1

The happy golfer--A beginning at Jersey--The Vardon family--An anxious
tutor--Golfers come to Grouville--A fine natural course--Initiation as a
caddie--Primitive golf--How we made our clubs--Matches in the
moonlight--Early progress--The study of methods--Not a single lesson--I
become a gardener--The advice of my employer--"Never give up golf"--A
nervous player to begin with--My first competition--My brother Tom
leaves home--He wins a prize at Musselburgh--I decide for
professionalism--An appointment at Ripon.

CHAPTER II

SOME REMINISCENCES 11

Not enough golf--"Reduced to cricket"--I move to Bury--A match with
Alexander Herd--No more nerves--Third place in an open competition--I
play for the Championship--A success at Portrush--Some conversation and
a match with Andrew Kirkaldy--Fifth for the Championship at
Sandwich--Second at the Deal tournament--Eighth in the Championship at
St. Andrews--I go to Ganton--An invitation to the south of France--The
Championship at Muirfield--An exciting finish--A stiff problem at the
last hole--I tie with Taylor--We play off, and I win the Championship--A
tale of a putter--Ben Sayers wants a "wun'"--What Andrew thought of
Muirfield--I win the Championship again at Prestwick--Willie Park as
runner-up--My great match with Park--Excellent arrangements--A welcome
victory--On money matches in general--My third Championship at
Sandwich--My fourth at Prestwick--Golf under difficulties.

CHAPTER III

THE WAY TO GOLF 25

The mistakes of the beginner--Too eager to play a round--Despair that
follows--A settling down to mediocrity--All men may excel--The sorrows
of a foozler--My advice--Three months' practice to begin with--The
makings of a player--Good golf is best--How Mr. Balfour learned the
game--A wise example--Go to the professional--The importance of
beginning well--Practise with each club separately--Driver, brassy,
cleek, iron, mashie, and putter--Into the hole at last--Master of a bag
of clubs--The first match--How long drives are made--Why few good
players are coming on--Golf is learned too casually.

CHAPTER IV

THE CHOICE AND CARE OF CLUBS 37

Difficulties of choice--A long search for the best--Experiments with
more than a hundred irons--Buy few clubs to begin with--Take the
professional's advice--A preliminary