The Poop on the Loop
In the last lesson, The Pro Position, we we talked about where the clubhead needs to be when the shaft is parallel to the ground. In this lesson I’ll tell you why.
Here’s the poop. Like it or not, during the golf swing the clubhead is going to make a loop. The clubhead doesn’t just swing back and through on the same path. With all of the turning and twisting the body does during the swing this would be almost impossible and not to mention, counterproductive.
So, you have two choices. First, let’s talk about the best option. If you get into The Pro Position you have already done most of the work and the club is on a terrific path that will set the club in a beautiful position at the top of the swing. Then, without any effort on your part the club will come down into the ball on a nice inside path and you’ll hit the ball where you were aiming. By choosing this option you will play more confident golf and then begin to focus more on targets and playing more instinctively, instead of having doubts and fears running around your mind during the swing.
Now, the other option makes golf much harder. If you take the club back inside when the shaft is parallel to the ground your body will begin its process of trying to make compensations for a faulty swing path. 
Because the clubhead is stuck behind you at this point your arms will begin to lift the club to try and re-route the club. This more than likely will result in the club coming in from the outside or, the classic over the top move. Many golfers have this move but they don’t understand how they do it and more importantly, they don’t know the cure. Well, here it is.
When the club comes over the top it creates so many potential problems that I can’t discuss them all in one lesson. Each person who hits from over the top has their own unique way of screwing up the shot. Sometimes you’ll hit snap hooks. Sometimes you’ll hit pull-slices.Sometimes you’ll hit it straight. The possibilities are endless. And if your brain knows the possibilities are endless its going get overloaded. Now many golfers can play decent golf with an over the top swing but they’ll never play to their potential. Because in crucial moments the compensations the body and mind are trying to make, don’t usually work when you’re in a pressure situation during your round.
This loop keeps golf very unpredictable from day to day and shot to shot.
So that’s the poop on the loop. I say, make this hard game as easy as possible.
Thanks for a awesome first week! The response has been great! Thanks for the comments and as always, if you have an issue you’d like discussed, leave it in the comment box. I’ll get to them.
Fred Fruisen, Auckland Golf Coach 
Yet again another great article! Through my own experiences I use to come over the top far too much for comfort and so I had less consistency. Without knowing how it is caused you have a big battle ahead of you, but by applying the “the pro position” you can defeat the battle the battle of looping and witness the increase of consistency in your game!
Two plane is the way to go. Switched two years ago, revolutionized my game.
If you take it back to far to the inside you come over the top; if you take it back to far to the outside you come too inside. Both swings depend on great eye-hand coordination and timing. If you can set the club in the correct position, the player avoids depending on the correct timing and will see more predictable ball flight.
I have always taken the club a little two inside for my liking which has created a variety of different issues as you mentioned in your article. I am now working on taking the club further outside and getting into the pro position which should cause a more consistent shot shape.
Like Brett said, I think that I have a tendency to bring the club a little too far to the inside. I’ve been trying to get my loop working in the right direction for some time now and it’s really starting to improve my game.
Coach,
This is always something I have been working on. I used to take the club back way too far inside which led to a lot of wild shots. Some golfers have had great success doing this, but for me, I had to get the club started more outside. I love the article on the pro position and I always work to get the club in that spot leading to a better loop.
I used to have an over the top swing without realizing it. In high school and freshman year of college I was borderline over the top with my swing. The summer of freshman year and during my sophomore year I worked hard to get the club outside my hands. This turned into the “loop” you mentioned.
Getting my club outside my hands on the back swing caused the club to fall back into the slot I was used to on the downswing, creating an inside out swing plane. The takeaway is a vital part of the golf swing. I used to practice by putting a head cover less than an inch from the outside of my ball on the range. This way I was forced to come from the inside on the downswing or risk hitting the head cover, thus promoting the “loop.”
I always used to have an out to in swing plane. Now, I feel like my swing is more on the same plane throughout the swing, but if anything it is still out to in. After reading this article, I am happy with this tendency I grew up with and it is clearly the best way to get consistent ball flights as opposed to an over the top move. It is really simple: if the tour pros don’t do it, then you shouldnt do it. This is a really important piece of swing advice and its always a subtle way to check if your swing has the general shape you want it to have.
My biggest problem is keeping my swing on the right plane. I would get a lesson and my swing would be to flat and then I would come over the top. My coach would fix it but then after not going to him for a while I would over compensate and my swing would be to upright and then drop the club to far under the line. Of course I have the happy medium for a while but I tend to loose it every once and a while. I hope to be able to keep my swing on plane now that I will be working with you very often.
Coach,
I used to take the club way too far to the inside, and I still can sometimes fall into bad habits. For me hitting the ball slightly from the inside is a big swing key for me, and I always seem to hit the ball better when I have that feeling! So having that proper loop in my swing is key!
This goes along with the “pro position” article. I understand why you really stress keeping the club in front of you on the way back. It sets you up for the right loop! I still tend to attack the ball slightly from the outside but it has become significantly less over time. Let’s keep an eye on this move this year!
My swing path has been out-in for more than a year now. My backswing was flat, which made my swing path very out-in. This article is very relatable for me because it’s what I’m working on right now. Since I hit slice shots every time, we are working on making my path go in-out and my face square or closed, but not opened. How we are trying to change my path is by making my club head pass my shoulder during the backswing and flatten it when coming down, as this article said. After working on it for weeks and weeks, it has gotten better and now I feel like I’m in more control of my face and path. Thanks for this amazing article coach!