No More Over The Top Golf Swings Control The Handle

[@sdtarheels]

Hey Mark Crossfield - Hope this reaches you. Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to make these videos. I'm a decent golfer who use to play all the time but unfortunately stopped playing so much. I'm back at it this year but had this horrible push fade I couldn't figure out. I literally watched this video and a few of your others and went to the range 2 days in a row and just practiced what you've been teaching. Stepped out to a harder course this weekend but shot my 18 best of the year! The first few holes I were going bad fast but then I remembered all the tips and the practice and ended up shooting my best nine (38 on the back), it felt so good to get back to having control of my game again so I can't say thanks enough and keep the videos coming!

[@robertgreiner7]

This is the one that made sense to me, there are so many videos/drills on fixing this problem and this one worked for me. Thanks for the tip 4 years later.

[@milo4birdie]

This is absolutely brilliant. Thank you Mark. You are the OG and deserve to be treated like the KZbin GOLF KING!

[@gwinger13]

Mark, I’ve been checking out your newer vids and really learned and enjoyed them. I especially like your equipment reviews with your buddy Dan. I came across this one and it lit a light bulb in my head. I don’t think I’ve ever heard any one explain how to get the right path quite like this and it makes so much sense. Thank you for this insight!

[@nathanperry9593]

This is one of the best videos on KZbin. Simply make sense.

[@michaelmooraero]

Just absolutely love This, have always struggled with the release and geting so confused with the club etc... love the feeling of working the handle! Exactly like hitting a field hockey ball... you don't even need to think about it, such a natural movement!! Thank you mark

[@WindsurfingFilms]

Ingenuous drill. & you make it so easy to understand why the club is travelling on an odd plane.

[@onintwo34]

Helped me tremendously. Amazing description in the video on how to implement. Much better than the other video with the K-Vest explanation...or whatever that was.

[@peterterry7622]

Sorry Guru you are turning me into an old Rory! Another fantastic drill that has made sense. Absolutely nailed my irons at the range. Thanks Mark

[@MarkCrossfield]

Great stuff Peter

[@rickcook512]

Peter Terry l

[@shwerf21]

Peter Terry same here just watched this video today and hit great irons straight after with that swing thought

[@shorty4539]

Unbelievable tip! I went out and tried your tip on the course yesterday and it was almost like magic. Quality of shot instantly improved. I used to sky all my shots. It awesome to actually see a penetrating ball flight for a change. I did notice that it was an easier change with the irons vs the driver though.

[@leewilson1978]

Mark, this is a 4 year old video but so glad I found it, I've had numerous lessons and done no end of drills to try and get under the plane and release. For some reason, if I just think about the grid end of the club and where that is pointing then good things happen. Thanks again, brilliant video.

[@steveevans444]

Rainy day here in Paris. Good time to watch the old videos we forget. Fascinating insight about swinging the handle.

[@MarkCrossfield]

hi Steve hope its going ok. thanks for watching.

[@mobydoug]

A unique perspective on the swing. And very do-able, follow-able, advice. Hit the ball with the butt of the club. I find this easier to think about and execute than tips about weight shift or "maintaining the plane of the backswing." Thank you. Your suggestion keeps my swing inside-out, helps me maintain lag, and keeps me on plane.

[@johnm900]

Another excellent video with a drill that targets various afflictions of the amateur golfer... Puts the stroke on a better path and helps with sequencing too.. keep up the excellent work Mark.

[@TheLivininabox]

Mark, with this being an old video, it’s still relevant. I had to come back to this a couple times for this to actually click. Thanks for the amazing tips!!

[@doughboy2448]

Thanks for the tip mark! Just shot 75 to beat my low round of the year and ti finally get to the middle 70's! i was in a cycle of to much in to out then to much out to in. your swing thought was so much more simple to me. Thanks.

[@markrice9377]

You're a good teacher... You have good golf intuition, and a good way of creating useful swing thoughts... Thanks...

[@charlie11116]

A great way to think about how the club swings, and helped me stop pulling the ball very quickly. Thanks.

[@AlbertiniFitness]

Mark! Your Videos are amazing! I really wish I had the opportunity to take lessons with you, your videos have made me 10x the player I was. Thanks to your "how to hit a long iron" video I birdied a 420 yard par 4 yesterday!

[@steveevans444]

Another interesting angle on club path and club face control. Great drill Mark!

[@pebblebeach4868]

Great lesson .... Jimmy Ballard was preaching that move many moons ago along with the short left arm.

[@alanlee67]

Man. People have to see this video. I remember making this breakthrough not too long ago and it changed my game.

[@JakNomad]

Absolutely uncanny that you would spotlight my favorite practice and pre-shot drill. Split hand swinging allows my brain to see the plane and the relationship of the hands to each other through the impact zone better than any other drill I've found. It also helps to "exit left" and finish the swing "back around" (using Crossfieldspeak). Thanks for all the lessons, Mark. I saw you correct someone who had my exact fault last year. A light came on in my head and my game improved immediately.

[@craigmcginley8074]

Very helpful tip! Will give it a try for sure. Thanks mark

[@Sevemac]

Great drill, added an extra and reversed the club to find the swish. Practised like Billy-o and contact improved tremendously plus I'm sure the swish is helping with distance too. Thanks Mark!

[@fleshcookie]

Professor Crossfield I will call you. You go for the intuitive understanding, good teaching style!

[@EhDrizzy]

KEEP THE COURSE VLOGS COMING! I think we all agree on that

[@bobpaine864]

You are awesome mark, really consistent strikes you get

[@steveevans444]

Another masterclass Mark. It will help with my very vertical downswing.

[@TheWrenad]

Thanks this really helped with my OT move. I really appreciated the video. One interesting thing happened when the OT move went away, my club face opened up 10-15degrees (I use swingsmart monitor to track progress). I'll need to fix that next.

[@gmonkey808]

Your club face was always open. You naturally developed an open face impact to compensate for the old OTT swing. If you hit a shot with an OTT swing and an open clubface you get a straightish swing. I bet you hit your old 3 wood fine. Problems happen with driver because its longer and ball flight is high with irons. You should now get a lower ball flight and hit a driver much better.

[@TheWrenad]

gmonkey808 Thank you for the feedback. I added another element to the above drill, and it helped close the clubface. I hope this makes sense, but hip rotation combined with left lateral movement. I think I was still trying to lead the swing with my upper body, so while my OT move was reduced, it wasn't eliminated. And yes, I used to pound my old 3 wood. Are you psychic?

[@gmonkey808]

haha Wrenad im not psychic I have just had exactly your issues in the past and understand quite a bit of golf theory.

[@blocksy1664]

Had a lesson on this very subject tonight and was given the same drill. I play off 12 and am guilty of casting. I couldn't believe the difference when I tried this. Also the pro taught me to feel like I was "pulling the chain" or dropping my hands behind me. Very well put Mark

[@davehammond7668]

Great lesson Mark. Made a great deal of sense.

[@BigAlOverton]

I just watched this video an hour ago and then went to the range. Hit the ball better than I have all year. I had so many swing thoughts in my head and was not feeling comfortable at all. By doing this simple drill I finally can visualize and feel the way the club should be as it goes through impact. I have been trying to get more turn over in the hitting area because I was weak slicing everything but wasn't sure how to make that happen... this makes it easy. And by doing a Dufner-esque waggle before the shot reminds me to do this move. Thank you for posting!

[@AA-fx6ku]

Excellent lesson for me! Some folk probably do this by nature, but not me; so I hope to see some positive results and especially fewer blocks.

[@joprit100]

Hi Mark My bad shots are hooks and pushes. I've tried the split hands drill before without understanding its full value but your very clear explanation of how the handle should move has helped me learn so much from the drill in the last couple of weeks. The concept and a little practice of the drill have produced a significant improvement in a very short time. Can't thank you enough.

[@RickeySmithEric]

This is an excellent drill that I will start using right away.

[@JamesBermingham]

Godd concept on the Grip. There is a fantastic kindle book called "Swing the Handle" by Eddie Merrins which covers what your saying here. Its great to see it on video also. Good work Mark

[@sledge1960]

Excellent lesson, well explained, really addressed my bad shot.

[@tcpUtube1]

A great way to visualize the swing.

[@stephenrichards4912]

Thank you so much for this tip!! It has worked wonders for me.

[@niklasblaum1397]

Hey Mark, awesome video! I am playing off a six handicap but still can slice it 30 yards short and 40 right. Also I could not hit the ball far. This video helped me loads. Gotta wonder how much you could help during an entire lesson if your instructional videos help more than hours with my local pro. Cheers.

[@russbrewer2273]

You have a great golf swing Mark! Enjoyed the drill tip!

[@geraldmcfarland2227]

coolest teacher on youtube for sure

[@riverace7]

an oldie but goodie thanks mark

[@bengreen1262]

Another great vid......This is what probabley most weekenders ( me included )get lost on and the hands start getting involved in trying to save each shot.....T

[@MarkCrossfield]

No more slice and over the top #golf swings with Mark Crossfield

[@37233623]

Mark Crossfield

[@costahammer48]

Great drill has completely cured my driver completely!!! gracias señor!!

[@SlothedOutSteve]

Excellent Mark, great drill. Will have to try it.

[@fretboardnewb]

mark thanks so much for all your videos and instruction... i just found this video and cant wait to try this drill...

[@RobertBrown-qb8yh]

Great lesson.

[@spocktra50]

Excellent ideas Mr C.

[@Rasputin770]

Awesome Tip/Drill thank you Mark, Keep em coming, your videos help me so much :)

[@GEOSIMRACING]

great tip, had used something similar in the past and will give this a go ott

[@TheDazmaniac1]

Good practice drill Mark, thanks for sharing.

[@teedotveedot]

lovely job Mark. Makes perfect sense, pretty sure 2017 you'll be seeing me in the open

[@tschnoogins]

Awesome advice. It finally clicked for me!

[@lambert1702]

Excellent video Mark, thanks!

[@kevincrough3586]

Just love this drill. Tried in in my garage, making sure not to his the bike hanging from the ceiling .....again. Too bad it took me 7 years to find this video...All kidding aside, it really worked. You don’t even think about hitting the ball square, not topping it, etc. Just concentrate on turning the grip. Perfect.

[@slicksr]

Mark- you THE MAN.........

[@briangriffin928]

Big fan of the vids mark, keep it up.

[@vimalmittal5603]

Agree. To add my two cents is that you have to pull the handle first towards the ball with left arm then hit the ball with right arm using the handle and shaft of club. Make sure during pulling the club handle it is facing towards the ball in an angle like inside out swing.

[@thomasfraser9072]

EXCELLENT!! A Straighter swing path. Might we call it an in to in swing path as we would need to keep our upper arms closer to our the body. It also makes me think about Ed Merrins: Swing the handle idea. Thanks

[@dingwen100]

will try this one tomorrow at the range.

[@modfather1965]

I'm someone who's been golfing for 30 some odd years now... I've been a high single digit handicapper before, and really enjoyed the game as a result. However, I've unfortunately developed a very nasty over-the top move that I'm finding it almost IMPOSSIBLE to get rid off, no matter how many videos I watch, drills I try, or lessons I get. It's almost made me want to quit the game, I'm so frustrated, seeing all the high, loopy, short, wimpy shots to the right... I understand very well intellectually what I'm doing wrong; I've seen myself on film, I can see the bad move at the top, and what it does to my club path, but I CAN'T STOP DOING THIS. Damned muscle memory... I'm hoping that your little tip here can help. I'd love to be able to rip my shots, with a slight right to left ball movement, like I used to when golf was fun. Thanks for trying to help out.

[@michaelkennedy3629]

modfather1965 I heard 3 good tips on this- from the top imagine pulling a toilet chain straight down (peter highmoor) keep box effect between right bicep, forarm and clubshaft as far into downswing as you can (ernie els) the golf swing motion is very similar to skimming a stone ( Henry Cotton) good luck

[@RobinJohnsson1000]

I've developed and gotten rid of the over-the-top perhaps 4-5 times in the 1.5 years period i've been playing. It's not really that difficult if you know what you need to think about. Now i'm pulling which is over-the-top with a square clubface and a slice is over-the-top with an open clubface at impact. Both are really the same thing. 2 things that has always fixed it ASAP for me and most ppl is. A player who tends to come over the top has a FAST backswing which means it's likely you also start the downswing with the ARMS = over the top. Take a mili-second pause at the top and start with your HIPS = done...you fixed it...It is THAT easy. Starting with bumping hips = 100000000000000000000000000000000% IMPOSSIBLE to come over the top, it is not possible AT ALL as it cannot happen. So take a slower backswing, start with hips and tada, you fixed it, congrats! :) @modfather1965

[@joeblass8040]

WHAT A GREAT DRILL ! ! !

[@joeyamsuan622]

Thanks!

[@BobCavicchioni]

Thanks for your show I am trying to find why I can swing well at home but as soon as I get on the the course I can not seem to hit the ball correctly. It is like I try to hit it harder no matter how much I think about not hitting it that hard. I will try today method about swing and thinking about a center point using the slit hand drill. Thanks Bob Keep up the videos!

[@shermski77]

Mark = Boss

[@gonzogray81]

Great tip mark!

[@michaelmay3169]

Using handle as a fulcrum to release the head and shaft down the line: helpful.

[@philwells2920]

Firstly, I want to say I've appreciated all the info you've given me thus far. You've really helped my game. Now here's my question: What's wrong with a slicer using a set of draw-biased clubs? I have a feeling it's not as optimal as using neutral clubs and learning how to draw consistently, but I can't exactly figure out why that would be. If there is something wrong with the draw-biased club approach, would you please articulate it for me?

[@AlexanderMacleod]

I defiantly need this as I come over the top a we bit.

[@greenadam21]

always interesting to see how players get out of trouble lies. I think great shots out of poor lies are my favorite in the golf game. Mark I'm pretty proficient when it comes to hitting a low punch shot under limbs (guess how i got so proficient) but sometimes get in trouble when they dont curve the way that i want them to. Any good tips on hitting punch cuts and draws? I suspect my trouble comes with club selection for the given shot.. I'd love to see a video on this. very best, adam

[@janettaselaar5673]

Great drill #questforgoodgolfswing

[@thecollectivetree80]

excellent drill

[@ChristianVPetersen]

Hi Mark - love the videos, they are a great help!!! Q: could there be a relation between early extension and being "across the line" at the top of my backswing? My club-face disappears behind my head on the backswing and could this cause me to move closer to the ball in order to get the club back on track?

[@BFran89]

Thanks Mark that is a good one!

[@MarkCrossfield]

hope it helps

[@VoodooZ]

Hilarious! I love this Rick's videos.. He cracks me up everytime.

[@johnjrambo1979]

What do you think about what Lee Trevino said about holders versus flippers?

[@alcraig1]

Mark, I am struggling with over rotating my hips on the backswing. From another site, I tried putting an alignment rod in my belt loops so I could "see" my hip movement. What I would love to see is a teacher showing the swing from a camera angle that is side on and about 3 metres off the ground so that we are looking down the spine, through the head.

[@parttroll1]

Perhaps the best description of what "over the top" swing is. Nice one

[@rdlez]

Mark, I'm struggling with the 3 wood please show me what's right.

[@adamlax27]

Hi Mark, Me and my dad can swing almost perfectly on a practice swing however as soon as its time to hit a ball it all goes pear shaped. I'm assuming this is psychological but it would be great if you had any tips to help with this. Thanks and keep up the good work with the videos they have been incredibly helpful

[@jasonkim2010]

This is the best!!

[@liamodalaigh3201]

yah. i learned how to use a fork by taping it to my thumb ! easy peasy

[@jamesdhayes]

mark do a whats in the bag update also! i have a problem with my long irons they stay really low to the ground and roll plkease help id like to get them higher in the air

[@Gazmonster1]

I see you've got the FJ M Projects on today, Mark. How are you finding them? I'm thinking about picking up a pair for the range.

[@saijinkai]

Mark, thanks for the vid. I'm looking at your divot and it looks like it's pointing to the left? mine are similar and I tend to pull the ball ... please advise

[@Memeingonmyfriend]

Hi Mark, thanks alot for you videos. Ive been suffering from pulls and I realize the fault is im coming in over the top. Im guessing thats why, when ive pulled, get the feeling that my body has rotated more to the left and not so much in a swingplane direction? Again, many thanks for your videos. Your review of WilsonStaff FG V2 made me buy those irons on a good deal and I havnt looked back since :).

[@MarkCrossfield]

cool hope it helps

[@runegodly34]

Good wisdom over here. Why try to be occupied with what's happening at the end of the stick when it is much easier to feel and manipulate the bit your hands actually are in contact with

[@greenadam21]

your divot should point to the left relative to the intended target. if you are on the hoop and you hit the ball first as you are supposed to that is. does the ball start left then go further left, stay straight, or cut to the right???

[@gmonkey808]

Hi Mark you can hit it like that because you have mastered the initial drop in plane. At the top of the backswing you are in the position that requires a re-route of the club. I'd love to know your move that routes the club in order for you to start down. Thats the key to golf as i see it. I have heard many explainations but none that i think is the real action rather than reaction.

[@sdreese-qd6et]

Great vid

[@briancarpenter9959]

Swing the handle not the club head. Great video! You must have read Eddie Merrins

[@Niebe93]

Do a video about weight shift please :-)

[@petri398]

What clubs are you using at the moment?

[@ktbo]

Is the driver swing the same with this drill? Can you make a driver video of this please?

[@emncaity]

Also: Only thing I'd say about some of this is that (cf. Ernest Jones et al.) while the head of the club "passes the hands" in one manner of speaking, you don't want the butt end of the club to lever backward relative to a fixed point. You can have the "pivot around the center point between your hands" as long as it doesn't lead to the left hand, arm, and/or side putting the brakes on and quitting. It _is_ true, though, that in the most efficient swings, points closer to the center of rotation (such as the hinge about the hands and wrists) have to slow down to allow the force to sling itself out into the clubhead. Otherwise, nobody could swing the club faster than they could move back and forth literally in one artificial, no-speed-producing piece. I know _you're_ not saying that the butt end ought to stop entirely. I just wouldn't want somebody to misinterpret. That's already the problem with how a lot of people see release -- as some kind of stop-and-throw action. (Again, for anybody who wants to see an early treatment of this, cf. Ernest Jones on levering versus swinging.)

[@verrob69]

Hi mark my club at the top is across the line what do you suggest

[@ReelCinnemonProducts]

Hey Mark, love your videos and your knowledge of the game and the swing. But if I am to make a suggestion, those camera changes when you are just talking aren't necessary. Yes you have more cameras, but you do not have to use them all the time. Hope this helps you become a better editor.