Despite the disparaging remarks that appear from time to time about women's golf from the pens of men writers, mixed foursomes are universally popular. The foursome game is very different from the single game. In a foursome neither player has the right to play according to his or her own sweet will. Each should consult with the other as to the course to take in a difficult shot, and the weaker player should submit to the judgment of the stronger. Some men like a partner who will simply putt the ball along into good lies out of which they can do all the work. Others prefer some one who will take her fair share of the game. Some like to give instruction at every point, others only advise when appealed to. Some have unlimited confidence in their partner's capacities, others are always doubtful. It is simply a matter of disposition. Success depends largely upon the exercise of judgment. Before starting off for a round, the holes should be thought out and the drives arranged so that the weaker player will have the easiest shots. At some of the holes perhaps the second shots are more important; if so, this must be taken into consideration. The great thing in a foursome is not to fuss. It only distracts one's partner and very probably puts one or both off their game. If a shot or two is missed at the beginning, it is better to show a cheerful and hopeful spirit and to look forward with an encouraging optimism. Every one will play better when encouraged, no one can play well if scolded or scowled at. The secret of all pleasant foursome play is to realise one's own faults and failings, and to turn the blind eye to those of one's partner.

The golfer who has a real love of the game will give some thought to the care of her clubs. If clubs are properly looked after they will last much longer and be more satisfactory in many ways. Small repairs, such as the renewing of grips and the re-fastening of bindings, should be seen to at once. Periodically it is wise to revarnish the heads of wooden clubs, as otherwise they are apt to become dry and brittle. After a round in wet weather each club should be taken out separately, dried and oiled, and only replaced in the bag when the latter itself has been thoroughly dried. A waterproof bag with a hood will be found a great protection for the clubs of those who play golf in all kinds of weather. Some people carry two umbrellas, one for their own use, the other for the caddie to hold over his precious burden of clubs. A little chalk rubbed on the faces of wooden clubs will be found to be an advantage in very wet weather, as it makes them less slippery and enables them to get a more certain grip of the ball. It is very important to keep the handles dry, as the club is so likely to turn in one's hand when the grip is wet. Although rubber and kid grips are very comfortable to hold and are used by many, they are not satisfactory in wet weather, and the ordinary leather grip is much the most serviceable one for all-round work. It is prudent to carry two or three pairs of gloves if the match is an important one, as wet clinging gloves are most uncomfortable, and it is quite hopeless to try to play in them. A dry pair of gloves may make all the difference between success and failure. I remember being very nearly thrown out altogether at one of the championship meetings for want of a second pair of gloves. My hands had been very sore and blistered, and some one told me to rub soap on them before I started out to play. This I did, but without knowing that the soap should have been absolutely dry. The consequence was that both my hands and gloves became so sticky and slippery that I simply could not hold the club. If some one had not come to the rescue and lent me a pair of fresh gloves, I should have come badly to grief.

If clubs are not wanted for use for any considerable time, they should be carefully oiled and kept in a dry place. There is a theory that wooden clubs lose their driving power after some years and that they should be changed from time to time, but it is always hard to make up one's mind to part with an old favourite which has done good service, especially as it usually takes some little time to get thoroughly accustomed to a new club. Those who take part in important z2 matches and championships should always carry duplicate wooden clubs, as an accident may so very easily happen. Miss Leitch broke a brassey in her match against Miss Titterton at the 1908 championship, and suffered greatly from the loss of it. Indeed, if the break had not occurred, the issue of that championship might easily have been different, and certainly Miss Leitch has never been so near to gaining the chief honours as she was on that day. An iron shaft, too, is very liable to snap, and so, if possible, and if the player is not in fear of the Cruelty to Caddies Society, a spare iron should also be carried. Another item of golfing paraphernalia which may be of great use is a sponge in an indiarubber or metal case. On muddy inland links where a local rule permits the player to lift and clean her ball before putting, a sponge is practically an essential. It is impossible to putt with any accuracy when a lump of mud disfigures the symmetry of one side of the ball.

It is an excellent plan to have the player's initials stamped on all her clubs. This can be done in nearly all the clubmaker's shops on payment of a very moderate fee, and it is of the greatest service if by any chance the club gets adrift from its owner. It can be identified at once by the initials, and a great deal of worry and trouble saved. A putter especially is very likely to get mislaid or mixed up with other people's clubs, as the player in the excitement of finishing a match often forgets to give it to her caddie, and carries it away with her unconsciously as she leaves the green. She then lays it down in some part of the club-house, and promptly forgets all about it until the next morning when, if she is a careful player, she is looking at her clubs preparatory to the day's play. If she is not a careful person, the loss may not be discovered until the first green, when a flying emissary has to be sent back to the club to look for the missing article. If the club is not initialled or marked in some special fashion, it is very difficult for this emissary to recognise it, and pick it out from among other stray clubs. For those who travel much from meeting to meeting a canvas or leather golf box is a most useful possession. Such a golf box can be sent in the van with the rest of the luggage, and in it the clubs are far safer and better protected than in an ordinary bag. Another great advantage of such a box is that it holds balls, gloves, umbrellas, pair of golf shoes and all golfing necessaries, so that on arriving at one's destination everything is at hand together, and one has not to search out the different articles from the recesses of a trunk.

The question as to whether golf is an expensive game has been much discussed. The matter depends very largely on circumstances. If a girl lives close to a links and does not go about much from meeting to meeting, she need spend very little. If, however, she lives some distance away from a course, and plays in championships and other meetings, and travels here and there for team matches, it is a very different matter. Women, as a rule, play the game more economically than men. They do not take caddies so frequently (one reason being that their links are shorter and not so tiring, and another that the average woman does not carry so many clubs as the average man), and when away for a golfing holiday they content themselves with humble lodgings, whilst the 'superior' sex goes to the hotel. Women's clubs, too, are run on a cheaper scale than men's clubs. To take at random a few of the most important clubs affiliated to the L. G. U., the fees are as follows: - Walton Heath, entrance £5, 5s., subscription £4, 4s.; Barnehurst, entrance £3, 3s., subscription £3, 3s.; Brighton and Hove, entrance £2, 2s., subscription £1, 10s.; Edinburgh, entrance 10s., subscription £1; Formby, entrance £5, 5s., subscription £2, 2s.; Lytham and St. Anne's, subscription £1, 1s., entrance £1, 1s.; Royal Blackheath, entrance £1, 1s., subscription 15s. 6d.; Royal Co. Down, entrance £2, 2s., subscription £1, 1s.; Royal Portrush, entrance £2, 2s., subscription £1, 1s.; Sunningdale, entrance £2, 2s., subscription £3, 3s.; Westward Ho, entrance £2, 2s., subscription £1, 1s. The fees for men's clubs of the same standing are considerably higher. Another point in which women are more frugally minded than men is in the amount of balls they use. Most of them, too, are content to play for the sake of the game alone, and do not think it necessary always to have a half-crown or more on the result of the match. Clothes are a very heavy item in a golfing woman's expenditure. If she plays much in competitions, she must have several complete changes to provide for the possibility of getting wet twice or even three times a day, as occasionally happens. A very wet day will often reduce a set of clothes to such a disreputable condition that they are useless afterwards for anything but the very roughest wear. The expenses of an open championship meeting are roughly as follows. The entrance fee for the competition is 5s. The hotel bill usually comes to about 10s. 6d. per day. Rooms, of course, can be obtained at a cheaper rate. Caddies are from 15s. to £1 per week, and if the player does well she is expected to tip in proportion to her success. Expenditure in balls varies with the player's extravagant or economical disposition. A great change has taken place during the last few years in the time of arrival of the competitors at a championship meeting. Formerly, most people used to arrive on either the Friday or Saturday of the preceding week. Now, many go on the Monday or Tuesday, and nearly all have assembled by the Wednesday or Thursday. This change is partly due to the regular institution of the international matches, but it adds considerably to the expense of the meeting. Regarded as a game, golf may be termed expensive, but regarded as an amusement and compared with, say, hunting or motoring, it cannot be considered outrageously so. The fact is that the matter lies very much in the player's own hands, and expenditure can be, to a great extent, adjusted to suit one's purse.