Stop Topping the Golf Ball: 6 Actionable Tips & Proven Drills for Better Shots

Britt Olizarowicz

May 7, 2024 . 10 mins read

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One of the most frustrating misses in golf is the topped golf shot.

Topping the ball eliminates nearly all potential for the ball to end up where you wanted it.

If you are wondering how to stop topping the ball so that you can stand over it confidently and hit your target, we will show you how.

I can guarantee you that the thought you have of “keeping your head down” so you don’t top it is NOT what is causing your topped golf shot.

How to Stop Topping the Golf Ball – Key Takeaways

Topping the golf ball is caused by too much movement in the body, incorrect wrist position, and improper setup.

If you don’t have time to read our guide right now, here are the ways to fix your topped golf shots.

• Check your ball position; if it is too far forward on the irons and wedges, you may be making contact with the ball when the club is ascending instead of descending.
• Make sure your head stays a bit more centered, and there is not much vertical or horizontal movement in your head; think of the swing as more of a pivot, and don’t move off the ball so far.
• Don’t reach for the golf ball; keep weight balanced in the center of the feet and ensure the club has room to swing. If you are reaching and the weight is on your heels, you could top it.
• Really lean into that lead leg as you transition through the ball; this helps promote a more downward strike and a clean golf shot that travels up in the air.

What are the Reasons why I Keep Topping the Golf Ball

More important than the reasons why you top the golf ball are the ways to fix it. However, here are a few of the key reasons why you are topping in case any of them stand out to you.

• Ball position too far forward or too far away from you.
• Poor posture – mostly hanging over the golf ball too far.
• Head moving away from the ball on the backswing.
• Poor shoulder and hip rotation.
• Incorrect wrist position – not enough flexion at impact and more of a flipping motion.
• Flexing of the arms on the downswing instead of extending them through impact.

How to Stop Topping the Golf Ball?

Now that we have the basics out of the way let’s look at how to finally fix your problem with topping the golf ball.

These drills, tips, and methods will work for any player; you just have to find one that works for you.

1. Get Your Golf Ball in the Right Spot

Before you move into more advanced swing corrections, start by making sure your golf ball position is correct.

You can set up on the range with alignment sticks. Get the alignment sticks set up in a T and play with different ball positions until you settle on the exact spot based on the club you have in your hand.

2. Keep Your Head Aligned with the Ball

When you are on the driving range, you should set up an alignment stick in line with the golf ball.

Use that alignment stick as a reference point for where you should keep your head during your golf swing.

Golfers who make clean contact with the ball keep their head centered.

If your head moves off that point, you set yourself up to lean back on the downswing and top your golf ball.

Keeping your head aligned with the impact zone makes it easier to induce optimal rotation and follow a controlled angle of attack to strike the ball cleanly and launch it high.

The swing, though, here is pretty simple: just keep your head over the ball.

3. Optimize Rotation

Once your ball position is correct and your head stable, you can focus on rotation.

You must transfer at least 75% of your weight onto the front foot at impact to help you rotate through the shot and square your clubface at contact.

Once you reach the top of your swing, you want to feel the force of your back leg driving the weight forward to your lead foot.

This weight shift enables you to maximize your hip and shoulder rotation to keep your club on path to impact for a clean strike and increased compression.

Take a video of your golf swing and see if your rotation looks efficient.

4. Keep Your Arms in Sequence

Your wrists, elbows, and arms must remain in sequence through the swing to keep your club on plane and promote increased release on the downswing.

The first prize is to have your arms straight at impact, with inward pressure applied to your elbows.

The solution for right-handers is to bow your wrists at impact to keep your hands ahead of the ball at contact.

This position helps the clubface strike the ball cleanly and generate exceptional compression for a high, long golf shot.

Golfers struggling to keep control of their wrists should consider testing the HackMotion wrist sensor. It guides you to better wrist positioning for a balanced path and clean contact during your swing.

5. Stand Closer to the Ball

If you struggle to reach the ball at impact, it’s time to stand marginally closer to the ball.

Ensure you are a comfortable distance from the ball, and then take a few practice swings to see where the clubface is when it reaches the impact zone.

6. Get the Wrist Position Right

If your wrist position is causing issues with topping the ball, HackMotion will fix it.

The first step is to establish a baseline. Record some swings to get an idea of your wrist position at setup, the top of your backswing, and impact.

Most golfers who top the ball will notice that the wrist has a lot of extension at impact. You may notice the wrist actually goes from a flexed position to a bowed position just before impact.

This is commonly referred to as flipping.

After analyzing more than 1,000,000 golf swings, we have learned that the key is to maintain that lead wrist flexion throughout the downswing. If you are able to do that, you will hit down and through the ball and decrease the chance of topping your golf shot.

Make sure that from setup to the top of the swing, you do not add any extension in your lead wrist.

Once you are at the top of your golf swing, you will want to decrease any extension you had from setting up so that your left wrist gets into a flexed position.

This is exactly what most professional golfers do to achieve consistent impact positions and NEVER top the ball.

Additional Drills to Stop Topping the Golf Ball

Sometimes, all you need is to get the feeling of what it takes to not top the ball. Here are a few more great drills.

1. Little Swing, Big Rotation

Shorten your swing to a quarter or half-length, and work on boosting rotation and striking the ball cleanly.

By reducing your swing and enhancing turn, you feel how all the components of your swing gel together to help you impact the ball effectively.

Set up 10 golf balls, grab your pitching wedge, and complete one set of half-swung shots.

Don’t worry about distance or accuracy at this point. Just get your clubface on the ball cleanly.

Once you have succeeded with a pitching wedge, move on to your 7-iron, and repeat the process. You can see the simplicity of this drill by viewing the exercise below from Chris Ryan.

2. Hit in Front of the Line

The hitting in front of the line drill is designed to help you strike the ground later in the downswing than earlier.

Following this methodology enables Pros to take juicy divots after hitting the ball.

Place a line of masking tape on your hitting mat, or draw a line with shaving foam on the turf.

Pretend your golf ball is placed on this line, and focus on hitting 1 to 3 inches ahead of the ball. This drill encourages you to optimize hip and shoulder turns to keep your club on path through impact.

Start with no ball and a quarter swing, and watch where the clubface strikes the mat.

Once confident with short swings, employ a golf ball, and see the results. Next, I suggest upping it to a half swing, followed by a full golf swing, to put your practice into action.

Golf coach Eric Cogorno showcases how this simple drill plays out on the driving range.

3. Contact Point

The final drill to help you stop topping the golf ball requires some foot powder spray, a club, and your golf ball.

Spray the powder onto your clubface, and after every shot, identify where you struck it.

When you top the ball, you’ll notice no marks on the clubface because the leading edge likely caught the ball.

Read over our guide above and check that your ball position, posture, arms, and wrists are in-synch to identify the root cause of your issue.

Ultimately, you want to see the imprint of a golf ball in the middle of the clubface most of the time.

If this isn’t the case, return to our guide and ensure your ball position, posture, wrists, and arms are optimally positioned to prevent topping the golf ball.

Conclusion

Our guide on how to stop topping the golf ball reveals that your posture, ball setup, wrist and arm position, and optimal rotation are the root causes of the issue.

Therefore, the best way to hit cleaner shots is to optimize your ball position, keep your head aligned with the ball, and improve the efficiency of your rotation.

In addition, it’s imperative to keep your arms, shoulders, and wrists synchronized to keep your club on path leading to impact.

If wrist position is hampering your ball-striking abilities, consider the assistance of the HackMotion wrist sensor to improve your positioning through the golf swing.