SHANK IT ON COMMAND Here's how to hit hosel rockets so good, you'll never do it again By Sahith Theegala THE DREADED SHANK: Just the sound of it sends shivers down any golfer’s spine. Why in the world would anyone want to hit the ball sideways? Well, I'll tell you why. Firing off a couple of dead shanks is my specialty. I’ve been doing it ever since high school. Though unintention- al at first, it soon became a way to draw a few laughs and loosen up my team and me before a big match. For example, back in 2015 I was playing in my second- ever college tournament for Pepperdine. It was early before a long 36-hole day, and a number of guys from each squad were warming up on the range, includ- ing players from Arizona State and the host school, Cal Berkeley. You couldn’t have drawn up a more perfect scenario for a sizzling hosel rocket. The range was shaped like a semi-circle, and each team only had one stall. Pepperdine's desig- nated spot was on the very left edge of the range. Everyone was watching. The shot ricocheted off my club al- most 90 degrees to the right, whizzing past everyone, including ASU star Jon Rahm, who was hitting two spots down. Jon looked up at me like, “What the heck is this guy doing here?” I pretended to hang my head in disbelief. Because I’m so adept at hitting shanks, I’m going to teach you everything you need to know to hit one of these morti- fying shots. Really, I am, because how else are you going to learn how not to hit a repeat shank on the course if you don’t understand what causes one in the first place? Read at your own risk. – with gabrielle herzig SAHITH THEEGALA is in his third season on the PGA Tour and won the 2023 Fortinet Championship. The 26-year-old was 28th in the 2021-22 FedExCup, his rookie season, and 31st in 2022-23. He was No 12 on the World Ranking end of April.
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 101
MAY 2024
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