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Johnson Wagner is my new favorite professional golfer.
Not because of how he's playing on the PGA Tour - he's not - but because of how brave he has been putting himself out there on Golf Channel's 'Live From' segments. As anyone who has tuned in is aware, Wagner is battling the chipping yips. His short-game segments at major events are must-watch...in the same way that you can't look away from a car crash. He's chunking and blading chips on live TV like every weekend hacker at their local muni. Check out the shenanigans while scrolling the video highlights - er, lowlights - from Instagram.
If Wagner, a three-time tour winner, can reveal his golf demons with a smile on his face on live TV, then it's time for me to come clean, too. I've been battling the chipping yips AND the short-iron shanks for the better part of three years. There, I wrote it, for all to see.
I shouldn't be ashamed, but I am. Even major champions like Ian-Baker Finch and Tiger Woods have suffered these terrible afflictions. They can happen to anyone.
My short game works fine from the rough and the bunker. It's those tight lies around the greens that freak me out. I've compensated by becoming a solid putter from well off the putting surface. Other times, I'll bump and run a hybrid, a niche skill that usually entertains golfers playing with me for the first time. It would be nice, though, to get rid of the chipping yips for good and go back to more tradition shots around the green, but I'm not there yet. We could all use a refresher course about chipping and pitching fundamentals in this story. The short game is often more important to scoring than how far you hit it.
My shanks, though...they're another problem entirely. I've actually been putting off this column for the better part of the year because I didn't even want to write the word for fear of how it might trigger a return. I thankfully haven't had one in a while.
I can pinpoint the exact moment the shank entered my life. I was on the range in fall 2021 at Black Mesa Golf Club, a gorgeous but difficult desert course an hour from Albuquerque, N.M. My first swing with an 8 iron - my favorite club - went directly right. So did the second, the third, the fourth, etc. After about 10 swings, I headed to the putting green in a panic. My golf life has never been the same since.
The first six months after that incident were tough. I had a handful of stretches where the shank would reappear out of nowhere, almost always with a 9 iron or wedge in hand. I recall specific disasters in Arizona, Texas and at home in California in front of friends, golf writer colleagues and complete strangers.
Although I can't recall my latest one - it's been so long - the fear of the next one forever lingers in the back of your mind.
Now that I've come out of the closet as a (hopefully) recovering "shank-a-holic", it's time to help others in need. I've gathered up several videos from the GolfPass archives on how to get rid of the chipping yips and the shanks. I hope Wagner is watching. I know I am.
Watch this video to cure your chipping yips
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This video will help you banish the shanks
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