Can’t Stop Over The Top

chefkritter

It's the most wonderful time of the year
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Tomball, TX
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Title pretty much says it all, got to play 3 times this past week and granted it’s off 3 weeks of not touching a club but I can not stop tipping the club when I start the downswing and come over the top. Release it and it’s a pull draw that goes forever, don’t release it and it’s steep and way off the toe and to the right. So frustrating and can’t fix on course.
Headed to the range some this week to work on, any particular drills that others have worked on with this as well?
 
Think hitting to second baseman in baseball/softball (between first and second) You actually won't swing that way, but gets my sequence better.

Have stuck a tee in front of ball towards that line as well and make sure it is dislodged.

Have also used a pool noodle supported on an alignment stick drooping down to make sure I get under it.

All of those will force the right elbow (rh) to be under control making sure you don't start the downswing with your upper body.

Make sure you finish the swing with belt buckle to target or other nasty things will happen. Same goes with your follow through (towards target and not original direction)

.02

Edit: Forgot another one.

I don't use ball alignment marks on putts...but I will put that alignment aid pointed in that same direction on the tee if it creeps back in. Sorta reminds me to stop it!
 
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That is my curse and the main cause of my slice, if I think to make sure I keep my right elbow in it works. Think of a server holding a platter in just their right hand. YMMV :cool:
 
Title pretty much says it all, got to play 3 times this past week and granted it’s off 3 weeks of not touching a club but I can not stop tipping the club when I start the downswing and come over the top. Release it and it’s a pull draw that goes forever, don’t release it and it’s steep and way off the toe and to the right. So frustrating and can’t fix on course.
Headed to the range some this week to work on, any particular drills that others have worked on with this as well?


So you need to sequence better ... Try keeping your shirt sleeve against your chin at the stop and wait for your momentum to bring your arms down - by that time your lower body will have sequenced and is ready for your arms
 
Title pretty much says it all, got to play 3 times this past week and granted it’s off 3 weeks of not touching a club but I can not stop tipping the club when I start the downswing and come over the top. Release it and it’s a pull draw that goes forever, don’t release it and it’s steep and way off the toe and to the right. So frustrating and can’t fix on course.
Headed to the range some this week to work on, any particular drills that others have worked on with this as well?

the only swing thought for me is “right hand, right pocket” it keeps my right elbow relatively tucked preventing the OTT
 
i’m with @blugold. you’re too good of a player to have your swing all of a sudden go off so it’s probably something simple like grip or alignment or ball position. get a video and post it.
 
OTT is easy to get into and the things our brains do to try and fix it often exacerbate it. For example, thinking in-to-out, we can take the club inside so far that the head gets behind the hand path. From that position at the top the only way to get the club around the body on the downswing is to loop it out and pull down through the ball, resulting in a classic steep, high-handle, out-to-in OTT swing. We get the opposite of what we are trying to do. Takeaway is the likely the first step in the fix; it was for me. I like Mike Bender's very detailed approach to teaching fundamentals. This one is on backswing checkpoints.

 
Or you can embrace it and just play the pull... 🤷‍♂️
 
Are you sure it's an over the top issue and not a sequencing issue?

All of us have our tendencies ...
 
One thing I like to do when I start getting OTT is to work on my sequencing (IMHO, OTT is a sequencing issue). I’ll take my backswing and pause at the top, then I’ll work on pulling my left hip off the target line and feeling my hands drop and shallow out the club. I’ll reset and repeat a few times before taking a swing.

I get into trouble when I want, or feel the need, to get a little extra on a shot (wide fairway on a drive or forced carry on an approach) and I’ll start the swing from the top with my hands, get over the line and be forced to either flip to recover or I’ll slam the dirt behind the ball and hit a weak chunker.
 
Title pretty much says it all, got to play 3 times this past week and granted it’s off 3 weeks of not touching a club but I can not stop tipping the club when I start the downswing and come over the top. Release it and it’s a pull draw that goes forever, don’t release it and it’s steep and way off the toe and to the right. So frustrating and can’t fix on course.
Headed to the range some this week to work on, any particular drills that others have worked on with this as well?
Hey Buddy, Just give me a good swing!
That was your advice to me.
Take a deep breath It will come I have seen you play up close.
That's my advice to you or maybe you take your own advice to me. :)
 
Sometimes it is a simple case of not returning the left shoulder through its address position and or the left shoulder is not in its proper place at address. This is a really important element of the golf swing that gets overlooked. My guess is that your left shoulder is too low and open at address, where it needs to be high and slightly closed. A good swing thought is to keep the left shoulder up during the backswing and allow the hands to track under the left shoulder through impact. Get into the habit of checking the left shoulder at address given it is the centre of rotation for the arms during the downswing.
 
Day 1 Over The Too Fix

Made time for an hour range session today to try to rid myself of this......
So this is how I felt showing up at the range, with alignment sticks and a pool noodle in tow
9741A579-749D-4899-9076-F8390120F6B3.jpeg
Warmed up hitting some wedges digging squirrel graves they were so fat. So I put the sticks down and the pool noodle to help keep from going over the top.

After half a bucket or so I was able to finally feel my hands getting outside and too far away from my body. This translated to not being able to get back to anywhere on plane without some Harry Potter sorcery.

The last 15 balls was probably the most consistent and well struck shots I’ve put together in a long long time. I know that there’s still a ton of work to get the feeling and consistency that I want to get back to but at least I have what feels like a great starting point and can feel what’s going on vs guessing what zip code left of me my ball was gonna land in.

Day 2 of improvement coming tomorrow !!!!
 
Right side dominant swing with an upper body, right shoulder initiated downswing. Seen it 10,000 times and it's a very common problem with the swings that start with a shift to the right side then an arm swing to the top because the right knee remains flexed. Just my 2 cents.
 
Title pretty much says it all, got to play 3 times this past week and granted it’s off 3 weeks of not touching a club but I can not stop tipping the club when I start the downswing and come over the top. Release it and it’s a pull draw that goes forever, don’t release it and it’s steep and way off the toe and to the right. So frustrating and can’t fix on course.
Headed to the range some this week to work on, any particular drills that others have worked on with this as well?

check out Keith Bennett, has some great tips. Here’s one you may want to try

 
check out Keith Bennett, has some great tips. Here’s one you may want to try



very similar to what helped today where I utilized the pool noodle with an alignment stick inside it to create that angle.

appreciate ya man!
 
I like to get the feel of swing plane by swinging up to the top and letting go with my right hand and pulling through the swing. IMO the right hand on the club can be a nasty thing for OTT. It (and hence the right shoulder) wants to push you out at the top, then you have no chance. I really try to keep my right hand as light on the club as I can, at least while I'm trying to get the feel of correct swing plane going. Eventually that right shoulder needs to come down in the backswing, not out.
 
If I stand and hold a tennis ball, then take my right arm ball back like I'm going to throw with my weight on my trail foot, then proceed to throw the ball, my right shoulder will spin outwards, or towards the target line at the start of the throwing motion, and my right shoulder will be about 2-3 inches from being under my chin mid-way through the motion. Conversely, if I stand with my weight predominately on my left side, the right shoulder remains back druing the throwing motion and the distrance from being under my chin is more like 8 inches.

OTT is a right dominant swing that starts with an initial weight shift to the trail foot (or turning into the right side....traditional swing), but then the weight remains on the trail foot, or at best, there's a slight shift to a neutral weight distribution....but....after the arms have already initiated the downswing. The "turning into the right side" move is also a contributor to early extension because the arms out-race the lower body and the pelvis has no choice but to create room for the club handle to pass by. If someone likes the weight shift to the trail foot model, then they must make a significant weight shift to the lead foot while at the same time the arms "feel like" they're not moving down from the top. I ditched that swing method some time ago and never looked back.
 
Yesterday was a mixed bag of results in swing correction with this. Forgot to post about it so let’s just say it was less than good and more towards horrid.
But that was yesterday
And today.......range session felt so good. Found myself making some swings that felt effortlessly almost and the balls were so much more solid today. There were still a few swings (1 out of 6 or so) that were not good but the misses were soooo much better. Honestly probably the best iron range session I’ve had with amount of pure strikes. I did get greedy when I teed up the driver and found myself getting out of sorts but got it back in line.

Ive got an awesome feeling about tomorrow’s session to hopefully keep the positive momentum going with the improvements!
 
Sometimes it is a simple case of not returning the left shoulder through its address position and or the left shoulder is not in its proper place at address. This is a really important element of the golf swing that gets overlooked. My guess is that your left shoulder is too low and open at address, where it needs to be high and slightly closed. A good swing thought is to keep the left shoulder up during the backswing and allow the hands to track under the left shoulder through impact. Get into the habit of checking the left shoulder at address given it is the centre of rotation for the arms during the downswing.

I like this a lot, thanks, for sharing. Do you prescribe closing the stance (drop right foot back for a rightie) to close the shoulders and set up in a reverse K to get the left shoulder high or do you just position the shoulders high and closed?
 
I like this a lot, thanks, for sharing. Do you prescribe closing the stance (drop right foot back for a rightie) to close the shoulders and set up in a reverse K to get the left shoulder high or do you just position the shoulders high and closed?
Pull the shoulder up towards the left ear and push it forward towards the ball target line. I prefer open hips rather than closed hips with the feet pretty square. If you are an older guy open hips at address will assist getting the left leg and hip out of the way early in the downswing. Play around with it at home without a ball and aim for slightly closed shoulders with hips cleared at the bottom of the swing with the feeling of hitting out under the left shoulder.
 
My next lesson is Thursday and my instructor has already told me we are getting some kind of setup similar to what you used @chefkritter. Hopefully I will be able to figure it out LOL!
 
My next lesson is Thursday and my instructor has already told me we are getting some kind of setup similar to what you used @chefkritter. Hopefully I will be able to figure it out LOL!

Man I’m not gonna lie, it helped me with the feeling of downswing and takeaway that I really really needed. I’ve hit more “pure” shots this week after getting back on plane than I can remember in a long long time. Gotta get this handicap going back down from an all time high and I can’t wait to tee it up this weekend!!!!
 
Man I’m not gonna lie, it helped me with the feeling of downswing and takeaway that I really really needed. I’ve hit more “pure” shots this week after getting back on plane than I can remember in a long long time. Gotta get this handicap going back down from an all time high and I can’t wait to tee it up this weekend!!!!
Now you have me excited instead of dreadful.
 
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