Coming over the top? These 2 foolproof drills will instantly redirect your swing

Coming over the top has been a problem plaguing golfers for generations. Most of us, at some point in our golfing lives, have to navigate our way around the issue, and for teachers like GOLF Top 100 Teacher and GOLFTEC VP of Instruction Nick Clearwater, it’s what they spend hours each day fixing.

“Coming over the top, cutting across the ball, really is the biggest mistake I see amateur golfers make,” he says.

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For those unsure of what coming over the top is, exactly, it’s what Clearwater describes: It’s when golfers throw the club directly at the top of the ball from the top of their swing, and send the clubhead from out-to-in. Do this with an open clubface and you’ll hit a big slice. Keep the clubface closed and it’ll pull-hook.

The golfer on the left below, for example, is coming over the top, while the same player on the right is not.

But don’t worry, because seeing golfers make this mistake so often also means that Clearwater has devised two simple drills to fix it…

1. Object by the ball

It doesn’t need to be a pool noodle, Clearwarter says. A bottle, headcover or other obstacle can work just as well. Place it just outside the ball and then start hitting (the ball, not the object!).

“The first thing I’d always recommend is putting something by the ball,” Clearwater says. “If you’re ready to cut across the ball, you’d slam right into that obstacle.”

2. Diagonal pool noodle

You’ll need a friend to help you with this one, but all they’ll need to do is stand there and hold a pool noodle, alignment rod or club at a 45-degree angle. Your goal is simple: To swing under the obstacle on your downswing.

“The ideal path is the club below the trail shoulder, with the shaft passing through the middle of your trail arm’s bicep, when your lead arm is parallel to the ground,” Clearwater says.

You can watch the full video right here:

Luke Kerr-Dineen

Golf.com Contributor

Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Director of Service Journalism at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees the brand’s game improvement content spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.

An alumni of the International Junior Golf Academy and the University of South Carolina–Beaufort golf team, where he helped them to No. 1 in the national NAIA rankings, Luke moved to New York in 2012 to pursue his Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University and in 2017 was named News Media Alliance’s “Rising Star.” His work has also appeared in USA Today, Golf Digest, Newsweek and The Daily Beast.