XI
And so, heigho! another full year of golf has run to its end, and we come to pause for a little while to reflect upon the new chapter that has been added to the long happy story of our play; for, indeed, it is true of us golfers, as it is of others, that “we spend our years as a tale that is told.” For some days now the links which have served us so faithfully and so well during all this year, have been at rest, asleep. Nature, the gentle considerate nurse, sometimes comes to the help of these precious acres of green turf in that season when their lot is the least happy, fending away us tyrant masters while she lays them to repose and wraps up each teeing ground and putting green and all the way between in the thick mantle that she weaves herself. Perhaps the players do not always know that the grass welcomes this snow, and is not, as they might imagine, stifled with it and reduced to such unconsciousness as to be near the point of death. The snow both nourishes and warms the worn-out turf—collects and holds down for its sustenance all the available nitrogen in the atmosphere, and then covers it with that thick cloak which generates only warmth beneath. Presently, when the frosts cease and the snow melts and the grass lies bare again, those who have recollection enough for the comparison will see that it is greener and stronger than it was before. When there is a championship in prospect on St. Andrews links, the wise and good greenkeeper there beseeches kind Nature that of her infinite variety she will vouchsafe to his little patch of earth for some several days of winter a heavy fall of snow, that in due course he may better serve up to his master golfers a links of such perfection of order as will please them to the utmost. What shall he care if the old grey place is beleaguered by these storms of snow, if the Swilcan Burn is almost covered up, and if it would be as much as the life of the captain of the Royal and Ancient Club were worth to try to find the line to the Long Hole? Hush, you grumbling golfers! The old course, weary, is at rest; and patiently will the happy greenkeeper wait for its awakening. There is something of pathos in the time and the scene, as:
“Full knee-deep lies the winter snow,
And the winter winds are wearily sighing;
Toll ye the church-bell sad and slow,
And tread softly and speak low,
For the old year lies a-dying.”
How much does it mean to us, does a year of golf! In the last few moments of the year that you give up to golfing thought and reverie as you sit by the cheerful fire, and perhaps, according to the old fancy, toy on the hearthrug for a while with the putter that you hold at convenience in the corner, and the memento ball that you preserve upon the mantelpiece—at such time make a pleasant reflection upon all the joy and the gladness, and the health and the adventure, and the glorious rivalry and close comradeship that have been crowded into this short space of time! Above all, think how much nearer in most blessed friendship has this year of golf drawn you to those who are most after your own heart! There is no habit of man that can do more than golf towards such an end as this, and it is in his abundance of the best friends that a man lives most happily and to the best purpose.
And the golfer has seen more of the year, of the real year of Nature so complex and so complete in its variety and balance, than the other men who live in towns. He braved it in the open lands through the bitter weeks of January and February, and he was cheerful through the winds and rains that followed, for as the rainbows spread across the sky he knew that the glorious spring had come, most heartening time of all the golfing year. Then would he stamp his feet on turf grown firm, and acclaim his ball with affection for its constant cleanliness. The golfer, even he of the town, hears the change in the song of the birds, he notices the newcomers among them; he has interest in the leafing of the trees, and lo! the big sun of summer shines upon him. And when can golfer be happier than when, after droning lazily through a hot afternoon, he plays an evening round upon the links in those most perfect conditions for pure delight? Surely it is hard to say which of those rounds is the best, that of the spring morning, the autumn morning, or the one in the balmy evening of June. And the golfer, bold and lucky, who once in a way makes his ripest play on some wild day in December when the wind from the sea comes like a blast across the links and all above is dripping scud, would in his pride not grant that the golfer lived his life at the full on any of those other days of peace and calm. So, from the play in the long summer twilight, we wander down the year, through brown October to the greys that follow, and the white curtain falls at last upon the exhausted season.
[INDEX]
- Aden Golf Club, [10]
- African coast, golf on the, [12]
- Age for golf, best, [293]
- America, golf in, [12]
- American ladies’ golf, [100]
- Anderson, Jamie, [89]
- Antarctic, golf in the, [11]
- Arabia, golf in, [10]
- Archerfield golf course, [140]
- Architecture, different classes of golf, [134]
- Argentine Republic, golf in the, [10]
- Asia, golf in, [10]
- Australia, golf in, [10]
- Austria, golf in, [9]
- Autumn meeting at St. Andrews, [186]
- Axes of rotation, [209]
- Bagdad, golf at, [10]
- Balfour, Jamie, [301]
- —— The Rt. Hon. A. J., as a golfer, [37], [90]
- Ball, Mr. John, [124]
- Balls, different kinds of, etc., [54], [58];
- Barry, Mr. A. G., [293]
- Belgium, golf in, [9]
- Biassed balls, [205]
- Bicycles and golf, [158]
- Blackheath golf course, [159]
- —— golfers, [160], [256]
- Bogey, [234];
- origin of, [237]
- Boulogne, golf at, [8]
- Braid, J., [26], [27], [293]
- Brassey, an ideal, [44]
- Briars hole at Hoylake, [125]
- Broughton, Capt., [53]
- Bruntsfield links, [77]
- —— —— Golf Club, [304]
- Buccleuch, Duke of, [299]
- Building estates and golf, [232]
- Bunkers, movable, [241]
- Caddies, [148]
- Cæsar’s pits on golf courses, [11]
- Cairo, golf at, [296]
- Calabar, golf at, [12]
- Campbell, Mr., of Saddell, [55]
- Canada, golf in, [10]
- Canary Islands, golf at the, [8]
- Carnoustie golf links, [141]
- Carry from drive, [196]
- Chaplains to golf clubs, [64]
- Charm of the game, [1]
- China, golf in, [8]
- Cinque Ports Golf Club, [145]
- Classification of courses, [134]
- Clergymen and golf, [61]
- Close seasons, [288]
- Clubs, names for, [41];
- Cold weather, [289]
- Colonies, golf in, [10]
- Commercialism, [226]
- Community of interests, [179]
- Companion for golfing holiday, [125]
- Companions of old players, [47]
- Competitions, new, [242]
- County unions, [244]
- Courses, altering to suit new balls, [241]
- Crawford, “Big,” [40], [61]
- Croquet and golf, [174]
- Cruickshank, Mr., of Langley Park, [97]
- Deal golf links, [116], [136], [145]
- Dinners, golfing, [297], [299]
- Diplomacy and golf, [13]
- Disappointments, [33]
- Dog dropping ball in hole, [265]
- Drive, longest possible, [216]
- Driving, Prof. Tait on, [215]
- Dunn, the brothers, [50]
- East Indies, golf in the, [10]
- Ecstasy, greatest, in golf, [163]
- Eglinton, Earl of, [299]
- Egypt, golf in, [12], [294]
- Enthusiasm, greatest, [76]
- Errors, popular, [201]
- Examinations in rules, [243]
- Favourite holes and courses, [258]
- Feats of golf, [91], [111]
- Ferguson, Robert, [48]
- Flight of golf ball, [194]
- Footpaths and roads, [158]
- Forbes, Duncan, [221]
- Foursome, a famous, [140]
- France, golf in, [8]
- Frog in the hole, [263]
- Frosty days, [255]
- Future, concerning the, [30]
- Gate-money and golf, [230]
- Germany, golf in, [9]
- Gourlay, Douglas, [80]
- Government of the game, [244]
- Graham, Mr. John, junr., [124]
- Gravity and the golf ball, [197]
- Great Pyramid, [297]
- Gullane, golf at, [139]
- Haskell ball, invention of, [57];
- success of, [58]
- —— Mr. Coburn, [57]
- Health and golf, [291]
- Helouan, golf at, [296]
- Herd, A., [26], [152]
- Hilton, Mr. H. H., [29], [115], [259], [293]
- Holes, in process of changing, [267]
- Holidays, golfing companions on, [125];
- Holland, golf in, [9]
- Honourable Company of Edinburgh golfers, [64], [221], [300]
- Hope in golf, [3]
- Hoylake, golf links, [122], [137]
- Huntercombe course, [11]
- Hutchings, Mr. Chas., [293]
- Ideal clubs, [42]
- —— course, [259]
- Imaginary golf, [181]
- Impact, duration of, [200]
- International aspect of golf, [14]
- Italy, golf in, [9]
- Kaiser William and golf, [9], [220]
- Kennedy, Lord, [97]
- Kent, golf in coast of, [144]
- Kilspindie golf course, [140]
- Kimberley, putting greens at, [10]
- King Edward VII. as captain of the Royal and Ancient Club, [220]
- —— James II., [224]
- —— of Spain as golfer, [220]
- —— William IV. medal, [190]
- Kinloch, Sir D., [299]
- Kirkaldy, Andrew, [27], [152], [290]
- Ladies’ golf, [85], [98]
- Laidlay, Mr. J. E., [92], [172], [295]
- Leith, golf at, [79], [224]
- Line of the putt, [272]
- London, as centre of game, [146]
- Long grass, [85]
- Macdonald, Mr. C. B., [260]
- MʻKellar, Alexander, [76]
- March, [24]
- Match-book, on keeping a, [17]
- Maxwell, Mr. Robert, [25]
- Medal play, [84]
- Mexico, golf in, [12];
- travelling in, [152]
- Midland Association, [244]
- Morris, Tom, junr., [47]
- —— Tom, senr., [50], [55], [140]
- Mother course, a golfer’s, [160]
- Motor-bicycles, [157]
- Motor-car, ball in, [270]
- Motoring and golf, [150]
- Mud, questions to Rules Committee about, [81]
- Muirfield golf links, [140]
- Names for clubs, [41]
- Napoleon’s camp, golf on, [8]
- National Golf Club, U.S.A., [259]
- Nature lover, golfer as, [193], [308]
- New Zealand, golf in, [10], [80]
- Night, match at, for £500, [96]
- North Berwick links, [25], [136], [139]
- —— —— old club, [299]
- Park, Mungo, [141]
- —— W., senr., [25], [141]
- Parliament, golf in, [278]
- Patersone, John, [226]
- Pegwell Bay, [147]
- Picture, valuable, hit by golf ball, [110]
- Polar golf, [11]
- Politics of the game, [244]
- Porthcawl golf links, [141]
- Practice stroke on putting green, [272]
- Prestwick golf links, [25], [136], [143]
- Pretoria, putting greens at, [10]
- Primitive instincts, [5]
- Prince’s Club, [Sandwich], [145]
- Professional matches, [26]
- Put off, being, [157]
- Putting, in medal play, [83];
- Putting green, curious, [10]
- Queen Adelaide Medal, [188]
- Rain on the links, [16]
- Resting from golf, [289]
- Rhodesia, golf in, [94]
- Risks of golf, [93]
- Riviera, golf on the, [294]
- Roads and footpaths, [158]
- Robb, Mr. James, [167], [172]
- Robertson, Allan, [47];
- Royal and Ancient Club, [41], [186], [247], [302]
- —— Liverpool Golf Club, [123], [277]
- —— Musselburgh Golf Club, [99], [304]
- —— St. George’s Golf Club, [145]
- Rules, points on the, [261]
- Rules Committee, [80]
- Russia, golf in, [9]
- St. Andrews, charm of, [118];
- St. Clair, Wm., of Roslin, [222]
- St. Petersburg, golf near, [9]
- Sandwich golf links, [138]
- —— Islands, golf in the, [10]
- Scientific investigations, [194]
- Score, keeping, in match play, [102]
- Seasons, changing, [192]
- Secret of the charm of the game, [1]
- Seed, sowing, [190]
- Selkirk decision, [274]
- September, [46]
- Shafts, socketed and scared, [255]
- Shakespeare and golf, [31], [34]
- Sheltering from bad weather, [254]
- Siam, Royal Bangkok Golf Club, [10]
- Snow, [306]
- Societies, golfing, [177]
- South Africa, golf in, [10], [95]
- —— America, golf in, [10]
- Spin of golf ball during flight, [198], [202], [208], [213], [214]
- Spring, [1], [15], [35]
- Statistics, [284]
- Stormont, Lord, [256]
- Sun on the links, [16]
- Sunningdale golf course, [136]
- Superstitions of golf, [114]
- Sussex Union, [244]
- Tait, F. G., his match-book, [21], [196], [220]
- —— Rev. J. H., [295]
- —— P. G., Professor, experiments and investigations in flight of golf ball, [194], [222]
- Tangier, golf at, [8]
- Taylor, J. H., [26], [27], [293]
- Tee shot, pleasure of hitting good, [163]
- Temple of golf, [219]
- Tests of balls, [206]
- Thibet, golf in, [10]
- Thoughtful study of the game, value of, [67]
- Trajectories of balls, [210], [212]
- Travelling for golf, [148], [156]
- Travis, Mr. W. J., [115], [171], [173]
- Triumvirate, the, [27], [28], [29]
- Troon golf links, [25], [136]
- Turkey, golf in, [10]
- Unions, golfing, [244]
- Vardon, H., [26], [27], [293]
- —— T., [27]
- Victoria Falls, ball driven over, [111]
- Vincent, Sir Edgar, [295]
- Walton Heath golf course, [11], [136]
- Wandering player, [118]
- Warwickshire County Union, [244]
- Water shots, [253]
- Weather, bad, [251]
- [Wei-hai-wei], golf at, [8]
- Welsh Union, [244]
- White, Jack, [26], [29], [152]
- Wind in golf, [24]
- Winter, [251], [306]
- Worcestershire County Union, [244]
- Yorkshire Union, [244]
Printed by Morrison & Gibb Limited, Edinburgh
Transcriber’s Notes
The entry Index in Contents is not in the original.
Inconsistent hyphenation retained.
Errors in punctuation repaired.
Pages [22] and [128], “slightest” changed from “slighest”.
Page [29], “popular” changed from “populer”.
Page [34], “a” inserted before “golfer”.
Page [45], “a” inserted before “good”.
Page [90], “Point Garry” changed from “Pointgarry”.
Page [94], “court” changed from “courts”.
Page [115], “have” inserted before “other”.
Page [224], “seventeenth” changed from “seventeeth”.
Page [242], “They” before “play” changed from “Then”.
Page [262], “occurrence” changed from “occurence”.
Page [305], duplicated “of” before “our poets” deleted.
Page [313], “Sandwich” changed from “Sandwick”.
Page [314], “Wei-hai-wei” changed from “Wei-hai-Wei”.