Shank with Wedge and 9 iron.

I went out at the weekend and played a good round. 36 stableford points off 18 handicap. I drove very well using 5 wood and 3 wood (not good enough for the driver yet). I hit my 5,6,7 and 8 irons with no problems but the few times I needed to hit my 9 iron and pitching wedge when I made contact with the ball it flew off to the right about 2 inches off the ground. My woods off the fairways were perfect in fact they kept me in the game. Now I have a fear of having to use my wedge and 9 iron and will try and think of a way of not having to use them.
This lack of confidence got into my game and when standing over the ball with any iron all these shank thoughts came into my brain.
I feel my back swing is OK it is my down swing is leading me to do this friggin shank..... What can I do to get rid of tis cursed thing. It is driving me mad.

All help is welcome.

Excellent site with some fantastic contributions.

if you cant hit with your scoring irons then you are in trouble. Out of every iron you need the most precision with these. Try swinging a bit more inside and it should vanish in a few swings.

shanking happens from a few different things, if your hands are to close to your body at setup when you swing the club down and your hands are in the proper positions the hosle will hit the ball. If your weight is to far on your heels when you do your downswing your weight will cause you to lean foward which cause the shank. It also could be from over rotating the club on your takeaway, which opens the clubface to much and when swing down you can't close the clubface all the way and are coming to far from the inside.

I'll second Mr. Change.

Hands too close to the body means you'll automatically reach out further on your downswing.

Something to try the next time you're in some long grass with a club:

Set up with your hands about 2" away from your body. Note where your clubhead is. Swing. See how your club would have hit on the heel?

Now set up with your hands as far away from your body as you can comfortably get them. Rinse and repeat. See how your club would have hit on the toe?

Grip your club and set up. Make a 'thumbs up' with your bottom hand (right hand for RH golfers). Place this hand between the butt of your club and your body. Your hand should barely be touching your club and body (give or take an inch). This is a good indicator of your spacing (since it's hard to see if your hands are hanging under your chin or not).

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Thanks a million guys for the pointers will try over the next couple of days if I get to the range. Why does it happen only with the 9 iron and wedge?

You may want to check the length of your 9i and wedge. If they don't keep in progression of length as the rest of your clubs, you could run into these types of problems.

Lads,
Went to the range this morning and got very frustrated. Shanked the 9 iron and wedge to my hearts content. Two things I think I noticed If my hands come down ahead of the club ie moving faster will this cause it also I found that I was taking divots witht the heel of the club. I think it is all in my down swing. I did the thumbs trick and my club distance was to close to my body. I feel like giving up this game.......

It sounds like your hands are getting ahead of your body and your to far away from the ball. Since the heal of the club is taking the divot it means that your stretched out enough the toe is lifting off the ground.

You said you felt like when you brought the club in closer that it was to close. My guess is if your hands are ahead of your turn that you need more room to make the swing as your torso isn't allowing your club to come from the inside.

You may be only shanking with the really short irons as the swing is shorter with these clubs and you stand closer to the ball.

Shanks are a nasty business that need to be worked through. Try to get some advice from a lower handicap player that can watch you or a professional.

If your at the ranch with a higher handicap friend. Hit about 10 shanks with him watching then let him hit. Shanks are contagious for the high handicappers and watching someone else do it will make you feel better.

good luck.

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swing inside or move your hands away from your body before you swing. Shank be gone

Spud,

As above your hands may be a little close......However from your threads it appears to me that you are coming to much from the inside with a flat swing.

When you take the club back make sure it is out in front of you and not travelling around the body, also take the club up a little steeper...check the top of your backswing in a mirror or window reflection, at the top your arm should split your neck leaving a gap between both your head and shoulder.

by making a steeper attack with the short irons you should also start to take a divot and get rid of the S****Ks.

If you swing around your body with a flat plane you tend to hit the ground with the heel first especially in the rough.



Hope this helps


Ian.

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That is one of the things I said it could be Ian, with your short irons it is much more steeper attack on the ball, where the longer irons are flatter. This would be why you are only doing it with your shorter irons.

Ian,

I think on my back swing I am going around my body rather than making an arc when you say take the club away and make sure it is infront of you how do you do it and still get weight on your back foot. If I stand with my feet together I can hit the ball fine all day long and no shank.
What do you me by "by making a steeper attack with the short irons you should also start to take a divot and get rid of the S****Ks."

I really appreciate the help you guys are giving me here and I am really trying to work hard on my swing.

Thanks Spud,

I have answered your e-mail in the private messaging, here is a swing plane picture to help.


Hope this helps


Ian.

Hi, I think I can help you. I had this problem recently. I was only shanking with my SW and LW and hitting all my other clubs fine.

The fix is to take your normal stance and everything else but make it feel as if you are sitting down a little more with your back end sticking out.
This helps your hips get out of the way and allows your hands to get through the ball instead of fighting your hips.

Good Luck

I had problems shanking my lob wedge, my case was I had my hands to close to my body, I would swing really good but shank even with half shots.