Learning to play effective golf shots in the wind can really help to low your scores when playing in very challenging conditions. The best way to play in the wind is to learn how to hit a punch shot.

A punch shot is a golf shot that is deliberately played low to keep the ball under the wind and therefore helps you to retain your directional control and accuracy with your golf shots.

In order to play a punch shot and deliberately control the trajectory that the ball is hit at to be low, play the ball further back in your stance than usual. This will allow you to strike the golf ball on the downward phase of your swing arc and as such, the club face will be de-lofted as it strikes the golf ball and it will produce a lower ball flight than usual.

Aim the club face at the target and take your stance up with your feet just under shoulder width apart. Place slightly more weight on your left side (for right handed golfers) and make sure you set up with your hands forward. To achieve this, create a straight line from your left shoulder, down your left arm to your hands and then continue this straight line down the shaft of the golf club to the club head. This will set your hands forward of the club head and slightly de-loft the club face to produce a lower ball flight.

As you swing the golf club away from the golf ball, work on keeping the straight line from your left shoulder to the club head and swing to just over waist high. If you hinge your wrists on your backswing, you will hit a higher flight golf shot so maintain the straight line and restrict your backswing to this just over waist high position. A swing any further back would require you to hinge your wrist, so take more club than usual for the distance required and use this restricted backswing that maintains the straight line from the left shoulder to club head.

Swing the golf club back towards the ball and ensure that your hands are forward of the club head as the club head strikes the ball, by maintaining the straight line. Drive the club through the golf ball and finish in a very restricted and laid off position. The golf club will finish lower than usual and the club head will be lower than your hands in a laid off position.

To work on achieving the correct position with the golf club at impact, try the following drill using an impact bag. Place the impact bag in the middle of your stance and set the club head next to it. Set your hands in front of your left thigh so they are in line with the impact bag. Swing the golf club away from the bag as discussed previously and then work on striking the upper part of the impact bag part way up the shaft, before the club head strikes the bottom part of the impact bag where the golf ball would be. This will ensure that the shaft of the golf club is leaning forwards towards the target, so that the handle is closer to the target than the club head is when the club head strikes the golf ball and this will ensure that you get a lower initial launch angle from the club face, that will drive the ball under the wind.

Work on achieving these points when you are next faced with windy conditions and you will hit much lower flighted golf shots that will help you to retain your accuracy and will help you lower your scores when playing in difficult windy conditions.