"What're
ye doin' cleanin' them clubs so grand?" asked one caddie of another, who
was evidently bestowing unusual pains on the polishing of the set that
were in his keeping. The caddie was in a thoughtful mood. He was the
regular attendant of an old golfer who had had a most disastrous day.
"I'm to clean 'em better than ever," he answered. "And when I've cleaned
'em I've got to break 'em across my knee. And then I've got to chuck 'em
in the bloomin' river." Sometimes, we see, if he is a simple-hearted,
faithful caddie, his lot is not a happy one.

CHAPTER XXIII

REFLECTIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS

Good golf to come--Giants of the past--The amateurs of to-day--The
greatness of "Freddy" Tait--Modern professionals--Good sportsmen
and good friends--A misconception--The constant strain--How we
always play our best--Difficult tasks--No "close season" in
golf--Spectators at big matches--Certain anecdotes--Putting for
applause--Shovelling from a bunker--The greatest match I have ever
played in--A curious incident--A record in halves--A
coincidence--The exasperation of Andrew--The coming of spring--The
joyful golfer.

I think that every good golfer of experience reflects upon his past
history with mingled pleasure and sorrow--pleasure when he calls to mind
all the many glorious matches in which he has taken part, and sorrow
when the thought arises that all that golf has been played and done
with, and can never be played again. But we have all this abiding
consolation, that even if we cannot retain our very best form to the end
of our days, we can hope still to play a good game to the finish, and
there is the heroic example of rare old Tom Morris to stimulate us in
this hope. Much is given to golfers,--perhaps more than to the
participators in any other sport,--but they are rarely satisfied. The
wonderful fascination of golf is indicated in this eternal longing for
more. Sometimes when I glance over the records of the history of the
game, I feel a twinge of regret that it was not possible for me to play
with, or even to see, such giants of the past as Allan Robertson, David
Strath, the Dunns, Willie Campbell, Willie Park, senior, or the famous
young Tom Morris. Golf is great to-day, but it must have been great in
those days also, even if there was less of it than there is now.

But I have had the good fortune to play with all the well-known amateurs
and professionals of my own