Why am I topping my 5wood

[Bassfisher]

I’ve turned to my 5wood off the tees as my driver just got me into trouble. At first it was amazing and most shots travelled 220yds straight ! Suddenly though it has become a lottery with many shots being topped. Today I filmed some shots, is there anyway I can add them to this post ? Or is there something that I should look for? Thanks all

 

[bobmac]

You can get a free youtube account, upload your video and post the link on here

 

[Bassfisher]

You can get a free youtube account, upload your video and post the link on here

 

[bobmac]

I don't think that worked
I see it now.
It looks to me as if you are swaying back and through the ball with the weight finishing on the outside of the left heel.
To help you stop this swaying, turn your right toe in so it is pointing straight forward.
Then try the drill below with the chair.
Start off gently until you feel yourself turning better.
That will stop you getting passed the ball and topping it

 

[Bassfisher]

I don't think that worked

Hi Bob I’ve managed to add the link etc to my original post

 

[DanFST]

Ball seems very far forward in your stance. You want to be hitting down on it more similarly to irons.

 

[Bassfisher]

I don't think that worked
I see it now.
It looks to me as if you are swaying back and through the ball with the weight finishing on the outside of the left heel.
To help you stop this swaying, turn your right toe in so it is pointing straight forward.
Then try the drill below with the chair.
Start off gently until you feel yourself turning better.
That will stop you getting passed the ball and topping it

Ok thanks I’ll try that when I can , the right toe , should point towards the target?

 

[bobmac]

Ok thanks I’ll try that when I can , the right toe , should point towards the target?

Like Rory below

 

[Bassfisher]

Interesting comparison, almost criminal really , sorry Rory

 

[Backache]

Ball seems very far forward in your stance. You want to be hitting down on it more similarly to irons.

I don't claim to be an expert but its not really what Leadbetter says in that clip, he is talking about having it slightly further back when it is on a tight lie rather than a bit further forward on a spongy lie similar to a tee.

 

[wull]

Further back in stance, club shaft slightly forward, weight transfer at impact more to the leading side.

This should help promote better strikes and less miss hits

 

[bobmac]

Further back in stance, club shaft slightly forward, weight transfer at impact more to the leading side.

This should help promote better strikes and less miss hits

If the OP is topping the ball, he's already making contact with the ball on the way down before the club has reached the bottom of the arc.
Sorry to say but everything you have just suggested would make everything worse

 

[NearHull]

Am i the only one who misread the thread header as ‘why am I topping my sword.’

 

[Bassfisher]

Practice day tomorrow, I’ll post an update, thanks again

 

[Deleted member 21258]

I used to top alot of my woods(not driver on tee), two changes have made the biggest difference and now at least connect with the ball :-

1) Take what feels like a 3/4 swing (I have a long backswing on normal swings) and swing aggressively still. By far the biggest success with this(and normally when I struggle with woods, it is due to the swing getting 'normal long')

and then secondly

2) Ball in middle of stance (helps with path direction and getting the club to the ground)

Everything else I tried over the years, not that successful (like less swaying, transfer weight, maintain back angle, keep knees flexed, stay down, dont flick with right hand, dont push up with feet, dont lean back, keep weight stable and so on). Been a right trail and error thing for me, to get woods off the fairway working.

Best of luck Bassfisher

 

[Bassfisher]

Ok guys so after reading all of your advice I decided ( rightly or wrongly) that I was getting ahead of the ball and not turning correctly. So today I had the primary objective to not balance forward onto my outside left foot , but to push my hip and turn into the swing, trying to keep my head in situ !? What a disaster, far too much for me to cope with!!
Then I remembered Danny Meade, pro at Canterbury on YouTube offering a simple fix, that involved spraying the club face with powder and concentrating on just hitting the ball with the club face, wow I then hit 8 shots really well including 3 woods off the grass ! That made me think that all the problem is simply I’m trying to think of too much ! But by thinking of the club head now , and nothing else , I have freed myself up to actually hit the ball?

 

[wull]

If the OP is topping the ball, he's already making contact with the ball on the way down before the club has reached the bottom of the arc.
Sorry to say but everything you have just suggested would make everything worse

Nope not at all, it would promote a ball first contact then the ground whereas the “topping of the ball” is a upward swing path connecting with the ball and then no ground afterwards.

Going by what you have just said then pretty much every tour pro would be topping the ball.

I see it often where a player will transfer weight to the trailing foot and struggle to transfer to the lead foot during impact almost as if they’re trying to get the ball in the air and this causes them to top it, it can also lead to very fat shots as well as they can get stuck.

 

[bobmac]

Nope not at all, it would promote a ball first contact then the ground whereas the “topping of the ball” is a upward swing path connecting with the ball and then no ground afterwards.

Going by what you have just said then pretty much every tour pro would be topping the ball.

I see it often where a player will transfer weight to the trailing foot and struggle to transfer to the lead foot during impact almost as if they’re trying to get the ball in the air and this causes them to top it, it can also lead to very fat shots as well as they can get stuck.

We are talking about 2 different things.
From what I was taught, 'a top' is when the club head hits the top of the ball on the downswing, driving the ball into the ground causing the ball to bounce down the fairway. This is normally the result of the bottom of the arc being too far ahead in front of the ball.

'A thin' is when the leading edge of the club strikes the ball on or around the equator of the ball on the upswing sending the ball on a very low penetrating ball flight. This is normally caused by the bottom of the arc being too far behind the ball.

 

[Bassfisher]

5 t shots topped this afternoon, even with my irons! I was hitting my 5 wood lovely every time on the fairway! Even with 5 topped t shots I managed to break 100 hit the first time !!
I’m thinking it’s a mental problem /cause?