Paul
As someone who has now nearly overcome my several years ingrained tendency to come over the top I have to tell you its real hard to change the downswing path. The impact is so much better when I came over the top.
The eureka moment was when I intentionally dropped the clubhead by allowing rotation of my elbow / wrists clockwise while not moving the shoulder. It was a weird feeling not having control of the clubhead.
Since then I have incorporated a proper hip turn, loosened the wrists and now changed the grip.
So that is at least four things I had to change to move towards a half decent swing.
My swing is still not too pretty but I have a better awareness of what I am doing.
Out on the field the results are yet to come but there is anticipation and some confidence so it’s a good thing.
Recently I have again started to hook and slice especially with the driver. Had a club fitting and got a new driver with a less firm shaft and it worked fine for a day or two then began to start straight and slice way over to the right.
My golfing buddies tell me that I am way too far ahead of the ball with my hip turn which I would like you to consider and advise upon. I have spent a lot of time snapping my hip as fast as I can and always trying to touch my left knee with my right knee. I have a tendency to overdue new drills and it may be that I am moving my hips way too fast for the new less firm driver. I still have my old irons which will be replaced with the new Callaway X2-HX2 irons based on the Trackman system. Can you give me your thoughts on this new problem. I am going to play with the Stop at the top but do not think that is the problem.
If you are slicing the face is open. It is that simple. Why? Your wrists are too tight. I say this because your wrists are a hinge. A hinge in life would re-hinge 100% of the time. If the face is open the hinge is delayed. The only way it would be delayed is if there was resistance.
This resistance can happen through hitting too hard with the arms, coming out of it or driving your lower body so unbelievably hard you disconnect under the lead armpit.
Follow this tip if you are driving the lower body too hard. In the future you need to know this stuff so you can instantly fix it on your own. I want everyone to be able to fix it. Surely, you can tell if you are driving your lower body too hard. If so, slow down. You’re not Tiger Woods .. yet.
Hi Paul
Again a great tip. My problem is at the last moment during my swing, my arms seem to kick in a little. Not always, but often enough resulting in a pull. I have so many swing thoughts: one piece take away, firm grip, stay behind the ball, I only have to think then about keeping my arms off to a complete finish. Everybody says I have a great practice swing and I do practice a lot. However, with a ball in front of me I have a tendency to maybe at the end of the swing use my ams a little, especially with the driver and fairway wood. You have many tips. Which is the one that would help me the most to be more consistent with keeping my arms off through out the whole swing? Thanks again and keep your good work coming. Gerry
Not hitting takes concentration. If you are trying to hit you are thinking distance. So you need to change the thought. You new thought is “I’m going to hit the fairway” or “I am going to get this within the span of the green” NOT “I’m going to hit this 250 in the fairway” and “I need to hit this really good to get this on the green.” So change your thoughts.
Next, stop thinking of all these things when you play. If you are working on multiple things you do so on the range. When you go to play think about coiling the shoulders going back and going through to my follow through positions. After every shot hold the finish and analyze if the hit the positions or not.
If you want to be consistent you need to base your swing on something that is consistent. Coiling creates torque. Torque repeats 100% of the time in life. So you coil until you feel the torque. Then you uncoil with the lower body with the arms turned off. If done right you will hit my follow through positions. If you done wrong you will not hit these positions.
Keep it simple and stay focused on this only when you play. When you go to the range work on each of the positions until you have them mastered.
Hi Paul Always was slicer ,over top move ,now no lomger slicing much but now have the 2 way miss ,push fade right and pull left,some times pull hook. hit some really straight great shots as well,love the great shots, the 2way miss is a killer. i know the pull is coming over the top still,so i am in between solving the problem, question is should i be working on eliminating the pull by more lower body start on downswing untill i get all push push fades and no pulls and then back of on the lower body untill get rid of push.
The push fade is you going to hard at it. In doing so you are getting ahead of it an coming out of it. This leaves the face open. This is a shot better players hit. So slow down.
The pull is you adding a little arms. This happens to everyone. Do a couple practice swings off the ground to get the feeling of using the legs before you hit it. Follow this tip:
Hi Paul,
I’m a new subscriber. Using your free tips I implemented your methods and saw great improvement at the end of last season and want to continue improving. I have always had a fade (on good days) and a pull slice (on bad days) with my driver. I understand your concepts and believe in the theory, but have noticed that at the top of backswing if my first move is to begin to uncoil/turn my hips, my shoulders turn and my hands move out and away instead of dropping. how can I work on this?
thank you,
Ray
Your hands are moving out and away because you are shifting too soon to the forward leg. Driving the lower body properly is like hitting the accelerator on a car. When you fire the lower, your upper body would be hanging back plus the axis (body) would be moving before the mass (club). These 2 things should be flattening the plane allowing it to swing out at the ball.
When you shift too soon you lean left in the downswing. Lean left and you will start it left.
To get rid of the slice, pull slice you need to fix the spin first. So work on this:
I’m a lefty and in the past I worked on managing my fade/sometimes push slice. With your teaching I am committed to hitting a draw and sometimes straight shot. It’s working out and I;m experiencing some success.
I’ve noticed that on holes that should be a draw hole for a lefty, I tend to hit hot line drives pulled tight on the right side. If there are trees blocking the edge of fairway I sometimes will touch them and get knocked down. What is a good excercise/mindset for me to work on?
I used to set up on the right side on move the ball into the center. I think that I may need to trust starting on the left center.
Right now you shouldn’t be trying to work the ball at all. You need to have fixed this fade/pull slice first. You are going to need this int he future. To hook it on demand I recommend doing what I call the fake draw. It’s much easier plus you don’t have to change your swing.
So as I said earlier you need to be rolling your wrists more and get the ball hooking at will. If you can’t do this you are not rolling it soon enough. Understand exactly what I am trying to get you to do. You are fixing the spin first but rolling it early and hooking it. These will be pull hooks. Once you can consistently hook it you then work on starting your body rotation first in the downswing to straighten it out. So if you are rolling it on purpose you are not trying to hit great shots. You are trying to hook it.
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14 Responses to “How To Stop Over The Top”
March 21, 2014
maceShould we stop at top when we go back to normal swing or say a pause.
March 21, 2014
Paul WilsonMace,
I like a slowing down due to the mass (club) going to 0mph then accelerating again but you should not be physically stopping.
Watch:
Pause At Top: https://ignitiongolf.com/pause-top-backswing
March 21, 2014
PaulKwonPaul
As someone who has now nearly overcome my several years ingrained tendency to come over the top I have to tell you its real hard to change the downswing path. The impact is so much better when I came over the top.
The eureka moment was when I intentionally dropped the clubhead by allowing rotation of my elbow / wrists clockwise while not moving the shoulder. It was a weird feeling not having control of the clubhead.
Since then I have incorporated a proper hip turn, loosened the wrists and now changed the grip.
So that is at least four things I had to change to move towards a half decent swing.
My swing is still not too pretty but I have a better awareness of what I am doing.
Out on the field the results are yet to come but there is anticipation and some confidence so it’s a good thing.
March 21, 2014
Paul WilsonPaul,
Glad you got it. It really is totally different once you feel the right path of the club.
March 21, 2014
GeraldJoyceHey Paul,l
Recently I have again started to hook and slice especially with the driver. Had a club fitting and got a new driver with a less firm shaft and it worked fine for a day or two then began to start straight and slice way over to the right.
My golfing buddies tell me that I am way too far ahead of the ball with my hip turn which I would like you to consider and advise upon. I have spent a lot of time snapping my hip as fast as I can and always trying to touch my left knee with my right knee. I have a tendency to overdue new drills and it may be that I am moving my hips way too fast for the new less firm driver. I still have my old irons which will be replaced with the new Callaway X2-HX2 irons based on the Trackman system. Can you give me your thoughts on this new problem. I am going to play with the Stop at the top but do not think that is the problem.
Best regards Jay JaY
March 21, 2014
Paul WilsonJay Jay,
If you are slicing the face is open. It is that simple. Why? Your wrists are too tight. I say this because your wrists are a hinge. A hinge in life would re-hinge 100% of the time. If the face is open the hinge is delayed. The only way it would be delayed is if there was resistance.
This resistance can happen through hitting too hard with the arms, coming out of it or driving your lower body so unbelievably hard you disconnect under the lead armpit.
Follow this tip if you are driving the lower body too hard. In the future you need to know this stuff so you can instantly fix it on your own. I want everyone to be able to fix it. Surely, you can tell if you are driving your lower body too hard. If so, slow down. You’re not Tiger Woods .. yet.
Release Progression: https://ignitiongolf.com/release-progression/
March 21, 2014
GerryCarriereHi Paul
Again a great tip. My problem is at the last moment during my swing, my arms seem to kick in a little. Not always, but often enough resulting in a pull. I have so many swing thoughts: one piece take away, firm grip, stay behind the ball, I only have to think then about keeping my arms off to a complete finish. Everybody says I have a great practice swing and I do practice a lot. However, with a ball in front of me I have a tendency to maybe at the end of the swing use my ams a little, especially with the driver and fairway wood. You have many tips. Which is the one that would help me the most to be more consistent with keeping my arms off through out the whole swing? Thanks again and keep your good work coming. Gerry
March 21, 2014
Paul WilsonGerry,
Not hitting takes concentration. If you are trying to hit you are thinking distance. So you need to change the thought. You new thought is “I’m going to hit the fairway” or “I am going to get this within the span of the green” NOT “I’m going to hit this 250 in the fairway” and “I need to hit this really good to get this on the green.” So change your thoughts.
Next, stop thinking of all these things when you play. If you are working on multiple things you do so on the range. When you go to play think about coiling the shoulders going back and going through to my follow through positions. After every shot hold the finish and analyze if the hit the positions or not.
Do this:
Coiling: https://ignitiongolf.com/learn-coil-backswing
Then go to here:
Hit, Hold and Check: https://ignitiongolf.com/hold-check-follow-through/
If you want to be consistent you need to base your swing on something that is consistent. Coiling creates torque. Torque repeats 100% of the time in life. So you coil until you feel the torque. Then you uncoil with the lower body with the arms turned off. If done right you will hit my follow through positions. If you done wrong you will not hit these positions.
Keep it simple and stay focused on this only when you play. When you go to the range work on each of the positions until you have them mastered.
April 11, 2014
barrybowerHi Paul Always was slicer ,over top move ,now no lomger slicing much but now have the 2 way miss ,push fade right and pull left,some times pull hook. hit some really straight great shots as well,love the great shots, the 2way miss is a killer. i know the pull is coming over the top still,so i am in between solving the problem, question is should i be working on eliminating the pull by more lower body start on downswing untill i get all push push fades and no pulls and then back of on the lower body untill get rid of push.
April 11, 2014
Paul WilsonBarry,
The push fade is you going to hard at it. In doing so you are getting ahead of it an coming out of it. This leaves the face open. This is a shot better players hit. So slow down.
The pull is you adding a little arms. This happens to everyone. Do a couple practice swings off the ground to get the feeling of using the legs before you hit it. Follow this tip:
Coming Down The Stretch: https://ignitiongolf.com/how-to-finish
February 19, 2015
RaymondHare JrHi Paul,
I’m a new subscriber. Using your free tips I implemented your methods and saw great improvement at the end of last season and want to continue improving. I have always had a fade (on good days) and a pull slice (on bad days) with my driver. I understand your concepts and believe in the theory, but have noticed that at the top of backswing if my first move is to begin to uncoil/turn my hips, my shoulders turn and my hands move out and away instead of dropping. how can I work on this?
thank you,
Ray
February 20, 2015
Paul WilsonRay,
Glad you are improving. I love hearing it.
Your hands are moving out and away because you are shifting too soon to the forward leg. Driving the lower body properly is like hitting the accelerator on a car. When you fire the lower, your upper body would be hanging back plus the axis (body) would be moving before the mass (club). These 2 things should be flattening the plane allowing it to swing out at the ball.
When you shift too soon you lean left in the downswing. Lean left and you will start it left.
To get rid of the slice, pull slice you need to fix the spin first. So work on this:
DRILL: 3 Ways To Roll It Over: https://ignitiongolf.com/3-ways-to-roll/
Once you get it hooking you then work on the body rotation:
Driving Hips Harder But Hook It First: https://ignitiongolf.com/driving-hips-hook-first/
Body Tilt: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-body-tilt/
Impact Head Behind Ball: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-head/
Flatten Plane 1: https://ignitiongolf.com/downswing-flatten-plane/
Flatten Plane 2: https://ignitiongolf.com/downswing-flatten-plane-2/
Body Tilt – Left Right: https://ignitiongolf.com/cure-pulling/
March 8, 2016
MikeVintonHi Paul,
I’m a lefty and in the past I worked on managing my fade/sometimes push slice. With your teaching I am committed to hitting a draw and sometimes straight shot. It’s working out and I;m experiencing some success.
I’ve noticed that on holes that should be a draw hole for a lefty, I tend to hit hot line drives pulled tight on the right side. If there are trees blocking the edge of fairway I sometimes will touch them and get knocked down. What is a good excercise/mindset for me to work on?
I used to set up on the right side on move the ball into the center. I think that I may need to trust starting on the left center.
Thanks Paul.
Mike
March 8, 2016
Paul WilsonMike,
Right now you shouldn’t be trying to work the ball at all. You need to have fixed this fade/pull slice first. You are going to need this int he future. To hook it on demand I recommend doing what I call the fake draw. It’s much easier plus you don’t have to change your swing.
Here is a tip I did on it on my other site:
http://swingmachineblog.com/how-to-draw-the-golf-ball.html
Also:
How To Perfect Drawing and Fading: https://ignitiongolf.com/perfect-drawing-and-fading/
So as I said earlier you need to be rolling your wrists more and get the ball hooking at will. If you can’t do this you are not rolling it soon enough. Understand exactly what I am trying to get you to do. You are fixing the spin first but rolling it early and hooking it. These will be pull hooks. Once you can consistently hook it you then work on starting your body rotation first in the downswing to straighten it out. So if you are rolling it on purpose you are not trying to hit great shots. You are trying to hook it.
So slow down and roll it earlier:
DRILL: 3 Ways To Roll It Over: https://ignitiongolf.com/3-ways-to-roll/
Then straighten it out with lower body as I said earlier. Then work on changing your set up to work the ball.