Can't stop coming over the top

[U345387]

Anyone willing to share how they beat this affliction?

I, unfortunately, have a well ingrained over the top move. Not a horrendous one, but one that wreaks havoc with my consistency nonetheless. I kid myself that I have fixed it from time to time but all my success really is in those instances is a well timed, lower body slide that neutralizes the out to in swing path.

My trouble lately has been a wicked case of the snipes off the tee. I release my hands pretty well so I have the pull and pull hook miss rather than a slice.

Any drills or things that people can suggest to help here? The "figure 8" drill that some suggest in various sources does not seem to work for me.

I should also come clean and tell you all that my biggest fear on the golf course is hitting behind the ball (everybody has one). I believe that my efforts to "hit down" on the ball ultimately led me to this swing flaw.

[MPS67]

Hello U345387,

Maybe you're swinging with your arms too much?

I recently learned to eliminate the over the top and early release faults by swinging the club with my shoulders, but keeping my arms and hands synchronized with my shoulders/chest in a connected triangle. Because I had an improper arms only swing that I've been using for the last five years, It took me a while in learning how to keep the triangle intact by using my forearm muscles while at he same time, not letting the tension from them upset the passive and smooth swing from the shoulder rotation. The more I practice my new found swing, the more natural it becomes and the arm tension is becoming negligible.

When I practice, I must be careful not to swing back or forward too hastily as it can lead to the "over the top" fault, as I'll explain below.

Our minds like to control our bodies in a symmetrical fashion like in a lot of our automatic movements we take for granted. If you whip the club back too fast, it's likely you'll whip down from the top as well, which can lead to an early release, hitting OTT and hooking.

If you over power the rotational speed of the shoulders with your arms, you're not swinging the club, but rather beginning a hitting motion. This fault will not allow the right shoulder to replace the position of the left shoulder when it was at the top of the swing. This leads to an improper release, an improper shoulder and arm lunging move, wrist flipping, the OTT move, and a pulling strike. Simply try to trust the shoulders and let them rotate the swing and perform the task at hand. What helps me is to neglect the club head during the downswing, and instead focus on my hands position as I try to keep them in front of my belt buckle when in the hitting zone.

[tm22721]

Initiate the downswing with a lower body pivot instead of using the arms. That way the club is just a falling pendulum no clubhead manipulation no muscle tension.

The pros can take the club back steeply but bring it down in a shallower plane.

[crawf061]

The object is to eliminate clubhead manipulation and muscle tension by emulating a swinging pendulum.

That is why I love golf. It can get so technical (which is how my brain works). I guess some people play with more feel and what not, but I never could do that.

[MrKadash]

Try placing your feet together, then move your right leg back behind you a step and take full swings. This eliminates the over the top move, and ingrains the feel of the inside-out swing. With the right leg behind you your arms cannot swing away from your body over the top.

[CG031]

Tuck your right elbow (IF RIGHTY) into your pocket...that's the feeling of coming more inside.

[kurtbayne]

what is "snipes"?

[U345387]

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

Kurtbayne, the snipes is the snaphooks!

[kurtbayne]

OK snipes = snaphooks, nice slang

I can't relate to casting/coming over the top since I tend towards an inside-out swing. There must be golf instruction books that have a troubleshooting solution for such a basic swing fault.

So I'm by far an expert on this, but maybe try these inside-to-out thoughts for a few swings for yuks and maybe you'll get lucky.

SHOVEL VS. PICK - your over-the-top is sorta like coming down sideways with a pick. Maybe if you thought of having a shovelful of dirt and then throwing out in front of you from way back. Probably not throwing the dirt way up in the air, but more rolling the dirt along the ground. It's not the perfect thought but might help

CLUB IN THE BUTT - Try a very loose-wristed non-controlling swing and see if you can do a more inside-to-outside so that the club almost whacks you in the butt at the finish. Maybe you get close to hitting your left ear with your hands, too, I can't remember. If it's just hard to imagine, maybe try addressing the ball, the move from there directly to the finish. Try that a few times, then extrapolate on how to work backwards from that. That might shake a few preconceived cobwebs in your brain.

SOFTBALL PITCH - similar to SHOVEL - snap an underhanded softball pitch, but more open and thrown in front of you, rather than sideways/left. Like SHOVEL, maybe "throwing" softball into the dirt is better than in the air, don't know. Then just find a way for the left arm to stay back with the right arm thru the motion.

Kids here now gotta do chores, let me know if that helped