Why Am I Shanking the Golf Ball to the Right?

There's no sound in golf quite like it, and certainly no feeling that drops your heart to your stomach faster. That weird, hollow, metallic *clank* followed by the gut-wrenching sight of your golf ball rocketing off at a 45-degree angle to the right. The dreaded shank. It’s a shot that can appear out of nowhere, infect your confidence, and make you question if you even know how to swing a golf club anymore. If you're asking, Why am I shanking the golf ball to the right? you've come to the right place. We’re going to get to the bottom of what’s happening in your swing, identify the most common causes, and give you practical, feel-based drills to banish the hosel-rockets for good.

First, What Exactly is a Shank?

Before we fix it, we need to understand it. A shank is not a slice. A slice is caused by a glancing blow with an open clubface, putting sidespin on the ball. A shank, on the other hand, is a contact issue. It happens when, instead of making contact with the clubface, the ball makes contact with the hosel of the club - the rounded part of the iron where the clubhead connects to the shaft.

Think about the geometry here. When the ball hits that roundedhosel, there's only one direction it can go: shooting almost directly sideways to your right (for a right-handed golfer). It has nothing to do with spin and everything to do with where the club is at the moment of impact. The core reason for a shank is simple: at impact, the center of the clubhead is further away from your body than it was at address. The club has moved *outward* toward the golf ball during the swing, presenting the hosel first. Our mission is to figure out why this is happening.

Cause #1: Your Setup is Pushing You Outward

Often, the root of a swing flaw begins before you even start the club back. Your distance from the ball and your posture at address dictate the space your hands and arms have to swing in. Get this wrong, and you might be setting yourself up for a shank before you've even moved.

The Problem: Standing Too Close or Reaching Too Far

Standing too close to the ball is a very common cause. When you're crammed for space, your body instinctively knows it needs to create room for the club to swing through. As a result, your subconscious will try to "help" by pushing your hands and arms away from your body on the downswing. This action shoves the club outward, directly into the danger zone of the hosel.

Conversely, while less common, standingtoo far away can also lead to a shank. If you're reaching for the ball at address, your weight tends to get out on your toes. To maintain balance during the swing, your body will lurch forward towards the ball, again moving the hosel closer to its target.

The Fix: The Arm Hang Drill

Here’s a simple way to find your perfect distance from the ball time and time again. It requires no gadgets, just a feel for good posture.

1. Stand up straight holding a mid-iron in front of you.
2. Tilt forward from your hips, not your waist, keeping your back relatively straight. Stick your rear end out like you're about to sit on a tall barstool.
3. Once you're tilted over, just let your arms hang completely loose, straight down from your shoulders. Don't reach for the ball.
4. Where your hands naturally hang is where you should grip the club. Now, all you need to do is place the clubhead on the ground behind the ball from that hanging position. Shuffle your feet slightly to finalize the position.

This ensures your body is in an athletic, balanced position with plenty of room for your arms to swing back and through without needing to be pushed out.

Cause #2: Your Swing Path is "Over the Top"

This is probably the most notorious swing fault in golf, and it's a prime suspect for shanks. An "over-the-top" swing path means your club is traveling on an out-to-in path through impact. In other words, you’re swinging from outside the target line to inside the target line, cutting across the ball.

The Problem: A Steep, Outward Downswing

Typically, this move starts at the transition - the split-second between the backswing and downswing. The golfer's first move down is with the shoulders and arms, throwing the club "over the top" of the proper swing plane. As your club travels steeply downward and from outside the ball, where does that path lead the clubhead? You guessed it: it pushes the hosel directly into the path of the golf ball.

Imagine a line running from your ball to the target. An over-the-top swing starts down outside this line and cuts across it. This path not only risks a shank but is also a major cause of the slice.

The Fix: The Towel or Headcover Drill

This is a fantastic visual and physical aid that gives you immediate feedback. It essentially builds a wall that you can't swing over the top of.

1. Take your normal setup to a golf ball.
2. Place an object - a rolled-up towel, an extra headcover, or even the sleeve of range balls - about 6-8 inches directly outside your golf ball. It should be just outside the toe of your club.
3. The goal is simple: hit the golf ball without hitting the object.
4. If you have an over-the-top move, you will ram straight into the headcover on your downswing. To avoid it, you have no choice but to let the club drop to the inside on the downswing, approaching the ball from an inside-to-square-to-inside path. This is the correct path that keeps the hosel safely away from the ball.

Cause #3: Your Weight is Falling Towards the Ball

Even if your setup and path are decent, you can still produce a shank if your body Doves closer to the line of the ball during the swing. Balance isn't just a buzzword, it's fundamental to consistent ball striking.

The Problem: Weight Creeping Onto Your Toes

Many amateur golfers lose their posture during the powerful rotation of the downswing. As they turn through, their weight rolls forward onto the balls of their feet and, in a worst-case scenario, their toes. Go ahead and try this without a club: stand up and let your weight fall onto your toes. What happens? Your entire body moves forward. If youdo this during a golf swing, your hands, arms, and club all move forward with you, bringing the club - and specifically the hosel - inches closer to the ball than it was at address.

The Fix: The Feet-Together Drill

This drill is brutally honest. It immediately reveals balance issues and forces you to stay centered during your swing.

1. Set up to the ball, but with your feet touching each other.
2. Your task is to hit half-shots (from waist-high on the backswing to waist-high on the follow-through) while maintaining your balance. Use a short iron, like a 9-iron or a pitching wedge.
3. If your weight is lurching forward onto your toes, you will immediately feel unstable and will likely stumble or fall forward after the swing.
4. To succeed, you have to stay centered over your feet. This drill trains your core to be the center of your rotation and stops you from using your legs to lurch toward the ball. Once you can do this consistently, you can gradually widen your stance back to normal, trying to replicate that same feeling of centered balance.

Cause #4: The Fear Factor

We have to address the elephant in the room. Oftentimes, shanking isn't purely mechanical - it's mental. Once you hit one shank, the fear of hitting another causes tension. You start thinking about the hosel, and your swing becomes tentative, tight, and steering.

The Problem: Your Mind Causes a "Protective" Jab

What does a fearful swing look like? Instead of a free-flowing, rotational swing, it often becomes a tense, locked-up jab *at* the ball. The arms get stiff, the body rotation stalls, and what do you do with stiff arms? You push them out and away from your body in a desperate attempt to make contact. And there it is again: that outward motion that an otherwise good swing wouldn't have.

This is how "the shanks" can feel like a contagious disease that takes over your round.

The Fix: The Reset Routine

You need to break the cycle and forget the outcome. Focus solely on making a good, flowing swing.

1. Step Away From the Ball. Don't try to work it out by hitting ball after ball. Take a step back.
2. Make Three Fluid Practice Swings. Without a ball, make three half-swings where your only thought is "turn back, turn through." Feel the rhythm and the flow of your body rotating. The goal isn't mechanics, it's momentum.
3. Use an Intermediate Target. When you step back up to the ball, don't stare at the flag out in the distance. Instead, pick a spot just a few inches in front of your ball - a leaf, a discolored blade of grass, whatever. Your only goal is to make your fluid swing and have the clubface swing right over that spot.
4. Start Small. Hit small chips or pitches first. Re-establish centered contact on a smaller scale to get your confidence back before you move back to full swings.

Final Thoughts

At its core, shanking the golf ball is an effect caused by a swing flaw that brings the hosel into the impact zone. From setting up too close to the ball, swinging over the top, losing your balance, or letting fear take over, the culprits are usually simple to identify but require focused practice to correct. Work through these drills, find the one that resonates most with your particular issue, and build back your confidence one clean shot at a time.

Sometimes the hardest part of fixing a problem like the shank is the on-course doubt that creeps in. With Caddie AI in your pocket, I've designed our app to help remove that uncertainty and give you the confidence to commit to your swing. When you're standing over a tricky shot and the fear of a bad result enters your mind, our tool can provide a clear, simple strategy right on the spot. You can even send a photo of a challenging lie and get a smart recommendation, freeing up your mind to focus on making a good, athletic motion instead of a tentative one that so often leads to a shank. It’s like having a world-class caddie there to keep you grounded and focused on the shot, not the scary what-ifs.