i tend to shank my irons fairly often. it happens more often with my short irons especially when i'm trying to do a half shot. does anyone know why this is? it's so frustrating when i'm 50 yards away and i'm trying to hit a soft pitching wedge or sand wedge and i shank it. even worse is when i hit a monster drive on a par 4 and i'm left with 50 yards or if i have 50 yards for my 3rd shot on a par 5. these should be great scoring opportunities but i often throw them away.
i was playing a round once when i hit a shank. 50 yards for my 3rd shot on a par 5. i was so dissappointed and one of my playing partners came to me and said it was because i was putting too much weight on my back foot. hmmmm, i don't really see that in the article.
maybe he was trying to say i was playing my ball too far back in my stance. in any case, i'm shanking a lot less these days but i still see it every now and then (usually at the worst times!)
There are as many cures for the sh---s, as there are causes.
I battled one for years, and 15 minutes with a great local teacher straightened me out (for the most part).
He saw me taking practice swings using my left hand only. He almost yelled at me to "never do that again!" He told me to concentrate more on my right side, and to get my swingplane more upright.
I still sh--k once in a while, but I know it'll go away if I concentrate on the above.
Again, that worked for me. Good luck, they are FRUSTRATING!
Mine is much like GenErr, On short shots I will use an arms only swing ( no hip turn, my normal shot is with a hip turn), the hs golf coach was watching me shank every shot(on the practice range/green) he told me not to think about changing my short shot swing but just line it up with the toe---sure enough center of the face everytime, except when I turn my hips then I hit the toe.
I think that with no hip turn it puts me in position to come from the outside and across which is good for short shots, but for me I need to line up with the toe of the club to the ball and this takes the hosel out of the way.
I didn't see balance mentioned anywhere in the replys. If your weight is on your toes, you have a good chance of sh____ing. make sure your weight is toward your heel, like sitting on a stool.
Center the ball in your stance, back away from it 1/4 to 1/2 a ball keeping hands in tight where your arms hang directly below your ears, practice playing shots off the toe of the club till you gain confidence getting the ball to the middle of the clubface.
i will not use the foul word but just concentrate on delivering the clubface sqaure at impact and possibly try standing back few inches. thats what i got taught when i was doing the same with short irons
Take your normal stance without a club. Let your arms hang naturally, grab a club and ball and see if it feels like you are standing too far from the ball. If so, you are standing too close to the ball. I know, I use to do this.
Also, make sure you get your right side through and your weight on the left side to a full finish. I know I use to, and still, do this at times.
When this happens on a regular basis it is the most frustrating thing in golf. At the range hit balls smoothly with a head cover or piece timber a couple of inches to the outside of the ball. Hopefully this will get you coming into the ball from the inside, you wont want to hit the object you have laid on the ground.
i was playing a round once when i hit a shank. 50 yards for my 3rd shot on a par 5. i was so dissappointed and one of my playing partners came to me and said it was because i was putting too much weight on my back foot. hmmmm, i don't really see that in the article.
maybe he was trying to say i was playing my ball too far back in my stance. in any case, i'm shanking a lot less these days but i still see it every now and then (usually at the worst times!)
It is fundamental for most people that one puts more weight on the front foot on short shots. It allows you to come down at a better angle (steeper) to the ball and with weight shift issues.
May 17th, 2004, 03:15 AM
Shank, I mean Shade
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