Using a punch shot all the time??

I was struggling with a weak fade with my irons for a long time (only on the course, never the range). The pro who teaches me worked on a couple of things, but the main one was the feeling of hitting a punch shot. Slightly shorter backswing, and a "punchy" follow through that felt like it didn't go past my shoulders (though in reality it would).

As the problem only ever came up on the course, I couldn't tell on the range whether or not this was a good fix, but the first couple of times it came up during rounds, I tried it out, and it definitely improved my ball striking. It became my "go-to" swing, when I was under pressure or striking it badly, and I would use it until I was hitting it well again.

When I mentioned it to my usual playing partner, he said that he couldn't see any difference, but, like you Soft hands, the way the swing felt to me was very different.

As has been mentioned here, the difference between a shot that feels like a punch swing, and a punch shot, is considerable, but if it works on the course, it's a useful swing to have in the bag!