Neil from the Down the Middle blog at MVN ran an interesting Q&A with Canadian Tour rookie, Luke Swilor yesterday. As you know, my goal is to become a golf pro so learning about the life of an up and coming tour pro is fascinating to me. Check it out.

The shanks strike fear into the hearts of golfers. Most don’t dare even speak the word. I’m not afraid. Shanks. Shanks-shanks-shanks. SHANKS!

I’m not afraid because I know the cause, and I know the cure. I had a serious bout five or six years ago, so my immune system keeps me from becoming infected again.

For those unaware, the shanks are the result of a swing flaw that causes the ball to be struck on or near the hosel of the club (where the shaft meets the club head), causing the ball to shoot low and right (for a right hander). There’s a common misconception that the shanks are caused by the club face being extremely open at impact. This is not the case.

So what’s the cause? The basic problem is that the path that the club takes toward the ball at impact is further out from the player than it was at address. Many times, this comes from the player’s weight getting out on the toes during the downswing. At address every thing is fine, then on the downswing the player’s weight gets on the toes, the swing plane gets out further from the ball and then: clunk. Shank.

The best way to cure it is to make sure your weight stays further back toward your heels. One drill to help get the feel of this is to put a ball under the toes of each foot at address and hit a shot. This will give you the feel of keeping the weight off your toes. Another good drill is to put a second ball an inch or two on the other side of the one you intend to hit (just beyond the toe of your club at address). Try to hit the first ball without disturbing the second. You can do those two drills together. Finally, a good swing thought to have when you’re trying to work out the shanks is: try to intentionally hit the ball on the toe of the club. Get some impact tape for when you practice so you can check on your improvement as time goes on.

Keep in mind that, depending on the severity of your shanks and how ingrained the flaws that cause them have become, it could take some significant time practicing to overcome them. Stay with it and in no time at all you’ll be over the shanks and back to hitting solid shots again.

Since I mentioned the flop shot yesterday, this seems like a good time for a how-to.

The purpose of the flop shot is to get the ball in the air very quickly, have it carry a minimum distance, and stop very close to where it lands. This is a perfect shot when you’re close to the green hitting to a pin that’s close to the edge and you have to fly the ball over a bunker or keep it from running away. It’s not a tough shot to learn, but it requires practice, so you won’t want to unveil this on the course for the first time without getting the hang of it on the range.

I like to follow Tiger Woods’ basic flop shot technique. At address, the stance is relatively wide, promoting a quiet lower body and is aligned well left of the target. The ball is played somewhat forward, off the left heel. You definitely want to use a high-lofted club, 60 degrees or more. the face is laid open at address.

The swing is very long. The club is picked up steeply in the back swing. Tiger recommends having a cupped left wrist at the top, opening the club face even more. Then just accelerate through impact, trying to visualize sliding the club under the ball. The follow through should be long. Tiger mentions that he likes to aim for impact on the toe of the club, because it deadens the impact some.

You need to be selective of the lie before attempting a flop shot. Hard pan lies, or lies settled down in the rough are not good candidates. Fluffy lies are ok, but you have to be a little more precise or you run the risk of getting too far under the ball and sending it only a couple of feet.

Next time you’re at the range (avoid the practice green with this one, at first) give the flop shot a try. It’s a useful shot that can be picked up with a little practice. When you encounter a situation on the course that calls for a flop shot, it can be a valuable stroke-saver, if executed properly.

A while back, I referenced one of my favorite golf quotes, a gem by Sam Snead. “Ya gotta dance with who ya brung.” What Sam was telling us is, keep the experiments in the laboratory, and keep your laboratory on the range (or practice green).

If you’re playing a round and making an attempt to score well, then the last thing you want to do is be experimenting with new techniques or trying to fix big problems on the course. The only result you’ll have is a higher score.

In the off chance that you actually make headway with a problem, you’re likely to lose it quickly because you won’t have the benefit of the repetition that practice on the range or putting green gives you.

When you hit that first tee, you should have evaluated your current state of affairs and have a plan of attack for the course that minimizes your weaknesses. If your problems are so bad, as in the case of the shanks, then skip the round and get right to the range. Trying to work out the shanks on the course is going to lead to nothing but 18 holes of unhappiness.

The same definitely goes for learning new shots. Sometimes it’s tempting to try a shot for the first time out on the course. We see Phil Mickelson executing his famous flop shot on TV and get in a situation where it would work well and think, “why not?” If you haven’t practiced it beforehand, I’ll tell you why not: you haven’t practiced it beforehand. Trying out a shot like that on the course for the first time will end with you offering an apology and an ice bag to someone in your group or maybe even to someone in another group if you really mess it up. New techniques should be tried and grooved on the range before they ever see any use on the course. Failing to do so could lead to big scores.

Do yourself a favor and save the experimentation for your practice sessions. You’ll be much happier at the end of your round.

As we all know, practice gets somewhat tedious and boring. Sometimes it’s nice to turn it into a game with a purpose to help keep you mentally engaged. I like to do the three in a row game to help keep me interested.

The premise is simple. Choose a shot to hit, any shot at all. Depending on your skill level, you might choose to hit a draw or fade, high or low. Make it as difficult or as easy as you like. Then, execute the shot. If you pull it off, great. Devise another shot to hit. But if you don’t, then continue to hit the shot until you achieve an acceptable outcome three times in a row. What is an “acceptable outcome” is totally up to you.

For example, you might pick two spots on the driving range that make a sort of lane for you to hit to. You might decide that your shot is going to be a well-struck draw starting at the target on the right (for a right hander) and landing at the target on the left. When you hit the shot, say you hit it a little right of the right-hand target and it lands right in the middle of the two. You might consider that to be good enough and move on to another shot. If not, you keep repeating that shot until you pull it off three times in a row. If you hit it twice and then flub the third try? Start again.

This technique is a great way to give yourself a real purpose and to keep yourself interested. Plus, you’ll be working on different types of shot shapes which will become integrated into your game. When it takes you 40 tries to do that well-struck draw three times in a row, you better believe that when you get out on the course, you’ll have a better feel for the shot and a much better chance of executing it. It works equally well with putting, short game, and full swings. Give it a try and I think you’ll like it.