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Casey Eberting Golf Schools and Golf Instruction
In Texas Hill Country between San Antonio and Austin, Texas
(40 minutes north of San Antonio International Airport)

image showing why a golfer comes over-the-top

image showing what casting is

Over-The-Top

As previously mentioned, "over-the-top" is the most common manipulation to counteract a block. In the first picture, I have already moved the club out significantly so that I can get my arms around my body when I get into the impact area and also so that I will swing to the left of my target to counteract the open clubface that the upright swing promotes (I don't want to hit the ball 30 degrees to the right of my target!).

Notice the two arcs I have drawn in the first picture. The vertical arc to the left (marked with the "x") is the path the club would have taken if it had been able to follow the direction of the shaft. Obviously this isn't a possibility. The other arc is showing the path that I have already started to take and is the only option when the club gets too steep during the initial stage of the forward swing.

The second picture is showing what is commonly referred to as "casting", which is the early uncocking of the wrists. Had I started forward with a correct swing path, my wrists would have remained cocked and the clubhead would be back near my head. Rather than go into details, suffice it to say that casting happens in conjunction with coming "over-the-top" and there is nothing you can do about it until you fix your swing path.

One last item. Do you see how my right arm is higher than my left in both of these pictures? If you look at pictures of good players at this point, you'll see that the right arm is even with, or lower, than the left. This is a result of swinging forward on a much flatter swing path than what I'm doing here. If you see pictures of your own swing and notice that the right arm is higher, as it is here, you're in trouble!

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