Shanks - chipping and pitching

[TarDawg]

Anyone ever get these ONLY with your chips and pitch's? I'm so confused as to what is causing this and it has frustrated me like no other swing problem I've ever had.. HELP!!!!

[kurisu]

Whenever this happens to me, it's because my takeaway is too much "inside" (i.e. I pull the club behind instead of straight)

[Bullitt5339]

I used to do the same thing before I forced myself to quit looking up at where the ball is going. As soon as I forced myself to watch the ground until the ball is long gone, the shanks with chipping and pitching went away.

[Colinb913]

Try closing up the club face ever so slightly, and to follow through, and hit the ground. Thats what I was doing wrong..

[Pworld]

What im learning is that with chipping and pitching you have to commit to the stroke, and your choice of club. If you second guess, or pull back, or do not follow through you will shank or hit it thin, or very short. I think it is all part of developing feel. Keeping my head down all the way through the follow thru, and not babying the impact has helped me. Also not babying my effort in the back swing, just changing the length of the backswing to control distance.

[senorchipotle]

sounds like you're either letting your hands get too far ahead of the ball. let your hands come in from behind the ball and through, not on top of it and down. keep your shoulders and head steady.

[TarDawg]

Well the root cause was basically my arms had become detached from my body during the swing causing an over the top move.... Easily solved by doing the towel drill where you hold across your chest using your under arms to hold the towel as you swing to make sure everything moves together.

[JML22]

Shanks from chipping and pitching usually involve rolling your wrists back because some person told you to hinge and never explaine dit well

[Zeph]

If I recall correctly, I've had this trouble when I try to chip too much with the hands. Meaning I try to get the hands close to the ball, which moves the club farther out, exposing the hosel. Taking the club too deep can also be a reason, or too far out.

I've shanked some shots lately, which I testify to me trying to get the hands too close to the ball, instead of closer to my body.

Either way, the hands are most likely too far away from the body at impact, or you are too close to the ball, so the arms naturally move away from the body.

[saevel25]

your using your hands only, your hands are not getting deep enough. i never shanked a chip shot, but i have shanked a pitch shot, and its when i don't turn my shoulders. Even on my chips now i will rock my shoulders like a putt and try to not just use my arms. This actually help me become very consistant, until i start to stop trusting the shot ;b

[Slammin' Sam]

Shanks from chipping and pitching usually involve rolling your wrists back because some person told you to hinge and never explaine dit well

Exactly!!

[D.C.Woods]

When I do this I'm too close to the ball and hit the hosel. Watch your set up. Look at the hosel after each shank and see if you have a ball mark on it.

[akgolfnut]

keep weight on left foot, narrow stance, cozy up to the ball. When I shank or flub a shot, its because I have set up too far away from the ball.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Well the root cause was basically my arms had become detached from my body during the swing causing an over the top move.... Easily solved by doing the towel drill where you hold across your chest using your under arms to hold the towel as you swing to make sure everything moves together.

This sounds close to how I finally solved the problem. Start everything back just like you would for a full swing, stopping where you feel you need to, given the distance of the pitch. The downswing is done entirely with the body, which pulls/drags/leads/guides the arms and hands down into the ball. Arms and hands stay completely passive and just react to the momentum of the movement of the body turn.