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punch shots

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Sat, Aug 18 2012 5:59 AM

  dflop:

  i have never used my punch on my driver off the tee , on what circumstances would  this come in handy  ?

  SA #1 and the par 3s at RSG from the Legend tees, depending on wind.

  At SA#1, from the Legend tees, you can put top spin on a punched driver and take a full swing. No matter how bad you hit it, it's in the fairway in any wind. It also puts you a full wedge away from the short pin, not too close. Full swings generally perform better than partial shots.

  At RSG on the par 3s, when you have the typical wind in the face, a punched driver will roll a long time and under the wind allowing for less influence from it and a putt for the 2nd shot.

• alosso 21,072 Posts

  Sat, Aug 18 2012 6:06 AM

  Good advice Jim!

  I haven't done it myself yet but I'm gonna give it some thought, even from my "short" tees :)

  Thinking about OLY, a driver punch may be helpful at #4(?), playing not too long into the dogleg, and #5, avoiding that §$%%& tree and the rough behind the FW.

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Sat, Aug 18 2012 6:20 AM

  alosso:

  and #5, avoiding that §$%%& tree and the rough behind the FW.

  Punches roll with very low flight and lots of roll. I don't think it would carry the rough on 4. On 5, aim straight ahead, in any wind with no spin, and miss late to the first line past the ding. Think fade.  Fairway every time.  :-)

• piztaker 5,743 Posts

  Sat, Aug 18 2012 6:25 AM

  alosso:

  Good advice Jim!

   

  You're welcome.

• alosso 21,072 Posts

  Sat, Aug 18 2012 6:59 AM

  YankeeJim:

  alosso:

  and #5, avoiding that §$%%& tree and the rough behind the FW.

  Punches roll with very low flight and lots of roll. I don't think it would carry the rough on 4. On 5, aim straight ahead, in any wind with no spin, and miss late to the first line past the ding. Think fade.  Fairway every time.  :-)

  Things sure are different from the tips - I play from blue.

  At OLY #4, 424 yds, I've been used to play 3WD (240 yds) with full bs to avoid the big tree and the far dogleg.The ball would nicely sail over the tree and stop on the FW but sometimes a wee bit short, letting the trees left side of the fairway come into play.

  The G20 driver punch is also 240 yds, passes below the tree crown even with full bs and apparently is a bit longer due to the different trajectory, 1st try (replay) landing in the FW middle - just perfect!

  At #5 I tried my first ever fade with good success, hitting the line, geez how nice & long is this!?!

  A bunch of good news, tyvm, and I'll add one I found out myself at Cabo #1: Driver full shot with 50 % top spin will ride up the FW (best with tailwind) very nicely - 330 yds uphill!! Works well at OLY #2, too!

• gsoup 2,929 Posts

  Sat, Aug 18 2012 7:40 AM

  i wanna punch my caddy

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Sat, Aug 18 2012 7:51 AM

  gsoup:

  i wanna punch my caddy

  You don't want to know what he's saying about you in the caddy shack.  :-D

• chrisironsbones 3,524 Posts

  Sat, Aug 18 2012 10:56 AM

  dflop:

  Gee piz i have never used my punch on my driver off the tee , on what circumstances would  this come in handy  ?

  Olympic #5 to avoid those branches, or if you are on st andrews #1 and have 30 mph tail wind, why bother fiddling with choking your driver down and may still go too far and land in water when you can punch the drive and still get a carry to 300 yards

• Choppography 2,166 Posts

  Sat, Aug 18 2012 7:25 PM

  I've punched the Big Dog into gale forced headwinds on courses like St A that are known to run out forever.  But is the punch absolutely necessary on Olympic to get under some of the trees?  I generally use full topspin and think that generally goes farther than any punch.  I'm not arguing...just curious as to your experience with topspin as opposed to the driver punch.

  Olympic seems to have such sloping fairways, I don't want that ball running as much on those crazy hills.  But, if it's the best way, I'm all ears......and will likely try it next time I play anyway.

• GlassMan27 573 Posts

  Sat, Aug 18 2012 7:47 PM

  Choppography:

  But is the punch absolutely necessary on Olympic to get under some of the trees?  I generally use full topspin and think that generally goes farther than any punch.  I'm not arguing...just curious as to your experience with topspin as opposed to the driver punch.

  It's definitely not 'absolutely' necessary. But, Olympic is really the only place I use punched driver shots. For the record, Olympic is a completely different course from the back tees. Most of the trouble really isn't trouble from the forward tees.