The Nightmare side wards chip

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rapper

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I have just lost a match play in one of our major comps,got 3 holes up then my worst nightmare lost 5 holes on the trot to simple chips that went 90 degrees to the side lost 5 holes and the comp...what is causing me to chip side wards ,I used a wedge 3 times and a 9 iron...help
 
I would think you mean shanking wedges.
I can 100% tell you it's decelerating as you come into the ball. You're swinging too far back and then trying to slow down as you come into the ball.
Practice is needed, when it comes to chipping the ball, less is more. Little back and long through.
 
Keep your weight balanced on your feet. Don't move towards the ball, placing all your weight on your toes as you'll present the hosel to the ball, not the club face. Nice balanced stance, solved it for me.
 
the only time this happens to me (which isn't very often thank god) I always realise that I am staring at the flag as I make contact.
 
rapper said:
I have just lost a match play in one of our major comps,got 3 holes up then my worst nightmare lost 5 holes on the trot to simple chips that went 90 degrees to the side lost 5 holes and the comp...what is causing me to chip side wards ,I used a wedge 3 times and a 9 iron...help
Click to expand...

It's to do with the club coming back to impact further away from your body than it was both at address & in the takeaway/backswing.

Couple of ways this can happen:

1. by it being an arms swing only & no chest/shoulder rotation connection with the arm swing, so the arms come back into the ball swinging outwards away from the body, moving the club head outwards, so instead of the middle of the face contacting the ball, the heel socket does.

2. your arms & body have a reasonable connection during the motion but on the downswing to ball you stand up a ways so losing posture this also loses your balance & the weight moves out onto the toes, this also then pushes the arms so club head outwards so again instead of the middle of the club face, the club head is moved outwards & the heel socket contacts the ball.

Here's a drill for a small 3/4 wedge shot, but you can also do this drill with smaller pitch & chip shots.

First off though form the get go make sure you have a good posture, & you keep that posture right ways through the whole swing motion.

If you also have trouble connecting the body turn through the pitch/chip shot, get a towel long enough to go under both armpits & keep it there through the swing motion so you feel the connection you should have between chest turn back & through & the arm swing.

[video=youtube_share;tY2ZVjnY2V0]http://youtu.be/tY2ZVjnY2V0[/video]
 
Fortunately I haven't had the dreaded shanks for some time , but when I did I cured it by putting a longish towel around my back and tucked under both armpits, then made 3/4 swings and they soon disappeared.

The towel forces you to keep your arms close to your body through the swing and keeps arms and body connected throughout.
 
For me - and I had them really, really bad - in fact my pro was shocked quite HOW bad I had them when we went down the practice ground for a lesson. And it was simply because on initiating the backswing I was immediately taking the club away outside of the line. I focus on taking club away inside the line and they have gone. Other things I have to be aware of now that I do this - but it has stopped the unmentionables
 
rapper said:
I have just lost a match play in one of our major comps,got 3 holes up then my worst nightmare lost 5 holes on the trot to simple chips that went 90 degrees to the side lost 5 holes and the comp...what is causing me to chip side wards ,I used a wedge 3 times and a 9 iron...help
Click to expand...
You are either sh@nking them or hitting the ball right off the toe, more likely the former. If you find a cure please let me know, as I am rather prone to sh@nking chip shots. Generally I don't, but I have the odd day when I can't seem to do anything else! :(
 
delc said:
You are either sh@nking them or hitting the ball right off the toe, more likely the former. If you find a cure please let me know, as I am rather prone to sh@nking chip shots. Generally I don't, but I have the odd day when I can't seem to do anything else! :(
Click to expand...

That was me - every iron. I could be 50yds from green slap bang in middle of fairway in two and would then find myself chipping on from somewhere out RHS giving myself two putts for an eight or more - and on the way from middle of fairway to green I would have lost at least one ball.
 
delc said:
You are either sh@nking them or hitting the ball right off the toe, more likely the former. If you find a cure please let me know, as I am rather prone to sh@nking chip shots. Generally I don't, but I have the odd day when I can't seem to do anything else! :(
Click to expand...

Nearly always caused by the arms hands club moving away from the body in the downswing, whether chip, pitches or full shots. Two ways to do this from opposite swing paths.

One, the club is taken back to far inside the line (back more in direction a ways behind the legs) then at transition the shoulders, particularly the right shoulder moves a way out & over the line which does two things tips the weight & balance onto the toes & arms & hands thrown outwards in front of the forwards moving upper body, so the clubhead too is forced outwards as it stats to swing down & leftwards, so instead of the middle you get contact right on the hosel.

Two, the club is taken back straighter back or even more outside the ball/target line by the arms moving away & being disconnected from the body turn as they go up to the top of the backswing, then or start of downswing, (they can still do similar to the above explanation coming back down) or they get dropped back & inside & flat, so get stuck behind the upper body the reaction is to overuse the hips & thrust outwards standing up out of posture at the same time balance moved again out to the toes, so again but this time coming from a good ways inside the line the arms hands so clubhead get moved outwards coming in towards impact so the clubhead is coming a ways from the inside with the shaft & hosel being the most forward part of an open clubface to again the strike is on the hosel.

Cure is working to a more neutral swing path both back & through whilst staying in posture & balance, feeling the weight & balance point both back & through is through the middle of the feet, so not heels not toes. Whilst maintaining connection with the body turn & arm swing.

Doing half swings hands to waist high back & through with a towel under both armpits. NB Half swings only. Is a great drill to feel this connection needed so the arms don't work away from the body either going back or coming back through impact.

Doing the drill in my post ≠5 is a great way to stop the dreaded hosel contact. With a half swing you can combine this two ball drill with the towel under the arms.

Good drill for full iron shots is place a rolled up towel behind a ball an inch further back away from you, have a rolled end this inch further away from you but the towel is placed so it starts level with the back of the ball & is parallel to the your ball target line. So you have to both take the club back along the line of the towel but without hitting the towel, then swing back to the ball along the inside of this rolled towel. (You could use a head cover but the likelihood as you start to do this will be you'll hit it a good number of times & the leading edge of an iron can do some damage, so hence the towel) This position for the towel is to help get rid of the out to in swing that's presenting the hosel to the ball.
< ________________
º
(So looking downwards rolled towel backswing side of ball: black line is the towel < direction of target)

Should you be presenting the hosel to the ball through a good ways in to out swing. This time place the rolled towel so it starts an inch target side of the ball so an inch further away from you & is parallel to the target line but now it's running on the target side of impact. This time you take the club back and have to swing down & through impact without hitting the towel after impact, the only way you can achieve this is by making the swing a good ways less in to out so the face comes in squarer & the hosel isn't leading from the inside into impact.
__________________
<<<<<<<<<<<<<< º
(So looking downwards rolled towel target side of ball: black line is the towel <<< just direction of target)
 
Last edited:
SwingsitlikeHogan said:
For me - and I had them really, really bad - in fact my pro was shocked quite HOW bad I had them when we went down the practice ground for a lesson. And it was simply because on initiating the backswing I was immediately taking the club away outside of the line. I focus on taking club away inside the line and they have gone. Other things I have to be aware of now that I do this - but it has stopped the unmentionables
Click to expand...

Thanks mate will try that but what are the other things you have to be aware of now that you do this?
 
rapper said:
Thanks mate will try that but what are the other things you have to be aware of now that you do this?
Click to expand...

I now have no idea where my club is in my backswing and so I have to stop myself thinking and trying to put it where I think it should be. If I address the ball and swing 'naturally' (i.e as my head tells me I have done for the last 30 yrs) and without thinking about my take-away, I can almost guarantee a shank (I must type the whole word to come to terms with it - sorry). Really scarey - but I'll sort it (but I'll need a lesson or two)
 
I agree with the_coach in point 1 of a previous post. In my case, when I do it, it's because of an arm swing only, and not using shoulders or any body turn. An arms only swing goes away from the body, and contact is made on the hosel after the arms return from out to in. Hence the towel drills whch force you to use more body action.
 
Have we not got a little lost with this thread? Shanking a full shot and a chip shot are not the same thing.

The OP was asking about shanking chip shots, towel drills are not needed. Just an understanding of why it's happening and the correction to stop it.
 
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