I have seen far too many thin and topped golf shots on the range lately so it’s time for a reminder of the do’s and don’ts to stop topping the ball. Thin or topped shots occur when the club head doesn’t get back to ground level through the impact area and we contact the ball much too low on the clubface. It is very common to see people ‘pulling up’ or ‘pulling out’ of a shot causing the dreaded top. Maintaining the body angles on the way down and through impact is critical… no straightening at the knees or hips, and for goodness sake ‘no peeking’! The bending of the target elbow on the way back, at the top of the swing or even on the way down is another common cause of ‘the top’. If you have measured yourself to hit a ball on the ground with your target arm straight then it needs to be straight again at impact. Pulling your hands in toward the body definitely won’t help get the club back low enough to the ground when it gets back to the ball… you need to ‘extend’ the arms to hit the ball. It is very important to stay bent at the knees and hips which is what helps (of course) to keep your head down through the impact area. And certainly it needs to be mentioned that just like on the highway, SPEED KILLS! Almost everyone hits the ball better when they just slow down a little. The faster you try to swing the more the weight of the club pulls away from you and the more we try to pull back up or pull in against it. If these good thoughts don’t help you top less shots then book some time at the Academy and we will fix it together.
Play well, Dave Lengyel