If the player has adopted the modified overlapping grip, or if she is using the Vardon grip, she will find that no change is necessary for the approach shot from that which she used while putting. For the shorter shots she will naturally slide her hands down the leather grip of her club in order to keep control of the club during the abbreviated swing, just as she did while on the green. The position of the body should be somewhat stooped with the knees bent a little, and she should stand fairly close to the ball. It is a general principle that, in the shorter shots, the player should "get down to the ball" more than in the longer shots where a full or three-quarter swing is used. The arms should be kept close to the sides and the hands held low. The stance should be fairly open, with the left foot pointing toward the hole, but the actual arrangement of the feet is, within certain limitations, not so important as the fact that the player must be firmly settled.

Although the body bends forward there must be no sensation of tipping forward on one's toes, in fact the forward pull of the body must be counter-balanced by the weight being adjusted evenly along the soles. During a short swing the left heel should not leave the ground, and even when a three-quarter swing is made the heel should be no more than loosened from its position in the turf. The object to be attained is that the body shall be kept steady, and that there should be no possible suggestion of swaying from side to side. In making the pitch shot the ball must be raised in the air and, if possible, back-spin must be put upon it, so that when it drops to the ground it will not run forward but will stay where it falls as closely as possible. Either a mashie or niblick may be used, depending upon the distance to be covered and the sharpness of the curve that must be described by the ball's flight. There is a club called the mashie-niblick that finds favor with some players, as it combines the sharp lower edge of the niblick with the weight and general formation of the mashie. It is possible to do very good work with this club as its thin edge allows it to cut clean under the ball, and thereby impart considerable back-spin without raising it in the air as abruptly as would a stroke made with a regular niblick. The choice of clubs, however, must be left to the player's own preference and judgment. Such a variety of situations arises in making approach shots that it would not be practical to try to cover them all in making suggestions as to the use of different clubs.

In making all approach shots the player should act very deliberately. There must be nothing hasty or impulsive in her movements, and nothing that might suggest banging at the ball. As calculation of distance and of the ball's trajectory are necessary, the stroke must be accomplished by careful thought and execution. Some players go so far as to say that there should be a slight but perceptible pause at the top of the swing. I believe, however, that it is unsafe to try consciously for this; the idea of having to pause may very easily result in a momentary relaxation of the muscles that would cause the stroke to be wobbly and uncertain. The better idea is to play only just so slowly as is entirely compatible with firmness and decision.

The ball should be nearly in line with the left heel, and the weight of the body should be mainly on the right leg. The club should be drawn back from the ball with an upright swing, the length of which should be determined, of course, by the distance the ball must travel. The stroke must be firm and decisive, and the follow-through upright and snappy. This snappy finish must not be tried for by any conscious motion. It is gained automatically. It is the upright swing and follow-through, combined with the loft of the club's face, that cause the ball to rise in the air. The club and the manner of the stroke, together, are planned to lift the ball. There must be no attempt on the part of the player to scoop up the ball or to urge it upward by lifting the body or hands.

A mashie shot played in the fashion just described will have very little forward run, but to insure the ball's stopping dead where it falls (except for the kick which cannot be avoided unless the green is extremely heavy) a mashie shot with cut is employed. This shot is difficult and requires much practice, but it must be mastered by any player who wishes to be expert. The difference in playing this and the straight mashie shot lies in the fact that the club head in the backward swing, instead of being drawn back in the line between hole and ball produced, is carried outside that line. It follows that as the club is brought down the club head will meet the ball with a glancing blow, and will give it, not pure back-spin, but a rotary motion that is off the true perpendicular to the ball's line of flight. This cut stroke is very much like the sliced drive and has the same tendency to swerve to the right. To counteract this tendency, especially if there happens to be a wind blowing from the left, the player must aim her ball to the left of the hole.

Vardon says, "How to Play Golf," page

145, "From the nature of the upward swing, the club is necessarily coming down across the ball, but everything should be done to accentuate that effect. Do not be afraid to make a distinct attempt to draw the mashie sharply and clearly across the ball at the instant when the two come into contact."

Possibly Vardon, after his many years of golf experience, is able to see the instant the club head hits the ball and can think quickly enough to draw the club inward during that fraction of a second, but it is extremely doubtful whether the average player has such instantaneous control of her faculties. If she has not, it would be very unwise for her to attempt an action that must be done at such lightning speed. As a matter of fact, to make a sudden movement at the last instant is sure to spoil the shot completely. If the backward and forward swing and follow-through are in the line already described, across the line of the ball's intended flight, and the stroke is made with sharpness and decision, and the ball hit truly, then the desired cut will be accomplished. It is certainly difficult enough to do all of this without adding to one's mind the totally unnecessary burden of doing something more the instant the ball is hit.

The average player is generally happy enough if she finds that her ball has come to rest on the green without cavilling at the particular portion of the green it has chosen to occupy. It is only the expert who can, with any degree of consistency, lay the ball within a short distance of the hole. The fact that she cannot accomplish a thing, however, does not relieve the player of the responsibility of trying for it, so it is well, early in one's career, to form the habit of picking out the most advantageous portion of the green for the ball to occupy, and to aim for that. It is by no means the proper play always to aim for the pin, in fact it may happen that it is not wise to aim for the green at all but, perhaps, for example, a steep bank that rises beyond it. The characteristics of the green itself and of the ground immediately surrounding it, must be carefully considered, and the shot directed in such a way that it will benefit by any peculiarity that is advantageous and will avoid any that will bring trouble. There is even more necessity for this caution in a run-up shot than in a pitch shot, because, when the ball travels on the ground it is, naturally, more subject to disaster from any irregularity in the ground's conformation.