Shank Golf Shot Problem Drill 6: Weight onto heals in follow through (Video) - by Pete Styles
Shank Golf Shot Problem Drill 6: Weight onto heals in follow through (Video) - by Pete Styles

And one of the things that I commonly see associated with a shank shot is someone who can't hold that balance in a follow through position and more often than not, accompanied by a falling forwards motion. So I saw many from here making their swing, hitting, shanking and then stepping after it and they have kind of watched the ball from here. I didn't do that very well. I’ve shanked it. And then you almost don't realize that it’s this problem falling forward that’s causing them to shank. So they might be setting up to the golf ball really nicely here. They have checked their distance the way they are nicely balanced. I'm settled. Yes, but during the impact position they have moved forwards. The head, the chest, the legs are all coming in towards the ball hitting and then they are following through. And then there’s too much body weight going into the toe part of the feet.

So what we need and try to achieve here is a good quality set up. Keep the body weight flat and grounded through the feet in the back swing. Same thing turning through to the left foot here for the right handed golfer. Yes, the body weight goes to the toe in here but it also goes to the toe in here. There’s a risk that you'll push out too much and you probably deliver into the heel a little bit too regularly. To try and feel as you turn through, you keep your body weight a little bit more back into your left heel so the left toe comes up into the air. And that should stop your body weight going forwards.

I stress that ultimately a good golf swing should be balanced. Neither too much to toe, neither too much the heel. But this is all about correcting your fault. And if your fault is shanking the golf ball, consider where your body weight is going to and how you can over exaggerate the correction and get your body weight much on back unto your left heel.

So if I hit the shot here, make my normal swing and you can see my follow through position, my big toe of my left foot is really lifting up. There’s no weight through here at all but lots of body weight back into the heel. And that’s definitely getting me away from shanking the golf ball. I'm not tempted to lean forwards and push out and fall into it. So just watching that again, smooth swing up into the finish position. And this left foot scratches around because all of the body weight is unto the heel. It’s not a perfect position for a proper golf swing but it’s a really good drill and exercise for you to practice on the driving range to make sure your body weight doesn't get too much unto the toes when you fall forwards. Back unto the heel, you even take of a little bit of a step backwards. I stressed you should be balanced but if that’s the drill to stop you shanking the golf ball, hopefully that one will work for you as well.

2012-11-29

And one of the things that I commonly see associated with a shank shot is someone who can't hold that balance in a follow through position and more often than not, accompanied by a falling forwards motion. So I saw many from here making their swing, hitting, shanking and then stepping after it and they have kind of watched the ball from here. I didn't do that very well. I’ve shanked it. And then you almost don't realize that it’s this problem falling forward that’s causing them to shank. So they might be setting up to the golf ball really nicely here. They have checked their distance the way they are nicely balanced. I'm settled. Yes, but during the impact position they have moved forwards. The head, the chest, the legs are all coming in towards the ball hitting and then they are following through. And then there’s too much body weight going into the toe part of the feet.

So what we need and try to achieve here is a good quality set up. Keep the body weight flat and grounded through the feet in the back swing. Same thing turning through to the left foot here for the right handed golfer. Yes, the body weight goes to the toe in here but it also goes to the toe in here. There’s a risk that you'll push out too much and you probably deliver into the heel a little bit too regularly. To try and feel as you turn through, you keep your body weight a little bit more back into your left heel so the left toe comes up into the air. And that should stop your body weight going forwards.

I stress that ultimately a good golf swing should be balanced. Neither too much to toe, neither too much the heel. But this is all about correcting your fault. And if your fault is shanking the golf ball, consider where your body weight is going to and how you can over exaggerate the correction and get your body weight much on back unto your left heel.

So if I hit the shot here, make my normal swing and you can see my follow through position, my big toe of my left foot is really lifting up. There’s no weight through here at all but lots of body weight back into the heel. And that’s definitely getting me away from shanking the golf ball. I'm not tempted to lean forwards and push out and fall into it. So just watching that again, smooth swing up into the finish position. And this left foot scratches around because all of the body weight is unto the heel. It’s not a perfect position for a proper golf swing but it’s a really good drill and exercise for you to practice on the driving range to make sure your body weight doesn't get too much unto the toes when you fall forwards. Back unto the heel, you even take of a little bit of a step backwards. I stressed you should be balanced but if that’s the drill to stop you shanking the golf ball, hopefully that one will work for you as well.