Kyle Voska Golf

Tip-Of-The Month April ’10: Stopping The Shanks

NO MORE SHANKS!

Alright, let’s just get it out-of-the-way right now.  Shank, shank, shank, shank, shank, shank, shank.  Say it with pride and conviction.  Shank, shank, shank!  Embrace it.  Let’s not call it the “S-word”, or anything else that doesn’t justify the pure dreadfulness of the shot.  Just get it out and be done with it.  Shank!  Say it again.  Shank!  Shank!  The first step in recovering from a shank is to accept it in all it’s glory. It’s happens.  In fact, it’s happens to the best of us.  I’m good for a few shanks a year.  It’s no big deal.  I saw Jim Furyk shank one on the 72nd hole of his recent victory in Tampa.  It happens to everyone.  It’s obviously no fun to hit one, but hey, shanks happen.  Today, I’m going to explain the major causes of the shank, how to go about fixing them, and how to recover when this lateral shot occurs.

What Causes A Shank

First of all, let’s clarify that a shank is hit off the hosel of the golf club.  This is the area just below the shaft.  Now, I have seen shanks off the toe, but they’re pretty rare.  When you shank a shot off the toe of the club, it’s usually short and soft off to the right.  A shank off the hosel comes off with a ton of steam and curves way off to the right, much more penalizing.

Simply, a shank is a shot where the hosel of the club comes in contact with the ball first before the clubface hits the ball. This can happen two ways:  the clubface has gotten closer to the ball at impact compared to the address position, or the clubface is very open at impact with the hosel leading the way.  Here are some of the ways this can happen:

1. Starting with your weight on your heels - When you start with your weight on your heels, you will rock back and forth like a teeter totter during your swing and will usually be on your toes at impact.  When your weight is on your toes at impact, you’ve usually gotten closer to the golf ball.  This pushes your hands towards the ball making it easier to hit the ball off the hosel.
2. Standing too close to the ball – Standing too close to the ball at address gives you very little space to swing down into the ball.  The force of the swing will either cause your hands to go up or out resulting in a steep swing or a shank.  Neither is preferred.
3. Aiming too much to the right - When you aim right with your body and look to out to the target, your eyes will subconsciously tell you to swing left.  When you do this, it causes you to pull left.  When you pull left with the club, it causes the hosel of the club lead the way back to the ball.  It’s much harder to release/square the clubface when you’re making a pulling motion with your left side.
4. Swinging outside-to-in (across the ball) -  The swing that causes the slice can also cause the shank.  Sorry slicers! But, like I just stated, when you swing across the ball (outside-to-in) the hosel has a much better chance of hitting the ball first.

How To Fix These Faults and Stop The Shanks

1. Proper Posture at Address – Generally, when your weight is on your heels, you’re bending too much from your knees.  Proper posture involves leaning over from your hip joints (waist), not sitting down in your knees. To do this, stand tall with the club resting along your right shoulder.  Lean over keeping the club there and your knees locked.  Then slowly drop the club down to the ground.  Last, bend your knees about an inch, no more.  This will evenly balance your weight and allow your arms to hang from your shoulders.
2. Standing the Proper Distance From the Ball – When you’ve addressed your ball, there should be ample space, about 5 inches, between the end of the grip and your belt buckle.  If you’re bending from your waist and not your knees, while allowing your arms to hang naturally you should’ve created this space.  This space allows you to return the club from where it started instead of it being pushed outward by the body when jammed up.
3. Aim Correctly – Place a club on the ground pointing to your target.  Place another club parallel to this club about where your feet will be placed.  Remove the first club and put a ball down.  Your feet should be parallel to your target line.  At first, you’ll feel like you’re aimed 40 yards left, but it’ll show you just how much you were swinging left on your downswing.  After some practice, you’ll start swinging down the line longer decreasing the chance of a shank.
4. Swing In-to-Out – The golf swing is a circular motion. The swing goes up and in and back down to the ball on the same path.  Due to the fact the ball is off to our side, you will swing back to the ball from the inside.  To hit the ball properly, you should be hitting the ball slightly from the inside.  When you slice the ball, most likely, you’re swinging from the outside-to-in.  This motion can also cause the shank.  Try hitting the inside part of the ball out to the right. It’s hard to do when you fear right (the normal result of a slice), but it’s how to properly stop the slice.

What To Do After A Shank

First, look to see if anyone saw the shot.  Maybe, just maybe, no one saw the shot and you can meander over to your next shot without shame, just a new challenge from a different spot.  Second, if your playing partners saw it, laugh it off. How did that happen?  Obviously, everyone knows how, but act as if it’s the first shank you’ve every seen.  Just craziness.  A total freak of nature shot.  It’ll never happen again.  Third, get determined.  If you’re ball is still in play (I will admit, shanking it out-of-bounds, into a condo, lake, or woods is pretty discouraging.  At this point, it’s best to just pull your hat down a bit, shed a quick tear, say a prayer, re-tie your shoes, choose a different club for the next shot and go onward.) flip your attitude to the opposite and accept the challenge.  Try to make a par or bogey after shanking a shot. It feels pretty good making a par after shanking one.  Accept the shot, deal with it, and go forward challenging yourself to not allow it to affect the rest of the hole or round.

Simple Tip To Stop The Shanks:  Use These Tips When Struggling Mid-Round or On The Range

• Keep your hands in close to your body, backswing and downswing
• Feel heavy, balanced feet at address
• Try rotating/closing the clubface sooner on your downswing

It’s been said that the hardest shot in golf is the shot after a shank.  Sometimes, this is very true, but hopefully these clarifications and tips will eliminate your shanks for good.

Thanks for reading and good luck!

April 5, 2010 - Posted by Kyle Voska | Golf Tips, Slicers Corner, Tips-of-the-Month | fix the shanks, no more shanks, shanking the golf ball, shanks, stop shanking it, stop the shanks