Golf Shank Causes - Four Key Faults And Fixes!

It's one of the most debilitating and destructive shots in the game, so in the video and article below, Top 50 Coach Andrew Jones identifies the main golf shank causes and provides four cures to resolve this issue once and for all!

Golf shank causes

1. Poor address position

The first thing to check should be how far to stand from the ball. Too close and you’ll lose your spine angle in the downswing, lift out of the shot and hit an open-faced shank. 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. As you address the golf ball, get your weight distribution in the right position, set the perfect ball position for a mid iron and then let your arms hang naturally down.

There should be a gap of about an open hand’s width between your thigh and the butt end of the club. This is the right distance to be standing from the ball and should help you set the perfect posture.

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2. Unstable grip

The next checkpoint is your grip and in particular, your grip pressure. Some players have such a light grip pressure that the club moves in their hands during the swing. Again, this could be the problem. 

Firstly, it is worth making sure you have a neutral, perfect golf grip - getting this right will always help. But to check your grip pressure, place some grass firstly on top of your left thumb and then between the butt of the club and the pad of your left hand. This grass should remain in place during the swing. If your grip pressure is too light it is likely to fall down.

3. Swing path

If you regularly shank the ball, it's vital you learn how to check your swing path. Most golfers know that the ideal 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) can causes players to whip the club away on the inside in the takeaway. 

From the top of the backswing, the only way to get the club back to the ball is with an over-the-top golf swing. Ironically, this causes the out-to-in path the player was looking to avoid and crucially, the hosel of the club is the first thing to be presented to the ball. It can also be one of the main reasons for why you pull iron shots.

To help, place a tee behind the ball, just outside the ball-to-target line. As you take the club away keep the head working just inside the tee, then as you approach impact, aim to miss the tee on the inside. This might take a while to perform successfully and you’re likely to hit some bad shots along the way but keep working on it. This simple drill will help you to groove a much better swing path.

4. Sliding into the ball

The last of our golf shank causes relates to the way your lower body is working in the downswing. Sometimes a shank is the result of a lower body ‘slide’ whereby the knees start to move towards the target causing the hosel to lead. 

A great drill designed to stabilise your lower body is to place your golf bag next to your left hip at address. As you start the downswing your hips should bump into the bag and then your lower body turns (without sliding towards the target). If you find yourself clattering into the bag (with the bag coming close to falling over) work on stabilising your lower body.