Shhhhhhhhh! We need to talk quietly. No golfer wants to hear the word, shank. It will turn a great round of golf into a disaster real quick. Just hearing the word sometimes infects a golfer who has never shanked a ball in his life. Suddenly he has the shanks , too. What causes a shank and what can be done to correct it? I will discuss both in this article.
Your golf game has been great; but today or recently, you all of a sudden started shanking your golf ball. I've hit fifty or seventy-five shanks in a row
What is a shank? Well the dictionary says, "a shot veering sharply to the right after being hit with the base of a club shaft." This definition seems as good as any. When you hit a shank your golf ball goes to the right rather than where you were aiming for it to go. A case of the shanks literally makes me sick. I went to a golf pro to try to solve my problem with the shanks. The pro didn't even want me to say the word ,"shank", in his presence. He told me that the club champ just came to him with the same problem. The shanks treat everybody alike. Whether you are a good golfer or a bad golfer you can shank the golf ball.
Apparently, the shank is caused by the club head being open when the club hits the ball, the ball is actually hit by the bottom of the shaft of the club. The cure for the shanks is easy; make sure that the club head is closed at impact. My pro first examined the way I was positioned over the ball.
I was doomed from the start. My club head was open as I addressed the ball. When I swang the club, the clubface never closed and the result was a nasty shank. Not only was my club head opened at the address of the ball; but I never broke my wrists during my swing.Now, if you are hitting the shanks I would suggest you have someone look at the face of your club at address. Is the club head pointing toward the target that you are aiming for? If it is not, have your partner turn the club head so it is square with the target. Hit a shot, and you will probably be on line or just left of target. Set up again over the ball. Have your friend tell you whether you are square to the target or not. Adjust your club head until it is square. Hit the ball again. Keep going through this process until you can set up and address the ball properly.
If you are set up square with the target at address; but you still are shanking the ball, more than likely you are not finishing your swing. At impact, your wrists need to turn over to complete the swing. Turn your wrists over too late and you will shank the ball. Turn over your wrists too soon and you may hit a nasty snap hook. Just make sure you are not locking your wrists at impact.
To sum things up, you will not stop hitting shanks until your club face is square with the target on impact. Practice setting up and practice following through with your swing to cure the shanks.