are for what happens to the
last drive. They have already had quite enough of driving. The fourth
man is quite conscious of this impatience on their part, even though it
may not be openly expressed by the smallest sign. So he is in a hurry to
oblige, and his effort is then disappointing. I seldom hit my best ball
when I am driving fourth in a four-ball foursome. Of course somebody
must drive last, but not necessarily the same man every time. All that I
wish to suggest is, that a player should not be too self-sacrificing,
and should not, with too much modesty about his own prowess on the tee,
always volunteer to drive after his partner.

The old-fashioned or two-ball foursome makes a really fine and enjoyable
game. It brings golfers together on even more intimate and friendly
relations than usual. Partners in a foursome see very deep down into the
human nature of each other. They are overwhelmingly conscious of each
other's faults and weaknesses. They are enormously dependent upon each
other. At the same time I do not think that even this kind of foursome
is the best thing in the world for the improvement of a man's game, and
I advise the young player to resist the temptation to take part in too
many foursomes, to the neglect of ordinary match play in singles. For
one thing, the partners, of course, only get half as much golf as they
would if they were playing a round in a single match, and for another,
they are too constantly anxious to play their best game. The sense of
responsibility is frequently a little too much for their nerves, and you
often see a man, a most dogged and persistent player in an ordinary
match, who is a consistent failure in foursomes, and who in this style
of game ought to be rated at six strokes higher handicap than his
allowance for ordinary purposes. One feels in a foursome that one must
be so very careful, and take so much extra pains, and when that feeling
is uppermost in the mind while the stroke is being made, the result is
often disastrous.

It is unwise to interfere unduly with a partner's system of play while a
match is in progress. He may be missing his drive because his stance is
wrong or his swing is faulty, but the state of affairs would probably be
worse than ever if an attempt were made to put him right while the game
is going on. The hint will be more useful when the match is over. And if
he has a particular fancy for playing his brassy, when experience tells
you that an iron clu