Lead arm 'causing' shanks?

I agree the shank is easy to fix, however in my experience despite shooting a bunch of videos I couldn't discover the root cause because I didn't know what I was looking for...LOL.

Telling you, the Uneekor launch monitor is amazing. It gives a super slow motion video of club traveling into ball and ball leaving face…makes diagnosing super easy.

@Russell Hogue, PhD This morning I play my final round in Hilton Head as we are heading back up north after 9 weeks down here. I have a 10:05 tee time at the former Ocean Course, now Atlantic Dunes. And I'm ready to apply my 'survival technique' if necessary to get through the round, but I'm not worried too much about it. It's a beautiful day down here and and I get to play the game I [now] love. It's just good to be alive. Slainte!

@Tom Saguto Hey Tom - I sure have watched your Andy camp videos ... more than once! [How's the 3-wood working for you these days?]. And is that Jess Frank making the occasional appearance in some of the them?

I think I have seen all the Andy Plummer videos out there; I could listen to him for hours. He could explain to me how my toaster works and I would be all ears. And he seems so mild mannered, so intelligent and so confident in his method and approach. And he does not claim it's the best or the only way to swing the club and hit the ball. But it is is a very approachable way to learn, imo, and you can tell a lot of very serious thought and study went into it. To borrow from 'Jerry Maquire', Andy and Mike Bennett really had me at 'what are the true fundamentals of golf' - not grip, stance, swing plane, lag, getting in the slot, etc., blah, blah, blah ...

... but low point control [club/turf contact], swinging with enough power to play the course, and controlling the direction. Brilliant!

I can't wait. Staying over through Saturday of that week [the camp is a Mon/Tue/Wed] to get in a round or two at the resort if I can.

@Mark Davenport Yes - Jess was there and we actually shot a video together for our respective YT channels. Great instructor and an even greater guy!

You're gonna owe us a full summary of your time at the S&T Camp with Andy!!

And the 3 wood has been behaving quite well of late. I think it had a pretty good scare at that fitting session.....😎

@GolfLivesMatter you are absolutely right that moving away from the ball often compounds the problem. If you look at the Stack n tilt grid, it’s not just the club path, but also the hand path. Can’t hit a shank of the hand path is right. Usually when hitting balls, I have an alignment rod outside the ball signifying club path…and I have a parallel path inside for the handpath.

@Russell Hogue, PhD True about hand path. The interesting part is if my lower body initiates the downswing slightly before my club reaches the top, and assuming my arms and shoulders are "carrying the club" vs. a tension filled manipulation, my club path is much closer to my feet. My miss is now towards the toe. Many pro's setup very close to the ball, or closer than many weekend warriors.

I also discovered a flaw that can lead to shanks which is taking the club back too low, kind of like dragging the club back, then up to the top, which sets weight on the trail foot, or worse, onto the right side of the trail foot. Thus at the top of the backswing I would get into a "blocked" position that requires early extension to make room for the club handle to pass my lower body. The problem with EE is it causes a pull-away from the ball, thus the weight of the club head propels outward, or in the opposite direction. Just a 1/2 inch is a shank.

Another issue is employing too narrow of a stance because it's very easy to transfer weight to the trail foot and not feel, or realize it, on the backswing, leading to a possible "throw out" of the club head (right side swing). I think this is why people tend to shank their short iron, pitch, lob shots, etc, because their stance is much narrower and thus they don't realize their weight is shifting onto their trail side. It's not uncommon for folks employ a progressively narrower stance as irons shorten, or from 6-8-PW, GAP, etc, thus the shanking will become more apparent with shorter irons with narrower stances.

Another possible cause is standing too far away from the ball at address, putting weight towards the toes. This combined with a narrow stance is shank-city. From a toe weighted address position my weight stays towards my toes to the top, but from the top my weight shifts to my heels. That shift creates a pulling away from the ball. That pull away propels the club head outward.

The cause of shanks can be very hard to determine because one or more of the above can creep into a swing, whether muscle fatigue, lower back is sore, trying to get more "power" with a "low-and-slow" backswing, lack of lower body engagement, stance creep whether more narrow or too far away from the ball, shoulder driven downswing, over-active right hand casting, etc.

Getting the left shoulder DOWN FAST on the takeaway should be IMO the primary first step to stopping the shanks because it's much more difficult to get on the right side as the club reaches the top. The next step is a connection of the lead arm bicep to the chest during the initial takeaway movement creates far better connection. The final step is a lower body initiated downswing just as the club is reaching the top. If I do these 3 steps it's nearly impossible to shank...and toe shots are my "miss".

@Russell Hogue, PhD I’ve seen numerous examples of the ‘place object just outside the ball’ drill. That one seems pretty popular.

I’m only theorizing here, as I truly don‘t know for sure why I, occasionally, send the heel/hosel at the ball — So many variables in the swing. But I’m thinking that when my right foot is drawn back behind my left. (the drill) and otherwise stand square to the ball (shoulders, hips) it’s VERY hard to move my weight towards the ball (get over my toes) on the downswing. You’re doing everything you can to keep your balance, keep your pelvis and shoulder centers over the ball, etc. Just a theory tho!

@Mark Davenport It makes total sense that you can pure it with the foot pulled back if you are coming over it when you hit the peeler.

With the foot pulled back, you are moving your swing center further from the ball (and you are giving your arms more room to swing in front of your body. When you are lined up with the trail foot forward, you have moved the swing center an inch or two toward the ball PLUS, if your body is in the way of the arms swinging, the club has to go somewhere...it changes the path.

when you hit the shank, what direction is the divot pointing?

The right foot back it moves your swing center further from the ball and it gives your arms room to swing in front of your body. If your arms don't have room to swing in front of you, then the arms get stuck and when they lose speed the club releases early (think snapping a towel).

What shot shape do you typically hit? What is your typical miss? It is possible to hit a shank by coming from inside out...but seems much rarer for regular guys (not pro's).

@Alan Studnicky Thx. Will check these out.