Hitting the ball low ... on purpose

[Shindig]

Hi all,

In the past few rounds, I have discovered something that I should have known a long time ago:  I can't keep the ball low when I need to.

I don't necessarily mean with respect to the wind;  if I find myself in the trees and the options are to pitch out sideways or play out under a tree and advance the ball, I'd prefer to do the latter.  However, the last ... many times I've done this, I've hit the leaves or branches.  Sometimes this results in the ball getting through, sometimes it doesn't.  Even when it doesn't, the ball is generally higher than I anticipated. 

My approach has been to try to swing softly/slowly and play the ball back in my stance.  I think this should also cause a hook, which is convenient, because I miss left more than I miss right, so back to the fairway + advance the ball should be a hook.  

I suppose the possible culprits for this could be that I don't know how to hit the shot or the equipment I'm using isn't going to let me (as it's all game improvement level stuff).

At the moment, the top of my bag is Driver, 3W, 5W, a 20-degree (3) hybrid and a 24-degree 4-iron from a set intended for high handicap players.  My irons then start at 5, and are game improvement cavity-backs.  

To make matters possibly worse, I have been debating replacing the 4-iron with a hybrid, although if that will stop me from being able to play out from trees once I learn how, I probably won't.

Either way, it's obvious this is a shot that I need to practice at some point, as it's my go-to recovery shot and I now need to admit it isn't causing me to recover.

[Hacker James]

don't dismiss the using a hybrid from under trees e.t.c.  The hybrid can be used very effectively in these situations. Ball well back in stance, swing easy maintaining forward momentum along the ground, holding a low finish.  Another method for shorter shots under obstacles is "walk the hybrid up" and hit from the toe. Some call this the "Karnoustie". Works for me.

[Patch]

You can google and get a lot of info on knockdown, punch, and/or stinger shots. This shot is a favorite of mine for the accuracy it allows. 

My version is the ball back in my stance, an abbreviated back swing, and follow through, and usind one, sometimes two more clubs for the distance needed. I use a 7 wood for this shot quite often. A 5 wood is not out of the question either. Driver off the deck? 

You should expieriment with ball placement in your stance to see what works best. 

The idea is to hit the ball with a delofted club, so expirimenting with release point helps also. 

I tend to hit this shot a little earlier durng my release, than when compared with a regular full swing shot. 

A few buckets at the driving range will help learn this shot. It's not one of the harder shots to learn. 

[Shindig]

46 minutes ago, Hacker James said:

don't dismiss the using a hybrid from under trees e.t.c.  The hybrid can be used very effectively in these situations. Ball well back in stance, swing easy maintaining forward momentum along the ground, holding a low finish.  Another method for shorter shots under obstacles is "walk the hybrid up" and hit from the toe. Some call this the "Karnoustie". Works for me.

Okay.  I'm going to experiment with hitting my hybrid low at the range.  Which is where I should be practicing it anyway.  How this couples with priority piece practice though... I'll have to allocate a few for this.

26 minutes ago, Patch said:

You can google and get a lot of info on knockdown, punch, and/or stinger shots. This shot is a favorite of mine for the accuracy it allows. 

 

Yes, but there's so much bad information out on Google, so I'm hoping for something reliable from people I know.

[Golfingdad]

If there is rough, then I'm not too good with a shot like this (hard to make good contact and get it out of the rough and keep it low as well), but if its from a clean lie, it's fairly easy for me to hit it low.  I like to take a couple of balls at the end of each range session and pretend that the 50 yard pole is one of those Big Break windows and see if I can "shatter" it.  I can usually hit the ball so its lower than the top of the pole (~8 feet or so?) with a 4 or 5 iron.

Like you thought ... back in the stance, swing smooth and don't try and kill it because that seems to add height if you make good contact.  And, yes, more often than not it tends to want to hook a bit.  Just keep practicing it.

How far back in your stance do you put it?  Maybe it's not far enough.

Edited June 23, 2017 by Golfingdad

[iacas]

Learning to keep your hands forward during the swing is important. This is one of the shots that are much easier if you can do this.

I can over-do it sometimes, and de-loft the club with the handle forward too much that I hit 5I into the ground with negative loft. I now hit low punch-outs when I need them with a 6I.

Be careful using a hybrid. Those can jump up sometimes.

[GolfLug]

For me a level swing with soft hands (bottom hand softer), and a forward shaft lean through impact seems to do a decent job. I also try to keep wrist cock to a minimum. Obviously you can't swing hard or the ball will rise.  

Edited June 23, 2017 by GolfLug

[Shindig]

Thank you to everyone who offered advice and help!

2 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

If there is rough, then I'm not too good with a shot like this (hard to make good contact and get it out of the rough and keep it low as well), but if its from a clean lie, it's fairly easy for me to hit it low.  I like to take a couple of balls at the end of each range session and pretend that the 50 yard pole is one of those Big Break windows and see if I can "shatter" it.  I can usually hit the ball so its lower than the top of the pole (~8 feet or so?) with a 4 or 5 iron.

Like you thought ... back in the stance, swing smooth and don't try and kill it because that seems to add height if you make good contact.  And, yes, more often than not it tends to want to hook a bit.  Just keep practicing it.

How far back in your stance do you put it?  Maybe it's not far enough.

Oooh, I like the imagery.  Once I am able to hit the shot once or twice, I am going to try that.

You're right that it might not be back far enough.  For lack of a better description, I'd say "where I used to have it for chipping" -- probably right instep.

2 hours ago, iacas said:

Learning to keep your hands forward during the swing is important. This is one of the shots that are much easier if you can do this.

I can over-do it sometimes, and de-loft the club with the handle forward too much that I hit 5I into the ground with negative loft. I now hit low punch-outs when I need them with a 6I.

Be careful using a hybrid. Those can jump up sometimes.

I probably should know this, but should I eventually get my hands forward on a full swing too?  Don't worry, I won't take your answer as a suggestion -- I'll wait until that becomes a priority piece (or if it happens due to other priority pieces).  But it may become something I focus on when trying to get some version of this shot to happen.

Knowing they're possible with a 6I, and that I might succeed with a 5I, is great to hear.  I was worried I'd need to get a 2I or 3I for the bag for just this eventuality. 

2 hours ago, GolfLug said:

For me a level swing with soft hands (bottom hand softer), and a forward shaft lean through impact seems to do a decent job. I also try to keep wrist cock to a minimum. Obviously you can't swing hard or the ball will rise.  

I'm starting to wonder if my flaw in this might be the wrists.  

[Hacker James]

You will figure it out, I have no doubt.  Just don't over think it.

[Dave2512]

I approach that shot almost like a weight forward, preset drill with a low lofted club.

[billchao]

5 hours ago, iacas said:

I can over-do it sometimes, and de-loft the club with the handle forward too much that I hit 5I into the ground with negative loft. I now hit low punch-outs when I need them with a 6I.

Huh, I never thought to use a 6I, will try this next round (because that's how confident I am that I'll need to hit a low punch).

I do the same thing with my 5I and always just assumed I wasn't making clean contact somehow. Never occurred to me that I might be hitting with negative loft.

[Antneye]

Thanks to my horrible performance with the driver I have had more than my fair share of experience with this shot.  I typically grab either my 6i down through 4i and line up with the ball towards my right ankle (this may be farther back than most would like) I keep the hands forward and try to finish low.  I typically have decent results otherwise I'd be much worse than a 24 handicap

[klineka]

Like others have said, I dont drive the straightest, so I have hit a good number of these shots, and regularly coach my friends on how to hit them as well. I take a 4 or 5 iron, the distance of my backswing is dependent on how far I want to advance the ball out/forwards, typically anywhere from 1/4-1/2 swing, then on the follow through, I simply bring the club up as far as I brought it back. Sometimes thats like 9 to 3 if you look at the swing like a clock, other times its 7 to 5 if Im only punching it out 20 or so yards. The common issue I see with my playing partners when they attempt the shot is that they bring their follow through too high and the ball also rises. The abbreviated follow through without breaking the wrists seems to be the swing thought that other people I have taught this shot to helps them the most.

[Jack Watson]

If you are a flipper it's great to imagine all your iron shots coming out low.

[Groucho Valentine]

An important key for me in hitting punch shots and stinger type shots is maintaining the arm width in my swing.  I have a tendency to get too quick, too steep and I chop down when I'm trying to hit that shot. It often results in me actually hitting it fat, even though the ball is back in my stance. I feel like alot of higher handicaps do this too. So remember to take the club away from the ball as you normally would. 

[Golfingdad]

On 6/23/2017 at 2:51 PM, Shindig said:

Thank you to everyone who offered advice and help!

Oooh, I like the imagery.  Once I am able to hit the shot once or twice, I am going to try that.

You're right that it might not be back far enough.  For lack of a better description, I'd say "where I used to have it for chipping" -- probably right instep.

Hit a couple of these the other day and took a video of myself doing it too - haven't uploaded it to youtube yet though.

I'd say that for a 6 iron, yeah, it is probably pretty close to my right instep.  With the 4 iron, it's a little farther forward I think.

[Shindig]

45 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

Hit a couple of these the other day and took a video of myself doing it too - haven't uploaded it to youtube yet though.

I'd say that for a 6 iron, yeah, it is probably pretty close to my right instep.  With the 4 iron, it's a little farther forward I think.

Thank you!  I look forward to seeing the video.  So far I'm 1-for-4 on these on the course since asking the question and I know I can improve that number, thanks in part to help like that.

Also ... a little farther forward with the 4-iron than the 6-iron?

[Golfingdad]

3 hours ago, Shindig said:

Thank you!  I look forward to seeing the video.  So far I'm 1-for-4 on these on the course since asking the question and I know I can improve that number, thanks in part to help like that.

Also ... a little farther forward with the 4-iron than the 6-iron?

Yeah, just a tad.  Here's the video.  (I came as close as I have in a long time to hit that pole with the 4 iron :P)