How to check if you are coming over the top

Over the Top is seen as the most common swing fault among high handicap golfers.  It usually occurs because of the over-dominance of the upper body during the downswing.  As a result, the club is thrown outside of the intended swing plane, with the club head approaching the ball in an out-to-in motion.  This creates a pull if the clubface is square, or a slice if the clubface is open to the path.  This swing fault can cause a tremendous loss of power and limit the ability to control the ball flight.

What TPI have to say about Over the Top:

In order to prevent the club from coming Over-the-Top during the golf swing, several physical characteristics must be developed. It is paramount to develop a proper weight shift from your back foot to your front foot in order to start the downswing in the proper sequence. Without this initiation of the lower body during the transition, a player can easily dominate the downswing with an upper body throw right from the top. That will force the over-the-top swing plane. A proper weight shift requires several physical factors including good hip mobility, a strong core and lower body (glutes and abs), and the ability to disassociate the lower body from the upper body.

If your suffer from Over the Top, focus on articles and tips based on:

Transition (Transition Sequence)

Weight Transfer

Lower Body and Upper body Separation

Swing Sequence

Ground Force

For a page dedicated to Over the Top with Fixes & Drills visit: https://swingstation.com/over-the-top/

Transcript

Over the top swing fault, probably one of the most common faults in golf. This is where the upper body will be too dominant in the downswing, bringing the arms and the club shaft too much in front of you, into outside plane. Normally, what will happen is the club will travel on an out to in swing path through impact, resulting in pill shots, fade shots and slide shots, making it very difficult for you to control your ball flight. Here’s how I want you to test if you’re coming over the top. I want you to take your back swing and pause it around half way, when your left arm is parallel to the ground. Now, draw a line in your club shaft, and then let your swing complete and come back down to a similar position on the way down. If you’re coming over the top, your club shots will definitely be above that line you drew on the back swing position. What we’d like to see, if you’re not coming over the top, is you’re probably slightly more inside path than what it was on the way back.