The Mighty Shank

[jackhammer]

Hi there,

i am in need of some serious advice... I play off a 18 handicap & can put together a decent round every now & then. however... for some reason a will start to shank the ball during a round & have no idea why. Its only with my Pitching wedge & sandwedge and is the most confidence crushing shot ever possible. For all my years of golf i still can't understand what is happening, i really don't think i am hitting the ball off the shank of the club but the ball flys low on a short sharp arc to the left.. any advice will be greatly welcome

 

[OldWindy]

http://www.videojug.com/film/golf-how-to-stop-shanking

 

[TonyN]

First of all welcome to the forum... Secondly (and most importantly dont ever say or type the word Sh**k and last but not least, check out www.videojug.com and search for 'why we shank'

Sorry I cannot give you a proper link, v/jug wont load for me today, dunno why.

Good luck getting rid of it and once again welcome on board!

 

[TonyN]

Oldwindy... just a star... words fail me!

 

[birdieman]

jackhammer, I presume you are a lefty if the ball is going off to the left as you say?
I have suffered this affliction, I was cured by doing 3 things better -
1. take the club back from the ball in a straight line for the first couple of feet or so, do not take it back on an inside line.
2. Get you weight not on toes and not on heels but somewhere balanced in between.
3. Make sure you rotate the hips and upper body through the shot to clear your body out of the way and don't get stuck there with your body getting in the way, that's a sure fire way to hit a 'hosel-rocket'.

Number 3 is th eworst as once you've hit one you become paralysed with fear of doing it again and that fear restricts a free-flowing turn terribly - catch 22.

Good luck.

 

[ColinR]

Jackhammer

I know exactly how you feel. I had the shanks so badly up until last month that I was close to giving up. In one Medal I hit SEVEN of them, it killed my card. Not only is a shank a bad shot the ball never goes to a good position after it so you end up often 2-3 shots over what you would normally hit for the hole.

I'm afraid there is no easy answer. All of the videos on YouTube etc, give good advice, but it will be something very personal to your swing that causes the problem. The way to go is see your local pro. Let him analyse what is going wrong and help you fix it. Spend an hour on it, it will be the best £40-50 you will have spent on golf, trust me.

When I saw the pro, he put me on the video camera and showed me that often my head moved forward about 1-2 inches as I was pulling my left shoulder slightly downwards at the start of the turn. This is enough to move the club face away from me and thus hit a shank. We worked on the initial shoulder turn and making sure that my swing plan was correct. In doing this I have built a solid pre shot routine and am delighted to say ( touch wood ) shanking is history.

Good luck with it, it can be solved.

 

[ColinR]

Dont you find it odd that people come on and ask for advice, then others willingly spent time to help them.....but a simple thanks is not forthcoming.