How to Stop Coming in Too Steep in Golf

A golf swing that comes in too steep is the silent killer of consistency. It’s the reason for that weak-cutting slice that robs you of distance, the chunky iron shot where you hit more earth than ball, and the feeling that you’re fighting your swing instead of working with it. The good news is that a steep swing is almost always born from a few common - and fixable - habits. This guide will help you understand why you get steep and give you practical, easy-to-follow drills to finally shalllow out your downswing and start compressing the golf ball like a pro.

What Does "Coming In Too Steep" Actually Mean?

Imagine your golf swing isn't a straight-up-and-down motion but a tilted hula-hoop with you standing in the middle. Your clubhead should travel up and around your body on this angled loop during the backswing, and then travel back down and around on a very similar, or even slightly shallower, path on the downswing.

A "steep" swing happens when that downswing path becomes significantly more vertical, like you're chopping wood. Instead of the club approaching the ball from behind you on a shallow angle, it plunges down toward the ball from above. This outside-to-in swing path, often called an "over-the-top" move, is one of the most common issues amateur golfers face.

The Telltale Signs of a Steep Swing Path

Does any of this sound familiar? If so, you're likely coming in too steep:

• The Slice: The classic sign. An over-the-top, steep path cuts across the ball from outside to inside, putting left-to-right sidespin (for a righty) on the ball. The steeper you are, the more pronounced the slice becomes.
• Deep, Bacon-Strip Divots: A well-struck iron shot should take a shallow, dollar-bill-shaped divot after the ball. A steep swing drives the club's leading edge deep into the ground, creating a divot that looks like a deep trench and often starts behind the ball.
• Chunky and Thin Shots: Because your angle of attack is so unforgiving, your margin for error is razor-thin. If you bottom out slightly too early, you get a chunk. If you over-correct and try not to hit the ground, you catch the ball's equator and hit a thin or topped shot.
• High, Weak Fade or a Pulled Shot: Sometimes that steep path combines with a slightly open or shut face, leading to a high, floating ball that dies to the right or a low shot yanked straight left of your target.

Why Your Swing Gets Steep: The Root Causes

Understanding why you get steep is the first step to fixing the problem. It usually isn't just one thing, but a combination of factors. The good news is they are all linked to a simple idea: your swing is being powered by your arms instead of your body.

1. The "From the Top" Rush

This is the most frequent cause. It’s an instinctive, almost subconscious move. You get to the top of your backswing, and your first thought is to hit the ball hard. How do you do that? You fire your hands, arms, and right shoulder forward toward the ball. This single move immediately throws the club head "over" the ideal swing plane and onto that steep, downward trajectory. It's a natural reaction to generate speed, but it's an inefficient sequence of motion that destroys both power and accuracy.

2. No Lower Body Initiative

A proper golf swing is a chain reaction, or a "kinematic sequence." The power doesn't start with the hands, it starts from the ground up. The correct downswing sequence is started by a subtle shift and rotation of the hips. This clears space for your arms and club to drop naturally onto a shallower path from the inside. When the lower body stays passive at the start of the downswing, there’s nothing to lead the way but the arms and shoulders, resulting in that dreaded over-the-top move.

3. A Backswing That's Too Upright

How you go back often dictates how you come down. If your first move away from the ball involves lifting the club straight up with your hands and arms rather than turning your chest and shoulders, you place the club on a very vertical plane. From this position, it's almost impossible to shallow it out on the way down. The path of least resistance is to continue on that same steep track, chopping down at the ball.

Drills and Feels to Finally Shallow Your Swing

Reading about the problem is easy, but ingraining the new feeling is what leads to real change. The following drills are designed to give you instant feedback and teach your body what a shallow, powerful swing path feels like. Don't worry about hitting perfect shots at first - focus on the movement.

Drill 1: The Headcover Under-Pass

This is one of the best feedback drills you can do. It forces you to avoid that "over-the-top" path.

1. Set up to a ball on the range as you a to hit an iron.
2. Take an empty headcover (or a rolled-up towel) and place it on the ground about two feet outside your target line and one foot behind the ball.
3. Your goal is simple: make a swing and miss the headcover.
4. If you come in steep, your club will be on an outward path heading over the top, and you will clip or knock the headcover over on your downswing. To miss it, you will be forced to drop the club to your inside, shallowing its path and approaching the ball from the correct angle.

Drill 2: The Two-Ball Gateway Drill

This is a fantastic drill for curing the slice and promoting a soft draw. It trains your swing path to go in the correct direction.

1. Place your golf ball in its normal position.
2. Place a second golf ball about 4-6 inches directly behind the first ball.
3. Your task is to hit the front ball without making any contact with the back ball. (You don't need to do this at full speed initially.)
4. A steep, over-the-top swing would come in from the outside and hit the rear ball first. To successfully hit only the front ball, you must bring the clubhead into impact from the inside. This drill helps engrain the feeling of an inside-to-out swing path.

Drill 3: The Right Elbow Tuck

A steep swing almost always involves the right elbow (for right-handers) "flying" or moving away from the body during the downswing. This drill helps fix that feeling.

1. Take a golf glove or a small towel and tuck it into your right armpit.
2. Take very slow, half-speed practice swings.
3. Your only goal is to keep the glove pinned between your arm and your torso until after the point of impact.
4. If your right elbow flies away from your body at the start of the downswing, the glove will drop to the ground. Feel the elbow dropping down towards your right hip. This keeps your arms connected to your body turn and naturally drops the club onto that shallow plane.

Drill 4: Master the Transition Pause

This "no-ball" drill rewires the critical moment between backswing and downswing - what we call the "transition."

1. Get into your golf posture without a ball and make your normal backswing, stopping at the very top. Hold it for two seconds.
2. From this paused position at the top, your only thought is to initiate the downswing by turning your lead hip (your left hip for a righty) toward the target.
3. Just let your arms and hands be a passenger. Feel them "drop" passively behind you as your hips lead the way.
4. Hold your finish position in balance.
5. Repeat this 10 times slowly, exaggerating the feeling of the hips starting the show and the arms just following. This trains the correct sequence and stops that destructive rush from the top.

Final Thoughts

Stopping a steep golf swing boilss down to changing your intent. Instead of thinking about hitting *at* the ball with your arms, you need to feel like you are swinging the club *around* your body, powered by a proper lower body-led rotation. Working through the drills provided will retrain your muscle memory and replace the violent, chopping motion with a smooth, powerful swing that comes from the inside.

Understanding and correcting faults on your own is a huge part of improving, but sometimes you hit a stubborn roadblock on the course and need that immediate second opinion. This is where modern tools can be a game-changer. With our app, Caddie AI, you can get instant, expert advice right in the palm of your hand. When that slice reappears, you can describe your shot and get a clear explanation of what might be happening, turning a frustrating moment into a learning opportunity. It's like having a 24/7 swing coach and strategist available to answer any question, helping you diagnose issues and make a smarter plan for your next shot.