The Shanks...

I went outside to practice some yesterday afternoon and couldn't hit the ball AT ALL. Now today I went outside to do the same thing, and now I'm shanking, topping, etc. I have tried numerous things with no success. Any tips for the shanks? Thx in advance

First of all, let me make this clear...all good players go through a stretch of shanking, I'm not saying it will last weeks, but all good players go through some sort of stretch where they struggle. I believe it's just a timing issue, but it could be other things. You may be too close to the ball. You may be "lunging" at the ball, getting to anxious to hit it (I've done that so much the past week man...), or you may just be picking your head up. It can be so many things and you just have to go to the range and 'hit your way through.'

Try to keep your confidence up too, I know it's hard, because I lost all confidence in my short iron/wedge game when it happened to me.

Yea I've gone through this before when I was like a 16 handicap. I geuss it's just more frustrating now... Thanks 4 the advice man

I started practicing with my wedges to get my swing in correct postion and make solid contact with the ball.

I started with any object under both of my arm pits, this helps keep my arms close to my body for a compact swing. I now get a wedge in my hand and begin my one piece take away. My hands take the wedge back without breaking my wrist and the club is taken back on the target line with the toe facing up about hip high. Thats about how far I want to take my backswing for now. I now swing my wedge forward contacting the ball and finish about hip high. When I made contact with the ball I should hear a click sound when the iron makes solid contact with the ball.

if you do not hear a click sound you are out of position with your base which is your feet or with your take away and you need to work on either or both. My feet are slight apart but not shoulder width apart when I practice this exercise.

you should be able to do this consistenly and then you are ready to move on.

Once you have consistenly hit the ball solid you are able to take this same swing motion and now take a full swing. With the previous motion hip high, now you are breaking your wrist and taking the club into the full back swing. My wrist break and iron position for me is straight down the line. Your postion might be more inside and on plane, you will need to see where you ball travels to make any changes, either way you should still make solid contact and hear the click at impact.

Now take the same swing motion and take a full swing. You shoulder and hips should be turned fully, Once you are at your full backyswing you can uncoil the swing and just release the club without any effort. If you do this correctly the club will return to the ball and you will hear a click and the ball will travel with solid contact.

This exercise helps you groove a swing and be able to practice in a small area of about 30 - 50 yards.

you will get a nice feel of your golf swing and a added benefit is that this will improve your chipping game around the green.

I practice this drill just before I go play a round and have hit my irons with more confidence then I ever have.

good luck, just my 2 cents.
As Chris408 stated eloquently " The simplicity of the game, and the complexity of it's execution.

CGO31 may have hit nail/head. If you're shanking shots, you may be lunging forward on the way down. But what is causing it?

A couple of seasons ago, I could shank chip shot all the way around a green. It got to the point where I was lining up the ball so close to the toe end of the blade just so I'd catch a PIECE of the clubface on these shots. So I decided to hit the practice green to work through the issue.

I shanked 60 out of the first 100 paying attention to all parts of swing mechanics. During the SECOND hundred balls, I discovered that on the way down and through even a short pitch shot that my left knee was collapsing IN toward the ball and forcing the club off line, (and farther out) than where the swing path began. So it was take-away, dip INWARD, down and through and SHANK!

Result? I hit more than 60% of those shots on the hosel of the club on a 45* angle right from the target. Frustating? Beyond belief!!!

Fix: Keep lower body 'quiet' during swing. Don't dip left knee. Let hands, club take-away and follow through dictate body rotation/movement.

This might not fix YOUR shanks, but it's an example of something I had to go through to fix something as simple as shanking pitch/chip shots around the green! It's not easy doing things on your own.

Maybe a pro could fix your ills in a single 30-minute session? Just an idea.

dave

I've been through this a few times. The best, most repeatable cure I know if from coming back from shanks (without a camera) is to start with really short swings. Make sure that you rotate your shoulders through the swing. Don't try to close the face with your arms and forearms. Move your shoulders WITH your lower body.

A shank is impact on the hosel - too much lateral motion and not enough rotation. Most people try to create an artifical "rotation" through the wrists. This may seem to work, but it will instill a swing motion that requires split second timing requiring hours and hours of practice and STILL will not guarantee a consistent stroke. Use the body, let the arms hang on for the ride :)

i think everybody has had their run-in with the shanks. there are alot of different reasons why this can happen. best fix is to get your swing taped and looked at by the coach. thats what i did last time i was struggling with this problem.
the pro found that i was pointing my feet too far right of target, RH grip too strong combined with an outside-in swing.

I know an instant fix for the shanks. Make slow swings (70% full power) with the ball played off the toe of the club. Hit 10 like this. Then go back to playing the ball in the middle. Hit 5. Repeat until you are de-shanked.

I have a higher index than you, so take this with a grain of salt. However, I have struggled through this issue numerous times. I have taken lessons and done a ton of research on it because I was so frustrated. I even recorded my swing and saw what I was doing. So, this is what I have learned.

There are ton of reasons why people shank the ball, but they tend to come down to a couple of things. Swing path or lunging a bit. I would estimate 90% of people do it from swing path. You can shank it by coming outside-in or inside-out, but most people do it from an outside-in path. For me, it tends to come from hacking down on the shot and it just gets worse as I get frustrated.

The quickest way I have found to fix it is to put a tee (or a 2x4) a couple inches outside the ball and hit the ball without hitting the tee or the board. Basically, promoting an inside-square-inside swing. This has helped most people I have talked to.

The lunging thing is another possibility, but it is a little less common. For that, a lot of the previous suggestions are great. Setting the ball up on the toe usually fixes it. However, ultimately, you would want to maintain your spine angle and quit lunging.

Again, I don't claim to be an expert. This just happens to be something I have experienced and spent a lot of time researching. I haven't hit one in quite a while, but I feel like an addict that will never fully be cured :) I hope you figure it out because I know how frustrating it can be.

Almost but not quite, you want to set up to the ball with the golf ball lined up against the hosel, then hit the ball out of the toe of the club, this exaggerates the anti shank feeling and will fast forward the cure to your shanks.

What I've done in the past to help cure the shanks is to start hitting 3/4 trap shots. It simplifies the swing and allows you to start feeling clean contact again. I think shanks start with a couple bad swings and then escalate into a mental issue because you start to lose your mind and do all kinds of weird crap to try to get rid of them. Once you get the feel for good contact again they will go away.

It seems like everyone suffer fom the shanks every now and then. The past couple days I was suffer from them and I went and practiced this afternoon and I hit the ball just fine.
It seems like they kind of come and go and no one has a real answer as to why they happen.

Two possibilities:

1. Not completing your backswing. 2. Arm swing getting ahead of body movements. Make your swings slow and deliberate. With your index, you must have a key that will make your body movements lead your arm swing perfectly. Just complete your backswing, and then use your downswing key, slow and easy. Of course I'm just guessing. It could be something else.