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A good round of golf can be a measure of how good your bad shots are and topping the ball can be one of the most destructive and frustrating issues in a players game, because the ball will not advance towards the target very far meaning the shot needs to be replayed.

Beginners are the players who most commonly top the ball and it is generally through the poor weight distribution during the shot as their weight falls to the back foot causing the club face to either not get down to the ball at all or catch it on its way back up again. The weight falling back on to the right foot causes the bottom of the swing to move right taking it away from where the ball is.

The initiation of the back swing to down swing should be started by a rotation of the hips and a transition of weight from the inside of the right foot pushing on to the left foot. This movement helps to create a steepened angle of attack whereby the club will connect with the ball on the way down to the ground rather than on the way up or not at all.

To help make this movement, start by hitting shots with your feet together and the majority of the body weight favouring the left side at set up. This practise drill will encourage a descending blow into the ball and a more penetrating ball flight before reverting back to your normal set up and trying to recreate the swing weight transition and ball flight over full shots.

Another great drill is to put the ball in line with the left foot and keep the club (based on a 7 iron) in the centre of the stance. Seeing the ball so far forward should encourage the player to stretch the arms out and move the body weight to the left side before impact to encourage the downward blow into the ball once it returns back to the correct ball position.

Players that top the ball do so because their weight falls on to their right foot during the down swing, pulling them further away from the ball and causing a shallow angle of attack. Putting the ball further forward in the stance will only cause more topped shots.

The grip is an extremely important fundamental within golf because its the only thing thats connects us with the golf club. However, its influence is primarily on the direction of a golf shot rather than the ball striking.

The forward press is something done by players as a comfort movement before performing the takeaway. However, it will not necessarily increase the angle of attack or help with stopping topped shots unless the players body weight is on the left side at impact.