A range session, using an empty package box, confirmed it was the outside-in swing path that caused my shanks.
For temporary fixes, I found addressing the ball with the toe of iron face would work most times. I also found using 10-finger grip (baseball) would also work, maybe a little more reliably. Then I used these 2 temporary fixes on the course for a couple of rounds, more often with the 10-finger grip than the other, and I managed to reduce shanks to only 1 or 2 during an entire round of 18 holes.
After a couple of rounds, I started to pull/hook with the 10-finger grip. So I changed back to interlock gripping. At the same time, I noticed one blog post of my own posted last year about ball position and fully extending my arms. I realized maybe I forgot to fully extend my arms. So I tried that, and it worked! I think the reason is that I can extend the impact, i.e., to have a more square and solid impact, by extending my arms during back swing. Since then, I have played several rounds without any shank.
Now I can say I have finally fixed my shank problem. A by-product of this ordeal is that I find a good approach to play a draw -- using 10-finger grip.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Shank, shank, shank
Since I just increased swing speed and hit longer, I would expect to play better golf and get lower scores. Well, this expectation is short-lived. After only a couple of good rounds, I started hitting shanks, with irons only, for sure.
It first came at the 8th hole, par 3, at Glenview East on June 2. This was close to the end of my round, so I did not care much, also because shanking was an old problem to me, and I thought I knew how to fix it. But I was wrong this time... On June 6 (Wed), I took a half day vacation for golf with my family. My son just started golf, improving his game, and my wife was playing well. But my round was totally ruined by shanks, especially since it was basically a Par-3 course, with most tee-shots needing an iron.
Shanking is not new to me, as I got this problem occasionally in the past. It was because either I leaned too much towards the ball, or I stood too close to it. So I knew I got to adjust my weight balance. But it did not work this time... I tried to keep good balance on the course, and even worked on it later at the range after the round. But still shank after shank... My iron shot was worse than a beginner, as shank is truly the most embarrassing shot in golf.
Quiting is not the right way, and I am not even taking a break... But I got to figure it out soon, so I got on-line to get some tips.
There are mainly 3 reasons for shanks:
http://www.hermanwilliamsgolf.com/stop-shanking-golf-ball/
Weight balance
Swing path (inside-out or outside-in)
Too much hand action near impact
I first tried to adjust weight balance, following the tip provided by this website:
http://www.sirshanksalot.com/shanking-drills-golf-drills-82/1133-fundamentals-that-cure-your-shank
Hit some wiffle balls at home on June 8, and shanks seemed to be gone.
But at today's round, shanking came back again, at 3rd hole, my second iron shot. This continued for almost all irons shots for the first 9 holes. At the second 9, somehow I could make solid contacts for a couple of holes, and then it came back for the last two holes.
So I went to the range immediately after the round. First, I tried to adjust weight balance again. Not working at all. Then I tried more upright swing (another tip from other golfers on-line), and it didn't work, no solid contact.
Finally, I tried to address the ball with the toe of the iron face (another tip from on-line). This actually worked, to my surprise, amazingly. To make sure, I tried 5~9 irons, all made solid contacts. So this would be my temporary fix for now.
As I am writing now, I think it has to be my swing path, i.e., my backswing and forward swing are not on the same plane anymore. Still not sure if I am also having an inside-out or outside-in problem. But this should be easily found out next time I go to the range...
It first came at the 8th hole, par 3, at Glenview East on June 2. This was close to the end of my round, so I did not care much, also because shanking was an old problem to me, and I thought I knew how to fix it. But I was wrong this time... On June 6 (Wed), I took a half day vacation for golf with my family. My son just started golf, improving his game, and my wife was playing well. But my round was totally ruined by shanks, especially since it was basically a Par-3 course, with most tee-shots needing an iron.
Shanking is not new to me, as I got this problem occasionally in the past. It was because either I leaned too much towards the ball, or I stood too close to it. So I knew I got to adjust my weight balance. But it did not work this time... I tried to keep good balance on the course, and even worked on it later at the range after the round. But still shank after shank... My iron shot was worse than a beginner, as shank is truly the most embarrassing shot in golf.
Quiting is not the right way, and I am not even taking a break... But I got to figure it out soon, so I got on-line to get some tips.
There are mainly 3 reasons for shanks:
http://www.hermanwilliamsgolf.com/stop-shanking-golf-ball/
Weight balance
Swing path (inside-out or outside-in)
Too much hand action near impact
I first tried to adjust weight balance, following the tip provided by this website:
http://www.sirshanksalot.com/shanking-drills-golf-drills-82/1133-fundamentals-that-cure-your-shank
Hit some wiffle balls at home on June 8, and shanks seemed to be gone.
But at today's round, shanking came back again, at 3rd hole, my second iron shot. This continued for almost all irons shots for the first 9 holes. At the second 9, somehow I could make solid contacts for a couple of holes, and then it came back for the last two holes.
So I went to the range immediately after the round. First, I tried to adjust weight balance again. Not working at all. Then I tried more upright swing (another tip from other golfers on-line), and it didn't work, no solid contact.
Finally, I tried to address the ball with the toe of the iron face (another tip from on-line). This actually worked, to my surprise, amazingly. To make sure, I tried 5~9 irons, all made solid contacts. So this would be my temporary fix for now.
As I am writing now, I think it has to be my swing path, i.e., my backswing and forward swing are not on the same plane anymore. Still not sure if I am also having an inside-out or outside-in problem. But this should be easily found out next time I go to the range...
Monday, May 28, 2012
What's in my bag
As of May 2012:
Fairway woods 3~7 fairway: King Cobra SZ (3-wood offset: $35, used from eBay in April 2011, 5 & 7 woods: $75 each, New in 2007 or earlier, all re-gripped late 2011)
Hybrid 4-iron: Callaway Big Bertha Diablo (~$55 New in 2011)
Irons: 5 ~ PW: Mizuno MX-23 ($204 +$20 shipping for 3~PW, used from eBay in April 2010, re-gripped in April 2012)
Wedges: Cartbite Gap Wedge 52 ($25 New from eBay around 2003), Cleveland SW TourAction 56 ($25 New from Meijer around 2003), both re-gripped late 2011.
Putter: Knight Black Velvet 33 (~$25 from Meijer around 2003)
Balls: Titleist Pro-V1/X, Taylor Made Black TP/Burner, Bridgestone B-330S (to try B-330 RXS)
Broke 80 on Memorial Day !!!
On Memorial Day 2012, I played near perfect (for myself anyway) golf, and broke 80 for the first time, by a big margin, at Crooked Tree (white tee).
Score: 75 (38/37)
Starting at 10th hole:
5 3 4 4 4 3 4 5 5
6 3 5 4 2 5 3 6 4
1 birdie, 13 par, 3 bogie, 1 double bogie.
Fairway: 10/14
GIR: 11/18
33 total putts (1 3-putt for double bogie, 4 1-putt, but missed a 5~6 feet putt for birdie)
3 up and down for par
After speeding up back-swing (thanks to Tour Tempo Golf), I gained a lot of distance recently, especially for driver. During this round of today, all my driving were above 210 yards. Most of them were about 220~240 yards, with 3 about 260 yard (downhill). Even a couple of off-center hits went above 210 yards.
-----------------
Other rounds in May 2012 were played at Glenview, not bad, but none could be compared to today's round.
May 12: 85 (44/41) West/East
8 par, 7 bogie, 3 double bogie
Fairway: 11/14
GIR: 8/18
36 total putts (2 3-putts, 2 1-putt)
1 up and down for par
May 19: 84 (43/41) South/West
8 par, 9 bogie, 2 double bogie
Fairway: 6/14
GIR: 8/18
34 total putts (3 3-putts for bogie, 5 1-putt)
3 up and down for par
May 26: 86 (43/43) West/East
1 birdie, 7 par, 6 bogie, 3 double bogie, 1 triple bogie
Fairway: 7/14
GIR: 8/18
37 total putts (3 3-putts, 2 1-putt, but missed a 5-feet putt for birdie)
1 up and down for par (actually 2 putts from off green)
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Personal Best: 82 on May 5, 2012
Glenview (West/East) on May 5, 2012: 82
1 birdie, 7 pars, 9 bogie, 1 double bogie
13/14 fairway hit, 7/18 GIR, 34 putts (2 3-putts, 4 1-putt)
The 2 3-putts were from both about 15~25 feet, and should have been avoided...
Previous personal best in 2009 and 2010: 83.
1 birdie, 7 pars, 9 bogie, 1 double bogie
13/14 fairway hit, 7/18 GIR, 34 putts (2 3-putts, 4 1-putt)
The 2 3-putts were from both about 15~25 feet, and should have been avoided...
Previous personal best in 2009 and 2010: 83.
Tour Tempo Golf
I am determined to increase swing speed, so I bought a swing speed radar in early April. At the same time I found a book on Amazon called "Tour Tempo Golf", which claims the last secret of golf revealed: all tour players spend 0.9 to 1.2 second from takeaway to impact, and the ratio of the time from takeaway to the top to the time from the top to impact is 3:1 (or 21:7 video frames, or 24:8, 27:9).
I knew my swing is pretty slow, with nice and easy takeaway always in mind. After I videotaped my own swing, it is still a surprise to find out my own ratio is about 70:15, and the swing speed is at most 80 mph. After I deliberately sped up my swing, the ratio is now improved to about 42:14. The swing speed for driver can reach 91 mph now. There is still room to improve, and I hope I will get to 30:10, and upper 90s mph.
I tried my new faster swing at the driving range. Almost immediately I hit some significant longer drives. Except for some occasional shots pushed to left, most shots were pretty straight.
This was also successfully carried over to golf courses. Shot 85 at Blue Ash for the first time to complete 18 holes there (previously play front-9 only once).
I knew my swing is pretty slow, with nice and easy takeaway always in mind. After I videotaped my own swing, it is still a surprise to find out my own ratio is about 70:15, and the swing speed is at most 80 mph. After I deliberately sped up my swing, the ratio is now improved to about 42:14. The swing speed for driver can reach 91 mph now. There is still room to improve, and I hope I will get to 30:10, and upper 90s mph.
I tried my new faster swing at the driving range. Almost immediately I hit some significant longer drives. Except for some occasional shots pushed to left, most shots were pretty straight.
This was also successfully carried over to golf courses. Shot 85 at Blue Ash for the first time to complete 18 holes there (previously play front-9 only once).
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
2012 Golf Season Started
Scored 90 for first round of 2012 at Glenview on March 24. This past winter was very warm, and the golf season could have started much earlier...
The green speed was ridiculously slow due to the rain and insufficient mowing, and it led to poor putting. Also dropped 2 balls into water with Hybrid-4 at 2 Par-3 holes. Otherwise I could have easily broken 90.
One more thing that is worth noting: it is my first time that I got the ball backspin on the green from pitching (South Hole #8), and the putt went in for a par.
Score summary: 3 pars, 3 double bogies, 12 bogies.
The green speed was ridiculously slow due to the rain and insufficient mowing, and it led to poor putting. Also dropped 2 balls into water with Hybrid-4 at 2 Par-3 holes. Otherwise I could have easily broken 90.
One more thing that is worth noting: it is my first time that I got the ball backspin on the green from pitching (South Hole #8), and the putt went in for a par.
Score summary: 3 pars, 3 double bogies, 12 bogies.
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