Topping the golf ball is something all golfers will have experienced at one time or another, and is particularly common among beginner golfers who are learning the game.
Regardless of your skill level, however, the sight of your ball barely moving from its original position is enough to send you into a golfing rage, so how can we banish it for good?
Nailing the fundamentals like the perfect ball position and the correct golf grip will certainly help, but a common fault in the swing is all it takes to undo all your hard work.
In this article, Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach John Jacobs shares his expert tips and explains how to stop topping the golf ball...
Posture Is Key
Incorrect posture when addressing the ball is a leading cause of the topped shot, as it becomes very difficult to maintain the correct angles in the swing and encourages you to lift away from the ball through impact.
It's crucial to set your spine angle in the set-up. I like to push my pelvis back to encourage the right spine angle, while also focusing on maintaining that position through impact. This allows me to stay over the ball and achieve the impact on the golf ball that I am looking for.
'Chasing' The Clubhead
Try extending your right arm as you strike the ball, as though are trying to 'chase' the clubhead down the line as low as possible through impact. This will really help you to stay down over the shot and can also help you stop cutting across the golf ball.
Meanwhile, golfers who top it tend to 'chicken wing' it through impact with the clubhead moving up off the ball. Notice how my left elbow is bent in the image below. This stops them achieving that nice low arc - something that's crucial when it comes to how to swing a golf club.
Tee Drill
We all want to know how to compress the golf ball. Well, think of it like this: the lowest point of your swing should be after impact. Those who top it very often have the low point too early because they've lifted up away from the ball - this is one of the main cause of fat and thin iron shots. Focus on taking your divot just after the ball as trying to get the clubhead down below the golf ball just after impact will improve your strike. In practice, pop a tee peg down just in front of the ball and focus on hitting that as well as the ball.
Hopefully this will help you to understand why you top the golf ball, and also how you get then get rid of this shot from your game. For more tips and advice, I'd also recommend reading how to hit fairway woods and hybrids, as higher handicap golfers do tend to hit the odd top with these clubs, too.
