Punch out club?

[Seattlegolfnut]

3 hours ago, kevinricci said:

If you play it back in your stance, it will add backspin, which you don't want for a low runner. Play it in the center and don't swing too fast.

Never thought of that! Thats really good advice. 

[bunta]

im assuming none of you have ever blade wedges before. Mine goes 130+ and rolls another 70. There's your 200yard punch out club🤷‍♂️

Edited August 13, 2021 by bunta

[Seattlegolfnut]

10 hours ago, bunta said:

im assuming none of you have ever blade wedges before. Mine goes 130+ and rolls another 70. There's your 200yard punch out club🤷‍♂️

Yes definitely have that shot in the bag!

[rsballer10]

 I honestly take a long iron, move the ball back in my stance and "sweep" the ball. Hitting down sometimes creates a high contact point on the face, which may make the ball float. Fade or draw I do with the follow through. Hold the face for a fade, let the toe turn over for a draw.

[platgof]

Ping G410 4 hybrid. Take an easy swing and punch it out. I tend to stay on top of the ball to put topspin on it. 

[acemandrake]

Size 12 FootJoy 

[Jifmoli]

I follow my former playing partner's zen philosophy... there is more air/space in a tree than leaves and branches...feel the tree...BE the tree... Hit the right club for the distance. Works every (one) time (in a thousand)

[Darespo]

6i delofted but will try the 4i more centered for less spin

[Seanmx]

More technique than equipment

 

Open stance, open shoulders, short backswing, turn torso to cover ball

[JAMH03]

At least once a round I find myself in the trees wishing I had a club that I could punch out ~100 yards and fly it about 5 feet off the ground like a low bullet.
 
#1 if you carry the ball 100 yards at 5 feet off the ground it's going to roll pretty far. When you're perfecting your punch out shot you have to account for carry and roll.

#2 Most Seattle golfers already have this shot down. Why the delay on your part?

#3 though I love mechanical solutions and I'd be very curious how useful a wedge length low lofted club might be. I believe for the most part it's not the club it's the technique.

#4 not hitting into the trees where you need a punch out shot is actually not realistic depending on where you play don't be so hard on yourself in that aspect.

It really is part of the game and even more so on tree lined courses. PGA pros complained about Sahalee and it's relatively wide open compared to many SEA tracks. 

#5 4iron/hybrid works fine but that gripping way down and delofting seems over the top.

#6 here is what I'd suggest and what's worked for me.

a. It seems like the problem is you don't know how hard to hit the ball or how to take a partial swing.

b. Learn to hit your 7 iron 100 yards. The technique needed to do this is actually quite informative.

c. the simplest way to learn how to chip out and or to the green is to use a system where you use one technique and vary the clubs. Like the rule of 12 chipping or something.

Grip down a bit play the ball back a bit and swing slow say a 1/4 swing. Try to get your 9 iron or 8 iron to go 30-40 yards and work your other clubs up from there.

For me the sweet spot probably is the 4hybrid and 4wood I use those most often but for shorter shots I can play more loft.

#7 Should take about 50-100 balls to get it down. If you haven't made progress in 2 weeks hit us back. 

 

[NorCal678]

I personally like my longest iron, mainly do to it being a steel vs graphite shaft.  I have more confidence with a 1/2 or 3/4 swing with the steel shafted club, especially if the shot requires substantial curve.

 

Honestly whatever you use is less relevant, than how much you practice the shot.  As you can see everyone has a preference, but the important thing is your confidence with whatever club you choose.  

 

Take a bucket of balls and get comfortable with something.  

[SwingMan]

I use my Ping G425 22 Hybrid as a great option under trees, bare ground, wet bare ground. Goes about 5 feet in the air with a proper setup about 100-125 yards (what I've tried) or more if needed, depending on rough and fairway conditions.

Edited August 15, 2021 by SwingMan

[billybaroo]

I deloft my 4i and can generally keep it as low as needed to get out of jail. I don't try to get crazy with the shot, I'm just going to get out of trouble and make my next shot to the green or back in play to avoid a blow up hole.

• "When you play safe, play safe."   
• "The swing that got you there, has to get you out of there."

 

[bigolherschel]

On 8/9/2021 at 10:48 AM, Wolfhammer said:

 

I'm not a single length player but I have a Cobra 3H SL in the bag. I picked it up when I first started playing as I struggled with the length of a standard 3H. Now I'm just used to it and I love hitting it. When needed, I can hit a 180yd runner that only gets 10 feet off the ground. Well, it's that or I top the sh*t out of it. Either way it doesn't launch very high.

No joke, this is part of my strategy coming out of the woods. I either successfully punch it and it’s pretty or I top it and it rolls a similar distance… but is far from pretty. 

[abenjami]

I'll echo what some others have said.  Practice different shots with different clubs.  Then you won't feel like you need 1 specialty club to hit only 1 specialty shot.  Instead you'll have a bunch of different specialty shots with the clubs you already have in your bag.  One shot I practice a lot on the range is hitting a low 9 iron that goes 70-85 yards.  I find that to be useful to achieve GIR on par 5's when my second shot doesn't end up in the fairway.

 

For me in this situation, the club I'm using depends on the distance I'm trying to achieve, how low I really need to keep the trajectory, and for how long.  If I'm trying to hit the shot you described, I'm using my 18 degree hybrid or 5 iron and taking a 1/4 to 1/2 swing.  But if I just need to get under one tree that's too close to get over, typically I'll club up 2 and hit a 3/4 shot with the ball back in my stance.  It's not a specific club, it depends on the distance.  For example, if I would normally hit a 9 iron without the tree being an issue, I would hit a 3/4 7 iron.

Edited August 15, 2021 by abenjami

[Seattlegolfnut]

Thanks for the continued input and suggestions.

 

Been reflecting more since I first posted a week ago; digesting responses, practicing a bit, and had a chance to play yesterday.

I think I should have clarified my OP that my struggle isn't so much "under" trees, but rather "inside" them. If it's truly unplayable or a real squirrely lie, I'll declare or go out sideways or even backwards.

 

As @JAMH03 described, Sahalee is pretty open compared to where I typically play around here. You can actually see tree trunks on most holes now at Sahalee. My home course and several others have rows of cedars a few years off the fairways. Thing is with many cedars, there's often a bit of room inside near the trunk but the bottom branches will "swoop" down and low on the drip line.

So I'll often find myself inside a grove with enough room for a chip shot (like a knee-high backswing and follow through), plenty of open fairway ahead once extricated and chance to get a decent up-and-down if I could get it far enough out there.

 

I don't have issue with a typical punch shot when I have enough room to swing and there's a decent clearing. And I readily admit I haven't figured out the technique for a long iron or hybrid/wood, that gets enough power on the ball, and enough club face control, to really drive it out low and hard when I can't hardly put a backswing on it. The bladed wedge was a great example of when I've done it by mistake! 

 

Hence why I was curious if anyone knew of any special equipment that better fit this situation (was thinking how there are special "chipper" clubs for a different situation).

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2021 by Seattlegolfnut

[hagimihale]

I use my 19* hybrid.  Current model is Titleist 818H2.  Prior to that it was a Cobra baffler pro.  

 

I put the ball back in my stance a bit and use a "putting" type motion with no wrist hinge.  This is good for distances up to 100yds, depending on length of backswing and speed/power of downswing.

 

Ball never gets more than 10ft off the ground, and I am usually able to keep this low enough to stay under the treeline if needed. Tends to be a low, running fade, which makes it good for tee shots that missed the fairway on the right.

[PoeKingShankspeare]

what’s my punch out club?
 

It really depends. I’ve used my 5w, 4h, 5i, 7i, 8i and wedge

 

Few years ago I took some advice from an OG at the range… many ppl don’t practice these shots. 
 

 

[Rosco1216]

4i 22* is certainly a club capable of doing what you’re looking for. 

[ShortGolfer]

Practice with different clubs and learn how what happens if you "miss" the shot.  Which is worse, a hook or a slice?  

 

A game improvement club that only goes straight may be worth adding to your bag.

[dubbelbogey]

Spend a couple of big buckets of ball just hitting low shots to those short targets on your range. Pick 2 or 3 club options, and just use whatever technique you're most comfortable with.

 

This will almost assuredly make you more comfortable doing this and will cost you no more than, what, $20?

 

 

[PhilsFanDrew]

I don't have any one particular club.  Generally I have to keep the ball down so that eliminates wedges.  A lot of it depends on how far I can realistically advance from punching out without hitting into more trouble and how far or close the the fairway I am and how narrow the fairway is.  One many courses near me a sideways punch out with a 5 or 6 iron is going to roll out into the rough on the other side so often an 8 iron is the more prudent safe selection for sideways.