Why Do I Hit More Shanks When I Am Playing Golf Bunker Shots (Video) - by Pete Styles
Why Do I Hit More Shanks When I Am Playing Golf Bunker Shots (Video) - by Pete Styles

I often hear from golfers that they’re struggling to get the ball out of the bunker. Now, one of the reasons why they think they’re struggling to get the ball out of the bunker, is they think that they’re topping and thinning the golf ball. And in reality when we check this it doesn’t stack up that way, because what we see is that they’re still taking plenty of sand from underneath the golf ball. What they’re actually doing, which means the ball doesn’t come out of the bunker, is they’re shanking the golf ball. They’re hitting the golf ball too near to the neck of golf club. Now that can sometimes look like it’s a top or a thin because there’s no loft on this section of the golf club, so the ball will shoot out low and forward, hit underneath the lip, and the ball rolls back to them. They presume they’ve topped and thinned it, and in reality it’s actually a shank. So, why is it that you shank your wedges more when you’re playing out of a bunker?

That’s actually quite simple when we explain it. A lot of people know that when you’re playing a bunker shot we talk about opening the club face, trying to add some loft and add some bounce. A lot of people setup to their bunker shots with the face in a more open position. But as you can see as I open that club face what I’m really doing is protruding the heel edge, the shanking edge a little bit more towards the camera, or a little bit more towards the golf ball. And certainly by opening the face I take the width of the golf club and I make it a little narrower, because half of the golf club effectively hides behind the heel edge. So, I couldn’t possibly strike a ball in this section of the golf club, it would have to hit the shanking part first. So, in reality when we open the club face, the only part of the golf club that we should be using is the toe section. It’s almost impossible to open the face and then hit the ball in the middle without it getting near towards the hosel. So, when you’re next playing your bunker shots, and you’re setting there and you’re opening up. Just consider how that throws the heel a lot more towards the golf ball. And if you’re now trying to hit the middle, or the heel section of the club face, chances are you’re going to be hitting a shank on one of a few of your shots. You should be opening the face then trying to play much more towards the toe edge of the golf club and that will stop you from shanking your bunker shots. 2014-11-10

I often hear from golfers that they’re struggling to get the ball out of the bunker. Now, one of the reasons why they think they’re struggling to get the ball out of the bunker, is they think that they’re topping and thinning the golf ball. And in reality when we check this it doesn’t stack up that way, because what we see is that they’re still taking plenty of sand from underneath the golf ball. What they’re actually doing, which means the ball doesn’t come out of the bunker, is they’re shanking the golf ball. They’re hitting the golf ball too near to the neck of golf club. Now that can sometimes look like it’s a top or a thin because there’s no loft on this section of the golf club, so the ball will shoot out low and forward, hit underneath the lip, and the ball rolls back to them. They presume they’ve topped and thinned it, and in reality it’s actually a shank. So, why is it that you shank your wedges more when you’re playing out of a bunker?

That’s actually quite simple when we explain it. A lot of people know that when you’re playing a bunker shot we talk about opening the club face, trying to add some loft and add some bounce. A lot of people setup to their bunker shots with the face in a more open position. But as you can see as I open that club face what I’m really doing is protruding the heel edge, the shanking edge a little bit more towards the camera, or a little bit more towards the golf ball. And certainly by opening the face I take the width of the golf club and I make it a little narrower, because half of the golf club effectively hides behind the heel edge. So, I couldn’t possibly strike a ball in this section of the golf club, it would have to hit the shanking part first. So, in reality when we open the club face, the only part of the golf club that we should be using is the toe section. It’s almost impossible to open the face and then hit the ball in the middle without it getting near towards the hosel.

So, when you’re next playing your bunker shots, and you’re setting there and you’re opening up. Just consider how that throws the heel a lot more towards the golf ball. And if you’re now trying to hit the middle, or the heel section of the club face, chances are you’re going to be hitting a shank on one of a few of your shots. You should be opening the face then trying to play much more towards the toe edge of the golf club and that will stop you from shanking your bunker shots.