Darius - I am not a fan of the lateral power fade either but I may be able to help. If you remember from the movie Tin Cup - where his caddy gets him to do a bunch of weird stuff on the range - then tells him it all in his head. I say hit the range and just swing freely. Your HR's will be gone in no time....

Hi Darius - so sorry to hear that they have returned. I read your story last week about your encounter with them and I felt very bad for you because they can be traumatic and at times difficult to deal with.

So, after having read your experience with them, I found myself at the range and as I was just finishing my warm up routine, when lo and behold it happened to me. I tried a couple of more swings and the same thing happened.

So here is what I did regarding them ... I remembered a couple of instructional videos or tips that Ken Venturi shared about the shanks. He spoke about it being caused primarily by a steep inside to outside swing path on the downswing.

So the drill that I went through was to slowly and consciously practice my takeaway - one piece, slowly and fully back on a straight line before making my shoulder/hip turn. After a few minutes of this, I hit some full shots at about 60% speed to mentally make sure that I was making the downswing properly and not too steep (as can happen with our irons).

After about 5 - 10 shots like this, I then proceeded to hit the shots at full speed. Voilà ... I did not hit another one like that since (I type this on a wooden desk with one hand touching it!). Of course, this assumes that your setup is still fundamentally sound (club face at setup, ball position relative to stance, etc.) and I assume that you will be able to keep tabs on that.

I wouldn't wish these on anyone - they are dreadful and sap one's confidence in a heartbeat! I hope that this is helpful Darius ... as golfers we are all in this together! :-)

Address the ball slightly inside the toe, swing freely and experiment from there- gradually you will find the center of the clubface

I’m not good enough to give advice...but having seen you play, I know you’ll figure this out.

Thanks for all the kind advice and words of encouragement...
I actually got some great advice the other day. Given my problem is with those shots that start around 70 yds and in, my friend noted I should simply take my putter and whack the ball backwards to the 90 yd mark leaving me a full shot into the green. Sounds kind of silly, but it is only one stroke which I may even save with a great shot in and a one putt. A lot better than whacking one into the woods or a hazard and losing possibly 4 or 5 shots on the hole :)
On a side note, I did shoot a 73 the other day, but that was mainly because I avoided the bunkers and always laid up behind the 100 yd marker. I even played a par five by hitting a 3 wood followed by a nine iron to leave me 130 yard wedge shot into the green. Turned into a birdie !!!! The day before I hit my second shot to 60 yds and took an 8 !!! SO - the lesson for me is to lay up and play to my strengths until this goes away.