You're Correct!

Hitting a shank out on the golf course can be a soul destroyer for some. A lot of the time the player doesnt know why or how a shank is produced.

A shank happens when the club head strikes the ball from off the hosel. The hosel is the part of the club head where the shaft connects to the head. This hosel strike makes the ball shoot off at a right angle, not a nice feeling!

So why would you hit more shanks from a bunker? When you play bunker shots, the club face should be open which adds loft and bounce to the club which aids in elevating the ball safely from the sand. By opening the face, the hitting area of the club face is narrowed and puts the hosel in a position where it is leading the toe. Many players then drive the heel towards the ball to maintain the open face and end up hitting a shank.

From an open club face position at address, play the ball forward in your stance. The feeling is to let the club head overtake the handle and square the toe to the heel whilst maintaining the loft on the club. Give this a try and youll soon eradicate the dreaded shank from the bunker.

Hitting too much sand before the ball will likely result in leaving the ball in the bunker. The club bounces off the sand and thins the ball, or the ball will come out low with lots of roll. On a standard bunker shot, you want to catch the sand a couple of inch before the ball

Hitting too little sand when playing a bunker shot will result in either a ball thinned into the face of the bunker or the ball thinned over the green. Draw a line level with the golf ball and see where the club head is striking the sand in relation to the ball.

Having the correct amount of bounce on your wedges is really helpful when playing bunker shots. If you play on courses with firm sand and find the club head is bouncing up and then thinning the golf ball then try out some wedges with less bounce.