GOLFMEDIC

Tip From the Archives

Shanking

Problem

You shank the ball; this causes the ball to fly off towards the right after making contact with the neck of the club. It happens because you swing too fast, off plane, over-the-top or away from your body. It is common to shank the ball if you are playing an extreme fade from a sand bunker. This is due to flattening your swing with the clubface open so that the clubhead comes too far outside. You are even more likely to shank the ball on a sidehill lie with the ball below your feet because your body weight is centered too much onto your toes.

Cure

Your body might be too stiff; restricting the shoulder turn during your backswing, causing you to swing outside of the swinging plane. Your swing will then be too flat and the face of the club will be open. Try keeping your backswing a little more upright.

Therapy

The biggest cause for shanking is from placing too much weight onto your toes; so make sure that you center most of your weight onto the balls of your feet. Take plenty of practice swings until you are relaxed because if your swing is too jerky, fast, or uneven then it will cause you to hit the ball off of the hosel. It is most common to shank a shorter iron due to a shorter swing length, therefore not having enough time to reroute the club as you could when using a full swing. A good way to reprogram or reroute your swing is take a long box, such as the one your clubs came in, and lay it on the ground on the outside of your ball so that it is parallel to the target line. Pull the club back along the box to prevent your backswing from being too far inside. As you do this, you should concentrate on the clubshaft standing upright. Now you need to move the club down and under as you take your downswing.

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