Immediate cure for coming over the top

I am a mere 15 handicapper and not a teacher by any means, but I`ve just found an immediate cure for the over-the-top out to in move that is the death of any swing.
I`ve been trying to rid myself of this fatal flaw for the LAST 5 YEARS.
I`ve had lessons, I`ve posted many a question on this forum, bought the "inside approach" and a "momentus" swing trainer but it has ALWAYS come back on the course no matter what I do.

You know the results - you come down too steeply from the outside, your divots go left and even your good shots are short, too high and a bit fadey - but you don`t have many good shots because your margin for error is small, (and if the wind is blowing, you`re really in trouble) Your bad shots are slices, or pulls when you try and fix your problem with the grip alone.
I was near the end of a very average 94 yesterday when I tried something that got me so excited that I went straight down to the range to see if i could do it at will - I could, and I couldn`t wait to play again, so I was on the course at first light this morning to try it - and ran round before work in 2 hours 10 minutes and shot an 80 (the best I`ve done on this course was a 79 in the middle of last summer when playing 4 or 5 times a week) and I hit my 3 wood down the 18th further than I`ve ever hit my driver there.

I had to come to the conclusion that this is the single best thing I`ve discovered about golf in the last 10 years . . .

OK, sorry, this is REALLY going to make the pros wince (sorry chaps, but you don`t know what it`s like) - all you have to do (after you`ve taken dead aim) is watch the club go back, keep your head there and watch it come down again ON THE SAME PLANE, MAKE IT COME DOWN ON THE SAME PLANE, think of NOTHING else.
That`s it, just do that at the expense of EVERYTHING else. Your body will shift and clear on it`s own to let the club come down the right path, you don`t have to think about anything but swinging it down on the same plane.

May seem a little drastic, but you KNOW you can`t play with an over the top move and nobody has ever been able to stop me doing it.

You don`t need to repeat and repeat and ingrain this - you just do it every time you hit a ball starting from now - get down the range and give it a go, if you`ve never really felt a really solid hit, you`ll be amazed, don`t try and hit it hard, you`ll get more distance than you think anyway because the trajectory is lower and there is very little side spin taking forward momentum off the ball, even into a headwind.

It works with every club of course (hit a few wedges and see how accurate they are) and all the other advantages of a shallow on-line swing path are immediately apparent - much more consistent contact (more margin for error) and now all your mishits will still go straight and those sevens and eights and curve balls will be no more.

Now you can keep it on the course - go and practice you short game.

When you say " watch the club go back, keep your head there and watch it come down again" do you mean if say your head was normally at 6 o'clock looking at the ball it is now at 8 or 9 o'clock watching your swing plane. Also when coming into impact are your eyes following the club so you actually see impact ? I'm interested as I have all the same faults as you did.

Yes, I watch the club go back till my face is facing about 8 o`clock, then I watch it come back down in the same slot - I don`t think I see impact, it`s all a bit of a blur, but I don`t miss the ball, I middle virtually everything - I actually think not looking at the ball reduces the "hit" impulse.

You have just stumbled upon the teachings of Ernest Jones and Manuel de la Torre (swing the clubhead in a circle). It really does work, if nothing else it is clearing your mind of all other clutter as you swing

Damn, I was gonna write a book . . . .

Well I'll give it a try the next time I'm out.If it's a roaring success I won't be shy in letting you know!!!

Try it on the range to experiment with ball position etc.
I play it just forward of centre as normal, but it`s bound to be different for everybody.
I`ve also strengthened my grip a lot (I came across this sort of by accident while attempting a Moe Norman natural golf swing, so my set up is very right shoulder down with left arm and club in a straight line, but I don`t think this is essential)

Thanks for the tip...will try on driving range. I'm trying to copy ben Hogan swing and coming over the top is one of the main problem....

I mentioned this on other posts, but this is pretty much what the swing plane trainer does. You can adjust the angle for different clubs. My son takes lessons about every 4-6 weeks and this is pretty much all the pro works on is swing plane. you can really visualize faults in swing plane when you put it on a digital swing analyzer. Remeber, the angle of the club 1/2 way up on the back swing when your wrists are hinged, should be an identical extension of the angle of the club at address. it should feel light in your hands. too inside the plane will make the club feel heavier.

I have been trying IPS for some time. It may sound heretical but I find if I feel as though I am hitting early it does help the feel of swinging on one plane .I have discarded the old concept of hitting late. M y attitude is if it works to hell with all of the old dictates.

Hi Mariner,

You must be my long lost twin - have the same problem and have been working on correctly it for a very very very long time. Will give it a go. So, your swing key is 'on the same plane'. The head turn is slight and your eyes are focusing on the forearm?

Cheers

I think loads of people have this problem and it`s SO difficult to get rid of!

I wouldn`t say my head turn is slight - I stop following the club back when my eyes/face is looking at a point on the ground about four feet away to the front right of my right foot (my swing is fairly flat) - also, my eyes aren`t focused on my arms (I have to keep getting up and going through the motion to realise all this - it`s amazing how it starts getting complicated when I have to analyse it!)
I think I`m focused on the clubhead, but I`m CONCENTRATING on my arms although they are out of focus, and I think I`m keeping my head back behind the ball looking at that spot 4 feet away (not a bad thing I believe) as I swing down concentrating on staying in the slot.

Bazet - i would be very weary of copying Hohan's swing, especially if you have an over the top problem. Hogan based his whole swing on not hooking and could get away with it because he was supreme athlete and practiced all the time! You would be better looking at some of the more modern swings IMO. Not trying to tell you how to play, its just that I have been reading Leadbetter's book on Hogans fundamentals and it explains in good detail why hogans swing is not one to copy.

nick

What's the title of that book?

nick

His swing is beatiful to watch well I have my own swing that is 2 plane I think. tried to convert into 1 plane in driving range for few attempts ( video tapped it ), but failed...after watching the video, I'm still in 2 plane swing

My current goal now it to make the plane a bit flatter. Reading the 5 lessons book by Ben Hogan & Sports Illustrated can be disastorous.

Why ? Hogan doesn't include this 6th tips in the book, read this article : http://www.golfdigest.com/majors/mas...gansecret.html