III.—THROUGH THE GREEN, AND BUNKER PLAY.
THE WAGGLE.
The "green" is used generically to designate the whole course, specifically it is the putting green. Now we know that after the tee-shot we must "address" and play the ball as we find it. We are not permitted to tee it again, nor must we touch it with anything except a club, under penalty of one stroke. The choice of club naturally depends upon the distance from the hole, but more especially upon the "lie" of the ball. Should it be resting cleanly on close firm turf, we may be able to use the driver again; but, generally speaking, our American courses are too rough and cuppy to permit the employment of so fragile an instrument as the wooden driver. On some of the English "greens," and notably Westward Ho, the lies are so good that one's ball seems to be always teed, and proficiency with the wooden club is consequently at a premium. But on ordinary courses the "lie" is pretty sure to be more or less bad, and the play-club, as the driver is sometimes called, must be laid aside in favor of a coarser and more effective weapon. Speaking roughly, the brassy is first choice, followed by cleek, medium iron, lofter, mashie, and niblick, the last being used only in the most desperate of straits, and where nothing more is expected than to get the ball upon the course again.
The fascination of golf lies in its variety and difficulty. If it were only a question of holing balls, one long hole laid out over a smooth meadow would be all that would be necessary. But it would be very monotonous and uninteresting kind of work, and certainly not golf. Given six or nine or eighteen holes of different lengths, and the task at once becomes interesting through the introduction of the element of variety.
GETTING OUT OF A BUNKER.
But a simple variation in distance is not enough; the game is still too easy. We must have difficulties to avoid or overcome, and these difficulties, lumped under the general name of "hazards," may be either natural or artificial. The idea is that these hazards should be so placed as to punish only poor strokes, and that with perfect play we may avoid them altogether. But for present purposes we may ignore their existence, and assume that the way is clear, and that our only difficulty is the particular position, or "lie," of the ball.
Now there are many kinds of bad lies, but the one oftenest encountered is the "cupped" ball. Here the ball is lying in a shallow hole or depression, making it very difficult to get the club well under it. If the cup be not too deep we may take a brassy, but the stroke will differ slightly from the regular full drive. It should be what is called a "jerked" shot, although the "jerk" has nothing to do with the swing proper. That must be as smooth and regular as possible, but it may be permissible to keep the arms in a trifle, and thereby bring the club up straighter. The principal difference is that the club head cuts into the ground instead of sweeping cleanly over it. The ball is struck in precisely the same manner, and the jerk is simply the after impact of the club head upon the turf. This stroke is particularly effective with the iron clubs, and indeed many players use it for all their iron shots. It certainly drives the ball almost if not quite so far as the clean swing; but the author of the Art of Golf thinks that its constant use tends to unsteadiness at the tee. Nevertheless, it is the only effective treatment for a cupped ball, and it must be learned. When playing the stroke do not think about the jerk. Swing down so as to nip in between the lip of the cup and the ball, and let the club head make its own explanations to the ground. Should the ball be badly cupped you may have to take the mashie or even the niblick to get it out; but the cleek will generally do the work if you hit accurately.
