How can I stop topping the golf ball along the ground? Now when you top the golf ball, is when the club makes contact with the kind of above the equator of the golf ball, hitting it down into the ground and getting it bubbling off towards the target. It's a very frustrating shot because it doesn't go a great amount of distance, and it can also hurt and sting the hands especially on a cold winter’s day. Now the main reason for topping the golf shot is not lifting the head like you may have been told, it’s actually the arms pulling upwards and contracting through impact. You often see a lot of players who top the ball, come through and hit and get the arms into this position where they bend upwards and effectively shorten the length of the club.

And as the length of the club is shortened, it is pulled up from its normal impact position, up until the point where it's going to be connecting with the top half of that golf ball. So what you want to be doing is making sure as you swing through, that your spine angle remains constant, your head is nice and still, but you come through and extend those arms down towards the target. And if you can extend those arms down towards the target, you’ll be able to more effectively hit the ball first, then the turf and produce a nice connection with that ball. So if you are topping the golf ball, first of all focus on your arms, just see if you're pulling them up through the impact area and if you are make sure you extend them through the shot. And that should produce a nice connection with hopefully less top shots.