Some Comment About Shanking

Posted under Some Comment About Shanking

I  don’t think any golf book would be complete without some comment about shanking. This dreaded fault, when the ball literally squirts off the club at a 90° angle, petrifies many golfers. Shanking generally occurs on short approach shots of 90 yards or less.

On such shots a player will very often determine there is no need for any body action, and this concept plus an extra tight grip with the left hand will cause shanking.
If the player decides he is not going to use his body in the shot, he will invariably force the club to the outside of the line of the shot on the backswing. Add a tight grip with the left hand and the club will automatically roll into an open face position.

With this open face position and an outside of the line of flight movement of the club, there is an added tendency for the weight to sink heavily onto the left foot. This combination—(a) club in an open position, (b) club to the outside of the line of flight, (c) weight heavily sunk onto the left foot—is a sure way to shank. As the downswing starts, the club will naturally swing even more to the outside of the line of flight, forcing the player to pull the club sharply across the ball from the outside in.

The player will then meet the ball with the heel of the club and away it squirts. The shot just described—club face open, club to the outside of the line of flight, weight sunk onto the left foot —is nothing more or less than an extremely exaggerated slice shot technique. And that is what shanking is, an exaggerated slice action.

There are many short cut tips on how to cure shanking, but the simplest way to cure it is to reverse the form and apply the hook shot technique. Here is how that is done: assume a closed stance position of the feet and when gripping the club, place the left hand well on top so that three knuckles are definitely showing.

Place the right hand well under the shaft. Then do Step 1, a forward press, Step 2, a reverse press which will shift the weight to the right foot, and then as Step 3 is started, cock the club into an exaggerated closed position (face turned down towards the ground and club shaft tilted to the inside of the line towards the right toe).
Maintain the club in that position as it is raised to the top of the swing and then bring it down and through on Step 4. The shanking will disappear. A continued exaggeration of this technique may produce some hook shots and in that case there will have to be a modification of the form.

ANALYSIS OF UCLA GOLF RESEARCH
The first report of an extensive study on the golf swing was just released, so that an analysis can be presented here. The report is of particular importance because it confirms the material presented in the last two chapters.