No shanks thanks!

Today I spent a couple of hours at the pitch n putt course, which has become my practice ground, and where my emotions swung from despair to delight.

I went to practice my pitching distance control but in the event it turned into a technique session.

The first half of the story was all about the despair, because almost as soon as I started, I had a monster dose of the shanks, just like I had last year early in the season. I spent a considerable time trying different things to shake them but they got steadily worse and I was in the pit of depression and on the brink of giving up for the day when my mood turned to anger and then determination to figure out what I was doing wrong.

It felt like my back swing was getting quite armsy and then as I began the down swing I was lifting out of the shot a little, this meant that my right hip was in the way a bit and forced my arms out a touch in turn throwing the shank towards the ball.

So I tried one last thing; bending a little more at the waist and really rotating my shoulders back instead of my arms, then rotating through while staying bent at the waist. Basically really concentrating on keeping my spine angle.

I won't say that I found the ultimate answer, but it worked a treat today and I then spent an absolutely awesome hour hitting shot after solid shot with amazing distance control. I felt that taking the arms out of the swing and keeping my spine angle gave me perfect contact with the ball and made it just so simple to control the distance. 20 yard chip, 40 yard pitch, 80 yard pitch it made no difference, ball after ball the same distance and all really tightly dispersed. It was by far the best pitching I have ever managed and not a hint of neckiness in any of the shots.

I would have stayed till dark if I had not got a call to return home and sort out a PC problem for my wife. Not sure I have ever gone from such dejection to such satisfaction in one golf session.

I can't wait to get another chance to get out there and try and replicate the new pitching technique.