Horrible Case Of The Shanks

[Frank101]

Hey guys,
I have developed an extremely severe case of the shanks. I'm left-handed and play to a 7 handicap. I usually fight a hook but hit solid shots 95% of the time. I dont know what to do. I hit straight/draw 300 yard drives, but shank EVERY single iron lately. Please help. I have been working driving range at a local golf course which involves heavy lifting, could this possibly be having an effect?

Thanks in advance

[Mule56]

Hey guys,
I have developed an extremely severe case of the shanks. I'm left-handed and play to a 7 handicap. I usually fight a hook but hit solid shots 95% of the time. I dont know what to do. I hit straight/draw 300 yard drives, but shank EVERY single iron lately. Please help. I have been working driving range at a local golf course which involves heavy lifting, could this possibly be having an effect?

Thanks in advanceHey ItalFrank,
Your in luck. Today's hot tip from the Golf Channel
Tip of the Day
A good way to rid yourself of the shanks is to setup to the ball with more weight on your toes than on your heels. If your weight is on your heels before swinging, your body and the hosel of the club will move toward the ball during the swing.
Mule

[duffer_devon]

Hi Frank,

The heavy lifting shouldn't have an affect unless you have bulked way up. You are obviously an accomplished player if you have a 7 handicap. This is probably more mental at this point than a swing flaw.

Simplify your swing thought to keeping your spine angle the same througout the shot. Don't think about anything else except solid contact.

Good Luck and let us know how you're doing.

[toro57]

Hey Frank...if you find a cure please pass it on...I picked up the shanks last season and am now scared to swing the irons normal....relying too much on my fairway woods now but I know that they"ll go straight...I tried keeping the club face closed on the backswing but now hit nasty hooks

[framer]

hey frank

I also had this problem, my instructor fixed it pretty quick. I was falling forward on my shot. one thing he made me try was hit my ball (at the range) with another ball about one inch away from the ball i'm playing, if you are shanking you will probabally hit the other ball , consentrate on not hitting the other ball.

The other thing he had me do was stand about an inch or two away from the ball conpared to my usual setup.



Shanking is not my problem, the rest of the game is.
:)
But i love it.

[dks_34]

It must be something in the left handed swing....I was hitting my irons beautifully (ok beautifully for me..) and then all of the sudden I can't hit an iron to save my life!

Any tips to pass along...I'm more than willing to try them!:confused:

[haribo]

It can be as simple as standing too close to the ball at address. Everything might look just right but when you swing centrifugal force will make you go out a tad wider and whammo instead of the sweetspot the hosel gets in the way.

Just a thought.

[openflows]

I can't really offer anything in terms of treatment after the fact, however, I've heard a widely held superstition that it is super bad luck to say the S word and that even the mere thought of the Ss can be enough to induce them. Language is a virus, and thoughts can be infectious, and certainly the mental side of golf heavily influences the final score/performance. So beware in your use of the word... ;)

[toro57]

Been working on changing to a one plane swing and seems to be good so far....Keeping my forward arm tighter to my chest....Haven't had a S----:hush: so far ...ball flight is now a fairly steady draw (about 20 yards) and as long as it's the same 90% of the time I'll work with it...When it doesn't draw it goes straight :eek: and that's not bad either