Topping fairway woods???

[Brent4Hire]

I replaced my 3 and 4 irons with 5 and 7 woods because I hit the woods a little better. I was hitting them on the screws all winter off the mat at the Dome in Laval, but over the last few rounds I am topping them all the time...getting a foot-long trench in front of my swing. I tend to grip firmer with my right hand (lefty), and sweep at the ball which is about 6 inches inside my forward foot. Anyone have any ideas...I am going nuts!

[leftylucas]

IMHO, it sounds like you may simply be placing the ball a little too far forward and visually maybe coming down on the ball too much because of that visual clue. Try moving about 1 ball back and try again. There could be a few reasons why you top it but for me it was laways about ball position.

[el tigre]

A couple of things to check:

1) Spine angle changes - usually caused by lifting your head and/or swinging too hard.
2) Excessive lower-body movement on the backswing - lifting your front foot, hip swaying, etc. - often indicated by a difficulty staying in balance and holding your follow-through.

[BC MIST]

I replaced my 3 and 4 irons with 5 and 7 woods because I hit the woods a little better. I was hitting them on the screws all winter off the mat at the Dome in Laval, but over the last few rounds I am topping them all the time...getting a foot-long trench in front of my swing. I tend to grip firmer with my right hand (lefty), and sweep at the ball which is about 6 inches inside my forward foot. Anyone have any ideas...I am going nuts!

All golfers are nuts!!!

Topping is also sometimes caused by the legs straightening up as you come into impact, making it appear that the head comes comes up. If your focus is on hitting down on the ball then it is difficult to top unless the ball is positioned too far back.

Also, in practice, when you start your downswing, pretend that there is a bar stool about 3" below your tush and sit down on it. Many pros appear to do this and again, it justs prevents your body from rising up through impact. Ken Venturi, when he worked for CBS, used to describe this move as "maintaining your levels."

[Tanglegrip]

I've also taken the 3, 4 (and 5) irons out of my bag and replaced them with hybrids as I am much more consistent with my woods.

When I start topping my 3 & 5 woods I make an effort to slow my backswing way down and I combine this with ensuring that I keep the club as low as possible during my takeaway. I find that this promotes a good sweeping motion on my swing.

Hope this helps.