The over the top golf swing is the single most common fault that frustrates amateur golfers, leading to weak slices and frustrating pulls. This article will show you exactly what is happening when you come over the top, explain the simple reasons why it happens, and give you clear, actionable drills to finally fix it.
Imagine your ideal swing path as a big, tilted hula hoop standing on the ground. On the way back, the club travels up the inside of that hoop. On the way down, it should follow that same path down and from the inside to hit the ball. An "over the top" move is when your downswing breaks that beautiful loop. Instead of dropping back down on that same path, your arms and club are thrown outward and over that ideal swing plane at the start of downswing.
Think about casting a fishing rod - that forward throwing motion is a great feel for what an over the top move is. It's an aggressive move from the top, usually with the right shoulder and right arm, that throws the club out and away from your body. This forces the club to cut across the ball from out-to-in at impact.
At its core, "over the top" is a sequencing problem where the wrong parts of your body are starting the downswing.
No golfer actively tries to come over the top. It’s an instinctual, yet incorrect, move that almost every golfer battles at some point. Understanding why you do it is the first step to a permanent fix.
The most frequent cause is very simple: you trying to hit the ball with your upper body. From the top of the backswing, a lot of players think "hit the ball!" and their first move is to fire their shoulders, chest, and arms forward. This feels powerful, but it throws the club's path way off track.
Your golf swing is supposed to be a rotational action, with the club moving *around* your body. It is mainly powered by the turning of your torso and hips. The "over the top" move changes it to an athletic but ineffective chopping or throwing motion, using only the arms and shoulders. This loses the power generated from the ground up.
A good golf swing sequence starts from the floor. The downswing is initiated by a small bump of the hips toward the target, which then starts to unwind the torso, which then brings the arms and club through. It's a chain reaction.
An over-the-top swing flips that sequence entirely. The shoulders and arms go first, creating a traffic jam. The hips and lower body have nowhere to go and no time to do their job. When the upper body wins the race to the ball, the club has no choice but to be thrown outward and across the line.
Sometimes, the problem begins before you even swing. If you set up with your shoulders "open" (aimed left of the target), your subconscious mind knows this. As a compensation, you might throw the club over the top to get it back towards the target. Poor posture, like standing too stiff and upright, can also limit your ability to rotate properly, again promoting an arm-driven, over-the-top motion.
Fixing an over the top move isn't about one secret tip, it's about re-training your body to understand a different feeling and sequence. The following drills are designed to do just that, starting with simple feels and moving to tangible feedback.
This is a feel-based drill that focuses on fixing the sequence. You can do this without a ball first, then with slow, easy swings.
This will feel strange at first. It will feel like you're going to miss the ball or hit a huge push, but this "dropping" sensation is the exact opposite of the "throwing" sensation of an over-the-top move.
This is probably the most effective drill ever invented for fixing the out-to-in swing path because it provides immediate, non-negotiable feedback. If you do it wrong, you’ll hit the object.
Start with half swings at a slow tempo. Hitting a real golf ball next to the obstacle can be nerve-racking, so begin by just taking practice swings. As you get more confident you can hit balls, but the goal is to ingrain the feeling of the club coming from the inside to miss the obstacle.
This brilliant drill forces your lower body to lead the downswing, making an upper-body-led, over-the-top move almost impossible.
By stepping toward the target, you are physically forcing your lower body to fire first. This automatically puts your arms and club on the proper inside path. It physically demonstrates what correct sequencing feels like.
Ingraining a new move on the range is one thing, trusting it on the course is the real test. Here are a couple of thoughts for making the transition a little smoother.
An over-the-top swing path is a frustrating but fixable habit rooted in poor sequencing. By learning to lead the downswing with your lower body and feeling the club approach from the inside, you can replace those high, weak slices with powerful, straight golf shots.
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