Shanks! Please help!

[Deleted member 25575]

I played last week and all was well, then on Thursday, shank, shank, shank shank! Played Friday same, Saturday some improvement, then today, shanks!!!!

I am sure im coming over the top, I can see the impact mark on the hosel of the club, but nothing I do seems to rid myself of it. Anything I don't shank comes off as a huge hook, which again, I think is me coming over the top with a closed club face but catching the ball at say 5 o'clock and hammering it left.

Any help, or generally being laughed at would be welcome.

I don't know where its come from or why, I had the handicap down to 13, now I need circa 13 shots per hole!!!!!

 

[adasko]

Try to stand further from the ball

 

[Foxholer]

https://www.golf-monthly.co.uk/tips/stop-shanking-golf-shots-166823

 

[Dan2501]

Suffered with these a couple of times. Couple of drills have helped me - one is to practice hitting balls with your feet together but the most effective for me is practice addressing a ball a few inches to the right of the ball and make a normal swing and try and hit the ball. Shanks come from your body and hand-path moving towards the ball on the way down, so if you can practice the total opposite of that where your hand path starts outside the ball and comes inside it can help get rid of them. Worked for me! Something like this:

 

[Deleted member 25575]

Thanks all. I need something!!

 

[Billysboots]

Nobody can offer a remedy without knowing the cause, and there’s more than one cause of the dreaded sh*nks.

In my experience a common suggestion to stand further away from the ball only makes things worse.

If they persist, get a lesson.

 

[KenL]

Stick your bum out! It works.

 

[Deleted member 25575]

Stick your bum out! It works.

I'll try anything!

Its ruining my golf enjoyment

 

[SocketRocket]

At the range place a ball down and then address your iron, place another ball or a head cover or a shoe box just outside the toe of your club. Start hitting balls such that you strike the ball at address but miss the object outside the clubs toe. You will soon work out what you have to do to miss the object.

 

[ScienceBoy]

Standing further away can make it worse as you are already reaching for the ball.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

My pro has had me trying to hit the ball off the toe of the club - in fact addressing the ball swinging 'normally' but thinking I'm trying to miss the ball inside. That works for me but it feels a really weird thing to be trying to do.

I am currently having some success with gripping down the club a little as my hands were too much at the very end of the grip - to the extent that I could only see just the very end of the grip at the little finger of my left hand - and none of the grip itself. I am now gripping the club so that I see maybe 3/4" protruding beyond my little finger - and I can feel that that is giving me a slightly more upright address position, and also means that my irons aren't 'toe up' as they were. It feels a bit odd as the grip feel much thinner...as it is where I am now gripping it. But I feel more in control of my irons - and it's working. For the time being.

I'll try anything...as I've had them desperate for many years...

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Without being rude, when they happen, everybody tries to help and you’ll get conflicting “good” advice.

See a Pro, it’s the best and quickest way, he/she will sort you out.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I was given a drill where you put the ball you want to hit in the middle of two others (or between two tees and simply focus on that. The first few may be ugly (so perhaps one for the practice field and not a range bay) but got me back on a good path (slightly inside) and hitting with a baby draw

 

[Deleted member 25575]

Thank you all. I know there are lots of different fixes. I Will see a pro but he can't get me a lesson still 13th so happy to try suggestions till then

 

[ManinBlack]

According to my pro, there are two distinct types of error which cause shanks, which need two very different changes to stop them. Without knowing which miss you've got you could be barking up the wrong tree. Wait to see your Pro & aim well left in the meantime ?

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

According to my pro, there are two distinct types of error which cause shanks, which need two very different changes to stop them. Without knowing which miss you've got you could be barking up the wrong tree. Wait to see your Pro & aim well left in the meantime ?

Aye - the 90deg daisy cutter is a danger for everyone to your right (as my buddies can attest ). But none of Saturday

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

I played last week and all was well, then on Thursday, shank, shank, shank shank! Played Friday same, Saturday some improvement, then today, shanks!!!!

I am sure im coming over the top, I can see the impact mark on the hosel of the club, but nothing I do seems to rid myself of it. Anything I don't shank comes off as a huge hook, which again, I think is me coming over the top with a closed club face but catching the ball at say 5 o'clock and hammering it left.

Any help, or generally being laughed at would be welcome.

I don't know where its come from or why, I had the handicap down to 13, now I need circa 13 shots per hole!!!!!

Firstly get frustrated, then annoyed and then kick your club squarely in the middle of the shaft in the specific direction of a large tree, if sucessful leave the club up the tree and vow never to play again, shanks cured !! It worked for me I haven't shanked a ball in over a month (mind you I haven't played since )

 

[Rlburnside]

A friend asked me for help so I trawled u - tube for him, he’s not very savvy with computers?

The simplest tip I found was to line up to strike your ball as normal then do 2 practice swings and swing just inside the ball, on the third swing hit the ball.

We went for a round and he tried this and I was genuinely surprised this worked first time and he didn’t shank one all round.

 

[Deleted member 25575]

Quick update as the process continues.

Went to the practice area today after a couple of days off. Pure strike after pure strike, then a single shank, then back to pure strikes, so much so I was managing to move the ball left or straight (can't ever seem to move it right). Then a couple of shanks, then pure again and again, then bang, shank, shank, shank, shank over and over.

I don't know what I'd changed to make it work, nor what changed to stop it working.

My lower back is starting to hurt so not sure if all related and having a few days off helped but once id swung through 50 balls swing is getting screwed up somehow.....

 

[Orikoru]

We're probably not the same, but I've had shanks in the past, and although I self-diagnosed it seemed to be when I got lazy at turning my body and my swing became just arms, pretty much. If I really focus on turning my left hip through the swing, they go away again for a few months - until the next time I start getting lazy.

Unfortunately hammering balls at the range does nothing for me - for some reason I would shank about 35-40% of the balls I hit at the driving range, whereas on the course it would only be 4 or 5 per round at absolute worst. I never really worked out why that was. I just don't go to the driving range anymore.