The Anti-Shank Warmup for All Levels
So, the other simple way to stop shanking while on a golf course. Is to take your stance as normal. Then just before you go to start your takeaway. Lift all of your toes ‘up a little’ inside your golf shoes. They won’t be able to move a lot.
To stop shanking your wedges, you likely need to work on striking the ball more towards the toe of the club, avoiding the heel and hosel. This could be due to standing too close to the ball at address or leaning forward too much during your swing, leading to a heel strike.
There are many ways to correct a shank, however, standing a little further away from the ball and keeping your weight on your heels the entire swing is the easiest way to correct it on the fly. -Bill Moretti, Austin, Texas 3. Stay tall through the swing First, take a deep breath. Next, lighten your grip and try to stay tall during the swing.
This doesn’t mean every shot is going to be a toe, but that the pattern is moved in that direction to eliminate the shank. Take the red pattern and shift it in the direction of the toe, until you get a desired strike How do I do this? There are many technical ways to fix a shank – many of which I discuss in incredible detail in The Strike Plan.
0:2812:50HOW TO STOP SHANKING IN 5 MINUTES (don't miss this fix)YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIn like five minutes. Okay you just gotta understand it. And then apply that the fix to your swing.MoreIn like five minutes. Okay you just gotta understand it. And then apply that the fix to your swing. And then all of a sudden you're gonna stop shanking.
The shank happens because the clubface is closed and the toe of the club hits into the ground producing a long, skinny divot. Again, the shank happens because the club is dramatically shut at impact NOT open. It's hard for most golfers to imagine the ball going that far right with a closed face.
It is possible that you are standing too close to the ball, and the primary cause is incorrect posture. To cure this, allow your arms to hang toward the ground, then grip the club as you have been taught.
5:467:01How to Eliminate the Golf Shank Shot - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipMy left shoulder staying low. And working back towards the wall. Okay. So in slow motion. I've got aMoreMy left shoulder staying low. And working back towards the wall. Okay. So in slow motion. I've got a slight open stance back swing lead shoulder stays low. And works back and towards the wall.
The main cause of shanking the golf ball is a strike that is too far out of the heel of the club, close to the hosel. This generally comes about because your set up is too close to the ball, or you tip forward towards the ball during the swing.
Because the ball darts right, most golfers think an open clubface causes the shank. But shanks usually come from an excessively closed face. The player swings out to in with the face closing hard -- both actions push the hosel closer to the ball (top). If the hosel catches the ball, it's shank city.
Standing too close to the golf ball will result in a posture that's too upright, which could result in inconsistent shots and no control over the ball. Standing too close to the ball can result in slices and shanks, which are very common among average players.
On the one hand, the shanks are something mental, but you have to acknowledge that there is a physical component. The experience was shocking, sad, surreal, shattering my firmly held convictions. I felt like the skeptic who'd scoffed at hypnotism, only to wind up clucking like a chicken.
When your hands get further away at impact than they were at address, a shank will likely be the result. If you stand too close to the ball, it will be easier to open the clubface too much leading to a shank. It also increases your chances of hitting the ball with the heel of the club.
This is usually caused from a lack of upper body rotation. To fix it, try this simple drill: Place a towel across your chest under both arms. Using a wedge, make half swings focusing on using your chest to swing the club. The towel should stay under your arms from start to finish.
The weakness inherent in this grip can cause the clubface to remain open at impact, again leading to the dreaded shank. To fix the problem, strengthen your grip position by turning your left hand more to the right (as the photo shows).
1:084:26STOP SHANKING YOUR PITCH SHOTS - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo what we see a lot of is that as we move the club away we see a lot of disconnection with the armsMoreSo what we see a lot of is that as we move the club away we see a lot of disconnection with the arms. Often we see the club come sort of inside. And the arms move away from the body now.
Identify your golf shank first. There are 4 different causes of golf shanks so it’s important you identify which one you suffer from so you can implement the right golf shank fix quickly.. Once you've done this it makes the job of fixing the shank much easier and more likely to start hitting the golf ball well again.
And even though as a golf coach ‘the shanks’ are probably about the easiest thing to sort out. For most golfers they can be a devastating affair as generally they appear during an important game. Which means most golfers react by panicking, then instantly start to change things in their technique.
“Instead of changing everything to do with your technique, what needs to be addressed is the movement of your body in towards the ball (see above) as you get close to hitting it.
I don’t care if you are frightened of the word. I’m not going to pussy foot around and call it ‘the dreaded S word’. Man up! It’s a shank.
I’ve done enough lessons to be called an expert (10,000 hour rule), and I have inevitably come across a lot of shankers. I’ve noticed something consistent across the board with them. This is what they think their typically strike patterns look like
Well, upon further inspection this is almost always the case. Their shot/strike patterns look more like this.
There are many technical ways to fix a shank – many of which I discuss in incredible detail in The Strike Plan.
Sometimes I hear some bulls#%t about how people can’t change their strike pattern because of a technical flaw. But I guarantee you already possess the ability to shift your strike pattern more toe-wards.
Draw a line down the heel 1/3 of your clubface as shown. Draw a dot on the ball. Place the ball on the ground. Now hit 10 shots, getting a point for each mark you get on the grooved area of the face toe-side of the line.
Put another ball on the toe side of the clubface, as shown, with just enough room to get the clubhead on the ball, blocking off any heel hits. Now hit balls trying to strike the inside ball alone. Avoid hitting the outside ball.
If you find yourself getting too close to the ball or if you have a tendency of leaning in too much , then flex your toes up inside your shoes. It will shift your weight back and make you lean away a bit. With this trick, you can offset the tendency to move inward and hitting shank shots.
In order to avoid hard hands, loosen up a bit at the grip of the golf club. You do not want to stranglehold the golf club. You want a smooth swing and a whip-like movement which can only come with a slightly loose grip.
With too much weight on the toes, the golfer ends up getting too close to the ball because the downswing motion results in the transfer of weight from the heels to the toes. By standing too tall over the ball and having disproportionate weight on the toes, the golfer is already leaning towards the ball.
With too much weight on the toes, the golfer ends up getting too close to the ball because the downswing motion results in the transfer of weight from the heels to the toes.
Leaning too much towards the ball or the target messes up with the posture of a golfer’s body. It makes the body and the swing arc move too far or too near to the golf ball.
Standing at the correct distance from the ball is what this drill is all about. First, place the club behind the ball and let it fall towards you. Then adjust your feet such that the top end of the grip is directly below your chest.
If you need to make any corrections to your swing path or practice it once if you are hitting inside out (or across), then do a trial swing before you actually hit the ball.
The easiest way to fix shanks mid-round is to focus on a blade of grass to the inside of the golf ball. With your next swing make sure the middle of the clubface hits that blade of grass. This exposes the middle (or even toe) of the clubface and divorces your swing from the hosel.
The shanks are caused by an open club face and a cast pattern during transition and release 95 percent of the time. Close the club face and try to intentionally swing and miss the ball to the inside (closer to you) from a normal address position. This will get your contact away from the hosel and toward the center of the clubface.
If you are playing recreationally, tee up the ball and focus totally on swinging the clubhead to the target . This can remove the anxiety out of your mind and body so you can free up your swing. If you are too far into that downward spiral, I would suggest you stop playing, look for the beverage cart and have a drink!
1. Try to miss the ball on the inside 2. Stand farther from the ball 3. Stay tall through the swing 4. Focus on the inside of the ball 5.
3. Stay tall through the swing. First, take a deep breath. Next, lighten your grip and try to stay tall during the swing. Most shanks are due to getting your weight out on your toes, so take a few practice swings with a lighter grip and stay tall through the swing.
A shank occurs when you hit the ball off the hosel. The hosel is the socket connecting the shaft of your golf club to the clubhead. Here is a classic example of a shanked chip shot: When you hit the golf ball off the hosel, the ball travels super low and far to the right, assuming you’re right-handed. If you’re left-handed, the ball veers ...
Fortunately, you can tell whether you’ve sliced it or shanked it just by observing your ball flight. A golf shank travels low and directly to the right. A slice gets up in the air and curves to the right. For now, I’m going to share golf swing tips for overcoming the golf shank only. But don’t worry.
Take your regular golf stance. Open your stance by shifting your lead foot farther back than your trail foot. Take your backswing. As you swing forward, be mindful of your lead shoulder and the wall behind you. (If there is no wall, imagine one.) You want the lead shoulder to stay low and work back towards the wall.
Shanking is when you hit the ball on the inside of your club. More specifically, you catch the ball on the hosel, back towards the heel of the club face. When you do this, the ball shoots straight off to the right (for a right-handed golfer).
I see a lot of golfers shanking wedges because they drag the club head inside on the backswing. To put it another way, they work the clubhead back so it’s on the same plane as their body, instead of a swing path that is straight back and straight through.
First, remember these two essential tips: 1 Take your wedge setup with the club in a neutral position. 2 Swing the club straight back and straight through. ( Here are more tips for nailing your swing motion.)
When your hands are too far forward, you force the club to lean forward as well. This rotates the clubface open to the right (if you’re right-handed) and exposes the heel on the downswing. Inevitably, that heel is going to hit your golf ball and send it shooting off to the right.
Lay the alignment rod on the ground alongside your ball. The rod should be pointed at the target with the ball at the center of the rod. Place a tee at either end of the alignment rod. Remove the rod. Take your wedge setup, with the shaft in a neutral position, ball position middle to slightly back in your stance.
Set up properly (as discussed above), flex your toes upward as you begin your swing and keep your chest high (maintain your spine angle) throughout the swing. Other than those focal points, keep your brain free of any additional chatter, which only exacerbates shankitis.
More often than not, a shank occurs when a player’s weight gets too far onto the toes, causing a lean forward. Instead of the center of the clubface striking the ball—as you intended at address—the hosel makes contact with your Titleist, and—cover your ears and guard your soul—a shank occurs.