Golf tips to correct shanking the ball? ?

Question

I have read plenty of magazines, tried many tips and drills, and played the game of golf for about 8 years. Until this past year, I have never had a problem with shanking the golf ball. I seem to be letting my hands move away from my body at impact which moves the hosel and shaft closer to the ball, resulting in a shank from time to time. I also know that sometimes I'm not rotating my right hand (trailing hand) at impact, which causes the face to stay open at impact and can also cause somewhat of a shank. Does anyone know of a fail-proof way or practice drill to correct this, without giving up golf, of course? Thanks!

Answer 1

Sorry man, that is the worst sound in the world. The sad part about a shank, 99% of your swing is good. I have seen tour pros shank.

You already have some good answers but let me add two things.

1. Then you shank sometimes the ball is too far away form you, you reach and over reach. Try moving the ball closer to you.

2. It’s all in you legs. (right handed) get to you left side, down and through the ball. hanging back will mess up you plane and cause a shank.  

No "fail-proof" anything is golf!  

Answer 2

My wife is a 4 handicap and in the last few weeks began hitting 1 or 2 shanks a round.  Just dead right shots, with her short irons.  We went to the range and did a few drills.  First, rechecked her alignment and ball position, next taking half swings, concentrating on ball striking, then 3 quarter speed, then full swing.  Finally, stand with feet together and repeat - to make sure no excess body movement.  Working on the tempo of the swing, not mechanics.  Seems to have helped, she shot 72 this weekend.  No shanks.  

Answer 3

Re learn your half swing. get it into a perfect groove and then move to 3/4. Once you have this just pick up the pace and you will be at a full swing again.

Answer 4

I will have to agree with PatB 100% once in a while I suffer from the shanks and it is always a tempo thing with me.  I start to overswting, go past parallel at the top and then everything on the way down is out of sync.  

Whenever I have them in the middle of a round, I go to a 3/4 swing and slow my backswing that usually clears it right up.

If you have time at a range to work on it follow the steps listed by PatB

Answer 5

Think of skipping a rock across water.  The motion is very similar to the downswing.  I tend to forget about that when I'm not hitting very well.  

Answer 6

i actually had the same problem..try this....playing the ball maybe 2-3 in. farther forward in your stance...it'll give a lil extra space for you to get your right hand around on the ball.....if that doesnt work, try changing your grip....what really helped me was gippiing it with your right thumb over the top of the grip, so when you look straight down at your grip, you cant see it because your right thumb is covering it,i think its called a weak grip,so essentially rotating your right hand counterclockwise on the gripuntil your right thumb is pointing verticaly straight down the shaft of your club....i think thats the best way i can explain it...

Answer 7

Since golfing is as much about the rules as it is about the game itself, “Golf - Everything You Want to Know!” is going to give you the tips that you need to play golf anywhere in the world.

It covers the basics of golf rules:

Early guidelines

The first formal rules

Local rules

Other countries, other rules

But you need more than just the rules, right?

Even if you've never stepped on a golf course or know where the best courses are, with “Golf - Everything You Want to Know!” you're going to gain the confidence you need to choose wisely.

Answer 8

Fool proof?  no, nothing in golf is fool-proof, but, in my experience, shanking is a mental problem, believe it or not.  It gets into your skull and then you think about it during your swing.  My advice is clear your mind while swinging or maybe concentrate solely on your hip turn or something, eliminate the negative thought from your brain.  Easy? NO, Impossible? no

Good Luck!

Answer 9

From what you've told us I would say the most likely source of the shank is relating to the hands moving away from the body at impact.  Contary to popular belief, a shank is not caused by cutting across the ball but rather from striking the ball from too inside the correct swing path.  Whenever I've had the shanks, I corrected it by making sure I am taking the club straight backwards rather than taking it back on an inside line.  When I slip into this habit, I try correct it by putting a tee on the ground about a foot or so behind the ball and concentrating on taking the club back towards that. Related to this is you could be attacking the ball along too flat a swing path which again would lead you to strike the ball inside-out.  The easist way to correct this and to create a more upright plane is to swing on a slope such that the ball is lower than your body/below your feet.   If you've found you are drawing/hooking the ball more than normal then the above is most likely to be the reason and the drills should help.

Answer 10

Weaken the grip you are taking with the right hand and swing from inside out. The shanks are usually caused when the right hand becomes dominant in the swing