Shanks, do they ever disappear?

[Buzzkill]

Been playing 45+ years and have had random glorious shanks throughout the years.  I think I’ve gone a few decades without them but these past few years I’ve had more than I care to think about.  I’m done trying to figure them out and just let the virus run it’s course.  I just started yesterday after 3 shanks during 18 holes previously by addressing the ball with iron toe just touching.  What’s scary is I’m hitting the ball solidly from that distance (3 or 4” further away) and obviously not helping the situation by guaranteeing my weight is on my toes through impact - oh well, such is the life of a golfer.  Anyway, not looking for a fix.  Just wondering how many other golfers out there just accept those zany shanks as life experiences!

Edited September 18, 2021 by Buzzkill

[GoTime]

I shank the ball all the time and am currently slightly a + handicap. The key to getting rid of them is not giving a s*** that you have them to begin with.

 

Ian Poulter is known to cold shank pretty regularly, he's done pretty well for himself.

 

[chipa]

Everyone shanks once in a while. What I have learned for George Gankas is that the golfer will "get" to the ball almost no matter how he is setup, which blows out of the water some swing theories but I find it's true in my own swing and looking at pros who move their head either side to side or up and down significantly and still hit the ball solid. 

 

As far as being on the toes through impact I am actually trying to do that more consistently after seeing Rocco Mediate recommend it as well as realize its what I do when I hit the ball well. It is also much easier on my back.

 

If you've made a recent change to your setup to be on your toes through impact that is probably the culprit and your brain just need to do some re-calibrating, it may take a couple of months.

[Hawkeye77]

Left work early earlier today to join a couple friends for 18. First hole is a short positional drive of about 200, then a short 80 yard pitch over water to a very receptive green.  Hit a perfect drive. Had 54 degree, easy wedge in. Shanked it right into the pond. Been hitting wedges great overall most of the season. What the heck? I took twisted solace in the fact the shank hole wasn’t my worst blowup hole of the day, lol. 

 

I get it. 

[Loki]

Once in a while is disturbing, 5 or more in the course of 9 holes you got a PROBLEM! Your set up is too close to the ball.

[mark174ace]

They never go away my friend. At best they lie dormant in your system like herpes.

[diddy2]

Never, even when I felt like I was Tiger in his prime, a wild shank would appear on the 12th hole out of nowhere!

[TheDeanAbides]

I used to shank pretty regularly on the range but almost never on the course. Weird game. 

[rooski]

Feel like shanks are the curse of when you're playing some good golf.

 

Even when striking the ball well, sometimes you're just gonna feel that one, disgusting, specific and crispy feeling and you know exactly which way you need to look after hitting the ball.

 

One time on my buddy and I's annual golf trip I hard shanked the ball 14 times in a single round.

 

I'm convinced I've got them for life with my action. Only starts happening when I get lazy and hunched over the ball though, just gotta make sure I don't do that I suppose 🤪

Edited September 18, 2021 by rooski

[Hilts1969]

I get them when I'm tired. I have always been off balance on my toes generally then add in a lack of turn from fatigue or lack of concentration then the hands naturally work too far out. 

 

The good thing is I know the cause now. I had a lesson 20 odd years ago and shanked over 100 balls on the bounce. That was scary. A  couple of times I have shanked over half my shots including chips on the course. How I didn't quit I don't know

[FormerBigDaddy]

Been battling the random shank as well. Trying to learn to avoid them by really paying attention to where I’m striking the ball on all shots. It’s pretty obvious to me when my strikes start creeping in toward heal that a shank is coming if I don’t address it. I think the first key is to figure why this happens. I also agree that it’s usually not about your setup and some silly bandaid. For me it happens when I’m too inside out and handsy (open face). It took me awhile to figure that out. Shanks are frustrating bc there can be so many causes that are wildly different. For example, my buddy struggled with horrible shanks last year as about a 10hc. To the point where he stopped playing completely.  I videoed him this spring when it was still present and he was incredibly steep and over the top. His cause couldn’t have bene any more opposite of mine. 
 

Go to a pro, get some good quality video and I’m more than sure you’ll figure out what the cause is and that’s half the battle. 

Edited September 18, 2021 by FormerBigDaddy

[Hawkeye77]

10 hours ago, Loki said:

Once in a while is disturbing, 5 or more in the course of 9 holes you got a PROBLEM! Your set up is too close to the ball.

Easy now. My out of nowhere shank yesterday was because of lazy backswing, too much hips and leading with my right shoulder. Nothing to do with ball position at all. 
 

LOL, of course I know that because as mentioned above by another they are always there beneath the surface (and a reflection of swing faults) - good news is I know why, bad news is I have a 5 decades of a golfing life that gave me the moves I constantly try to get rid of. Can you say ingrained? 😉

Edited September 18, 2021 by Hawkeye77

[Buzzkill]

Just wanted to clarify what my shanks look like.  My shanks are high right 45 degrees, not low hosel rockets BUT my ball does impact hosel.  I feel it’s a result of my in to out swing path and being under plane.  Again, not looking for a supposed fix - I’ll just stand farther away at address and take whatever the golf gods deal me that day!

 

By the way, I appreciate everyone sharing/posting their experiences

Edited September 18, 2021 by Buzzkill

[Loki]

3 hours ago, Hawkeye77 said:

Easy now. My out of nowhere shank yesterday was because of lazy backswing, too much hips and leading with my right shoulder. Nothing to do with ball position at all.

Lazy backswings come out of nowhere also! 🤣

[Follow The Sun]

try a strong grip ... three knuckles on the left hand is what you should see when at address ...

[Buzzkill]

My grip (both hands) has always been strong and I started using Furyk's right hand grip over a year ago, still draw the ball with my swing pattern.

 

 

 

By the way, although shanks supposedly come from shorter irons, I can/do hit some impressive 45 degree righters with my 4 iron too!

Edited September 18, 2021 by Buzzkill

[Hawkeye77]

Haha, I shanked some 8 irons in a round once, like 3 of them, about 3 years ago. Gave the 8 iron some strange looks the rest of the season that year, sometimes now, haha. It's odd.  Other than 58 degree and 54 degree wedges and my 8 iron I don't really have any shank "history" I can recall with other clubs (not that it probably never happened, lol).  But that's the current memory bank.  When it happens, any doubt that might surface never seems to transfer to shank virgins, so to speak.  

[dlygrisse]

From my experience it’s often caused by swinging too in-to-out. 
if you are swing in a tilted plane, the club moves inside in the target line on the backswing, on the target line at impact and inside again right after impact.  If the club moves outside the target line after impact you will eventually shank.  Practice with a club shipping box just outside the target line, the clubhead should stay inside it the entire swing. I used a driver headcover today at the range just as a reminder. 

[ProRangeRat]

Shanks, by experienced golfers, most often come from pushing the hosel through the shot with right hand coming through the ball.

In a solid swing you can always feel the right hand subtly taking over / finishing the sweep.  But sometimes trying to save it at the bottom, or subconsciously firing the right arm/hand early, pushes the hosel out on the path.

If you have a decent swing you can greatly avoid this somewhat forced tendency by simply stretching the left / lead shoulder at the beginning of the downswing.

I.e. stretch it back to the ball to lead your shoulder turn with deliberation/purpose (leaving arms behind and respecting/keeping bend) as a feel or a thought and then all is right in the world.

If that makes no sense to you then at least try to think 'passive right hand' and see if that makes the difference when the shanks rear up. (The idea with this latter method is simply to get you to place more emphasis on the lead arm, shoulder, latissimus to hopefully not let the right arm/hand push out at the bottom). 

As stated this relies on a decent swing - where the right shoulder passes under with good lateral/side bend maintained.

 

If it only happens with wedges, you still need to do the former while appreciating just how vertical a wedge or short iron swing is.  And how under you the hand path must return.  Without losing your comfort level of the normal distance from your body you set your hands, you need to keep and provide enough room to return through as a feel.  Paying attention to keeping the left arm to shaft angle, set at address, through back and down swing helps with this.     

 

[MonteScheinblum]

There are two things at play here.

 

1.  You will always be susceptible if your ingrained motor pattern tends to deliver the heel.

 

2.  Most ams are too scared or not diligent enough to change their motor pattern.

 

So you can look at it two ways.  
 

1.  You can in fact get rid of them forever.

2.  The above 2 are why most don’t.

[TheDeanAbides]

3 hours ago, MonteScheinblum said:

There are two things at play here.

 

1.  You will always be susceptible if your ingrained motor pattern tends to deliver the heel.

 

2.  Most ams are too scared or not diligent enough to change their motor pattern.

 

So you can look at it two ways.  
 

1.  You can in fact get rid of them forever.

2.  The above 2 are why most don’t.

You're not gonna be very popular if you keep spreading this truth that you can change with hard work. 

[ProRangeRat]

lol - That's some tough love.  Good point about delivering the heel.  Could be the first place to investigate/educate for some. 

 

"When you are both the marble and the sculptor you cannot remake yourself without suffering."  

 

To leave some encouragement though, the reward is that the more efficient & repeatable your swing, you discover (or follow) how much easier it actually is on your body.

 

[phizzy30]

I've had an extended period of time where I would shank I would shank most my irons.  Lasted for about a month and nothing I would do would help remedy the situation.  I started addressing the ball off the heel and that mitigated the issue.  So technically not a fix but a bandage.  I known to shank chip shots every now and then.  Surely, none of you do this.  It's embarrassing to say the least. 

[ProRangeRat]

20 minutes ago, phizzy30 said:

...  I known to shank chip shots every now and then.  Surely, none of you do this....

 

If golf were a piano recital there would be a lot of bad notes played by even the best.

[Seattlegolfnut]

I have one that shows up on sunny days when my shadow is directly in front of me. I call it the Groundhog Day shank….

 

I get distracted when my hand shadow passes over the ball, and instead of focusing on the ball, my focus switches to returning my hand shadow back over the ball where it started. Usually results in dead right hosel shot or at best a weak short heel hit. Most annoying is that this tends to manifest after a great drive leaving a little half wedge into the green.

 

I’ve tried a number of lessons over the years to permanently get rid of this (not be distracted) and the only thing that seems to work is consciously trying to make my hand shadow pass well to the inside of the ball (between me and the ball), to the point where I think I’m actually going to miss it entirely.
 

Thankfully I live in Seattle so I can play like 40 weeks of the year shank-free under the clouds!

Edited September 19, 2021 by Seattlegolfnut

[ProRangeRat]

Here’s another experiment.

If, when, the shanks rear up try shifting your address weight more towards the heels.  If this stops the shanking it ‘could’ have been a result of early extension, or compensation etc., from having too much weight forward (on the balls of your feet).

[dap]

From a dtl video of your swing, draw a box around your hip/pelvis area. Maintain your pelvis area in the box throughout your swing until at least past impact and it’s going to be pretty hard to shank. You need to build a swing around keeping the hips in the box. The vast majority of pros do that very well.

 

May not be an easy fix as it could be a major swing rebuild.

[TheDeanAbides]

13 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

I've had an extended period of time where I would shank I would shank most my irons.  Lasted for about a month and nothing I would do would help remedy the situation.  I started addressing the ball off the heel and that mitigated the issue.  So technically not a fix but a bandage.  I known to shank chip shots every now and then.  Surely, none of you do this.  It's embarrassing to say the least. 

Those chips are usually toe shanks. No less embarrassing!

[TomRUtah]

Through the years when a shank reared its ugly head I was able to fix it within a hole or two.  Not this year!  After getting with a new golf instructor at the beginning of the season, the shank became a regular part of my game.  I even shanked an entire large bucket of range balls, trying everything imaginable to fix it.  It got so bad from April through June that I seriously considered quitting the game.  Thankfully, a new instructor, focused practice, and not overthinking my swing have largely helped.

[jut111]

On 9/18/2021 at 3:25 AM, TheDeanAbides said:

I used to shank pretty regularly on the range but almost never on the course. Weird game. 

same. I’ve hit plenty of shanks practicing. Pretty sure I’ve never hit one on the course. And I suck. 🤷‍♂️