Prevent the Topped Tee Shot

There are many things which can go wrong on the golf course but is there anything more embarrassing than the topped tee shot?

It doesn’t get much worse than being on the first tee, with a group of golfers waiting behind you and topping your tee shot.  Not only do you feel bad during the moment it happens, you are left with a long second shot and you immediately lose confidence for your round.

Thankfully, there are ways to stop this from happening and today we have some tips on how to prevent the topped tee shot.

There are two common reasons as to why you are topping the ball on your tee shot.

The first is called early extension and this comes form a desire to try and help the ball into the air.  As you get close to contacting the ball, you lose your original posture from address and your legs straighten which causes you to swing over the top of the ball.

To fix this, you must stay down on the shot and not think about trying to get the ball into the air yourself and allow the driver to do the work.

To help you stay down on the shot, allow your back knee to flex and think about keeping your back heel on the ground for as long as you can.  This will encourage your body to stay bent at the hips and stops your legs from straightening, which is one of the main reasons why the club head is moving above the desired contact area on the ball.

The second reason why you are topping the golf ball on the tee could be due to swinging outside in.

This happens when you start from the top of the back swing by using your upper body and pulling your shoulders and club head across the ball, from the outside to the inside.  If you find you are also slicing the ball a lot, in addition to topping the ball occasionally, this could be the problem.

If you are having this problem, try tilting your spine away from the target so your right shoulder is lower than your left.  To check you are in the correct position, your back elbow should be close to your body, almost making contact.

To check you are in the correct position, ask someone to take a photo of you from behind.  You know you are in the right position if you can see only a little bit of your leading forearm.

Setting up in this manner will give you a better shoulder turn, which is both fuller and deeper.  This will give you a more inside path on the down swing and result in a cleaner contact with the ball, thus preventing the topped tee shot.