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4 Ways to Stop Coming Over the Top

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“Tom, I’m coming over the top and hitting big slices! Help!”

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.

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. 

There are a few very common reasons that lead to poor sequencing. I’ll highlight them below, and provide the best drills that will help you eliminate your over-the-top issues with some time and effort.

Problem #1: Arm Lift to the Top

ArmLiftDrill

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. This places the arms in an overly upright position and one that makes it hard to return the club down to the inside during the transition.

The Fix: Practice from an uphill, sidehill lie.

UphillSidehill

How to Do It: Find as drastic of a slope as you can. If you lift your arms to the top from an uphill, sidehill lie, you will stick the club into the ground on the way down. 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.

Problem #2: Getting Way Inside on the Takeaway

TooInsideBackswing

Cause and Effect: When you get the club way inside on the takeaway, it forces your body to make drastic recoveries to be able to return the club properly at impact. This move is often caused by an over-rolling of the lead forearm, or the over-turning of the torso during the start of the swing. This places the arms, hands and club into a position where they have no choice but to transition over the top in the downswing.

The Fix: Use the Stick drill.

StickDrill

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.

StickDrillInside

This “looping” feeling will help you to understand the role of the arms back and through the swing, and will ultimately encourage a draw.

Problem #3: Reverse Weight Shift

ReverseWeightShift

Cause and Effect: When someone has a reverse weight shift, their spine tends to be too centered and not tilted enough behind the ball at address. This causes their weight to move toward their forward foot on the backswing and then rapidly reverse directions to their rear foot on the way down, violently thrusting their right shoulder out and over the swing plane.

The Fix: Use the Tilt drill.

TiltAtAddress

How to Do It: To start, feel like you set up behind the ball with your rear shoulder lower than your front shoulder and your weight favoring your rear foot. Exaggerate this tilted position throughout the swing, and you will feel how the weight should move into the backswing.

TiltAndTurn

When you’re doing this drill your swing will feel drastically different, and you’ll see some weird shots at first. You’ll likely hit the ball fat to start, which is due to your swing becoming more shallow. Then you’ll start to hook the ball. Those are good signs, and your ball flight will straighten out with practice.

Problem #4: Quick Hips from the Top

QuickHipsFromTop

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.

The Fix: The Rear Foot Back drill.

RightFootBackDrill

How to Do It: Whenever you pull your rear foot behind your front foot at address, you will encourage a deeper hip turn to the top and a more delayed spinning of the hips on the way down. 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.

Remember, there are many things that can cause an over-the-top motion, but these are far and away the most common ones I see from most golfers. Take your time to understand each of these issues, and make sure you are not making one of these crucial mistakes. If you are, it’s OK. You can practice and engrain these new feelings, and eventually your banana ball may just turn into a tight draw.

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Tom F. Stickney II, is a specialist in Biomechanics for Golf, Physiology, and 3d Motion Analysis. He has a degree in Exercise and Fitness and has been a Director of Instruction for almost 30 years at resorts and clubs such as- The Four Seasons Punta Mita, BIGHORN Golf Club, The Club at Cordillera, The Promontory Club, and the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. His past and present instructional awards include the following: Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher, Golf Digest Top 50 International Instructor, Golf Tips Top 25 Instructor, Best in State (Florida, Colorado, and California,) Top 20 Teachers Under 40, Best Young Teachers and many more. Tom is a Trackman University Master/Partner, a distinction held by less than 25 people in the world. Tom is TPI Certified- Level 1, Golf Level 2, Level 2- Power, and Level 2- Fitness and believes that you cannot reach your maximum potential as a player with out some focus on your physiology. You can reach him at [email protected] and he welcomes any questions you may have.

32 Comments

32 Comments

  1. Coach4Him

    Dec 21, 2016 at 11:18 pm

    oh, and by the way before I get called an “arm chair expert”— I was a high school basketball and golf coach for 38 years. I have attended a lot of clinics, worked camps, etc. and picked up a lot of great “band aids” along the way.

  2. Coach4Him

    Dec 21, 2016 at 11:15 pm

    I, too, have issues with the pull with my over the top move. Frustrating to be hole high so much on second shots or on a par 3 but 10-15 yards left of the green. I started using a closed stance on all shots to alleviate the problem, more exaggerated on the driver, fairway wood and long irons / hybrids —- less so on the mid and short irons. Seems to work quite well. Hope this helps someone.

    • PinHigh

      Dec 22, 2016 at 2:36 pm

      Careful with the closed stance on an over the top pull. You’re jamming your left hip over and over. Hope you have your lead foot open a few degree and not closed. Just a thought.

  3. Niramas

    Dec 21, 2016 at 12:24 pm

    I find all of you armchair “experts” with your 18 handicaps quite amusing.

  4. Varmint

    Dec 18, 2016 at 5:28 pm

    Alistair’s videos and Dennis Clark’s articles are more substantial.

  5. WiseGuy

    Dec 18, 2016 at 5:12 pm

    Tom’s articles are a sniglets of most golf mags. One and a half stars at best!!!

  6. Hank

    Dec 18, 2016 at 11:53 am

    #1 & #2 Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus did and came ‘over the top’ (but on plane). #3 #4 are results of not doing #1 & #2 well enough. Simples.

  7. TexasSnowman

    Dec 18, 2016 at 10:45 am

    Tom: I have issues with being over-the-top, but my usual miss is a Pull rather than a slice. One any one of these causes be more likely to cause a pull?
    Fwiw: Totally disagree with other comment that most golfers are under plane… OTT is epidemic with about 90% of golfing population.

    • Philip

      Dec 19, 2016 at 12:46 am

      FWIW – if you are OTT and are hitting a pull I would say you are hitting the ball with a closed face that is square to your path. I have deliberately doing this last season to tone down my slice to just a pull fade or straight pull. Definitely better than walking to the next fairway on the right.

  8. Mr Clean

    Dec 18, 2016 at 2:32 am

    …. but when you do, make sure you don’t hit her in the eye and wipe it all off nice and clean

  9. Lionelle Woods

    Dec 17, 2016 at 1:25 pm

    I suggest a different photo for the article. Makes the game of golf look like an Alt Right movement.

  10. Caveman

    Dec 16, 2016 at 9:46 pm

    In other words, don’t swing like a caveman smashing skulls. Got it.

  11. MrTrainingAid

    Dec 16, 2016 at 7:59 pm

    Excellent one.

    • Homey

      Dec 16, 2016 at 8:02 pm

      Careful Aid, roast might me just a golfer and not a teacher and Tom will not be happy!!!

  12. Par4

    Dec 16, 2016 at 5:39 pm

    Tom you forgot keeping your back to the target on your downswing… Along with don’t go swimming on a full stomach, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, etc.etc… Francis Bacon said it best,”The remedy is worse than the disease”.

  13. HoleIn2

    Dec 16, 2016 at 5:24 pm

    You put more band aids than band aids does… This is like self diagnosing a flaw, and you don’t like a golfer telling another golfer how to fix. You should read your own articles…

    • Brian

      Dec 16, 2016 at 6:01 pm

      Lol. I wish I could give you some kudos for that. Just what I was thinking.

    • Doug

      Dec 16, 2016 at 10:11 pm

      All theae teaching and drills just going to make your game suffer more. Do what works for you and practice to be consistent with that.

  14. Steve M

    Dec 16, 2016 at 5:19 pm

    This really doesn’t help me at all. Aside from the frightening taking my club back over a stick and bring it back down inside drill, the huge issue i have with this article is i don’t know why i’m coming over the top. So do i just guess which of the 4 issues i think it is so give myself a 3 in 4 chance of making things far worse?

    • SundayRed

      Dec 16, 2016 at 5:25 pm

      Can’t agree more…

    • Tom

      Dec 17, 2016 at 1:29 pm

      if ya play this game long enough, self diagnosis is a trait you will inherit

    • Tom Duke

      Dec 23, 2016 at 12:02 am

      Hi Steve…the over the top moved is caused by the spine being too vertical when the right shoulder makes its way around to the ball/target line. The spine angles of all great ball strikers are leaning some 30 degrees away from target coming through the impact zone. Feel free to check out windandsling.com, where I have a video explaining this, as well as the Strike Right golf swing trainer which was designed, in part, to eliminate the over the top move. Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. Good Luck!

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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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