In the case of our first hole, in burning and hacking a course of 60 or 80 yards through the gorse and grubbing up the roots, all holes will have to be filled up and returfed; but the man who tops his tee shot should be remembered, and for his sake, and for the encouragement and protection of those who do better, you will do well to leave a solid belt of the gorse all across the course, about 60 yards from the tee.

A long driver, when he hits his ball clean, will carry some 150 to 170 yards, and a less powerful player some 130 to 150 yards. From 100 to 130 yards, then, from the tee, there should be another hazard of some sort to catch balls which, though good enough to escape the primal punishment for topped balls, have yet been hit with considerable inaccuracy. Beyond this second hazard the ground should be good for 80 or 100 yards, but guarding the hole again, there should be another hazard which the player will have to loft over before reaching the putting green. In addition, the course may be garnished on either side, according to the taste and fancy of the maker, with other hazards, to catch crooked balls, and also beyond the hole, to punish those that are hit too strongly, but "blind hazards," i.e., hazards which are not visible to the player, such as sunk ditches or holes, should either be rendered visible or filled up.

It is becoming the fashion at Sandwich, and on many other first-class courses, in addition to the penalty for topping, to make the carry for the tee shot so long, that only the longest drivers can accomplish it - that is to say, from 140 to 180 yards. It is questionable, however, if this be advantageous, and whether it does not in many cases defeat the object in view. Against a strong wind, such carries are often impracticable, and they tend to develop a propensity to mere slogging, to the neglect of direction or accuracy, altogether away from the traditions of the game. If two players drive their balls equally truly from the tee, and one, by reason of strength, gets his 30 yards further than the other, the fact that he is 30 yards nearer the hole than his weaker brother, is surely a sufficient reward for his superiority.

I have described this imaginary first hole, not as a model which must be faithfully copied in each succeeding hole. It is to be taken simply as typical of how a hole of that length may be laid out, paying due regard to the reward and punishment of the various strokes required for it.

As has been said, variety is essential in a golf course if the game is to be made interesting, and if it is to afford the highest test of skill. And not only are the putting greens to be of various configurations, but the length of the holes, varying also, will necessitate a different disposition of the hazards. A golf course of 18 holes should contain at least two short holes, i.e., two holes that can be reached from the tee with a driver or even an iron club. A short hole should always be of a sporting character, whether it be surrounded by bunkers, its green but a small oasis in the middle of a Sahara, or if the way to it be so narrow, that only the straightest shot will escape destruction, let it be such, that the skilfully struck tee shot will have its reward, and the miss, of whatever degree, entail the loss of one stroke at least.

It is a mistake to suppose that there are only three good lengths for a hole, namely, those that take a drive, two drives, and three drives to reach the green. These are all doubtless good lengths for a hole, but it is the constant repetition of these distances, and the wearisome recurrence of the same hazards, in the same spot, after each stroke that makes so many golf courses monotonous and uninteresting. The argument for this disposition of lengths, to take the case of the longest hole, is, that the player who hits all his shots clean, is on the green in three, while his opponent, who has partially missed one of his, is not, and has to play a fourth before he is in as good a position. Were the hole 25 or 30 yards shorter, it is pointed out, the man who hits three clean shots, is no better off than he who has failed at one of his strokes, as the latter can still recover his position by playing a longer third. To these Jehus I reply - why not ? Is the race, then, always to go to the swift and the battle to the strong ? The man may have had a bad lie. Is he not to have a chance of making a recovery ? Is the game to be reduced to a dead level of mathematical distances, and the hitting of full shots, one, two, or three, as the case may be, accurately, to be the final test of merit ? What about quarter shots ? What about all the delicate manipulation of the iron and mashie? According to this theory of laying out golf courses, the good player would never have to play a wrist shot or a quarter stroke, except after he had made a mistake, and the lofter and the mashie are forthwith degraded to the rank of the niblick!

It is no doubt very annoying, after one has played three perfect strokes, and is lying on the green, to find our opponent, after being bunkered, laying his fourth shot, a long cleek or brassie, at the hole-side. Very annoying; but so is a stymie - so are heaps of things. One might as well say that an opponent has no business to hole a long putt for the like, when we are lying dead at the hole ! By all means let us have holes of these lengths in our course, for they are good lengths, but let us also have holes of other lengths - holes that will bring out a man's ability to play his iron, at all distances, after as many or as few full strokes as you please, or to judge a running approach, or put cut, or slice, on a high loft, all of which accomplishments are quite as interesting and difficult as thrashing a ball through the green.

The teeing grounds for each hole are important items. Judging from those that are to be found in many places, it seems to be thought that any place will do, provided you stick two white discs in it, to mark it off. This is a grievous error, and the teeing ground should have the care and attention of the green-maker and keeper, as much as the putting greens. The first thing to be looked to in a teeing ground is its situation. It must not be so near the hole, that parties playing from it, will interfere, in the slightest degree, with those playing to the previous hole. Nor should it, on the other hand, be so far away from the hole previously played, that players have to walk a hundred yards or so before reaching it. There is usually some spot, 30 or 40 yards to one side or other of the last green, from which it will be possible to strike tee shots with safety, and if the ground be unsuitable, a proper teeing ground will have to be made. Ground that is on any kind of slope, unless it be slightly sloped upwards, in the direction of the drive, and ground that is hummocky, is unsuitable for a teeing ground. The surface ought to be dead level, and if one has to be made, let it be at least 6 yards wide and as many deep. This will give plenty of room for constant changing of the discs and resting the green. If the teeing ground is too small, and if the tee is not constantly changed, it will soon get knocked to pieces. Two square wooden boxes, painted with the number of the hole about to be played, and filled with moist sand for the making of tees, should be placed outside each disc.