Help! I have the shanks!

In recent months, I would say the last three, I had been hitting my irons very well. Maybe not as straight as I would like but solid contact, increased distance. I learned to hit down on the ball and with good results. However, in my last golf outing, my iron play went totally south. 90% of my shots were either shanks, the ball would take off immediately to the right upon impact, or I would hit the ball very fat. No amount of adjustment helped. In chipping the ball, usually one of my strong points, I had more "chilli dips" last week than I have in a year of golf. The difference between the week before and this one, a complete 180. I've since been to the driving range to work it out but the problem is still there. I feel like when I hit a good shot now it is an accident. Oddly enough this has coincided with hitting the ball much better off of the tee or with my woods in general which have been a sore spot for several months. I corrected that problem by greatly slowing down my swing. Any thoughts about what caused the problem with the irons?

If you are chilly dipping your chips, that is due to your hands being behind the ball at impact. This might be a clue to your full swing. Look at your ball position again. Be in the middle for the short irons, and a little more forward (1 or 2 balls) for the mids, and 2-3 balls forward for the longs.

Balls that just start right and go right is due to your hands not getting the club face square on the ball. Many reasons for this: Bad Grip, hips/shoulders not getting around, hands not fully releasing/late release.

If your drives improved and now all of a sudden the irons go south, that is usually due to you swing the iron like the wood (low-long takeaway with an upswing). You will want to increase the steepness of the angle of decent on the ball for the irons by taking the club back higher and having a fuller wrist cock. This promotes the hands to be used more before impact and created the steeper angle.

Thanks. One thing that I am pretty sure has been constant is that my hands are coming through before the club. It is the first thing I thought about and the first correction I made but the problem continued to get worse. The club head is obviously not square at impact but I just cannot figure out why. As I mentioned before, chilly dipping has never been a problem for me for a long time. I'll try the swing angle approach and see what happens. Any other thoughts?

Shanks can be caused by several things an overly weak grip. Make sure that V's are formed with your thumb and index finger, see if they point between your chin and right shoulder. Your grip could be weak the V's are pointed to the left.

Balance going toward toes.


Taking the club too far outside
Poor alignment

Align parallel left. Think of railroad tracks. Your body is on the left track and the club is on the right track


Grip too strong approaching the ball excessively from the inside the hosel meets the ball and not the face. Go to a neutral grip.

Make sure the V's are pointing between your chin and right shoulder

Shanks can be cured by fundamental awareness. the first thing you should do is check your grip. This is the only part of your body that has contact with the club. Make sure it is correct

__________________
Jordy Scerbo
Golf Instructor

Jam,

Check you posture also. Slumping shoulders can cause all kinds of problems.

You may want to try to work from a shanked finish position back through to impact position and see where the problem is coming from.

Have a pro look at your swing. Another set of eyes can spot something faster than you can fix it.

Just a few more suggestions, hope you get it back on track!

Are you from Louisiana by any chance?

GolfBald