Can toe shots and shanking be related?

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Matt 4-L

Matt 4-L

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I have seemed to develop a constant toe shot. I consistantly hit about 1/4" to the right of center. I have been trying to figure this out for the life of me can not correct it. I was reading the "shank" thread and got to thinking I might be lagging the hosel and know subconsiously I am going to shank and make a posture change to accomadate for it causing the toe shot?

Whats a good way to practice lagging the sweetspot? I have several of Brian's videos and he always has somebody put a finger on the sweetspot, anybody have a drill when your by yourself to lag the sweetspot?
 
Matt 4-L

Matt 4-L

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After reading some other threads I used the old Hogan thumbs off drill that Brian mentioned in one of his vidoes and that has seemed to correct the problem. I had used that drill before but like so many drills and tips you tend to forget some of them. So I think maybe I had developed some throw away because I was not really feeling the#3pp. Also, I think the throw away was causing a slight over the top move, I wonder if the majority of OTT moves are caused by throw away?
 
Matt 4-L

Matt 4-L

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Jim, what about toe shots, what are some causes? I think I may have also been coming out of the shot early and trying to swing too much to the left, could that be causing shots hit toward the toe? Thanks, Matt
 
birdie_man

birdie_man

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I've had em bad........it's a bugger......esp. when the ball goes good when you hit it on the button.

Things I have had success with:

-standing closer to the ball
-"set" into balance point at address (if I "seek" my heels in the downswing I pull back and hit it off the toe)
-not setting my hands so low at address (they always want to be higher through the ball so...y'all figure that one out)
-not swinging too far to the right or left (trace a good plane line)
-just not getting lazy and making sure I actually line up the ball on the sweetspot at address
-letting my arms hang rather than reaching at address (cause if you re-connect through impact...which you will...there is a shortening)
-actually simply TRYING to hit it off the sweetspot!! (hand-eye)

Good luck it's a bugger.
 
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Matt 4-L

Matt 4-L

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I'm so frustrated with these toe shots I'm about to quit. They really started about a year ago and have gotten worse. I used to shoot in the upper seventies on a regular basis. I just played in a two day tournament and shot my two worst scores in ten years an 87 and 90. I have bought three of Brian's videos and switched to his "Manzella neutral" grip, I had always had a little strong grip. Anyway, I thought that this TGM stuff would get me to where I was shooting par on a regular basis but I have been going backwards. To be fair at times I am hitting the ball better than I ever have and that’s what has kept me with this for so long. If I could just figure out what I am missing. I will have one good day of ball striking about once every two weeks. All of my clubs in the bag suffer from this except my driver. Maybe I will try to take some video today in the yard and put it up on youtube, thanks for the help guys, Matt.
 
Matt 4-L

Matt 4-L

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I did some mirror work last night and it looked like I was getting flat and sucking the club in to early, so I was going to work on that today. Just for kicks I got the lasers out and much to my surprise I was taking the club outside. I have really been relying on the mirror but apparently what it looks like in the mirror to me is not actually the case, its kind of like performing surgery on yourself...The thumbs off drill was working for pitch shots but full shots it wasn't. I did the drill where I tuck my left sleeve under my arm to stay connected and bingo my swing is back. It never seems to amaze me how one small thing can cause your swing to go so wrong and there are so many things you have to keep monitoring. I am going to start keeping a log of "fixes" so I can systematically run through them when things start going bad. I guess that’s where a good teacher comes in; I was really getting close to driving to Louisville. Matt
 
M

monkey

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Matt F. said:
I did some mirror work last night and it looked like I was getting flat and sucking the club in to early, so I was going to work on that today. Just for kicks I got the lasers out and much to my surprise I was taking the club outside. I have really been relying on the mirror but apparently what it looks like in the mirror to me is not actually the case, its kind of like performing surgery on yourself...The thumbs off drill was working for pitch shots but full shots it wasn't. I did the drill where I tuck my left sleeve under my arm to stay connected and bingo my swing is back. It never seems to amaze me how one small thing can cause your swing to go so wrong and there are so many things you have to keep monitoring. I am going to start keeping a log of "fixes" so I can systematically run through them when things start going bad. I guess that’s where a good teacher comes in; I was really getting close to driving to Louisville. Matt
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Matt,

You still might want to consider driving to Louisville. I hope to see Brian soon.
He seems like an amazing teacher.
 
Matt 4-L

Matt 4-L

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I would love to, but getting the teachers fee past my wife is the biggest problem, she just doesn't understand!
 
W

Wolfman

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Checked lie angles lately

Before you go thru too many contortions, please check your lie angles. Not just with a lie board, either.

I build clubs for 11 years. My new set lie angles were based on the lie board. BUT, all shots are off the toe on the range and course. What the ???

Bent one club based on the toe impact - sweet, pure shot in the middle of the face.

Game and equipment can drive you insane - worse than women!
 
Matt 4-L

Matt 4-L

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Well the toe shots came back today. I really tried to stay connected and some shots found the center of the face and some found the toe....I came inside tonight and got out the lasers and sure enough I was taking the club outside on the take away again. For kicks and giggles I tried my old grip which is somewhat on the strong side and I was taking the club straight back no problem. I think some how with the Manzella neutral grip I am setting up wrong or something. I went back to the Neutral grip and closed my shoulders until I was taking the club straight back but I felt like my shoulders were really shut. What am I missing here? Can anybody give me any insight on what is happening? Thanks, Matt.
 
P

puttmad

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Matt,
Something to consider..
You say you don't do it with your driver...that makes me think that it is a setup problem, i.e your hands with the irons are too high at address...
Technically, the driver exerts more "pull" on your arms/wrists through impact, and if you are hitting it off the sweet spot, you have successfully managed to choose the setup which allows for the elongation of your arms etc, which puts the sweetspot in the ideal position at the ball.

Just my two penneth..:)
 
Matt 4-L

Matt 4-L

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I'm sure it is in my setup. With my driver I have higher hands, think of Woody Austin, I just hit the ball better with them. If I did that at address with my irons the heel of my club would be off the ground. I setup what I would say to be in between high and low. I actually let my clubs dictate where my hands need to be. I am around 5'11" and have standard lie clubs and have them sitting flush on the ground for my setup. I think the weak to neutral grip that I am using is setting my hips or shoulders or forearms or something open at address which is in turn making me start the club outside. If I stay really connected and weight back on heels at the start of swing I can stay on plane but I have to really work hard at that. I really want to stay with this Manzella grip, it looks better to me in the mirror than my old strong grip and when I am hitting it well I feel like I have total control of the ball, the problem is there is a huge difference from hitting it well and not hitting it well with this grip for me. An eight iron goes around 160 when I am on and 140 when I am off and it is not easy pulling a club when your not sure what your going to get and then making a confident swing. With my old strong grip I wouldnt have as big a difference in yardage but I think there was a ceiling for how good I could get with it, I never felt the control over the ball as well, hence the reason I have been sticking with the Manzella grip. Maybe I will do some video and see if you guys can spot anything. Thanks, Matt
 
Matt 4-L

Matt 4-L

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I got the video camera out and did some taping, I noticed a couple of things right off. I was getting a 'high" right shoulder and poor extension through the ball. I did a drill where I hold the shaft of the club about a foot in front of my chest (to mimic my shoulder line) and made a back turn and made sure my shoulders were turning on a good line and then back to square and then the follow through matching my back turn shoulder plane. I then hit pitch shots with the same shoulder turn and not coming out of the follow through shoulder turn position. That was my big problem, I have lost some flexibility or something and I was cheating by coming out of my shoulder turn to early. I need some stretches to be able to maintain that position a bit longer in the swing....All toe shots have disappeared. Matt.
 
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