Article #45
Teacher: Bobby Steiner
To meet this week's teacher, or to purchase a copy of MUNIE ~ The Jitterbug Collection, go to www.bobbysteiner.com
Dear Jitterbug:
I can't stop shanking the ball. The ball keeps going low and straight right. It happens with my driver, my irons, and sometimes, chip shots. Nothing I've tried has remedied the situation. I simply can't stop hitting the ball on the toe of the club. Please help.
White Gutner
Jitterbug Gang Fan
Jitterbug:
Somebody much smarter than me once said, "A problem properly diagnosed is already partially solved."
With that in mind, let's first diagnose your problem. You're hitting the ball on the hosel of the club, that is the extreme inside of the heel, not out on the toe. Knowing where you're striking the ball to create such a shot will prevent you from taking corrective action precisely opposite of that which is needed. Mind you, if the ball flies high and right, you probably did hit it on the toe. But, if it goes low, you hit the ball on the loft-less hosel of the club.
You might already be fixed.
Mr. Vaughn:
Basically speaking there are two reasons a full-blown case of the shanks might pop up.
First, and most likely, you're standing too close to the ball. Heavy people, people with extra muscular upper bodies, and people who practice chip shots a great deal (a shot that requires you stand close to the shot) are all likely to settle up too close to the ball. If you think this is you, simply get farther away. Eventually, you'll get so far away that you simply can't shank the ball no more. Once you've reached that point, work your way back in to a more workable distance from the ball.
Second, there are those people (I call them fanners) who fan the club open at the start of the takeaway. This, of course, sets the stage for the desperate shut-the-face-like-hell move through the hitting area, which is so ugly that the occasional case of the shanks may come as a relief.
If this is your problem, and you fanners know who you are, you gotta fix it. Get with your pro and learn the correct grip and takeaway to deliver that clubface square to the arc of your swing. If this means giving up actual course play for two months, it'll be the most worthwhile two months you ever spent. Besides relieving your shank problem, learning what a square grip and wrist-cock is will give you more power without extra effort, and eliminate the need to time everything so perfectly to hit the ball straight.
Lord Berry:
Getting back to the standing-too-close-to-the-ball issue, I might mention where this problem most often appears.
As Mr. Vaughn pointed out, chip shots require you stand close to the ball. The same, however, is not necessarily true for pitch shots (lofted shots of 25 to 80 yards), and it's no wonder pitches are the most commonly shanked shots. Pitch shots, though soft and lazy compared to the full swing, require an ample shoulder turn away from the ball, as well as a complete clearing of the hips through impact. Many fail to set up far enough away from the ball to allow for this amount of movement, and in doing so, make the already challenging task of precise pitching even more hazardous.
Give yourself some room to swing the club, Mr. Gutner.