Causes for Going "Over the Top"

A few weeks ago, Paul Marrier wrote on the blog that he continued to be plagued by an outside-in swing that caused him to slice the ball. Almost immediately Terry Medley and a host of other Surgites offered him a bunch of good ideas on what to do to correct the problem. Terry even went as far as finding all of the archived tips that related to the subject and gave him the links to find them. So before I start with the tip today I want to stress again to everyone out there who follows this blog that the archives are a HUGELY valuable body of work that you should explore whenever you are having a problem with your swing. If you use the key word search box midway down the right-hand column you will probably find exactly what you are looking for and therefore be that much closer to correcting the problem.

Terry suggested that Paul pay close attention to the the start of the Forward Upswing as he correctly points out that the inside swing path we want is made possible with a properly executed Bump, that little 1-2" lateral move that initiates the FUS.

That's a good answer, but there are a number of other things that could be causing Paul to slice that we shouldn't overlook.

What is my #1 Surgism? "The Setup Determines The Motion." I have found that 90-95% of all swing faults can be traced back to one or more problems with a player's setup. So here are five other potential things that could cause an outside-in swing:

1. Alignment. Most everyone doesn't get properly aligned when they are learning the swing. It could be that Paul is just lined up left and this causes him to slice. However, I find that most people have either a closed stance or if their feet are properly on the toe line, their shoulders are open.

2. Back Arm Too High. If you don't have a proper Master Setup Position, then your back arm is probably higher than your forward arm. This will cause you to flip the club at the top of the swing and you'll be forced to come over the top in an attempt to get the club head back to the aiming line.

3. Too Much Turn. If you turn more than you should in your backswing, your club is headed deep into the Sacred Burial Ground. Since 'what goes around, comes around' you will be forced outside and over the top.

4. Going Parallel or Letting Your Club Get Laid Off or 'Heavy." If this happens to you, you now have to execute a more complicated swing path of "Up, Down, Up, Down." Pros and scratch golfers have the strength to do this without resorting to upper body movement. But most golfers don't have the necessary strength so they tend to initiate the FUS with the upper body rather than with the lower body (i.e. the Bump). This forward movement causes the torso to turn too soon and the club head again comes over the top and across the ball at impact.

5. Hitting Down. More often than not, if you are hitting down on the ball rather than swinging up as we like to do, that downward motion also triggers a forward movement of your upper body which again throws your hands out and over the top.

Well, Paul, I've given you a lot to consider here and it may seem overwhelming. Just remember that the setup truly does determine the motion and, if you pay close attention to your setup, you will avoid all of these potential pitfalls. Before you know it, you'll be consistently hitting the ball straight and playing more of your shots from the short stuff.

Keep it vertical,

The Surge!

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