How to Fix an Over the Top Golf Swing

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Here I want to talk about How to Fix an Over the Top Golf Swing.

Are you a beginning golfer?

There sure is a lot to learn about the golf swing. The good news is you’ve come to the right place!

Beginners (and even more advanced golfers) often face several challenges when attempting to improve their golf swing.

One common swing mistake many golfers make is an over the top move that usually occurs during the transition from their backswing to their downswing, commonly resulting in a slice. In order to eliminate their slice, golfers must first learn to stop the over-the-top motion in their golf swing.

By eliminating one of the most common swing flaws that causes the golf slice, there is less chance that a golfer will consistently repeat the bad swing behaviors that are producing this less than desirable result.

What Causes an Over-the-Top Move?

One of the most common causes of an over-the-top golf swing is a backswing that is too far ‘inside’. When a golfer takes the club back too close to his body (inside), the natural tendency is to compensate by extending the right elbow away from the body during the transition from backswing to downswing.

When the right elbow of a right-handed golfer moves out or away from the body at the top of the backswing, the natural tendency is to bring the club ‘over the top’ on the downswing. The result is club face that sweeps across the ball from the outside.

For right-handed golfers when the club face sweeps across the ball from the outside at impact it imparts clockwise spin onto the golf ball. It is this clockwise spin that produces a golf slice.

Golf Drill Video for Fixing An Over the Top Swing

The Video Below is presented by Zach Allen Golf.

Analyzing the Swing Drill From the Video

The instructor demonstrates how dropping the golf club behind him at the top of his backswing alters the tendency that golfers with an over the top move have to extend the arms away from the body and force the club downward from this position.

Some of the side-by-side swing training videos of the instructor’s students next to professional golfers provide a clear distinction between a ‘typical’ amateur golfer’s swing and a professional golfer’s swing. In each instance, the pro clearly lowers the golf club at the top of his swing as he transitions from the backswing to the downswing.

Lowering the club at this point in the swing forces an inside-out swing, which is the correct way to swing a golf club. Maybe a better way to say it is that lowering the club between the transition from backswing to downswing actually makes the over the top move almost impossible.

One Arm Swing Drill to Fix An Over The Top Golf Swing

This is a very simple drill that works.

For right-handed golfers, hold the golf club with ONLY your left hand and SWING using ONLY your left hand. Concentrate on using only your left arm and the rotation of your body to bring the club back.

 

As you start your downswing, you will be forced to begin this part of the swing by pulling or leading with the left hip due to the fact that you are only using your left arm to swing the club.

Without the right (dominant) hand on the golf club it is nearly impossible to push the club out away from your body and come over the top during the transition from backswing to downswing, which is precisely what happens during an over the top golf swing.

Repeat the one arm swing drill over and over until you can hit the ball decently with one hand. This drill helps you get the feel of a proper golf swing, but is also effective because it lets the golfer understand that the right hand (for right-handed golfers) is merely just a guide to be used throughout the golf swing. The right hand should always HAVE THE LEAST DOMINANT GRIP on the club because it is the left hand and body that really swing the club.

Golf Swing Trainers for Over the Top Golf Swing

While I feel that the golf swing drills presented above are totally sufficient and very effective for fixing an over the top swing, there have been some training clubs developed over the years that can help improve a golfer’s  swing.

Medicus Driver

Most of you are probably already familiar with the Medicus Swing Trainer. It’s basically a driver with two adjustable hinges that allow the club to ‘break’ whenever the golfer does something wrong during the backswing or downswing.

The dual hinge design of the newest Medicus Driver not only ‘tells’ the golfer what is wrong with her swing, but what adjustments are necessary to fix the observed swing flaws.

Most golfers who are suffering from a slice as a result of an ‘over-the-top’ move will notice a few common things when using the Medicus Dual Hinge Driver for the first time. Most likely, the lower hinge will ‘break’ on the takeaway or ‘backswing’.

This occurs when the golfer is taking the club back too far ‘inside’ or close to their body. The natural tendency then is to compensate by moving the club away from their body at the top of their swing (or at the start of their downswing). This is the over the top move that we are trying to eliminate.

The Medicus Driver Improves all aspects of the golf swing from the takeaway to downswing. And what is really effective about this excellent golf swing trainer is that it provides instant feedback at every stage of the golf swing.

When a golfer can execute the backswing without the Medicus club breaking, they have achieved the proper swing plane and will no longer feel it necessary to compensate with an over-the-top move during their downswing. By simply executing a downswing along the same path they performed their backswing, the Medicus will remain intact and their slice will be eliminated.

Without a tool like the Medicus Dual Hinge Driver and the instant feedback it gives to the golfer it would be a much longer and more difficult process to isolate and correct the swing flaws that are resulting in less-than-perfect ball flights.

Orange Whip and SKLZ Gold Flex Swing Trainers

There have been quite a few new golf swing training clubs coming to the market in recent years. In general these swing trainers help golfers learn how to swing in-tempo, which can certainly help with an over-the-top move.

The most popular of these swing tempo trainers are the Orange Whip and SKLZ Gold Flex. I’ve already compared the Orange Whip and SKLZ Gold Flex trainers and discussed the pros and cons of using these type of training aids so I’m not going to go into much detail here.

Conclusion

We now understand that an over-the-top golf swing happens when we push our right elbow away from our body during the transition from backswing to downswing. It is one of the most common causes of the golf slice.

Using a couple of very simple swing drills is really all it takes to stop coming over the top – these drills are simple and do NOT take a lot of time, however, they are the best swing drills to fix this problem.

Additionally, there are some swing trainers that can help provide the necessary feedback you need in order to help you learn how to swing in-tempo and correctly.

So, let’s stop talking and start practicing the drills presented above to correct your over the top golf swing once and for all,  eliminate your slice, and get your game back on track today.

 

Happy Golfing!