End the Embarrassment: How to Stop Topping the Golf Ball

Is there anything worse than topping the golf ball?

Whether it happens with a driver, on tee shots, fairway wood or an iron, there isn’t much more of an embarrassing shot, wouldn’t you agree? It goes a few yards sometimes and leaves you feeling perplexed about what just happened. The only thing relatable to this golf shot is the “S” word, which is just as bad or might be even worse.

As you probably know, one of the most common problems that amateur golfers struggle with is making consistent contact. Typically, this means that the clubface does not come into direct contact with the golf ball as something has happened on the backswing, downswing or transition. Instead, you hit up on the top half of the ball, which leads to a nasty miss.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone – every golfer has been there. Today, we’ll help you fix your golf swing so you can make better contact and avoid the big miss.

Key Takeaways

• Topping the golf ball is a common shot among beginners, but can happen to skilled players as well.
• Topping the golf ball requires you to hit up on the shot, which can happen for a myriad of reasons we’ll outline today.
• Fixing your golf ball position is one of the easiest ways to stop topping the golf ball.

Keep reading to address the common reasons this happens and answers to common questions regarding this issue in your golf swing. 

Why am I Topping the Golf Ball?

When it comes to topping the ball, it can feel like a real head scratcher, especially if it happens in the middle of the round. But when you know the “why” behind the shot, it will make it much easier to learn how to diagnose and fix your mistake.

Typically, a ball is topped because the club has not gone far enough down towards the ball or you catch the ball on the way up, instead of at the bottom point. It could also be the wrong ball position, chicken wing follow through, a bad lie, and more.

Here are some of the most common reasons.

Club is Too Short

A club that is too short or a stance that is too far from the ball are both issues that are very similar. A player that is too far from the ball will be forced to reach an uncomfortably long distance in order to reach the ball.

This is a difficult position to maintain throughout the swing. Also, at the same time, a club that is too short will also force a player to reach for the ball.

Remember, a good golf swing starts with the right equipment. The game is hard enough as it is, so make sure that all of your clubs are helping, not hurting your chances of shooting lower scores.

This is why it’s a good idea to do a custom fitting if you’re an avid golfer.

Awkward Stance

An awkward lie or ground condition can also cause a shot to be topped. Most often, when a player is hitting the ball uphill, it can result in a topped golf shot. The reason for this is that a golfer will often lean or fall down the hill after they hit.

This momentum going down the hill means that the player has a swing that has too much of an upward arc. An upward arc in the golf swing with weight leaning backwards, instead of forwards, will lead to a topped golf shot. Which makes a downward strike very challenging.

In this case, you want to adjust your shoulders to slope instead of keeping your shoulders level. It’s also a good idea to take some practice swings to evaluate the lie and build the proper stance.

Reverse Pivot

The reverse pivot is another leading cause of the dreaded topped shot. With this move, you never get your weight to the back foot and instead, pivot off your lead foot. This leads to your weight never shifting back, which means it can’t get the proper weight transfer on the downswing.

And if you do this move, you will leave the majority of your weight on your backside and hit up on the golf ball. This leads to the dreaded miss.

To get back on track and fix your poor weight transfer, make sure that you have a solid base at address position. You want to make sure your feet are wide and your knees are in a slightly flexed position. This will help get most of your weight back and allow the proper arc into the ball.

Also, don’t forget to check your weight distribution at setup with irons and fairway woods. Usually, people who do a reverse move have too much weight on the lead foot, making it hard to twist back. Instead, you want 50-50 for the majority of lies.

Learn more about the proper pivot on your trail foot here.

Posture

If you suffer from thin or fat shots, chances are your posture and spine angle change throughout the swing. But to make consistent contact, you need to maintain correct posture throughout your entire swing.

This is a pretty easy fix once you video your swing and watch your spine angle. To make it easy, download a free app and draw a line down your spine to see how it changes during your swing.

Ideally, you want to:

• Keep your knees flexed (not bent), in an athletic position
• Bend at the waist
• Maintain a straight back
• Allow your arms to hang loose below your body

Posture is crucial in getting the right arc for all shots! If you’re set up correctly, your swing arc can bottom out too early with irons and fairway woods.

The drills in the following section will help you keep your posture consistent so that you can make much better contact. Remember, so much of the game happens before your swing, focus on the fundamentals before assessing anything else.

How To Stop Topping The Golf Ball

No matter what your common mistake is that leads to topping the golf ball, they can all be corrected fairly easily with a couple different changes to your golf swing.

Think of Your Swing as a Pendulum

The first big thing you want to do is imagine that your golf swing is a pendulum. Your golf club is the swinging arm, with the top part of the grip being the fixed point. If your fixed-point stays still throughout your golf swing, you will bottom out at the same point every time.

In a golf swing, your head is the fixed-point. So, if you keep your head still throughout the entire golf swing, your club should return exactly to the point where you started your golf swing. So many golfers move their head laterally too much which leads to inconsistent contact.

To learn more about bottoming out your swing arc, check out our full post here.

Hit Down To Go Up

The next thing you need to know is how a golf ball gets into the air. A lot of people believe that hitting under the ball (where the club starts at address) will get the ball in the air.

Unfortunately, that is not true – you must hit down for it to go up (when hitting from the turf).

In order to get the ball in the air, you need to hit down on the golf ball, hitting the ball first and then the ground, in that order. If you hit the ball only, you’ll top it (or thin it) and if you hit the ground, then the ball you’ll hit it fat.

So, back to the pendulum idea.

You want the bottoming out point of your golf swing to move slightly forward and down before impact. The key to doing this is getting your weight moving forward on to your front foot during the downswing.

The quicker you can move your weight forward, the better chance you’ll have of hitting the ball and then the ground with a descending blow. Remember, your lower body leads the downswing.

The three things you need to do to correct the issue of topping the golf ball are:

1. Keep your head relatively still throughout the backswing. If you can do that, it maintains your fixed-point longer. Golfers who top the ball often let their head sway backwards in the backswing. This will help impact, get the right arc, and flush the golf ball. Slight up and down movement is okay, but lateral movement is not ideal.
2. Take a divot. This can be a little frightening for people who had a previous problem with hitting the ball fat. Make sure that your divot occurs after the golf ball is struck, which happens when the lead arm creates a forward shaft lean.
3. Shift your weight forward to your lead heel/front leg from transition to follow through. If you can make sure that you take a divot and finish on your front side, you’ll almost always make solid contact.

Steady Head = Fewer Topped Shots

A steady position is key to hitting quality golf shots. It might feel like a difficult thing for some players, but it’s arguably the best way to swing everything back together. A steady head means that you don’t lift your head, dip your head or sway.

Every little movement is going to make it more difficult to return the club to the desired position. Also, if you sway your head back to the right (if you’re right-handed), this also makes it more difficult to get back to square.

Of course, the head will move slightly through the swing, but the less you move it, the easier it will be to square the club at impact. Keep your head steady for the best results!

How to Stop Topping the Ball with Fairway Woods

Now, all the information above applies to irons and fairway woods or hybrids as well. You may have noticed, though, that hitting fairway woods solidly is significantly harder with the same tips.

There are a lot of very good golfers who struggle to hit fairway woods, so if you struggle with this topped shot, know that you aren’t alone.

So, why is it harder to hit the fairway woods off the deck?

• First, the lower the loft of a golf club, the more difficult it is to hit off the ground. For example, a 3-wood is usually between 13–16 degrees loft, while a 5-wood is 18–20 degrees. This is why most amateurs prefer to hit higher lofted woods than lower ones, especially from a tight lie.
• Next, and perhaps the reason why the first is true, is that fairway woods require a much shallower angle of approach. Meaning, the clubhead, while still traveling down towards the golf ball, is not going down along an angle as steep as you would with a normal iron swing.

In this section, I’ll talk about how to stop topping the golf ball with fairway woods. 

Ball Position to Prevent Topping the Golf Ball With Woods

First, make sure your ball position is correct at address. If you can take away anything from this post, it’s this; ball position is key to hitting fairway woods from the turf!

The tendency for most golfers with a fairway wood is to put it all the way off your front foot because it appears easier to get in the air. But this will make you hit it on the upswing and thus, thin or top it.

Instead, put the ideal ball position will be about 1-2 ball lengths behind the inside of your front foot. This will allow your club to catch the ball first and then ground easier.

Test ball position at the driving range and see how much of a difference it makes when it’s off your left foot, below the logo of your shirt, and in the middle of your stance. After a few balls, you’ll quickly find the right position based on the results. If you’re left eye dominant, it might also impact how you see the golf ball in your stance, too.

Remember, you want to hit down on the ball and still make a slight divot even with a wood. If you need a visual example, there probably isn’t anything better than Henrik Stenson’s 3-wood in slow-motion.

Choose the Right Lie or Pay the Price

To make clean contact with a fairway wood off the deck, make sure you have a good lie. Fairway woods in general are not meant, or designed, to be hit out of thick rough or hard pan lie.

That being said, if you’re a scratch golfer or consistently shoot in the 70s, you might get away with a hairy lie. But in general, you want to hit a higher loft wood when you’re in the rough.

Or, take the longest iron or hybrid you can hit out of a difficult lie and keep the fairway wood in the bag. I understand that’s not a sexy answer, but it’s true.

But if you insist on hitting a 3-wood from the rough, make these two adjustments:

• Make sure to open the face slightly at address, as the hosel will likely shut as the rough rotates it.
• Add more grip pressure (not a death grip) to minimize the twisting motion.

Also, make sure no trouble is short of your target in case you get it heavy from the rough!

Focus on Tempo

Another top reason that golfers fail miserably with fairway woods is they swing way too hard!

Why?

Usually, because they know that they have enough club to get to the green and potentially, set themselves up for an eagle putt if it’s a par-5 or a birdie putt on a long par-4. But in order to hit quality fairway woods off the turf like Henrik Stenson, tempo is key!

Don’t try to kill it.

If you do, usually most golfers grip it way too tight, add extra tension and create a negative chain reaction. Extra tension also leads to a poor weight shift, totally throwing off the timing of shoulders and arms and more.

To stop topping the ball from the deck, work on mastering your tempo and take plenty of club! Quit trying to kill it.

Improve Your Takeaway

Finally, keep your club head low to the ground, especially on the way back. You don’t want to get too quick with your wrists and hands while lifting the club head in the air. Since the angle of attack is a lot shallower than an iron, you want to simulate that attack angle with your takeaway.

If you do these things, you’ll discover exactly how to stop topping the golf ball with fairway woods.

Drills to Stop Topping the Golf Ball

Now that I’ve addressed all the issues with topping the golf ball, here are some drills to help stop topping the golf ball.

Drill to Stop Topping #1: Tiger’s Head Still Drill

Tiger Woods used this drill with Butch Harmon early in his career as he had excess head movement. Here’s how to practice like Tiger:

1. First, have a friend stand in a safe spot, just outside the golf ball you’re about to hit.
2. Then, have them rest the grip-side of their club on the top of your head.
3. Take a swing and have them keep the club in the same spot the entire time.
4. Your head should keep touching the grip of your friend’s club the entire time, until you hit the golf ball.

If you’re able to do that, then you are successfully keeping your “fixed-point” still throughout the backswing. You can also do this drill on your own by resting a rule book or yardage book on the top of your head. As you can imagine, it’s not nearly as easy to do alone.

But if you can keep the book on your head through the entire swing, then that’ll give you a pretty good idea that your head is staying still. Like most of the drills on this list, don’t swing with 100% effort. Anytime you’re training new habits, go slow at first to get the correct feeling.

Try to keep the same level throughout the whole swing. You can also do this move at home while looking in a mirror to fix the problem of a head dip.

Drill to Stop Topping #2: The Tee Drill

1. With this drill, take two tees and push one all the way in the ground about ½ inch outside the golf ball.
2. Push the other tee all the way in the ground about ½ inch in front of the golf ball.
3. Then, hit a golf ball with 70% effort.
4. Your divot should take out the tee that is in front of the golf ball.
5. Your divot also should start at, or slightly after, the tee that was outside of the golf ball. Remember, you want to hit the ball, then the turf, not the other way around.

This drill is great for making sure that your club path and angle of attack are correct. If the divot does not take out, or break, the front tee, it means you are not getting enough of your weight moving forward.

You aren’t moving your “fixed-point” forward enough in the downswing. If there is no divot at all, then you know that you need to be swinging down at the ball into the ground more.

Drill to Stop Topping #3: Stand on Club Drill

Finally, in order to help you feel your weight moving forward better,

1. Lay a club down on the ground, parallel to your back foot.
2. Then, step on the shaft of the club with the outside half of your back foot.
3. Hit some shots with half of your foot on that club.

This drill will get you to feel a little bit of your weight moving forward because you should be leaning that way to begin the swing. In order for this drill to work, don’t try to hit at 100% effort or especially long clubs. Instead, shoot for 50-70% of your full swing with a mid to short iron.

You’ll also want to make sure you can “tap” your back foot toe after you finish the shot. If your weight is on your front side, then you should be able to balance, while tapping the back toe on the ground.

Drill to Stop Topping #4: Visualization

Sometimes the yips, shanks, and tops are all mental. As you know, golf is a hugely mental sport that might not have anything to do with your right shoulder, impact position, or getting the right arc. Sometimes, it’s all between the ears.

To help improve this shot (or any shot), do a quick visualization before you hit the shot. Standing behind the ball, imagine the shot going just as you want. Think about making clean, crisp contact and watching the ball soar at your target.

If you aren’t visual and more kinesthetic, imagine the feeling when the ball takes flight. Feel how great it will feel when you make contact with the center of the club. Not only can this work to stop topping fairway woods, but any shot that you lack confidence from.

As Jack Nicklaus said, “I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp, in-focus picture of it in my head.” The more you do this drill, the easier it will become.

The best part is that you can practice this at your house, office or before your shot. Train your mind for success using the power of visualization. With each practice swing, imagine the perfect ball flight for the upcoming golf shot.

FAQs About Topping the Golf Ball

What does it mean to top in golf?

Topping the golf ball refers to hitting it a few yards. This is common among beginners and high handicappers who hit up on the top portion of the ball from various issues.

How do I stop trying to kill the golf ball?

As I mentioned above, trying to kill any shot hurts your golf game. Whether you’re topping golf balls with irons or woods, aggression and trying to hit it extra hard hurt your game.

Instead, make sure you take plenty of club, especially with a fairway wood, to keep a smooth tempo and to stop topping the ball. Not only will this help your impact position, but I bet you’ll feel less pressure to swing hard.

Remember, swinging harder doesn’t necessarily mean better. Consistency > distance!

What are other fixes to stop topping the golf ball?

If this feels too overwhelming to address on your own, hire a swing coach that you trust to help you improve. Don’t forget, the best players ever like Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Phil Mickelson all get golf lessons, you should too.

Like Jack Nicklaus said, “Don’t be too proud to take lessons, I’m not.”

Why am I thinning and topping irons?

The golf ball position is one of the biggest issues. To stop topping the golf ball and hitting thin shots, move the ball more in the middle of your stance to hit it better.

My Experience

Topping the golf ball isn’t a fun shot, but just know it’s happened to everyone. Literally every player who’s ever picked up a golf club has topped one before. Topping the golf ball is part of the learning process so don’t beat yourself up if you’re just getting started.

Once you get a regular ball flight and avoid the mistakes mentioned today, it won’t happen very often (if ever). But even as a scratch golfer, I’ve hit a few tops in recent years, usually from trying to take too much club from the deep rough. You see this sometimes with PGA Tour players as well.

If you get a bad lie in the rough, take your medicine and use less club to get yourself in position. Don’t let ego get in the way of playing your best golf.

Final Thoughts to Stop Topping the Golf Ball

As you can tell, there are quite a few reasons why most golfers end up with this dreaded miss. Whether it’s the wrong address position, incorrect weight shift, or something else, all can lead to this common but infuriating miss. Luckily, if you analyze your swing and test out these drills above, you can help your game tremendously and start making better contact with every club in the bag.

Remember, throughout the swing, you want to keep your head in the relatively same position as you did at address position. Then, you want to make sure the club is in the right position between your feet.

Move the ball back because if it’s too far in the front of your stance, you will catch the ball on the way up from your swing and nearly miss the ball. This is especially true with a 3-wood or 5-wood. Move it back in your stance!

Finally, don’t forget to take it “low and slow” on the way back. Not to mention, from the top of your backswing, you want to try to keep your tempo so you accelerate most at impact. If you get too quick when you start your downswing, it’s easy to mess up your entire swing sequence.

While it sounds like a lot to evaluate, it’s likely you’re already doing most of these correctly; it’s usually just one cause. With some work on the range you’ll start hitting better golf shots fast.