Shanks

[MikeRanaldo]

Hey guys, i just had a concern about a shank that i had in a round i played on monday. As i was hitting my 52 degree wedge on the practice range, i noticed that i shanked 3 in a row off of the hosel. i had already been warmed up, and my swing didn't feel out of the ordinary so i just thought it was random. until the 4th hole when i had 75 yards in, so i grabbed by 56 wedge and went to hit my shot and i shanked it off the hosel again. can anyone give their opinions as to what's happening? i didn't feel like i was swaying my hips too far forward or anything weird. thanks

[Ernest Jones]

  MikeRanaldo said:

Hey guys, i just had a concern about a shank that i had in a round i played on monday. As i was hitting my 52 degree wedge on the practice range, i noticed that i shanked 3 in a row off of the hosel. i had already been warmed up, and my swing didn't feel out of the ordinary so i just thought it was random. until the 4th hole when i had 75 yards in, so i grabbed by 56 wedge and went to hit my shot and i shanked it off the hosel again. can anyone give their opinions as to what's happening? i didn't feel like i was swaying my hips too far forward or anything weird. thanks

Shanks aren't a mystery. Your sweet spot is getting out past the ball, that's it, that's all. Try placing a tee outside of your golf ball and practice hitting the ball without clipping the tee. You can also place another ball just outside your ball and miss that.

[lowriderjim]

I played for a month with the dreaded "S" .

I finally found a tip that used a cardboard box (golf club box works well) on the outside of the line.  By avoiding this visual I was able to correct an in-to-out swing that was bringing the hosel into play. Simple tip, worked for me.

[Ernest Jones]

  lowriderjim said:

I played for a month with the dreaded "S" . I finally found a tip that used a cardboard box (golf club box works well) on the outside of the line.  By avoiding this visual I was able to correct an in-to-out swing that was bringing the hosel into play. Simple tip, worked for me.

Or a tee, or another ball, or a headcover...

[Aflighter]

Honestly none of the above worked for me as the shanks would still raise their ugly head.Since I changed my grip from overlap to interlock,my irons have been completely straight even thinking bad thoughts during swing.

[colin007]

  Aflighter said:

Honestly none of the above worked for me as the shanks would still raise their ugly head.Since I changed my grip from overlap to interlock,my irons have been completely straight even thinking bad thoughts during swing.

Like what? French maid outfits? Olivia Munn's underwear drawer?

[Crockme]

For the last several weeks I had the same problem with often shanking my 56 degree wedge. I researched many fixes and some kind of helped such as those mentioned above, but shanks would still creep in at the worst times. I recently stumbled onto a fix that is working amazingly so far and am pumped. I stand taller, legs closer together, slightly closer to ball, body parallel to target line, with club more upright, and club head more toe down at address (like a Runyon chip but even with full swings). I feel like I am picking it clean with the toe of club as I hit down. I almost feel like I can't shank it this way as hosel is slightly above ball at impact. Seems weird but my distance control and accuracy is amazing and consistent. Give it a try.

[Hammer 4]

Last week at the range, I hit 9 shanks in a row. Could not figure out what was causing it. Lucky for me, one of the teaching pro's took pity on me, and came over and showed me why I was shankin em..I was swinging Way to far out, my right arm was to far from my body. So after he showed me my mistake, the shanks went away, only hit one since then..knock on wood..So, maybe check your swing path to make sure your not swinging to far out.

[Gboroman]

MikeRanaldo,

This has happened to me.  Only with my wedges.  Try the below checks on the practice range and see if it works for you.  It has helped me and others.

1) Make sure you have proper posture and ball position.  Posture: not too upright and your hands on or outside your toe line.  Ball position: Don't play the ball back in your stance while you are working on your cure.

2) Make sure you have 60-80% weight on front foot and keep it there during the swing.  Make sure you are turning and hitting with your trunk and not just your arms.

3) Most important - Club face awareness.  This was my main problem.  Often overlooked is that you are not releasing the clubhead early enough and are presenting the hosel or a wide-open clubface to the ball at impact.  Before each shot, rehearse a toe-up to toe-up drill, waist-high to waist-high.  During your shot, focus on rotating the clubface square through impact to a closed on-plane finish position.  Once you get comforatable with this, then you can go back to holding the clubface open after impact for when you need those soft high shots.

[dsc123]

  colin007 said:

Like what? French maid outfits? Olivia Munn's underwear drawer?

If you're going to lose your focus, that's the way to do it.

  Ernest Jones said:

Shanks aren't a mystery. Your sweet spot is getting out past the ball, that's it, that's all. Try placing a tee outside of your golf ball and practice hitting the ball without clipping the tee. You can also place another ball just outside your ball and miss that.

This.

I had a bad case that lasted a month or so until I finally did this.  Probably spent 15 minutes hitting balls like this and I haven't shanked since.

[SidRixon]

This happens when your arms work independently of your body. You might be trying to muscle the ball and, as per a previous reply, your right arm gets heavily involved and forces the club head to move outside the intended swing path. I was taught to 'pitch with the body'. Make sure you still turn, irrespective of pitch length.

[Ernest Jones]

  SidRixon said:

This happens when your arms work independently of your body. You might be trying to muscle the ball and, as per a previous reply, your right arm gets heavily involved and forces the club head to move outside the intended swing path. I was taught to 'pitch with the body'. Make sure you still turn, irrespective of pitch length.

"Hit it with your hips" is often a good thought for me.