over the grass. When the green presents an appearance of alternate light and dark stripes, ' the points of grass facing you,' says Braid, ' give a dark complexion to the green, so that the light stripes represent the fast sections of the green and the dark ones the slower sections.' Light and keen, dark and slow; it may be very profitable to remember.

A propos of taking the line, it may be said that there are two different ways of aiming at the hole. Some people only consider the two main factors, the ball and the hole; others fix on some spot of ground on the line to the hole and concentrate their attention on trying to make the ball pass over that spot. I must confess that I have never been able to master this latter system, a fact which I regard rather in its favour than otherwise. I can, therefore, recommend it only on the assurance of others. Those others are, however, very good putters, and I believe that the best putters do adopt this plan of aiming, not at the hole, but at a spot of ground near to it, so that the ambitious putter should certainly not abandon this plan without a thorough trial. Whichever is the system he adopts, one thing is tolerably certain, that once the player has decided on the point to aim at, he should hit the ball as quickly as is consistent with a complete absence of hurrying. Once the stance is taken up, hanging over the ball is almost sure to be detrimental, and if the player feels uncomfortable, it is better that he should come right away from the ball and start again. Mr. Low tells us that having made sure of his line, he sometimes walks up to his ball and hits it without so much as another glance at the hole. This may be for some a counsel of perfection, but it is impossible to doubt that too much aiming is bad; the player either falls into a state resembling catalepsy, or into overmuch knuckling over of hands and knees. In the one he becomes too rigid; in the other not steady enough; nor is the fact that traces of this knuckling movement are to be seen in the style of many professional putters any recommendation. Probably there was once some great putter of whose style it was a natural feature, but with most people it is merely a piece of imitative lumber serving no useful purpose and tending to harmful moving of the body.

There is one more putting problem connected with the taking of the line. In playing a 'borrowing' putt, i.e. one in which due allowance has to be made for a slope, the player has, as a rule, to aim at a much greater nicety of strength than in a perfectly plain-sailing stroke. A very small variation in strength makes all the difference in the degree to which the ball will be affected by the slope, and, moreover, a ball that is hit only a very little too hard is terribly apt to kick out of the hole. The player has therefore to play to ' drop ' his putt, as it is called; to hit it with exactly the right strength and no more. This is so delicate and difficult a business than any way of mitigating the difficulty is worth considering.

There is another way, though it is doubtful, not only whether it can possibly come under the head of elementary instruction, but also whether a great many people will not find it worse instead of better. It consists in playing a putt either with slice or pull, so as in a measure to neutralise the slope. If the slope is from right to left, the player will slice the ball against the slope with a cross-wise cutting motion of the club; if from left to right, he will pull it off the toe with something of a turning-over movement of the right wrist. Since the hook or slice will be fighting against the slope, much less borrow will have to be allowed for, and sometimes the player will be able to play almost straight at the hole. Consequently he will not have to be so nicely accurate in the matter of strength, and can hit the ball with greater freedom and boldness. But this slicing and hooking of putts is a subtle business, and will need much practice before the player can feel sufficient confidence to try it in a serious match. In the hands of an accomplished putter it is doubtless a valuable weapon; with those less skilful it is apt to be a double-edged one, and should at any rate be used in strict moderation.