Topped Driver Shots: How to Stop Dribbling It Off the Tee

A topped driver shot happens for one simple reason: the bottom of your swing arc is not in the right place relative to the ball. Either you're hitting the ball on a steep, downward path (like an iron), or your whole body has lifted up, causing the club to miss the ball almost entirely, catching only the very top of it.

With the driver, unlike with an iron, we want to hit the ball on a slight upswing. The low point of the swing should happen before the ball, allowing the clubhead to ascend as it makes contact. This launches the ball high with low spin-the perfect recipe for distance. Topping the ball is the exact opposite of that.

Raise tee height to stop skying your driver

Ali Taylor shares a drill to stop hitting under the ball and off the crown.

Need to stop clipping the top of the ball? The Sky Ball: How to Stop Leaving Scuff Marks on Your Driver helps you manage the same launch issue from the other side, and From Thin to Win: How to Get Rid of Bladed Iron Shots connects the topping miss to your iron strike habits.

What actually causes you to top the driver?

• A Steep, "Downward" Angle of Attack: This is the most common reason. Many golfers use the same swing for their driver as they do for their 7-iron. They try to "hit down" on the ball. But because the ball is on a tee, this steep attack causes the club to strike the top half of the ball, driving it straight into the ground.
• Lifting Your Head and Chest: This is often an anxious move. You want to see where the ball is going, so you lift your head and chest up just before impact. This action raises your spine angle and pulls the entire swing arc up with it. The club, which was on a path to meet the ball cleanly, is lifted just enough to catch the top of it.
• A Reverse Pivot (Falling Back): An efficient driver swing involves loading into your trail side on the backswing and then shifting your pressure to your lead side on the downswing. A reverse pivot is the opposite: your weight falls onto your back foot during the downswing. As you fall back, the low point of your swing moves way behind the ball. By the time the clubhead gets to the tee, it's already travelling steeply upwards, and it catches the top of the ball.
• Too Much Tension: Tension is a speed killer and a consistency destroyer. If your arms and shoulders are rigid, it's very difficult to make a wide, flowing swing. Tense arms tend to pull in towards the body through impact-a move often called "alligator arms"-which shortens the swing radius and leads to a top.

How to Launch Your Driver High and Far

Getting rid of topped shots is about setting up for success and learning the feeling of a sweeping, upward strike.

• Set Up for an Upward Strike: This is critical. Your setup should promote an ascending blow. This means playing the ball well forward, off the inside of your lead heel. Your stance should be wide, about two ball widths wider than a 7-iron. Finally, tilt your spine slightly away from the target, so your trail shoulder is noticeably lower than your lead shoulder. This tilt pre-sets your body to swing up on the ball.
• Feel Like You "Stay Behind" the Ball: A fantastic swing thought for the driver is to feel like your head and sternum stay behind the golf ball through impact. You shouldn't be lunging forward. This feeling of staying back encourages your body to remain tilted away from the target, making it easy for the club to sweep up into the back of the ball.
• Sweep the Tee: The goal is to feel a shallow, sweeping motion. After you hit your shot, the tee should still be in the ground (maybe leaning forward). If you're breaking tees constantly, you're likely hitting down on it too much. In practice, try to make a swing where you just clip the tee out of the ground without a divot.
• Widen Your Arc: To fight tension and promote a better path, feel like you are making the widest swing possible. On your takeaway, feel your hands get as far away from your chest as you can. A wide, shallow swing is a powerful swing, and it's the natural enemy of the steep, topping motion.

Stop trying to hit your driver like an iron. Use your setup to create the right conditions, and then focus on the feeling of sweeping the ball right off the tee. You'll replace that awful topped shot with the powerful, high launch you've been looking for.

So how do you steady the driver strike from here?

Topping a driver is humbling. Everyone looks away politely, and you're left wondering how you missed something that big. The usual cause isn't your courage - it's your angle of attack and where the ball sits.

Driver needs a different setup

Unlike irons, you're trying to hit up on the driver. That means the ball should be forward, with the back of the ball opposite the inside of the lead heel, and your widest stance of the bag. If you play the ball back, your swing is still descending when it meets the ball, so you catch the top.

Other accomplices

• Tee too low: forces a downward hit.
• Standing up (early extension): raises the strike, especially with fear of a slice.
• Reverse pivot: weight falling back, low point behind the ball.

Reset the picture

Feel the chest behind the ball at address, spine tilted slightly away from the target, and the ball forward. Keep your height, rotate through, and let the clubhead meet the ball as it rises. Simple idea, big difference.

What are the quick questions golfers keep asking?

Q: Why does the ball top when everything else felt fine?
A: You stood up through impact. When the chest rises early, the club catches the top half.

Q: What's the fix you can use on the very next tee?
A: Feel the trail shoulder stay down and keep your eyes on the back of the ball through impact. Finish tall after contact, not before it.