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What Are The Best Drills/Training Aids For Eliminating Over The Top?


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Hi There!

I guess this has been asked on numerous occasions but I'd like to ask what are the best drills for getting rid of an over the top swing, I attack from the outside and want to swing more from the inside.

Also, what are the best training aids for this problem? Is the inside approach worthwhile-or will a box/piece of wood do the trick?

Are there any good instruction web sites articles on this swing fault?

what has worked for you guys?

My divots point well left. I hit the occasional shank and sometimes a pull hook, or a push slice. My quality of strike depends so much on timing. Im much worse hitting off the fairway than off a tee, driving off a tee seems to help me swing through from the inside. Basically if I came from the inside path I would be so much more consistent-but it's a very hard thing to master, since from childhood I learned to HIT down across the ball so I would get more height and distance.

Help would really be appreciated!

Cocky

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try a "inside approach". When I was first getting back into golf I would always hit a horrible slice with my driver. The inside approach says it can fix the over the top swing in 6 swings or less. For me it was 2!!. I still use it every now and then.
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You have to determine why you are coming over the top. It is a backswing oriented problem, not a downswing problem. The downswing is easy if you have made a good backswing and thus are in good position at the top.

1. If you start down before you finish a 90 degree turn you will be outside. This is a flexibility and timing/tempo issue.

2. If you take the club inside at the bottom it will travel up and cross over the top in a loop which forms a counterclockwise circle. Things in motion tend to stay in motion so the natural move on an inside takeaway is the over the top. You need to get to the 9:00 position in the backswing where the club is parallel to the ground butt to target and toe up or slightly closed. From there turn the torso and the clubs loops clockwise and drops inside at the top. Completely different loop direction at the top from the low inside move. Practice taking big looping swings where the club rises up in the front and then inside and down to the inside.

3. You are picking the club up somewhere in the backswing free of the body turn creating arm drift or travel which breaks down the swing connection such that at the top you are too arms steep and have no coil which results in the only move available to the subconscious to start the downswing which is to fire the arms/rear shoulder out and over the top.

4. Your arms are not folding correctly in the backswing such that the club is too steep or flat and thus too far out of position to swing down requiring bad arm compensations. You want to take a tray held vertically and swing back so tha the tray is somewhat flat and the right hand below it. What Leadbetteor call the waiter's positon at the top. This is the on plane position. Keep the left wrist flat and allow the right hand to travel under the left while not regripping. This is the power hinge move. Easy to do if you practice it. At the top just check the swing and see where you are, or have a friend check it.

Having said that the best drill is to set up to a ball with a good setup and have a spare shaft which is placed on the same plane as the club you are using. Now move to the left (righty) so that with you club on your hip the hosel extends to the shaft. Now set up again and make practice swings not hitting the shaft. Once you can do that, simply swing straight down by dropping the arms straight down and you should be to swing under the shaft. With practice you can hit balls with a shaft so placed.

To feel the golf swing mechanics, simply take a golf towel and make a good setup and now turn back to really feel a coil against that braced rear leg and then simply throw the towel down behind you. If you made a good turn back you will see the weight all shifted to the front and your arms are perfectly straight down the target. The downswing happens automatically if you coil back and swing down, not out.

The point of all this is to point out that the over the top move is a result of a poor backswing, not a problem in and of itself.
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I have a very good full turn and take the club back on plane. Its just a case of starting my swing with my body and shoulders, I kind of unwind too quickly and hit at the ball. I guess I dont move from my hips first either. Thanks for the response-I will have a good look at that. Im thinking of buying this 'inside approach' contraption and having a go with that. I think my right elbow not being tucked in is a major cause of the problem. My backswing is quite good, but the right arm sticks out more than it should-this then allows me/causes me to rotate too quickly and come across the line.
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Simple really, pardon my rudimentary drawings.

Put down two tees in the ground and drive quadrant 4 of the golf ball through quadrant 1 at impact with your left wrist rolling which creates a closing club face.

If you get over plane you will break a tee.

If breaking tees aren't enough motivation to make you stop spinning off of plane then replace the tees with golf balls and scare the shit out of whoever is near you on the range.

That one always does the trick.





Certified G.O.L.F. Machine Addict

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Other things that have helped me are:

1: A warm up waggle before every shot where I trace the plane I want to come down to the ball on 2 or 3 times just before swinging. You have no idea how much a simple little thing like this helps.

2: Imagining drawing a "7" with my right shoulder during my swing. During your take away the right shoulder stays perfectly level and moves backwards. During your down swing the right shoulder moves down plane to the ball. This draws a 7 if you think about it.

There are a million different mental triggers. Its just up to you to decide which works.

Certified G.O.L.F. Machine Addict

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Try to take your right hand out of the equation. Grab your club with your left hand with your normal grip. With your right, hold the club about half way down the shaft. Make a normal backswing and when you get to the top let go of the club with your right hand. Now make a normal swing. This drill will teach you the feeling of coming from the inside.

I just learned the drill today and it already helped me tremendously, as you can see from my post
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Try to take your right hand out of the equation. Grab your club with your left hand with your normal grip. With your right, hold the club about half way down the shaft. Make a normal backswing and when you get to the top let go of the club with your right hand. Now make a normal swing. This drill will teach you the feeling of coming from the inside.

This is what Bobby Jones says in his book about starting the downswing with the butt of the club going down on the plane it is pointed. It works well if you club is in good position at the top.
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you can use a cushion or a shoebox and place it parallel to the target line about 3 inches outside of it. Swing and hit the ball without hitting the shoebox; I even use this drill with the shoebox/cushion not parallel to the target line and sloping a little toward my right foot since your swing should really be in-to out-to in. You probably aren't bringing your right elbow into your side in the down swing.

You can also use three balls and align them at a 45* angle along the target line with the first ball closest to you and the third one farthest from you. Address and hit the middle ball without hitting the other two to develop an in-to-in swing.

Chances are after you do this and fix your slice, you're gonna start hooking so you can do the same thing to fix your hook except line the three balls the other way with the first ball farthest from you and the third ball closest to you on a 45* angle from the target line. Address and hit the ball..

Have fun!
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I will try the shoe box for sure. Funny thing is i dont really slice much at all. I have a good hand action through the ball. My big problems are short irons-chopping right down and taking a huge pointing left divot. I seem to have a constant fear of shanking-which can occcur sometimes, but often i hit a bit fat or pull miles left. With other shots the pull is the big problem. It all stems from the over the top-which does come from this right arm not being tucked in. But slicing is rare for me. Its common for me to belt a huge striaght drive and then pull my PW or LW 10 yards left. In fact I did this almost every other hole at the weekend. If the ball sits up in fluffy rough I can get through it nicely. But if it sits tight on the fairway, then my over the top motion comes into play.
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I will try the shoe box for sure. Funny thing is i dont really slice much at all. I have a good hand action through the ball. My big problems are short irons-chopping right down and taking a huge pointing left divot. I seem to have a constant fear of shanking-which can occcur sometimes, but often i hit a bit fat or pull miles left. With other shots the pull is the big problem. It all stems from the over the top-which does come from this right arm not being tucked in. But slicing is rare for me. Its common for me to belt a huge striaght drive and then pull my PW or LW 10 yards left. In fact I did this almost every other hole at the weekend. If the ball sits up in fluffy rough I can get through it nicely. But if it sits tight on the fairway, then my over the top motion comes into play.

with short irons, your lower limbs probably become more stable and you let your upper body does more work, thus out of sequence. since you have not cleared the legs yet, the arms basically have to come down over the top.

on the contrary, with your driver, may be subconsciously you are more ready to let go a big one, your lower legs are engaged earlier with weight shift, so the sequencing is better. i think it is a simple matter of mistiming because we tend to more handsy with shorter irons trying to place the ball...more eager to make it happen,,,
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1. Get your weight into your left big toe to start your downswing......while at the same time keeping your upper body behind the ball tilted slightly more than you were at address.

2. Don't swing so hard.


P.S.>
I think a divot pointing left is okay, the size of the divot will determine OTT swing. Just think...you have to hit ball first to obtain clean iron contact, hopefully you've virtually squared the face by the time you hit the ball, right?? Then, you should follow through to the inside, (i.e. left for a right-hander) with the clubface closing gradually.

If you got a big monster divot it's because you were OTT, probably 99% of the time.

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True-I Get much more edgey with short irons. I get more hit with arms and hands, rather than a more athletic swing with my driver.

My divots point a little left off tee. But with short irons they are HUGE and point miles left. Particularly when its wet!

Anyway-thanks for advice i will try suggestions!
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you can use a cushion or a shoebox and place it parallel to the target line about 3 inches outside of it. Swing and hit the ball without hitting the shoebox; I even use this drill with the shoebox/cushion not parallel to the target line and sloping a little toward my right foot since your swing should really be in-to out-to in. You probably aren't bringing your right elbow into your side in the down swing.

I would take my older clubs and use a plank of wood with this drill. It gives you more severe feedback and stronger motivation to not hit the plank. I would also put the plank maybe an inch outside the ball. Just enough room for the club head to pass through without hitting the plank.

In the bag:

Irons X20 5-SW
Hybrids Slingshot 20* and 23*
Fairway Wood SasQuatch 15* Rescue:18* Perfect Plus (Don't laugh! I fairway people to death with that thing!)Putter Dual Force 550 Proudly, I hit no Driver. Who needs it?

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