JamesAA

Interesting way of looking at it. And it makes sense. Never viewed it that way before. Could a possible inside to outside swing (improper swing plane) cause such a shot? Again, going back to my baseball habits I could easily see how my club head might be very inside on downswing and then finishing way off line (outside) due to my baseball tendency to put weight on back foot. But again, I would think if this were the problem then I'd have erroneous shanks with woods too...and I don't. It's only with irons and it's plagued me for years. :( Anyway, good tips from both of you guys. Thanks! I'm going to apply your suggestions at the range tonight. And mega props for your avatar Joe!!

I am so frustrated. I hit well (well enough) with all my woods and putt reasonably well. When I'm not plagued with my iron problem, those are very nice shots too. But invariably I run into this catastrophic problem only with irons--the ball will shoot off violently to my right. It's not even a slice. It's a massive shank. I will try to get a vid of the swing but after trying to dissect it over and over again on the range I think my club face may be opening up. Would that cause such a terribly erratic shot like the one I described?? Secondly, why does this never happen with woods? Sure, I can slice my drives, but I never have once hit a shot that just immediately shoots off to my right, at like a 45 degree angle. Hell sometimes they are damn near 90 degrees lol. Obv not really but perhaps as bad as 60 degrees. I would think if I open my club face with irons that I would with woods too?!? I'm not sure why I would open my club face but I think years of baseball may be the culprit. Sometimes I find myself putting my weight on my back foot, and my torso falling backwards, thus possibly opening up the club face?? I'm not sure the club face would open given that info but it seems like a legitimate possibility. I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts and input. Thanks in advance!

Good question. I honestly don't know. I bought the 5 wood used, 6 years ago. So I'm guessing it's older. I can launch balls with the 7 pretty far. I can't hit nearly as far with my 5. In general does bigger head = more distance?

My friend gave me a 7 wood as a gift. The head is significantly bigger than that of my 5 wood. Does that mean I could hit the ball further with the 7 wood? And why would a 7 wood be so much bigger than a 5 wood? They are from different manufacturers but the discrepancy in size is overwhelming. The 5 wood head size is really quite small. 23 degree loft on 7, 22 degree on the 5.

Well I'm sure it was a lot faster than a putting stroke, but mechanically it was akin to a putting stroke--didn't break my wrists, didn't bend the elbows, etc. I addressed the ball with the 9 iron as I would if I had a putter and was about to put. Then I pulled the club back like I would a putter, but a bit further (if the club is at zero degrees when addressing the ball and 90 degrees when parallel to ground on your backswing, I was about 45 degrees). But the motion was akin to a put.

That certainly could be. But for sure I kept my wrists locked and didn't bend the elbows--both of which you'd obviously do in a "real" swing using an iron. I like your suggestion of posting a vid. Great idea. I will take some vids and upload here. Thanks for the tip!

I've been VERY erratic hitting my irons. I'll get the shanks and start violently spraying them to my right (I'm a righty). I experimented "putting" the ball with my PW and 9. They were all perfectly straight and quite high. I was hitting the 9 iron 80 yrd-- ---very straight. Is there any reason I shouldn't just stick with this unconventional method? Obviously the ball isn't going as far (normally hit a 9 about 130-135 but there's always a huge chance I'll shank). I'd rather hit 80 straight a very high percentage of times. I don't know enough about the game, however, to know if this is a good or bad idea. Thoughts? And how in the hell could a putting swing with a 9 iron that I'm not using a ton of force with drive a ball that high and 80 yrds??? That blew me away. I would've though35-40 yrds but those things were flying with barely any force. Crazy!

Excellent point. Hard to break that baseball swing habit. lol

I love the masking tape suggestion. Such a simple a great idea! I played baseball for years, and I had a very compact and fast swing. My hands were very close to my body in the swing. Is this ok in golf too or is it more advisable to have the hands further away from the body on the swing (downswing)?

Could hitting the ball on the toe of the club cause such a violent deviation from a normal, straight shot? And if so could a reason that I start hitting that way be due to me somehow pulling my hands in (closer to my body) on the downswing??

Correct. Pretty much just going directly to my right (or almost straight on in front of me as per the position upon addressing the ball at the tee). It ONLY happens with IRONS. Damn, I should've mentioned that in the opening. To be honest I do not know if I'm hitting it off the toe. That had occurred to me, and I've tried to adjust by standing super close to the ball but that didn't help. Although perhaps I'm STILL hitting it off the toe even though I'm standing almost on top of the ball??? I just have no idea. Might not even be a toe issue. Does the info I gave about it only happening with the irons help you determine what the problem might be?? Thanks for the help btw. Much appreciated.

I'm a hack who's been playing on and off for years. Pretty much a bogey golfer at munis. There is a very peculiar phenomenon which has plagued me for years now. I'll be hitting the ball just fine (fine for me, i.e. straight enough and far). This will go on for days if not weeks. But then suddenly it ALL starts going wrong and I mean WAY wrong, and when this does happen, I can't ever seem to hit the ball straight again. I have to quit for a few weeks then when I re-start I'm hitting fine again. So when I saw "wrong" I am not talking about your garden variety slice. I'm talking about the ball going off VERY SHARPLY to my right (I'm a righty) IMMEDIATELY off the tee. It's as if it's going 90 degrees in the wrong direction. I cannot figure out what is causing this! Loose grip? Keeping my weight back? Club face flying open??? I've tried to focus on all 3 of those things and exaggerate by overcompensating, i.e. really tight grip, totally closing club face, etc, etc. Nothing works! I literally can't play golf when these shanks plague me cause the ball will end up killing someone...it goes that far off course. Even if it doesn't, it's painfully not fun. Any ideas??? I hate that I have to quit when this problem occurs. Thanks!