Help needed. Got new fitted G20 irons and i cant hit them ! Shanking.

[brian72gb]

Been a long time lurker on these great forums but never felt the need to post. Except for now.

Ive been playing golf for 10 years+. I play off a 16 handicap which was going down. I have used a set of Calaway irons for the past 9 years.The grips were on the way out so i thought Id purchase some new irons.

Went to a pro shop which happened to be a PING authorized fitter with a n flight computer. I tried a few demos (K, G, I) and a Calaway and liked the G20.

Booked a fitting for the G20 which concluded i am a yellow dot. During the fitting, I hit fades, pulls and finally straight, however this was only with the 7 iron. My normal bad shot is a fade or a pull.

SO when the clubs arrived i went to the driving range.

I hit a couple of nice shots with the higher irons, then to my horror, i shanked one, then another then another. I carried shanking about 75 percent of the shots . Shanking is NEVER something i have suffered with before. So i decided to go home and try to forget the experience (very difficult) and went back 2 days later. Guess what. The shanks were still there, The higher irons were not too bad but i couldn't hit 4,  5 or 6 iron for the life of me. The ball just span off low and right.

So i am wondering if anyone thinks, have i been fitted incorrectly ? Could the lie angle (1.5 deg upright ) be causing a shank ? Or have i just bought the wrong clubs ?

Any help appreciated, Ive gone back to my calaways until i get this sorted.

Cheers

[Mr. Desmond]

The skanks can occur with any irons or line of irons.

It could be you are anxious.

I would go back to formula (spiderman reference) - basics, and do some drills. Do a search here for drills, video yourself and review or post it, if the issue does not dissipate.

Last year, it's all I had when going to a new swing. So anything new can cause it.

Check your Basics -

Move away from the ball

Relax

Tighten up the swing (shorter)

Anxiety can result in OTT swings that can cause the problem

Check lower body basics, etc.

[newtogolf]

Yellow dot is 1.5 degrees upright.  If your Callaways were standard lie you may have adjusted your swing to account for them not being fit properly which is now causing the issue with your Pings.

It could mental as Mr. Desmond pointed out, but given you aren't shanking your Callaways I'd look at your swing with both clubs on video and see what's happening.

[nickel_aTm]

The combination of fades and pull would suggest you're coming over the top and/or casting a lot.  I'd look to work on the swing before the clubs.  Could you have gotten a bad fitting?  Sure, it's possible.  But those guys are trained to fit you with the swing and characteristics you've got.

I'd try to get a couple lessons.  Good luck, and enjoy the game!

[Mr. Desmond]

Are the shafts in your two iron sets about the same weight and performance characteristics?

Did he put you in something heavier?

[notsohard]

firstly...shanks are caused by an out to in swing with a closed face...thats it, nothing more nothing less.

secondly and not the cause but adds to it....todays standard clubs are too upright as it is, and you have gone another 1.5.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by notsohard

firstly...shanks are caused by an out to in swing with a closed face...thats it, nothing more nothing less.

secondly and not the cause but adds to it....todays standard clubs are too upright as it is, and you have gone another 1.5.

Not always - mine are up 1.5 and no problems. It depends on the starting point.

A lie board is an easy way to get data on your lie angle.

[aangel]

I changed from Taylor Made Burner 2.0's to Ping G20's red dot in late spring and it took me at least 5 trips to the driving range to adjust my swing for the change in the lie angle....I'm glad I made the change. Don't give up.

[Ben Easton]

Te G20's are great clubs but it takes a little bit of getting used to. I did the same thing you did and was fitted as a green dot which is just one up from yellow. I first i had trouble too, I think it might be the change in lie angles but after a couple weeks I was hitting them great. Hang in there and good luck!

[floridagramps]

i am ordering g20's asap

golf tec fitter reccommended yellow dot +1/2 inch length regular flex and mid size grips

attended ping demo day and ping rep reccommended white dot and+3/4 shaft length and senior flex......hit them very well

went back to golf tec and we are agreeing on a compromise green dot and + 1/2 inch and sticking w reg flex........I am 70 and am borderline reg flex......if swing speed declines I will re-shaft downstream. Golftec thought ping guy was too aggressive and thought i might have problems at longer length

any thoughts re this compromise would be appreciated

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by floridagramps

i am ordering g20's asap

golf tec fitter reccommended yellow dot +1/2 inch length regular flex and mid size grips

attended ping demo day and ping rep reccommended white dot and+3/4 shaft length and senior flex......hit them very well

went back to golf tec and we are agreeing on a compromise green dot and + 1/2 inch and sticking w reg flex........I am 70 and am borderline reg flex......if swing speed declines I will re-shaft downstream. Golftec thought ping guy was too aggressive and thought i might have problems at longer length

any thoughts re this compromise would be appreciated

I'd go for the shorter length. You must be tall or have short arms to go +.5.

As to flex, that depends on what is working for you - the difference in the ball flights, height, and yardage.

[tcaton]

I've been playing for about 30 years off and on and I had never hit a shank in my life until 6 months ago when I was fitted and purchased a set of Ping G20's. My guy fitted me for silver dot 1-1/2" over. They felt good on the first dozen shots or so, then BAMMO! Shank! SHANK! SHANK! SHANK!..........it went on for about a week. Then I took a lesson to get rid of it. I ended up getting rid of the irons and going back to my mizuno mx-20's. they are bent 2 degrees upright and have a 1" over length shaft in them. No shank.

Then one day I was playing with the G20's and I hit a shank on the first hole. A guy I was playing with, a complete stranger, says I bought a set of those because I wasnt playing golf much and just wanted something super easy to hit so I bought those, I ended up going back to my G5's he says, wanna hit them? I said sure, bam! No shank. He let me hit them on every shot the rest of the round, he must of been an angel or something. When I got home I went directly to ebay and bought a set for $150. Shanks all but disappeared. they do show up every once in a while but I can totally tell its because I'm swinging to much from out to in.

One thing the pro had me do was hit hosel rockets on purpose. Once I did, he said now dont hit them on purpose. He also explained that hitting shanks is caused by hitting the hosel with a wide open face, you can do this swinging in to out or vice versa. He also said that snatching the club to far inside sets you up for this and that having clubs with huge offset like the G20's would/could exacerbate the problem and that the shanks have been lurking in my swing for years, just waiting for the right time to come out.

Lengthy I know, but thats what she said!

Tim

[Mr. Desmond]

Do you focus on the ball (front, middle, back) as you swing?

I do notice that watching the ball being hit tends to produce better ball striking, and less of the other stuff.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by notsohard

firstly...shanks are caused by an out to in swing with a closed face...thats it, nothing more nothing less.

secondly and not the cause but adds to it....todays standard clubs are too upright as it is, and you have gone another 1.5.

No, they aren't.  The face can be open, closed, or square, and the swing can be out-to-in or in-to-out or square.  All that happens is you make contact on the heel end of the clubface such that the ball hits the hosel.  Period.

Furthermore, without looking at any of the manufacturers webpages, I know that there is no standard between brands, so I don't think you can make a blanket statement that they are all "too upright."

Originally Posted by tcaton

I've been playing for about 30 years off and on and I had never hit a shank in my life until 6 months ago when I was fitted and purchased a set of Ping G20's. My guy fitted me for silver dot 1-1/2" over. They felt good on the first dozen shots or so, then BAMMO! Shank! SHANK! SHANK! SHANK!..........it went on for about a week. Then I took a lesson to get rid of it. I ended up getting rid of the irons and going back to my mizuno mx-20's. they are bent 2 degrees upright and have a 1" over length shaft in them. No shank.

Then one day I was playing with the G20's and I hit a shank on the first hole. A guy I was playing with, a complete stranger, says I bought a set of those because I wasnt playing golf much and just wanted something super easy to hit so I bought those, I ended up going back to my G5's he says, wanna hit them? I said sure, bam! No shank. He let me hit them on every shot the rest of the round, he must of been an angel or something. When I got home I went directly to ebay and bought a set for $150. Shanks all but disappeared. they do show up every once in a while but I can totally tell its because I'm swinging to much from out to in.

One thing the pro had me do was hit hosel rockets on purpose. Once I did, he said now dont hit them on purpose. He also explained that hitting shanks is caused by hitting the hosel with a wide open face, you can do this swinging in to out or vice versa. He also said that snatching the club to far inside sets you up for this and that having clubs with huge offset like the G20's would/could exacerbate the problem and that the shanks have been lurking in my swing for years, just waiting for the right time to come out.

Lengthy I know, but thats what she said!

Tim

Well, at least your guy is a little closer than the guy above, but still ... you don't need a wide open club face to hit a shank, you just need to hit the hosel.

For me, I've been fortunate enough that I haven't ever gotten badly infected.  I will have range sessions where I'll hit a handful but I concentrate on fundamentals and they go away.  Fingers crossed I never have the problem too seriously.

[tcaton]

i hit the front of the ball for irons and the back lower for drives. the dude is right "technically," you can hit the hosel with a closed club face but the open version is way more common, i think, i believe but dont know for sure and if i'm wrong it still doesnt matter. dont hit the ball with the hosel!

[JTgolf]

I got fitted for some G20s. I was on the verge of ordering +.5 and ended up getting the black dots. I have been hitting them great and dont regret getting the black dots at all. Most of my simulator and fitting shots were starting off slightly right and flying straight. I figured that out quickly and have been hitting the ball straight ever since. I don't know much about fittings or even clubs, but I couldn't be happier with my G20s.

[DonG]

I had a PGA professional club builder to fit me and built me clubs in the past.  He started me hitting a zero degree upright club, everything I hit went to the right he placed the marking tape on the face of the club to test where I was making contact with the ball. It was being struck near the toe of the club. from that test we began hitting different degree clubs until I reached 2 degrees upright, That was just what I needed, everything hit solid and straight..  I am 79 years old started playing at age 50, never had a lesson and still shoot my age or under at times.

Try this I hope it helps.  Playing golf is fun if you are hitting the ball well.

[uitar9]

Im 61 and been playing 3 years, Started taking a few lessons the past month. With the change in swing, I was shanking more than usual . Checked the club. I was hitting the hosel.

The teaching pro got me to move back a ball width. Problem solved.

Good luck