By Tyler Olson, PGA Associate ·
You top the golf ball when the bottom of your swing arc lands behind the ball or rises up through impact, so the leading edge catches the top half of the ball. The two most common causes are trying to help the ball into the air with a scooping motion and standing up out of your posture. The fix is getting your weight forward at impact so the club bottoms out just past the ball, while you hold your posture through the strike.
A topped shot happens when the leading edge or bottom of the club hits the ball above its equator. The ball dives, skips or rolls along the ground instead of getting up in the air.
Every swing has a low point, the spot where the club reaches the bottom of its arc. With irons, good contact means that low point sits slightly in front of the ball, so the club hits the ball first and then the ground. A topped shot means the low point landed behind the ball and the club was already on its way back up by the time it got there, or your body lifted the whole arc too high.
This is the one I see most with newer golfers. The ball is sitting on the ground, you want it in the air, so your body tries to help it up. Your weight hangs on your back foot, your wrists flip at the bottom, and you try to scoop under the ball.
The trouble is that scooping moves the low point of the swing behind the ball. The club bottoms out early, starts rising, and catches the top of the ball. Sometimes it hits the ground first and bounces up into the ball, which feels like a fat shot and a topped shot at the same time.
Iron loft is what gets the ball airborne. Your job is to hit down and through so the club strikes the ball and then the turf. That feels backward at first, but it is how irons are built to work.
Your posture at address sets the height of your swing. If your chest rises, your knees straighten or your hips push toward the ball during the downswing, the whole arc gets higher. The club can miss the ground entirely and catch the ball thin or on top.
Another version is the arms pulling in. If your lead elbow bends and folds toward your body through impact, the arc gets shorter and the club comes up short of the bottom of the ball.
A good check is to feel like your chest stays over the ball and your arms stay long until well after impact. You should finish with your chest facing the target, not standing up early to watch where the shot went.
Not really. Lifting your head too early can be part of it, but a lot of golfers who top the ball keep their head down and still do it. Locking your head in place can actually make you stiff and stop your body from turning through the shot.
The better fixes are getting your weight onto your lead foot by impact and keeping your posture as you rotate. When those two things happen, your eyes tend to stay on the ball without you forcing it.
Lay a small towel flat on the ground about four to six inches behind the ball, on the side away from the target. Hit short, easy shots with a mid or short iron and try not to touch the towel.
If you are scooping, the club will brush or snag the towel because your low point is too far back. To miss it, you have to get your weight forward and let the club come down into the ball. Start with half swings, and only lengthen the swing once you can miss the towel several times in a row.
Pay attention to where your divot or ground contact shows up. When it starts appearing at or just past where the ball was sitting, your low point is moving in the right direction.
If you have tried the towel drill and still top the ball, it usually means more than one thing is going on, like ball position, weight shift and posture all mixing together. That is hard to sort out on your own because topping feels the same no matter which one is causing it.
In my 30-minute lessons in Orem and Vineyard, I watch what your body is doing at impact, pick the one change that matters most, and give you a written practice plan so you know exactly what to work on before the next one.
Usually it is the same scooping motion, made worse because the club is longer and the ball is often farther forward in your stance. Golfers try to lift these clubs into the air, which moves the low point behind the ball. Sweep the ground at the bottom of the swing instead of lifting, and make sure you are not standing up as you swing through.
Yes. If the ball is too far forward in your stance, the club can reach its low point and start rising before it gets to the ball. For irons, try placing the ball around the middle of your stance and moving it slightly forward only for longer clubs. If you have to lunge to reach the ball, it is probably too far forward.
Most beginners naturally try to help the ball into the air, which leads to scooping and hanging back on the rear foot. It is a very normal stage. Once a new golfer learns that hitting down lets the loft do the work, topped shots usually start to fade.
On the course, people often get tense and try to steer the ball or watch it too early, which pulls the chest up through impact. Tension can also make the arms pull in. Take a practice swing that brushes the grass before each shot, then try to repeat that same brush with the ball in the way.
Thirty minutes, one-on-one, and a written practice plan you keep. Most students start with the 5-Lesson Package.
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