Stop Shanking with these Fixes

Most of the time shanking occurs with the short irons but can happen with the mid irons too. This untimely unexpected shot happens without warning.

In golfing terminology the ball makes contact with the hosel instead of the heel of the club face, sending the ball at right angles to the intended target.

Jack Nicklaus was once asked at a golf clinic how do you cure a shank?His answer was “I don’t know because I have never had one.”

It goes to show that even touring pros don’t have answers sometimes. Personally, I think some touring pros shy away from the word because it is such a disastrous shot.

Nevertheless let me show you how to solve the problem with shanking for good.

Take a look at some of the causes, understand them, and then fix the problem.

The club shaft position at the top of your swing

If your club shaft at the top of your swing is pointing too far to the left of target or in a flat position you will struggle to meet the ball squarely with the club face.

This is caused by taking the club away at address too much with the hands instead of the arms and shoulders. Please note that an incorrect grip also affects the club position at the top of the back swing.

Fix
Here you need to feel the club swing back more upright. It should be swinging more parallel to your target line. Feel the right shoulder, moving up in the back swing.

Straightening the posture in the back swing

Straightening or lifting the upper body in the back swing will cause your arms and club to swing too flat. The club will be off plane and return to the ball from an outside swing path and most likely make contact with the neck of the club head.

Fix
To correct this, maintain your posture at address throughout the back swing. Knees and back should not move up or down. Be sure to stand tall but with a slight knee bend.

Straightening in the back swing is caused by incorrect posture at address and being too crouched over the ball. Check the correct posture here.

Looping in your swing

The upper body moves forward and to the left side on the back swing, this sets you up to swing the club outside the correct plane of your swing. On the down swing the club returns from an outside swing path.

Turn your hips and shoulders more fully on the back swing. Practice the takeaway with the arms, hands and shoulders all moving together.

Point the chin behind the ball from address till impact while turning in the back swing. This will help you to correct the problem.

Standing too far from the ball

Standing too far from the ball promotes a shank shot. It promotes swinging your arms away from you in the down swing.

Stand closer to the ball, this will encourage you to tilt and turn the shoulders and swing more upright.

Great Tip!
A good tip for shanking is to address the ball in the heel of the club. Once taken back you will subconsciously bring your arms closer to your body on the way down striking the ball in the middle of the club face.

Alignment is too much left

When taking up an open stance with short irons it is very easy to open the stance too much to the left. This sets you up to swing across the ball too much and is the perfect set up for shanking.

Rather set up square to your target and keep it that way all the time, and you should never have any problem with shanking the ball.

Remember with an open stance the ball position changes too. This should also be taken into account when changing address positions.

Too strong a left hand grip

If the left hand is turned too much to the right on the grip with the thumb on the side of the grip this can also be a contribution to contacting the ball with the hosel instead of the club face.

Fix
Turn the left hand more to the left till the thumb is on top of the grip.

Swinging at the ball
Swinging at the ball instead of through it can also cause this dreaded shot.

Fix
Swing through all your shots, even a short chip shot.

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