It ought to be obvious, even to the uninitiated, that matches, whether of the officially-conducted, comprehensive type, or of the ordinary friendly every-day sort, would be deprived of the satisfaction of uncertainty if they were not governed by some system of handicapping. One of the features of the game is the desire of the golfer for "fresh woods and pastures new," and this is encouraged by the widespread freemasonry that prevails among the votaries of golf. Though the plan of awarding handicaps possesses some elasticity due to the diversities of the various links and the somewhat whimsical notions held by certain Green committees as to what constitutes a proper "Bogey" score, the comparison of handicaps and the consequent adjustment of the odds is a pretty fair guide for preventing a foregone conclusion to a match between two strangers. The plan generally followed is the concession of a certain number of strokes by the stronger player to the weaker. This number represents three-quarters of the difference between the respective handicaps. The reason for this is the greater unsteadiness of the weaker player who is more liable to use up extra strokes when in difficulties at one or more of the holes. A scratch player would therefore give only nine stroke (in match play) to one whose handicap for stroke competitions is twelve, the theory (based on experience) being that, in medal play, the latter is likely to dissipate the apparent gratuity of three strokes at one or two holes without disturbing the result in match-play. A hole lost is lost, whether by one or a dozen strokes. Subjoined is a table showing the allowances for match-play on handicaps allotted for score competitions.

[Note.—In foursomes, the difference is three-eighths of the aggregate handicap allowance instead of three-fourths as in single matches. A half-stroke or over counts as 1; less than a half is disregarded.]

At every club a table is displayed showing the holes at which the strokes are to be taken. The method adopted on some links of picking out the longer holes for the odds is not altogether fair to the receiver of strokes, since it fails to give him an opportunity of scoring off the stronger player at the shorter holes. A juster perinciple is to distribute the conceded strokes in proportionate positions over the round, having some regard, of course, to the character of the holes. For example, a one-stroke allowance should be given in the neighbourhood of the ninth hole, three strokes should be taken at every sixth hole, beginning at the second, six strokes at every third hole, beginning at the second, and so on. The table on the opposite page, as drawn up for the St Andrews Links, should prove an excellent general guide.

An alternative to the system of stroke allowance is the giving of bisques which are tremendously in favour of the weaker player and should, therefore, be somewhat sparingly allowed; they amount, practically, to the gift of an equivalent number of holes, while, under the usual method, a conceded stroke is often of no effect, or may only avail to snatch a "half." A start of so many" holes up" is another variant.

Match-play tournaments are a favourite mode of competition in golf as in tennis and billiards. The names of the entrants are drawn in pairs, the matches being arranged in rounds until the competition is narrowed down to two players for the final which is customarily decided on the double round of thirty-six holes.

When the number of players consists of a power of 2 (e.g., 8, 16, 32, 64) it is easy to arrange for the contest to be carried through without the necessity of a re-draw. But as the Fates are not often so accommodating, it becomes expedient to adopt a plan at the outset that will obviate any hitch in its automatic working from beginning to end. For this purpose, the first round should be so arranged as to byes and matches as to eliminate the former from succeeding rounds by securing one of the requisite numbers; the solution is quite simple. Take the excess over the next power of 2 below the number of entrants; that will give the number of matches in the first round. The remaining players will be byes who will qualify automatically for the second round. For example, assume the number of competitors to be 45. From this, deduct 32. The remainder, 13, will indicate the number of matches which will necessitate the absorption of twice that number of players. There will thus remain 19 byes who, with the victors of the 13 matches, will make 16 matches for the second round. The rest is easy. In the draw, it is a good plan to distribute the byes between the top and bottom of the list. The name on the first slip should go at the top, the second at the bottom, the third should be number 2 on the list, fourth, second from the bottom, and so on until all the byes are exhausted. The matches are then drawn in pairs. When the total number of byes is even, they may be drawn forthwith in couples for the second round. The following is a specimen of a draw for a tournament of 11 players:

No. of players: 11; No. of matches (11-8): 3; therefore No. of players in first round: 6; leaving, 5 byes.