There have been so many discussions of a somewhat futile nature upon the relative merits of British and American players, that it may be interesting to know exactly how golfers in America rank with the experts on the other side of the water. As I have already pointed out, the conclusions which might be drawn from the results of the amateur and open competitions held in this country during the last three years are manifestly unfair to the amateurs, for the very simple reason that the amateurs have never yet met the professionals on even terms. And had they done so, it must be remembered that Lloyd's score of 163 at Wheaton in the championship tournament of 1897 compares very favorably with the winning scores over such courses as Hoylake and Muirfield, which are certainly two strokes easier than the course of the Chicago golf club; and it is not so many years ago that no amateur in Great Britain was expected to come within ten strokes of the first place in the open event.

As far as I can judge, it is impossible to compute the difference between first-class form here and in Scotland or England by a definite number of strokes. The class in America is so exceedingly small that the results attained are, comparatively speaking, most indifferent. And yet the class exists and must be judged on its merits. The difference really consists only in the matter of steadiness and confidence in tournament play. Mr. Charles Macdonald may be taken as a typical example of the first-class American amateur. His record for a single season over the links of the Chicago Golf Club at Wheaton is almost as good as that of any Scotch player over the links of St. Andrews. And yet in tournament play he would certainly be outclassed by the first six or eight amateurs who are sure to put in an appearance for any great event in Scotland. It may seem strange that a player who is capable of producing an invincible game on ordinary occasions, should fail when skill is most called for. In reality the explanation is very simple. No one who has lived in America up to the present time can possibly have acquired the tournament habit; for after all, the ability to play up to form in important events is not entirely a matter of nerve, but comes in great measure from long experience; and as important tournaments have only recently been instituted in America such experience is entirely out of the question. The only difference between the first class proper in Great Britain, and the much larger class which includes the rank and file of those who are placed at scratch in the handicap list of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, lies in the possession of this same tournament habit; and it is exceedingly rarely that any very young player makes his way into the real aristocracy of the game. Even when he does he is not by any means sure to keep" his position, as is proved by the fact that Mr. P. C. Anderson, one of the youngest of amateur champions, has failed to live up to the honors that he won a few years ago.

Mr. F. G. Tait was considered a mere boy when he captured the coveted laurels in 1896; but he was twenty-five years of age, and had also had the advantage of constant familiarity with the best players from the time that he first went to school. The real first class in Great Britain is confined to those members of the big brigade who went down at Muirfield last spring before the prowess of two comparative youngsters in the persons of Mr. Robb and Mr. Allen. In spite of their defeat, they are still the leading figures in amateur golf, partly on account of their past career, and partly because they are sure to supply most of the medal winners and champions for some time to come.

Mr. F. G. Tait And Tom Morris.

Photographed by R.W. Hawks, Edinburgh.

Mr. F. G. Tait, Playing A Cleek Shot.

Mr. A. J. T. Allen, Putting.

The list includes the names of Mr. John Ball, Mr. J. E. Laidlay, Mr. Harold Hilton, Mr. F. G. Tait, Mr. Horace Hutchinson, Mr. Leslie Balfour-Melville, Mr. Mure-Fergusson and the Messrs. Blackwell. To these we must add, in view of recent events, the names of Mr. Allen and Mr. Robb.

Take these men and a few others, whom I may have inadvertently omitted, from the so called first class in Great Britain, and I do not think that there are any players out of the remainder who are likely to show better form than can be seen among the first-class players of this country - always provided that the term first-class as applied to American golf really applies only to those who have learned their game in Scotland. When we come to the average scratch player in American clubs, such as Mr. Fenn, Mr. Tyng, and a host of others who have shown skill in other branches of athletics, we are dealing with a different class altogether, composed of men who would rank for the most part with the converted cricketers of England, such as Mr. E. Buckland, Mr. C. Toppin, Mr. Croome and many others who have discarded the bat in favor of the driver. These players are rather better than the regular second-class performers according to the old system of division when the second class included all those who could play Mr. Laidlay or Mr. Balfour-Melville with a third of a stroke a hole. The cricketing contingent can do better than that, and yet they are generally too unsteady to be classed even with the ordinary scratch players at St. Andrews. To put it shortly, then, I should place our first class proper on the same level as the average scratch players of St. Andrews, and our best native talent on a par with the cricketers in England. What the precise difference is between our first class proper and the British first class proper is still an uncertain quantity, but it depends a great deal upon the ability of men of the Ball and Hilton class to play their best game when it is most required.