properly--and no putter that was ever made will help you to hole out if
you do not strike the ball exactly as it ought to be struck, while if
you do so strike it, any putter will hole out for you. The philosophy of
putting is simple, but is rarely appreciated. The search for the magic
putter that will always pop the ball into the hole and leave the player
nothing to do will go on for ever.

One other observation that I have to make on clubs in general is, that I
think it is a mistake to have the shafts any longer than is absolutely
necessary. Some golfers think that an iron or a cleek is just the right
length for them when there are still a few inches of stick projecting
inwards, towards their bodies, when they have made their grip. Why that
spare stick? It cannot possibly be of any use, and may conceivably be
harmful. It is surely better to have it cut off and then to grip the
club at the end of the handle. A larger sense of power and control is
obtained in this manner. My own clubs seem to most golfers who examine
them to be on the short side, and this is a convenient opportunity for
giving a few details concerning my favourites, which may prove of
interest to the readers of these notes. I should prefix the statement
with the observation that I am 5 feet 9-1/4 inches in height, and that
normally I weigh 11-1/2 stones. Young players who might be inclined to
adapt their clubs to my measurements should bear these factors in mind,
though I seem to be of something like average height and build. Here,
then, are the statistics of my bag:--

Club. Length. Weight.
Driver 42 inches 12-3/4 oz.
Brassy 42 " 12-1/2 "
Driving mashie 38 " 14-1/2 "
Driving cleek 37 " 13-1/2 "
Light cleek 37 " 13-1/2 "
Iron 35-1/2 " 15-1/4 "
Mashie 36-1/2 " 15-1/4 "
Niblick 37 " 19 "
Putter (putting cleek) 33-1/2 " 15 "

Each measurement was made from the heel to the end of the shaft.

[Illustration: _PLATE I._ MY SET OF CLUBS]

I have two explanations to make concerning this list of dimensions. I
have included the driving mashie, of which I have said nothing in this
chapter. It is an alternative club, and it is better that it should be
discussed exclusively in its proper place, which is when cleek