The dreaded shank – hosel rocket, el hosel, shankapotamus, socketing, shanks for the memories. Many consider it the worst shot in golf. Arguably, most golfers admit that it is not technically a “golf shot” because it’s an unintentional action not a purposeful shot.

Answers.com defines the shank as:

“Hitting the golf ball with the heel of the club, causing the ball to veer in the wrong direction.”

And Brent Kelley on About.com’s Golf Guide defines it as:

“….a mis-hit that is so bad the golfer makes contact with the ball with a part of the club other than the clubface….someone who shanks a lot might be said to “have the shanks” or be “shanking it”. A shank is one of the worst mis-hits in golf; in fact, many golfers don’t even like saying the word out loud”.

 

The shanks are not a laughing matter (except for your playing buddies, when you choke, and shank one from the fairway of 18). For many of us, “getting the shanks” is a plague to our morale, and handicaps. For others, a shanked shot, is a “whoops” and the game goes on. Regardless of what group you’re in, understanding the causes of the shank will get you on your way to weeding this fault out of your golf game. We’ll cover the three most common causes for a shank and how to fix them in this post. Enjoy!

We all hate hitting a shank. The root cause of it is a weight-shift issue. I’m not talking about the normal weight shift as you swing into the ball, but a weight shift towards the ball. The problems source lies in the feet… and the movement is so miniscule, it’s hard to believe it can be such a problem.

Hey everyone, thanks for stopping by – we’ve got a quick little post today. The shank plagues many of us; quite often it creeps into our swing when we are in high-pressure situations. This is when fundamentals are key. Ensuring you’re the proper distance from the ball and your weight is properly balanced is key to avoiding the shank. ‘The Golf Fix’ has a rather high octane version of this fundamental check up. Watch below…

 

 

A re-cap…

1) Stand the proper distance from the ball – bend at your hips, with a straight back. Your arms should be resting in front of your belt buckle. When viewed from behind your arms should be hanging close to straight down. Standing too tall or too far from the ball will cause poor posture, leading to poor contact.

2) Balance – your body weight needs to rest on the center of your feet, if it rest either on your heels or your toes, your weight will shift during your swing leading to inconsistent contact.

Enjoy!

 

Enjoy this great video lesson to help fix your shank. For those of you who often fan the club open on the backswing... also known as rolling your wrists open, this drill is for you! Don't miss this one. 

Problem: The player’s swing is too flat (probably from standing too far away from the ball at address), and their path is coming too far from the inside on the downswing.

For those of you who suffer from a shank, there is a fundamental mistake that many of you do before you even hit the ball leads to your mistake. A poorly balanced swing causes a shank more often that you’d think…