But, if you fall from your high estate, the safest plan will be to confide in the pro-fessional whose practised eye will detect the fault and "modestly discover to yourself that of yourself which you know not of."

It is hoped that enough has been said to urge the profound importance of patient and intelligent practice. It is the attitude of hopefulness and confidence in its value that has revealed the hidden delights of the game and brought an unanticipated gratification to the dogged player through a long period of persistent endeavour. "Faber quisque fortunae suae" quotes the philosophic Bacon, and this bit of wisdom finds an echo in Sydney Smith's dictum, "Every man's destiny is in his own hands."

Match-play consists usually in playing a full round of eighteen holes against a single opponent. Occasionally the round is doubled in length, and the ordinary match may be varied by the addition of one or two more players (then known as a three-ball or four-ball match) or it may take the form of a "foursome," in which each side consists of two players, playing one ball between them. A "threesome" (see Rule 1) is rarely played nowadays. A four-ball foursome is a match between sides of two players each, each person playing his own ball.

The match is played hole by hole, and each hole is therefore a match in itself. Though the loser of a hole may have taken a dozen more strokes at that hole than the winner, the sin is wiped out by the event and a fresh start is made at the next. Any excess of strokes at one hole, therefore, does not prejudice the remaining holes.

Match-play is the original form of the game and is no doubt the true one. But expediency stepped in with the growth of the game in the public esteem and demanded a system which would more conveniently determine the issue of a competition. Thence was evolved the plan by which the strokes taken for each hole were recorded and the totals for the whole round compared. The ingenuity of a golfer in the Midlands provided a combination of the two styles, known as "Bogey," in which each hole is accorded a fixed standard of strokes on the basis of "scratch" play; so many strokes are allowed for reaching the putting-green and two more are given for holing out. The one drawback is the disregard for external conditions— wind, weather, and the state of the course —but the "Bogey" method of competition is extremely popular and an agreeable variation of the "medal" or stroke test.

Medal-play undoubtedly calls for greater steadiness when it is considered that every weak hole helps to swell the total score beyond its normal dimensions. It is also a more trying form of play, seeing that your partner is only one of many opponents. You are fully aware of his progress, for you keep his score; you are quite in the dark as to the others.

But though steadiness is absolutely essential in medal-play, it is scarcely less so in match-play. It is only in the latter, however, that risks are justifiable, but the steadier the style, the less need is there for desperate strokes, while success is more often due to the erratic play of your opponent than to your own brilliancy. Taking risks involves a forcing game, and if habitually indulged in will certainly spoil the style and lead to bad habits. Of course, the occasion arises when nothing but a coup de main can avail. For example, if your opponent is "dormy," a halved hole is of no use to you, or if he is one up with two holes to play, it still leaves you in a bad way. You have little or nothing to lose and everything to gain, and so you are under the necessity of taking heroic measures. On the other hand, if you have an advantage over your opponent, whether it be at a particular hole or during the progress of the match, he is likely to develop anxiety and succumb to the temptation to force the game and "press." Your own steadiness will add to his exasperation and he will probably flounder still deeper in the mire. Some lines from Dr Himes' Unlucky Golfer are well worth recalling in this connection :—

"Woulds't thou be player on th' winning side, Then Lies, Balls, Clubs, etc., cease to chide; None can with reason hope to win a hole Who, losing temper, lose their self-control."

A common source of danger to the beginner is the temptation to outdrive his opponent. Nip it in the bud; despatch the subtle allurement to the rear and whisper to yourself the one word, "Steady! "Swing easily and keep a straight ball; nothing is more disconcerting and annoying to your opponent, who for the time being is your enemy to be outwitted, thwarted and beaten. Play with your head always. If a bunker can only be carried by something approaching a superhuman effort, play short; if you are in long grass, get on to the fair way in the next stroke at whatever cost of distance— excepting, of course, in circumstances already noted. "Forlorn hopes" are only for those in extremis. In medal-play, your best guide is the "bogey" score at each hole without reference to your partner's; indulge in no fancy shots, but give every stroke all the intelligence and concentration at your command.