Shank Shot The Most Embarrassing Shot Made On The Golf Course

Shank Shot - The Most Embarrassing Shot Made On The Golf Course

Golf takes time and practice, especially when you are just starting out with the sport and are frustrated by common flawed shots, like the annoying slice or the dreaded hook, which essentially causes the ball to veer off severely left or right, instead of straight towards the intended target.

Then there is the "shank". The shank has got to be one of the most embarrassing shots a golf player can make. Look at it this way, hitting a shank is worse than missing a one or two-foot putt. This is one experience that you want to avoid at all costs!

What Causes The Shank?

You create a shank whenever you hit the golf ball with the "hosel" portion of the club, instead of the actual club face. When the ball hits the hosel, which is a thin and round surface, it is sent sharply to the left, or right, and hardly becomes airborne, traveling at the most 25 to 35 yards.

If you are shanking the ball too often on the golf course, the odds are very good that you are probably extending (pushing) the club out and away from the body on the downswing portion. Or you may be coming into the ball with a severe outside-in movement, which causes the hosel to come forward and hit the ball before the clubface can reach it.

In order to fix this problem, the first thing to do is be sure that your swing path is coming from the inside. By practicing this adjustment in your swing, the toe of the club will lead the hosel and your swing will come inside and out, producing a properly released clubhead, and the end result is a shankless shot.

Try This Practice Drill

You can easily train yourself to avoid hitting a shank with this simple, two-step drill:

1. Using 2 tees, place one into the ground where your ball would be placed. Take the second one and place it approximately 2 inches outside of the first tee.

2. Now you simply swing and aim for the first tee. Keep your swing easy and try to hit the first tee on target while completely missing the outside tee. If you are hitting both tees then you are pushing the club out and away from you. Keep on practicing until you are only hitting the first tee at each shot, thereby eliminating the shank with consecutive in-to-out swing paths.