The down side of dedication

[JeffreySpicoli]

> @oikos1 said:

> > @matthewb said:

> > > @"rich s" said:

> > > > @matthewb said:

> > > > Have you tried CBD prior to/during a round?

> > >

> > > ^^^^THIS^^^^^

> > > I buy it in bulk. I rub it all over any exposed skin and then put 3 tbs in my cereal before my round. I then rub some on each of my club faces. During the round I put some on my finger and then dot my nose. CBD oil is a game changer, 50 years from now that's all that will be found at grocery stores.

> > >

> > > If that does not work, take the club way outside for one backswing and keep your weight off your toes. But try the CBD first

> >

> > Exactly. If CBD cures everything I’m told it cures, then eliminating the shanks will be easy peasy.

>

> I'm sure your life experiences have you on top of this. I would encourage you to consider other's experiences.

 

So you did or did not find that CBD cured your shanks?

[Mcjanzton]

Like my old coach told me - “just hit the damn ball” - I too had shanks and figured I was doing everything right and it was my head...

 

...turns out, when I am a little tired I get sloppy with my stance and my back isn’t straight anymore. I slouch. Swing plane gets flat, shanks appear.

 

I’d wager you’re doing something different . Just find your set up again, don’t overthink - and just hit the damn ball :smile:

 

 

Oh, and of course you need new irons. For sure. And a fancy tour bag just in case. :)

 

 

 

[MelloYello]

> @MountainGoat said:

> I don't know why golf chooses to punish me for practicing too much and trying too hard.

 

Golf is not a normal sport where shear effort can win the day. Golf is more like life in general. It's governed by efficiency, randomness, good luck, bad luck, etc. What you do in a swing that takes 1 second might dictate whether you make birdie or triple bogey.

 

> @MountainGoat said:

> After playing successfully several days in a row, I get half-way into a round and for no apparent reason, I suddenly start hitting shanks. I'm powerless to stop it. I do exactly the same thing I did hundreds of times before, and without warning the ball goes squirting off to the right. It's frustrating, and it's frankly embarrassing.

 

The shank is definitely the most frustrating mistake in golf. I think so anyway. It's a miss that you simply can't play. And it destroys your confidence. That said, shanks can be fixed just as quickly as anything.

 

Most folks start to shank because during the swing their weight moves onto their toes, they move slightly inwards and CLUNK! Other folks just start pulling the handle downward towards the ball through the transition (letting their left hand dominate) and come through with the face wide open and the hosel leading. I've done both.

 

But the good news is that shanks aren't really that hard to fix if you can figure out a move that'll get you back to normal. For me, the answer is almost always putting more right hand into the release. I fix the shank by "flipping" at the bottom, almost feeling like I'm trying to flick the ball as high as I can. While that might normally be bad to over-use the hands, shanks are a sign that you're under-using the hands.

 

> @MountainGoat said:

> I feel my blood start to boil. There's nothing I can do but calmly apologize to my playing partners and walk back to the clubhouse.

 

Yeah, that's rage mixed with self-pity with a whole lot of give-up thrown in.

 

I've been there. We all have. Golf is really good and testing us with that. But as I said, golf doesn't reward "want to." It rewards people who actually figure out their problems and learn to implement real solutions.

 

> @MountainGoat said:

> If I visit a PGA Professional, I get told I think too much or that I'm too smart for my own good or some other personality shortcoming.

 

Okay, first things first. I've never heard a smart person tell me that they're "too smart," LOL. If you're smart you should be able to work through a laundry list of possible cures. Lord knows I've stood on the range making mistakes but I've done that (and still do) because I want to experience those mistakes on the range rather than on the course. The other day I shanked 3 balls on the range one morning before a round. I thought _"OMG, what am I in for today!?"_

 

I laughed it off because I knew I was okay. I quickly implemented my little "flippy hands" fix which had me releasing a little bit more with the right hand. Long story short, I didn't shank once during that round nor was I scared. I pretty much forgot about it once I "fixed" it on the range.

 

> @MountainGoat said:

> I never had this problem in previous years. It seems to be the gift of increasing age. The only thing that works is to stuff my clubs in the garage and take a few days off. Then, like magic, everything returns to normal.

 

It's a swing fault, not a personality flaw. Don't get down on yourself. You can totally find a solution. But don't become a pity party either. If you're giving up you're not going to find any good results in that.

 

> @MountainGoat said:

> OP here. I didn't mean for this to turn into a tutorial on the shanks. I merely meant to express my continual wonderment that in my life, like love-making, golf doesn't benefit from increased dedication, study and practice. Although we're all inspired by tales of Hogan practicing from sun up to sun down, my experience is that such a level of practice not only doesn't help, it frequently hurts. In my case, it leads to a kind of golf impotence.

 

Well, Hogan knew what he was doing evidently. I won't critique anyone who is good enough to be known for being able to swing a golf club. That's an accomplishment. But for most ams who spend their range time randomly beating balls, things can quickly go awry.

 

I'm a big advocate of "play with the game you have." That simply means that when you don't know what (or how) to practice, just go work on golf stuff: short putts, long putts, chipping, pitching, bunkers, wedges, alignment, and maybe a few reps with the irons, fairways and driver for good measure.

 

My "practice" is mostly about knocking off the rust. I'm not interested in re-inventing or perfecting my 8-iron. I see a lot of people stressing way to much on the range. As a decent player myself, I take pride in my range sessions being either purpose-driven (when there's something to work on) or very laid back (when things are normal).

 

> @MountainGoat said:

> I almost always play better if I don't play as often. For me the key word is "balance". There seems to be an ideal balance of practice and rest that's needed.

 

Playing golf when you're body is tired is really hard. That's definitely true. The other day I wanted to go practice in prep for an upcoming round but instead I just stayed home. Why? It wasn't laziness. It was just that a practice session where you are tired and worn out is more likely to hurt than help.

 

That said, it's also possible that you simply kind of suck at practicing if you honestly feel that you get worse. If it's just rest you need, that's fine. But if you feel like too much practice is hurting you I would question what kind of practicing you're doing.

 

> @MountainGoat said:

> I used to get horribly frustrated by this problem. I'd spend hours on the range trying to figure it out. Now, I just rest and let it pass.

 

Me too. I started as a hot-head and have definitely learned to care in a "different way," lol. Golf has made me much more practical. When I spot a problem I try to come up with a fix. As others have said, golf is about being able to have the tools so that you can make those adjustments mid-round. If you're waiting to develop the kind of game that goes 18 holes without a mistake, well, that isn't golf.

 

 

[milesgiles]

I won’t quote the above post, but I agree..

 

The cause may vary but I reckon it’s almost impossible to s@#£& if you release the club. You are coming into impact with the face looking at right field, you want to think instead of getting that toe turning over ie hook the life out of it.

I know you don’t want to hook it round the course but it’s just a feeling you need through impact. Should be very simple to feel in the net or fix mid round..

[SNIPERBBB]

> @MelloYello said:

>

> Okay, first things first. I've never heard a smart person tell me that they're "too smart," LOL. If you're smart you should be able to work through a laundry list of possible cures. Lord knows I've stood on the range making mistakes but I've done that (and still do) because I want to experience those mistakes on the range rather than on the course. The other day I shanked 3 balls on the range one morning before a round. I thought _"OMG, what am I in for today!?"_

 

>

 

Rarely is it too smart for your own good. Most people know just enough to be a danger to themselves.

[games]

> @SNIPERBBB said:

> Rarely is it too smart for your own good. Most people know just enough to be a danger to themselves.

 

A little modification and this becomes one of those "universal truths" not only applicable to golf, but to life, in general...