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It all started last monday. I went out on the course and my driver and hybrids hit just fine. When I pull out my iron, **** broke lose. EVERY single shot started goin to the right and ended up probably 40 yards off my target and 40 yards short. The next day I go to the range and hit 2 large buckets worth of balls and they all had the same results. It made me very frustrated and had no clue what to do. I bring my step dad over and he keeps tellin me to hit the ball, while im saying "what the **** am I trying to do?". I hit more balls to the right and he tells me to just take a break when I really need to fix this problem. He goes off and starts yelling when I tell him to leave me on the range for 2 more hours and I got to stay, but I still have the same results. The ball is usually topped or hit pure but goes right? What causes this to happen. It was probably unneccessary to say all the above but its just driving me crazy right now and this may lead me to a big downfall.

by the way, this is how the ball flight looks like but more right.
YouTube - Tiger shanks!

Try going back to your basic fundamentals. Grip, alignment, and posture, your problem is most likely there. Give yourself "lesson one". We all have to do it from time to time.

I like to incorporate a piece of wood, a club, if I am feeling brave, or even a head cover on the targrt line with my ball 2" inches inside to correct my path. This is very effective.

Obviously something abruptly changed in your swing to cause this, and because you do not know what it is, the frustration just builds. Then you get advice to just relax and swing but you keep doing the same thing which causes more frustration. This is all indicative of a deeper problem than just a temporary mechanical failure. and Bob38 above is on the right track. FUNDAMENTALS.

The question is, do you have a well ingrained sense of setup and swing fundamentals? It all starts with having a clear mental concept of both, and if you do not have that foundation, it is easy to get "lost" in the manner you describe. We all run into trouble with our swings from time to time, but with well founded mental concept, it is a rather simple matter to go back to square one and go through each step again, rebuilding with sound fundamentals. If the answer is no, I can assure you that every hour you devote NOW to building your fundamental knowledge and feel will directly relate to your overall enjoyment of the game for the rest of your golfing life.

This may not be the answer you are looking for. You just want to fix whatever it is that is making your shots jet to the right. It could be any number of things, all of which relate directly to the fundamentals of grip, posture, and swing concept. You could be doing something with your hands to get out of position, you may be raising up on your backswing, you might be swaying, you may not be making a shoulder turn. You see? It is all related to the fundamentals, and the better you understand them, the less frustration you will impose upon yourself trying to figure it out.

For a quick fix, find a good teacher if you can, and make sure you understand the "why" of what he or she tells you, then spend whatever time is necessary to ingrain the fundamental concepts of setup and swing. A good place to start in my opinion is Ben Hogan's "Five Lessons".

So in other words you are pretty much shanking each shot? Put some contact tape across the face of the club and note where you are making contact.

Possible you may be doing what I was doing recently & letting your hands hang down too close to your body at address, meaning too close to the ball yet not realising it. Make sure there is a hands breadth between hands at address & your body. Its a quick thing to check.

An alternative is simply to addess the ball lining up more of the toe of your club if this feels a bit awkward. Added advantage of this last one is to allow you to use the inside line techique (check out Sept 08 Golf world article) Which Golf world claim will give an exta 42 yards.

One cause I keep on reading is having ones weight too far forward. Try sitting back a little.

I checked myself swinging on a mirror and I do ten to sway. I was told its a better idea to keep your hands close to yourself than your hands being a hand length in front of you.

width, not length of hand.

Its a bad idea to be either too far reaching for a shot or too close & getting cramped in the swing.

Hands hang below, but even then there seems to be a little leeway(margine of error) within this as to what is or isn't hanging below.