At a loss

[JV24601]

I’m at a loss of what to do next and would love some ideas/advice. It also needs to positive too as despite the title and my negativity I desperately want to carry on playing golf.

When I’m playing well my handicap is pretty embarrassing.
I’ve had many different teachers and had 6 lessons at least with them but they’ve all almost give up on me as they can’t understand how I can be so good then so bad. You have to see my bad side of the game to believe it.

The facts are I hit too many shanks and always have done, and I can’t keep my clubhead open throughout the swing.
Nobody has fixed either of these issues throughout my lessons.

I’m now at a loss and don’t know what my next step is.
I played last week and shot 7 under my handicap. I played today and shot 29 over my handicap. My concentration is there and Course management is there, you’ll just have to trust me when I say that something happens and I stop playing well.
I can’t have another year like this and have to improve.


Any ideas?

 

[MartynB]

The shanks for me are caused by an open club face and a swing across from out to in too much. I know how debilitating they can be.

have you thought about a playing lesson maybe 6 holes or so? The pro might see something in your routine or maybe an area that is letting you down.

stick with it, I know it’s frustrating. Shame on the pros that have given up on you, so many mediocre pros who are only in it as they failed at competitive golf. Finding a good pro is meant to be easier in the US, I’ve had some very good video lessons from a couple of teachers over there.

 

[JV24601]

The shanks for me are caused by an open club face and a swing across from out to in too much. I know how debilitating they can be.

have you thought about a playing lesson maybe 6 holes or so? The pro might see something in your routine or maybe an area that is letting you down.

stick with it, I know it’s frustrating. Shame on the pros that have given up on you, so many mediocre pros who are only in it as they failed at competitive golf. Finding a good pro is meant to be easier in the US, I’ve had some very good video lessons from a couple of teachers over there.

Thanks for the reply.
Some of the pro’s I’ve had I must say are good guys and I’ve got on with them.
When I say quit on me they didn’t actually send me packing but it’s very much been them all saying they’re not sure what else they can do as I can clearly do it consistently before going bananas!

I’ve also had playing lessons and my range/course game is very similar - anything can happen!

 

[sawtooth]

I’m at a loss of what to do next and would love some ideas/advice. It also needs to positive too as despite the title and my negativity I desperately want to carry on playing golf.

When I’m playing well my handicap is pretty embarrassing.
I’ve had many different teachers and had 6 lessons at least with them but they’ve all almost give up on me as they can’t understand how I can be so good then so bad. You have to see my bad side of the game to believe it.

The facts are I hit too many shanks and always have done, and I can’t keep my clubhead open throughout the swing.
Nobody has fixed either of these issues throughout my lessons.

I’m now at a loss and don’t know what my next step is.
I played last week and shot 7 under my handicap. I played today and shot 29 over my handicap. My concentration is there and Course management is there, you’ll just have to trust me when I say that something happens and I stop playing well.
I can’t have another year like this and have to improve.


Any ideas?

Maybe it’s something the pros cannot see in your swing such as tension in your arms or gripping the club too tightly?

Or do you cave in under pressure perhaps?

 

[JV24601]

Maybe it’s something the pros cannot see in your swing such as tension in your arms or gripping the club too tightly?

Or do you cave in under pressure perhaps?

My pals all refer to the pressure and if it is that then it’s certainly not something I’m aware of or feel.

I regularly play holes on my own in the morning and can quite easily have a meltdown there with no pressure at all.

Good point about tension though and invisible issues

 

[the_coach]

what has the Pro's advice been - what did they ask you to work on ? (& realistically did you work on 'it' or 'the stuff' away from the lesson tee ?)

when playing in a spell that's good for you what's the common ball flight & the curvature direction ?

when playing real bad what are the couple of things that keep happening at strike & what are the shots outcomes - apart from the shank ?

if you can post a face-on & a dtl view of your swing along with a face-on close up view of your grip hold - may be able to help some

 

[JV24601]

what has the Pro's advice been - what did they ask you to work on ? (& realistically did you work on 'it' or 'the stuff' away from the lesson tee ?)

when playing in a spell that's good for you what's the common ball flight & the curvature direction ?

when playing real bad what are the couple of things that keep happening at strike & what are the shots outcomes - apart from the shank ?

if you can post a face-on & a dtl view of your swing along with a face-on close up view of your grip hold - may be able to help some

I’ll try to get some videos today - that is very much appreciated thank you.
Constantly working on opening club face, keeping hands close to my body with an in to out swing rather than coming over the top.

 

[bobmac]

I’ll try to get some videos today - that is very much appreciated thank you.
Constantly working on opening club face, keeping hands close to my body with an in to out swing rather than coming over the top.

In to out swing can cause a shank.

I'm also concerned about opening the clubface, can you explain the reason for that please?

 

[ademac]

Sounds like a psychological issue to me.
You obviously have the ability to play well below your h/c.
Try forgetting about swing mechanics for a while maybe and putting some work into the mental side of the game.
All the pro's know its as important if not more so than the physical side of the game.
Lots of books out there for a start then maybe see a specialist.

 

[PJ87]

My pro has taken me to the extreme with my grip. he gets me to set up with a hookers grip to combat the face being open too much causing sometimes shanks but mostly slices

however best advice I can give is if "good guy" pros haven't helped.. find a pro you don't have much chat or banter with. I had 2 pros before I switched to my current guy.. first one I was excellent mates with (still am) but I learnt nothing .. we just chatted for 30 mins .. corrected things then fell apart again... my second pro got on well with again.. same story.. however here is the key when he left the country he said my current pro would be best for me.. after 6 lessons with him my game is 100 times better and more consistent than it has ever been. we bearly talk on lessons apart from pleasantrys and of course about the game itself. focus and work hard with him now.. if I txt him its about an issue and not just general chit chat.. I have found its the best way for me to learn

just like at school I responded best from the teachers you had to earn the respect off.. rather than the ones who were always laughing about with us

 

[SaintHacker]

Don't know if this will help but I went through a period of gripping the club too tightly and it can be far more destructive than you would think. The advice I was given and it seemed to work was to really squeeze the grip during set up then release the tension, then it just kind of brings your grip strength back down to where it should be.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

If you hit a lot of shanks, you probably haven't learnt one of the important skills in golf.

You need to learn were to hit the ball on the face where you want to, easier said than done. You should be able to hit it off the heel, centre and toe with thinking about it or a feel.

It is a massively hard skill to learn, practise hitting the ball purely off the toe and learn that feeling, if necessary put something outside the ball to start with. If you hit it off the toe it is hard to hit a shank.

 

[Capella]

Maybe it is not a technical issue at all. If it was, your pro should have been able to pick up on it during the lessons. It could be more in your head. I know many people shy away from this because it sounds a bit, well, "shrinky", but if you ever get the chance for a session with a sports psychologist, go for it. I did that last year during a coaching trip, and it literally turned my game around. I used to get into a downward spiral when I hit two bad shots in a row, and really beat myself up about it. I am so much more relaxed during my rounds now and even if I hit one or two really bad shots once in a while, it does not throw me anymore and I get right back into the game. My good scores haven't gotten much better, but my bad rounds have, making me a much more consistent player.

 

[Tashyboy]

Firstly, where do you play? If it is another good coach you need someone will be able to recommend one on here.
Secondly, what hcap do you play off? A lot of people can play to hcap and below, but only occasionaly. Most do shoot over there hcap. But not by 27. The trouble is that when it gets to that point, a players focus and will to live just go. You end up just trying to hit the ball rather than hit it how you have been taught.
A valid point the "coach" made was do you practice what you have been taught. Those muscle memory routines are the routines that you will/or should learn to trust when the pressure is on. Ironically I had a friends request on FB from my first coach a few days ago. I was thinking about all the things he had taught me and quite frankly I was not doing them.
When I played the back nine yesterday after a front nine comp. I tried to think about what he had taught me. I went 4,4,4,4,5,5,7,4,6.
23 points with a blob coz I was being clever. Not doin what I was taught. I have never had four pars in five holes before. Coincidence? Me thinks not.
Dont think you are the only one that struggles. Your not, the day will come when you have " that round" only to beat yourself up about one hole where it went wrong. Like me on the back nine yesterday 😉

 

[JV24601]

In to out swing can cause a shank.

I'm also concerned about opening the clubface, can you explain the reason for that please?

He wants me to open it and the last 2 have also, because I have it so closed, especially on the downswing.
When I try to open it at the start of the swing and make a real effort to keep it open, it’s still closed - better, but still closed. It’s got me thinking I may have a physical limitation in my wrists even.

He’s got me doing a really weak grip to combat this but still not working.

 

[JV24601]

Thank you all for your replies. I can relate to a lot of things people have said.
I guess my disappointment is in the pro’s. I am yet to find someone who has the motivation I have to improve myself. I’m off 9 and want to be off 5 then get down lower.
I practice everything they tell me and I put the hours in but when I can’t do something and it results in shanks then it’s difficult to continue and demoralises you.

 

[PJ87]

Thank you all for your replies. I can relate to a lot of things people have said.
I guess my disappointment is in the pro’s. I am yet to find someone who has the motivation I have to improve myself. I’m off 9 and want to be off 5 then get down lower.
I practice everything they tell me and I put the hours in but when I can’t do something and it results in shanks then it’s difficult to continue and demoralises you.

If your off 9 your hardly a bad player

I’d say ditch the pros and just focus on working on range Work.. sometimes you can have too many lessons

 

[Jon_T]

I feel your pain. I have tried everything and one thing that has transformed my shanks is keeping my right heel down through impact.

 

[jim8flog]

I had never shanked a ball in over 20 years of playing until I decided to learn to change my swing path from out to in to in to out.

These days the shanks are still there but normally come from not keeping my head down for long enough.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I would go to a different pro. Explain what you said in the OP and what you've been told about opening the face. Don't go into depth and let them see you hit balls. It should be something that can be fixed (although as I know shanks never really go away) and then go and work on the drills. I'm sure there is a good and consistent golfer in there and a lot of it must be boiling down to confidence and belief especially when the bad shots and shanks start again