Understanding Shanks and Yips: Causes and Solutions

The shanks and the yips tend to get lumped together because both can feel mysterious, sudden, and deeply frustrating. But they are not the same problem, and they should not be treated the same way. A shank is usually a mechanical contact issue: the hosel gets to the ball before the sweet spot. The yips are more complicated. Sometimes they are truly neurological, but much more often they are a fear-and-tension pattern built around a fragile motion. If you understand which category you are dealing with, you can stop guessing and start fixing the real cause.

Why the shank feels random even when it is not

A shank seems chaotic because the ball rockets off the hosel and the miss is so dramatic. But from a coaching standpoint, it is usually very explainable. In most cases, the club is simply arriving too far out toward the ball, or the face is so open that the heel reaches the ball first.

That distinction matters because two golfers can both shank the ball for different reasons. If you try to solve every shank with the same tip, you may only mask the issue temporarily.

The two main shank patterns

You can think of shanks as showing up in two broad ways:

• The whole club moves outward toward the ball, even if the face is not excessively open.
• The face stays too open, which exposes the heel and hosel to the ball even if the club’s center is not moving dramatically outward.

The first pattern is the more common one. The clubhead is not necessarily twisted wide open. It is simply being delivered on a path that places the hosel closer to the ball than it should be.

Why improving your swing can temporarily create shanks

This is one reason shanks can appear during improvement. If you are coming out of a cast, scoop, or flip pattern, you may have been used to early arm straightening followed by compensation through impact. When you begin learning better extension and better sequencing, the club can start contacting the heel more often until your pivot and arm timing catch up.

In other words, the shank is not always a sign that you are getting worse. Sometimes it is a sign that an old compensation is being removed before the new motion is fully organized.

The most common mechanical cause: the club and hands drifting outward

A useful way to picture the club is to imagine a weight swinging on the end of a string. Your job is to return that swinging mass to the ball. If your body or arms move the whole swing arc outward, the widest point of that circle shifts toward the ball. That is a recipe for heel contact and, in severe cases, a shank.

Body motion that pushes the swing outward

One of the biggest culprits is pressure moving too far toward your toes, especially if it happens without enough rotation. When your body drifts toward the ball, your hand path and club path tend to move outward with it.

This often shows up with:

• Early extension, where the pelvis moves toward the ball and the chest lifts
• Insufficient rotation through the strike
• Upper-body lunge toward the ball

If your body moves in toward the ball and then stalls, the hands have nowhere to go except out. That sends the hosel toward the strike.

Arm timing that pushes the swing outward

The other common cause is the trail arm straightening too early. If your right arm for a right-handed golfer gets away from you and extends before the club reaches the ball, it can throw the clubhead outward.

This is especially common in golfers who used to be very steep and “chicken wing” through the ball. As they improve and begin to shallow the club and extend the arms more naturally, they sometimes overdo the arm extension too early. The result is a club that swings too much out toward the ball.

Why hand path matters more than many golfers realize

You can also separate club path from hand path. A club can be traveling slightly outward, but if your hands are being pulled left by a good pivot, you may still strike the ball cleanly. Problems arise when the swing is moving around you and your arms also extend outward with it.

That combination is dangerous:

• The club is already working too far from the body
• The hands are not being redirected left enough
• The arms straighten into the ball instead of after it

That is why many shank fixes start with the body pivot rather than with the clubhead itself.

How to fix the most common shank pattern

If the shank is coming from the club and hands moving outward, the first priority is usually to keep your motion more centered and improve the way your body turns through the ball.

Stay centered in your feet

If your pressure runs into your toes, the club often follows. A simple awareness drill is to place an alignment stick under your toes at address. The goal is not to lean into your heels, but to feel more centered in your feet so you do not lunge toward the ball.

This matters because balance controls the location of the swing arc. If your balance shifts toward the ball, your contact point tends to move with it.

Use rotation to move the hands left

The goal is not to yank your hands left with your arms. That often creates another compensation. Instead, you want your hips and rib cage to continue rotating so they pull the hands around you after impact.

When your body keeps turning:

• The hands move more around your body
• The club is less likely to keep swinging out toward the target line
• The hosel has less chance of reaching the ball first

This is one of the clearest examples of why pivot matters. Good rotation does not just create speed. It organizes the geometry of the strike.

Delay arm extension slightly

If your arms are firing outward too soon, you need better sequencing and tempo. A useful feel is that the arm extension happens a little more after the ball rather than right before it.

Single-arm drills can help here, particularly trail-arm-only work. They make you more aware of when the arm is extending and whether it is pushing the club outward too early.

The second shank pattern: an open face that exposes the heel

Not every shank is caused by the whole swing moving outward. Sometimes the club is arriving with the face too open, which leaves the heel leading the strike.

This golfer may feel as if the club is “stuck” behind them or lagging too much. Then, in an effort to save the shot, they throw rotation into the face too late. The problem is that late face closure often happens after the heel has already reached the ball.

Why flipping can seem to cure shanks

Many golfers accidentally fix a shank by flipping the club. That is not ideal long term, but it makes sense mechanically. A flip can move the clubhead away from the hosel and help the toe pass the heel sooner.

That is why some players stop shanking when they return to old habits. The shank disappears, but only because they have gone back to a compensation that creates other problems such as poor compression, inconsistent contact, or face control issues.

The real fix: earlier face rotation

If the face is too open, you often need better shaft rotation earlier in the downswing. Tyler often refers to this as the motorcycle movement—the feeling of rotating the shaft so the face organizes sooner rather than being saved at the last instant.

When the toe starts to pass the heel at the right time:

• The hosel moves back away from the ball
• The face arrives more stable
• You do not need a frantic, late rescue move

This is especially important if video shows the face still very open during the downswing.

How early extension ties into shanks

Early extension is one of the most misunderstood patterns in golf. Golfers often think of it as a purely bad move, but the reason it is hard to eliminate is that it actually helps with a few things.

Early extension can:

• Shallow the club
• Help the arms straighten
• Help close an open face

That is why players do it. It is a compensation that solves one problem while creating another.

Why it can create hosel contact

If your body stalls facing the ball and your pelvis moves in, both the hand path and the club path tend to move outward. That combination sends the hosel toward the ball very quickly.

If you are shanking and early extending, check two things:

• Is the face too open? If so, you may be early extending to square it.
• Is your body rotation stalling? If so, your hands may be getting thrown outward instead of around.

Sometimes the answer is not simply “rotate more.” Rotation is a steepening force. If you are already steep and using early extension to shallow the club, adding rotation without another shallowing element can make things worse. That is why swing changes have to be balanced rather than one-dimensional.

What the yips really are—and usually are not

The word yips gets used for any short-game motion that feels jerky, panicked, or uncontrollable. But there is an important distinction between a true neurological yip and a fear-based movement pattern.

True yips are rare

Research discussed in the session suggests that only a small percentage of golfers who believe they have the yips are actually dealing with focal dystonia, a true neurological issue.

A key marker is that a true yip is situation independent. It shows up whether you are under pressure or completely relaxed. If the motion only falls apart when you are anxious, nervous, or trying not to miss, it is much more likely to be a tension-driven compensation than a neurological disorder.

Why this matters

This matters because the solutions are different. If the issue is neurological, a dramatic change in grip, hand usage, or even side of play may be needed. If the issue is anxiety layered on top of a fragile motion, then the real answer is to make the mechanics more stable and less dependent on perfect timing.

Why fear creates “yippy” motion in chipping and putting

In most golfers, the yips are not random spasms. They are exaggerated attempts to fix a motion that is already on shaky ground. The golfer senses that a bad miss is coming, adds tension, and makes a last-second correction. That correction may save a few shots, but under pressure it becomes violent and unreliable.

Think of it as a swing pattern with no margin. If your face and path relationship is too fragile, your brain starts trying to rescue the shot. The rescue move becomes the “yip.”

Common causes of the chipping yips

The chipping yips are often easier to decode than the putting yips. A very common pattern looks like this:

• The upper body is tilted too far behind the ball
• The shoulders are not level enough
• The swing becomes too shallow
• The golfer drags the handle to move low point forward
• The bounce gets taken away

From there, two ugly misses appear:

• Chunk it because the club bottoms out poorly
• Blade it because the golfer panics and pulls up

That chunk-blade cycle creates fear quickly, and fear creates tension. Soon the motion starts looking yippy.

How to stabilize your chipping motion

The fix is usually to improve the geometry of the setup and motion:

1. Get the posture more vertical rather than hanging excessively behind the ball.
2. Keep the shoulders more level so the club can enter and exit the turf more predictably.
3. Reduce excessive handle drag so you can use the bounce properly.
4. Allow a little more cast so the clubhead can work under the hands and interact with the ground better.
5. Add body rotation through the shot once the low point and turf interaction improve.

Why this works: it removes the need for a desperate save. When the club can use the bounce and bottom out consistently, your brain no longer feels it has to intervene at the last second.

Common causes of the putting yips

The putting yips can be trickier because the stroke is so small that tiny errors become magnified. But the same principle applies: many “yips” are attempts to rescue a face or path problem.

Two frequent putting issues

• The putter face is left open
• The path gets too far outside-in

When either of those patterns is present, your brain may try to square things up with a sudden hand action. Under pressure, that hand action becomes a jab, flinch, or stab.

Why full-swing habits can hurt your putting

Good ball-strikers often use excellent shaft rotation and face control in the full swing. But putting is different. With so little loft, you cannot rely on a late twisting action to square the face. In putting, the face needs to be squared more by the arc and motion of the putter, not by a last-second hand roll.

If you bring full-swing style face-saving into your putting stroke, you may leave the face open and then try to whip it shut. That can look exactly like the yips.

Grip contact matters

Another subtle issue is poor hand-to-grip contact. If the putter is floating or shifting within the hands, it can create tiny impulses that turn into a slingshot effect. The player then feels the putter head as unstable and tries to control it with tension.

Better grip contact does not necessarily mean squeezing harder. It means creating a more stable connection so the putter face can be controlled without a last-second hit.

When dramatic changes are appropriate

Golfers often ask whether yips require a dramatic solution: switching grips, going cross-handed, using a long putter, or making the stroke feel completely foreign.

The answer depends on the cause.

• If it is true focal dystonia, a dramatic change is often helpful because it gets you away from the problematic motor pattern.
• If it is a fear-based compensation, dramatic changes can still help—but usually because they improve the underlying mechanics or reduce the old trigger.

For example, a cross-handed chipping or putting style may work not because it is magical, but because it changes shoulder level, low-point control, and face stability.

How club length changes face-rotation timing

One useful concept that came out of the Q&A is that longer clubs need earlier organization of the face. This matters for shanks, heel strikes, and face control in general.

A longer club has more inertia. Once it is moving fast, it is harder to make a sudden correction. Tyler’s analogy is helpful: changing the direction of a 25-pound weight at the last second is much harder than changing a 5-pound weight.

That is why:

• Shorter clubs can sometimes tolerate later face closure
• Longer clubs, especially the driver, usually need the face organized earlier

Longer clubs also sit on flatter lie angles, which tends to point the face more to the right. That means you need to counter that with earlier shaft rotation rather than trying to save it at impact.

How to practice these ideas without getting lost

The best practice is not random. It is built around identifying which pattern you actually have.

If you are dealing with shanks

• Check whether your pressure is moving into your toes
• Check whether your body is rotating through or stalling
• Check whether your trail arm is straightening too early
• Check whether the face is too open and the heel is being exposed

Film your swing from face-on and down-the-line if possible. The shank usually stops feeling mysterious once you see whether the club is moving outward, the face is too open, or both.

If you are dealing with yips

• Ask whether the issue appears only under pressure or even in a calm setting
• Look for a mechanical imbalance in low point, face control, or path
• Reduce the need for a rescue move by improving setup and motion geometry
• Use grip or style changes only if they actually improve stability

How to apply this understanding to practice

Start by diagnosing before you prescribe. A shank is usually a contact geometry problem, so practice should focus on balance, hand path, arm timing, and face orientation. A yip is usually a fragile motion made worse by fear, so practice should focus on making the movement more stable and less dependent on perfect timing.

A smart practice plan would look like this:

1. Identify the pattern with video or careful observation.
2. Choose one cause to address first rather than chasing five swing thoughts.
3. Use a simple awareness drill such as staying centered in the feet, improving shoulder level in chipping, or stabilizing grip contact in putting.
4. Progress to motion by blending the feel into small swings and then full shots.
5. Test under mild pressure so you know whether the motion holds up when your attention shifts.

The key is to stop treating these issues as curses. The shanks are usually fixable once you understand why the hosel is getting to the ball. The yips are often less about mystery and more about a motion that your brain no longer trusts. Build a more stable pattern, and the fear begins to lose its grip.