Evening star., 1933-05-23

The only man tGho eUer held the
American Amateur and Open Cham
pionship and British Amateur and
Open Championship in one year.
~ ONALD MILLER, a youthful
golfer of Baltimore, wants to
y know what is the proper shot
to be played from distance
of 20 feet or less from the pin. This
may sound like foolish question" he
continues, "but at the present time
am, In doubt whenever have the shot
to play. I wonder whether to pitch
five feet short of the pin with niolic
or to use a fur iron and run the shot.
AS a result. I usually take six iron
and play a shot without confidence and
without success"
assume that Donald may be little
of in his estimate Of distance, for one
rarely plays a chip or pitch from as
little as 20 feet from the hole. Like
a great many others, I suppose, he Is
trying to find a way Of slipping the
little short shots up close to the hole
and Is puzzled to know how to meet
all the variations which are possible.
1t may comfort him to learn that his
troubles are shared by many, many
players Of more age and experience
than he.
THERE is greater variety In the
i short approach than in any other
department Of the game. To play
these shots consistently well requires
more experience and Judgment than is
called for anywhere else on a golf
course. drive is nearly always q
drive, and a mashie shot, just a
mashie shot, but chip may be any
thing, and it rarely Is the same thing
twice. Especially over keen green's a
man must be a good judge Of slopes
an dthe speed of the putting surface,
and the speed of the putting surface,
tive Of the effect upon the roll of the
the loft of the club and the trajectory
of its brief fight.
The two most important rules to OBJ
serve are, first, to pitch over interven-
ing fairway or rough onto the putting
surface whenever possible, and second,
to play a straightforward shot with
out backspin wherever possible. In
other words, when sizing up the shot
let the player ask himself a few ques-
tions in this order.
us there room between the edge of
the green and the flag for me to pitch
to the green with normal shot?"
II So WIN WilaL CluD!
"If not, can I pitch to the green with
backspin and stop the ball quickly
enough?"
IF I can, will that shot be more
risky than running the ball with a
straight-faced club over the intervening
ground?"
OF COURSE. all these questions are
~ more easily put than answered
correctly. Experience means ev-
erything, for every factor-ground, wind.
slope, lie-everything must be accounted
| for and valued accurately.
! If the first question Is answered In
the affirmative, the club selected should
| be the one to allow a pitch to the edge
of the green. Always. one should avoid
attempting quick stopping shot except
when it is absolutely necessary. Better
results will be had by playing the shot
in the simplest way possible. Backspin
| on such a short shot is very difficult to
| control. 1t is almost always better to
| pitch short of the putting surface OF
| to run the ball across the intervening
space. unless it be rough, than to at
| tempt anything unusual or spectacular
1t is also best to keep the trajectory
Of the ball as fiat and allow as much
| run as possible under the conditions
and in keeping with what have said
above. Often the turf. even on the
putting surface, is not uniform, and a
sleeper shot is more likely to be af-
fected by irregularities on the surface
or by variations in firmness.
Unfortunately, 1t is not possible t1