We've launched the new forums! Read more here

THP Swing Tip: How to fix an over the top golf swing

Puttin4Bird said:
I'm the worst OTT swinger in the history of the world! I love the thought of the hips and lower body starting my downswing. When swinging well I know I've got my lower body engaged properly. Problem for me is that I'll slip back into that OTT swing and at times struggle my ass off on trying to get out of that funk. I'll keep this in mind and get to the range with it. Thanks Freddie Kong, we love you bro!
Click to expand...

I think I'm right there with you! As a 6'5" golfer, OTT is a horrible thing for me to correct. My problem is certainly the upper body turn before the hips. Even though I'm a 252 yard driver avg (when I hit the fairway) it's all upper body doing the work. Thanks Freddie for the tips. I'll try to keep the right arm over the left at takeaway. Hopefully the hips will pay attention and start working with me. ⛳️


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
moosejaa said:
Ken, if you don't mind me asking, what does your instructor have you doing to accomplish the above?



Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

ken listed some good info. Since I struggle with the hips moving first or even continuing to move here are some additional thoughts, keys and drill that might help.

one of my issues is trying to get to the ball to quickly and I don't finish my backswing and start with the upper body or I get really long and have to throw the upper body at the ball to try hand help. Having a smooth backswing and a slight pause (lot less than Matsuyama) usually helps me with getting lower half started.

As ken mentioned about the right knee and swing into the back leg some keys to consider are kicking the right knee in a little at setup to help keep weight on the inner portion of the leg or flexing the upper part of your leg before you take your backswing. The as Freddie mentioned about pushing knee toward the ball.

a drill you can use involves getting the swing into back heel on takeaway and front heel when starting the downswing. An easy way to do this is get a tennis ball and cut in 1/2. Place 1/2 under right heel and work on squishing it in your takeaway. Then do the same with the front heel and work on squishing it from the top of the back swing to initiate the downswing...this is similar to what you see from guys like Bubba who lift the front heel in the backswing, they start with getting it back into,the ground on the transition. You can do this separately at first to get the feeling them place each half under both feet and do the drill while swinging a club...can be done with our without hitting a ball.
 
emart2173 said:
ken listed some good info. Since I struggle with the hips moving first or even continuing to move here are some additional thoughts, keys and drill that might help.

one of my issues is trying to get to the ball to quickly and I don't finish my backswing and start with the upper body or I get really long and have to throw the upper body at the ball to try hand help. Having a smooth backswing and a slight pause (lot less than Matsuyama) usually helps me with getting lower half started.

As ken mentioned about the right knee and swing into the back leg some keys to consider are kicking the right knee in a little at setup to help keep weight on the inner portion of the leg or flexing the upper part of your leg before you take your backswing. The as Freddie mentioned about pushing knee toward the ball.

a drill you can use involves getting the swing into back heel on takeaway and front heel when starting the downswing. An easy way to do this is get a tennis ball and cut in 1/2. Place 1/2 under right heel and work on squishing it in your takeaway. Then do the same with the front heel and work on squishing it from the top of the back swing to initiate the downswing...this is similar to what you see from guys like Bubba who lift the front heel in the backswing, they start with getting it back into,the ground on the transition. You can do this separately at first to get the feeling them place each half under both feet and do the drill while swinging a club...can be done with our without hitting a ball.
Click to expand...

Another option would be to practice this.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eURbeXGkeCU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJAYn3iAOog
 
Last edited:
Good Stuff Freddie!

This move plagues me.....when I really try and start the downswing with the hips, I tend to "spin out" and end up with dead pulls or even worse the dreaded pull hook.

I have really been trying to work on starting the downswing with my right knee moving towards my left....this tends to make me slide more towards the target before my hips spin out.

Does that make sense to you?? Got any drills to help make this an easier transition?
 
v.man said:
We're working on a couple of things. First is balance in the set up, as I tend to be a little out on my toes and lose balance during the swing. Starting the swing with my hands and arms inhibits weight transfer and pulls me nearly off my feet. Second is keeping a firm right knee and making sure I'm turning on that knee, rather than swaying back. Then, initiating the down swing with the hips turning instead of the hand/arms. Finally, finishing the swing higher on the follow through with my belly pointing at the target and my right toe/foot up and pointing at it also. Sounds like a lot, but, if you think about, you can't finish that way without that weight transfer. The balance tip was easy--it's just part of the set up, and if I ever swing and end up on my toes, I know how to instantly fix it. The toughest, of course, is the transition, initiating the down swing with the hips. A drill that helps is swinging on a down slope. There is a little slope down to our range, and I just back up and take a few swings there and go back and hit a few. That's also a tip that Freddie gave me a couple of years ago (down slope drill). The old Gary Player step through after the swing is another good drill. The finish is a natural result if I'm swinging the golf club, rather than "hitting" at the ball and not really finishing the swing, which is pretty much what I'm doing when I initiate the down swing with my hands and arms.

I don't know if I explained that clearly. This was my first session with the pro at my new club. But, everything was consistent with what other pros have taught me over the years. Semantics are sometimes different, but the message is the same. Sadly, I keep having to be "retrained". LOL
Click to expand...
Just so much pure gold in this response Ken. I continue to work on very much the same things from setup to finish. I also know when and why I didn't finish the swing high and in in balance and just how much better everything works when I do. I've not tried your downhill swing tip before. Will be incorporating it at the range this afternoon to see if it gets me to my finish.
 
Daddio said:
Just so much pure gold in this response Ken. I continue to work on very much the same things from setup to finish. I also know when and why I didn't finish the swing high and in in balance and just how much better everything works when I do. I've not tried your downhill swing tip before. Will be incorporating it at the range this afternoon to see if it gets me to my finish.
Click to expand...

This thought kind of just clicked for me recently. When you're swing is OTT you're coming down and across the ball from out to in, pretty hard to finish high when you're doing that.
 
This is some of the best stuff on THP I wish there was more of it. Well done
 
I've been thinking about this thread and something Freddie mentioned elsewhere once - take a little pause at the top and let your back point at the target for a second longer before starting your hands down. I wonder if that part of the equation gets too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
tequila4kapp said:
I've been thinking about this thread and something Freddie mentioned elsewhere once - take a little pause at the top and let your back point at the target for a second longer before starting your hands down. I wonder if that part of the equation gets too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
That helps, and just slowing down the back swing and the start of the downswing, at least for me.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
 
Really worked on "Right arm over the left", and keeping the club head out in front on back swing. Has helped my transition to down swing immensely!
 
TripleBogieTim said:
Good Stuff Freddie!

This move plagues me.....when I really try and start the downswing with the hips, I tend to "spin out" and end up with dead pulls or even worse the dreaded pull hook.

I have really been trying to work on starting the downswing with my right knee moving towards my left....this tends to make me slide more towards the target before my hips spin out.

Does that make sense to you?? Got any drills to help make this an easier transition?
Click to expand...

Tim have you tried opening your stance? Drop that left foot off the line a bit and see if that doesn't help you clear the hip a tad easier.
 
jschiele01 said:
Really worked on "Right arm over the left", and keeping the club head out in front on back swing. Has helped my transition to down swing immensely!
Click to expand...

That is all I worked on today and I only missed 3 FW all day today. The club stays in front of me so well. I combined that with exploding off that right leg. Best driving day I've had in a long time.
 
tequila4kapp said:
I've been thinking about this thread and something Freddie mentioned elsewhere once - take a little pause at the top and let your back point at the target for a second longer before starting your hands down. I wonder if that part of the equation gets too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Holding that back a bit longer allows, not only the arms to drop in the slot but it creates a lag. Provided you swing down the line and the club is square, you'll set positive results.
 
Hox30 said:
This is some of the best stuff on THP I wish there was more of it. Well done
Click to expand...

What do want to see? Tell me and I'll get it done for you.
 
Tadashi70 said:
What do want to see? Tell me and I'll get it done for you.
Click to expand...

Could you do a summary on setup (ball position, spine tilt, head, elbow and feet position)? I recently battled a case of OTT that started around the Bridgestone Championship. My ball flight changed from slight draw, to straight, to cut, to semi-slice. It took me a while but returning to setup basics helped me identify the OTT source.

I use a 3h and 4h because I hit thin shots too often with these irons (can happen with 5i and 6i too). Several of my playing partners are scratch golfers and I get a serious case of envy watching them hit penetrating 4 irons on par 5s and towering 6 irons on long par 3s. I thought compressing the ball by hitting down on it was the secret. I started positioning my nose over the ball, lost all spine tilt, and tried to keep my weight forward. Head forward opened my shoulders, and weight forward turned into shoulders forward which created a steeper steep angle of attack and an OTT swing. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't pretty either.

It would be great to have a some keys for checking setup. FWIW, I'm now placing the left eye (or ear) over the ball via spine/head tilt which keeps the right shoulder from starting in an open position.

Hope the story makes sense. Thanks for considering this request.
 
Can you explain what you mean by "right arm on top of the left"?
 
THP Swing Tip: How to fix an over the top golf swing

https://vimeo.com/189243510

Still slightly OTT, but did that ball launch!! ⛳️


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
It's articles and threads like this that keep me coming back. You get immediate interaction, tips and advice that are worth the price of admission. And as Tequila asked, do you have a picture of what "right on top of the left" means? Some of us weekend hacks need the kindergarten pics to help us out. Thanks again for all the help.
 
This is so good Freddie, great stuff! This is something I battle pretty often and tips like these help get me back on track. Thanks for this!
 
Thanks Freddie.
I had glanced at this a week ago, but didn't realize I was OTT.
Excellent!!!! Info!!

Jack
 
Thanks Freddie as always!!! i tend to not start with my lower body... I will make this a bigger focus to see if it helps with my OTT!!!
 
Keeping the right arm over the left I realize how flexible I actually am not. Any tips for what the arms are doing in the transition?
 
Awesome article! Loved the firing of the knee feeling!

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top