Coming over the top, but not on practice swing.

Hello all, after taking some video it looks like I'm coming over the top, and this is causing my slice (sometimes pull). This doesn't seem to happen when I take practice swings. Could anyone offer some advice?

Thank you.

> @darrenob66 said:

> Hello all, after taking some video it looks like I'm coming over the top, and this is causing my slice (sometimes pull). This doesn't seem to happen when I take practice swings. Could anyone offer some advice?

>

> Thank you.

>

>

practice swing your not hitting a ball, to get rid of over the top you need to practice hitting the opposite shot, a huge draw. Exaggerate swinging in to out and really sling the face closed through the shot. Keep doing it until you hit huge pushy draws and then after awhile doing it find a middle ground to hit it more straight. In clip below lay down some driveway markers like the yellow ones and swing along that line on downswing really closing down the face through the shot.

Thanks, I will try this. Though when I have really tried to swing in to out in the past. I end up with a push slice because I have trouble squaring the face when I can swing from the inside. My grip is stronger than neutral too.

I have some video on YouTube but I can't post links yet.

https:// youtu.be/oHBvVc_Vzxk

https:// youtu.be/2-5mSx4f5ms

> @darrenob66 said:

> Thanks, I will try this. Though when I have really tried to swing in to out in the past. I end up with a push slice because I have trouble squaring the face when I can swing from the inside. My grip is stronger than neutral too.

>

> I have some video on YouTube but I can't post links yet.

>

> https:// youtu.be/oHBvVc_Vzxk

>

> https:// youtu.be/2-5mSx4f5ms

>

>

yea, you don't really have trained hands yet. Your left wrist is cupped at the top as well which isn't really helping you because that opens the face. I would start by feeling more "bow" in your left wrist at top of swing and downswing, like Dustin Johnson while you do that drill. If that doesnt help, strengthen grip even more, pretty much anything to get the face closing while you swing in to out. Can also drop right foot back a little while you swing in to out which should help close the face.

Ok, thanks for the help.

> @darrenob66 said:

> Hello all, after taking some video it looks like I'm coming over the top, and this is causing my slice (sometimes pull). This doesn't seem to happen when I take practice swings. Could anyone offer some advice?

>

> Thank you.

>

>

Ok, amateur hack here, so take this for the $0.02 it's probably worth...

I had an OTT swing path. Still fight it at times.

Things that have I have tried:

- lessons.

- drills with an empty plastic water bottle just outside the ball, about 3 inches back. If you're OTT you hit the bottle.

- drills with tees on ground out past ball to indicate the path out past the ball.

- trying to hit the ball on the back inside quadrant, for me, you, as a righty, that's the back left quadrant of the ball.

- etc.

What finally helped was understanding the golf swing, rather than as I had in my head the intent to "hit" the ball. I think you'll find that's why your practice swing is better. The key for me was, is, learning that I'm not 'hitting' the ball. It's not about clubhead back to the ball. It's more about using your lower body, hips, to turn through and bring the club back square. That creates the inside out path we need.

Try these:

- swing an old club and let it go, throw it "down the line' ... It needs to fly straight toward the target. Do a few, then swing a club and not let go. Then try it with a ball but only think about the feeling of the club going down the line toward the target.

- take a backswing and turn your hands clockwise and then keep turning them. What happens to your hands at the top? And then keep turning them as you start the downswing, what happens to your right elbow? Now just swing through using your hips. This will be an exaggeration of what you want, but, will hopefully click a feel.

- put the ball about 2 to 3 inches in front of your usual set up. Swing to hit it.

Then, after all those just try a full swing and only think about your target. You may need to tweak your grip then to get square contact as you'll be swinging more inside out and may also need to move the ball slightly forward to stop the block push right.

Record yourself after doing those drills and getting the feel. The key is letting the hips turn to bring the club back square. There is no magic fix, but hopefully something will trigger to give you the feel you need to start the improvement journey.

Oh, and get lessons. Don't listen to amateur hacks on golf forums!

On your backswing, when your lead arm is parallel to the ground, start cupping your right wrist by pushing back with the right hand. The cupping of the right wrist will bow your left wrist. Maintain this bow through impact. You will start to move your golf ball right to left. Use the in to out swing path in conjunction with your bowed left wrist for now.

The bowed left wrist will produce a closed clubface at the top of your backswing. Check your video. The toe of the club will no longer be pointing downward (wide open face) but rather clubface will look more towards the sky (closed face). Good luck.

I am a lifetime member of the over-the-top club myself. Right now, it's the over-the-top pull that has been killing me recently. For whatever reason, it's starting to crop up out on the course with much greater frequency than ever before. It used to be a once every few rounds happening; now I've got two or three per round. Often seems to happen off the tee with an iron in hand.

Like the OP, video of my practice swing shows far less of an over-the-top action than my normal full swing. I've tried so much over the last few years to rid myself of the over-the-top downswing but with only a modicum of success. That being said, at least the ball flight it produces has typically been fairly consistent (slight left-to-right face) so at least I can play to it. This dead left pull, though, has been a real round-wrecker for me of late.

Any other over-the-top aficionados have any experience with dead-left pull? I've got to figure out what in my constantly evolving but seldom improving swing is bringing these on.

For 22 years I played with the OTT. Horrible. Finally almost a year ago I asked our head pro at the club we recently joined to work with me. I said, "I can't play this game coming over the top!" And, I still believe that. In our case we really flattened my plane and took out the pronate/supinate motions - opting for more of what I call the dufner waggle motion. Instant success. I STILL catch myself coming over the top at times. I since learned how to work the ball and, if all else fails in a round, I can go to hitting big draws whenever I need to. My swing is more Fowler-like now - shallow coming in. It really helped. Felt strange as heck at first and I think that if you fix the OTT in a really effective way it will feel strange at first... In my case now if I am OTT very much it shows up as a shank. "Ooopsy!"

Mate, again my caveat emptor, I'm an amateur hack that is improving, so take this for the $0.02 it's probably worth.

OK, that dreaded pull left, not a hook, but the pull left ... that's it, yeah? If so ... here's what I learnt and found:

if path is "out to in" (classic OTT path), we're swinging in that left pull direction. Does that make sense?so, how does it go straight out there? Club face must be square to club path. so, we know, our hands are square to path, but how to fix the path? (see my comments above)plus, if you're like me, you may have early release and early extension (links with trying to get club head back to the ball - out thought process)correct the path, and you might see some blocks right, don't panic if you do... the block right means club face is square to an "in to out" pathSee if you can get a few block rights happening. Then, just move that ball slightly forward in your stance (give hands time to square to the target line).Make slight adjustments to the ball position until you get the ball flight correct.Now, if you've moved the ball forward and end up with an OTT out to in path, you end up with a miss-hit (maybe toe of club, maybe a slice / fade)Persist with the drills of using hips to turn through the ball, and feeling the sensation of using the turn to power the swing.I also found swing toward a tee (or other small visual object) place outside of the ball, forward of the ball, 'out' of the path helped me 'see' where I needed the club to go.

Let us know how you go!

How have you progressed? Any improvements? What's worked for you?

I was trolling the internet and found an interesting suggestion to bringing your practice swing to the actual shot.

I always set up, took a swing then set up again closer to the ball. Including re setting my stance.

This guy suggested setting up , taking the practice swing , then just shuffle forward, keeping everything else the same, especially the feet.

Interesting. Gonna use this over the winter.

Keep your arms straight hitting knockdown shots even with your driver and make sure you keep the trail elbow tucked and close to your body and slightly bent at impact. Turn with your chest to hit the ball

*keep you arms straight in the follow through I meant hitting the knockdown shots as practice