Urgent - Wedge Shanks - About to go on golf trip 😅

[mc2]

Hi experts,

I've been developing a shank over the last few months, mostly on wedges but occasionally on full swing irons.

I was doing some wedge practice today, and as you can see from the video, even on a little 50 metre wedge shot, I've got a bad case of the shanks.

 

I'm going away on a 3 day golf trip tomorrow so I'd love an urgent band aid fix, and also the long term fix so I can work on it when I get home.

 

The confusing thing is, I saw a coach about this about 6 weeks ago, and he said I was too in-to-out and essentially pushing the hosel towards the ball, and the fix was to think of wedge shots as a cut/fade/out-to-in, so here I am hitting a 6 degree left path wedge shot but still shanking it.

 

Any help appreciated 🙏

 

(Apologies for the low quality angle/video, I had to stick my phone on the ground in the last couple of minutes of my session today to get this).

[mc2]

Just checked my 4 black Cleveland wedges and every one of them has nice fresh white ball marks all over the hosels 😭 Not very confidence building the day before a golf trip.

 

For reference I'm a 9 handicap, pretty solid most of the time. A couple of shanks in a round when I'm playing well can be the difference between say 7-9 over par and 12-14 over par. 

[GoGoErky]

The shanks have just be lying in waiting.

 

you move the body and the club out towards the ball in the downswing which brings hosel closer to the ball.

 

It looks like you have a lot of your weight/pressure on your trail side. It should be more on your lead side during these types of shots.

 

im guessing in your full swing similar things are happening. It was only a matter of time before the shanks came.

 

 

[MK7Golf21]

Ah the ol golf pro saying your shank is from being too “in to out”. Your clubhead is out past the ball before contact, that’s causing the shank atleast in these videos. I’d probably say with 98% accuracy that you were doing the same thing when he told you it was from being too in to out. 
 

With a golf trip in a couple days. Just take your normal swing and try to hit them on the toe portion of the club. Can even put something outside the ball like a headcover to help you hit toe portion at contact. Stop trying to hit them with out to in path, making it worse because that was probably the original issue with path. 

Edited October 9, 2024 by MK7Golf21

[RSinSG]

When I had a case of the shanks I did a couple of the drills Monte Scheinblum has on YouTube. They were simple and helped me realize what I was doing to cause them. Good luck. There’s probably nothing worse than the noise in your head when you’re fighting hosel rockets. 

[CTG77]

I find that switching from an interlocking to 2-handed (baseball style) grip can help on occasion to help you get the trail hand out of the action too.  It's helped me be a better chipper / pitcher of the ball on tight lies in combination with properly balanced weight slightly favoring the lead foot.

[dubbelbogey]

1 hour ago, MK7Golf21 said:

 

With a golf trip in a couple days. Just take your normal swing and try to hit them on the toe portion of the club. Can even put something outside the ball like a headcover to help you hit toe portion at contact. 

 

I agree with this - start simple. A good way to get immediate feedback is to use some way to see strike location on the clubface. A lot of people use foot spray powder, I prefer a dry erase marker - but anything that shows where the ball hits the clubface will work fine.

 

I know this can sound like a suggestion from Capt. Obvious, but sometimes it's better to get feedback that says "do this"  (hit more towards the toe) rather than "don't do that" (hit the hosel.) In any case, it's simple, quick, and certainly can't hurt.

[MonteScheinblum]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIn5NjOlK_p/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

[Hammer_Hands]

Stand further away from the ball.  Your setup is all bottled up from standing too close to the ball.  Once your swing begins, your arms return to their natural position, which delivers the hosel to the ball instead of the face.

[Nickb333]

OP, have you tried moving the ball forward in your setup? Maybe square your stance a bit and lean on your left foot? 

[ChrisSP]

Putt all your change in your left pocket. Now put a tee behind your right ear ...

[DLiver]

4 hours ago, MK7Golf21 said:

With a golf trip in a couple days. Just take your normal swing and try to hit them on the toe portion of the club. Can even put something outside the ball like a headcover to help you hit toe portion at contact.

This is one of the best ways to fix the shanks IMO: practice hitting the ball as far out on the toe as possible. And I mean waaaaay out on the toe--like on the shiny part past the scoring lines. Forget about other mechanics and just teach yourself this skill.

[rsballer10]

equipment band aid - bigger grips

set up band aid - weight on toes at address

swing band aid - release the club low and left

 

[hawkeye13]

Quick band aid that has helped me is to curl your toes up at setup and keep them that way throughout the swing. It will keep you from creeping out toward the ball. Classic tip heard from Sam Snead in a video 

 

For a more permanent fix Monte's drills of either a) setting an object just outside the ball at the range to miss. For me it's even better if you have a long object like a club box that can neutralize swing path also, or b) set up 2 balls, address the outside ball then hit the inside ball, always seem to help. 

[ShowMe]

On 10/9/2024 at 12:59 PM, DLiver said:

This is one of the best ways to fix the shanks IMO: practice hitting the ball as far out on the toe as possible. And I mean waaaaay out on the toe--like on the shiny part past the scoring lines. Forget about other mechanics and just teach yourself this skill.

That shiny part past the scoring lines is my swing’s sweet spot, apparently.