NCG’s Golf Glossary: What is a top?

Here at NCG we pride ourselves on being the publication for the everyday player, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to delve into the wonderful world of the golfing lexicon.

Sometimes the most obvious terms have the most interesting story, so you might find yourself an interesting conversation starter…

What is a top?

A top in golf is when you hit the top of the ball with the bottom of the club, effectively almost missing the ball. Usually the ball will pop off the ground by less than a yard for a brief second.

How would I use it in a sentence?

“His tee shot was that bad he topped it into the bushes in front of the tee box”

What are the origins?

One of the simple reasons that a player tops the ball is by lifting their head up before they have made contact with the golf ball. This causes the golf club to hit the ball on the follow through instead of  at the end of the downswing at ‘impact’.

It could also be to do with the positioning of the ball in your stance or it could be that you are not swinging down towards the impact zone enough as the club head gets in front of the hands.

This is similar to the cause of a thinned shot and it one of the most common mistakes amongst amateur club golfers and beginners.

Any other business?

Club golfers aren’t alone on this problem. We often see tour golfers topping the ball on television. They are human after all.

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