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I get to play a pretty nice course on vacation twice next week, so I went to the local Par 3 to work on my swing. I shot a 64 over nine holes! I had some decent drives and putts, but when I would chip or pitch, I would 'Shank' the ball as my friends call it, by slapping at the ball and having it roll weakly. Why is this?

One of the major problems is orienting to the ball. In your practice chips without the ball, you will feel that the centre travels over the blade of grass you are focused on and your club faces the target at the finish. The swing is controlled by the centre with the relaxed hands going along for the ride. Essentially a chip is a rhythmic rotation away and towards the target which yu need to keep in your mind's eye as you swing. The ball is not to be 'hit' but must simply be passed through by the blade on the way to the target. Any extra movement of the hands can lead to a shank, usually because of fear of 'hitting' the ball incorrectly. The ball is not to be hit with the hands. The wrists should be firm. If you feel you can do an effective practice swing over a piece of grass and finish facing the target you must repeat that with the ball present. Simple, but not easy. let me know if this helps at all, ok?

Sure. I guess that makes sense, so I'll try it on Monday.

I have this same problem and one of my friends told me to flip my wrist to correct it and it made the problem worse. Thanks Swingezy for the tip on keepin the hands firm. I discovered that the firm wirst was better on my last 15 dirves at the driving range today. But i dont get it at all. It seems like some times I have great drives down the range and other times it just dribbles like nothing. But when I do get the ball in the air it flys straight and narrow go figure.

hi accord


I do not think flipping the wrists can be of any use. The hands should be essentially passive in the swing as the left arm and club act like two separate levers connected by the wrist/hands. During the backswing, the body rotates on the spot against a flexed but braced right leg, the left arm swings in time with/connected to the body until the left shoulder is under the chin and the left arm reasonably straight (not stiff). At this point the wrists are cocked naturally by the momentum of the back swing so that the club is somewhere close to parallel with the line. There is no need to artificially cock the wrists. Then there is a subtle shift of weight to the inside of the left foot as the body begins to rotate back to the target. The left arm travels close to the front of the body (brushing it almost) until the body has rotated through the address position usually by the time the weight is almost totally on the inside of the left foot. As the left arm is reaching the centre of the rotation, the wrist simply unleash as the second lever (the club) rushes to catch up with the left arm. This is what imparts 'clubhead speed'. Any attempt to do anything with the hands other than to slightly resist the uncocking (perhaps) will interfere with the dynamic lever action of the club.

The head remains where it is as the left arm continues through about another 30-40 degrees after impact before the right arm takes over the lever control and the left arm begins to fold and the body rotates through to its final position with weight on the sole of the left foot and the body facing slightly right of target and the hands and club are over the left shoulder. YOu should be able to maintain this position.

Some might disagree with this analysis of the swing but it works. Of course not everything has been mentioned. I think it is really important to understand the whole dynamics of the swing before accepting 'tips'. Then a tip may be useful if it fits into your whole understanding of the swing. And it is vital to remember that it is a 'swing' and not a 'hit'. What do you feel?

By definition, a shank results when your hands are closer to the ball at impact than they were at address. Let's look at the most common causes...

1. Lunging at the ball. When we lunge, our weight goes onto our toes rather than remaining on the balls of our feet. This moves our body (and hands) closer to the ball increasing the chance of hitting on the hosel. Many times the player committing this error exacerbates it by moving away from the ball thinking he/she is standing too close when it is usually the opposite. Moving away increases the lunge and makes the problem worse, not better.
2. Tight grip. Combine a tight grip with #1 and you have the perfect recipe for a shank. When we tighten our grip, arms do not swing properly leaving the clubface open and the hosel leads into the ball.
3. Usually when shanking a pitch/chip, #1 and #2 do not apply. A chip/pitch that is shanked is usually due to a very loose, "armsy" stroke with not a lot of club control.

There are definitely other ways to hit the hosel but the ones listed above are the most common.

*thinks of the movie "tin cup"* lol