How to Stop Shanking Irons and Wedge Golf Shots
Cure Shanking with Golf Exercise to Find Sweet Spot on Golf Irons
Shanking golf shots can mentally destroy a golfer. Rather than being able to enjoy playing golf someone who shanks will quake at the thought of an iron shot to the green. Not only is it embarrassing it adds unnecessary shots to the score. Learn to find the middle of the club face with this simple exercise to regain confidence and stop shanking.
How to Stop Shanking
Shanking shots is partly mental and partly physical. Originally it comes from poor technique but after awhile the golfer lacks so much confidence the hands are unable to release the club head, which exacerbates the problem. The first thing to do is carry out a simple exercise to regain confidence in the ability to find the middle of the club.
Most golfers who shank only practice the shots that scare them. This is the wrong thing to do. First a golfer must regain confidence before taking on the most difficult shots. The first and simplest shot to practice is a very short chip. Learn to hit this shot correctly will make hitting longer shots easier.
A shank happens when the club does not work in unison with the rest of the body. Rather than swinging through together the club gets left behind. This is often caused by a bad backswing. But irrespective of the causes, it is best to practice building up the swing correctly with very small shots to re-learn what you should be doing.
- Take a seven iron and some balls.
- Pick out a target no more than ten yards away.
- Make sure that there is no hand action at all in your very small swing. Just your body turning.
- The club should be taken back no more than three feet and through a similar distance.
- This is a pure pendulum swing, almost like a big putt.
- Practice this shot until you consistently find the middle of the club.
- There should be absolutely no hand action at all.
This exercise will purify the start of the full swing. In essence you are practising a one-piece takeaway, (See Picture) which is where most shanks originate. Too much early hand action translates into a complicated swing that causes a shank. Eliminate hand action in a small chip and it will improve the start of the backswing, which in turn will lead to a much simpler golf swing.
Build up Slowly to Stop Shanking
Most golfers want to rush through this exercise and do not spend time hitting small shots. It means that when they take on longer shots not only is their confidence still fragile but their new simpler backswing has not been grooved. For every month you have been shanking spend an hour hitting very small chips. It might be boring but it is one of the few ways to get yourself out of the problem. Be patient and practice these short chips to stop shanking your irons.
See Also: What Does Over the Top Golf Swing Mean or How to HIt Long Drives
How to Stop Shanking
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