Stop Coming Over The Top
- Taking the club away too flat or under the swing plane
- Stranding the majority of weight on the left (forward) leg at the top of the backswing
- Creating a narrow swing arc
- Leaving the clubface open at the top
Full Answer
How do you come over the top in golf?
· Michael Breed demonstrates three drills to stop your swing from coming over the top. Watch more tips from The Golf Fix here: http://bit.ly/1L1QPci Download G...
Why can’t I Come Over the top in my golf swing?
· Again, for coming over the top there are two simple keys: weight shift, and left arm. Master those and you'll never be able to come over the top again. Don't do this: Hanging back on the right side and throwing the right arm
How do I keep my golf clubs from coming from the inside?
· The following “ball toss drill” teaches you the correct fundamental movement skills for the downswing, and prevents you from starting down with your arms and shoulders and coming over the top ...
How do I get better at hinging the Golf Club?
Keep your lower body and hips in their original address position. Your hands will be around waist high and the shaft roughly parallel to the ground, perhaps pointing up slightly. Step 4. Start your...
How to put a golf club on the backswing?
How to Do It: Place a small stick (as shown in the photo above) a few feet behind the golf ball and a little outside of the target line. Practice taking the club head OVER the stick on the backswing, and then deliver the club on the inside of the stick on the way down.
How to hit the ball with a sidehill lie?
The only way to hit the ball with any success from this kind of lie is to allow the club to follow the slope and work around your body to the top, which will help you discover the feeling of how the arms follow the shoulders to the top, not the other way around.
Why does my ball fly outward?
The over-the-top move that causes this ball flight most often stems from poor sequencing of the body. When your body gets out of sync, it often forces the rear shoulder to ride outward on the downswing, shifting your swing direction in toward your body. Slice city.
What happens when your hips spin out?
Cause and Effect: Anytime the hips race out from under the torso or “spin-out” from the top, the club is usually thrown over-the-top. The longer the club, the more detrimental this move becomes.
How to do the rear foot back drill?
The Rear Foot Back drill gives the arms freedom to “drop” under the plane during the transition, putting you into a better position to deliver the club head into the ball.
Why do my arms lift to the top?
Problem #1: Arm Lift to the Top. Cause and Effect: The arm lift is caused when the shoulders aren’t the lead source of power in the backswing, leaving the arms to lift to the top independently of the torso’s actions.
Can you ruin your score faster than hitting three off the tee?
Nothing can ruin your score quicker than hitting three off the tee after you pump one out of play. And nothing is more frustrating than catching one solid, only to see it put on the blinker and slice hard to the right while losing big distance.
Why do golfers pivot over the top?
One of the most common causes of the over-the-top move is when golfers fail to transfer their weight properly. This can lead to what’s known as a reverse pivot where the weight stays on the left leg throughout the backswing and then shifts onto the right side coming down into impact.
How to get better at golf swing?
A simple drill to help encourage a better move is to set up without a club and place your hands across your shoulders. From there, turn back and feel your left shoulder moving across to your right knee, and then your right shoulder to your left knee as you swing through.
Why does Miguel Jimenez swing around his body?
From there, he would swing around his body on that plane to encourage the feeling of attacking the ball from the inside and releasing the hands better. It’s something we’ve also seen Miguel Jimenez do for many years when he is practising. The great thing about these drills is that they aren’t overly technical.
Can hitting an iron cause a slice?
No matter if you’re hitting an iron or a driver, coming over the top with your swing can spell disaster. It’s often the cause of a slice but can also lead to big pulls depending on how you release the club.
Can you swing over the top with a poor backswing?
Swinging over the top isn’t only for those with a poor backswing. There are many golfers who shift their weight nicely and get the club into a good position only to pull their left hip back violently, which throws the club outside. Starting the downswing by shifting the left hip laterally will get the club in a better position.
How to shallow out a golf swing?
You just need to learn to use the left arm correctly, especially at the top of the swing. That will allow you to shallow out.
What makes golf so difficult?
One thing that makes golf so difficult is that it's predominantly a left-arm, left-sided dominant game, and of course most players are right handed. The right arm plays a part in over the top swings. That's not to say the right side and the right arm don't play a huge part in the golf swing.
What arm is the swing at the top?
At the top with left arm only (left). Pulling with the left shallows the swing (center). An over the top move is awkward for the left arm (right).
What arm is the golf club at the top?
At the top with left arm only (left). Pulling with the left shallows the swing (center). An over the top move is awkward for the left arm (right). When you pull with the left arm, the club naturally shallows out.
What arm do you use to change your swing plane?
Today you're going to learn one simple trick with the left arm that, if you do it correctly, will immediately change your swing plane and path, making it almost impossible for you to come over the top.
What is a good weight transfer?
A good weight transfer shallows out the swing plane - the pitch of the shaft. It's as simple as being loaded up on the right side, and then shifting your weight back to the left.
How does weight transfer work in golf?
Weight transfer from the right side to the left shallows out the pitch of the shaft. This move also pulls the arm down. You're not just going to the top and ripping your left arm down by itself. You're using your body mass, your weight, to change the direction of the club.
How to use the ground to drive off your right side?
The advantage to this drill is that by starting with your hands very close to your body - not out away from you - you can use the ground to really drive off your right side, creating additional leverage between your left arm and club shaft, thus maximizing your clubhead speed through impact. Furthermore, the hands have an incentive to move down and out toward the ball, on the correct inside path. If you start down by pulling your hands out away from your body (i.e., over the top), they have nowhere to go but left, across your body, finishing near your left hip pocket. There’s no power in that. In the photo above, you can see how my hands and arms are fully extended out away from my chest halfway into the follow-through, and my hips have cleared to the left. Now that’s power!
Where do you finish when you start down?
If you start down by pulling your hands out away from your body (i.e., over the top), they have nowhere to go but left, across your body, finishing near your left hip pocket. There’s no power in that.
How to do a ball toss drill?
The following “ball toss drill” teaches you the correct fundamental movement skills for the downswing, and prevents you from starting down with your arms and shoulders and coming over the top . Tee a ball as normal and then stick a shaft in the ground at a 45-degree angle to the ground, approximately 1-1/2 to 2 feet behind the ball and 6 inches outside of the target line (i.e., farther away from your body). Without a club, take a Nerf ball or small ball in your right hand and make an imaginary backswing (see photo, above).
What happens if you rotate your shoulders open?
If your first move from the top was to rotate your shoulders open, and come over the top, your hands would hit the shaft and the ball would bounce to the left. You can do this drill with just a ball at home to get a feel for how the hands and arms follow the lower body on the downswing, and approach the ball from the inside.
How far forward should you throw the ball?
Toss the ball at a spot on the ground approximately 2 yards forward and to the right of the target line (see photo, above). For this to occur, you must initiate the downswing with your lower body, transferring your weight forward while your hands and arms move down toward the ball and out toward the target line.
How to move your hands on a plane?
For the hands and club to be moving on-plane, you must initiate the downswing from the ground up, first moving the ankles, then the knees, hips, shoulders, arms and hands . In this proper kinematic sequence, your weight naturally shifts left and the hands drop to the inside, closer to your body (see photo, above).
How to play golf with your arms?
Take your normal setup position, with your knees slightly flexed, your upper body bending over from the hip and your weight over the balls of your feet. Your arms should hang straight down from your shoulders, with your triceps resting lightly against your chest. Hold your club with your regular grip.
How to swing a one piece golf club?
Make your one-piece takeaway. Don't straighten, turn and bend – just swing the club from address to the waist-high position.
How to straighten your body?
Straighten your upper body to an upright position without changing the position of your arms, cocking your wrists or straightening your knees. Keep your lower body and hips in their original address position. Your hands will be around waist high and the shaft roughly parallel to the ground, perhaps pointing up slightly.
How to do a one piece takeaway?
In a proper takeaway, you turn your shoulders to start the backswing, then bend your right elbow (for a right-handed golfer) to get to the top. This is called a one-piece takeaway.
How to do a squat on the backswing?
Return to the position your body would have been in if you had simply turned your upper body to this position on your backswing. Let your left elbow (if you're right-handed) move slightly away from your side. It should point straight down at the ground.
Why do golf magazines have drills?
Almost every golf magazine offers drills to eliminate that nasty "over the top" move that plagues weekend golfers.
Can you move your arms and lower body?
Again, don 't move your arms, club or lower body; only your upper body turns.
How to come over the top in golf?
A universal solution to coming over the top would be to learn to drop the club and your hands at the top of the backswing. However, if you can determine which problem you are doing, that solution will be easier to do by fixing the backswing if needed.
Where to hit golf ball in golf?
Try to hit the inside quadrant of the golf ball, as opposed to the center of the golf ball.
How to fix a backswing swing?
That way, when you are at the top of the backswing, you will have some room to drop the club and shallow the plane of the downswing. Use of the momentum of the golf club to your advantage.
What happens when your arms swing too flat?
If their arms swing too flat, they have no where to drop the hands and club “into the slot”. Therefore, their downswing goes the only place that is has room, away from the body and over the top compared to a good downswing. This is completely dependent on the golfer’s natural golf swing.
What is the first move in the downswing?
You have a great backswing, but your first move in the downswing is to come over the top. Your backswing could be spot on, but once you start your downswing, your hands and the club come too steep and you swing out-to-in instead of in-to-out.
What does "coming over the top" mean?
For a short description, just to make sure everyone is on the same page, coming over the top simply means that one’s downswing is too steep or vertical.
How to start a downswing in golf?
So if you are a right handed golfer, drop your right elbow directly downward to start the downswing. This is contrasted with what people that swing over the top do. At the top of the swing, they throw everything (the club, the hands, the arms, the trail elbow) towards the ball. It makes sense.
Why do golfers struggle coming over the top?
Golfers who struggle coming over the top often have too much wrist set in their swing, which force the shaft into a vertical — steep — position. That’s why Mark suggests feeling like you’re making a wider arc, with less wrist hinge, which will let the center of mass of the club work from more behind you and less over-the-top.
What is an over the top move?
Before we go any further, it’s worth clarifying, for those who may be unfamiliar, what an “over-the-top” move actually is. It’s when the club moves from outside-to-in on the downswing. Paired with a closed clubface, it can result in a nasty pull hook. Match it with an open clubface, and bingo! Slice time.
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