How do I stop coming over the top?

[powertrip240]

I have a bad slice, and I've been told it is because my swing comes over the top. I know it's difficult for anyone to fix my swing without seeing it, but does anyone have any quick tips for curing this problem?

[neudi]

Bring the clubhead straight back...put a tee 18 inches directly behind the ball on your target line...go over that tee everytime...try that.

[Guest]

Make sure you get a good shoulder turn going back, Then try to keep the shoulders turned as you start your downswing. You may feel as though you are going to slam the clubhead straight into the ground way behind the ball, but you won't.

[kehanra99]

One of the easiest ways is to use your hips to turn your body on the backswing and use your back leg to to push your hips forward on the downswing. Keep in mind, you don't want to do anything more than transfer your weight on the backswing...you shouldn't shift your back hip much past he outside of your foot, it should just turn.
If you do that, it's almost impossible to come over on the top if you do that because the club will be too far behind your swing.

[Ringer]

Keep your tilt... try to "peek" under the ball.

[JonnyGolf]

Keep your tilt... try to "peek" under the ball.

This is a simple way to change the angle of attack. Good advice.

[tm22721]

I have the same problem. I took videos of my swing and determined that I was not turning my hips, I was not taking a complete shoulder turn, I was not staying behind the ball, I was not keeping my left arm straight, I was casting the club, I was not keeping the club close to my body, I was not shifting my weight, I was sliding my hips, I had a reverse pivot and I was not keeping my left wrist flat at the top and at impact.

When I cured all of those problems, I still had a slice so I went back to the video and discovered an additional flaw. I was not turning my hands over at impact. Phew.

When I do all of those things correctly I get straight ball flight with driver, and a draw with the irons.

YMMV

[MPS67]

There are many reasons why golfers come over the top.

It is important to make use of the correct swing fundamentals and motions from the start.

For example, if you were to take a snap shot at the top of the back swing, you'd want to see yourself in a coiled state with your spine in a power V position and your hips already shifting laterally forward.

To get this coiled effect at the top, don't consciously turn your hips during the back swing. Let your left shoulder do the work by turning back with your arms connected and moving together. You'll want to achieve a large X factor angle, which is the difference between the shoulder turn versus the hip turn. 45 degrees or more is good. Also, don't duck your shoulders and pivot them around your spine as this will twist your back well beyond 90 degrees from address and then eliminate the power V angle you'll want to attain.

One of biggest faults over the toppers are guilty of is starting the downswing with their shoulders by driving/turning the left (assuming a right handed golfer) in a downward motion to hit the ball. This can only force an over the top and outside to in swing path. It also prematurely starts the release of the wrists and cause flipping.

This happens because the potential energy that is stored up in the body at the top is expended too soon. The mass of the arms, hands, club shaft, and club head are closest to the bodies center of rotation (the spine) at the top of the back swing. As the golfer swings down, this mass moves farther away from the axis and momentum travels through them starting from the shoulders to the club head and simultaneously slow the system down. This effect is much like the move a figure skater makes at the end of her routine. She'll start spinning slowly with her arms and leg extended out. As soon as she brings her one extended leg down and hers arms in and over her head, her spin rate increases ten fold. She could re-extend them out to automatically slow her spin rate again.

If you don't want to hit over the top, you must maintain your wrist cock as late as possible in the downswing. You must not release early. To do this, you must swing from the top with the hips only. No arms, no hands, no shoulders. Force the hips to move laterally forward as far as they can go and make no conscious effort to turn them as they will turn automatically do so once they've reached their forward limit.
This will bring your left hip up a little, and tilt your upper torso back while bringing your right elbow down to meet your right hip.

At this point, your club shaft should be level with the ground and co linear with the target line. The wrist cock should still be what it was set to at the top. Now, shift your hands forward toward the target while keeping your wrists passive. In other words, don't use any effort to swing the club head square with your hands and wrists. The release of the angular momentum to the club head will force this pivoting action automatically.

If you do this, you will have hit inside to out and squared the club head up nicely, assuming your grip is sound. There are two main forces of momentum in play here; the arm, hands, and club mass around your spine and the club mass release pivoting from your hands. The momentum from these two forces will carry your right shoulder and torso up and around your left leg.

[Steaksauce]

Practice letting the club drop with gravity at the top of your backswing. You'll see that your hands should fall right on line with your toe line.

Another way is a thought from Ben Hogan's book The Five Lessons where he imagines a pane of glass lying on his shoulders, repesenting the swing plane. If you swing over the top the glass would get shattered and pretty much ruin the swing.

Just a few thoughts.

[tm22721]

Keep your tilt... try to "peek" under the ball.

This is the same movement as skipping a stone off a lake. A move every 8 year old can make the first time ! No lessons needed.

So why isn't this move intuitive with a golf club ? Why do we instinctively throw our right shoulder around instead of under ?

[MPS67]

This is the same movement as skipping a stone off a lake. A move every 8 year old can make the first time ! No lessons needed.

It might be because skipping a stone utilizes only one of our hands/arms. During the stone skipping movement, the other hand/arm is usually out in front of us maintaining balance.

[MPS67]

Practice letting the club drop with gravity at the top of your backswing. You'll see that your hands should fall right on line with your toe line.

The path will be good, but unless your swing is totally dependent on timing, this practice move could be counterproductive because it immediately releases all of the stored up energy in the coil.

[naples golf18]

when i come over the top its a result of me being to quick. think low and slow and relax.

[Ringer]

This is the same movement as skipping a stone off a lake. A move every 8 year old can make the first time ! No lessons needed.

Most of the time it's a chain reaction from the lead hip twisting away from the ball instead of having the back hip turn around a posted lead hip.

But even more importantly is that twisting our bodies quickly is what we think creates speed. And it does. So the farther we want to hit the ball, the more we twist our bodies. A twist tends to be more horizontal than vertical and also tends to be over the back leg. We simply don't have the patience to shift our weight first and then turn.

[powertrip240]

when i come over the top its a result of me being to quick. think low and slow and relax.

I often tell myself "nice and easy" just as I address the ball, and when

I DO take it nice and easy, it is more of an acceptable fade than a slice, but with a sacrifice of distance. I know, a 180 yard drive on the fairway is better than a 230 yard drive in OB, but I hate sacrificing power. Thanks for all the tips, guys. I'm itching to play again now.

[tm22721]

Most of the time it's a chain reaction from the lead hip twisting away from the ball instead of having the back hip turn around a posted lead hip.

Thanks, that helps. Do you agree with the hip turn advice in this video ?

Hip Turn

[JonnyGolf]

This is the same movement as skipping a stone off a lake. A move every 8 year old can make the first time ! No lessons needed.

Because it is the most direct route to the ball. I really don't think anything in golf is instinctive. And, my kids had to learn how to skip rocks. Their first attempts went "kerplunk." But, I digress.

[tm22721]

Most of the time it's a chain reaction from the lead hip twisting away from the ball instead of having the back hip turn around a posted lead hip.

So which video is more correct ?

Hip Turn #1 or Hip Turn #2 ?