The stroke should be smooth and even; anything in the nature of a jerk or stab will result in disaster. The rigidity of the body being insisted upon, it follows that the work must be mainly done by the hands and wrists. As in the other strokes of the game, the swing back, though necessarily shorter, needs to be carefully regulated. In addressing the ball, the club should first be grounded, and then taken away slowly; the forward movement must be a clean sweep, and the club must follow through in the direction in which it is intended the ball should travel. When you find your best-laid plans "ganging aft agley," let your watchward be, "follow through," and the last state of your putting will be better than your first. One word of caution, however. Beware of degenerating into a method that may give rise to a well-founded suspicion of a foul stroke, i.e., of hitting the ball more than once. This cannot occur if the ball be truly hit, for it will move away from the club too quickly to be overtaken by the latter. But perfect mechanism is of little avail without the possession and exercise of a sound judgment born of discernment and reason. There is much truth in the assertion that the putter, like the poet, is born, not made; it is a habit to him as swimming is to a duck.

But no one need despair of reaching a high degree of proficiency with the putter; one of the greatest of to-day's professional players began his career with very little aptitude for this delicate stroke. Studious and careful practice has placed him in the front rank. So while this inborn quality of accurate putting is a consummation devoutly to be wished, it is not denied to those who practise assiduously and intelligently, and who are not absolutely tied to the worship of the "driver." Let then such of us as have been overlooked by the gods give some thought to the conditions governing the progress of the ball from the moment of impact to its destination. The primary considerations are two:—(1), distance of the ball from the hole; and (2), the character of the putting-green; and both these, together with the others to be discussed later, are interdependent.

(1) Long putts.—The longer the putt the more complex will be its character. If only for the purpose of ascertaining its distance, it is always well to pace the intervening space, for things are not always what they seem. Medium and short putts.—Some players choose an intervening mark near the hole between that and the ball over which they desire the latter to go with sufficient impetus to carry it to the former; others prefer to putt at the hole itself. Each plan is probably the more suitable for the respective putts indicated. But the maxim that must ever be uppermost in the mind at this juncture is, "Never upy never in." The force of this exhortation is too obvious to need further exposition.

(2) Here the judgment is chiefly concerned with the "running powers" of the green, apart from the question of distance. The main factors are (a) state of the turf, (b) the plane or planes, and (c) undulations.

(a) State of the turf.—To avoid prolixity, it will be sufficient to say that rain and dew are worth considering separately as to their influence upon the speed of a ball, but that neither exposes a faulty judgment so much as a green in the "sticky" stage. The pacing of the distance between the ball and the hole will ascertain, amongst other things, the "texture" of the soil and the condition of the drainage. Of equal importance will be its "patchiness" or otherwise; uniformity of the turf is a desideratum always, but the eye must ever be on the look-out for alternating patches of thick grass and bare places.

(b) Planes. — Here we have sinister influences affecting both the speed and course of the ball, the latter being especially hazarded by the existence of the double-inclined plane. Such, combined with undulations (c)i rightly earn for a green the title of "sporting" and bring out the best qualities of a player. Undulations are not always so real as they look or look so real as they are—until after the stroke has been made. A survey of the line of the putt from the reverse side of the hole has its recommendations, though it is on record that a well-known professional confessed that he adopted this device to quieten his nerves!

There are other adventitious circumstances that must not be overlooked. Wind is one of them which is too generally discounted, and it would be a valuable object lesson to many players to test the pro and con influence of the wind on a fast green with a high wind blowing. Intermittent showers change the character of the green far beyond expectation, and worm-casts, the curse of clayey soils, are obstacles not lightly to be disregarded.

It is not unprofitable, too, to scan the green for evidence of the direction of the roller or mowing-machine; it makes all the difference whether you are putting over velvet or bristles.

One cannot well leave this important phase of the game without touching upon two other points of no inconsiderable moment. One is the question of an alternative putter. Experience is the best guide in this matter, but it will often be found of advantage to fall back on a second putter or even a cleek or iron when the customary club is "out of joint." It may also be found advisable to use one putter for long shots, and another for the reverse, or for slow or fast greens respectively; for the latter, in each case, the variety known as Park's putter will be found exceedingly useful, both the loft of the face and the twist of the head at the heel being very serviceable. For putts of some length, the wooden or aluminium putter serves an excellent purpose, and where the greens are unusually large, the cleek or iron may be employed with satisfactory results.

The other point is associated with the matter we have, just been discussing with regard to judgment. It sometimes happens (would it were oftener!) that you have two strokes for the hole or the half and only a moderate distance to cover. If for the hole it is obvious that no heroic effort need be made to achieve the result in one attempt, or, on the other hand, that any less care may be observed. The same remarks apply when only the half rewards the double attempt, but here the temptation to dispense with one of the strokes may easily involve a useless third. Where, however, i.e.) in friendly matches, your opponent's ball lies a foot, more or less, from the hole, and he has a stroke for the half or the hole, it is a common practice to display your spirit of comradeship (or "sportsmanship") by not requiring him to make the stroke. But this may be overdone and often is. In these days of stroke competitions the rules of which enforce the holing out of every ball at whatever distance it may be, the want of practice, with apparently easy putts, often finds its Nemesis during a competition. The most trifling influence is often enough to bring disaster, and the momentous issue hanging on a stroke of this description is sufficient to unsettle all but the steeliest nerves. Many of us, alas, can recall, at least one medal or one cup that now, in the possession of another, jeeringly reminds us of a foozled nine-inch putt. It is not only the mere tyro who commits this grievous error; the finest players at a critical moment often bring the hearts into the mouths of their admirers with these unexpected fiascos. Short putts may be well described as uncomfortable putts, because while no credit attaches to their success, disgrace awaits their failure. It is therefore in the interests of both players and of the game that this camaraderie should not be carried too far; cest magnifique, mais ce nest pas la guerre.