f!OLF 



189 



certainly of great antiquity, ami frequent refer- 

 ence* are made ti it in old Scottish records. In 



MM- Scottish parliament passed an act enjoin 



:!,.ii Fun- liall ami < lolfe be utterly cry it 



.,-, iiml nix-lit n>il, anil that the Itowe inerkis 



In- maid at ilka paroche kirke a paire of Imttis, anil 



M-hutiing le usit ilk Sunday.' A similar art \\a- 



,1 in May U'.M. It thus appears that the 

 Bailie wa- at one time M> popular in Scotland that 

 tin- UK in- important practice of archery, for tin- 

 defence of tin- country, stood in danger of being 

 neglected. In l.V.fJ tin- magistrates of Edinburgh 



da proclamation against playing tlie game on 

 Sunday. 



Reference is made to golf on Leith Links in ! 

 .1 />ittr/tl of Occur rents wit/tin Scotland, 1516-75 



Mait laud Club, 1832), and it appears to have 



I MTU practised by all classes in the reign of 

 King James VI. Charles I. was much attacln-.l 

 to the ^aiiic, and on his visit to Scotland in | 

 Hill was engaged in it on Leith Links when 

 intimation was given liini of the rebellion in 

 Ireland, whereupon he threw down his club, and 

 returned in great agitation to Holy rood House. 

 The Duke or York, afterwards James II., also 

 delighted in the game. 



I ntil late years golf was entirely confined to 

 Scot l.-i ml, though the oldest existing golf club was 

 founded by James I. at Blackheath in 1608; but 

 now it is firmly established south of the Tweed, 

 and clubs have been formed in almost every 

 locality in England where the ground is at all 

 .Miitahle for the game. Gelf is played at several 

 Mat ion* in India, as well as in Canada and Cape 

 < 'olony : and clubs were formed at Cairo in 1888 

 and at San Francisco in 1889. Ladies' golf clubs 



\i-t in a nourishing condition at St Andrews, 

 North Berwick, Westward Ho, &c. The game is 

 played on what are called in Scotland links (Eng. 

 I'mriiJt) i.e. tracts of sandy soil covered with short 

 grass, which occur frequently along the east coast 

 of Scotland. The best Scotch golfing links are St 

 Andrews and Leven in Fife, Prestwick in Ayrshire, 

 Machrihanish in Argyllshire, North Berwick and 

 (Jullane in East Lothian, Carnoustie and Montrose 

 in Forfarshire, and Dornoch in Sutherland. In 

 England the most important centres are Hoylake 

 near Liverpool, Westward Ho in Devonshire, 

 Wimbledon near London, and Sandwich in Kent. 

 All of these are examples of admirably suited 

 links, as the ground is diversified by knolls, sand- 

 pits, and other huznrds (as they are termed in 

 golfing phraseology ), the avoiding of which is one 

 of the most important points of the game. 



A series of small round holes, about four inches 

 in diameter, and several inches in depth, are cut 

 in the turf, at distances of from one to five or six 

 hundred yards from each other, according to "the 

 nature of the ground, so as to form a circuit or 

 n.iiinl. The round generally consists of either nine 

 or eighteen holes as the length or nature of the 

 course may allow. The links of St Andrews 

 contain eighteen holes, and two hours are occupied 

 in completing the round. The rival players are 

 either two in number, which is the simplest 

 arrangement, or four (two against two), in which 

 case the two partners strike the ball on their side 

 alternately. The balls, weighing somewhat under 

 t wo ounces, are made of gutta-percha, and painted 

 white so as to be readily seen. 



An ordinary golf-club consists of two parts 

 spliced together viz. the' shaft and head : the 

 shaft is usually made of hickory or lancewood ; 

 the handle covered with leather ; the head ( heavily 

 weighted with lead behind, and with a slip of horn 

 along the front of the sole) of well-seasoned apple- 

 tree or beech. Even' player has a set of clubs, 

 differing in length and shap'e to suit the distance to 

 227 



Headg . 



driver . 2 , mid-spoon; 3, putter; 

 4, deck ; 5, iron ; 6, niblick. 



be driven and the position of the ball ; for (except 



in striking oil' from a hole, when the ball may 



betee'd i.e. placed 



advantageously on 



a little heap of sand, 



called a tee) it ia 



a rule that the ball 



iiiu-t In- struck aa 



it happens to lie. 



Some positions of 



tli<> hall require a 



club with an iron 



head. The usual 



complement of 



clubs is about 



seven ; but those 



who refine on the 



gradation of imple- 



ments use as many 



as ten, or even 



twelve, which are 



technically distin- 



guished as the 



driver, long-spoon, 



mid-spoon, short- 



spoon, brassey, 



putter, iron, loft- 



ing-iron, masliie, 



iron-putter, cleek, 



and niblick the 



last six have iron 



heads, the others 



are of wood. Every 



player is usually 



provided with an attendant, called a caddy, who 



carries his clubs and ' tees ' his balls. Since the 



game has become so generally popular, many 



modifications and inventions in clubs have been 



introduced. The earliest and most permanent of 



these is the ' bulger ' form of wooden club heads. 



The bulger-head is shorter and rounder than the 



old form, and from its general acceptance would 



seem to have answered its purpose of giving greater 



power in driving. The others are mostly in the 



way of iron clubs, and except the ' niashie,', a 



useful short-headed pitching iron, are too numerous 



(and in many cases fantastic) to specify. 



Commencing at a spot a few yards in front of the 

 home hole the teeing ground each player drives 

 off his ball in the direction of the first "hole, into 

 which he does his best to put the ball in fewer 

 strokes than his antagonist. If the players put 

 their balls in in an equal number of strokes, the 

 hole is said to be haired, and scores to neither ; 

 but if one, by superior play, holes his ball in fewer 

 strokes than the other, he gains that bole, and 

 so takes precedence (the honour) in striking off 

 towards the next. In this manner they proceed 

 till the entire round is finished, the match being 

 gained by the player who has achieved the greater 

 number of holes. Sometimes the interest of a 

 match is maintained till the very last, by a suc- 

 cession of evenly-played holes, or by each having 

 gained an equal numlter during the round. 'An 

 even on the day's play' may also be declared where 

 each party has won the same number of rounds as 

 his antagonist, or antagonists. A match may also 

 consist of a certain number of holes independently 

 of rounds, when, it of course accrues to the winner 

 of the greater number of holes. Incontests between 

 professional players the match usually consists of 

 a certain number of holes to be contested on more 

 links than one. 



Throughout the entire game, he whose ball 

 lies farthest from the hole which he is approach- 

 ing invariably plays before his more advanced 

 companion. We have already said that the 

 player who 'holes' his ball in fewer strokes 



