Tom F. Stickney II is the Director of Instruction and Business Development at Punta Mita, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Punta Mita is a 1,500-acre golf and beach resort located 45 minutes from Puerto Vallarta on a beautiful peninsula surrounded by the Bay of Banderas on three sides. Amenities include two Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses with 14 holes directly on the water, a golf academy, four private beach clubs, a Four Seasons Hotel, a St. Regis Hotel, as well as multiple private villas and homesites available. Read on for Tom’s tip to help fix an “over the top” problem.
The most common problem in golf is when the player comes “over the top” or transitions the club shaft over the top of where it started at address, giving us the dreaded out to in golf swing. Whenever this happens you are left to hit big pulls or slices into right field! Here is a simple way that you can avoid this issue with another downswing thought.
Tip No. 4: Control the Rear Shoulder
The correct motion of the rear shoulder in the downswing is downward and outward. In fact, the rear shoulder works downward for the first one-fourth of the downswing, allowing the club to fall downwards to the inside and three-fourths outward to bring the clubshaft and clubhead into impact. Over the toppers have this reversed; when the rear shoulder moves outwards to begin the downswing you will have path issues and directional control issues. To combat this think about the down and out motion of the rear shoulder!
To see this in action, check out the video below.
For more information regarding Punta Mita, golf outings, golf schools and private lessons, e-mail tom.stickney@puntamita.com.
For more golf tips from Tom, click here.