Shanking at The Range | Golf Monthly

This year I really decided to get back into my golf and I played 50+ rounds on 23 different courses in the north west of England. My average score (to par) was 8.4 and my best round was a 73 (+1) at Pike Fold in Manchester. Now winter is on the way and the weather has turned I thought I'd move from the course on to the range, which I'd never previously done, and just keep my swing ticking over until spring. I got there, got my PW out, hit my first shot fairly solid and then preceded to stone cold shank the next 25 shots in a row. And, I know no shanks are good, but these were horrific. They were so bad in fact that I could hear the young lads in the next bay laughing. I literally couldn't get the ball in the air. I just couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong.

The next day, in a panic, I went for a round at my local club to see if I had a problem. I shot a pretty good 81 in tough conditions and, other than a couple of slightly heavy wedges, I didn't really hit any bad shots. So, full of renewed confidence, Friday night I went back to the range. And, it happened again. Shank, after shank, after shank. It's so weird.

Has anyone else had a similar problem or does anyone have any thoughts on why this might be happening? I've never been a big fan of mats but not to the extent that I can't hit the ball off of them. My only theory is that the bays at the range are quite enclosed and I'm not swinging freely as, subconsciously, I think that I may hit the wall/roof. I guess I can just be thankful that I'm doing it this way round: shanking at the range rather than the course.