Left Hand Swing Video/Shanks Trouble

[MikeLowry5]

A few people asked me to post this after a bad bout with hitting the ball off the hosel.




Video is about 2 minutes long. First swings are with an 8 iron, when I switch it is a 6 iron. The "Camera 3" angle as Michael Breed calls it is with the 6 iron I believe.

Let me know what you think.

My observations are:
-Head dips on downswing
-Doesn't look like I am hinging the wrists early enough
-Possibly bringing the club too far to the inside

[wedge player]

Thanks for help posting the video

no problem it looks like a good swing to me

[MikeLowry5]

Probably the worst news I could hear. I am hoping there are some big flaws there.

I am terribly inconsistent. This was a good day for me at the range. I literally have ball marks on the back of the hosel on a bad day lately.

I've never broke 89 and typically shoot anywhere from 90 to 110.

Thanks for looking.

[wedge player]

.

well if it was a good day at the range good job.you have potential

[DBeane]

First of all we do not say the "S" word.

Get your weight on the balls of your feet. I prefer to see people's knees more so out over your toes.

If you start on your heels, you will have to move your weight foreword to push off your left foot. I believe this can cause just enough movement to get you out on to the s word.

I would start there.

-Beane

[walk18]

hey mike, hope you still dont have the shanks, but if you do, try to make a good shoulder turn going back, and square up your right wrist (since you're lefty) at impact. Worked for me.

[verse214]

I believe your shanks occur because of the movement of your head in the swing. I used to shank the ball because of a similar issue.

If you notice,in the videos your head dips a little bit in the downswing. This bobbing can affect spine angle and also the relation of the club head to the ball. When you "dip" or move your head forward, you move closer to the ball and line up the ball with the hosel at impact leading to a shank. From the videos, it looks like when you do hit the ball well, you are barely missing the shank.

Two things that I think will help you resolve this fairly quickly. Previous poster mentioned getting the weight on the balls of your feet: the easiest way to achieve this is to make sure that your knees are bent and are directly over the balls of your feet. If you look at the down the line shot, your knees are a little straightened out, creating instability, leading to a lack of solidity in your head's position. I suggest getting two bricks and standing them on their sides - then stand on the bricks with the arches of your feet and take slow quarter and then half swings. If you can get the feeling of "sitting" down more in your swing as well as a more stable platform, it will be much easier to keep your head steady.

The second thing that I am positive will help is by addressing the ball with all of your weight on your front foot with your back foot in the same position, however on it's toes. Then just swing, follow through, hold the finish. This will force you to swing less than 100%, ingrain the feeling of having the majority of your weight transferring to the front foot at impact, and also show you what solid impact feels like.

I also suggest performing the 9 to 3 drill, although it is somewhat less related to shanking than the above two things I mentioned.

Whenever someone shanks it's almost always because of head movement/alteration of spine angle. By building a solid base by addressing the ball with your knees bent properly, you should be able to keep your head more still and resolve your issue.

Let me know if you have any questions about the above.

[MikeLowry5]

I do not.

They still pop up occasionally however I know what causes the and try to fix it.

I finally found a good pro that works regularly and can explain to me how the swing works.

First lesson showed me taking the club too far inside and opening the club face on the takeaway. Within an hour I was able to hit all of my clubs without the shanks.

I've had two lessons from an apprentice and learned more than an entire summer with a Class A professional.

I'll post up a video in the next week to compare the two swings.

Thanks!

[thrasher]

I'm a big believer in keeping things simple. A couple thoughts then...

1. Feet could be a little wider apart to provide more stability
2. Try to feel that your weight is shifting to your back foot on the backswing, swing hard through to the front foot on the finish
3. Try to stand 1/2"-1" further from the ball and line the ball up more towards the toe of the club. This may or may not be the problem, but if it is, it's a really easy fix!

[RIduffer]

Hope you're doing well with the lessons. Your swing looks really smooth. Sure that handicap will be plummeting once you get the clubface squared up. I can't believe how many high-handicap swing videos I've seen on this site that look so much smoother than my hacking!

[mc0388]

Hey Mike.

I like your stance, ball position, posture, take away, and shoulder turn. It all looks good until your at the peak of your back-swing swing,,,Then it all goes opposite of good...:)

It seems that your arms/hands start down before your hips start to move. This looks to be causing your hips to 'play catch up' with your upper body. Since your hips are following your 'shoulders,arms,hands', your body and head drops, causing you to lose most of the potential to strike the ball solid and/or with any consistency. I think this is whats causing your shanks.

[Titleist Man]

Try this but i must warn you before i say this it is COMPLEX: stand further away! This will flatten you out(you are a bit too steep) and being further away it will be harder to hit off the hosel. Good luck

[MikeLowry5]

Try this but i must warn you before i say this it is COMPLEX: stand further away! This will flatten you out(you are a bit too steep) and being further away it will be harder to hit off the hosel. Good luck

Standing further away would make you reach for the ball wouldn't it?

Isn't part of the reason for shanks a swing that is too flat?

[MikeLowry5]

Hey Mike.

I agree totally that my upper body, shoulders particularly start the swing before my hips. The problem is I do not know how to start the hips first outside of a practice swing.

Any tips for that? A few things that cause this that I am trying to work on are: 1. I really feel tension in my shoulders/hands at the top of the backswing making me rotate out of that position. When starting the downswing my arms are "stretched" so much (tension in the shoulders) that the force from unwinding lowers my head and I rotate rather than moving back down the line.

[MikeLowry5]

So after the first lesson the shanks were gone. When they happen a few times on the range it is very easy to fix. Basically I naturally tend to bring the club too far to the inside on my takeaway and I rotate out of the swing.

Really working on now trying to stay down the line more rather than rotating out. I've done this by trying to feel my front shoulder move back and down a bit rather than strictly around my spine. This is a feel thing for me as I rotate in and out of the swing badly.

Another thing I am working on is keeping consistent grip pressure at the top fo the backswing as well as less tension in the shoulders at the top. Basically the swing gets a bit too sloppy/loose at the top with not enough control over my body. When I can get to the top of my backswing, hold it and not feel tension in my shoulders or the sensation of falling over I know my swing/body is much more controlled.

[mc0388]

I agree totally that my upper body, shoulders particularly start the swing before my hips. The problem is I do not know how to start the hips first outside of a practice swing.

Mike,

At the peak of your back-swing, you should feel 'stretched' (but not over extended or past parallel). I think Bubba Watson said, "try to get your hands as far away from your head as possible on the take away". When I am at the peak of my back swing I feel pressure on the inside of my thigh, on my back leg. I get this pressure, because my feet and legs stay quiet while my shoulders and core 'turn' around my spine angle. When my shoulder is between the ball and my chin, I know my backswing is complete, to start turning my hips towards the target. Please, everyone's swing is different and just because this works for me, it may not for you. As on this forum, there are many different opinions and you need to be selective on some of the information you take to heart. Hope I helped

[zrlaegel]

looks like your back swing is very short. and standing a lil too close but thas just what it look like to me move back maybe an inch and concentrate on your shoulder rotation