THE GAME OF GOLF 487 



young and old ; and so long as a man can walk 

 and has the use of his sight and arms, he can play- 

 golf. 



I am aware that it is, as a rule, much easier to teach 

 than to practise, and this may be said with all truth- 

 fulness of golf, and even an indifferent player may be 

 able to give any amount of good advice thereon. I 

 only aim at endeavouring to impart instruction to a 

 beginner, whether he be young or of middle age. 

 Being, as I have said, a game which even a man of 

 advanced years can play at, it is by no means not worth 

 the while for a man of mature asfe to commence to 

 learn to play a game at which an old man may excel 

 and beat a younger, still rather is it worth the while of 

 a young man, whose life is all before him, to take 

 advantage of any opportunity he may have of acquiring 

 a knowledge of the game. 



There is, however, no royal road to learning golf, 

 any more than in any other game of skill ; but there 

 are certain fixed rules which a beginner should take as 

 a guide, and without these being impressed thoroughly 

 on his mind he will probably acquire a bad style of play, 

 which he will find it very difficult to eradicate. These 

 few simple rules I will endeavour to make as short, 

 easy, and concise as possible. 



First of all, it is necessary to learn to swing with a 

 ' driver,' and, needless to remark, the driver must be 

 suitable to the player. This swinging should be 

 practised by the beginner until he can make certain of 

 cutting off the head of a daisy without touching the 

 ground. Thus much having been mastered, the 

 difficulties of golf can be easily overcome if the 

 following short rules are borne in mind. 



