Posts Tagged ‘Fix my Shank’

Aim your Body Correctly

Poor body alignment

A common problem amongst golfers in general!

The amount of golfers who align themselves completely wrong at the address position will have a major influence on how they swing the golf club. You will compensate for this during the golf swing. I have helped golfers tremendously to stop shanking with this just one fault alone. Most golfers from my experience align their bodies too far to the right of their intended target, in a closed position. At some point during the golf swing you are going to compensate for this and it usually happens in the downswing. You are fully aware of where the target is but due to the closed off stance you are going to swing over plane in the downswing to get the club back to the ball. This moves the club much further out in front of you in the downswing leading to the hosel contacting the ball first. Some golfers even lose their balance: falling forwards in the through swing.

Great ways to improve your sense of alignment is to pick a point just in front of the ball (2ft approx.) which is directly on line to your intended target and align the club face square to that point. From here build in your stance keeping as square as possible to that point.

Practise your alignment on the range by picking random targets and working through your pre shot routine of the above.

Another great way is to place down 3 alignment canes on the range, one aligning to a target on the left side of the range, another aligning to a target in the middle of the range and the last one aligning to a target on the right side of the range.

Practising in this manner will most certainly make you more self-aware of how you are lining up correctly. You will instantly be aware if you have aligned correctly or not.

From Your Friends at Mark Wood Golf Academy

PS. Come down and tee it up to make some magic moments of your own. Check our website at 

www.markwoodgolfacademy.co.uk

Mark Wood

PGA Advanced Professional
UK’s No1 Golf Coach

The Best Golf Lessons in Sussex and Kent

THE SHANK SHOT

THE SHANK

 The Shank crops up when the ball is hit right out of the hosel or neck of the golf club and ends up going sideways, almost at right angles to the intended line of flight.

THE PROBLEM

The shank can often be traced back to a faulty set up. Usually the posture is too stooped with the hands too low at the address. It all goes hand-in-hand with standing too close to the ball.

This tends to encourage the golfer to drift out towards the ball during either the backswing or the downswing. That moves the centre of the clubface out towards the outer edge of the golf ball, leaving the hosel of the golf club to strike the middle of the ball. You will normally lose your balance towards your toes, and fell unstable during the follow- through.

THE CURE

It is vital you work on your set up. Pay special attention to your posture and your distance from the ball. This drill will help:

Stand upright, with a clubshaft pressed up against your front running from your chin to your knees.

Keeping the shaft pressed against your front, bend forwards from the hips until you feel the weight move into your     toes.

Flex your knees to counterbalance yourself. You should now feel your weight under the middle of your feet.

Lower the club and address the ball with it. The ball should feel a lot further away from you.

DRILLS

Once you have settled into your good posture and set up position, it is very important to keep those angles throughout your swing to avoid that drift into the ball. Here are two ways to help you:

1 TOE CURLER

Curl your toes upwards inside your shoes, and make sure you keep them that way throughout the golf swing. Your weight cannot now slip forward on to your toes.

 2 BOX CLEVER

Put an object such as a pencil or ball box down just outside the ball as you practise. This will help stop you drifting forward, towards the ball.

 

I hope you enjoyed the article, any comments or Questions then please leave a comment below..

Until next time I wish you all the golfing success

Mark

Mark Wood Golf Academy
Dale Hill hotel & golf club
East Sussex