M L
GOLF
THE LUCY LOCKET
BY TOM ATKINSON , PGA GOLF PROFESSIONAL
This is the one we all dread , the unmentionable , the Lucy locket … a Shank !
We ’ ve been out on the range for months practicing , playing nicely on the course , no sign of the dreaded then BOOM , it comes off at a right angle to your target line , at ankle height . Oh well , that ’ s an anomaly , you drop another one as you laugh it off , and it happens again … now there ’ s a panic on .
You try fifteen different things but it ’ s no good . Disaster has struck , time to pack in ? Thankfully no , it ’ s not as difficult to overcome as you think .
Have a read of this .....
There are only really two ways you can shank a golf ball , coming at it way from the inside with a wide open club face , or , more commonly coming at it over the top and hitting the hosel . It ’ s a swing path issue , your club passes beyond the ball to target line before you get back to the bottom of your swing arc , your alignment with the club and ball suffers . You hit the part of the club where the shaft enters the head , the hosel . This is one that you have to force to change .
A simple cardboard box will become your new friend . If you place it down on the ground perpendicular to your stance and put your ball no more than a balls width from it , in order to contact the ball you ’ ll need to miss the box . This will encourage you to swing the club more from the inside on the way down . With repetition you will start to iron out your out to in swing path which will in turn bring the strike back to the centre of the face . You may even start to develop a draw !
Go and try it on the range , or on the course and build your confidence back up . This is the final piece of the jigsaw really , getting it away from your mind , it ’ s a real demon for your brain . Once you ’ ve hit a couple of buckets with the box then believe it or not it will be really hard to try and shank a shot . Good luck and don ’ t forget if you ’ re struggling with any aspect of your game then I ' m here to help .
52 merseylife . com