7/26/2019
The go-to comment when a golfer hits a thin shot or a topped shot has forever been golf’s greatest justification; You Lifted Your Head. While in some cases, the head may have indeed lifted, it is not the cause of the topped shot the majority of the time. Here is a short list of things that may cause a topped shot:
- Loss of Posture
- Casting
- Scooping
- Chicken Winging
- Flat Shoulder Plane
- Sliding
- Late Buckle
- Forward Lunge
- Hanging Back
- Reverse Spine Angle
Often, one swing characteristic leads to another, leaving a golfer even more confused. For instance, if a golfer tends to lose posture downwards (see below), in that the upper body gets closer to the ground in the backswing, they will often develop a “Chicken Wing” (bent lead arm) at impact.
This is because they have lost the space required to swing the club through to the ball with their arms straight due to their loss of posture. If this player were to correct their posture by not dipping towards the ground BUT they were to keep swinging with a “Chicken-Wing”(bent lead arm) at impact, they would miss the ball entirely!
Confusing, I know, but the point is this – if you are struggling with determining
why you are continuously hitting thin shots or topping the golf ball, use the trained eye of a PGA of Canada professional to help identify
your issue so that the next time someone tells you that you lifted your head, you can correct them 😉
Ryan Rinneard
Director of Instruction
PGA of Canada, Class “A”