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Golf Swing Instruction: How You Can Get the Golf Ball Airborne Today

Topping a golf shot is embarrassing and frustrating. Why is it so hard to get the ball airborne on the proper trajectory? After all, you did take the time to go through your set-up routine checking alignment, posture, balance and so on. You placed the club carefully behind the ball. You execute the backswing and then the downswing only to see a shot where the ball barely gets off the ground if at all (hence the term worm burner) rolling to a stop nowhere near your intended landing area. You are most likely left with an impossible second shot where going for the green is nearly out of the question. Now this looks like the best you can do is bogey with double bogey very much in play.

When Double D, my golfing buddy, started topping shots a few weeks back he was so embarrassed and discouraged. He began trying to explain it to us as the round progressed. "I can't remember when I have ever topped the ball so much. That is just not like me. I have tried to make adjustments to correct the trajectory but I am still topping the ball." he said.

Well his memory and mine are a bit different. As I recall he goes through spells where he tops the ball resulting in short and extremely low trajectory shots. So I gently reminded him that he had a similar problem this past January (We live in the Charlotte, NC area where year round play is possible). Then while he was commiserating over another topped shot, this one his second to a long par 5, I asked him what he did to correct the issue the last time.

He replied that he had just downloaded a golf swing instructionaql eBook back then. He said that it had some good golf tips and drills. So I asked him, "When was the last time you looked it over?" To which he replied, "Based on the way I am playing it has been far too long! Let's go back to my place after the round and look that over. I can't stand to play this poorly any longer".

You see golf, unlike some other sports, is a game of opposites. A golfer must swing easy to hit the ball far, aim to the right to make the ball turn left and then there is the one that was giving Dooley so much trouble that day. You must hit down on the ball to make it go up. That is how the rule of opposites works in golf.

This is counter-intuitive to most of us. We want to swing under the ball and lift it up into the air in an upward motion. That is logical but wrong because it ignores the laws of physics and the design of the face of the golf club. The lofted face is an important part of the club's mechanics; put trust in it and it will do most of the work for you.

Jack Moorehouse explains it better than I can:

Here are 5 keys to stopping topped shots:

1 Address the ball with a normal stance
2 Position the ball inside your left heel
3 Use a one-piece takeaway
4 Use a descending blow
5 Finish in balance

To eliminate topped shots address the ball as you normally would, but make sure the ball is no further forward than the inside of your left heel. This is the base of your swing arc. Positioning the ball back in your stance enables you to make contact at the lowest point of your swing. Use a one-piece takeaway and strike the ball with a descending blow. Finish in balance.

Moving the ball back in your stance generates more backspin. This backspin, when applied correctly, works to negate sidespin, which results in more control.

The Two Tee Drill
To stop topping shots put a tee in the spot you would normally use for a fairway wood. Instead of hitting from that tee, place another tee with a ball two inches behind the empty tee in front. As you hit a few shots focus on grazing the empty tee after you make contact with the ball. Repeat several times. As you practice, you'll see your shots gaining more and more height.

After practicing with the fairway wood, try other clubs requiring a descending-to-level blow for consistent contact, such as hybrids, irons, and wedges. With hybrids, separate the tees one to two inches apart. With irons and wedges, an inch apart.

As you practice, you'll see the number of top balls or thin shots dwindle. Eventually, the topped shot will make its way out of your repertoire altogether.

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