What is early extension in golf?
Jan 10, 2022 · Early extension is often called the “silent swing killer”. It creeps into your game and can destroy confidence. The “dreaded” shank on short pitches and approaches is often caused by moving towards the ball on the downswing. Trying to hit the ball hard with extra spin can force you onto your toes and shank the ball.
Why do so many golfers struggle with early extension?
Mar 10, 2021 · A golfer who early extends but doesn’t attempt to correct club path with their hands can shank the ball because they’ve shifted themselves closer to the ball than they were at address. What is the cause of early extension? For most, the cause of early extension is an inability to control their pelvic tilt due to a lack of mobility in the lumbar spine (lower back), …
How to get rid of early extension in a golf swing?
Jun 30, 2020 · The cause of early extension is caused by a physical limitation. Your hips may be inflexible, for instance, or you may have weak core muscles.
What causes early extension on swing lines?
Mar 14, 2018 · For those new to this problem, this is early extension. It’s also described as loss of spine angle, moving off the tush line, hip thrusting, standing up into impact, and some other things. Lots of people observe early extension in their golf swing. Many of them fight like hell to make it go away. Most fail, because they don’t understand the problem. EARLY EXTENSION IS …

Does early extension cause a slice?
Why do I early extend in golf swing?
How do you fix an early extension on a golf swing?
Does early extension cause thin shots?
Does early extension cause a hook?
Can early extension cause a shank?
Can early extension be fixed?
But early extension is something that you can fix by working on your posture, lower body flexibility, and the drills above. Just remember, you shouldn't move toward the ball during the downswing. Just keep thinking, rotate first, extend second.
What happens if you stand too close to the golf ball?
What causes blocks in golf?
How do you drop your arm deep from inside the downswing in golf?
Should you squat in the downswing?
What is early hip extension?
What is early extension golf?
It’s the silent swing killer you didn’t know you have. Early extension is any movement of your hips toward the ball in your downswing. Seventy percent of all golfers suffer from early extension, but 99% of Tour players don’t according to the Titleist Performance Institute. That should tell you something about just how big ...
How to do a squat test?
To perform this squat test, stand with your feet pointing straight forward, about hip-width apart and with your thumbs on your shoulders and hands behind your head. From there, squat down as far as you can. A Titleist Performance Institute coach demonstrates the early extension squat test. Titleist Performance Institute.
What is the second issue in golf?
The second main issue is when you don’t complete the turn in the backswing. This leaves you in a bad position where you will more than likely start to come out over the shot and order to stay to the inside and have a fighting chance to hit the ball you will early extend to keep the club more to the inside.
How to get a 90 degree turn?
Go ahead and try to make a 90 degree turn with the shoulders and at least 45 degrees with the hips. Make sure you turn and don’t slide back. It is ok to extend or straighten your trail leg to allow the hips to turn. This will put you in an ideal backswing position.
What causes early extension in golf?
Because early extension is such a common swing fault among golfers, there are many, many different factors that can cause it.
Is early extension bad?
It’s important not to confuse early extension with extension as they are two very different things.
How do you get rid of early extension?
I’m going to be upfront with you: if you’ve suffered from early extension for a long time, just like I did (and sometimes still do), it’s going to take lots of repeated practice to make the right changes in your swing.
Best drills to fix early extension
As mentioned above, early extension is commonly brought about by three things: failing to shallow the shaft correctly, a poor backswing position and physical limitations (especially with hip and shoulder rotation).
Can you play good golf with early extension?
Many golfers still hit the ball well, and score well, despite having early extension in their swing – however, most of these players likely have excellent hand-eye coordination or have made their technique work for them through lots of repetition and practice over time.
Does early extension cause shanks?
Early extension can certainly cause shanks. When you early extend, you thrust your pelvis towards the ball, often dropping the club way under the swing plane. This severe in-to-out club path may cause the hosel to make contact with the ball first, rather than the club face, resulting in a shank.
What is an early extension, and how does it affect your golf swing?
Early extension occurs when a golfer’s hips and spine thrust forward or straighten up too early in their downswing. Controlling the pelvis is critical for optimally transferring power from your lower body to your upper body.
What is the cause of early extension?
For most, the cause of early extension is an inability to control their pelvic tilt due to a lack of mobility in the lumbar spine (lower back), weak core/glute muscles, and/or poor coordination.
How do you fix early extension in the golf swing?
Strategies for correcting early extension will vary from person to person.
Who is Luke Kerr-Dineen?
Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF .com. In his role he oversees all the brand’s service journalism spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.
Who is Luke Kerr?
Luke Kerr-Dineen. Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees all the brand’s service journalism spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.
Why do people struggle with early extension in golf?
The reason why so many people struggle with early extension in golf is because they don’t understand the problem. They think the primary issue is the early extension itself. But early extension is not a swing fault! It’s actually a swing solution. Let me explain.
What is early extension golf?
Early extension is like lag’s negative counterpart. Golfers know they shouldn’t early extend. So when they do it, they try to stop it by trying to maintain their spine angle. But like lag, early extension is a result of something else. It’s not something you can eliminate by focusing on it directly.
Who is the shortest hitter in golf?
As you can see, Jimmy Walker (the shortest hitter) moves off the line, while DJ's hips stay on the line and Justin's actually move past the line (away from the target line). Jimmy Walker isn't a short hitter by any means, but he's forced to rely on his wrist angle to keep up with the longest in golf.
What is centripetal force?
Centripetal force is defined as "a force that acts on a body moving in a circular path and is directed toward the center around which the body is moving.". The concept of centripetal force is ubiquitous in sports, especially rotational activities.
