knock down shot

Stupid question but what’s a knock down shot and how do you do it? Is it simply putting the ball back in your stance and creating a lower trajectory?

Second question, why would ever want to play a knock down shot? When whould it help me?

It depends on distance, but I tend to use my 3 iron hybrid/rescue for these.

I widen the stance a little, put the ball back, flatten my swing path a smidge and I cut off the majority of my follow thru. I almost make an exaggerated release so I don't pop the ball up.

My homecourse fairways are lined with trees, many of which are low hanging pines.

If your main course doesn't have a lot of trees, you may not need it much. Good one to have though, saved my butt a few times.

Generally you take about 2 clubs more than normal, put it back a little in your stance (don't go overboard here) and 3/4 swing with a low follow thru. The ball will shoot low like a bullet and cut through the wind. Surprisingly, if performed right, it will check on a green too. You want to do it in windy conditions...keeping it as low as possible is generally a good strategy.

Warning: most modern "Game improvement" irons are not suited for knockdowns. The cavity shape puts the center of mass too low in the club, so it is too hard to launch the ball low. There was a blurb on this in Golf Digest within the last few years. Trajectory control is the main reason I think anyone that can break 90 should not go for these modern oversize clubs.

I shouldn't have any problem attempting this with my titleist 695 CB's. Now that I know what a knock down shot is I can say I've attempted it a few time to get under trees. I find the hardest part getting the ball on line. It seams to always come off the club going left or right. I suppose I need to practice this shot first.

I also deal with the squirts left or right sometimes. . .There always seems to be an obstruction issue. Like a low branch, not allowing a good takeaway or a full swing thru.

I just try to keep my backswing slow, accelerate thru, and KEEP MY HEAD DOWN. If you shift your body at all. Be it raising up, or dipping, your alignment is going to be thrown off. Just remember to not rush it, and stay down on it.

isn't this also called a "punch" shot? or is that something else?

I use a knockdown sandwedge in windy conditions, and yes, when I hit it right, it checks up hard, and it stays low enough I don't need to factor in the wind.

For me, a knockdown shot and punch shot are two similar but different things. The super-low shot to keep the ball under trees -- where I find myself with alarming regularity -- or out of really strong wind, I normally think of as a punch shot. I think of a knockdown shot as a low-mid trajectory shot that I play from the tee or fairway either to keep the ball from ballooning into the wind or to control distance. I tend to hit knockdowns with short to mid irons and punch it with longer irons or a 3 wood.

For both, the goal is to reduce loft and backspin. I put the ball back in my stance, close the clubface a bit, shift a little extra weight to my front foot and make a half to 3/4 swing without much hand-action or hit at the bottom. The follow-through stays low and matches the length of my backswing. In a lot of ways they feel like big versions of a chip shot.

The punch shot exaggerates all of the deloft/no spin parts of the swing, while I usually put enough spin on a knockdown to check after the first hop or two. Definitely something you want to work out at the range first, it's really important to put a smooth swing on it to keep it online and to avoid additional backspin that will shoot the ball up.

It's great shot to have in windy conditions.

Totally agree with this 100%. These clubs make it difficult to learn/execute any shot except a high one. Hitting it low is sometimes impossible.

Not to mention "game improvement" is a huge misnomer. I don't see how those clubs can improve your game, basically they just mask your bad hits and give you zero feedback. If you aspire to truly improve your game, I would stay away.