
The Shank Shot in Golf: What It Is, How to Cure It
- The shank is one of the worst (and most embarrassing) mishits in golf. ...
- A shank occurs when you hit the ball off the hosel. ...
- It is the equivalent of what the play Macbeth is to some actors, a name that some ‘in the business‘ just cannot bear to say out loud. ...
How do you cure shank in golf?
The shank is one of the worst (and most embarrassing) mishits in golf. A shank happens when the golfer hits the golf ball on the innermost portion of the clubface, so far toward the heel that the golf ball is contacted by the rounded hosel. Or, even worse, the golf ball misses the clubface entirely and solidly connects with the rounded hosel.
What causes shanking in golf?
Oct 22, 2021 · The shanks are when you continually hit the golf ball off the hosel of the club; if a golfer is said to have the shanks, it means they are hitting more than one shank and can’t seem to get themselves out of it. Hitting one shank implies that you will have hit one poor golf shot that results in the ball coming off the hosel of the golf club.
How to avoid Shanks in golf?
What is a shank in golf? Basically, a shank occurs when a golfer hits the golf ball with the inside of the club which is known as the club hosel instead of hitting the ball with the clubface. The club hosel is the point of the club where the shaft meets the clubface. The shank is also known as the hosel rocket.
What causes golf shank shots?
A shank is a golf swing flaw that occurs when the clubhead is not level with the ground at impact. This causes a sharp change in velocity and can lead to loss of control, a shank, or a slice. How Do I Stop Shanking My Short Irons?

What is a shank in golf?
Basically, a shank occurs when a golfer hits the golf ball with the inside of the club which is known as the club hosel instead of hitting the ball with the clubface. The club hosel is the point of the club where the shaft meets the clubface. The shank is also known as the hosel rocket.
What causes a shank?
It can be seen that in every professional tour professional golfers seem to hit shank and also it can be often seen that high handicappers hit a shank. After, hitting shank they seem to wonder what is the reason and what causes them to shank the ball. Let us discuss the reason why both players hit a shank.
How to cure shank?
There are many ways how one can cure their shank shot based on their mistakes. Some golfers seem to think that they hit shank shots because they hit the ball with the open clubface and start hitting the ball with close clubface to cure this problem which makes things even worse.
What Is A Shank In Golf?
In simplest terms, a shank occurs when the club’s hosel strikes a golf ball instead of the club’s face. This can cause the ball to sharply veer off in a different direction from where the golfer aimed it and be destructive to a golfer’s score on any given hole.
What Causes A Shank In Golf?
When the golf club hosel hits the ball this causes what is known as a shank and will have golf balls heading towards an unintended target.
How To Stop Shanking The Golf Ball?
There are several different ways to fix a shank, and one of the most common way is to ensure that your alignment at the address is correct. If you are lined up correctly then there should be no reason why a shank would occur.
Rounding Up
In summary, if you are struggling with shanking the ball, all hope doesn’t have to be lost. There is often a very identifiable and fixable cause and we would always advise that if you think this is the case then seek out the help and advice of a professional golf coach.
What is a shank in golf?
Plainly speaking, a shank in golf is what happens when a shot is not struck with the club face but rather with the rounded hosel of the club. Hence why the shanks are sometimes called "hosel rockets.". You're hitting off the hosel of the club.
Why does my golf club shank?
One can be that a golfer is lunging toward the ball with their swing, bringing the club path to the ball in a way that the hosel hits the ball instead of the intended contact on the club face.
What is a shank in golf?
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 ...
How to tell if you shanked or sliced a golf ball?
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.
What is the most dreaded shot in golf?
The golf shank may be the most dreaded shot in the game. You think you’ve got a good shot lined up, then the ball flies low and to the right. Now you’re off course, you’re irritated, and you just wasted stroke.
How to get a lead shoulder in golf?
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.
Why does my golf club shank?
When looking at the main golf shank causes, perhaps the most common reason relates to the swing path. Most golfers know that the ideal swing path through impact comes from inside to outside the ball-to-target line. However, this knowledge (and the desire to attack the ball from the inside) causes players to whip the club off on the inside in ...
How to get a good shot in the downswing?
1 Position from the ball. The first thing to check should be how far from the ball you are standing. Too close and you’ll lose your spine angle in the downswing, lift out of the shot and hit an open-faced shank.
What happens if you swing too far away?
Too far away and the momentum of the swing will cause you to lean into the ball through impact – again, the shank is the most likely result. To help, picture a weightlifter just before they lift. Their shoulders are over the middle of their feet, with their weight sitting over the balls of their feet.
1. The in-to-out shank
Otherwise known as the “better player” shank, or the “heel” shank. This happens when your clubhead swinging on a path that is too shallow, on a severe inside-to-out, which means the hosel is moving directly towards the ball
2. The over-the-top shank
Otherwise known as the “outside-in” shank. This is where the heel of the club is moving across your target line, often due to your hands tossing and flipping the clubhead through impact. This severe outside-to-in clubhead path is the opposite of the first shank. Rather than being caused by a swing that’s too shallow, your swing is too steep.
