One of the prettiest shots in golf is the topped mashie. The ball flies
low, like swallow on the river’s brim, and, crossing the green, comes
to rest in the clean white sand of a deepish depression, vulgarly
termed a trap. The majority of golfers execute this shot naturally, but
not inevitably; now and then they get under the ball, which of course
prevents a top, the result being an ordinary pitch. To make certain of a
top, it is only necessary to have the left hand, at the moment of impact,
a few inches in advance of where it was when the ball was addressed.
This means that the pivot on which the club swings (the left wrist in a
short shot, the left elbow in a long) is transferred to a point nearer
the flag, and the lower edge of the clubhead, instead of connecting with
the ball at 90 degrees south latitude, meets it anywhere from 35 to 45
degrees south. In the works of the golf masters, old and young, we have
seen no reference to this advancing of the pivotal point in the swing,
from which omission we conjecture that the idea has not yet occurred to
them.
Another pretty mashie shot is that which sends the ball well to the right
of the green, where commonly there is some sort of hazard. The simplest
way to bring this off is to pronate the left forearm. This facilitates
cramping the down-swing and pushing the ball off to starboard.
* * * * *
There is no accounting for tastes, in love or golf. Many expert players
use a mashie with a narrow face, whereas we prefer one with a square chin.