Escape Trouble with Rickie Fowler’s Punch Shot

Rickie Fowler shows you the basics to getting out of trouble with the punch shot, a great way to keep the big score off your card.

Escape Trouble with Rickie Fowler’s Punch Shot

Rickie Fowler Punch Shot PGA Championship Cover

Do you know what the key is to quickly lowering your handicap? Well among many, the easiest may be crisis management…


If you watched the 99th PGA Championship this past weekend at Quail Hollow you probably have an idea of what we’re about to reference…

Late on Saturday afternoon and just four shots out of the lead, 2015 PGA Champion Jason Day attempted a shot that Nick Faldo could only describe as “one of the worst decisions [he’s] seen a professional golfer make.” After a wayward tee shot, Day found himself behind a tree on the right side of the 18th fairway and over 180 yards away from the green. What happened next may have cost the former World No. 1 a shot to contend for his second Wannamaker trophy in three years.

Day slipped and rang the ill-conceived second shot off a tree, was forced to take a drop from a bush, pitched his then-fourth into the deep Bermuda rough, chunked his fifth short of the green, etc. When it was all said and done, Day walked off the closing hole of the infamous Green Mile with an eight on the scorecard and his title hopes all but dashed.


The Punch Shot

The lesson to learn from all of this? Take the easy shot. Get to safety. PUNCH OUT. Had Day utilized a punch shot and simply gotten back to the fairway, par was in definite consideration— with a bogey-five likely being the worst outcome.

Eliminating the big score when it is in your control is the easiest way to lower your handicap. It keeps your momentum rolling and, even though it seems simple to say, bogeys are easier to bounce back from than triples or the dreaded other. Smart shots lead to better play and lower scores. Just think about how many times you walked off the course with your buddies telling them “man… if it hadn’t been for the two doubles and a triple…”

Now, making the decision to play smart and actually executing the shot are two completely different things. That’s why we’ve found this Golf Digest video to help you visualize, practice, and successfully make the shot that will lower your handicap round by round. Join Butch Harmon and Rickie Fowler at Floridian as they walk you through the stance, grip, and swing to punch out of trouble with ease and consistency.


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