It's something that you definitely do not want to have! I'm entering my final year of high school, and have struggled with the shanks in my earlier years as a high school student. The bad part is that it was during a tournament which mattered the most, such as Regionals. Ah...Regionals. Basically a shank is when your swing path is too vertical and your shoulders come over the top, resulting in the hosel of your club coming down on the ball. I fix this by making sure I do the "squat" position on the backswing. Visit this website on the squat position, it's never failed me in curing my shanks.

http://www.golfonline.com/golfonline...0_1_sh,00.html

Hope I helped some,

frubalu