This month’s tip is suggested by George Chase, who emailed me saying

"I am shanking all my iron shots from my 2 iron  down.  Please help!"

Well George, help is just a click away!

1.

The main reason for a shank is that the clubface has remained open through impact and the clubhead is slightly outside the backswing plane.  This means the hosel of the club strikes the ball causing it to shoot off at almost 90 degrees to the intended line of flight.

2.

The Cure

First, position the ball in the hosel of the club, and try to hit the ball with the toe of the club. This will make you bring the club back to the ball more from the inside.  

3.

Second, make sure that there is a rotation of the left forearm through impact. This  ensures that the clubface is "squaring off" through impact. To get the feel for what you need to do, try the following drill.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Take your right hand, place it over your left bicep (4), and swing the club holding the upper arm tight into your left side (6). As the club passes the hitting area, allow the left forearm to rotate and the palm of the left hand will be at 90 degrees to the ground at the end of the drill (7).

This drill will give you the feel of the left forearm turning over which is critical to the rotation of the left forearm through impact.

Try these two recommendations and your shanks will be a thing of the past.

If you have questions about any of our golf tips, please feel free to call us toll free at 1-800-624-4653. Read all of Mel's tips in the Golf Tips Archive.

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