Not sure what it is called, but out of the blue I started hitting the ball almost at a 90* angle from where I was standing with the irons. Looks like ball was hitting at or close to the hosel.

Moved away from the ball a bit and this helped, but what the heck causes thisn and how do you correct it.?

The shanks are like a woman, nobody can figure them out.

I'd recommend putting all your change and tees into your left pocket, tying your right shoe into a double knot, turning your hat backwards and putting a tee behind your right ear.



Seriously though, standing a little farther from the ball helps. Basically when you're hitting the hosel, you're too close to the ball.

Also try playing the ball a bit back in your stance.

Doh!


There are a lot of reasons that the shank comes on. In my experience the biggest reason is an over the top or slice swing gone awry. Standing further from the ball makes or moving it back in your stance makes this worse...

In the over the top version the club does not go from out to in soon enough and you catch the hosel. So the hands are already too far away from the body on the downswing. Standing farther from the ball causes your hands to move even farther from the body at setup.... which is the beginning of a long term spiral of misery in golf. If you have visualized this, you can also see that the ball being back farther in your stance will also not allow the club to cross the target line in time.

If you are looking for a short term fix for a fade/slice swing, I would go opposite of Player's suggestion. Move the ball forward to allow time for your clubface to come across the target line and catch the ball with the clubface instead of hosel. I don't see long term benefit in either of these two fixes at all though.

My suggestions assume your shot shape is a fade of course.. if its a draw then a video would help.

If you are looking for a long term fix or some suggestions, post a video of your swing and we'll try to help. I highly suggest seeing a teaching professional for the shanks unless you are willing to work it out on the range!