The "shanks"?

Question

I'm a 12 handicapper, gone up from 9, took a year off in desperation, i'm rejoining my club this year. I've been having lessons with a couple of pro's, they both say my shanking is being caused by my over the top movement/casting when i start my downswing, but nobody has managed to cure me of this horrendous fault, does anyone have drills or ideas how i can rid myself of this problem, i love to practice and will try anything... please help!

Answer 1

Many golfers don't realize that a shank is very close to a solid golf shot. If you are shanking your shots, your impact point is the hozel of the club instead of the club face (only about a 1/2 inch difference).

A simple solution to this problem is to make your own 'Shanker's Delight'. The Shanker's Delight is a barrier placed off the toe of the club that physically prevents contact with the hozel. This barrier can be a cardboard box, a pillow, or some other soft material that can stand vertically. Make sure your Shanker's Delight is wide enough and tall enough to ensure that your errant swings only contact the vertical face and not the corners or top.

Set-up: Position the barrier so that it is about a 1/2 inch off the toe of the club at address.

Drill: Start with small swings and increase your swing length as you gain confidence in making solid contact. Internalize the feel of these swings. Now remove the Shanker's Delight and hit balls freely, keeping the mental image of a barrier on the toe side.

NOTE: recommend using the P3 practice ball for this exercise in your backyard. This allows you to practice this exercise with the proper feedback as often as you need to.

Answer 2

One possible cause for casting is perhaps your over anxiousness to start your downswing and hit the ball as hard as you can. At the top of your backswing, try to think of a simultaneous downswing starting by moving your arms and beginning your body rotation all as one movement. Try to hold your wrists (very important) and keep them relatively firm until the natural momentum at the bottom of the swing (at impact) starts the wrists to break. I know this is asking a lot if you are trying to break a bad habit, but it's worth a try. Good luck!

Answer 3

Some really good advice already. I cured mine with a combination of the barrier method and care with my stance. Place around 60% of your weight on your right foot (rt. handers) and keep it there throughout the swing. Make a solid foundation with your legs and feet; rotate your upper body as you swing but keep that solid leg base and in particular concentrate on the right leg: do not let it collapse. Keep it fairly still and as bent as when you began the swing. Also practise a "one piece takeaway" (not a meal!) i.e. club, arms and wrists all in line (stiff if you like), allowing the wristbreak to be determined by the length of swing. The barrier set up will shape your swingpath so hopefully everything together will gradually eliminate the shanks. Good luck.

Answer 4

I took lessons from harvey Pennick and he dealt with it by putting you out in a feild with a sickle and having you cut the grass until it was a even swath that was 1/4 inch high. Then he would give you one club abd tell you to clip broken tees stuck in the ground. Once you were consistantly doing these things then he would let you hit a ball. To this day when i warm up I find olb broken tees and use them to warm up. the idea is that if you can focus on something that small the ball will seem huge!

Answer 5

Quick fix is to set up the ball on the toe of the club. Try swinging in SLOW motion and I mean ALL the way through in slow motion . This not only helps with your balance but you can actually see the club path and notice where the club head is facing at impact. Hogan used to do this.

Answer 6

Take a 2X4 board and place it parallel to your target line. Take the ball and set it like 1 inche from the board (on the inside of the board). Swing and try not to hit the board, trust me, my coach gave me this drill and after hitting the board twice, i stopped shanking for ever. Your probably going to toe it really bad which takes care of it's self eventually.

Answer 7

standing too close to the ball causes shanks. you hit the hossel of the club instead of the club face.

Answer 8

Or you could just be forgetting to **** your wrists and your knees are turning too fast.

It happend to me after 2 years of hiatus. Now it's coming back to normal. Good luck.

Answer 9

Standing too close?

Answer 10

quit thinking before you swing.