Do you practice punch shots on the range??

[jaysquared]

Might be a stupid question.. Do you guys do this?? I usually play a course that's pretty wide open with no trees at all but today I played on a course where there were older trees and a couple of my drives ended up being under the tree and had to ouch out.. I never practice this shot and really don't know my distances are when I punch out..

[MS256]

I've had way more practice at that than I would like (during my rounds). Ha ha!

I suppose you could practice different punch outs with different clubs and develop a system for how far the shots would go with different length swings.

All of that would be way over-complicating it for me. I just look at the trajectory I need and pick a club. Then just feel the swing and hit the ball as far as I want it to go (hopefully). I might use the same club for huge differences in distances. A three or four iron might be needed for a very short shot or might be needed for a low punch that goes 175 yards or more.

I used to walk the course with one club and a putter and hit all of my shots with that club.

[ayysolapsu09]

Yes, but only with long irons so that I can get a feel for hitting the center of the club face with the long irons.  On the course, I just hit one more club and put the ball back in my stance with an abbreviated follow-through, regardless of the club in hand.  It usually works out just fine, except when it doesn't :)

[AntiTankNinja]

Absolutely! The punch out shot is vital to save a hole from getting out of hand. Learning how to hit a modified chip shot with a 4-5 iron can be very valuable. When I first started, I often did the same thing you did. Hit into some trees with no visible path to the green. Low tree limbs forced me to keep the ball low but I didn't know what club to use, how hard to hit it, and how far it was actually going to go. I would choose a long iron, pick a clear path to the fairway and BAM, straight across the fairway and into the trees on the other side! Basic tips: Position the ball in the back of your stance and finish low(hands stopping about at your waist) so the ball stays down. Control your distance with back swing, percentage swings like you would a wedge. I use the punch out and the mid iron flop shot to avoid trees more than I would like to....but it sometimes saves me from having that "blow up" hole!

[GaijinGolfer]

Its not a shot that I practice simply because for me, its not a difficult shot.  I just play the ball back in my stance, open up my stance a bit and swing out to in.  Simple shot, IMO.

[jaysquared]

  GaijinGolfer said:

Its not a shot that I practice simply because for me, its not a difficult shot.  I just play the ball back in my stance, open up my stance a bit and swing out to in.  Simple shot, IMO.

And they all go I the hole right?? Yes it's a simple shot.. But if your trying to punch iit to get onto the green.. That's what happened to me today.. Short par 4 about 300 yards.. Got a great drive but landed right under some branches.. Had about 60 yards left but couldn't hit sand wedge because it would hit the branches for sure.. Pulled out the 7 iron and punched it 30 yards past the hole.. Just gotta start practicing those I guess..

[tomvk77]

had 2 shots like that in my last round. Only i had no room to land the ball and stop it. i calculated in that i would shoot the ball over the green, and searched a spot where my chip back would be the easiest. ended making bogey twice. These kind off shots i can't practice on the range, just because the conditions on the course are just not the same. If you know how to keep a ball low, that is pretty much all you can do. If there is a little hill or something try to hit the ball into it to slow it down, keep the flag out off mind is what i should do.

[saevel25]

Depends on the shot, you really can get a ton of distance if you take a small swing, hinge the wrist, and really smack the ball. I've seen a lot of punch shots come out way to far on a lot of people because they don't realize the power you can get from the bottom 1/3rd of the golf swing.

But really just practice. I use to do it all the time. Just get a bucket of balls, take a 7 iron, and just hit all different type of shots, don't be afraid to really put the ball through out your stance. The key for me is thinking of how my hands finish the swing. for any low shot i always try to think of keeping my hands finishing in the swing around my stomach height. This really keeps the ball down.

[TourSpoon]

I don't practice this shot often, but for some reason, I ended my practice with a few knock-down pw and 7 irons from the middle of my stance to really feel the hands ahead. The ball flight is lower, more penetrating, and a club short. I have been seeing the pw shot extremely valuable the last few rounds so I thought I should practice it. It's not exactly the same as the under-the-tree punch, but they are in the same family.

[RayG]

I will definitely practice the punch. For use in wind or getting out from trees. Getting out from the trees, with the fade or draw on demand comes in real handy. I will will also practice the knockdown/punch with the shorter irons to negate windy shots. If it is windy at the range, it really helps to SEE the actual results. Hit a few normal and watch the ball drifting all over the place, then work on the punch/knockdown to match the right club with the right distance depending on that wind. These are shots that every golfer should know/learn and use if you want to knock a few strokes off. As a bonus, I think that hitting off a mat really helps develop that stroke needed. You can tell immediately if you caught ball or ground, and grooving that ball first stroke is essential for a punch shot.

[RonTheSavage]

Definitely, I normally finish off my bucket this way using a 5-iron

[Ernest Jones]

No, not at the range. I do practice them in my basement due to the low (ish) ceiling. At the range I try to practice the shots I can't practice elsewhere. Chipping and pitching I can do in the back yard and punch shots in the basement. Putting I rarely practice as I seem to be a natural at it and I dont want to mess with a good thing.

[dbuck]

I practice often with a 5 or 7 with my feet together ball in middle half swings. My goal is to make the ball draw pretty hard. The exercise is to square the face and good contact. Spread my feet apart, lighten the rotation slightly and you have a punch shot.

[Paradox]

I don't practice punch shots in particular but I do practice knockdown shots and also half swings and the like with a few different clubs.  When I'm playing a punch shot, I'm hardly ever trying for the green or anything so to me, its more about advancing the ball a reasonable distance while also getting out of trouble.  On most par 4's, if the tree is just gonna require absolute precision then I'll wedge out while also trying to get as much advancement as possible and play for the up and down par.

[boogielicious]

Yes.  I do practice these for low trajectory, get out of trouble shots.  I try to make them curve too, left and right.  I comes in handy.

[Meltdwhiskey]

I have actually heard a couple of instructors say it is great to practice these shots not just for when you need a punch - but that it is good for your swing. They say that a guy who can hit a good punch shot is usually pretty good.  And that it helps you get better at creating lag in your swing.

A guy once instructed me to do this every day for a week or two until I had ingrained it and I would come out of it with better lag.  I can't afford that many balls and don't have time to go to the range every day, so I hit soft balls in my basement instead.  And I'll be goshdarned if I didn't go right out and shoot 4 of 5 rounds in the 80's - despite the fact I had never hit in the 80's before.

Of course later other horrible stuff crept into my swing and I started spending my time to fix those things.  And I hit in the 80's a lot more frequently now. But I'm glad I saw this post, I think I'll take this up again.