Either the Vref speed stated in the flight manual for meeting the certification landing length requiremets is safe or is not safe. Obviously the former.
Whether you call it performance landing, a normal landing, or a short field landing - it should all mean the same thing. Fly a typical Boeing and the Vref speeds obtained from its flight manual are, in general aviation terms, the same speeds used for a performance, short field or normal landing.
In the old days, a short field landing -sometimes known as a precautionary landing, was flown at just above the stalling speed power-on. A classic example of a true short field landing was an aircraft carrier landing where the aircraft came in at a terrifying low speed with lots of power and hanging on the prop as often described.
With most of the old propeller driven military types - Mustang, Harvard, Lanacaster, Dakota et al, it was fashionable to arrive over the fence on a short field landing at 10-15 knots less than normal. There were risks associated with this technique - wind gradient, for instance. The vital thing was power on until the very moment of flare. The prop wash saved your skin. In modern types, this meant that the stall warning buzzer was sounding all the way in signifying only knots above the stall.
Except perhaps for certain types of military operations, the true short field landing is rarely used in civilian circles - thank goodness. Don't try it unless you are in current practice because the insurers will leave you for dead if you prang.
From my experience, few flying training schools teach the use of the certified flight manual threshold speeds as normal landing procedure. They see these speeds as practically a Mayday situation.
People seem to forget that the flight manual speeds (call them what you wish -short field - performance etc) have perfectly safe padding already built in. Float will always be there with these speeds if the GA aircraft is flared and held off in order to touch down at point of stall.
Because flying schools decree that additional speed is flown above the already safe flight manual speed in order to make a so called normal approach, the resulting additional float may be considerable. On a limiting field length this extra float could cause problems.
If flying schools would only teach use of the correct flight manual speeds for all landings, then the confusion between so called normal landings and short field or performance landings would vanish. Being taught a bad habit such as adding a few extra knots when not needed, is something that students don't need.
Perhaps the aim of the game should be to have the student touch down at a given spot on the runway from a normal (flight manual) threshold speed. This is exactly what Boeing pilots try for.