PGA Tour golfer and golf instructor Butch Harmon explains the reasons — and offers a cure for — the dreaded shank.
Transcript:
What is a shank? It’s pretty simple. A shank is when the ball hits the hosel of the club and it shoots off to the right. Most people think they come in with an open club face and they hit it this way. That’s not what happens. The club closes as it comes in, the ball hits the hosel of the club here, and it shoots off to the right like that, not very far and it doesn’t feel very good. Let me hit one for you. Gosh, I hate even trying to hit this, but I’m gonna do it just for you so you can understand what happens. There’s the shank. Let me explain why this happens. This club face comes in closed like this, the toe of the club hits in the ground, and you get a long, skinny divot like that as the club exits. The reason it’s so hard to get rid of is everybody thinks they do it with the open club face and they say, I’m gonna get that right hand in there this time, and it gets worse and worse. If you’re on a practice tee and you’re having trouble hitting shanks, a simple drill to help you get out of it. All you have to do is take your head cover off your driver, bring it over here, and put it right next to the ball, just so the toe of the club is almost touching the head cover. The first couple shots you hit, you’re going to see that you come over the top, and you hit the head cover with the toe of the club. To help you, one other thing. Address the club a little bit on the toe, make your swing, and have the feeling you’re hitting the inside of the ball, swinging out. If you get the shanks, remember, most of the time you do it with a closed club face. Use the head cover drill, you won’t shank again.
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Butch Harmon on How To Fix The Shanks | Golf Lessons | Golf Digest
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im a scratch. recently developed a case of mad shanks this summer. couldnt get rid of em. goin towards the toe made it even worse. just trying to help others who might be xperiencing the same thing. i started addressing the ball on the literal heel of the golf club. im generally quite steep on shots and I think I started developing an out to in swing path with a closed face. bringing it in more towards the hosel helped me shallow out the swing more. not saying butch is wrong, but i think its pointed more towards amateurs. so if youre struggling as a low handicapper give this a try.
Wonderful drill that saved me. If you just focus on not hitting the cover or basket or box or whatever, you will correct it
shot a 74 yesterday, then had the worst shanks today
good explanation
2.4 handicap and I got the shanks!! Iโm going to use a club head cover going forward to get warmed up on the range!! It worked!!!!!
I did this drill. Somehow I find a way to not hit the head cover and still shank it. I need some serious help
Sign up for shankers support group down below ๐
Thanks, Butch. Worked like a charm!!
Put the ball in the heel and address then hit it on the center at impact to fix it
Thanks for this tip. I just recently shot my best round of a 75 and the next day out of nowhere I got the shanks and shot a 91, I was so pissed, Iโll keep this tip in mind.๐
Do it with a 2ร4 . It is real motivating.
I tried this with another ball on a par 3 tee today, I lost both balls in the river to the right..
His father told him that most shanks occur with a closed clubface, but I have serious doubts. Shanking is primarily a path problem, not a face problem, and I would bet more of them occur with an open clubface as opposed to a closed one.
Quit golf about 7 years ago because of shanks. Came back out strong. 36 after a few rounds then out of nowhere my next round after a piped drive.. .smh
A shank, of course, can also be caused by the hosel leading, in other words, an open club face. If you hit the shot on the hosel, itโs going to shank, even with a square club face.
Very brief and comprehensive.. Thanks Butch!!
Shanks for the tip Butch!
Ahh, should have watched this before that bucket I just hit off the hosel for an hour
Guess whoโs back, back again, Mike is back, to watch this video again ๐ญ
I hit my head cover 20 yards down the middle. And still shanked the ball. Great drill!!
Just over the yips and the shanks has reared its head๐ฑ
My divot says Butch is the only trainer on earth that knows my club face is closed. FINALLY THE TRUTH
This tip has helped more than my chip shots that would occasionally shoot off at 45ยบ to the right. I started to think of hitting the inside of the ball as hitting the ball at 7 oโclock; I always thought you were supposed to hit it at 6 oโclock. After it worked on my chip shots, I decided to try 7 oโclock on the iron shots. That made those shots a lot easier as well as just better. I took a lesson today and the pro asked me to carry the thought on to my driver. It worked there, too. Amazing how such a small detail can make such a big difference. By the way, we decided that โover the topโ shots were hitting the ball at 5 oโclock.
Great little drill. But I can't sacrifice my Rose&Fire head cover for practice. LoL. But I can get a 2nd towel to put down. Thanx for the video.
Yeah, ok, sure
Les sous titre en franรงais disent: Utilisez la perceuse pour couvre-tรชte, vous ne pourrez plus vous branler. ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
What if you keep hitting the club cover… And no matter how you try…you keep hitting the club cover!!!
This is not how you fix the shanks. First you put your change in your left hand pocket. Next tie your left shoe in a double knot.Next turn your hat around backwards. Finally stick a tee behind your left ear.
Any other time is it because your heads in front of the ball and your move even further forward and toward the ball in the club face day is wide open…
Iโve never seen anybody shake the ball but I guess you can if youโre a pro
Shanks for posting this!
I do something similar. I get so frustrated I say to myself, "F@#% it I dare you to swing inside and completely miss the ball." And most times I hit it solid when I do that. Either that or concentrate on skimming the near side of the ball with the toe of the club
Shank you ๐๐ป
what does he mean imagine hitting the inside of the golf ball?
Doesnt also the club get to inside on the downswing with an open club face and hozzleing it
Thanx u former Tiger coach!…my pitching shank almost gone forever…almost because occasionally it still occurs but at least now I know my problem is that during the setup I sometimes tend to hold the club lower than usual thus the clubface is unintentionally in a close position. Knowing the cause, now I'm able to fix it on my next pitching shot. Thanks again!
I'm about an 18 handicapper. Was +6 through 13 holes yesterday. Laying two
and about 100 yards out on a par 5. Proceeded to shank roughly 7 of the next 9
iron/wedge shots I hit over the course of the next few holes. Drove off the course dejected
midway through #17 ๐ฉ. Better give this a shot on the range tomorrow.
Thank you Butch.
I hit it great when the head cover is there and then go right back to shanking when it is gone …..HELP!!!!!!
I have the shanking nadgers. Itโs debilitating.
After walking off after 9 holes and two practice range fails I spent less than 2 minutes watching this video and was cured immediately. Thanks!
So….guaranteed
I wonโt shank again.
Wanna bet..?
Hello darkness my old friend. I've come to watch the vid again.
Such a great tip
l shank it sometimes one after the other, you have to go back to the basics and try and slow your tempo down, it's terrible when you do it out on the course though. It's a round demolisher.
Shank you very much