Help, help suddenly Im shanking my balls

Lately I have been shanking the shorter irons, why? I tend to pull my shots too, pls help!

The case of the shanks....

short irons only? that sounds familiar arhh. i went thru that phase too, ni prob with mid irons, hybrid or fw or driver, just 9 irons, and wedges. Later I found that it was linked to my habbit of cutting those shots inside of 100m to get them to go higher and stop fast, so I was standing closer and closer to the ball w/o noticing I was coming in too steep and too outside-in. Suggest get yr buddy to check your stance and posture even before u even start practice swing bro, good luck.

Oh one more thing, when I cut the ball, my right arm usually gets too active, that right arm was tamed by focussing on left arm during back swing. Actually around the same time, someone said that I was pulling my driver because too active right arm, and I started noticing those pulls went much further heh heh at first I thot I had gained distance, nothing like that, just right arm was stronger than left, but right arm for me is the curse of the golf swing. Now I think about it still scared scared, phew !!

i am no expert,my two cents worth.......... i might not be correct lor

shanking , perhaps standing to close to the ball.

pulling , for right hander ,perhaps right hand grip too strong

rgds

Sounds familiar.... happens to me once in a while... cannot explain why... but it usually goes off after taking a good couple of days off golf.

He also has a very out in swing for short irons. Yesterday he tested it by placing another ball on the out-in path

for a while last year, I was doing that too

happens to me once in a while. Are you fading or drawing the balls on good shots?

What I usually do:
- set right leg back (for RH), close stance to force an in-to-out swing path. Once get the feel, go back to usual stance.

- or make sure dont take club too much inside on the backswing. club head should still be in front of body at 9 o'clock

- or when addressing the ball, ensure the toe is just reaching the ball. Our hands will automatically extend and be square with the ball upon impact.

if all fails, see a pro for a fix. Those drills were given to me by a pro but they were to fix my standing to close to the ball & out to in path.

well that definately means that your swing path is slightly out to in. dont worry we'll sort it out!

justin..I just got fitted by DGMan. My irons were too flat, balls going right all the time. Cant wait to test my new 1 deg upright maltbys on the course. Teach me how to draw the ball, but only after you fix my bunker shot. bunkers cost me too many bogeys. c u next Sat.

Went through that phase recently myself after my coach's colleague made some changes to my swing path. I ended up standing too close to the ball, swing was too upright, so I could not clear my hips fast enough on the downswing and ended up slamming the face shut to prevent a duck hook.

@jhan18 - that avatar of yours is very impressive, looks like your swing is very 'Hogan'. I like!

SBH,

Here's an article from Dave Pelz to help you. Give it a try, hope it helps.

http://www.golf.com/golf/instruction/article/0,28136,1565304,00.html

good link. Pelz always makes good reading

I was told there are 2 reasons for shanking, one is very shut clubface, the other is standing too close (as what Pelz suggests). If the latter, you don't need to bring a cardboard box to the range, just position another golf ball 1 inch away from the ball you are trying to hit.

Thanks all for the input.
Yes, I am standing too close and having an out to in swing.
The funny thing is I can't correct it, despite doing all the obvious.

I believe the shank for most golfers comes from too much of an inside to outside path. A shank is when the ball catches the hosel (or the inside) of the club head sending the ball straight right.

This means the path of the club is moving to the outside of the target line, presenting to much of the hosel to the golf ball, not to the inside.

An out to in swing would tend to make impact closer to the toe of the club which is no where near the hosel.

To prevent a shank the club needs to move on a slight inside to inside path relative to the target line

An outside to outside path (I don't think that is even possible) could also produce a shank.

Standing too close is not always the reason for shanking either. Look at Jim Furyk. He stands closer than anyone to the ball and I have never seen him shank it.

The causes of shanks (club path problems)can be many and you should see a pro to work out what is causing it. The low right ass is usually the reason. I will explain later!!

Hope this picture explains better. My computer graphics skills not so good

Right_sided_coach wrote:

I believe the shank for most golfers comes from too much of an inside to outside path. A shank is when the ball catches the hosel (or the inside) of the club head sending the ball straight right.

This means the path of the club is moving to the outside of the target line, presenting to much of the hosel to the golf ball, not to the inside.

An out to in swing would tend to make impact closer to the toe of the club which is no where near the hosel.

To prevent a shank the club needs to move on a slight inside to inside path relative to the target line

An outside to outside path (I don't think that is even possible) could also produce a shank.

Standing too close is not always the reason for shanking either. Look at Jim Furyk. He stands closer than anyone to the ball and I have never seen him shank it.

The causes of shanks (club path problems)can be many and you should see a pro to work out what is causing it. The low right ass is usually the reason. I will explain later!!

correct me if i am wrong mate but if he is pulling his short irons it's either clubface shutting down at impact(which would also produce a draw) or and out to in swing with a square clubface. I think he could be aiming too far left, trying to hit it right, which thus presents too much of the hosel as he has to swing 'out' towards the target causing the shank?If he swings it on the right path relative to his alignment, it would result in a pull as he is swinging left of his intended target? A possible scenario? To me that's a possible link between the shank and the pull shot.

pushslice wrote:

justin..I just got fitted by DGMan. My irons were too flat, balls going right all the time. Cant wait to test my new 1 deg upright maltbys on the course. Teach me how to draw the ball, but only after you fix my bunker shot. bunkers cost me too many bogeys. c u next Sat.

i hope your short game is improving! no problem. c u soon

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

jhan18 wrote:

Right_sided_coach wrote:

I believe the shank for most golfers comes from too much of an inside to outside path. A shank is when the ball catches the hosel (or the inside) of the club head sending the ball straight right.

This means the path of the club is moving to the outside of the target line, presenting to much of the hosel to the golf ball, not to the inside.

An out to in swing would tend to make impact closer to the toe of the club which is no where near the hosel.

To prevent a shank the club needs to move on a slight inside to inside path relative to the target line

An outside to outside path (I don't think that is even possible) could also produce a shank.

Standing too close is not always the reason for shanking either. Look at Jim Furyk. He stands closer than anyone to the ball and I have never seen him shank it.

The causes of shanks (club path problems)can be many and you should see a pro to work out what is causing it. The low right ass is usually the reason. I will explain later!!

correct me if i am wrong mate but if he is pulling his short irons it's either clubface shutting down at impact(which would also produce a draw) or and out to in swing with a square clubface. I think he could be aiming too far left, trying to hit it right, which thus presents too much of the hosel as he has to swing 'out' towards the target causing the shank?If he swings it on the right path relative to his alignment, it would result in a pull as he is swinging left of his intended target? A possible scenario? To me that's a possible link between the shank and the pull shot.

Hi Justin
Sorry mate. I did not see your original post about the out to in. I think you have raised a valid possibility being the player aiming too far left and trying to push the ball back to the right. Yes I think this could produce the shank as it will give an in to out path relative to the players assumed alignment which causes the shank as I mentioned. The pull you suggest is not a pull as such, rather a straight shot with incorrect alignment.
My post is assuming correct alignment. I see the majority of the time that a student that shanks a shot will almost guarantee to pull the next shot. This is a natural reaction to “don't hit shank, pull left instead.”
As I commented, there are a few possible ways to hit a shank. The student should see a pro to work out why, whether it be bad alignment or incorrect path, the low right ass etc.
One thing I do believe is that assuming correct alignment, an out to in swing is not the cause for a shank, rather the opposite.
The post ChrisD posted from golf jug raises some good points about the cause of shanks, as much as I don t like the triangle, thing he recommends. The Pelz article also is promoting the club head not going to the outside on the follow through, hence the box on the outside of the ball.

Cheers Paul

correct me if i am wrong mate but if he is pulling his short irons it's either clubface shutting down at impact(which would also produce a draw) or and out to in swing with a square clubface. I think he could be aiming too far left, trying to hit it right, which thus presents too much of the hosel as he has to swing 'out' towards the target causing the shank?If he swings it on the right path relative to his alignment, it would result in a pull as he is swinging left of his intended target? A possible scenario? To me that's a possible link between the shank and the pull shot.

Jhan18, Yah, that evening birdman measured my alignment and it indicated an open stance. With out to in swing.
What I know, normally I have a closed stance and i also tends to pull my longer shots.
Primarily I hit with a draw.
Keppel is tight , sometime I try to hit draws and fades according to requirements..... is that the cause of my mental confusions?

seebayho wrote:

correct me if i am wrong mate but if he is pulling his short irons it's either clubface shutting down at impact(which would also produce a draw) or and out to in swing with a square clubface. I think he could be aiming too far left, trying to hit it right, which thus presents too much of the hosel as he has to swing 'out' towards the target causing the shank?If he swings it on the right path relative to his alignment, it would result in a pull as he is swinging left of his intended target? A possible scenario? To me that's a possible link between the shank and the pull shot.

Jhan18, Yah, that evening birdman measured my alignment and it indicated an open stance. With out to in swing.
What I know, normally I have a closed stance and i also tends to pull my longer shots.
Primarily I hit with a draw.
Keppel is tight , sometime I try to hit draws and fades according to requirements..... is that the cause of my mental confusions?

here are a few questions i have for you:
1. Do you shape your shots all the time instead of sticking to your stock shot(ie your draw) for most shots?
2.What is your natural swing path? what is your divot pattern like?
3. Do you practice the shots you hit on the course at the range?

It's amazing how your habits on the course are different from the range due to the various situations. I suggest the tighter the course, the more you hit your stock shot to keep it in play unless that shot really requires a fade(since your natural shot is draw). Trust your alignment on the course. If a shot goes wrong observe your ball flight. Your ball flight the would tell what your path and clubface was at impact.

Justin, you are joining us on wed right? If Seebayho can make it you could take a look.

yes i will be joining you guys. see you there.

Hi Sunny and Jhan18, I worked on the alignments, it seem to work...but still to early to tell.
Ok, I will see you all on Wednesday.