Curing shank on course..!

[Maverick]

I was having a decent round when the "s" came along.  I have no idea why, but for the life of me it had consumed my body and swing.  I know when this happens and my immediate band aid is to try to hit the ball toward the tow..which helped for a bit..but still the "s" was still there if I didn't make this voluntary attempt to hit the ball towards the toe.

I was "s"-ing all the irons..even puny little 50 yard wedges..wth!?!

Funny thing is I was puring my driver and hybrids..no problem with those..

What causes the "s" to all of a sudden appear..and what are your cures/remedies?

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by iacas

Regardless of the swing method you're using, I'm going to make a comprehensive list of EVERY cause of a shank. Here goes.

The ball is making contact with the extreme heel of the club.

There you go. There's your definitive, all-inclusive list of the causes of a shank.

Now, before you flip me the virtual bird, consider very carefully what I've said. The club has a sweet spot, and in order to shank the ball, the sweet spot is being delivered outside of the golf ball, resulting in contact towards the heel of the club.

What can cause the sweet spot to be pushed outside (used interchangeably with "to the right" for right-handed players)? A few things. In no particular order:

Weight is in the heels at setup. As you swing your body seeks to gain better balance and your weight - and thus your body - move towards the golf ball.

Arms flying off your chest prematurely. I.e. arms being too much "out" and not enough "down" coming into impact.

Simply standing too close or too far from the golf ball. Too close and you can't "get out of the way" enough, and too far and you're forced to reach for the golf ball a bit. Over-reach and blammo - shank.

Head (shoulders) moving towards the golf ball without a compensatory move in the opposite direction (Tiger adds side bend and gets closer to the golf ball, but jumps like crazy [among other things] to get back out of the way).

Exaggerated uncocking of the wrists coming into impact. Usually ties into something above, though.

Good luck.

P.S. Reading the book is great, but I don't think you have a "My Swing" thread and you don't seem to be working with an instructor. Odds are the book has helped, but I doubt your swing looks like you imagine it does, and even a lesson or two may prove eye-opening.

[boogielicious]

Thanks for re-posting Mike.  I also like the back-to-basics approach.  I take a minute and slow down and work through my swing methodically (while others are hitting).  For me, it happens when I am not getting my weight forward at contact.  My swing becomes out to in and shanks may happen.  Slowing down my backswing and relaxing really helps.

[Kieran123]

Place a ball between 2 tees at the range with enough room only for the head of the club. Repeat for 30 minutes.

[saevel25]

For me a shank happens when i get disconnected with my arms. So what i might do is just take a towel, i got a pretty large towel, and i would place it under my arms so it runs across my chest, then i will make some swings, keeping that towel there. Its a bit over exagerated, but it helps get a connected feeling, and using the body more.

[canadianpro]

Another move that can help is to increase the spine angle from the hips. Quite often if a player gets "too Tall" they will move down and forward....tilt more and feel as though your head is "over the ball"