I need some help with my irons

[Bman]

I've been playing golf for almost 20 years and developed a fairly consistent swing over the years.  I shoot in the mid 80s most of the time, and have more rounds in the 70s every year.

About a month ago, I suddenly started shanking shots with mid and short irons.  I've done a lot of research, read about causes and fixes, watched several instructional videos, checking my grip, my posture, my swing paths, everything, but it still happens occasionally.  My last 2 games had been horrible, I was so afraid of hitting the shank, my irons now suffer 1 of 2 things: Half of the time I either hook my irons left (I'm a righty), or the other half of the time trying hard not to hit with the sole of the club ending up hitting too soft and ended 20 yards short of the green into hazards.

It is so frustrating that I normally could hit the green anywhere from 170 yards in, now I can't hit the green from any distance, even with a pitching wedge.  I usually hit 10+ GIR per round, the last 2 rounds maybe 2-3 GIR.  I'm not a long hitter which is why I rarely ever loose a ball, but the last 2 rounds, I've lost a lot of balls with the iron shots, I've played 3 off the tees from many par 3s from either hooking into bushes or O/B, or hitting short into water, etc.

It got so bad that I don't want to play anymore, I think my issue is the mental block, I keep seeing an image of shanking a ball that I can't even swing a club properly anymore.

Please provide suggestions on what I can do to bring my game back to normal.

[Gboroman]

Bman,

I setup an account, just now, just so I could respond to your post.  I think I can help because this was happening to me.  Here's what I did to fix it:

1) Practice toe-up to toe-up drill in your pre-swing routine.  I had a mental tic that prevented me from releasing the club early enough, which left the face wide open.  Focus on staying on-plane in the back swing and follow-through with a full toe up (to slightly closed) release.

2) On setup, check to make sure your posture is such that your hands are at or outside your toe line.  I tended to get too close to the ball with my posture.

3) Focus on the front (or in front) of the ball to get a good ball-first strike and forward divot.

[Bman]

I setup an account, just now, just so I could respond to your post.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gboroman

1) Practice toe-up to toe-up drill in your pre-swing routine.  I had a mental tic that prevented me from releasing the club early enough, which left the face wide open.  Focus on staying on-plane in the back swing and follow-through with a full toe up (to slightly closed) release.

2) On setup, check to make sure your posture is such that your hands are at or outside your toe line.  I tended to get too close to the ball with my posture.

3) Focus on the front (or in front) of the ball to get a good ball-first strike and forward divot.

I thought the toe-up to to-up drill is for fixing fade/slice, I remember using this drill a lot in my early golf days when I had a bad slice.  But I certainly will try your suggestions, will be heading to the driving range this evening.

[Gboroman]

Bman, I'm interested to hear if it helped. For me, the toe up to up drill provided some clubface awareness without under or over rotation.  The hands at toe line helped me to control the path and plane.  However, I still tend to get a little flat at the top, so I also have to think of higher hands at the top.  You didn't say anything about pushes, so it doesn't sound like you get stuck behind like I do. Anyway, all these got me hitting much straighter irons with just a slight draw as my natural ball flight.  Got closest to the pin in my tournament this past weekend!  My driver abandoned me, though, so back to the range!

[Bman]

Bman, I'm interested to hear if it helped. For me, the toe up to up drill provided some clubface awareness without under or over rotation.  The hands at toe line helped me to control the path and plane.  However, I still tend to get a little flat at the top, so I also have to think of higher hands at the top.  You didn't say anything about pushes, so it doesn't sound like you get stuck behind like I do. Anyway, all these got me hitting much straighter irons with just a slight draw as my natural ball flight.  Got closest to the pin in my tournament this past weekend!  My driver abandoned me, though, so back to the range!

Hey Gboroman, the toe-up to toe-up worked wonders at the range last night, I was very (pleasantly) surprised how this simple drill is not recommended in any of the shank fixes that I viewed. I can now feel confident hitting full swing with my irons again, I can't wait to get back on the course, I will post after my next round this Friday.

Thanks again for posting your advice, and congratulations on your closest-to-the-pin achievement.

[Gboroman]

That's great to hear!  I think you and I had the same sort of mental block, so that is why I was excited to try and help.  Good luck on your next round.