According to Monte Scheinblum, 3 of the most common swing flaws which cause early extension are:
- Arms are stuck behind the turn and you need to stand up to make room
- The shaft gets steep in transition and you stand up to shallow it out
- The shaft gets way underneath the correct plane on the way down, which forces your hips to thrust to reach the ball
What is early extension in golf swing?
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.
What is early extension?
Oct 10, 2013 · Early Extension is one of the most common swing characteristics in golf but it may be a term you are not familiar with. It can simply be defined as any forward movement of the pelvis toward the ball on the backswing or downswing.
What percentage of golfers suffer from early extension?
Mar 14, 2018 · 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 …
What is early extension in the downswing?
Mar 22, 2020 · When early extension is the result of a physical issue, it usually means you have limited mobility in your ankles, knees, hips and/or spine. It’s one of the reasons it’s so common for recreational...
What does early extension cause in the golf swing?
Early Extension is defined as any forward movement (thrust) of the lower body towards the golf ball during the downswing. This swing characteristic causes the arms and club to get stuck behind your body during the downswing, and forces your torso to raise up and elevate through the hitting zone.
What causes early extension?
Early extension, in a nutshell, is when your pelvis moves towards the ball during your downswing, which you can see GOLF Top 100 Teacher Dave Phillips demonstrate below: 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.Jun 30, 2020
How do you get rid of an early extension in golf?
5:547:04How to Fix Early Extension Golf Swing - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo you can turn into the hip. And get loaded see that beautiful position that's powerful all rightMoreSo you can turn into the hip. And get loaded see that beautiful position that's powerful all right number two is once you've loaded. It flex it a little bit.
Can you get rid of early extension?
Addressing the ball with the correct posture, and training your trail arm and body to move in the correct way by using the drills above, will go a long way towards eliminating early extension in your swing – and get you shooting lower scores in no time.Feb 23, 2021
Is early extension bad golf?
6:1111:29IS EARLY EXTENSION BAD FOR YOUR GOLF SWING - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThey give these heel blocks. And they get a lot of gear effect cut shots but it's really hard forMoreThey give these heel blocks. And they get a lot of gear effect cut shots but it's really hard for them to play golf. They get too much spin.
Does early extension cause hooks?
Early Extension is one of the most common tendencies among amateur golfers, but is quite rare in the professional ranks. It often results in a two-way miss because the golfer's arms get trapped behind them, causing a right-handed player to block the ball to the right or hook the ball to the left.
Does early extension cause thin shots?
"My take on early extension: If your tendency is to stand up through the impact area and you hit a lot of thin shots, most likely you have tightness in all the muscles on the back side of your body—the erector spinae, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, gastrocnemius.Jan 15, 2016
How do you avoid early extension in the golf swing?
A common drill used by our GOLF Top 100 Teachers to prevent early extension is to make swings with your rear end against a wall. Keep your rear against the wall as you swing and you'll feel what it's like to stay in your posture and not extend early.Mar 22, 2020
What is early extension in golf?
Early extension is when there is forward movement of your lower body towards the golf ball during your swing. This can happen on your backswing but mostly occurs on your downswing for a few reasons.
What happens when you downswing a golf ball?
Usually, on the downswing, your pelvis and hips will kick in towards the golf ball instead of around your lower body. This move makes your chest get further away from the ground and your arms will straighten out. It’s as if you’re standing up too early (hence the word, early).
How to address a golf ball?
Step 1: Grab a short iron and address the golf ball as normal. Step 2: Step closer to the golf ball than what feels comfortable (this should be about one golf ball closer). You will feel like you’re very close to the ball and probably feel like you’re addressing it on the hosel.
What are physical limitations?
Physical Limitations. The first is a physical problem in your upper body or lower body that might be affecting your extension. For example, if you have limited mobility in your spine, knees, hips or ankles, it could make early extension happen. A good way to test your mobility is doing a bodyweight squat.
How to make a belt buckle?
Step 1: Take an alignment stick and put in the ground about 2-3 feet in front of your left foot and about a foot to the left (roughly 45-degree angle). Step 2: Work on feeling your belt buckle extend towards 10 o’clock not 12 o’clock (aka your target).
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.
Search and Destroy with Calf Stretch
This exercise helps develop ankle dorsiflexion which is required to perform a deep squat.
Disassociation Planks
This exercise helps create rotary separation between the lower and upper body.
Get Closer
This swing drill forces you to start moving away from the ball to prevent Early Extension.
Picket Fence
This swing drill gives your lower body the correct feeling of rotating and shifting towards the target but not moving closer to the golf ball.
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.
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.
Why Do We Early Extend?
- In a nutshell: we early extend because we have to in order to hit the ball. There’s a flaw in our backswing, transition, or downswing which means that if we didn’t stand up and raise the handle we wouldn’t hit the ball. Or if we did hit the ball, we’d hit it a lot worse. According to Monte Schei…
Should We Try to Fix Our Early Extension?
- Sorry, but the answer is kind of: Yes and no. Because the thing is, extension isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’ve already explained that we early extend because we have to in order to hit the ball. And guess what: That extension also creates speed, and speed in golf is good right? Extending through the hitting zone can add some serious zing to your strikes. In fact, it’s what most of the …
Wrapping This Up
- Early extension is probably something that you’re never going to completely eliminate. At least on camera. And without it, you might even play worse golf with your current swing. But less thrusting towards the ball, and hips that are more open at impact is definitely something you should strive for. The 5 drills above are highly recommended, and should help you get there. Here’s a side-by-s…
Recommended Reading
- Early Extension (Goat Humping) [Monte Scheinblum]
- Early Extension Discussion [GolfWRX]
- Early Extension [Adam Young Golf]