Jeff Ritter on Punch Shots (Video)

Jeff Ritter posted this Instagram on the proper way to hit punch shots. It's very instructive -- and perhaps a bit counter-intuitive.

If you find yourself in the trees, don't take a bad problem and make it worse. Here are a few simple tips to knock your ball back to safety! #maketheturn #golf #golftips #golfswings #golfdigest @poppyhillsgc #golfinstruction

A video posted by MAKE THE TURN (@mttgolf) on Aug 26, 2016 at 7:37am PDT

Jeff gives you three tips:

1. Make sure you pick a clear path so you get the ball out in one shot. Don't be a hero!
2. You need to keep the shot low, so put the ball back slightly in your stance and use a lower-lofted club. (I would add that you need to make sure you don't use too little loft. You'll need a little more loft from a deep lie than you would from a bare lie.)
3. Here's the counter-intuitive part, which is the reason I'm posting this: Take an easier, shorter swing. If you try to make a hard fast swing of any length, the ball will spin more and shoot up higher than you want. See how easily Jeff hits his punch in the video?

I bet this little video saves you a lot of shots from under trees. That last bit about swinging easier should be stressed more often.