In making teeing grounds, see that they are placed absolutely at right angles to the line for the hole; and that the discs are also always placed at the same angle. Nothing is more disconcerting, or fatal to accuracy, than neglect in this particular.

It is usual to have special medal teeing grounds, in addition to those for ordinary play, and these are generally placed some yards further back.

The extent of ground necessary for a putting green depends on its situation. If it be on a plateau, 30 or 40 yards all round the hole is none too much; if it lie in a hollow or basin, a much smaller superficial area will suffice. In any circumstances, it ought to be of such a size, that a ball played on to it from a distance will have a reasonable chance of stopping on it. The quality of the turf will be a first consideration in choosing a putting green, and spots which are wet, or rank, or weedy, however suitable from the point of view of situation, had better be left alone unless expense is no consideration. It is not desirable, in a putting green, to have the surface flat like a billiard-table, and an undulating surface, provided the turf be equal and true, will make the putting more interesting and difficult. Any abrupt hillocks or ridges which would stop a ball or cause it to jump, should be removed, by cutting and rolling back the turf and removing the soil. If this be done when the ground is moist, and the turf beaten down and rolled immediately, all traces of the operation will soon disappear.

The putting green should be so large that it will be possible to remove the hole to various suitable spots on it, from time to time, so as to rest the green, and if it be too small to admit of this, it will be necessary to have an alternative green somewhere in the vicinity. Many greens arc now well supplied with water, which has been done by the sinking of Artesian wells. This is a very costly arrangement, and the results of artificial watering are doubtful. In any case, the ground should never be watered when it is hot with the sun, and any mere sprinkling with a garden hose is useless. Grass will stand a good deal of drought, if it be not walked on overmuch, but if the ground gets very dry, it should be well soaked by allowing the water to flood it for some hours, either very early in the morning, or at night, an hour or so after sundown.

In mowing and rolling a putting green, care should be taken never to mow or roll it repeatedly in the same direction. If this is persisted in, the grass will come to grow all one way, so that in putting with the slope of the grass, the green will be very keen, and against it, it will be very stiff. The holes should be provided with tin or iron linings to preserve their shape, and these should be pressed down into the holes, so as to leave half an inch of turf above the upper rim. If this is not done, and the metal rim is left flush with the surface of the grass, many balls that would otherwise go in, will either run round the rim or jump over the hole.

The greens should be rolled every day, and cut with the lawn-mower as often as there is any grass for the machine to catch. The grass ought never to be allowed to get at all long, and the tips of grass can be advantageously left on the green, where they will assist in manuring the grass and in shading and moistening the roots. Any bare patches or holes on the green should be cut out square, with a spade, and the place filled with clean fresh turf, cut somewhere off the course.

"It is the duty of every golfer to replace turf cut out in the act of playing." This duty, however, is rather to his brother golfer who may come after him, than to the green, for in nine cases out of ten the "skelps " of turf, replaced by hand, and pressed down by foot, do not reunite with the soil. In a day or two they will dry up and wither, and be kicked out by the heel or toe of the first passer-by. In most cases where turf is cut out with the iron, the roots of the grass are left intact, and where this happens, replacing the pad of grown grass on the top, will only stifle and check the growth of fresh shoots. It is much better to instruct the green-keeper to remove all these replaced divots and fill the sore with a spadeful of sand or loose soil, which will be found to encourage the new growth.

For the clearing and making of the fairway of a new course there is nothing so good as playing on it. There will, of course, in the first instance, be plenty of work for the grubber and the spade, and after operations with these implements are completed, and the mangled ground lies before them, the green-makers must be prepared for the reproach which is sure to be hurled at them by outsiders - "Where they have made a desert they call it Golf." Let them take heart of grace. Let but the voice of the golfer be heard in the land for a few months; let his foot, always heedful and tender, be allowed to roam at will over the course. Soon the wounds will unite and heal, fresh grass will begin to grow where formerly there was gorse and bent, and rush and fog, and other unprofitable matter, and the wilderness will rejoice and blossom as the rose.

The foregoing remarks apply primarily to the making and keeping of seaside courses, and, "except as hereinafter provided," may be taken as equally applicable to inland courses.

It is quite certain that, had the ground on which ordinary inland golf is played to-day been the only available ground for the purpose, the game would never have been invented at all, "and so much labour and much love were lost." Maritime nation as we are, we cannot all live by the seaside, and as we must apparently all play golf, we must take it where and how we can. Roughly speaking, the distinguishing features of inland or park golf, are trees and worms. Now the tree is not, and never has been, in the written history of golf at any rate, a golfing hazard. Bunkers and their like have always been on the ground, and not suspended in mid-air. Therefore, if you have trees on your ground, it will be wise to lay out your course so that they never occur in the straight line of fire. If they do they should be cut down. It may spoil the landscape, but it will improve the golf - and the language. With the worm it is different. He dieth not, and you will have to put up with him, and where you have mud and clay you will have worms and worm casts, and bad putting greens. In the dry weather they will not appear, but whenever it is wet your putting greens will be unplayable. A broad wooden roller, not too heavy, drawn over the greens every morning, will pick up most of the worm casts, but the roller must be constantly scraped, and the scrapings removed from the neighbourhood of the green.

The question of hazards on an inland course, is an extremely difficult one. Sand bunkers of the orthodox kind are necessarily unobtainable, gorse is rare, and hedges and ditches, of more or less unnegotiable character, are their only substitutes. It is usually necessary, therefore, to make artificial hazards, and care must be taken, that these are made and placed with due regard to fairness, interest, and variety. And here let it be said, that whatever the nature of the hazard may be, be it a natural seaside bunker, or an inland hedge or ditch, or a patch of gorse, let there be no doubt as to where the hazard begins, or where it ends. If your bunker tapers off indefinitely into the fair green, cut it square, and to preserve its integrity, build round its face with wood or wattles. If your whins are patchy, and you grudge destroying the stragglers, enclose them all with a white chalk line or a little trench, and let all ground within the mark be "hazard." For an inland course, the only good kind of artificial hazard is made by digging a trench some six feet broad and about a foot deep, at the required place, and at a suitable angle to the line of the hole. The contents of this trench are built up, cop-wise, to the height of about three feet on its far side, and the embankment is turfed over. This opposing face should not be perpendicular, but should slope away at an angle, so as to give a player a chance of playing forward, over it, even if his ball lies close to the face. Wherever it is possible, the trench should be filled with some inches of sea-sand or gravel, and if this cannot be procured, cinders or ashes may be used as a substitute. But whatever the composition of the bottom of the trench may be, it should not be allowed to become hard or caked, and should always be of a soft and yielding nature. But do not be in a hurry to cut and carve the turf of your inland course with bunkers and made tees. Where the ground is park-like, and devoid of natural hazards, it is wiser to experiment with wattles or hurdles, at various distances, until by experience of the course in all states of the wind, you are satisfied of the correct position for your hazards. If this is done, much labour and expense will be avoided.

As a general rule, the proximity of hazards to putting greens should be determined by the length of the approach shot, after good play. A hole that can be reached from a full shot, ought to have plenty of room round its putting green. Where the green can only be reached by an approach after one or two full shots, the hazards may guard the green more closely.

In conclusion, any man who dreams that the golf course which he has laid out will meet with universal approval, is doomed to disappointment. The golfer who plays well on it, will, of course, be sure to commend it; but he who plays ill, will be as certain to say that it is not golf, but skittles. "A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and among his own people." There is no green but has its enthusiastic supporters, and none without its equally furious detractors. Let them rave. Look to your putting greens, your tees, and your hazards, and let the golf take care of itself.

THE BLACK SHED, HOYLAKE. From a drawing by Garden G. Smith.).