The shank happens because the clubface is closed and the toe of the club hits into the ground producing a long, skinny divot. What’s worse is that once a golfer thinks it’s caused by an open face, most players will try to close the club even more resulting in more shanks!
What causes a shank in golf?
- A shank is caused when the ball is struck out of the heel or hosel of the club. What causes that to happen is one, or a combination of, the following: Setting up too close to the ball (see this video for measuring how far away you should be)
How do you get rid of shanks?
Here’s what they had to say.
- Try to miss the ball on the inside. The shanks are caused by an open club face and a cast pattern during transition and release 95 percent of the time.
- Stand farther from the ball.
- Stay tall through the swing.
- Focus on the inside of the ball.
- Have a drink.
Why am I shanking my irons all of a sudden?
You will often shank a golf shot because your hands are farther away from your body at impact than they were at address. Check how far away from the ball you stand. If you are standing too close, the swing angle will be disrupted, you will lift the club on the downswing and possibly hit a shank.
Why can’t I stop shanking the ball?
Make sure that you have little tension in your arms and hands because that is the number one cause of shanking. Excessive tightness makes it impossible to release the club properly, and the hosel leads right into the ball. A good drill is to force the bottom hand over the top hand while going through the hitting area.
Why have I started shanking the ball?
Put simply, you hit a shank because the club reutrns to the ball further away from you than it was at address. For that to happen, either your weight is moving outwards – into your toes – during the downswing, or your arms are somehow re-routing to swing back down further from your body.
Why am I shanking my irons to the right?
A shank is when a player hits the ball and misses the iron clubface instead making contact with the hosel of the club. This makes the ball shoot off to the right and barely go any distance at all.
Can standing too close to the ball cause a shank?
Standing too close to a golf ball can cause a shank. This is one of the most common hits experienced by a player who stands too close to the ball. A shank is one of the worst hits possible because there is just no way to know where the ball will end up after the hit.
How do you stop a shank on a wedge?
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. When you get comfortable hitting the ground in the same spot over and over, try it with a ball.
Are the shanks mental?
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.
Can a weak grip cause shanks?
It’s in a weak position, meaning there isn’t much room left for the hand to rotate through impact. It’s already almost facing the target. The weakness inherent in this grip can cause the clubface to remain open at impact, again leading to the dreaded shank.