Shanking help after very long lay off

AP77 · February 5

Hoping someone can give me a few pointers please.

About 45 years ago I played golf regularly and had a handicap of 5. Last summer I picked up my clubs again (having only played 3 or 4 times in the last 45 years) and shanked just about every iron club in the bag. Please see attached video (apologies the video is not exactly as per 'how to record your swing' but it is all I have from last summer). I do also have a video taken from the side but it is not much good.

I am thinking that maybe the club head path as I approach the ball on the downswing is too much in to out and also follows on too much of an outward path immediately after the ball strike (possibly the club face is too open as well). Looking at some other instruction videos on shanking, perhaps my hands (particularly my left hand) are a bit too high and away from my body just before impact?

I would quite like to have another game this year but am terrified that the shanks will still be there unless I can understand why I was doing this last summer! I am not expecting to play to anywhere near a 5 handicap but would at least like to enjoy it!

Additional info:
I am quite tall (6 feet 5 inches) and the clubs I am using here are probably an inch or so too short, but I have used these clubs before without much problem.
Most of the woods I hit were pulls to the left and seemed to be coming from the heel of the club.

Any advice greatly received. Thanks!

Valtiel · February 5

The pronounced rolling of the club getting you very inside and subsequently across the line at the top combined with prominent early extension is messing up your overall position related to the ball bringing the hosel in play:

At 6'5" this is a little tougher to manage, especially with clubs that as you said are likely much too short for you. Regardless, you're turning incorrectly with the lower body in a way that as you can see above brings your knees and hands much closer to the ball. Swinging like this you would have to address the ball off the end of the toe of the club to get it to arrive on the face without manipulation/compensation. This is a good primer on how the lower body is supposed to work as well as covering what you're doing wrong.

Edited February 5 by Valtiel

Pepperturbo · February 5

Shanking is hitting the ball with the heel. From what I see, you're hitting with a late toe.

Valtiel · February 5

12 minutes ago, Pepperturbo said:

Shanking is hitting the ball with the heel. From what I see, you're hitting with a late toe.

Negative, those are all hosel rockets due to an excessively inside club path, high face rotation, and early extension.

The club face direction (red arrow) shows the clubface snapping shut due to impact with the hosel. If the ball were cued off the toe we'd see the club face torquing open through impact.

AP77 · February 5

Thanks guys, really appreciate the feedback. First time I have tried using a golf forum for analysis and this is very valuable information.

I concur, I am 99% certain they are true shanks, out of the hosel and as mentioned, driver, etc, were also hit mostly towards the heel of the club.

I have looked at the video link re. clearing the hips, I will need to watch this a few times to fully understand.

Just to put things into my own words:

1) When you say "The pronounces rolling of the club getting you very inside and subsequently across the line at the top combined with prominent early extension is messing up your overall position related to the ball bringing the hosel in play"

Are you saying that on my backswing I am fanning the club face open and swinging too inside the line on the way up? I thought my top of the backswing position looked reasonably ok and on-line (ie. parallel to the target line)?

2) At the point of impact the bottom of my spine, hips, bottom (and legs to some degree) have incorrectly moved nearer to the ball (indicated by the red line you have drawn). Also (and probably as a result of this) my hands have also moved much nearer the ball. ....the video link (re. clearing the hips) should help me understand this better.

You are giving me confidence to give this another try and maybe another round of golf if I can sort this out!

Amazing with all this technology now to be able to analyse a golf swing so clearly.......nothing like that was possible 45 years ago!

Thanks again.

Valtiel · February 6

22 hours ago, AP77 said:

Thanks guys, really appreciate the feedback. First time I have tried using a golf forum for analysis and this is very valuable information.

I concur, I am 99% certain they are true shanks, out of the hosel and as mentioned, driver, etc, were also hit mostly towards the heel of the club.

I have looked at the video link re. clearing the hips, I will need to watch this a few times to fully understand.

Just to put things into my own words:

1) When you say "The pronounces rolling of the club getting you very inside and subsequently across the line at the top combined with prominent early extension is messing up your overall position related to the ball bringing the hosel in play"

Are you saying that on my backswing I am fanning the club face open and swinging too inside the line on the way up? I thought my top of the backswing position looked reasonably ok and on-line (ie. parallel to the target line)?

2) At the point of impact the bottom of my spine, hips, bottom (and legs to some degree) have incorrectly moved nearer to the ball (indicated by the red line you have drawn). Also (and probably as a result of this) my hands have also moved much nearer the ball. ....the video link (re. clearing the hips) should help me understand this better.

You are giving me confidence to give this another try and maybe another round of golf if I can sort this out!

Amazing with all this technology now to be able to analyse a golf swing so clearly.......nothing like that was possible 45 years ago!

Thanks again.

1) Correct, yes. Position at the top in a vacuum is one thing, but how you get there and what that suggests will happen next is another. When you roll the club inside in the backswing and arrive across the line at the top (your club is pointing right of your feet) that will normally produce a certain downswing pattern. Without going into too much fine detail, across the line at the top + early extension in the downswing is dangerous, because the former will generally encourage an inside path in the downswing and early extension pushes you closer to the ball. Inside path + closer = hosel territory. Getting the club on plane going up and then subsequently at the top is what to focus on here. Wrist Preset Drills are generally the first port of call for dealing with the inside takeaway stuff. You already hinge pretty well up to the top of the backswing, but keeping the club in front of you going back will help encourage the kinds of moves that rotating your lower half correctly will want to encourage in the downswing.

2) Also correct, yes.

Overall it looks pretty clear that club fit is an issue as well. Unless you're inherently comfortable with maintaining a more bent over position (which most people aren't), clubs that are too short are going to encourage problems.