Chinajohn:Has anyone else noted this? [ "...particularly the punch shots I've come to allow for 50% of the crosswind, and this seems to work well,"] Am I on to something or just having a 'senior moment'?
That agrees with my observations, CJ. For punch shots, I make the same adjustment for head or tail winds as I do for for any cross-wind drift of ball flight, and the wind drift adjustment for punch is ~50%-60%, vs full shot allowance. I like to think of punch shots as 'wind tamers'. Elevation adjust is easier with punch shots: use the classic 3 ft elev = 1 yd adj. for any punched club. Full-shot windage and elevation adjustments are trickier because the % adjustment varies over the club set - becoming smaller as you move to shorter clubs... due to the higher flight arc, maybe?
The numbers for my equipment set (CG wedges, VF iron set, RZN distance balls)? In 10mph wind, at 50 yds I allow 2-3 yds wind-drift; at 84 yds, I expect 4 or 5 yds wind-drift. Once you get into the PW and longer irons the windage % adjustment decreases, because (I assume) of the lower trajectory flight your ball spends less air-time and more roll-out - sort of like a long-distance pitch.
As you observed, the downside is sometimes unpredictable roll out, particularly in stronger tail-winds and / or into terrain sloping down and away. With the CG wedges, small spin adjusts can control even those situations but, for irons, full shot and back spin (playing lawn darts) may be all that will allow you to stop close.
Note; I estimate that 75% or more of my 66 ranked-round eagles from off the green have been punched approaches.