I have been getting the odd one or two shnks on the odd round and you know how destructive that can be. Fantastic drive SI 2 about 240 yds, 145yds to go 9 iron out. OH DEAR a flippin shk. end up with a 7 = nil point.

I have just sussed that I because I play with a slight draw with my short irons, my clubs will be coming from in to out at impact thus creating the chance of a shnk. If I start to play for a fade , would I be right in thinking I would lessen if not eliminate the chance of said shk, as my hossel would be going away from the ball not towards it.

Does this make sense or is it utter crap or something in-between?

Do faders of the ball get the sh**ks?

Dave CAC handed Geordie.

Dave

my opinion

1 faders of the ball can still get shanks

2 dont try to correct a fault with another fault (If I start to play for a fade)

Just get on the practice ground and practice, practice, practice

also try getting a lesson with your local pro

i very rarely encountered shanking until about 5-6 weeks ago and i hit a couple during 1 round.  since then i've hit 3 or 4 more but i'd played a lot of rounds during that time.  i used a 9iron on all of them and pw on only 1 occasion.  my playing partner told me he'd never seen me shank it before in the last 4 years.  he told me i was probably too close but seeing as i've been tinkering with my stance, swing and ball positions and fighting to get fit i always go back to basics and forget about the shank as it is less regular in my game than hitting it left/right of target, and so long as i only see them on rare occasions i can cope. 

my playing partner also noticed i sometimes have a light grip on my club and the club may have just turned in my hand.

so a combination of being to close, ball not on a flat surface, to much lean over the ball, glove not tight enough, swing to slow/fast, just get your swing out of sync and you have a recipe for a number of errors, shank is only one possibility.

get a good reliable repeatable pre-shot routine and assess the ball position in relation to lie of the land and your feet and selection of right swing selection to suit proposed shot selection.

best advice is go back to basics and start again and eliminate any un-noticed changes that have crept into your game.

my playing partner has noticed i on very rare occasions push my hands out at the top of my swing so i don't have a 100% reliable repeatable swing, and when i do throw this into my swing it is usually to hit it harder than usual and it is very often the cause of a poor shot outcome.  and nearly everytime i move my head and never see the club head strike the ball.  a bit too much adrenalineand lack of concentrationon the shot is my excuse

good luck

Hi David,

Back to basics is correct, as you draw the ball normally chances are the ball has crept too far back in the stance leaving your hands too much work to do to square the face up. Check that first and if the problem still occurs place a box outside the toe of the club with about an inch of room. Just try and avoid the box when swinging.

Steve Cowle Golf

Hi there.

I recently had a problem shanking, turned out I was taking the club away too far inside & round my body, causing the club to be sort of thrown away from me on the downswing & some back pain...

Had a couple of sessions on one of those explanar things to try and get the correct feeling for an on plane swing. Seems to be working now as the shank has thankfully become a rare occurance again.

Not sure how it started, it must have been a gradual process that I was unaware of until it got to this stage.

One possibility may be that your weight is too much on your heels rather than the balls of your feet at address.  If you're back on your heels then centrifugal force from the swing can send the hossle into the ball at impact and shank the ball.   This happens to me with my wedges sometimes but I've found that getting my weight forward sorts the problem (usually!).

There are other reasons for shanking but this may help.  Good luck!

You have that the wrong way round, Charles.

i fade the ball and  still get the odd  shank i dont think it matters most amatuer golfers get shanks its all part of this great game

John - I've probably got half a dozen other faults that contribute but keeping my weight on the balls of my feet definately makes a material difference for me.  

Article that supports here:

http://www.keepmygolfscore.com/blog/correcting-shank-golf-shots.html

Probabl
y the answer is that whereever your weight is at set up (in relation to heel / toe) then it needs to stay there during the swing.  If it goes forward then a shank is likely.

I still say you are wrong, Charles.

Just read your link, Charles and if that is your source of information then you have been badly informed. None of that article has any real bearing on the reasons for shanking and its possible cures.

John - I don't claim to be any sort of guru at this game and was just highlighting something for David that has helped me.  I was glad to find an article that seems to support my experience but I'm not claiming to be right or wrong.  I can still produce the occasional shank so this isn't necessarily the only cause of my own troubles but it definitely significantly exacerbates it (for me).    

Charles, I doubt you got that kind of information from your own Jeff Jukes at Wimbledon.

I suggest you ask him and he knows me very well. The first option to cure a shank is always to get further away from the ball and this is usually achieved by placing ones weight towards the heels.

John - you're correct!  I haven't yet had a lesson with Jeff but have been told he's very good on the short game (which is the weakest part of my game) and so I'll probably be booking myself in soon...  tell you what, I'll do so immediately after the next time I shank it!   Question is whether I'll be booked in before the end of June!  

Off the shanking topic but I have been concentrating in recent months on keeping my weight on the balls of my feet for all iron and wood shots and that (with a couple of other adjustments) has helped with my ball striking/ accuracy.   Hopefully you won't be so surprised to hear that? 

Charles, you are a pretty good player already, as your handicap suggests, but I must say that all the years I have played this game, I have never ever considered whether or not I should put weight either on the balls or the heels of my feet. I just stand on both feet.

Jeff is an excellent teacher who knows exactly what he is talking about and you will find a lesson from him will stand you in good stead.

I have suffered with the shanks on short pitches and found that there was no reliable cure for me, so I was forced to forego all the little flair shots that I was once capable of and purchased a club that is shankproof for all these short pitches.

Suffered myself but now I use these clubs from golfshanks.co.uk and since then never had one, saved a fortune in golf lessons.