I HAVE spoken of the want of new space in Great Britain ; but in Greater Britain we shall find, and are already finding, an almost unlimited field for progression. In the Colonies the game has been but recently recognised, and it is only just beginning to forge ahead ; judging by the progress of the game in America, it should have a great future.

The space at the disposal of the new enthusiasts is so great that they may extend their scope in all directions, and still, like Oliver Twist, but with greater success, cry for more. Australia and New Zealand have been fostering the game with jealous care during the past few years, but why they should have waited so long I am unable to say. Now it is satisfactory to hear that our cousins "down under" will not allow the grass to grow beneath their feet; they are flocking into club membership in increasing numbers, and the British club manufacturer is rejoicing.

Almost the whole of the golf requisites have to be obtained from this country, and before long we shall probably find the Colonies holding out big inducements to our leading professionals, by offering high terms to them in exchange for their services.

The native players, naturally, will not come to the front for a time. As is invariably the case, the caddie is the future professional, and until the Australian and the New Zealand boy is trained, the Colonies cannot expect to produce players who are equal to those turned out by Great Britain. But the day will come, and possibly the Open Championship may yet go to the southern zone.

Great progress, if we do not judge from an English standpoint, has been made of late years with golf upon the Continent, and it is certain that this condition of affairs will continue. France, of course, is the principal playing country, as far as links are concerned, but courses are also to be found in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Spain. There is only one drawback: the volatile natures of our Gallic neighbours do not exactly fit them for the earlier stages of learning the game thoroughly. Consequently they are not so keen upon it as might be wished, and the amateurs do not approach the game with English seriousness.

But in America, which I shall discuss more fully in a later chapter, there is a boundless future before the pastime. The first golf club organised upon American soil was that of St. Andrews, New York, formed in 1887. That was a long while ago, but since then clubs have sprung up in all directions, until to-day you find them in every quarter of the States. The game is booming tremendously. Though it stagnated, despite the best efforts, for a few years, it suddenly leapt into public favour, and has advanced with giant strides during the last five or six years. My own opinion of the cause of this is that visitors who had played during their vacations and tours in this country refused to throw off the attachment when they returned home. Golf they wanted, golf they would have, and golf they have got.

Coming back to the tale of English golf, there is another aspect of the game that should not be allowed to escape public attention entirely. I mean that golf for the people must necessarily be taken into consideration, and artisan golf-the game as played by the average working man-must not be overlooked.

With all due deference, I submit that it should be properly encouraged throughout the length and breadth of the kingdom, for, providing it is fostered in a proper spirit, there is a great future before it.

Let us take the public course situate on the Braids, at Edinburgh, as an argument in point. There you may walk upon the course and find immense numbers of bona-fule working men playing day after day. A small charge per player is made for each round played ; and when thousands wend their way to the links in order to enjoy a game during the course of a single day, it is an easy matter to recognise that a fair annual sum is readily placed in the coffers.

At Nottingham, I believe, artisan golf will be warmly supported in the near future on the old course of the Notts Golf Club. The members have left for fresh fields and pastures new, and on the scene of their former triumphs the general public are now catered for.

Objections to providing public golf courses will certainly arise, and I may at once say I quite recognise that artisan golf will, in the majority of instances, be possible to the greater proportion of the body of workers upon half-days and holiday occasions only, and that in some places the amount of rent would be prohibitive. Still, such courses are not infrequent in certain parts of the country; and with the long hours of daylight during the summer months, small fears need be felt regarding any lack of support.

Golf would tend to improve the physique of the town worker and his children. He would be afforded exercise and recreation at one and the same time, and though I do not anticipate the springing up of any fresh champions from the ranks of the artisans, yet upon hygienic grounds alone this feature of golf is, I submit, well worth consideration.