For straightaway work (and that is all that need concern the
inexperienced player) the mashie can do nothing that the midiron cannot
do, except to put the ball higher in the air and more at the mercy of the
wind. Yet, when the average golfer gets within a hundred and fifty yards
of a green out comes his mashie, and one of two things happens: if the
ball is half topped it goes to perdition; if it is hit clean it drops
short of the green. A lower flying ball would have reached the green or
passed it. But “many are called and few get up.”
Of ten players, nine overswing with all the irons, and especially with
the mashie. Now, a mashie, like a cheap piano, cannot be forced by the
average player without disastrous results. A very skilful player can
force a club in an emergency, but if he were to force it at all times he
would soon cease to be a very skilful player. I know of no holes that
call for a long shot with a mashie. If you find yourself one hundred and
fifty or more yards from a green, and the ball has to be dropped dead,
that is both your misfortune and your fault; your previous shots were
short.
If, in the back-swing, your mashie passes the perpendicular, and your
wrists are carried higher than your equator, you are forcing the stroke.
Even if you are in the predicament referred to, and have to have a long
ball, it is better to do the forcing with your wrists and forearms than
to wrap the club around your neck. As to where you should look while
executing the shot, I find that the pleasantest results are obtained by
letting the eyes follow the ball. You don’t lift your head or shoulders
to do this; you merely roll your head, and your eyes follow the entire
flight of the ball. Nothing is gained, and something is risked, by
staring at the ground after the bird has flown.