Too much inside-out path, Help Pls!

**barrycuda** · March 11, 2008

Last couple of rounds i have played, my shot shape has been mostly draws, a few hooks and a few pushes and a few straight shots.

i'm definatly swinging too much inside-out as my divots always point right of the target, sometimes quite abit to the right even.

im actually pretty happy with this as iam on track for a good swing that your actually supposed to have, and not the dreaded outside-in swing.

but here is my problem; i usually start my round of great, the front 9 i usually have 4-6 shots over par. Then a few more good holes and all of a sudden i will hit a shank. I can like feel the shank coming, the draws will get bigger and bigger and the ball slowly makes its way closer to the hosel. Once that first shank comes, i just can't stop hitting shanks. if i do manage to keep the ball off the hosel it will be right off the heel off the clubface. even my 3wood, the ball comes right off the heel where the shaft enters the head, half the ball would be like off the shaft. One shot i had i placed the ball off the toe at address, but i still managed to make contact right off the heel when i hit it.

frustrating part is i just cant shake off the shanks. i try standing more open less closed, grip, stand further from ball, try not to slide, try not to move weight onto toes, keep head down,but nothing works. i will even shank a 6 yard pitch shot where the backswing is basically tiny!

well its frustrating and i feel like iam talking to a shrink! :)

so i need some tips&opinions; to how to stop swinging too much inside-out as when this gets too extreme, it causes my shanks.

thx

**TourSpoon** · March 11, 2008

Quick fix:

Get yourself a piece of cardboard, styrofoam, or a small wooden dowel and put it outside of the ball about 1.5" inches, parallel to the target line. Swing a few times without the ball there and hit some shots with the barrier in place without hitting the barrier. This will help your path.

**geezer** · March 11, 2008

And, most importantly, Stop thinking about that... you know what.

**Avid Golfer** · March 11, 2008

Last couple of rounds i have played, my shot shape has been mostly draws, a few hooks and a few pushes and a few straight shots.

It sounds to me like you may be checking the wrong things to stop your shanks. Standing too far from the ball, as well as getting too bent over in your posture (incorrect hip bend and kneee flex) could cause the problem. If the inside-out path is related to your shanks your ball position could be too far forward as well.

If you want to reduce your inside-outness you could check the following: Make sure your grip isn't too strong Make sure your spine isn't tilited too far away from the target at setup Make sure your weight isn't too much on your back foot (be balanced toward the middle of your stance). Make sure your alignment (feet, knees, hips, shoulders, and eyes) aren't pointed too far right. You could use the example of Greg Norman in the following picture to mirror your setup after. He has his shoulders over his hips, hips over his knees, and knees over his feet (a very balanced stacked position). http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/5...ansetupas1.jpg

**barrycuda** · March 12, 2008

thx for the replies. i only had time for 9 holes today and played them in +6 which included a missed 2 1/2 foot putt :(
so i was pleased enough with that effort.

i did not shank anything today but my divots still did point right of the target. compared with my terrible shank attack yesterday i paid close attention to my grip(not having it too strong like i usually do), my line-up(not pointed too much to the right like i usually do), and 1 other thing that i usually never checked;
i paid close attention to my left wrist at impact to make sure it stayed straight and not break down. by breaking down i mean bending so the clubface races ahead of hands at impact. you think that could be a shank cause?

i did miss power today to how far i usually play. i think that was due to my weaker grip and focusing on a straight LH wrist at impact.

**barrycuda** · March 12, 2008

but 'avid golfer' you know what your writing about. certainly 2 of the 4 things you mentioned iam guilty of. not sure about how much spine tilt iam getting or if my weight is too much on my back foot. i do hit the odd fat shot, is too much weight on back foot cause of a fat shot?? or will that result in topping the ball? i dont ever really top a shot.

one thing about the follow through though iam still uncertain. and that is at the 90 degree follow through, where is the back of the right hand pointing?? say you got a watch on your RH wrist, where is the face pointing at 90 degree follow through when the RH arm and club is pointing down the line? one article i read it says it should point at the ground, but how on earth do you get a wrist roll when it still points at the ground 90 degrees after impact. when i watch swingvision clips it looks like the back of the RH is facing the camera at that position.

**JonnyGolf** · March 13, 2008

Your shanks are caused by your hands slowing down (or stopping) in the impact zone. It's as simple as that. As your hands and body slow down because of the tension you're feeling, the club head rotates towards a closed position. Then, it happens, the hands slow so much that the shaft makes contact with the ball. Keep your hands and body moving through the turn, and the shanks will stop. You have to force yourself to keep your hands and body moving.

It cracks me up that people are afraid of saying "shank". It reminds me of Harry Potter and their unwillingness to say "Voldemort".

**geezer** · March 13, 2008

It cracks me up that people are afraid of saying "shank". It reminds me of Harry Potter and their unwillingness to say "Voldemort".

Shhhhh! He might hear you!

**TourSpoon** · March 13, 2008

Shhhhh! He might hear you!

His golf game is going to suffer for seven years...unless he plays with a clove of garlic around his neck...wait, that is just for vampires...we will have to think of something.

**Williamevanl** · March 13, 2008

I seemed to have rid myself of the shanks, for now. I posted a while back about shanking for hours off mats in a dome and couldn't figure out what was going on. The fix actually ended up being that I was to close to the ball.
I figured it out in a soccer field in front of my house based on my divots. At address the ball seemed like a comfortable distance from my feet but on the down swing apparently my arms would swing out about an inch further then at address. This resulted in a swing compensation to bring the club back towards me and the ball. This gave me out to in divots that looked ridiculous.
Anyway after figuring it out I went back to the range and hit 4 buckets of the some of the best shots I have ever hit.

**Avid Golfer** · March 13, 2008

but 'avid golfer' you know what your writing about. certainly 2 of the 4 things you mentioned iam guilty of. not sure about how much spine tilt iam getting or if my weight is too much on my back foot. i do hit the odd fat shot, is too much weight on back foot cause of a fat shot?? or will that result in topping the ball? i dont ever really top a shot.

When you refer to hitting fat shots do you mean you hit the ground before the ball, or that you hit the ball before the ground and take deep divots? Having the ball too far forward in your stance (so that your swing bottoms out before it gets to the ball) is usually associated with fat shots more than topped shots.

Below are pictures of Trevor Immelman past impact hopefully they will help you with your question. The important things to remeber about this past impact position is that 1: the ball is long gone by this time, and any actions you take at this time is pointless since it has no effect on the ball. 2: The through swing is an automatic reaction to what came before. If you have a sound grip, and sound body motion then your swing will carry you into this position naturally.

( http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7...himpacttn4.jpg )

**barrycuda** · March 14, 2008

thx. yes i did mean by fat shot that i hit the ground first and then the ball. could well be that i have the ball too far forward in my stance. will keep an eye on that when i play a round later today.

zmzman · March 14, 2008

Honestly I don't think an honest breakdown of your swing can be accomplished here on this board...I say that because there is always a question on wether or not you are actually attacking the ball at "too much" an "inside out" and not something else. I say this because many of my students say they do what you are saying but what they actaully do is start out with a very good/good address to the ball....swing on plane (inside out) and actually lift their whole body and everything gets out of whack...like I said it's hard to say without seeing your swing but the new swing is getting more athletic...maybe you need more stanima?

**barrycuda** · March 14, 2008

well i dont know if iam lifting my whole body, wouldent that result in thin shots? i tend to hit them fat. where i live we get alot of hardpan, i often hit the ground before the ball and then the ball goes nowhere :(

**Avid Golfer** · March 16, 2008

well i dont know if iam lifting my whole body, wouldent that result in thin shots? i tend to hit them fat. where i live we get alot of hardpan, i often hit the ground before the ball and then the ball goes nowhere :(

Its more likely that you are loosing your posture in the other way (dipping not lifting). Your head and shoulders could be dropping during your swing, your knees could be becoming more flexed, or you could be tilting from the waist. Each of those things could be responsible for a loss in posture, and cause fat shots.

**tm22721** · March 18, 2008

When the pros perform their weight shift, their right knee moves toward the target, opening up a path for the club. The club goes right through the point where their right knee was at address. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it up close. Furyk's club appeared to almost graze his right kneecap. He is one of the most accurate players on tour.

If your club does not go through the point at which your right knee was at address, then you are not performing a proper weight shift. I would not call this an inside-out path. It is simply the most direct path to the target.

Jake H · March 19, 2008

My misses tend to be shanks as well. I had a bad case of the shanks about 2 weeks ago. By swinging in front of a mirror, I found that I was squatting in my downswing (much like Tiger does), forcing my hands farther away from my body and resulting in a shank. I concentrated on staying tall, and actually feeling like I lift my head on the last half of my downswing. This cured it, and I started hitting the ball the best I ever have.

Now when I swing in a mirror, my head stays very still in the vertical direction, and stays there through impact (even though it almost feels like I am lifting my head before impact). Your results may vary though because I play a natural fade and my swing is more outside-in.

EDIT: I should have read all the posts before replying. Avid Golfer already covered it.

**barrycuda** · March 20, 2008

My misses tend to be shanks as well. I had a bad case of the shanks about 2 weeks ago. By swinging in front of a mirror, I found that I was squatting in my downswing (much like Tiger does), forcing my hands farther away from my body and resulting in a shank. I concentrated on staying tall, and actually feeling like I lift my head on the last half of my downswing. This cured it, and I started hitting the ball the best I ever have.

your correct. i figured this out yesterday at the range. my shanks where happening because i was squatting on the downswing and or lunging at the ball. now i just concentrate on keeping still and not loosing any height during my downswing.

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Too much inside-out path, Help Pls!

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