Shanking cures

Golf Monthly top 25 coach Barney Puttick offers his shanking cures to help you stop striking your iron shots from the hosel...

Shanking cures

Faults:

You regularly hit shanks with your irons

You strike the ball from the heel of the club

Fix:

If shanks have been killing your scores, then don't worry, usually the cause is a relatively minor fault that can be resolved. There are a host of possible causes of the shank but in my experience it usually stems from the takeaway - the drill below is for you if you suffer with the odd shank and your usual shot shapes from left to right in the air...

In this instance, I often see players taking the club back immediately on the inside. The chain of events that follows means the player goes on to attack the ball from outside the ball to target line, presenting the neck of the club (or shank as it was previously known) to the ball first. The result is both ugly and devasating for the scorecard!

To solve the problem, you need to get the club moving on a better path on the way back - this will kick start a better chain reaction of movements on the way down towards impact. Start by hitting shots with your left foot back at address - move it back by about 5 inches away from the ball. This makes it harder to take the club away on the inside. You should find a better takeaway and as a result, a better swing path!

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Headcover drill Another great drill is to place a headcover outside the line of the ball. This provides a clear visual barrier that will prevent you from attacking the ball from outside the target line. The only way to find a clean strike is to miss the headcover. Try to hit 20 shots in a row without touching the headcover and you should groove an action that eliminates the shank from your game entirely.