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Why am I topping the ball?

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The first rule of golf is that golf is a game of opposites -– remember this for later.

One of the most frustrating shots in golf is a topped shot — normally the ball doesn’t travel very far and it is a wasted shot making the hole even harder to complete in par.

The flip side of a topped shot is the effect it has on your psyche, the more you top the ball, the more inclined you are to try and get underneath the ball. This is a natural reaction that exaggerates the fault and makes the results worse.

So how do you stop topping? The first step is to understand the dynamics of a well-struck shot opposed to a topped one, what I will explain concerns an iron shot in particular.

The swing arc

If you can imagine on the downswing, or use a club while reading this, the club comes down toward the ground then goes up again toward the finish making an arc. What most people do not understand, and the information that will help you cure a top, is that the bottom of the swing or arc should be ahead of the ball with very few exceptions. In other words, to hit the ball correctly, your swing must have a descending blow.

Impact sequence

The correct sequence for impact is ball then turf contact, which is why all good iron shots produce a divot after the ball. If you watch top golfers, they always either take a divot or brush the grass after impact. The club hits the ball, enters the turf, bottoms out then soon afterwards starts to ascend through to the finish.

The first rule

At the top of this article, I asked you to remember the first rule of golf. So let’s explain it; in golf, to get the ball in the air, you must swing down into the ground. This opposes every natural instinct we have in sports, in most sports you have to get underneath and behind the ball to get it in the air. The posture this produces is a tilting back position which is great for a lob shot in tennis but not for a golf shot. If you want to kick a football in the air you lean back and hit underneath — think about other sports you play.

How does this affect me?

If you understand the dynamics of impact and how it relates to your swing you can change and improve your technique. This knowledge will not eradicate all top shots but at least you know why it happens and what you need to do to make sure you hit the next one in the air.

What can I do in practice?
Hitting into tee drill

There are a few ways you can get the feeling for a correct impact position. First, start with a wedge or a club you are comfortable with, swing back normally, then on your downswing concentrate on taking a divot after the ball; you can put a club down at 90 degrees to your target line but pointing at your ball -– this gives you a reference after your shot for where the ball was and where your club bottomed out in relation to the ball. Second, without a ball, a great drill is to put a tee into the ground at 45 degrees pointing away from the target, practice your downswing slowly and stop at impact. The idea is for the center of the club face to make contact with the top of the tee, this gives you a real exaggerated feeling for where your body and hands should be to get a descending blow.

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Alastair is an Advanced PGA professional and Club Professional at Easingwold Golf Club near York, England. Alastair coaches a varied client base including new golfers, juniors, golf professionals and low-handicap amateurs.

8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. David Gouldstone

    Mar 7, 2013 at 9:41 am

    This is a great article and very clear, I will put it into practice

  2. Steve Hedderick

    Feb 24, 2013 at 10:20 am

    Clear and concise – just the way Alastair teaches.

  3. Brian Eccles

    Feb 24, 2013 at 10:07 am

    Great instruction clearly explained as usual

  4. SamBagley

    Feb 21, 2013 at 4:06 pm

    Couldn’t have been put more clearer. I try to imagine squeezing the ball into the turf with that decending blow.
    Great tuition from Alistair

  5. Carole

    Feb 21, 2013 at 1:48 pm

    Great article Alistair, will put into practice

  6. sylvia

    Feb 21, 2013 at 12:14 pm

    Very informative article, great tutor.

  7. Suds

    Feb 21, 2013 at 11:14 am

    Brilliant Alistair is an ace guy, Excellent review will put into practice .

  8. paul croake

    Feb 21, 2013 at 6:13 am

    excellent article

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Instruction

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

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Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?

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How a towel can fix your golf swing

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This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.

For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.

Setup

You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.

While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.

Get a Better Shoulder Turn

Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.

In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.

Stay Better Connected in the Backswing

When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.

Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.

Conclusion

I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.

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Instruction

Clement: Why your practice swing never sucks

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You hear that one all the time; I wish I could put my practice swing on the ball! We explain the huge importance of what to focus on to allow the ball to be perfectly in the way of your practice swing. Enjoy!

 

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