Over the Top

Over the Top:
The over the top fault is the move on the downswing where the club comes from outside the swing plane to attack the ball where the club is moving dramatically left at impact, generally causing a severe pull hook or pull slice.

The first pictures on top left depict the over the top move (first picture is the backswing, second picture is the downswing).  This fault is generally caused by an inside takeaway (see the first picture) because most people desire the draw shot that comes from this "out to in" swing path.

Make sure to coil around the inside of your right leg (no swaying) and to turn behind the ball (see picture on right and how far his head has moved from the drawn yellow line)

Here we see the shaft plane coming in to the ball steeper (closer to 90 degrees) than the hand plane (indicated by the red line in each of the swings).  This is a common cause of the over the top fault.


Drill for fault above:

When you get to the top of the backswing (and are starting the downswing) feel like the clubshaft is flattening in relationship to your hand path (so the bottom of the orange alignment stick points more beyond the ball/ to the right of the ball)

So the hand plane (shown with orange stick [left] and red dots [right]) is coming towards the ball down the middle of your chest (like on the backswing) while the club is "flattening" or pointing outside the ball.

Note: When you film your swing make sure the video camera is on the same level as the hands at address.  Otherwise you will get a distorted angle from the 2-Dimensional camera effect.



Drill 2:

Setup with your left foot behind your right.  Then make a swing where you feel your shoulders are square on at impact.  In other words, make sure you keep your back to the target for as long as possible while your hips unwind (this gives the proper separation and sequencing on the downswing).  This drill will help you hit from an inside path.