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You are here: Home / Downswing / On Curing the Shanks Via a New Swing

On Curing the Shanks Via a New Swing

February 18, 2020 by Stephen Altschuler 8 Comments

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been plagued by the shanks lately, and was at a complete loss about how to treat my affliction. Feeling desperate, I combed YouTube, viewing every solution I could find. But no dice. Nothing worked. Butch Harmon had the best explanation of cause–closing the clubface severely at impact, and sort of coming over the top, thereby striking the hosel as a result. His solution, similar to a number of other pros, was to put a club cover just beyond the ball and make sure not to hit it at impact. Worked a couple times but mostly no go. I gave serious thought to giving up the game. Really. I felt hopeless, defeated, and downright discombobulated. And seeing as how I’d started this game at 14, fairly depressed.

Give it up, said the devil in one ear. You’ll never figure this out. And the next time you play a round, you will walk off the course, totally embarrassed. That devil in your ear is a real bastard, isn’t he.

Stay with it, Stephen, said my better angel in the other ear. You’ll find the answer. You just need to persevere. Golf is in your blood. You can’t give it up. I love that angel and her positive, gentle ways.

Next morning I awoke dispirited, planning to return to the range but without any idea of what to do about the shanks, and still considering the devil’s advocacy.  I went to YouTube one last time, praying for a miracle, and stumbled upon a pro who had trained with Moe Norman, the Canadian who was arguably one of the greatest ball strikers of all time. Moe, who was reportedly on the autism spectrum, died in 2004 at 74. The pro was Todd Graves, founder of Graves Golf Academy, a school that teaches how to swing a club like Moe Norman. Tiger Woods, by the way, labeled Moe and Ben Hogan as the only two golfers in history who truly owned their swings.

Inspired, and having a feeling this one-plane swing could help cure my shank, I ordered the DVD/ebook program Graves put together, and, delaying going to the range, studied it for the next few days. Hopeful, I went to try it out. The transition to that swing wasn’t as hard as I’d imagined. An altered address position, with the lead arm and club shaft forming a straight line,  the ball position and clubhead position skewed some, and the backswing inside the plane to start, returning to plane early in the downswing. There’s more to it, of course, but those are the main alterations from the swing I was used to. To practice the new positions this swing required, I followed the Graves instruction and had a six foot CVC pole cut at the hardware store which, held like a club, clearly showed me the correct positions, touching  my left side when I was off kilter.

Right off, I noticed some major changes. The shank was gone.

 

That’s right. Solid, freaking gone! But even better, I was hitting the ball, with irons and woods, more solidly, more accurately, and farther than even before I completed chemo. I finished the bucket without a shank and a few drives that went 230 with range balls that even Tin Cup would have rejected. I turned to the devil and huffed and puffed him off my shoulder, and to my better angel turned to plant a sweet kiss on her lovely cheek.

To corroborate all this, I returned the next day, after re-watching the Graves DVDs that night, and again, no shanks through the bucket, and the same solid contact which, in my thinking, is why people come to this game. That special feel of contacting the club on the sweet spot is near-addictive and one of the more satisfying sensations in this mortal life.

Now I’m not saying everyone should switch to this swing. I have no connection with the Graves PR team, and paid full price for their program. The address and backswing look a bit weird compared to the way the swing is taught by the majority of pros and instructional books. But for me, it has cured the shanks and given me back a game that I only knew when I was a lad back in high school. I don’t really care what this swing looks like. A few days later, I had another productive session at the range. It’s a keeper.

***

Tiger Woods came in last among those who made the cut at the Genesis this past week, an event he hosted. Normally I wouldn’t report on such a failure, but with Tiger, it’s different. Tiger is perhaps the best example in sport of transforming failure into success. We can all learn from him in this regard. He uses failure as a springboard to analyzing what happened and what he needs to do to correct it. So instead of being burdened or depressed by failure, he learns from it, makes the corrections, and applies those adjustments to the next event.

So I predict Tiger will win again this year, and very possibly that win will be a major. He is just about the only pro in the world I would ascribe such a skill, as described above, to possess. We are fortunate to be around to witness, first hand, arguably, the greatest golfer who ever lived.

***

‘Nobody Hit It Like Mickey’ – Hall of Fame golfer Mickey Wright, who won 82 LPGA tournaments including 13 majors, passed away Monday. She was, by almost all accounts, the greatest woman who ever played the game. She was 85.–Golf Channel

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Filed Under: Downswing, Famous Golfers, Fundamentals, Golf Equipment, Golf Improvement, Golf professional, inspiration in golf, Owning your swing, Practice, Swing tips, The drive, Tiger Woods Tagged With: Ben Hogan, Mickey Wright, Moe Norman, the shanks, Tin Cup, Todd Graves, YouTube

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Richard says

    February 18, 2020 at 12:17 pm

    Glad you haven’t given up the game, Stephen. I mean what would you be doing if you weren’t out playing around! Birdwatching? Bowling? Curling? Professional checkers? Tiddlywinks? Who knows? But golf is so much better for your psyche!

    Reply
    • Phil russell says

      February 18, 2020 at 12:59 pm

      Stephen,

      As I said in my previous post you are a great writer. Your knowledge of golf is remarkable.

      Keep writing. My golf league starts first week oh May can’t wait.

      Reply
      • Stephen Altschuler says

        February 18, 2020 at 1:16 pm

        Ah, spring is near, along with short-sleeve golf. Maybe I’ll join a golf league myself this year.
        Thanks for your comments, Phil.

        Reply
    • Stephen Altschuler says

      February 18, 2020 at 1:11 pm

      True, that! I never could master that backswing in checkers.
      Happy to be back playing a round…
      Thanks, Richard

      Reply
  2. Hank says

    February 20, 2020 at 1:19 pm

    Hey brother,
    I have read about Moe Norman. I love his name. You know why. I have even played with a few people who use the method. I think Brandon de chambeau uses the concept. Good luck with it. If anyone can make it work it’s you. Love you brother.

    Reply
    • Stephen Altschuler says

      February 21, 2020 at 8:52 am

      Thanks,Hank. Appreciate the encouragement, as always. So far, so good. And with weather warming, I’m hoping to hit the links soon to try the new swing out in real time. And actually playing is much easier on the back than the range, where I overdid it the other day, and am paying for it. I think you’re right about De Chambeau. His swing has key elements of Moe’s method. Steve Stricker is another one similar to a one-plane swing. Harold Varner III, a great young player with an equally great disposition also has elements of Moe’s swing; as does the incomparable Inbee Park of the LPGA. In history, Lee Trevino comes to mind, and Super Mex didn’t do too badly with that swing.
      Take care, my brother, and thanks for commenting.

      Reply
  3. Kevin says

    May 15, 2021 at 5:46 pm

    How you described the shanks( hopeless, depressed, thinking of giving up the game I’ve played from 9 years old, embarrassed) is to a tee how my emotions are right now. I can’t give up but I am so embarrassed and I feel the devil and the angel whispering as well I just don’t think I would understand any instructional materials as I am self taught and play by feel, anyways I will take sometime off to ponder what to do next, thanks for summing up the emotions of the shanks so precisely.

    Reply
    • Stephen Altschuler says

      May 15, 2021 at 6:17 pm

      Your welcome, Kevin. And thank you for sharing what you’re going through with the shanks. I continue to struggle with them, and am seeing another pro this week out of a sense of desperation. As you say, it really is awful and, yes, embarrassing. I really would like to be playing as the weather improves but I don’t dare with thoughts of an unexpected shank looming. I’ll be writing another post after this lesson, and will keep you and the rest of my reader informed. I think your taking a break to ponder is a good thing. I hope things fall into place for you and you’re able to return to the sport you love.
      All the best,
      Stephen

      Reply

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