The ball skips forward, barely getting off the ground. That is not random. A topped shot happens when the clubhead hits the top half of the ball, not the back. There is no compression, no real flight. Three mistakes cause this every time: aiming incorrectly, setting up incorrectly, and swinging over the top. Fix them, and the contact details will change.

Mistake 1: Wrong golf aim is costing you clean contact

Most amateur golfers aim at the target, and that’s the problem. Arccos tracking data shows the average 10-handicap golfer’s fairway accuracy at 43%. Golfers in the 15–18 handicap range miss their intended target by more than 40 yards on roughly 12% of their shots. Those numbers reflect a fundamental disconnect: where you aim and where the ball actually goes are two different places. When the brain registers that gap mid-swing, it triggers a last-second compensation, the swing path changes, and the clubhead arrives at the ball from the wrong angle.

It is important to aim your clubface at the target and then align your feet, hips, and shoulders parallel to that line. Always know your typical misdirection and factor it into your aim point before you commit to the shot. If water sits right and you tend to go right, the middle of the fairway is not where you should be aiming.

Drill: Set an alignment stick on the ground, pointing at your target. Build your setup parallel to it on every practice shot until the parallel setup becomes the default, not the exception.

Mistake 2: Wrong golf setup moves your low point behind the ball

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Two things at address determine where your swing bottoms out: ball position and weight distribution.

If the ball is too far forward in the stance, the club bottoms out before it reaches the ball, already rising at the moment of contact. Weight too far back at the address produces the same result through a different mechanism. The instinct at that point is to scoop: to add loft through the hands in an attempt to get the ball airborne. Top 100 Teacher Jason Carbone identifies this directly: when the clubhead arrives at impact ahead of the grip, loft increases instead of decreasing.

Wrist-flipping before impact produces thin or topped shots consistently, while hands slightly forward of the ball at impact create the shaft lean needed for clean compression. For mid-irons, the ball is in the middle of the stance, the weight is 60% on the front foot, and the hands are just ahead of the ball.

Drill: Place a foam object or pool noodle just ahead of impact. Return the clubface to it with zero added loft—handle leading, face straight. That is the impact position.

Mistake 3: An over-the-top golf swing is the most common cause of topped shots.

PGA Tour pro Michael Kim has played alongside close to 1,000 amateurs during his career. His read on the full swing problem is direct: “95% of amateurs go over the top and chop at the ball like they’re chopping wood. The reason it looks this way is that they don’t turn their hips and shoulders nearly enough in the backswing.”

Without a full shoulder turn going back, the downswing path has only one option: over the top of the correct plane. The club approaches from outside the target line, descends too steeply, and the low point ends up behind the ball. Thin contact every time.

Kim’s correction: “Think of a heavy medicine ball throw. Use your entire body to turn back and through. If you can get a better turn to your right side, then you can shift into your left side better and get the club to not go over the top as much.”

Initiate the downswing with the lower body; the hips shift toward the target first. When the lower body leads, the arms find the correct slot without manipulation, the swing path corrects, and the low point moves just past the ball.

Drill: Hit half-swings and prioritize completing the shoulder turn before starting down. Begin the downswing with a hip shift, not a shoulder move. Check your divots: ball first, then turf, extending forward.

Three different entry points. Same problem. Aim compensation corrupts the swing path before it starts, a faulty setup relocates the low point behind the ball, and an insufficient turn forces the over-the-top move that delivers the club from the wrong direction.

None of these requires a swing rebuild. The range is where this gets solved.