Hosel shots get worse the further I move away from the ball.

[Xander Fan]

The only swing that has ever worked for me is: 1)side bend left 2)side bend right 3) extension.

 

Lately though I've had hosel shots creeping in, and as soon as one hits a few more are sure to follow. I've seen the videos about maintaining posture and not standing up in the shot, but what really bothers me is when I stand further from the ball and still hosel the shot. Then I'll stand even further on the next shot and still hosel that one!

 

Anybody have an opinion on what's going on and how to fix it before it drives me insane? Thanks.

[KD1]

Post a swing video.

 

For me it's trail hip moving toward the ball. Basically my right thigh invades the space my arms are supposed to swing through so my club gets pushed out/handle high. The further away the ball is the more I kick my right side out toward the ball to try to reach it... it's a vicious cycle.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cuu91mhN-L-/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv0LWjQRXhP/

Edited September 7, 2023 by KD1

[getitdaily]

The farther you stand from the ball the more your arms have to move toward the ball to be able to hit it.

 

You're exacerbating the issue by moving farther away...

[Bigarch]

Not sure moving away from the ball is a wise choice.  A guy I play with regularly and who is very tall (6'7") went through this last year and kept moving further and further away.  The only problem with that is that is he was so far away that he kept losing his balance towards his toes during the swing and that moved the clubhead path outside the ball.... hosel city.  The further he moved away, the worse it got.  He finally got out of it by moving closer and standing up more.

[Pepperturbo]

Moving further away from the ball is NOT the solution.  It's going to force you to reach and cause other moves that lead to other errors.  A few reasons cause hosel rockets.  One is not properly transferring your weight exposes the hosel, so (dirty sh**k word) happens.

 

A basic set of lessons will help a lot.

[cgasucks]

9 years ago I almost quit the game because of me shanking the ball, especially on shorter irons.  I was going to put my clubs on Craigslist until I saw Monte Scheinblum on Be Better Golf's Youtube channel.  Now, I can shoot in the 70s with 20 year old clubs thanks to his teachings.  

 

I still get the shanks every blue moon or so, but this is because I didn't release the club fully and properly.

[ChaosTheory]

One thing to check: Are you setting up with weight on your heels?  If so, change it to the middle and see what happens.

 

Sometimes your hand-eye coordination is simply off, and no matter how close or far away you stand, your brain wants to swing a little too far out.

[IcemanYVR]

3 hours ago, getitdaily said:

The farther you stand from the ball the more your arms have to move toward the ball to be able to hit it.

 

You're exacerbating the issue by moving farther away...

 

This is the correct answer... to cure the hosel heaters, you need to move closer to the ball. 

[ac6]

29 minutes ago, Snowman9000 said:

One thing to check: Are you setting up with weight on your heels?  If so, change it to the middle and see what happens.

 

 

This. I get into a habit of sitting into my heels a bit too much at address and that causes me to early extend because the only place my weight can go from there is forward. Stand closer to the ball with your weight centered and feel that your hips pull away from the ball throughout the entire swing. 

[Fuscinator]

So, move the ball closer. The further you move the ball out, the further you swing out, the later the face closes, the more likely the hosel gets to the ball first.

[TwistedSister]

Take everything out of you left pocket and put it in your right pocket!

[golf-RN]

5 hours ago, KD1 said:

Post a swing video.

 

For me it's trail hip moving toward the ball. Basically my right thigh invades the space my arms are supposed to swing through so my club gets pushed out/handle high. The further away the ball is the more I kick my right side out toward the ball to try to reach it... it's a vicious cycle.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cuu91mhN-L-/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv0LWjQRXhP/

^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^

 

and

 

4 hours ago, getitdaily said:

The farther you stand from the ball the more your arms have to move toward the ball to be able to hit it.

 

You're exacerbating the issue by moving farther away...

^^^^^This^^^^^^

 

These two together will guarantee a shank gets loaded in the chamber unless you do some serious compensations

[golf-RN]

10 minutes ago, TwistedSister said:

Take everything out of you left pocket and put it in your right pocket!

El Hosél 🤣

[LKNgolf]

There are lots of easy fixes on YouTube channels and such.  Hate to say it but it’s probably a combination of an actual technical flaw and then over thinking the solution.  
 

try something easy like just standing there and hitting half 9 irons or 7 irons with something you don’t want to hit on the ground right next to the ball.  Just go easy until you get your path figured out.  If you mess up just get the swing small enough and slow enough tempo you can do it every time and then speed back up, make it longer or whatever.

 

these other guys are probably right about thrusting the hips forward and weight being out on the toes but I find that stuff takes care of itself if I can put two balls right next to each other and hit one but not the other.  Just an idea  

 

[Xander Fan]

So many great suggestions! Many many thanks to all. I really appreciate it and am hopeful about getting back on the course.

[vman]

The club head is moving further away from you at impact. Difficult to say what's happening in your swing but you can create a gate with 2 car sponges and work towards a good path and centre face contact. Small swings first and balance is key.

Edited September 8, 2023 by vman

[GolfTurkey]

Good points made about not standing further away, and you can try a non-technical solution which is to try to deliberately hit the ball as far off the toe as you can for a while.

[TwistedSister]

You could also be shallowing your downswing.  This will create a swing thatis overly flat and leads with the hosel.

Edited September 8, 2023 by TwistedSister

[TheDeanAbides]

Get in dynamic balance and see what happens. You’re hunting for a correct (for you) stance and adding compensations. 
 

Try this and see if the problem arises.

 

[Nels55]

In most cases shanks are a result of a shot pattern that has moved too far towards the heel.  Practice hitting the ball off of the toe and heel until you can do it fairly well.  This will give you more control of your swing.  

 

A drill that I have never seen fail including back when I used to shank a lot is to setup  normally and then swing 3 times missing the ball on the inside every time.  Then simply go ahead and swing and hit the ball.  This drill seems to help with getting your eye calibrated but possibly more importantly it helps with your balance during the swing.

 

Also, it helped me a lot to understand that a shank is a shot that is maybe a half inch from being a reasonable shot and an inch from being a good one.  It is no big deal and happens once in a while to even really good players so just laugh it off and don't worry about it.  Also golfers hit a lot more shanks then they realize because a lot of shots with a heel strike pattern catch just a little hosel and go right for a right hander.  The golfer thinks that the face was left open and compensates with a big pull on the next solid shot.  

[KD1]

Put a 2x4 outside the ball

[Xander Fan]

7 hours ago, Nels55 said:

In most cases shanks are a result of a shot pattern that has moved too far towards the heel.  Practice hitting the ball off of the toe and heel until you can do it fairly well.  This will give you more control of your swing.  

 

A drill that I have never seen fail including back when I used to shank a lot is to setup  normally and then swing 3 times missing the ball on the inside every time.  Then simply go ahead and swing and hit the ball.  This drill seems to help with getting your eye calibrated but possibly more importantly it helps with your balance during the swing.

 

Also, it helped me a lot to understand that a shank is a shot that is maybe a half inch from being a reasonable shot and an inch from being a good one.  It is no big deal and happens once in a while to even really good players so just laugh it off and don't worry about it.  Also golfers hit a lot more shanks then they realize because a lot of shots with a heel strike pattern catch just a little hosel and go right for a right hander.  The golfer thinks that the face was left open and compensates with a big pull on the next solid shot.  

Thanks. Not sure I'm tracking with you on the drill, though. Maybe not three times, but isn't every practice swing missing the ball on the inside?

 

Quote

Also golfers hit a lot more shanks then they realize because a lot of shots with a heel strike pattern catch just a little hosel and go right for a right hander.

^ I've noticed this.

 

Quote

It is no big deal and happens once in a while to even really good players so just laugh it off and don't worry about it.

^ +1

[Nels55]

16 minutes ago, Xander Fan said:

Thanks. Not sure I'm tracking with you on the drill, though. Maybe not three times, but isn't every practice swing missing the ball on the inside?

Setup to the ball normally like you are going to hit it.  Then swing three times missing on the inside each time and then without moving your feet simply hit the ball.

[TheDeanAbides]

8 hours ago, Nels55 said:

Setup to the ball normally like you are going to hit it.  Then swing three times missing on the inside each time and then without moving your feet simply hit the ball.

These drills are bandaids

[Xander Fan]

17 hours ago, Nels55 said:

Setup to the ball normally like you are going to hit it.  Then swing three times missing on the inside each time and then without moving your feet simply hit the ball.

Gotcha. Thanks.

[slytown]

Hosel shots are probably not a result of standing too close. They are the result of an open face. Could be one of three things happening

 

1. an across the line backswing that creates a cupped wrist at the top

2 an OTT downswing that opens the face and requires a wipe move that introduces the hosel

3 no release, presenting the hosel near the bottom of the arc and making it difficult to square the face

[Nels55]

22 minutes ago, slytown said:

Hosel shots are probably not a result of standing too close. They are the result of an open face. Could be one of three things happening

 

1. an across the line backswing that creates a cupped wrist at the top

2 an OTT downswing that opens the face and requires a wipe move that introduces the hosel

3 no release, presenting the hosel near the bottom of the arc and making it difficult to square the face

;No.  Most shanks are hit with a closed face.

[Righty to Lefty]

So lets break it down simply. If you are taking a practice swing with the EXACT intentions that you will use for your actual swing and noting where the club is striking the ground, then putting the ball just behind where the club was striking the ground you cannot hit a shank.  You are hitting shanks because you are in the wrong location in relation to the ball and any predictions that you make as to where to place the ball in relation to you must be made with the understanding that the club will be under force when you swing it, so anything you do while the club is not under force will not be valid when you swing the club, as the club head will not return to that same location without manipulation. Thus if you address the ball out of the middle under no force, it will be pulling away from you when you swing thus you will return the hosel to the ball. You have a much better chance of returning the middle of the club face to the ball if you address the ball off the toe for shots being hit off the ground and the heel for shots being hit off of a tee.  You should basically be reverse engineering your strike from impact towards address as it trying to teach you the lesson but you are ignoring it and trying figure things out from address to impact.   If a swing robot, that has the most precise swing motion that will ever exist, was hitting the ball off the hosel, would you change its swing, or would you move the robot to a better location in relation to the ball so that it intersects the middle of the face along the swing arc?  

[Zitlow]

Don't know about you but when I've shanked the ball it was because I was trying to consciously square up the face. 

 

Whatever you put in going up you have to take out coming down so don't complicate things by having any extraneous motions. In other words, don't junk up your swing with unnecessary band aid sh*t. 

 

 

Your hands are the only medium in contact with the club and your feet are the only medium in contact with the ground. 

 

Learn how to work the club with your hands and the ground with your feet and you'll be on your way. 

 

 

 

[slytown]

2 hours ago, Nels55 said:

;No.  Most shanks are hit with a closed face.

 

You can get shanks off of the toe, yes, but most often its the hosel.