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why am i always topping the golf ball

by Hollie Kautzer Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Why Am I Topping The Golf Ball?

  • You are scared of hitting the ground
  • Your pressure in your legs is in the wrong spot
  • Your center shifts too much
  • The chicken wing
  • Trying to manipulate the shot
  • Yipping at the ball

Poor posture at address is a primary cause of the top as you won't be able to maintain your angles as you swing and are likely to lift away from the ball through impact (see below). Golfers with poor posture tend to bend through the back so the pelvis is too far forward.Feb 9, 2022

Full Answer

What causes 'topping' the golf ball?

Why Do I Top the Ball in My Golf Swing?

  • Standing Up. In the proper address position, you should bend at the hips and flex your knees. ...
  • Poor Ball Position. If the ball is too far forward in your stance, it's easy to hit it fat. ...
  • Helping the Ball Up. ...
  • Throwing the Clubhead. ...
  • Reverse Pivot. ...

How do you stop topping the golf ball?

To stop topping the ball, here are good tips that you can follow:

  1. Work on your tempo. To do this, you have to keep your head still. ...
  2. Try the penny technique. The penny technique involves the use of a coin in the training. ...
  3. Consider your ball's position. Is it too far off from your stance? ...
  4. Check you wrists. ...
  5. Check your grip on the club. ...
  6. Check your posture. ...
  7. Swing properly. ...

How to stop topping the ball in golf?

How To Stop Topping The Golf Ball

  • Posture Is Key. Poor posture at address is a primary cause of the top as you won’t be able to maintain your angles as you swing and are likely to ...
  • 'Chasing' The Clubhead. Look at the difference in the two post-impact positions here, below - the first one being a good example of what we're trying to achieve, while the ...
  • Tee Drill. ...

Why do you hit the ground before the golf ball?

What Causes a Golfer to Hit it Fat?

  1. Ball Position This is the most common mistake I see among amateur golfers. Fortunately, it’s also the easiest to fix. ...
  2. Pressure Shift I talk about pressure shift a lot. It may seem overly simple, but trust me: When my students get the pressure shift right, they see major improvement ...
  3. Angle of Club Shaft

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Why is my ball not rolling across the ground?

In simplest terms, in order to get the ball up into the air — and not rolling across the ground — is to hit down into the dirt. (GETTY) If that’s not happening, there may be a few reasons why. Here are some of the most common I see: 1. Bad Posture. Good posture is the basis for solid contact.

How to throw a golf club toward the ground?

It can be helpful to practice this by placing a ball in your right hand, from your golf posture. Allow the elbow to fold as it would in your backswing and then throw the ball so that it hits the ground.

What ruins a golf swing?

Nothing ruins a great golf swing like a loss of balance. Assuming you’re in a good set up to start, it only takes a small loss of balance to cause you to top the ball. A good check of balance is holding your finish until your golf ball lands.

How to get the ball down to the ground?

1. Bad Posture. Good posture is the basis for solid contact. Bowing forward from your hips so that your hands can hang below your shoulders can put you in balance and also get the club down to the ground. Too much knee flex or squatting can often make it extremely difficult to get the club down into the turf, and therefore get the ball into the air.

How to brush grass without a club?

Keeping your hands away from your sternum can help to maintain the width of your backswing, making it easier to brush the grass. One of my favorite drills for feeling this is to hold your lead wrist with your trail hand. From here, make your backswing without a club and feel your trail arm pull your lead arm wide.

Why is it so hard to keep your head down?

The problem with keeping your head down is that it limits your body’s ability to move athletically. If you attempt to keep your head down, it’s very difficult to allow your body to rotate properly on your downswing to get the club down to the ground and the ball into the air. 7. Tension in hands and arms.

What happens if you stand too far away from the ball?

If you stand too far away from the ball at address, it’s almost difficult not to top the ball without a heroic move. Reaching for the ball — where your arms often get into a diagonal position — will often lead to a thin shot or a top.

What happens if you hit the ball too far left?

If you’ve got the ball too far left (closer to your lead foot) at address, your swing will find its bottom point before it reaches the ball. By impact, the clubhead is traveling up and over the ball, usually clipping it above the equator. If you’ve been topping the ball often, check your ball position first.

How does a golf swing stay level?

Good golf swings remain level throughout the backswing and downswing, so the body remains as stable as possible and the job of delivering the club head to the back of the ball gets that much easier. To better understand this concept, think about other areas of life outside of the golf course that require precision.

What is it like to watch your golf ball fly?

One of the great pleasures in the game of golf is looking up after your swing and watching your ball soar through the air in the direction of the target. Even if you don’t hit a great shot every time, there is something satisfying about watching the ball fly that gives the golfers a great feeling of accomplishment.

How does rotation work in golf?

Rotation works in both directions, as well – you have to rotate away from the target if you are going to be able to rotate towards it with any kind of power and aggression.

What happens if you don't clear your swing?

If you aren’t clear on what is going on in your swing that is leading to the topping of the ball, you don’t stand much of a chance at all to fix it. The good news is that unlike some other parts of the golf swing, the issue that you are likely dealing with to create this problem is relatively easy to understand.

Is the topped shot embarrassing?

Ah, the topped shot. It’s embarrassing, all right. Even worse, the ego damage is compounded by a lousy result, which moves you only a little closer to the intended target.

Can you play golf with your toes up?

It is actually possible to play good golf this way, and you might see better players who get up on their toes from time to time – especially when swinging hard. However, for a golfer who wants to figure out how to stop topping the golf ball, getting rid of this move should be a top priority.

Who said golfers should keep their eye on the ball?

Schippel says golfers should instead "keep their eye on the ball.". He breaks it down in the video below & provides an easy drill that you can try to generate power from the ground up and finish your golf swing with ease.

What is the most common miss in golf?

Published on Tuesday, December 15, 2020. One of the most common misses in golf happens when the lead arm breaks down at impact and you top the golf ball. Of course, when this happens we've all heard the peanut gallery on the golf course say "keep your head down.".

What is a top shot in golf?

In golf a topped shot is one that see the club hitting the ball above its equator. (For a shot that sees the club hitting just below the equator see the page on thin shots ).

Why is the bottom of the swing arc not a strike?

That’s because a swing that sees the bottom of the swing arc located too much in front of the ball will not produce a pure strike and if far enough in front will produce a topped shot. While the club will correctly approach the ball as it travels down it will catch the ball above its equator if the bottom of the swing arc is too late in the swing, ...

What is a swing arc that never produces a divot?

A swing arc that never produces a divot simply stays too high (woods and putter categories of clubs excluded), and one that doesn’t reach down below the equator of the ball stays too high.

What is the bottom of the swing arc?

Or in other words, it can be explained by a bottom of the swing arc that is simply too high in relation to the ball (and to where it should be). Indeed, in a well struck shot using an iron for example, the bottom of the swing arc will be found slightly below the surface of the ground which will produce a nice little divot.

How to move weight back in tennis?

Instead of moving your weight back towards your right foot during the backswing you will move it forward towards the front foot. Likewise, during the downswing and as you head into impact with the ball, you will move the weight back towards your right foot, instead of correctly moving it forward towards your left foot.

Why is my right hand lower than my left hand?

This is because your right hand will be lower on the grip of the club than the left hand. Failing to adopt this natural position can see you having both shoulders level between themselves and to the ground. Doing so, or worse seeing your left shoulder lower than the right will move your swing arc bottom forward.

Is it ok to choke down on a golf club?

Choking down on the club, while useful in certain scenarios can be overdone and is not always a good idea. If you are topping shots when choking down on the club, consider choking down less, or avoiding to choke at all by holding the club near the top of the grip.

Why is it important to get the ball in the air on each swing?

Golf becomes far more interesting when you can reliably get the ball in the air on each swing, because you will be able to start planning shot shapes, picking specific targets, and more. Put in the time now to learn how to get the ball in the air and your future on the golf course will be much more exciting.

How to hit top shot golf?

One way to hit topped golf shots is to use only your arms as you swing the club back and through. If your legs aren't involved in the swing, you will have trouble transferring your weight onto your left foot, and you will be prone to hitting ground balls as a result.

How to get fear of the ground ball out of your mind?

Simply by seeing the ball get into the air on a consistent basis, you can take the fear of the ground ball out of your mind prior to your next round. Hitting topped shots on the golf course is never a fun experience. You may have to listen to a few jokes from your playing partners, and your score will suffer as well.

What is the difference between amateur golfers and professional golfers?

One of the big differences between amateur golfers and their professional counterparts is the way that the pros use their entire body in the golf swing. When you watch a professional swing the club, it is obvious that they are using their lower body and upper body together in harmony to hit powerful and accurate shots.

What happens if you don't hit down?

If you don't hit down, you will always run the risk of having the leading edge contact the ball first – leading to a topped shots. The problem is that hitting down through an iron shot requires plenty of confidence when you are actually out on the course.

What is poor balance in golf?

Poor balance. Many amateur golfers struggle with poor balance, and one of the side effects of that problem can be topped shots. You need to have your center of gravity in the correct place if you are going to strike the ball cleanly time after time.

Why is it important to stay on balance in golf?

Staying on balance will allow you to control the positioning of the bottom of your swing, which will allow you to avoid the dreaded ground ball. Arm-only swing. The whole body needs to be involved in a good golf swing – and when it isn't, bad things can happen.

What causes a ball to swing over the top of the ball?

FAULT 1. EARLY EXTENSION. As you approach impact, you lose your original address posture and spine inclination to the ground, which causes you to practically swing over the top of the ball. This is often caused by the urge to help the ball into the air. FAULT 2.

How to stay down when playing golf?

To help you stay down, think about keeping your right knee flexed and your right heel on the ground for as long as possible. This encourages you to stay bent at the hips and prevents your legs from straightening and lifting the clubhead farther off the ground. FIX 2. KEEP THE RIGHT SHOULDER LOW.

Can you dribble off the tee?

Few shots in golf are more embarrassing than the topped tee ball. Unfortunately, there’s more than one way to dribble the ball off the tee. You can swing too steeply from the outside and skim across the ball, or even drop-kick it from the inside.

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