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This is going to be my major addition to my game for next season. The main reason is, I've found myself in a lot of situations where I could use a low, controlled-trajectory shot and just don't have it in my bag. So I've started working on it; here's how:

I take a 6 iron, with my feet shoulder width apart and slightly open to my target. I put the ball well back in my stance and grip down a bit on the club, with the clubface aimed straight at my target. I take an abbreviated backswing and hold my follow-through off very low (hip-height).

It produces a very low, boring shot that goes very straight. I'm hoping to eventually be able to hit it with my rescue 2 or even my 3-wood off the tee, just to give me something I know will go straight.

Any other thoughts on how to hit this shot and/or has anyone found it to be useful?

What I've come to know is the folks, who are the "real" players can hit this kind of shot with consistency and to their advantage. It's definitely a stroke saver that I've seen from these players who have game.

This is not to say that all good players or very good players have to know how to hit this shot, I'm saying they're more rounded and I've seen how it makes scoring that much easier when faced with circumstances where a "punch" is the right way to play the shot...and they do it pretty well...I just wish I could learn it too!

Very good shot to have! Well worth the time spent learning it.

Word of advice, learn to play the punch shot and make a turn instead of holding on. Holding on is best way of doing it but if your swing speed increases it will start to tear on your left shoulder.

I got where I was pretty proficient using that low punch with an 8 iron from like 130 and in. Eventually I would get some yardages of 140, and I would try to hit same shot just a little more juice on it. It pulled muscles in my left shoulder over time and gave my full swing a left elbow that stuck out after impact.

I saw Peter Jacobsen (who loves playing with the amateurs at pro-ams) on tv once doing the low punch and he said that was the main difference between pros and ams doing it. That pros seldom hold on as much during follow thru but make a turn even if slight.

Why limit it to your 6 iron?

I'm not limiting it to my 6 iron, that's just the club I'm learning it with. As I said, I'd like to be able to use it off the tee when I just want to hit it straight, ie when my driver leaves me during a round and I'm in need of finding a fairway. For that I envision using my 16* rescue mid or my 3 wood. Tiger hits this shot a lot off the tee (and no, I'm not one of those "Tiger does this, Tiger does that" guys, it just seems he hits this shot a lot).

What do you mean by this?

Let me further explain that when I say "hold off," I actually wind up with my hips facing left of target, with my hands basically hip-high out front or slightly left. So I guess what I'm saying is it's an abbreviated backswing and abbreviated follow through *with my hands*, but my body rotation is still pretty much the same in the follow through.

So I actually am making a turn, just holding my hands low at the finish. Is this what you mean?

I noticed this summer that my little punch shots from out and under the trees (using a 3 or 4-iron) were not only straight, but long zingers. I thought about it a bit...usually have an abbreviated arm swing, hands close to my thighs, using mostly a short crisp wrist shot with abbreviate follow through (similar to what you mentioned). I commented a few times that my 3-iron out from under the trees seems to go farther than a full swing off the tee(I've run them 180-200 yrds onto the green at times). I then started using a very similar swing style off the tee with my 3-iron with very good success. I think part of it is using a slower swing speed, getting my arms in a good tempo with my swing....anyway, it worked so well, I tried imitating that with the driver and I've hit some of my longest drives with that style (on my back swing, I don't think my club is pointed any further overhead than to 1:00 rather than parallel to 3:00 with a normal full swing....straight down the middle of the fairway....few times through the turn in the fairway when I've previously never reached the turn !!!

Yes, that would be the correct way to play the shot. Generally, when people say they are holding off on a shot it means that they are holding the club face square through follow thru. After you get good at it the tendency would be to hold face square all the way to target and not let right hand rotate. You get very deadly with accuracy but it kills the joints in about 3-6 months. Or at least that was my experience.

Ah, I get it now. Yes, that it was people generally mean, wasn't thinking of that. I actually release my hands pretty much fully, with my right hand rotating fully over top of my left. What I meant by 'hold off' is the height my hands get to.

I'm liking what I see from this shot - seems quite versatile. Seems pretty simple to execute, too.

That's funny, that's exactly what got me thinking about developing this shot - I seem to wind up under trees quite a bit

Yep. My punch 6 goes as far as a full 6, possibly further given the run. Of course, I'm hitting them into snow right now, so it's hard to gauge the run-out.

one of my favorite shots! i find myself on the right side quite a bit usually in some kind of trouble and the punch shot has been a stroke saver. i usually play a punch cut type of shot and it's a lot of fun watching that ball curve around the bend and roll up. i set up open and swing in line with my feet. sometimes out to in depending on how much i need it to turn.

its a neat little shot and if you take the time to play around with it after YOU CAN see it run out...you will amaze yourself.
Try hiting the punch back in your stance with the club face aimed at the target, close your stance a little, looks like the club face is hooded, then make the normal swing and VOILA...punch draw....have fun with it and you'll find you can get out of trouble from a lot of places hitting the punch with all your clubs. I even make an exagerate punch put sometimes with 3 wood if i end up in the rough and no way to get it up and litterally putt the ball 100 yds down the fairway...

Where I live there's frequently alot of wind...the knock down punch shot is a must.
Some days, I'll go to the range and hit nothing but punch shots. I think it's more beneficial than hitting full shots...you must keep your hands ahead of the club head, and that's a good thing to practice.

C

I don't hit punches that much from the fairway as most of the courses around here are blocked by the wind. I do hit it with my wedges though. From about 70-100 yards with the pin in the back I don't want to throw a wedge way up in the air because to get it back to the pin is difficult (plus if it's windy) with a smaller margin for error. So I play the ball back in my stance and let my hands release and I hit a nice lowish draw that hits, takes a couple of bounces and stops. It's one of my favorite shots.

Also, since I'm not the straightest driver in the world I'm in the trees alot, so I asked my pro how to hit really low punch shots. After some help, now I take a 4 iron (my lowest iron) or a 4 wood, play the ball back and let my hands release and not let the club go much past my waist. That will give me a running draw. Or a fade by holding the clubface open (or setting it open at impact) but it goes a bit higher so I don't hit it as hard. It's fun to pull a shot like that off and have it run up to the green or curve way around a tree to the amazement of your partners