If it happens to you, know that it’s happened to every single golfer who’s ever picked up the club. Everybody’s shanked a couple (or more) shots in golf, especially with their irons. It’s sort of like a rite of passage among golfers. It’s when you stop shanking your irons that you’re becoming a more proficient golfer.
A shank is essentially a mishit when you fail to make the contact between the ball and the clubface, but rather hit your golf ball with the hosel of your club. This, as you can imagine, will create a less-than-ideal shot that you can’t really control and will probably send the ball flying in any direction other than the one you had in mind.
Before you start exploring the best golf irons for slower swing speeds in 2022 and any other potential solutions, it’s important that you start at the beginning and understand the causes of shanks with your irons. From there, it’s easier to address your potential mistakes and remedy this problem.
Why do I shank my shots with irons?
So, first things first, and that’s understanding what can cause you to mishit the golf ball and shank a shot with your irons or any other club. There are many potential causes, but some are more prominent than others and a huge number of high-handicap golfers make them. Let’s see what these are:
Your distance from the ball
One of the most common reasons for shanking a shot with your irons is that your hands at impact are farther away than they were during the address. If you’re too close to your golf ball, you’ll disrupt the angle of your swing, potentially lifting the club during the downswing and shanking your shot. On the other hand, if you’re farther away from the ball than you should be, you’ll lean too much into your shot, again, causing an improper contact between your clubface and the ball.
Improper grip
The next thing you have to closely inspect if you notice you’re shanking your shots more frequently is your group, or more specifically the pressure you’re applying when gripping the club. First, remember that your grip shouldn’t be too firm. However, it’s the loose grip that usually leads to mishits.
If your grip pressure is extremely light, your iron will move in your hand, causing you to hit the ball with your hosel instead of the clubface. Also, remember that you should grip your iron mainly with the bottom three fingers.
Path of your swing
Another problem that might lead to you shanking a shot with your irons is your swing path. For example, the in to out path is what you’re looking for at the point of impact. However, the majority of golfers who shank their irons usually make the out to in downswing, making the hosel the point of contact between the club and the ball.
Lower body positioning
Your lower body might also be the reason behind you shanking the shots with your irons. If the lower portion of your body is active during the downswing, your knees can go ahead of their ideal position, causing you to lose balance and mishitting the golf ball with your hosel.
Your head
Finally, you might simply have a psychological issue with your shots that make you shank your irons. You’ve mishit a couple of shots and you’ve become increasingly insecure with each one that now you can’t seem to find a way to accurately hit the golf ball with the club face. Practicing is the best way to resolve this issue and no amount of golf irons for slower swing speed will make the difference until you change your mindset.
How can I fix shanking my irons?
As you see, there’s more than a single potential reason behind you shanking your shots. Now that you know what’s causing you to shank the shots with your irons and potentially other clubs, it’s time to explore several different methods you can use to get rid of this issue once and forever:
Adjust your distance
The first thing you need to do when looking to eliminate shanks from your game with some of the best irons for slower swing speeds available on the market is to properly position yourself during the shot. This means carefully choosing the distance from the ball so that you’re neither too close nor too far. Give it a couple of practice shots and see what position allows you to retain correct posture during your shot.
Distribute your weight
Next up is weight distribution during your shot. Make sure that the weight of your body is neither on your heels nor on your toes, but as balanced as possible over the arches of your feet. This way you’re ensuring you don’t lose your balance during the shot which might result in a mishit.
Mind the knee flex
Ensure that there’s some flex in your knees when hitting the ball with your irons and allow your arms to freely swing in front of your body while you’re entirely balanced. Also, your arms need to swing close to your body rather than out.
Modify the grip
Another thing you can do to reduce or eliminate shanks is to make sure you’re gripping your club correctly. This means that your grip should be neither too tight nor too loose and that the biggest portion of your grip should come from the bottom three fingers.
Align the spine properly
Finally, maintain the proper angle of your spine to ensure the face of your club makes a completely square contact with the golf ball. Focus on making an inside toward outside swing path and pay attention to experiencing the feeling of your spine rotating throughout your entire swing.
Who offers the best golf irons for slower swing speeds in 2022 to help me deal with my shanking?
When you’re working on improving your game and trying to break the score of 100 in golf, it’s essential to work on avoiding shanks on your irons. Hitting the ball improperly is among the most common reasons for shanks, right alongside not gripping your golf club the right way and failing to adopt a comprehensive pre-shot routine.
However, if you’re set on doing all you can to make more pars and improve your score under 100, you need the right tools for the job, and that’s exactly where BombTech Golf comes in. We’re here to give you access to high-quality golf clubs that will help you get over the hump and finally reach your desired score.
Even better, our clubs won’t cost you an arm and a leg. How do we do that? How do we offer premium clubs and equipment and reasonable prices? Because we cut out the middleman and we emphasize an online-only business model that gets your clubs directly to you. We lower our overhead and your prices. Don’t like it? You can return it in 60 days. But we know you’ll like it.
