The dreaded S word in golf is a subject that is never spoken about. It’s surrounded by nothing but negativity and, if one does occur on the course, then it is often met with fear and horror.
I am, of course, talking about a shank, a word which shall not be repeated! It happens to us all and, during the LIV Golf event in Tulsa, it happened to one of the best players on the planet, Dustin Johnson, with the American finding the hosel on the par 3 sixth hole.
Playing at Cedar Ridge Country Club, DJ had started his round with a birdie at the opening hole, with a bogey at the fourth and a birdie at the fifth putting him one-under for his round.
However, as he came to the 218-yard par 3, we saw something which I don’t think we’ve ever seen from Johnson before, with the 38-year-old striking a shank which caused his hand to come instantly off the club and, what’s even worse, the ball went so far right the fans around the hole didn’t even seem to notice!
The moment caused commentator, David Feherty, to state: “That’s an endangered species in his game,” with Johnson going on to bogey the hole to move back to level-par.
Such is Johnson’s calm demeanor though, he barely looked bothered by the moment, and that showed, as he went on to birdie the next hole before producing six birdies in his final eight holes to fire a seven-under round of 63 and move just two shots behind Branden Grace, who fired a nine-under 61.
Speaking after his round, Johnson stated that: “Well, I had a really good warmup and got off to a decent start, and through the middle of the round got a little squirrelly, just wasn’t driving it too well, hit a really bad tee shot on 6 or 7, one of those holes. (I was) swinging well, and then just on the back nine drove it better and hit it close. I made a couple putts.”