Golf is one of the toughest sports out there, even for the people who play it professionally. Mishits happen all the time, wiith varying degrees of severity. One of the worst mishits you can have though is a shank, when the ball hits the hozzle of the club and shoots out to the right (for a right-handed golfer).
We've all had our fair share of shanks, and some times even the best professionals in the world get a hozzle rocket. Here are 5 of the worst shanks to ever occur from top 10 players on the PGA Tour.
1. Justin Thomas at The Memorial Tournament: JT knows immediately how terrible this shot is, dropping his club soon after impact. He's pretty lucky the trees kept this one in bounds, otherwise it had a good chance to hit one of the million dollar houses that line the fairways at Muirfield.
2. Tiger Woods at the Cialis Western Open: Yes ladies and gentlemen, even the famous Tiger Woods has shanked a golf shot. Just like Thomas above, Woods knew right away that the ball was offline, yelling "fore" to warn spectators down the right-hand side. Of course, Tiger would still finish runner-up in the event.
3. Jordan Spieth at The Memorial Tournament: Muirfield Village has seen its fair share of shanks over the years, and Spieth added to that tally a few years ago. His shank is so severe, that he actually airmails the gallery up near the green, hitting a camera tower.
4. Dustin Johnson at WGC at Doral: Okay so technically, this one is not a shank but it might as well be. DJ's huge mishit slice hits the camera tower and nearly causes a man to plummet 100 feet to his death. With water on the left side, this shot was a the bail-out of all bail-outs.
5. Rory Mcilroy at the PGA Championship: This shank was in a practice session, but was recent and so severe that it earned a spot on this list. Mcilroy takes this ball right over the top of the scoreboard and into the woods, with a wedge! Incredible.
6. Justin Thomas at the Valspar Championship: If you have ever thought about hitting driver off the deck, this might convince you otherwise. Thomas absolutely DRILLS a spectator in the head about 30 yards right of the fairway. Amazingly enough, on this par 5 Thomas was able to manage a birdie after an incredible chip-in.
Know some great shanks? Have some personal videos of terrible shanks? Submit them to oliver@nextgengolf for a chance to be featured on our blog.