2019-06-01_Golf_Digest

28 golfdigest.com | june 2019 Photographs by Walter Iooss Jr.

“Stay turned, and let the club

drop to the inside.”

Play Your Best The Leading Edge by Michael Breed

Shank Solution

Get your swing

back now!

H

itting a shank is bad enough, but

they tend to come in bunches. That

can really mess with your mind—and

your score. Anyone who tells you to forget you

just rocketed one into the trees on the right

has never lived with the shanks.

Consider the cause. Typically, the club-

face is wide open at impact, and the swing

is out to in, with the clubhead coming from

the far side of the strike line and cutting to

the inside. Those two conditions expose the

hosel, which hits the ball, shooting it right.

First, fix the face. Square the clubface, then

place both your hands on the grip in what’s

called a strong position—turned dramati-

cally away from the target (below). Don’t just

grip the club and turn your hands back; that

only rotates the face open. The combination

of a square face and strong grip is what helps

you close the face through impact.

Next, fix the path. Swing back, making

a full shoulder turn, and as you start down,

keep your back to the target a beat longer

(right). The club will drop to the inside of the

target line. From there, you can swing out to

the ball without worrying about the hosel

being exposed from an out-to-in path.

These changes should do the trick,

but if you need a maximum dose of shank-

proofing, here’s one more: Try to hit the

inside-back portion of the ball with the toe

of the club. That will keep your path coming

from the inside and prevent the hosel from

moving closer to the ball. Shanks solved!

—with peter morrice

breed is Golf Digest’s Chief Digital Instructor.

advanced concept : make the shaft miss the ball

▶ think of baseball: You’re trying to swing the bat into the ball—simple. In golf,

if you envision the shaft hitting the ball, you’ll probably make contact off the hosel

because that’s the end of the shaft. Instead, you have to learn to miss the ball with the

shaft. The clubhead extends out farther than the hosel so you want to swing the shaft to

the inside of the ball. The image of the shaft missing to the inside will help you produce

center-face contact. This mind-set might be just what you need to shake those shanks.