American young gun Rickie Fowler warmed up for The Open Championship in perfect fashion as he produced a stunning approach shot into the last hole of the Scottish Open to set up a tap-in birdie and a one shot win.

Tied for the lead playing the 18th hole at Gullane Golf Club, Fowler hit a wedge shot to just a couple of feet and duly tapped in for birdie, shooting a solid 68(-2) which saw him finish three under par for the last four holes.

With The Open Championship the week after the Scottish Open, many of the world’s elite golfers enter the Scottish Open as a way to ‘warm-up’ for The Open, to get used to the unique style of golf required at a links golf course like Gullane and St. Andrew’s.

Links is unlike any other form of golf, played on firm sand based turf, located within sand dunes near to the coast and pitting players against the harshest elements. Other features include pot bunkers, large undulating greens, hard and fast fairways, deep rough and strong winds.

The unique test presented by links golf leads to a wide variety of shots being required in order to be successful at this style of golf, hence players feeling that they need to play the Scottish Open in order to practice these shots.

The most useful shot to know for links golf is the ‘punch shot’ that Tiger Woods famously uses to great effect and calls his ‘stinger shot’.

A punch shot has a much lower trajectory than a normal full shot, with much less spin. It will release and roll much more upon landing than a normal shot, especially on the firm turf of a links course.

To play a punch shot, first take much more club than usual for any given distance. Put the ball back in your stance with your hands forward, helping to de-loft the club for a lower trajectory.

Swing easy with a shortened three quarter backswing and three quarter follow through as this shot is all about control and you should have more club than you normally need for this distance. Through impact, ensure that your hands remain in front of the club head in order to keep the ball low.

Try these simple keys and improve your punch shots, whether you’re playing in a strong wind or on a hard and fast links course it’s a very useful shot to master.