Fixing coming-over-the-top problems

By Kim Jeong-kyoo

Korea Times Golf Columnist

One of the most common swing faults committed by recreational golfers is to come over the top, slicing the ball. It's not easy to stop coming over the top.

However, this and most other swing faults can be cured simply by re-routing the club at the initial stage of the downswing so the club returns to the ball on more of an inside path than that it took on the backswing.

All great players reroute the club at the early stage of the downswing. That virtually happens naturally when you allow your legs and hips to lead the forward swing.

It's not easy, however, for amateur golfers to start the downswing with their lower body. You would be better off forgetting your lower body movement and focusing on swinging down on an inside path. Make a point of dropping your hands downward inside the toe line, keeping your shoulders turned at the initial stage of the downswing. Holding your shoulders at the top-of-the-backswing position facilitates swinging your arms downward and keeping hands inside or at least along the path they took on the backswing.

To hit the ball far and straight with accuracy you need to be sure on the forward swing that your arms and right shoulder do not move closer to the target line than they were going back.

Recreational golfers tend to spin their right shoulder outward toward the ball-target line, casting the club outside the target line from the top. They use their hands too much at the start of the downswing, causing an 'over-the-top' swing, which causes a pull, pull hook or pull slice depending on the clubface position at impact. Coming over the top causes the clubhead to move on a path that is from outside to inside across the ball-target line through impact.

Similarly, a topped or fat shot results as the clubhead is delivered on too steep a swing plane through the ball.

Worse yet, it thwarts the full release of the clubhead, resulting in diminished speed and less distance.

Given that the problem of coming over the top results from using the hands and arms too much at the early stage of the downswing, it's necessary to avoid using them at the start of the downswing so as to correct the problem.

Yet, the real causes of coming over the top are also hidden in the improper pre-swing preparations such as incorrect clubface aiming, poor alignment and bad posture.

So, to eradicate the problem you need to take care to set up properly. Together with the proper grip, the correct setup guarantees proper in-swing movement.

Similarly, to stop your swing coming over the top, it is as beneficial to focus on looping the clubhead inside for a while until it is incorporated into your swing so it happens naturally without your having to think about it.

By the same token, another good way to stop coming over the top is to drop your arms and hands down toward your hips, keeping your right shoulder from spinning outside toward the ball-target line, or rather holding it at the top-of-the-backswing position as long as you can.

Similarly, it's also good to focus on keeping your upper body, specifically your head steady behind the ball until the early part of the follow-through. Allowing your head to move forward toward the target on the forward swing causes the club to move on a path that is from outside to in, causing you to loop the club outside, which results in pulls to the left or pull-slices depending on the clubface alignment through impact.

To keep your head steady during the downswing, focus on keeping your chin back behind the ball so a tight pressure is felt on the left side of your neck through impact and during the follow-through. The muscles on the left side of your neck need to look taut through contact.

Losing that tension by releasing your chin prematurely causes you to produce all kinds of crooked shots. Chances are you will top, hook, pull or slice the ball.

That is, to hit the ball solidly you need to keep your chin back steady behind the ball. That allows your lower body to initiate your downswing in the correct sequence, also helping to cure the problem of coming over the top.

Incidentally, it's good to feel that your head is moving backward away from the target through the ball as your lower body moves forward toward the target.

Golfers who finding this movement hard to do had better allow their head and upper body to move slightly to the right during the backswing and hold that pose at the top-of-the-backswing position during the downswing.

That makes it easier to swing down on a path that is from inside the ball-target line, helping obviate the problem of coming over the top.