Over the Top Golf Swing

by Louis Esselen
(owner golfswingfeeling.com)

Coming over the top with your golf swing refers to the incorrect move you make when beginning the down swing.

This seems to be a very dominant and misunderstood move done by most golfers who are slicers of the ball.

The major cause of this move is starting the down swing with a dominant right shoulder or upper body. This is usually associated with trying to hit the ball too hard.

The right shoulder turns back to the ball too parallel to the ground. This move pushes the arms and hands away from your body and sets the path of the club head to swing back down to impact at a steep angle downwards and across to the left of your intended target.

Deep divots that face left of your target are a sign of this incorrect swing path.

Solving an over the top golf swing

You need to understand the shoulders do not play any active role in the golf swing. They are followers of what the the hands are doing. They should be passive at all times during the swing.

The only stroke that needs any domination from the shoulders is putting.

Understanding one simple move of the right shoulder will solve an over the top swing. The first move the right shoulder makes in the downswing should be downwards towards your right hip, instead of outwards.

A good way to practice this is not to focus on what the right shoulder is doing but to rather feel where the hands are and feel them move downwards towards the right hip.

This move will pull your right shoulder into a steeper angle downwards at impact.(a position all good players are in at impact). The hands will have the feeling of approaching the ball from your right pocket and inside the target line. Your right elbow should move toward your right hip.

A great feeling here is feel the hands square the club face into the ball instead of the shoulders.

Take a look at this page where you can see photos of this move.