Shanking My Wedge

[easyjay39402]

It’s always something.  That pitch shot from 60 yards and in with the 54/8 wedge that I never had to think about, that was always there? Well last month I started shanking it.  Tried fixing it on the range, it only has become more frequent.  At impact, my hands are laid back with an open clubface and the hosel aimed dead on at the ball.  Something is going on with my backswing/downswing that is resulting in this impact position.  Any ideas, suggestions for things to try?

[iacas]

Put two balls down close to each other and only hit the inside ball. Or put a tee to the inside of the ball and make sure you hit both the tee and the golf ball.

It's not a mechanical fix but you might be able to find something out about your mechanics.

[Patch]

When I shank, it is usually with my wedges. I either have the ball too far back in my stance, or my club path is too far inside. Sometimes both. Check those two items out.

Now sometimes, I don't shank the ball off the hosel, but I will hit the ball too much to the right, off the club face. Again, I might have ball too far back in my stance, coming too much from the inside,or, with an open club face, I am not getting my hips out of the way. 

These are just swing issues I have suffered through over the years. I'm pretty sure there are more ways to shank, or hit a ball too far right. 

Edited November 14, 2018 by Patch

[Vinsk]

14 hours ago, iacas said:

Put two balls down close to each other and only hit the inside ball. Or put a tee to the inside of the ball and make sure you hit both the tee and the golf ball.

It's not a mechanical fix but you might be able to find something out about your mechanics.

I’ve done this @easyjay39402 Quite helpful. I would also spray foot powder on your wedge before doing this drill. See what you get. Then as Erik mentioned place one ball on your sweet spot and the other just off the toe and only hit the inside ball.

[klineka]

It's not really a fix, but have you tried using different lofts, maybe like a bump and run with a gap wedge or a pitching wedge? Surely not every time you need to hit a pitch shot it needs to be with a 54 degree loft and the face laid open, right?

[Moxley]

 

15 hours ago, Patch said:

When I shank, it is usually with my wedges. I either have the ball too far back in my stance, or my club path is too far inside. Sometimes both. Check those two items out.

Also my experience from the one time I had an issue with shanking wedges.

[phillyk]

I lay down a alignment stick 1in from the ball with the stick off the far side of the ball and pointing towards target.  Follow the stick to force a straighter take away and downswing and then I feel the club move left after impact.  It gets the hozel out of the way and helps you use the bounce of the wedge.

[easyjay39402]

Progress Report

We finally got a a break in the weather and I went out to the range. Tried the two ball drill and got immediate feedback, repeatedly hitting the outside ball along with the inside ball.  

With a bit of work I managed to just strike the inside ball and eliminate the shank.  Mechanically I “felt” like I was taking the club back straighter and then hitting to the left.  The resulting shots were very much left of target, so I have more work to do. Something in my setup or backswing is encouraging me to  swing too much from the inside.

Followed up by playing six holes and just followed klineka’s suggestion -  use a different club  😀

[Buckeyebowman]

On 11/15/2018 at 12:35 PM, phillyk said:

I lay down a alignment stick 1in from the ball with the stick off the far side of the ball and pointing towards target.  Follow the stick to force a straighter take away and downswing and then I feel the club move left after impact.  It gets the hozel out of the way and helps you use the bounce of the wedge.

Bingo! We have a winner! At least it was for me. There was a time when I lived in fear of the partial wedge. Full wedges were no problem at all, but less than full had me quaking in my shoes! One round, I shanked another partial wedge and my buddy said, "I see what you're doing, but I'll only tell you if you want me to." Was he kidding? Of course I wanted to know!

He told me that it looked like I was getting tired or lazy over those partial wedges. I'd just "flip" the club behind me on the backswing, come from way inside out, and basically just throw the hosel at the ball! Also, I didn't use my body or legs at all! Once I started reminding myself to take the club "straight back" on partial wedges, my performance improved immeasurably! 

And keep your body and legs moving on those shots. You still need them! 

 

[gjunkie57]

What Buckeybowman said!

[JM2334]

A bit late to the party but I must reiterate - The 'tee strike' shot worked for me perfect when struggling with shanks.

At range use a small rubber tee under the mat, sit the ball the far side of the tee, and concentrate on hitting the tee flush worked for me.

If I found a few shanks creeping in on the course I just imagine another ball where I would have the tee by comparison and strike that, then voila!

[Piz]

Do not say, or think, the S-word.  Use one hand, wear two socks on your left foot, say three hail mary's; but do not use the S-word.  It will go away if you stop calling it into existence.