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14. E. I. U. SERVICE CLUB.-Before closing this chapter on the institutions of the service, the Club is entitled to a few remarks; already the subscription list amounts to upwards of 2,000, and its daily visitors on an average to 150; the situation is most convenient,and all the luxuries and comforts of London Club life are there. There can be no question but that the driving is longer, even considerably longer, and I think also that evidence seems to show that as far as mere force is concerned, the modern player can give points to his rivals in ancient days, and for this the modern bullet-headed play club must be held largely responsible. Some players seem far better when they are playing for a score than when playing by holes: Mr. Hilton, for instance, who has twice won the open championship, is reputed to be a better medal player than match player, while Andrew Kirkaldy, I hear, expresses his contempt for medal play in no uncertain language. If this is the case, it would seem natural to infer that the scientific short lofting shot was better played formerly than it is now; and judging from what I hear, I should think that such is the case.

The lofted fifty yards shot is perhaps the most difficult shot in golf, and what does the nervous golfer do in most cases? There is no doubt but that a pretty lofted shot on the putting-green into the hole is a beautiful stroke, and I fail to see why it should be sacrificed because another player finds that his score, which he is keeping when he should not, suffers by being stymied. I contend, however, that it is not, because of the varying conditions of the greens and turf. At golf, however, it may be truly said that no one putting-green is exactly like any other-one is fast, another slow, one smooth, another uneven, one with one sort of turf, another with another. I cannot speak with certainty, but I should think that Vardon played more important money matches in 1898 and 1899 than young Tom played during his whole career, which was, however, a very short one. The mashie, however, is a new club, and has largely superseded the old-fashioned iron; while the driver is different in shape, and the brassey and mashie have driven the old wooden spoons out of the field altogether. I have said that it is by no means clear whether modern improvements in clubs have made very much difference in scoring.

This is the chief reason why medal play is neither so interesting to watch nor so pleasant to engage in as hole or match play-the one produces a dull, level style of game, with few flashes of brilliancy, while the other encourages both safety and brilliancy: and in my humble opinion, the increase of medals necessary because of the increase of clubs and players is not a development towards improvement, but the reverse. Every golfer, good, bad, and indifferent, knows the difference of match play and medal play. If you play one hole so badly that it takes ten strokes to hole out, you have probably put yourself out of the reckoning as far as winning the medal is concerned, but the same play in a match only means the loss of one hole, a mere trifle. The apostolic precept that you are to forget the things that are behind, and press forward to those that are before, is to be observed in all golf, but it is far easier to carry this into practice in hole play than it is in medal play.

This fund is not so well managed as could be wished; the managers are constantly changing, the votes are irregularly collected and given without due consideration; charity and benevolence seem to guide the voters, rather than that stern sense of duty exacted by the actuaries, and hence disbursements beyond their calculations, and embarassments beyond the resources of the fund. If you get out, well you have no further opportunity of getting nervous till your second innings comes round, and under no circumstances ought a bowler to be nervous, as one bad ball may always be redeemed by a wicket next ball. I watched a final match once in the amateur championship, in which two most distinguished amateurs were struggling for the mastery, and both drove and played through the green as well as could be desired, and both putted in a way that a charity-school boy would have been ashamed of.

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