Shanks

[keeps21]

When I get the shanks it's caused by swinging too much in to out and getting too flat on the downswing.

Stephan at Evolvr had me try to swing so that I felt like I was trying to hit a fade - I still swing from the inside out, but not so much. My shanks are now gone.

[MPtheKid]

If I hit a hosel rocket it is usually because I left the face wide open and led with the hosel. Usually this happens when I get sloppy with the fundamentals, especially my grip.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by MPtheKid

If I hit a hosel rocket it is usually because I left the face wide open and led with the hosel. Usually this happens when I get sloppy with the fundamentals, especially my grip.

For me I've narrowed it down to excessive head movement (which likely introduces other issues that lead to leading with the hosel).

[Chas]

Sorry to hear your travails. Whenever I shank - once every few rounds these days - it's because I'm standing a little too close to the ball. I would emphasize checking the angle of your arms from your body, or the distance between your hands and your legs, in the address. For some reason I do it most often with a shorter club in my hands.

[michaelmcla]

Went out today was shanking it all over the place, apart from the 18th were i hit good iron shots in really thinking its all down to the tempo of my swing.

[cipher]

Went out today was shanking it all over the place, apart from the 18th were i hit good iron shots in really thinking its all down to the tempo of my swing.

Shanking has virtually nothing to do with tempo.

[michaelmcla]

I just feel the faster i swing the more out of position i get causing the shank, but i don't no much about a golf swing so im probly wrong thanks

[PirateJim]

I started doing the... S word... a couple of weeks ago.  I had been working on flattening out my club shaft angle on the back-swing and I think I went too far with it and was coming from way inside to out and blocking the shot at the same time.  The two may sort of go hand in hand?  My pro suggested the old towel across the chest and under the arm pits drill and half shots, then continued drills with the towel, or a club head cover, tucked under the left arm forcing a better release.  The S's went away and I've stopped worrying about the angle of the shaft for a bit at least...  A better release has me hitting more pure shots so I'm happy overall.

[BuckeyeNut]

The shank is my personal demon.  This result is caused by many potential flaws, so it's impossible to diagnose your problem.    I'm a feel player and struggle diagnose it in my own swing....LOL

For me, it's all about the divot.  When I'm hitting the ball well, my divot is a perfectly formed shallow rectangle.   When I'm edging towards the hosel/shanks, it begins to get narrower.  If I shank the ball, my divot is very skinny.  The symptom of my shanks is approaching the ball with the toe of the club up and the hosel goes right at the ball.  Because I play by feel...I just focus on 1 thing...keeping the toe down on impact, but I really don't know the true swing flaw that makes me throw the hosel at the ball.  I just try to keep the toe down and all is good....

I closely monitor my divot and the club-face impact position after EVERY iron shot.......I really monitor this closely!!  When my divot has the proper shape, I hit the ball dead nuts square every time.  The divot tells a lot..........

[cutshot878]

Shanking is the "better player's" nemesis. I have been hitting some of the best drives of my life (beautiful baby draws right down the pipe and very long---300 yards with roll out) but I've been shanking the hell out of my irons.  I think I know why, thanks to some info from an online article I found. Here is some stuff about coming into impact "under the plane" and the club shaft being "under the right forearm" as the player comes into impact which has been very helpful in my quest to be able to play a round without a shank.  I have a stocky build (5 foot 10 and short arms) so I believe this means I am a more rotary (flat) swinger. Not sure if the advice in the article is helpful to upright (two-plane) swingers who might never approach the ball under the plane and are always (by default) battling more of an "over the top" tendency.

http://www.rotaryswing.com/golf-instruction/faultsandfixes/swing-too-far-from-inside.php

We're talking about an interesting concept today, and it's something that the average golfer doesn't struggle with, or that they strive to struggle with.

That is, coming too far from the inside at impact. Let's first define what that is, exactly. If I were to put a ball this way and look down the line, you can imagine that this is my imaginary target line - basically straight and down. You can almost see that this would be my target line. That's where I'd be trying to send the ball.

If I were to swing, to bring the club down and bring this club - now you can see it's underneath my forearm; it's coming in, this is what we would call too far from the inside or underneath the plane. As I come through, my club is actually approaching the ball from too in to out of an angle, or too far from the inside, so I would actually swing out to the right of the target line.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by cutshot878

Shanking is the "better player's" nemesis.

I think that's only really the case because the other nemeses - fat, thin, slice, etc. - are gone from their game. So shanking is the only one that remains. It's one of the poor player's nemeses as well…

And can be caused by coming over the top as easily as it can be caused by being under plane.

[cipher]

I think that's only really the case because the other nemeses - fat, thin, slice, etc. - are gone from their game. So shanking is the only one that remains. It's one of the poor player's nemeses as well… And can be caused by coming over the top as easily as it can be caused by being under plane.

I agree. I battled the shanks for about three years until I started getting lessons through evolvr last fall. I never felt like a good golfer once during that time. It was so deflating. There were many issues in my swing that caused them. I don't agree that good swings are always close to shank swings like some people say. There is a big difference. And with the sweet spots out more away from the hosel now on clubs, there is no reason a good player should be even close to shanking anymore.

[cutshot878]

Originally Posted by cipher

I agree. I battled the shanks for about three years until I started getting lessons through evolvr last fall. I never felt like a good golfer once during that time. It was so deflating. There were many issues in my swing that caused them. I don't agree that good swings are always close to shank swings like some people say. There is a big difference. And with the sweet spots out more away from the hosel now on clubs, there is no reason a good player should be even close to shanking anymore.

With this return to a flatter swing, I have been hitting my driver better than I ever have----distance and accuracy is phenomenal. But the irons,  I will admit, have eluded me. An  odyssey in frustration. I play straight old-school muscle backs (ie. blades, not cut muscle) so there is a very fine line between a "perfect strike" (CG slightly toward the heel---due to the hosel's influence) and a semi-shank (a big ugly push into the right woods). The tiny face of my muscle back 5 iron is often the place where this type of shank occurs---the margin for error being so small.  I used to hit big cast iron game improvement (Ping) heads with very flat lie angles and "never" shanked but where is the fun in that?   I want this game to be impossibly hard so that I can continue to be freakishly obsessed and hitting my shag balls from any nearby vacant lot or public park (soccer field's are excellent for this kind of demonic possession).  Digging it out of the dirt.........YES!  Let the madness continue----at least with the irons.

[cipher]

With this return to a flatter swing, I have been hitting my driver better than I ever have----distance and accuracy is phenomenal. But the irons,  I will admit, have eluded me. An  odyssey in frustration. I play straight old-school muscle backs (ie. blades, not cut muscle) so there is a very fine line between a "perfect strike" (CG slightly toward the heel---due to the hosel's influence) and a semi-shank (a big ugly push into the right woods). The tiny face of my muscle back 5 iron is often the place where this type of shank occurs---the margin for error being so small.  I used to hit big cast iron game improvement (Ping) heads with very flat lie angles and "never" shanked but where is the fun in that?   I want this game to be impossibly hard so that I can continue to be freakishly obsessed and hitting my shag balls from any nearby vacant lot or public park (soccer field's are excellent for this kind of demonic possession).  Digging it out of the dirt.........YES!  Let the madness continue----at least with the irons.

LOL, you must love self punishment then. :). Like Erik said though, it can happen even from being under plane in the swing as well.

[cutshot878]

Originally Posted by cipher

LOL, you must love self punishment then. :). Like Erik said though, it can happen even from being under plane in the swing as well.

Life would be so much easier if I just went back to my set of Ping I-3 (O-Size) Orange Dot (2.25 flat) irons that are gathering dust in the closet. Never shank again.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by cutshot878

Life would be so much easier if I just went back to my set of Ping I-3 (O-Size) Orange Dot (2.25 flat) irons that are gathering dust in the closet. Never shank again.

Plus: skippies.

[Ernest Jones]

Plus: skippies.

Lol. I actually hit a skippy (unintentional) with a 5 Wood of the tee last weekend. Made it all the way across the pond (3 skips total) and just didn't have quite enough oomph to clear the far bank, bounced straight up off the bank and plunked back down in to the water. :-( Was pretty awesome anyway.

[jeremehubbard]

I have a case of the shanks, but it is because I do not know what I am doing lol

What about my weight transfer from back to front?  If I am swaying back to front too much, would that lead my hands too quickly?