The over the top golf swing is probably the most common swing fault among amateur golfers. And, it is a huge reason why most golfers have slow swing speeds.
The over the top golf swing causes a slice.
The vast majority of golfers hit a slice off the tee. In fact, it’s been estimated that at least 80% of all golfers hit a slice.
A slice is a shot for a right hander that starts to the left of their target and ends up finishing to the right of their target. For a lefty, the shot starts to the right and finishes to the left.
A good player has the ability to hit these types of shots along with hitting a draw.
The average golfer does not have that ability because they have the most common swing flaw in golf… the over the top golf swing.
The over the top golf swing is a swing that starts the transition from back swing to down swing with the upper body.
As the back swing is completed, the first move in the transition is an unwinding of the shoulders as the weight shifts back to the front foot.
The actual transition move should start with an unwinding of the hips as the weight shifts back to the front foot.
The result is that the club path approaches the ball from the outside, and too steeply.
If the golfer were to properly release the club from this position, it would result in a smothered pull.
The player compensates by keeping the club face open to the swing path. This causes a slice spin.
Depending upon the amount of side spin, the ball will slice a little bit to a lot. The more the ball slices, the shorter your tee shot will be.
A good player can play a fade (a much smaller version of a slice) and still hit long tee shots.
Jack Nicklaus is the best example of a long hitter who preferred to hit a fade off the tee. Tiger Woods was able to do this well later in his career. Both retained the ability to hit a draw when needed.
Neither had an over the top type of golf swing. They simply used their set up and release to control the spin of the ball to produce the ball flight they wanted.
How to fix your over the top swing
Years ago, I learned a quick drill from Hank Haney to teach golfers who slice the ball to hit a draw.
The drill teaches you how to sort of reverse your over the top move by teaching you the proper sequencing of the golf swing.
What this does is teach you how to attack the ball from a more inside swing path by getting you to lead with the lower body in the transition between the back swing and down swing.
Once you are able to do this, you will then be able to properly release the club at and through impact. This will automatically result in more swing speed.
You can combine the drill with the Eyeline Golf Speed Trap to really make the new swing path ingrained into your swing.
You can check out the drill in the video below.
Hey, if you want to do some practice at home in your backyard, or perhaps indoors, here are some products I recommend:
Garmin Approach R10 launch monitor
