Over The Top Golf Swing Drill To Kill Your Slice

In this video, PGA pro Ben Emerson offers an over the top golf swing drill to help fix your slice

PGA pro Ben Emerson demonstrating how to fix an over the top golf swing
(Image credit: Tom Miles)

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Over the top golf swing drill to kill your slice

The slice is the shot that plagues amateurs more than any other. Not only does it look ugly but it also costs golfers precious yards and accuracy. Luckily, in the video and article below, PGA pro Ben Emerson presents his over the top swing drill to kill your slice once and for all.

Unfortunately, an over-the-top swing is a common fault among golfers and produces an array of truly destructive shots. To make matters worse, amateurs often exacerbate the problem by intuitively aiming further left in a bid to find a short-term solution.

When golfers come over the top, it’s usually a consequence of poor sequencing, so we want to help golfers better understand how the golf downswing sequence works. What we mean by sequencing is the order in which the body moves from the top of the backswing. So as you get to the top and your hands get to their highest point, it’s vital to develop a good transition in order to create power and eliminate your slice.

It’s one of the things tour players do that you perhaps don’t and it helps them create and control power. By and large, the best players in the world all start the downswing with their lower bodies, firing the strongest muscles first. So once they get to the top, you’ll notice this motion where they almost squat into the ground, which then triggers the upper body to rotate, bringing with it the arms and then the club. 

PGA pro Ben Emerson demonstrating an over the top golf swing

Whereas the best players fire the lower body first in transition, a lot of amateurs lead with the upper body and slice across the ball, as Ben demonstrates above

(Image credit: Tom Miles)

If you watch a slicer, you’ll see something very different. Rather than leading with the lower half, the upper body takes over, which sends the club outside the ball-to-target line. It's for this reason that many golfers aren't able to stop cutting across the golf ball and also why slices and pulls are linked.

It leads to massive inconsistency in terms of strike, direction and distance, making it very hard to play to your potential. If this is something you’ve been struggling with recently or for a while, give this drill a go - it’s really simple and effective. 

First things first, if you've been aiming left, it's vital to fix your golf swing posture. Then, when you swing to the top, pause for a fraction of a second, which should allow gravity to take over and drop the club on a much better plane.

PGA pro Ben Emerson demonstrating a simple over the top golf swing drill to help you fix your slice

Swing to the top then pause and allow the club to fall into position before rotating through to a balanced finish

(Image credit: Tom Miles)

So take it to the top and do a couple of rehearsals like Ben demonstrates in the video above, then rotate with the lower body to bring everything through to a nice balanced finish. The great thing about this drill is that it can be done on the range during a practice session, but it can also become part of your pre-shot routine on the course, giving golfers a feel they can rely on under pressure.

So, if this is a part of the game you’ve been struggling with, give this over-the-top swing drill a go. As with any swing change, repetition is the key to adding this to your technique and finally fixing your slice for good.

Ben Emerson
Top 50 Coach

Location: Sand Martins GC 


Ben’s modern approach to golf coaching has seen him become one of the most sought-after coaches in the country and teaches none other than Robbie Williams. His honest, modern and fun style of coaching has help thousands of golfers of all ages and abilities and he has been coaching for over 20 years.


Advice for practice:

Start with slow, small swings. If you can’t do it small and slowly there is not a hope in hell of doing it at full speed with a full swing! In other sports such as rugby or martial arts they slow learn new moves/plays before making them at full speed. 


Teaching philosophy: 

‘Why guess when you can access’ Ever new student goes through a full TPI movement screen, 3D motion capture and pressure plate analysis as well as TrackMan and 2D video analysis. Coaching is based on facts and not guess work. 


Most common problem:

A lack of clubface understanding and awareness. I get golfers to aim the clubface directly at the target and get them to make a slow swings and deliver the club to the ball with an open face, then repeat the same thing again but with a closed face, followed by one at the target. Giving them full awareness based on feelings errors to find a happy middle ground.