Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

[mariner]

There must be some physical thing you can do with the swing or setup to make it impossible to swing OTT/ out to in?
I've tried everything I can think of - is there anything wrong with me adopting an extremely closed stance and then "pulling" the ball down the correct line?
I desperately want to play without manipulating my out to in swing on every shot, I just want to be able to play carefree golf for once, but if I set up correctly and swing without thinking (like you should) I go out to in. So if I close my stance to the target line and do the same, I swing out to in relative to my body alignment, but this is then straight down the target line.
Is there anything else I can do?

[doogkie]

Re: Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

you could swing like jim fyurk and have the big loop, way out on the back swing and then loop it around to the inside on the downswing, i dont have an out to in swing but i love hitting balls like this sometimes

[LowPost42]

Re: Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

The 'temporary relief' that I've had from the OTT move actually was given to me on the range. I was asked if I could hit the inside quarter of the ball.

I said 'sure, but I'll really have to manipulate my swing' - then hit a few balls really 'dropping down inside' to get that inside corner. It felt really bad (of course, as I was overdoing the swing motion), but when I took some of the feelings of that swing, and incorporated it into my swing, I started hitting some really nice shots. I've had more comments about how nice my swing looks in the past two weeks then I've had in my entire life.

[jambalaya]

Re: Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

Got this link from another thread. It seems to describe problem very well.

http://www.newgolfswing.com/newgolfswing07.php

[golfonenemesis]

Re: Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

I have posted this many times;
OTT prevention:
1. check your grip and make sure your right hand is not on top of the club but rather to the right of center
2. when starting the downswing, don't jerk it but let it happen when you feel a deadness in your hands
3. On the downswing, feel as if you are starting with your hands ahead of the clubhead, ie. feel as if you are leading the downswing with the butt end of the club pointing at the ball to target line.
This will fix it.

[BrianW]

Re: Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

Mariner,

Please have a look at this video lesson.
http://www.ritson-sole.com/golftips/2005/sept05.htm

Regards
Brian

[chessbum]

Re: Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

Brian,

Nice little video!!! Thanks for posting it....

Chessbum...

[mariner]

Re: Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

I've been to the range a couple of times to try these remedies out (thanks guys) and the one that works for me is the lateral shift of the hips/head back move described at http://www.newgolfswing.com/newgolfswing07.php

I can swing from the inside with no problem if there's no ball there, but I couldn't work out what one thing I was doing that made it so different, and it was in fact shoving the hips at the target to initiate the downswing. When a ball was there I think I got all careful and tried to inhibit/steer my movements. I just think of Tom Watson in his prime with that "C" shape, and let it go.
It was encouraging to hit the ball 1/3 further with my 3-wood with 1/2 the effort . . . a glimpse of this effortless power vs powerless effort that people talk about.

[jambalaya]

Re: Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

Sounds encouraging mariner. I can't wait to employ the lateral hip move myself. It makes so much sense. I have always had it in my head that any lateral movement was to be avoided. I thought sway is bad and lateral movement is sway. I totally see how I am throwing my right shoulder outwards and creating the outside-in swing. No wonder every other remedy I have tried failed. Keeping the head still, hinging the wrists don't work if the right shoulder and arm cannot be brought back close to the body.

[mariner]

Re: Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

I still have to fight against my right arm that always insists on getting involved and messing things up, but one day it may sink in!
I wonder why we constantly see and feel the evidence of a good smooth stoke, yet ignore it and try and muscle it over the trees on that bloody par five 18th.
I find it really hard to conceive of powering the ball any distance without the use of my right arm, yet I put a couple over the fence with my 3-wood today (OK, it's not a very long driving range, but it impressed the beginner's class) and it felt as silky smooth and effortless as Ernie Els' swing.
The worrying thing is that I've played for 20 years without knowing about this move . . .

[golfonenemesis]

Re: Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

Your right arm is ok as long as you have the grip to suit it. Tell me more about your grip before you damn your right arm
P.S. what's it like to go to the pubs in your country; are there lots of darts and lasses?

[gark]

Re: Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

I occassionally suffer from this. My shots head towards 11 o'clock instead of 12 o'clock and my divots point slightly left.

My over-the-top happens when my lower body movements are performed slower than my upper body movements.

My solution:
Make sure that my entire right side moves in a synchronized manner.
Try to perform all of the following movements at the same time:
- bring right elbow back to the front of your torso somewhere above your right hip. The right elbow doesn't need to touch the body.
- turn shoulders back to square
- turn hips to open position. It's ok to be more aggressive with the hip turn for as long as your right elbow doesn't get stuck behind and for as long as your head stays steady.
* turning should be done around your left side (similar to how a door swings on its hinges)
- move right knee towards the target
- lift the right heel

[mariner]

Re: Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

Your right arm is ok as long as you have the grip to suit it. Tell me more about your grip before you damn your right arm
P.S. what's it like to go to the pubs in your country; are there lots of darts and lasses?

I've recently strengthened my grip quite a bit to try and prevent weak slappy shots, my right hand is quite underneath so I can't see any knuckles, and I can see two and a half left hand knuckles. Probably due to this my bad shot is a pull and not so much a slice.
The pubs are great in England, the country ones probably just like you imagine, 16th century, low ceilings, beams, ghosts, great beer and yes, darts! I was in my local last night and there was a league darts match going on, not so many lasses in there though.

[vp27519]

Re: Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

Hi Mariner,

My current swing key is on the downswing I'm visualising the club head coming down on the inside.

I know that I don't cast if I don't over swing. If I maintain my spine angle and keep hips in position there is no problem.

Practice with an umbrella (closed) stuck in the ground one foot directly behind the ball (Backswing).

When practicing use a short iron such as a 9 iron or p/w.

Good luck. It can be fixed.

[msklar92]

Re: Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?

As Gark mentioned, the right elbow is key. If the elbows separate on the backswing the arms can get stuck behind you and forces you to pull the club through. Elbows should remain the same distance apart throughout the swing.