Stopping Topping

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In Your Golf Game

Anyone who has spent any time at all on a golf course has probably heard someone say: "I'm topping the ball" or "I keep coming over the top of the ball". This is a very common problem, especially with some newer golfers, but it can be resolved with some patience and dedicated practice. The trick to resolving this problem, however, is narrowing down the possible causes.
The most important thing to understand about topping the ball is that this entire problem is almost always set up early on in your address, your stance, or your backswing. In other words, you are topping the ball because you have no other choice! In order to fix a topping problem you have to backtrack to the root problem. It is that simple.

For most golfers, the problem with topping comes from one of four different areas:

1. You may be bringing the club back in flat plane or, in some cases, below the proper swing plane.

2. You may be shifting too much weight to the forward leg at the completion of your backswing. The front leg or the forward leg is the left leg for a right-handed golfer; the right leg for a left-handed golfer.

3. You are making a narrow arc with your swing.

4. You are allowing the club's face to be opened.


The Flat Takeaway

The so called "flat" takeaway is a common reason for topping and it can lead to many other problems as well. This common mistake can lead to a cycle that is hard to break. As the golfer begins to realize that he is topping, he tries to compensate by taking the club more to the inside plane which only makes the problem worse. The trick to overcoming this problem is to learn to bring the golf club back correctly and on the proper arc plane. All of this begins with learning the proper address position.

One of the initial things many players do when they address the ball is to glance at it by tilting their neck and their shoulders. What you want to do is bend at the hips, not at the neck. Keeping your hips stiff will throw off your takeaway plane. It will either be too much toward the inner plane, or it can be too narrow. A flat, narrow swing is akin to a baseball swing, for those who do not know.

When you address the ball, bend slightly at your hips and avoid crooking your neck downward. This golfing posture frees you to bring the club back smoothly and correctly. It lets the club head line up with the hands at the proper height. Using these techniques will help you get the golf club on the correct arc and plane. This is the perfect position that enables you to bring the club in on the correct arc while maintaining a slight inside plane.

There is another mistake that can happen that might cause an inside take away swing. This is when your arms are moving faster than your upper body. If you encounter this problem you will discover that your arms feel as if they are trapped behind your body, and what proceeds from that is a movement that leads to topping the ball.

A good rule of thumb for most golfers is that the forearm should be in line and in speed with the shoulder rotation. The key is that forearm and shoulder should be linked, which allows them to move in tandem.

Too Much Weight On The Forward Leg

The number two problem as mentioned above is placing more weight on your forward leg than you should. This is a very common problem that tends to cause topping of the ball. Normally, what happens when the weight is too far forward is that during the down swing the player tries to compensate, and the weight is pushed back too hard toward the rear leg. In some cases this can look like the player is falling backwards slightly. When you try to move your weight from front to back too suddenly you end up with the club being forced outward and this can lead to topping. What you want to do is the reverse. You want to move your weight onto the front leg at the top of your backswing. This will allow the club to be on an inside path, which is exactly what you want.

Body sway can also be an issue with topping the ball. If your lower body has the tendency to sway back and forth during your backswing, then your upper body is more than likely swaying forward on a line toward the pin or the target point. One of the best ways to fix this incorrect shift in weight is to learn to oppose with your lower body while coiling with your upper body.

Avoiding a Narrow Arc

A narrow arc is yet another problem some golfers face. What we are talking about here is the swing arc itself. When your arc decreases, the space required for moving the club to the right plane all but vanishes. For many golfers the usual reaction to the decreased swing area is to force the club outward which leads to topping.

The arc is directly related to the right forearm and arm as it moves through the back swing. You can decrease the arc by simply folding your right arm/elbow too soon. Another way to narrow or decrease the angle of the arc is to keep the right arm unnaturally near to your body as the arms move toward the top of the swing. Each of these mistakes will pull the club in too close to the body. When this happens, you may be tempted to free up the club by forcing it over the top and away from your body.

If you are a player who is experiencing this problem, here is a quick tip that may help you. On your backswing, try to press the palm of your right hand against the thumb on your left hand. This pressure pushes the top of the shaft away from the club's head but it also helps to straighten the left arm. If you can keep this pressure applied all the way to the top of your back swing, you will open up the space that you need in order to bring the golf club down smoothly and on the correct plane.

As you might imagine, this technique can take some time to master. The best way to learn this tip is to practice it on the practice range where you can spend some time analyzing your swing without slowing down play.

Avoid An Open Club Face

The last issue to be aware of when you are topping the ball has to do with an open club face. Anytime the face is forced to be opened at the finish of your back swing, your natural reaction might be to guide the club leftward in order to force the face back on square. This can lead to topping the ball.

An opened face can often be linked to a weakened handgrip. In this instance, weak means the strength of your grip on the club. Whenever you grip the shaft with only your palms, you are almost certainly going to end up with an open clubface at the top of your back swing. The better grip is to use your fingers in the classic style grip. The classic grip lets you place the entire club on the right plane during your take away phase. It also allows you to firm both wrists correctly as well as keep the face from becoming open.

All of the above remedies require some patience and practice on your part, but this time is time well invested as curing the topping problem can truly increase your enjoyment of the game and lower your scores. Do not be too surprised if you discover that you are dealing with more than one of the above issues. Just take your time, attack each problem at your own pace, and soon enough you will be stopping the topping.

By Julie-Ann Amos