You're Correct!

Most of us have produced that ugly golf shot which flies low and shoots off to the right at a right angle (for a right handed golfer). It is a scary sight and one that can psychologically damage some players.

This mental scaring is sometimes down to the player not understanding the root cause of the shanked shot.

The shank is produced by the ball making contact on the inside part of the heel where the shaft connects to the club head, also known as the hosel. Hence the shanks other name the hosel rocket.

This poor strike is a result of the club head being delivered in an incorrect manner. The club head is either attacking the ball from too much of an outside-in path or too much of an inside-out path, which causes the club head to be too far away from the player making the strike on the hosel occur.

You can find out which approach is causing your shanks by looking at your divots or doing the head cover on the ground drill. Place the head cover just past the ball so the toe of the club would just miss the head cover after striking the ball. If you hit the head cover, your path is too much inside-out. Place the head cover just behind the ball so the toe misses the head cover just before impact. If you hit the head cover, your path is too much outside-in.

An open club face is not the cause of a shanked golf shot. Many people believe that their low curving shot to the right (right handed golfer) is because the club face was open/right of the target. The shank is a by-product of the ball being struck off the hosel.

A similar ball flight to a shank can be produced from the ball striking the toe of the golf club (to the right), but this extreme strike is not a shank.

When a player produces a shanked shot, many offer the advice of you need to commit to the shot. As much as being committed to each shot and believing to produce the desired outcome, this commitment alone cannot guarantee avoiding the dreaded shank. Normally poor delivery of the club to the ball is the reason for a shank.