The dreaded J Arthurs.........

[Junior]

My friend and I played on Tuesday night and the unmentionable's crept in. He's a solid 15 handicapper, but once they came in he couldn't stop them. He focusted on correcting his posture, swing plane but every iron he hit went straight right.

Who's experienced them ??? more importantly how did they overcome them???

 

[Dodger]

easy........address the ball with the heel of the club past the ball i.e further away from you at address than the ball then simply swing and this will promote a swing plane that will cure the tommy tanks straight away. Try it and tell me how it goes but I will put my house on it curing him.

 

[Up_Point_1]

He's not alone in suffering this fate.

I played a 36 hole event last week and half way through my second 18 holes I suddenly developed the dreaded shankeroonies for no reason.

It all came to a head on the 12th where I hit a booming drive down a long tight par 4. Left with no more than 80 yards to the green I promtly shanked 2 wedge shots into the lake. In fear of hurling my wedge in the same direction as my golf balls I decided the best way to end my agony was to N/R.

I played the following day and had no sign whatsoever of the shankeroos.

I really do despise this game sometimes. Just when you think you've cracked it the game has an uncanny knack of biting you on the arse and saying "no you most definitely haven't"

DHM.

 

[Dave3498]

My son had a period when he shanked quite a lot, just after he turned pro'. He was cured by another visiting club pro', who told him to go to the practise ground and do the following:-

1. Deliberately hit 6 balls off the heel of the club so that they go left. (Watch your left leg.)

2. Deliberately hit 6 balls off the toe of the club so that they go right.

3. Deliberately hit 6 balls off the centre of the club so that the go straight.

What this did was to focus the mind on the clubface to the ball. Hand/eye co-ordination if you like. All these tips on posture, swing plane etc. may well help, but most of us with bad posture and bad swing planes don't shank. If your friend takes his normal swing but thinks only of delivering the centre of the clubface to the ball, he may well effect a cure.

 

[Dodger]

utter tosh.....a shank is caused by an in to out swing path and that is why my tip which will encourage an out to in will work.

 

[birdieman]

Junior
I had this for a half season terribly in 2004, thought I could self cure and read everything and then tried it to get rid, but couldn't. Wasn't until I bit the bullet and went to see a PGA Pro that I got cured, in about 2 minutes. I am sceptical of Pro's but this guy was good. First thing he asked was could I lift my heels from my address position, I couldn't so had to move back from ball to be able to get heels off the ground a little at address i.e. get weight in the middle of the feet. Then it was swing plane, he put a coin about 2 feet back behind the ball on the target line and I had to take the club back on that line, had been going inside then casting out on the downswing. With those 2 errors sorted I was cured and the world was right again! Have only had the occassional one since.
There are 13 different reasons to shank so you need analysed by someone who really knows what to look for.
The normal response is to instinctively stand further from the ball -dont, that makes it worse.

 

[medwayjon]

Amazing how it only seems to happen out on the course.

Never happens to me mid-way through a practise at the range!

The only thing I have done to cure it is to go with a very deliberately slow 3/4 swing and work back up from there.

 

[Dave3498]

You're tip is perfectly correct dodger. By addressing the ball on the heel, the player knows full well that if he returns to that position at impact, he will hit it off the hosel. He therefore makes the necessary correction during the swing to deliver the centre of the clubface to the ball. Clearly if he didn't concentrate on this, he would shank.

 

[birdieman]

Junior,
theres no need to be ashamed, your so called 'friend' is you isn't it?

 

[madandra]

This is a very sore topic for me. I was having the round of my life in May '05 and needed to par the last 3 holes (4,4,5) for a 73 and had a collapse after you know what happened TWICE off the tee. I was a broken man for about a week afterwards. My wife had the nerve to say

'IT IS ONLY A GAME '

 

[shanker]

This is a very sore topic for me. I was having the round of my life in May '05 and needed to par the last 3 holes (4,4,5) for a 73 and had a collapse after you know what happened TWICE off the tee. I was a broken man for about a week afterwards. My wife had the nerve to say

'IT IS ONLY A GAME '

What were you doing hitting irons from the tee anyway? Next time you'll know. Get the driver out!

 

[madandra]

In my defence the 16th is a tight but short par 4. A good 5 iron would have left 160 to the green.

I have had to live with this for a long time and this thread has brought it all back ....

i won't sleep tonight.

 

[John_Findlay]

It's because I suffered from them years ago that I NEVER stand front and right of ANY golfer while they're swinging nowadays. They come like a bolt from the blue and the only person who's gonna be more surprised than the golfer himself is the golfer he hits.

On no account will my headstone read;-


Here lies John Findlay
1966 - 200?
"Shankee"

 

[madandra]

Or

Here lies the
BRAVE
John Findlay
victim of a SHANK attack

 

[Junior]

Thanks all, will pass on the tips to my "friend"