About to quit the game if I can’t stop the shanks!

[jetmech879]

Hey all. I don’t know what has happened to me over the last year but I can not get the thought of a shank out of my head. Today I actually walked off the course after 8 holes after loosing about a doz balls. I’ve been playing golf for 30 years and over the past 12 months or so I haven’t been able to shake the thought. Over the past few weeks it has gotten 10 times worse than ever. I’m shanking everything from a full iron shot to a pitch shot. Even hitting my driver closer to the heel than I have ever before. Any advice would be greatly appreciate!

[goaliedad30]

I had this earlier this year. If fixed it with a pretty simple drill at the practice range.

 

Choose a shorter iron .... 8 or 9 iron, perhaps. Put down the ball you're going to hit. Now, take a second ball and place it about 2 inches outside of the first ball. Set up with the "hit" ball just slightly toward the toe of the club. Now make a short, simple swing and hit the inside ball, without moving the second ball. Then do it again. And again. And again. Ingrain the solid contact, and flush the hosel rockets from memory.

 

If my ball striking is going a little south, or I hit a shank in a round, I head to the range and do this drill. Many days I use it pre-round for warmup, just because for me it promotes solid contact.

 

Butch Harmon has a variant of this drill the uses a headcover instead of the second ball. That works better for me with a driver.

 

Here's a video with the drill: 

 

[Buzzkill]

Wish I had advice, most/all shank drills don’t work for me.  They just have to run their course with me which is typically a week.  Hope you find your fix though!  Some will say with a blanket statement it’s simple shaking off the shanks but that’s not true for some folks!

[jetmech879]

Appreciate the help! I have tried drills and seem to hit the ball great when I’m doing the drills. But then out on the course my stupid head gets the best of me. 

[straightshot7]

Top video isn't working on my end. I'm guessing it's a down the line view?

Don't quit. If anything, take a break. Go back to basics. Get some lessons from a good pro. 

 

Start fresh. Practice chipping until you can hit the center of the face every time. Advance to 20 yard pitches until you can hit the center of the face every time and hit it straight. Advance to 40 yard shots, etc. Do the 9 to 3 drill until you hit it pure every time.

 

It looks like you release the club head too early. Practice the half swing with your turn/body powering the swing and hold the angle/grip forward/club head trailing through impact. Again, learn to pivot/turn and just let your hands/arms be passive. Weight shift and turn should power the swing. Hands/arms hold onto the club and fall into place.

 

Make a motion to the target, the ball just gets in the way. 

Edited September 7, 2020 by straightshot7

[jetmech879]

10 hours ago, straightshot7 said:

Top video isn't working on my end. I'm guessing it's a down the line view?

Don't quit. If anything, take a break. Go back to basics. Get some lessons from a good pro. 

 

Start fresh. Practice chipping until you can hit the center of the face every time. Advance to 20 yard pitches until you can hit the center of the face every time and hit it straight. Advance to 40 yard shots, etc. Do the 9 to 3 drill until you hit it pure every time.

 

It looks like you release the club head too early. Practice the half swing with your turn/body powering the swing and hold the angle/grip forward/club head trailing through impact. Again, learn to pivot/turn and just let your hands/arms be passive. Weight shift and turn should power the swing. Hands/arms hold onto the club and fall into place.

 

Make a motion to the target, the ball just gets in the way. 

For some reason that video would not load. It is down the line. That is funny I do have a early release. I’ve always had a late release in the past. I wonder if it’s just a culprit of me being defensive of the shank? I will work on that today. Last night I hit about 10 balls in my yard. I lined up every one of them off the hosel and forced myself to get more inside. I flushed every one of them. This game is so crazy and it’s totally all in my head. Who would think to stop the shanks, set up on the hosel???

[Superbrit]

Well I've had the shanks bad twice in my golfing life, once years and years ago (that just disappeared) and again recently

 

I got my wife to video me and i seen that my right heel would lift dramatically towards the ball which then caused my right hip to go forward as well, club had no where to go but outwards, this also caused me to lose a bit of balance

 

The cure (and has worked for a while now) is keeping my back to the target for as long as poss, this seemed to keep my right foot down longer and my my right hip stays back

 

And when i say my back to the target for as long as poss i mean for as long as poss, it feels like i'm hitting the ball facing the wrong way

 

And i can actually hit small draws now, that's never happened, i've been a fader all my life

 

 

 

 

[Scottbox]

Down The Line shot would be much more helpful.

[Justsomeguy]

On 9/6/2020 at 3:33 PM, jetmech879 said:

Hey all. I don’t know what has happened to me over the last year but I can not get the thought of a shank out of my head. Today I actually walked off the course after 8 holes after loosing about a doz balls. I’ve been playing golf for 30 years and over the past 12 months or so I haven’t been able to shake the thought. Over the past few weeks it has gotten 10 times worse than ever. I’m shanking everything from a full iron shot to a pitch shot. Even hitting my driver closer to the heel than I have ever before. Any advice would be greatly appreciate!

IMG_0890.MOVIMG_0890.MOV

When I've had the shanks over the years it is invariably a case of losing balance and rocking from my heels to my toes and getting the hosel way too close to the ball.

[scruffynick]

I'm reviving a thread because it's therapy 🤣🤣 just couldn't stop shanking, its soul destroying and 99% of it is in your head...I mean it's awful and the feeling in the pit of your stomach.....believe me I tried everything. Then I watched a rick shiels vlog, he tried all hybrids and shanked the ball but it was impossible as there's no hosel....so I got some cheap ones half set in September. I've never looked back, it's a bag of shame but I'm playing again and I've really enjoyed the winter now spring. I've had fun 😁 so it's extreme but there's hope for fellow shankers