Popular Causes For Thin Golf Shots (Video) - by Pete Styles
Popular Causes For Thin Golf Shots (Video) - by Pete Styles

So now let's go ahead and look at the three most common reasons why golfers might be topping or thinning their golf balls. Probably the first one is going to be the reverse pivot. For a lot of golfers the reverse pivot is caused by a want or a need to try and help the ball up into the air. So a reverse pivot would be described as a normal setup, tilting back on to their front leg during their backswing. So sort of leaning into their front leg and therefore reversing out of it with the reversing part of the reverse pivot on the down stroke leaning back at the point of impact which for a lot of golfers is just trying to hit the ball up in the air.

So I lean to the left coupled with a lean to the right, the classic reverse pivot is often going to result in a topped or a thin golf shot. Firstly check out, make sure that's not one of your causes. The next thing we see with golfers that get thin shots, particularly they get thin shots at certain times when they're under pressure is actually being too quick with their tempo. So we often see that thin shot happening just when you don't want it to happen. We often see the quick tempo, tempo accompanies that and it might be first tee nerves. You get to the first tee. You are desperate to hit a good shot. You've got ten people around you. Your golf swing gets a little bit quick. It gets a bit more agitated. You don't finish your backswing. You hit down too quickly. And quite often for golfers when they do that, they thin that ball and top that ball. It might be on a par 3 where you got to try and knock it over a pond. You're a bit nervous. You are a bit anxious and suddenly your tempo speeds up. So if that’s you, let's make sure that we really have that good completion of the backswing, and a bit more of a smooth tempo. Particularly if you feel like you're under pressure, make smoother tempo golf swings to avoid the thin and the top shots. And the last thing and probably the most common thing that I see for golfers when they are topping the ball is actually just trying to lift the ball in the air. And this is this idea that it gets worse when you're trying to stop it. So if you've topped a couple or thinned a couple you then start leaning back desperately trying to get the ball up in the air. But what happens there is the bodyweight goes back. The lowest part of the swing goes back, and then the swing is actually on the rise as it comes into the golf ball, so the loft can’t get under the ball. The loft comes over the top of the ball and we end up thinning and topping it. So it’s this desire to try and help out actually works against you. So use those three ideas there, and see whether one of those is the reason why you might be topping the golf ball. 2016-07-08

So now let's go ahead and look at the three most common reasons why golfers might be topping or thinning their golf balls. Probably the first one is going to be the reverse pivot. For a lot of golfers the reverse pivot is caused by a want or a need to try and help the ball up into the air. So a reverse pivot would be described as a normal setup, tilting back on to their front leg during their backswing. So sort of leaning into their front leg and therefore reversing out of it with the reversing part of the reverse pivot on the down stroke leaning back at the point of impact which for a lot of golfers is just trying to hit the ball up in the air.

So I lean to the left coupled with a lean to the right, the classic reverse pivot is often going to result in a topped or a thin golf shot. Firstly check out, make sure that's not one of your causes. The next thing we see with golfers that get thin shots, particularly they get thin shots at certain times when they're under pressure is actually being too quick with their tempo. So we often see that thin shot happening just when you don't want it to happen. We often see the quick tempo, tempo accompanies that and it might be first tee nerves.

You get to the first tee. You are desperate to hit a good shot. You've got ten people around you. Your golf swing gets a little bit quick. It gets a bit more agitated. You don't finish your backswing. You hit down too quickly. And quite often for golfers when they do that, they thin that ball and top that ball. It might be on a par 3 where you got to try and knock it over a pond. You're a bit nervous. You are a bit anxious and suddenly your tempo speeds up. So if that’s you, let's make sure that we really have that good completion of the backswing, and a bit more of a smooth tempo.

Particularly if you feel like you're under pressure, make smoother tempo golf swings to avoid the thin and the top shots. And the last thing and probably the most common thing that I see for golfers when they are topping the ball is actually just trying to lift the ball in the air. And this is this idea that it gets worse when you're trying to stop it. So if you've topped a couple or thinned a couple you then start leaning back desperately trying to get the ball up in the air. But what happens there is the bodyweight goes back.

The lowest part of the swing goes back, and then the swing is actually on the rise as it comes into the golf ball, so the loft can’t get under the ball. The loft comes over the top of the ball and we end up thinning and topping it. So it’s this desire to try and help out actually works against you. So use those three ideas there, and see whether one of those is the reason why you might be topping the golf ball.