I have had my problems with ugly shanks in recent months and found the causes were an outside-in swing path on the down swing caused by throwing my right shoulder out rather than turning under. Also, I was sliding my head forward on the downswing. I was hitting most shots on the heel of the club and also had some ugly hossle shanks. Keeping the head still and in back of the ball during the downswing is a must. Your body is going to slide forward a bit but one must keep that head stationary because sliding the head forward during the downswing will cause you to come into the ball with an open club face causing shanks and blocks to the right. Getting the club on a path coming from the inside to the ball is also a necessary move. The outside-in swing is a power killer as well as a difficult position from which to get the club head square to the ball on impact.