Stop coming over the top

For some weekend golfers, however, coming over the top is more than just an occasional mistake. You always hear about how coming over the top is the number one flaw of amateur golfers, but you are not always aware you are doing it if you can't see yourself swing.

The key to fixing the problem of 'coming over the top' is to first understand why it happens.

The Golf Swing

In golf everything is in controlling the swing and the path of the club head from and to impact with the ball.

The root cause of an "over the top", or an "outside to in" swing is starting the swing by rotating the shoulders before moving the arms toward the target.

"Coming over the top" is when the downswing path or plane is above, or over, the correct or desired plane, causing the path of the club through impact to be across from outside to inside the line to the target.

Swinging over the top delivers the club head from the top of the swing to impact on a path outside the target line and at an approach too steep to produce the desired ball flight.

Attempting to hit the ball farther than you can with any club can cause swing quickness and contributes to 'coming over the top'. Many times in an effort to hit the ball with maximum power or in an effort to swing in-out on the downswing, the golfer will change their position on the downswing.

If the in-out path becomes excessive, it causes your swing to break down resulting in a very unpredictable ball flight. It normally takes one of two forms:-

• The spine tilts excessively away from the target on downswing
• Spine drifts toward the ball on the downswing.

Both of these motions will tend to alter the downswing path excessively in-out, setting the golfer up with a need to save or correct the shot with the club face

The same result will occur if you lunge forward with your upper body when you start your downswing.

The Backswing

The lower body should be the foundation for the upper body during the backswing.

Taking away the club too flat is probably the most common backswing flaw with the next most common error leading to an over-the-top movement, being having too much weight on the left (forward) leg at the top of the backswing (right leg for left-handers).

If the majority of your weight is on your forward leg at the top of the backswing, you will naturally and inevitably transfer it onto your back leg on the way back down.

When the club face is left open at the top of the backswing, the natural reaction is to swing to the left (over the top) to get the club face back square at impact. The club must work more "upwards" on the backswing in order to keep the club on plane.

Excessive quickness in the backswing is a real swing wrecker.

The primary goal of the backswing is to prepare you to make a simple, efficient downswing motion and set up a stable impact condition. "Hitting from the Top" is what happens when you reach the top of your backswing and start the downswing by throwing your hands and arms at the golf ball.

The Downswing

As for "coming over the top" this means that the downswing plane of the club is outside the plane of the club going back. The majority of weekend and recreational golfers come over the top on the downswing.

Downswing path problems can be caused by a variety of reasons.

A proper downswing starts with the hips then shoulders which pull the arms and club down to the ball but excessive quickness in the downswing can and normally creates havoc with your downswing and weight distribution.

Your natural reaction to this weight distribution is to fall backward in the downswing. When you shift weight into your back leg at the beginning of the downswing, the club will be thrown out and over the top.

Instead of bringing your hands back inside on the downswing it results in you moving your hands outside of the swing plane and coming down across the ball resulting in a pulled or sliced shot.

However, if you move your weight into your left leg (for right-handed players) at the beginning of the downswing, the club will be held and pulled from the inside.

Players who come over the top do so because they generally have no other option they can take and as hard as we try to correct the fault, most result in little success. Quickness in both back and down swing errors are caused, in the main, by:

• attempting to hit the ball further than is either practical or possible
  
• attempting to compensate for faults in their swings
  
• unrealistic expectations about how far they should be able hit the ball
  
• frustration, annoyance and stress from any or all of the above.

The main problem experienced by the weekend golfer is that their backswing & downswing tend to break down when they try to generate more power to achieve more distance. Weekend golfers are also more prone to swinging off balance as they both play and practice less, if at all, than more serious lower handicap golfers.

In most cases, "over the top" is a function and combination of:-

• bad/misaligned starting position
• backswing too far on the inside
• in the downswing, shoulder/hips starting to rotate too early

It is important to remember that your starting setup & position has an impact on your backswing and your backswing has an impact on your downswing and your downswing influences your impact with the ball.

In most cases what we feel is happening during our swings and what is really happening are not the same and it is important to find out what is really happening in your swing before you go to work on making any major changes.

You can help develop a better, more controlled swing through learning a Full & Simple Swing (a guide and drill programme to developing a more controlled swing resulting in lower scores and handicap).