Getting the shanks doesn’t mean you must suffer them. Here’s the quick fix.
WHY YOU SHANK
You’re hitting shanks because your hands are working too far out and away from your body through impact (picture an exaggerated in-to-out swing). Instead of catching the ball on the sweet spot, you’re catching it on the hosel (photo, below). Simple fixes include standing farther away from the ball and improving your balance on the downswing. Good advice, but if you still can’t shake the shanks, try the drill below.
HOW TO STOP IT
Stick a tee in the ground so that just the head sits above the grass. Place a ball next to the tee as shown and “address” the tee. Now swing. Your goal is to dislodge the tee while simultaneously catching the ball with the toe section of the clubhead (photo, below). Since the shanker in you already knows what it feels like to make contact toward the heel, learning how to strike the ball with the toe will turn your overly in-out swing inside-out. You’ll ditch your shank in seconds.
