Hard slice on my new clubs

Question
QUESTION: Hello, i used to play my grandfathers very old set of callaways with graphite shafts and my accuracy wasn't too great but i could hit my five iron about 190, i'm 20 years old and golf 1-3 times a week, i recently just got the callaway x18s with steel shaft and i just went on a golf trip for 3 days and could not hit any of my mid irons solid! i would hit the ball very akwardly where it hurt my hand and would only go 60 yards completely to the right i hit maybe 4 good iron shots the whole trip and that was with a sandwedge or pitching wedge.  Any help would be appreciated, im starting to almost regret getting steel shafts

ANSWER: Hello Michael:

The copout answer would be to say go back to your old clubs, but I will need more information than what you have given me to help you.  Are you shanking the ball (squirting to the right at a 45 degree angle and not going very far)?  If you are 20 years old and play 1-3 times per week, you should be strong enough to handle the clubs you got.  Did you get professionally fit for the clubs, or did you just buy them?  What do you shoot for 18 holes?  When you miss hit the shot, does it tend to go right or left?  Does it slice or hook, or just go straight right or straight left?  How much do you practice and do you take lessons?  Give me some more info Michael and I can give you some great advice.  Thanks.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I appreciate you taking the time to help, yes the ball is not going very far and shanking to the right, i just bought the clubs didnt get fit (i am a college student so the budget wasnt all there) i normally shoot around low 90's high 80's for 18, last year i was a 17 handicap, but recently its been high 90's. i hit the ball off the range good but then off the grass i was having a problem. i dont practice as much as i play. Any more help you can give would be great! thank you

Answer
Hi Michael:

Thanks for answering the questions.  Let me help you with your shank issue.  Here is what to check.  Start with the obvious.  Are you too close to the ball?  Remember a shank is hit off the hosel (the neck) of the club.  So at impact, the clubhead must be moving out and around the ball somehow in order to contact it on the neck.  So, check this first.  Set the clubhead down behind the ball like you always do, then back up away from the ball about 2 inches without moving the clubhead.  Second, are you swinging from out to in?  Is your club moving too far to the left through impact?  Check your divots.  Are they pointing to the left and are they deep?  If so, you need to change the path the club swings on.  The club should be moving from inside the target line towards the target.  Third, are you using your hands too much, are they too active in an attempt to do something with the clubhead?  It's easy to have the clubhead go out and around the ball if your hands get too active.  Check your grip and quiet the hand action.  Fourth, check your balance.  If your weight moves out towards your toes on the downswing, you'll tend to hit it in the neck and shank it.  At the finish, your weight should be on the outside of the left foot, towards the heel, not the toes.  My best advice is to find a good, quality PGA Professional and get some lessons.  You'll need them for clarification and continued success.  DO NOT take instruction from just anyone who thinks they can help you.  Learn the fundamentals of the game.  Then practice them relentlessly.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Professional