I've got the shan%^

AJR4450 · May 24, 2006

I don't even want to say the word

Can someone help here? I play off of an 8 and can count on 1 hand the amount of times I have shan%$# the ball over the last few years. I have done at least a dozen times this year. The golf season is new here for me in the northeast but I AM SCARED. My club pro put a quick fix on me and it seemed to work. Apparently at address my hands were too high. In other words, I wasn't letting my hands just hang free. I had it going for a bit but did it again today. Any insight or tips would be appreciated. Thank you!

theothertwo · May 24, 2006

I am a 9 and had them for almost 3 weeks on and off, I was kidding that I would rather have migraines than the shanks. I got several suggestions. My pro told me to not bring the club back too inside or too flat on the backswing, more like the club staying in front (don't know if it makes sense) and then goes to the top of the backswing, which got my shoulders and upper body more involved in the swing rather than just getting too handsy (but maintaining your spine angle), make sure you don't sway because I think it's what causes a handsy swing. I'm still working on this and added keeping my right foot from buckling so the weight transfer is effective. So far, I've been shank free for almost 2 weeks and starting to get my confidence back..

Another guy I was playing with said that all he does when he gets the shanks is put his feet together and swing the club back and forth forcing him to make his shoulders turn and shift his weight. My son came up to me on the range last Saturday before we teed off and said he started shanking and I told him to do this feet together thing and just like that, it stopped. Made me look good.

Hope this helps but I'm sure others on this board have more pro advice.

P.S. There's an interesting article in the latest Golf Digest issue by Butch Harmon talking about his Dad and how he helped a student with the shanks.

cleatsupkeep · May 24, 2006

Good timing for this thread to come up, as this is just killing me.

I have no confidence in any iron right now, scared its just going to fly right of right into the woods, water, etc. It is really scary, which is worse than frustrating.

taylormadefan · May 25, 2006

I feel your pain guys.

I fought the shanks from September through December last year. Things got so bad I was a hair away from selling my clubs and walking away for a LONG time.

Two things helped me out.

1. Face it. My pro told me, "A shank should be understood and stopped, not feared." So face it head on. Admitting it was a good start, but don't be afraid to say it, "shank" say it again, "shank" and again, "shank." Don't be one of those guys who gets scared any time someone says the word. We all hit them, heck I saw Darren Clarke hit two in the same round. He just put his head down, found the ball and hit a great shot to the green. You can't do that if you're hands are shaking and you're cursing the golfing gods.

2. Get a lesson. There's so many damn ways and reasons why people shank the ball. Too much in to out, classic over the top, toe shanks, hosel shanks, posture, weight shift, sliding, they're all possiblilities. Get to a good pro and he'll stop them then and there. Without seeing you swing, we wouldn't know where to begin.

Sorry you guys are going through it, but things will get better!!!

Good luck!

VAN59 · May 25, 2006

I feel ya buddy. I am going through the same thing. I find it more funny than anything. It's like, are you serious,lol. I just laugh it off. The cure for the shank is easy. Go hit them untill you don't do it anymore. My shanks right now are so bad that I put this spray stuff on the club face to see what was going on and come to find out I shanked the ball off the hosel into the toe of the club. So needless to say one swing, two hits,lo. You got to be good for that right? I read an article in this months Golf digest , I believe, maybe last month, Buthc Harmond say that shanks are not so much from the face being open at impact but closed. So my small piece of advice is to go out and try hitting a lot of cut or fade shots and then com back to hitting your normal ball flight. Think about it, How many slicers have you ever heard of getting the shanks?

Another good piece of advice is to get off your toes, center your weight evenly on your feet, bend from the hips and not the waist and pay close attention to make sure you do not have a latteral slide to the right on the takaway. Hope this help, would be curious to know if it did.

Zach Heusser · May 25, 2006

Are you heel shanking or toe shaking???

Placebo · May 25, 2006

One thought swing tip to cure all your woes..........SWING HARDER!

cleatsupkeep · May 25, 2006

Well looking at my clubs after the round, there was dirt on the hosel, so I'm going to say heel shanks. The ball started out straight, then took a straight right turn, and didn't get up in the air at all.

And why will swinging harder work? Just take your mind off the thoughts? Or is there more technical information to it than that?

Placebo · May 25, 2006

And why will swinging harder work? Just take your mind off the thoughts? Or is there more technical information to it than that?

Lol no thats just what I tell my bro-in-law after he swings out of his shoes with his 500mph swing speed and slices it a mile to the right. But when it does go straight, lookout!

Sorry sometimes humor gets lost somewhere between my disfunctional brain and the keyboard ;) but I still try anyways....

alexthegrrr8 · May 26, 2006

I've had them and I'll give my input. Currently I'm playing to a 4.8 right now and it is going to drop the next time out so maybe I can offer a smidge of advice.

True, shanks are a dreaded illness in the golf community but not a contagious illness. First of all as we all know they can come from anywhere at any given time whether you're a scratch or high handicap golfer. The first thing is not to panic, they happen. It's no different than when you're sculling shots etc...the more beside yourself that you get...the worse the infliction becomes. So first don't get in a huff about them, hell I remember seeing some highlights in the past where guys like Kuehne have had them, chili dips the whole enchilada.

But, if the shanks start and continue throughout the round don't work on it that night. Go home and chill, it'll likely get worse before it gets better that night. Before you know it you're muttering to yourself ("what the f*** am I doing wrong?")and colouring the air blue as you stare at those 3 empty baskets that suddenly accumulated at your feet. So that being said, the next chance that you get head to the practice range and just focus on half swings with a wedge. Gain lost confidence and graduate to 3/4 swings and then on to full swings. Before you know it...shanks who? This has worked for me and I'm not suggesting that it'd work for you, but it's a thought to consider. The one time I caught my problem and I was just coming slightly from the outside to in. It took 4 balls.

You'll come out of your malaise, and they'll be behind you.

Hit'em Pure,

Alex

binneguru · May 26, 2006

shanks are a product of either a.) being too close to the ball or b.) an inside out swingpath.

I am attaching the same image i attach to a lot of posts. hit iron shots like this for a while and you will see the shanks re gone if it is the path. I recommend a shoebox instead of your club but everyone is different ;)

the club is closd in the pic but disregard that.

it will fix the shanks immediately

AJR4450 · May 30, 2006

Perfect - thank you!

AJR4450 · May 30, 2006

Very funny - Shank, shank, shank, shank - I did it!

cleatsupkeep · May 30, 2006

When I was shanking the ball, I had no idea what I was going.

One of my friends I was playing with noted that whenever I shanked the ball, I only followed through to my knee or my waist, not all the way up.

I focused on swinging to the finish, and it fixed it, I've been shank free for a round and a half, in different conditions

gbarquin · June 9, 2006

had a nasty case of the sh#$%^ 2 years ago, I couldnt hit a wedge, and I am a 3 handicap. I felt the whole world was going to collapse on me. the more I practiced the worst it got. Tried everything, and the cure believe it or not was an old training aid, Greg Normans Secret. Picked one up for very cheap on Ebay, 3 days at the range and havent hit a sh#$% since.

Leftygolfin · June 16, 2006

Had this happen to myself a time or two and have seen it happen to alot of golfers.

I think the most common reason for the shanks is laying to club off too flat on your back swing. When you bring the club back to impact you are throwing the hosel into the ball.

From my experiences to fix it you need to give yourself a day of NOT TOUCHING A CLUB. I know its hard but it helps. Sometimes the shanks will just get worse if you keep hitting balls. The shanks can also occur from playing to much golf and have weak wrists or forarms which will cause you to drop the weight of the club back causing the flat swing plain.

After giving yourself a day off, try setting the club in your backswing much higher (alot depends on your natural swing) then normal, almost straight vertical up and down. To me it feels as if I am trying to hit a big cut, but I have seen this cure more then one golfers shanks.

Goodluck man, you'll figure it out. Don't give up. Also, once you get em fixed, hit a few on purpose, just so you can tell what you were doing wrong and what it takes to fix it. Hope this helps.

villa · June 16, 2006

Here's my story

(I've actually done the same thing for a few friends of mine who've suffered with the shanks)

I've never really been interested in the mechanics of the golf swing, I personally get confused with the 1000's of different teaching methods and drills and I start to think about it too much. 5 years ago I was a scratch player and whilst playing with a teaching pro he suggested that I try to take the club head back differently. I got on the range and shanked it, then shanked it again and then shanked it again and again for about a f***ing month!

I very nearly gave it all in but I put on my brave face, went to a nearby club and paid a fortune for a well respected teacher to get me out of the rut. He told me to grip the club and take my stance, then he pulled a bag of pennies from his golf bag and filled all my pockets to the top with them. He then asked me to take my swing and try not to let any of the pennies fall out of my pockets. "Balance is the key" he said. Now I was 19 and a bit naive but i'd paid for this and I was pretty desperate and to be honest he looked pretty serious. First swing, pure. Second swing, pure.

"It's all in the mind, you just needed to think about something else. Now give me back my money" he said.

The point is we can all play, we know how to hit the ball. Take you're trousers off, put an umbrella down you're back, play loud music, I don't care what you do just stop thinking about it and start feeling it again!