What is a shank?

Have you ever watched Tin Cup? I know its a movie, but there is a scene when Roy 'Tin Cup' McAvoy (Kevin Costner) is at the practice range, and he is hitting shank after shank.

How did he do that?

Well Roy did the same thing that I did and every other golfer does when they shank the ball and that is when you hit the ball with the hosel of your club. The hosel is the rounded bit between the shaft of the club and the club face. This part of the club has a rounded surface, and so the ball shoots off to the right at an amazing angle (to the right for a right handed player and to the left for a left handed player). Basically you are hitting the ball too close to the heel of the club, rather than the center of the clubface. Most likely your shot will fly off as a line drive directly away from your body.

5 Common faults that will cause a shank

Reason # 1 You are transferring the weight from your heels to your toes

weight transfers to the toes at impact making you lean forward When you set up to hit the ball, you may find that you feel more pressure in your heels than in your toes. This occurs because you are basically leaning or sitting back. As a result you may be compensating for this imbalance during your swing. This will have the effect of leaning slightly forward and thereby moving the club head forward. Remember looking at the photo of a shanked shot, all it takes is inch of forward movement from transferring the weight from your heels to your toes and you will get a shank! An uneven weight distribution between the back and the front of your feet during your swing may be causing you to shank the ball.

Reason #2 You are standing too close to the ball at setup

If you are standing too close to the ball at setup, your natural tendency will be to adjust your downswing to a more comfortable and natural swing path. The effect will be that the club head will move away from you, and as we have found out, even inch will cause the dreaded shank to appear into your game. Simply standing too close could be the reason that your are shanking the ball!

Reason #3 Your natural swing aim is flawed

When you are hitting the ball, you are most probably aiming at the middle of the ball, and expecting the middle of the club face to make contact with the ball. The cause of your shanks could be as simple as a slightly incorrect aim!

Reason #4 - Your arms move away from your body

When you are making your downswing, do your arms drift away from your body? If they do, the effects can be disastrous! One of the effects is the club head moves away from the correct swing path and so the club connects the ball with the hosel, and you get a shank.

Reason #5 - You have an incomplete shoulder turn

If you are not getting a good or complete shoulder turn, then your swing will become too narrow and steep. Your left shoulder should rotate to a position above your right knee. If you are not getting to this position, the result is that you are likely to be swinging on a very narrow arc. Having a narrow swing due to an incomplete shoulder turn may be causing you to fall into your shots during your downswing, and by leaning forward by inch will cause a shank. The cause of shanking could be due to an incomplete shoulder turn.

How do you cure a shank?

The main reason I cured the shanks was because I found a solid and reliable swing that was easy to learn and easy to repeat

Visit my website to see My Review of the Simple Golf Swing

If you want to discover the simple set up routine that I used, simply go to my web site and See my review of The Simple Golf Swing Review

It has been estimated that there are some 50 million golfers worldwide and that 80% of all golfers will never achieve a handicap of less than 18. Also, despite the advances that have been made with golf instruction videos, books and equipment, the golf handicap of players has not improved over the last 20 years. What, then, is the problem?

Most golf players experience the ups and downs of the game. One minute they think they have found the perfect golf swing, for example, as they could do little wrong in their last game. The very next game they are lamenting about they just couldnt do anything right and had a disastrous result. They then go onto that continuous merry-go-round, it seems, of searching for the perfect golf swing.

I too have been one of those golfers searching for the perfect golf swing. I have hacked my way through a game on many occasions, vowing countless times that I would never play this frustrating game again. I have practiced non-stop for hours on end. I have searched and searched for that secret bit of instruction that would turn my game around dramatically, but without success until now!

I have been introduced to an amateur golfer who has shared my frustrations and who, after a 4-year search, has found the perfect golf swing. He has discovered that once he understood just what the golf professionals were doing to execute a consistent and repeatable swing, he was able to introduce this discovery into his own game with unbelievable results. Other players, of course, are also benefiting from his discovery.

I was skeptical at first as I had tried various bits of golf instruction over the years, without notable success. The very first game I played after reading my friends instruction, though, changed my mind. On my best days I play to a 17 handicap. On my worst days well, lets just say I struggle. My first game yesterday after my enlightened instruction, though, was inspiring.

Of the 9 holes I played, here are my results:

1) Hit the par 3 green with my straight-as-a-die tee-shot and looking at a possible birdie. Settled for par.
2) A great drive and a great second shot to hit the par 4 green in regulation. Settled for par.
3) Because I was hitting the ball so well, I decided to step well back of the tee in case I over-hit the short par 3 green. big mistake as my straight shot was just short of the green. Settled for a one-over.
4) My tee shot to the long par 3 was just slightly right of the green. Settled for a one-over.
5) two great shots saw me on the par 4 green in regulation. Par.
6) Hit two great shots into a strong head-wind, so disappointed to have not made the green on the courses longest par 4. It must have affected me because I played the only bad shot of the day, a fluffed chip onto the green. Three putted for a two-over.
7) Three great shots to the edge of the par 5. One over.
8) A good drive, but a bit left. A great recovery shot just to the edge of the par 4 green. One over.
9) My best drive of the day, leaving an 8 iron shot to the par 4 green. Just missed a birdie. Par.

I had just played the most enjoyable 9 holes I have played for quite some time. Now that I understand just what the pros are doing to execute a repeatable swing and incorporating that information into my own game, I am getting results. I am confident on continuing on this path of improvement. I have found the perfect golf swing.

Bob Gill is an online marketer specializing in article marketing, traffic generation, and list building. He is also a keen golfer. If you want to know more about The Perfect Golf Swing, visit http://www.homebusinesslink.com/perfectgolfswing.html