The shanks

[Hacker1forever]

I'm really struggling with the shanks. I started playing golf about 3 months ago after not picking up a club in 5 years and the dreaded shanks are haunting me!! I used to play off 9 and slightly suffered with the shanks before but not as bad as I am now. Has anybody please got any tips on how to get rid of this golf disease!!

 

[The23rdman]

you're probably taking the club back too deep too quickly or standing too close to the ball. You're almost definately moving your head too much.

Go back to basics. Take a 9 iron and work on your fundamentals. Get your grip right, set-up and alignment correct, make sure you're balanced and then work on making your takeaway correctly.

Feel like you push your hands back low and wide. This will establish a good arc to the swing. Just make simple 1/2 and 3/4 swings focusing on swinging nicely through the ball. your goal is to swing in balance.

It's so essential that you get the fundamentals correct.

 

[rob2]

Hi there,

I second what the23rdman says about standing to close to the ball. On the (thankfully rare ) occasions this has happened to me this has always been the reason.

I was watching a Scott Cranfield piece the other day in which he says that at address there should be approx. a palms width gap between the butt of the club and your legs to ensure enough room to bring the club through minimising the risk of shanking.

Give it a go and good luck.

Rob2.

 

[Cernunnos]

I recently started shanking & it was down to standing too close to the ball. My usual faults of a slight overswing & head movement have never caused this. Infact I've about cured the head raise-dip I used to have along with having the overswing generally under control & it was only recently I had the shanks.

It was like a sceen from Tin cup being on the range having played well the previous week & suddenly I was hitting balls at 80 degrees to where I would normally & it was frustrating, embaresing & downright annoying especially as my game had never been so good the week before.

I needed a lesson & I needed it fast.

The problem, i'd started to address the ball with my hands hanging below but a tad too close to the body, so unwittingly was too close to the ball. Everything else ther pro was happy with in the setup he gave me an additional tip about any overswing that didn't have anything to do with the shanks but with dispertion problems, mostly causing something most amatures drema of & that was a draw.


Funny thing is that although now generally having cured those shanks my confidence in my game was dented & dented big style after a couple of weeks suffering before I sorted the problem

 

[andiritchie]

just hit balls with the feet together,you wont be able to dip or sway without losing balance

 

[MizunoMan]

Get a bit of confidence back by soem chipping and pitching 1/2 swing max. Work on tempo and not trying to hit the ball too hard. Do that for an hour then try hitting a few mid irons.

 

[ColinR]

Standing to close is one reason for the shanks, but as I understand it there are many.

I was like you about 6 months ago and had them bad !! After an hour with the pro in the camera room we worked out what it was and how to adjust my swing. Basically my left shoulder was dipping and therefore moving me closer to the ball. It only takes movement of an inch or son in the wrong direction and you are in trouble. I would have never worked this out, so my advice to you...

Go see a Pro.

 

[RGuk]

May I quote from the great man....

"....In both these cases, the basic problem is that at the moment of impact the player's hands - and therefore the clubhead - are further away from the body than they were at address. Certainly, shanks can result from standing too close to the ball to begin with"....blah, blah...."But normally it is simply a case of one's weight shifting forward out towards the toes, throwing the hands and the clubhead further away from the body"....."The instinctive reaction is to stand further away from the ball"....."WRONG. That actually compounds the problem, as it forces you to reach for the ball through impact, pushing even more weight forward onto your toes".

Two drills.....
1) in severe cases place a ball under the toe of each shoe
2) Use a two ball drill......put one ball on the ground (tee/mat) and another half an inch outside your object ball. Try to hit the inner ball without dislodging the other. Simple, and perfect

I've only ever used the two ball drill.....but anything that stops you falling towards your toes is going to fix the problem.

Good luck.

 

[ColinR]

May I quote from the great man....

"....In both these cases, the basic problem is that at the moment of impact the player's hands - and therefore the clubhead - are further away from the body than they were at address. Certainly, shanks can result from standing too close to the ball to begin with"....blah, blah...."But normally it is simply a case of one's weight shifting forward out towards the toes, throwing the hands and the clubhead further away from the body"....."The instinctive reaction is to stand further away from the ball"....."WRONG. That actually compounds the problem, as it forces you to reach for the ball through impact, pushing even more weight forward onto your toes".

Two drills.....
1) in severe cases place a ball under the toe of each shoe
2) Use a two ball drill......put one ball on the ground (tee/mat) and another half an inch outside your object ball. Try to hit the inner ball without dislodging the other. Simple, and perfect

I've only ever used the two ball drill.....but anything that stops you falling towards your toes is going to fix the problem.

Good luck.

agree with that, good advice.

 

[Dodger]

this drill will cure it 100 percent or you can have your money back....
address ball with the hosel of the club past the ball i.e the far side of the ball as you see it at address then swing.....I promise you you will now be cured sod all the prior instructions this is the cure.

 

[RGuk]

this drill will cure it 100 percent or you can have your money back....
address ball with the hosel of the club past the ball i.e the far side of the ball as you see it at address then swing.....I promise you you will now be cured sod all the prior instructions this is the cure.

Old but genius.....almost never fails.....guaranteed to bring your hands in closer on the way down....but you need talent for this one!

Be careful before you bin the others though.....they're not mine, they are from someone far more worthy than anyone on this forum!!!

 

[Dodger]

almost never fails......INCORRECT, it NEVER fails!!

 

[RGuk]

Well, possibly....but some idiot is bound to stand too close to the ball sooner or later (to get the hosel outside the ball) thus starting a domino of disasters.

 

[Cernunnos]

this drill will cure it 100 percent or you can have your money back....
address ball with the hosel of the club past the ball i.e the far side of the ball as you see it at address then swing.....I promise you you will now be cured sod all the prior instructions this is the cure.

Rofl...Sounds dreadful, but an interesting idea. May just try this one just to see what actually happens. Chances are, rather than frightening players on the range infront of me I'll end up polaxing those behind instead