The common is now under the control of "Conservators," and golf is only permitted on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The course is, without doubt, one of the best near London. There are bad lies to be had, and there is much stony ground, and many balls may be lost in the all-pervading whins, but the hazards are natural, and the holes are of the most sporting character and of excellent lengths. The putting greens are beautiful, and of the proper undulating nature.

As the common stands high, the air is healthful and bracing, and lovely views are obtained of the plains and hills of Surrey, with foregrounds of whins and heather, or waving birch.

The Royal Wimbledon Club have been fortunate in securing the services of J. H. Taylor as resident professional and club-maker, while another good player, Peter Fernie, acts in the same capacities, for the London Scottish.

In 1872, a ladies' golf course was laid out at Wimbledon, and a very pretty little course it is. The Wimbledon Ladies' Golf Club was the first recognised ladies' club, and to Wimbledon, therefore, belongs the credit of initiating a movement that is now far-spread and popular.

Many fine players belong to the Wimbledon clubs. The names of A. H. Molesworth, T. R. Pinkerton, W. Laidlaw Purves, and Norman R Foster, the latter the hon. secretary and treasurer of the Royal Wimbledon Club, are familiar to all golfers. The secretary of the London Scottish is Mr. James Gow.

Richmond, not far off, which can be reached from Waterloo or Mansion House, can boast two excellent courses. The course of the Mid-Surrey Golf Club, situated in the Old Deer Park, is close to the station. It is one of the driest near London, the soil being gravel and sand; and though the ground is flat, the eighteen holes are of good length, and have been well, if somewhat monotonously, guarded with artificial bunkers.

The putting greens are large and good, and the going throughout the course, unless one be very much off the line, is excellent. There is a large and well-appointed club-house. The club, though of recent origin, numbers some good players among its members, among whom Mr. S. H. Fry, the amateur billiard champion, is pre-eminent, not only for the actual brilliancy of his play, but for the rapidity with which he achieved excellence.

A drive of fifteen minutes from Richmond station, takes the golfer to Sudbrooke Park, the headquarters of the Richmond Golf Club. This course is, in some respects, superior to any other near London. A splendid subsoil of yellow sand rendered the making of artificial bunkers easy, and these have been most judiciously constructed and placed. There are eighteen holes of various lengths, and natural hazards in the shape of ponds, ditches, etc, abound. But the great glory of Sudbrooke Park is its putting greens, the turf on them is beautifully close and even, and of unvarying quality.

The weak point of the course is the number of trees, many of which greatly interfere with the play. A great deal has been done in the way of removing the more obviously impossible ones, but there are still many that baulk or catch a good stroke. Mr. John Gairdner, under whose able captaincy the course was greatly improved, is in the first flight of amateur players.

The ground of Prince's Golf Club is at Mitcham, close to Mitcham Junction station, and can be reached from Victoria in about twenty minutes. The course is a common, and the subsoil being gravel, it is dry. The eighteen holes are of great length, and the lies throughout the green are rapidly improving. The record of the green is 76 - a truly fine score made by Mr. Ernley Blackwell, the bogey score being 84. There is an excellent ladies' golf course of eighteen holes. The resident professional is that well-known player, Jack White, late of North Berwick.

Not far away, at Furzedown, is the links of the Tooting Bee Golf Club, the station for which is Tooting Junction, which can be reached either from Victoria or London Bridge. One of the first to establish a private golf links near London, the Tooting Bee Club is now one of the most prosperous clubs in the neighbourhood of the Metropolis. The Parliamentary Golf Handicap competition takes place annually over the course, and the club numbers in its ranks many men, distinguished, not only in the golfing world, but in all departments of human activity. The course is undulating, with plenty of natural and artificial hazards. The soil is gravel, and the lies throughout the green and the putting greens are excellent. The members are happy in the possession of a commodious and comfortable club-house, and in Peter Paxton, as resident professional, they have an experienced club-maker and an efficient coach. The record score for the green is 74.

Eight miles from London Bridge is another influential club, the Eltham Golf Club, instituted in 1892. Though the clayey nature of the soil is against a uniform excellence being maintained throughout the year, the club have been able, by judicious draining and constant attention, to get the course into good condition. The names of Mr. Arnold Blyth, Mr. A. S. Johnston, Mr. R. H. Hedderwick, and Mr. John Penn, M.P., on the list of members, are sufficient proof both of the golfing prowess of its members, and of the ability with which the affairs of the club are managed.

The park is most picturesquely situated, and the club-house, which is the ancient Manor Lodge, is one of the most palatial in the kingdom. The bogey score is 80, but the record for the course is 70, a score which was compiled by \V. Toogood, the club's professional.

"Down east," from Liverpool Street are more well-known clubs. The Royal Epping Forest Club play at Chingford, eleven miles from Liverpool Street station. The course is laid out on the waste land of Epping Forest, and though picturesque in situation and aspect, it suffers in wet weather from the clayey nature of the soil. The club rooms are attached to the Royal Forest Hotel, which is only about five minutes' walk from Chingford Station. Without having any players of outstanding merit, the Royal Epping Forest Club can put a strong match team in the field. There is no Sunday play.

Further out, some forty minutes from town, is the picturesque and excellent new course of the Romford Golf Club. It is of great extent, and great pains have been taken to lay the holes out to the best advantage, so as to avoid crossing, and to make use of all the natural features. Owing to its flatness, the holes are somewhat monotonous in character. James Braid, than whom no finer golfer exists, is the club professional. There is a comfortable club-house with one or two bedrooms, and Sunday play is permitted.

There is no Sunday play at Wanstead Park, nearer town - the station for which is Snares-brook, also on the Great Eastern Railway - which is a pity, for a better course does not exist in this locality, so near London. The holes are of good length and of a very sporting character, and the subsoil is gravel. The hazards and greens are natural and of an excellent golfing quality.

Coming into town again, and starting from Paddington by the Great Western Railway, there is the green of the West Middlesex Golf Club, at Hanwell. This is a first-rate sporting little course of 18 holes, with fine putting greens. The soil varies, however, from sand and gravel to the ordinary clay of London, but in ordinary weather it is a charming course.

Ten minutes further by train is the golf course of the West Drayton Golf Club - the club-house, the picturesque old Mill House - being close to the station. This is another good 18-hole course, and a sound test of golf. It is dry and devoid of trees, and the turf is of first-rate and uniform quality. The club have had the advantage of the experience and advice of Mr. F. A. Fairlie, the well-known player, one of the members, in laying out the course, and this has been so well done, that the green must rank as one of the best near London. The river Brent wanders picturesquely through the course, and forms an awkward hazard at some of the holes. As the club is close to the station, the West Drayton Golf Club is one of the most convenient in the neighbourhood of London.

At Cassiobury Park, near Watford, the West Herts Club are now installed in a course that will be hard to beat near London; and nearer Euston, a mile or two from Harrow, from which station there runs a branch line, is the line course of the Stanmore Golf Club. A hill of wide extent and gently sloping, is a great feature of Stanmore, and from the 3rd, 4th, and 9th holes, magnificent views of the surrounding country are commanded. The Stanmore Club are fortunate in having had as their captain, Mr. J. A. Begbie, who bears a name well known in golfing circles in Scotland, and who has done much to bring the club into its present flourishing condition.

On the St. John's Wood Railway, from Baker Street, the Northwood Golf Club have a fine 9-hole course, near the station of the same name. At Wembley Park, Mr. A. E. Stoddart, the well-known cricketer, has fallen a victim to golf, and, as report says, is making astonishing progress at the game, over this prettily situated course. Still nearer London, at Neasden, the Neasden Golf Club, with an unrivalled situation and a charming club-house, are struggling, through the winter months, with the problem of London clay. In the spring and summer no more delightful and sporting course exists.

Elsewhere at Finchley, at Muswell Hill, Enfield, Woodford, Epsom, Woking, Chiswick, and many other places, golf is to be had, of varying excellence, according to the nature of the soil.

On the whole, one can safely regard the golfing ground near London with a sort of chastened appreciation.

Like the curate with his bad egg, we can at least protest, when its quality is questioned, that "parts of it are excellent," and it may safely be affirmed, and I say it in no carping or cynical spirit, but simply as stating the fact, that it is probably as good as the golf played on it. When he thinks of the vast army of beginners who have ploughed their way to comparative efficiency through the mud-heaps of Metropolitan golf, a sense of gratitude must steal over the golfer's soul. He will inevitably reflect, that every wound inflicted on the groaning ground, every divot and skelp carved from the bowels of London links, is one saved from the already overworked greens by the sea-shore. And when the "agriculturalist" returns in summer, the seaside links can at least greet him with a whole skin, and his weapon's edge cannot fail to have lost something of its cruelty and keenness. By the stripes of the links of London are the others healed.

If one were to measure the excellence of Metropolitan golf greens, by the health and enjoyment they afford to thousands of overworked and over-idle men, it would be impossible to overestimate their value. They are sanatoriums for the mind and body, which give the city dweller glimpses of the quiet country, and enable him to forget, for an hour or two, the struggle and turmoil of city life.