nly say here, therefore, that in a general way
some thirty or forty acres of land are necessary to make such a
nine-hole course as shall possess a satisfactory amount of variety, and
not less than seventy acres for a full-sized eighteen-hole course, this
as a matter of fact being the acreage of the South Herts Club's course
at Totteridge, with which I am at present associated. By great economy
of space and the exercise of unlimited ingenuity, courses might be made
from a trifle less land, but they are better when they are made from
more. Two or three hundred acres are sometimes utilised for a good
links. Where land is very scarce, and there is no possibility of
obtaining more of it, I earnestly advise private owners and committees
to content themselves with a nine-hole course which will have plenty of
length and good sporting quality about it, rather than sacrifice the
good golf that is thus within their reach in a desire to possess a
regulation eighteen-hole links that could only give complete
satisfaction to ladies and children. Too many courses, with scarcely a
brassy shot upon them, have been ruined by this greed for holes.

When the land has been allotted to the purpose, a very thorough and
careful survey should be made of all its features. This is not to be
done in one morning. The land, no doubt, is very rough, and at the first
glance it looks ill-adapted to the golfer's purpose. Many times I have
had the task of making a course from materials which at first seemed so
unpromising as to be hopeless. There should be no hurry at this time.
Let those who are designing the links walk slowly and meditatively over
nearly every square yard of the land at least two or three times before
coming to any final decision as to where to place a single tee, bunker,
or hole. An open mind is the best to begin with. After one or two of
these preliminary surveys, some general idea of the possible formation
of the links will begin to shape itself in the mind, and this having
been done, it will be practically impossible for an intelligent person
to make additional journeys over the land without being struck with an
idea for a great improvement at one or other of the holes which he has
fashioned in his mind. If it is possible, take two or three weeks over
this slow process of creation of the links. They may be altered
afterwards to some extent, but for good or ill their main features will
probably remain as at the beginning, and may endu