How to Stop Topping the Golf Ball - 4 Causes and Fixes

Quick answer: Topping happens when the clubhead strikes the upper half of the golf ball. There are four causes worth checking, in this order: ball position (too far forward, especially with driver), arms collapsing through impact, pressure hanging on the trail side, and a chicken wing after impact. Ball position is the cheapest to fix and the most common offender, so start there before you change anything in your swing.

In this post, WhysGuy will cover:

• The leading 4 causes of topping the golf ball, and how to fix each one.
• The key role ball position plays in topping.
• How the ArmAlarm and the Pressure Plate each address a different cause.

What Topping Actually Is

If you have ever topped a golf ball, especially with a driver, we are here for you. Topping happens when the clubhead strikes the upper half of the ball rather than compressing it - the leading edge catches the equator and the ball skids or dribbles forward.

To fix it, it helps to understand what is actually going on: the club is bottoming out in the wrong place relative to the ball. There are many reasons that can happen, but four account for most of them.

1. Check Your Ball Position

We often see amateurs with the ball too far forward in their stance - especially with driver. The result? The dreaded top. If your ball position is too far forward, the club generally bottoms out before it reaches the ball, so you risk striking above the equator.

If you find yourself topping drivers, move the ball back an inch or two and see what happens. We regularly see golfers playing driver with the ball beyond their lead foot's toe - that is a recipe for topping it.

Less commonly, a ball position that is too far back does the same thing: too close to your trail foot and you arrive with a steep angle of attack, which can also produce a top. If that sounds like you, move it forward - an inch is plenty.

It is worth understanding this properly: here are the 4 signs your ball position is incorrect.

2. Keep Your Arms Extended Through Impact

Maintaining arm extension through the impact area is vital to preventing topping. When your arms collapse or bend prematurely, it changes the club's path through impact and can put the leading edge into the top of the ball. Focus on keeping your arms relatively straight - not stiff - through the impact zone, with your hands slightly ahead of the clubhead at impact. Extended arms plus a little forward shaft lean is what good ball striking looks like.

If you want real-time feedback on this, our ArmAlarm attaches to both arms and sounds when they break down, so you are training the pattern rather than guessing at it.

3. Shift Your Weight and Pressure Properly

Pressure shift is one of the most important elements of a golf swing. Generally, we want pressure and weight moving toward the target through the impact area.

We often see golfers struggle with a reverse pivot, where weight and pressure move away from the target through impact and into the follow-through. If you are not getting to your lead side well before impact, it is easy to release the club early with your wrists and strike the upper half of the ball. A reverse pivot also makes a descending blow nearly impossible, which is what iron contact depends on.

Here is the full breakdown of weight shift in the golf swing and how the Pressure Plate trains it.

4. Get Rid of Your Chicken Wing

A chicken wing is a bent lead arm after impact, usually with a cupped wrist. Golfers end up there after trying to "lift" the ball into the air through the hitting area. As TPI puts it: "Chicken winging can not only create a loss in power, but it tends to add loft to the club and excessive spin to the golf ball."

It causes topping because the lifting motion pulls the club up and shortens the swing radius - so the clubhead meets the upper half of the ball.

A chicken wing is genuinely hard to remove, because it happens too fast to feel. Our ArmAlarm tells you in real time when the lead arm bends through the impact area, so you can train the arms without an artificial restraint holding them in place for you.

Why You're Still Topping It - Common Mistakes

• You changed your swing before you checked your setup. Ball position costs nothing to fix and causes more tops than any swing fault. Check it on video first.
• You are trying to help the ball up. The club's loft launches the ball; your job is to hit down on it. Almost every lifting instinct - the chicken wing included - starts here.
• You are keeping your head down instead of your posture. Freezing your head does not prevent topping and creates its own problems. What matters is maintaining your spine angle and distance from the ball.
• You only top it with driver, and you are practicing with a 7-iron. Driver ball position sits far forward by design, so the fault shows up there first. Practice the club you top.
• You fixed one cause and assumed it was the only one. Topping is a symptom, not a fault. It is common to have two of these going at once.

Key Takeaways

• Topping means the clubhead struck the upper half of the ball - the club bottomed out in the wrong place.
• Check ball position first. Too far forward, especially with driver, is the most common single cause.
• Get your pressure to your lead side before impact; a reverse pivot makes a descending blow nearly impossible.
• Keep your arms extended through the hitting area - the ArmAlarm tells you when they break down.
• The Pressure Plate covers the pressure half of the problem, the ArmAlarm covers the arms.