Fixing Early Extension in Your Golf Swing

← Golf Instruction & Improvement | Common Faults & Fixes

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Quick Answer

• Early extension is when your hips and torso lunge towards the ball in the downswing. It’s a common culprit behind inconsistent ball striking.
• The fix? Focus on rotating your body around your spine while maintaining your posture. Think about keeping your spine angle intact.
• Simple drills like the towel drill and the wall drill are fantastic for retraining your body’s natural movement patterns and kicking this bad habit to the curb.

Who This Is For

• Golfers who are tired of hitting the ground before the ball, topping shots, or just feeling generally out of sync with their swing. If your contact is all over the place, this is for you.
• Players who feel their hips “run out” or slide towards the ball as they start their downswing. You might feel like you’re getting too close to it.

What to Check First

• Your Grip: Make sure your grip is neutral to slightly strong. This setup allows your wrists to hinge properly and facilitates a better body rotation. A weak grip can often lead to trying to “throw” the club at the ball, which encourages extension.
• Your Stance: Aim for a stance that’s about hip-width apart with a slight, athletic bend in your knees. Too wide and you’ll restrict rotation; too narrow and you’ll be unstable. Find that balanced sweet spot.
• Your Posture: This is crucial. You want to hinge from your hips, not your waist. Keep your back relatively straight, maintaining that spine angle you set at address. Avoid a slouched or rounded-back look.
• Club Fit: While not directly causing early extension, improper club length or lie angle can exacerbate existing issues or force you into unnatural positions. If you’re unsure about your clubs, check the manual or verify with manufacturer.

Step-by-Step Plan to Stop Early Extension in Golf Swing

1. Assess Your Current Swing: Grab your phone or a camera and record your swing from two angles: face-on (from in front of you) and down-the-line (from behind the ball, looking down the target line).

• What to look for: In the face-on view, see if your hips and torso are moving forward towards the ball as you start the downswing. Are you standing up out of your posture? In the down-the-line view, check if your trail elbow is getting stuck behind you and if your hips are clearing too early.
• Mistake to avoid: Don’t rely solely on how you feel your swing is. Your perception can be wildly different from reality. Video evidence is your best friend here.

2. Master the Towel Drill: Take a small towel and fold it. Place it under both armpits, holding it in place with your arms. Now, make practice swings.

• What to look for: The goal is to keep the towel tucked securely under your armpits throughout your backswing and downswing. If the towel falls out, it’s a strong indicator that your arms and body are disconnecting, a common contributor to early extension. You want to feel your arms and torso working together.
• Mistake to avoid: Don’t just try to squeeze the towel with all your might. The focus should be on a connected, rotational movement where the towel stays in place naturally as a result of good mechanics, not forced tension.

3. Execute the Wall Drill: Set up a few feet away from a wall (about 6-12 inches, depending on your flexibility). Stand with your rear end lightly touching the wall. Take your normal golf stance.

• What to look for: As you swing back and then begin your downswing, feel your glutes (buttocks) maintain contact with the wall. If you feel yourself pushing away from the wall as you swing down, that’s a clear sign of early extension. You should feel like you’re rotating your hips around your body, not sliding them forward.
• Mistake to avoid: Don’t actively push off the wall to try and create power. The wall is a feedback tool. You’re trying to feel the resistance and maintain your hip position relative to it, encouraging a back-and-through motion rather than a forward thrust.

4. Focus on Active Hip Rotation: Instead of trying to “hold your hips back,” focus on actively rotating them around your spine.

• What to look for: Imagine your belt buckle turning towards the target. Your hips should be clearing and rotating, allowing your torso to follow. This controlled rotation helps maintain your spine angle and prevents the hips from sliding forward. Feel like you’re turning your hips in a circle around your spine.
• Mistake to avoid: Trying to keep your hips completely still or passively held back. This can lead to tension and restrict the natural flow of the golf swing. It’s about controlled rotation, not a static hold.

5. Preserve Your Spine Angle: The angle you create with your spine at address is critical. Your goal is to maintain this angle throughout the downswing, avoiding the urge to stand up.

• What to look for: Your chest should remain relatively in the same position relative to the ground throughout the downswing and impact. Imagine your head staying on a consistent plane. This allows your arms to drop and deliver the club from the inside.
• Mistake to avoid: The common mistake here is trying to “keep your head down” too much. This often leads to lifting your body and losing your posture, which causes early extension. The focus should be on the spine angle itself, not just the head’s position.

6. Complete Your Swing with a Full Finish: A good, balanced finish is often a tell-tale sign of a well-executed downswing, including proper body rotation.

• What to look for: At the end of your swing, your weight should be fully transferred to your lead foot, your belt buckle should be facing the target (or even slightly past it), and you should be in a stable, balanced position. This indicates that your body has rotated fully through the shot.
• Mistake to avoid: Cutting your swing short or finishing in an unstable, unbalanced pose. This often happens when you’ve lost control due to early extension and are trying to compensate.

How to Stop Early Extension in Golf Swing

Early extension is a really common swing fault that can plague golfers of all skill levels. It’s characterized by your hips and torso lunging towards the ball during the downswing, which forces you to stand up and lose the posture you established at address. This leads to all sorts of problems: topping the ball, hitting fat shots, inconsistent contact, and a significant loss of power and accuracy. The good news is that it’s a fixable issue. The core of fixing early extension lies in understanding that you need to rotate your body around your spine, rather than letting your hips slide or thrust forward. It requires retraining your body’s movement patterns, and that’s where dedicated practice and specific drills come into play. For a deeper dive into the mechanics and solutions, check out How to Fix Early Extension in Your Golf Swing. It’s a journey, and it might feel awkward at first, but the reward of solid, consistent ball striking is absolutely worth the effort.

Common Mistakes

• Mistake: Trying too hard to keep your head perfectly still.
• Why it matters: This can lead to lifting your body and losing your posture, which is counterproductive and can actually cause early extension. You want your body to rotate, and that includes some natural head movement relative to the shoulders.
• Fix: Focus on maintaining your spine angle and rotating your body around that stable spine. Think of your head as being part of that rotating structure, not an independent anchor.

• Mistake: Forcing your hips to stay back without proper rotation.
• Why it matters: This creates a lot of tension and can make your swing feel jerky, disconnected, and restricted. It inhibits the natural flow of power.
• Fix: Concentrate on an active, controlled hip turn around your spine. It’s about rotation and clearing, not just passively holding your hips back.

• Mistake: Over-swinging or trying to hit the ball too hard.
• Why it matters: The faster and longer your swing, the more likely you are to lose control of your body’s motion and revert to old habits like early extension. Speed often comes at the expense of technique.
• Fix: Focus on a controlled, balanced backswing and a full, committed finish. True power in golf comes from efficient sequencing and rotation, not brute force.

• Mistake: Inconsistent practice with drills.
• Why it matters: Feel in golf is notoriously unreliable. What feels right might not be what’s actually happening. Drills are designed to create new muscle memory and reinforce correct movement patterns.
• Fix: Commit to regular practice sessions. Even 10-15 minutes a few times a week with drills like the towel or wall drill can make a significant difference over time. Consistency is key to rewiring your swing.

• Mistake: Blaming only one part of the swing.
• Why it matters: Early extension is often a symptom of other issues in the swing, like improper sequencing, poor backswing takeaway, or lack of flexibility. Addressing only the symptom won’t solve the root cause.
• Fix: Take a holistic approach. Look at your entire swing sequence, from setup to finish. Sometimes, fixing your backswing or improving your takeaway can naturally help prevent early extension.

FAQ

• What is early extension in golf?

Early extension in golf is a common swing fault where a golfer’s hips and torso move towards the ball during the downswing. This causes them to stand up out of their posture, leading to inconsistent ball contact, often resulting in topped shots or fat shots.

• How does early extension affect my golf shots?

It significantly impacts your ball striking. You’ll likely experience a loss of power because you’re not fully rotating through the shot, and accuracy will suffer as your clubface control diminishes. Common results include topping the ball, hitting the ground before the ball (fat shots), or pulls.

• Can I fix early extension with practice drills alone?

Yes, practice drills are incredibly effective for retraining your body’s movement patterns and building new muscle memory. However, combining drills with a solid understanding of the correct mechanics and using video feedback to track your progress is the most efficient way to fix early extension.

• How long does it take to fix early extension?

The timeline varies greatly depending on the individual, their dedication to practice, and the severity of the issue. However, with consistent, focused practice on the correct movements and drills, many golfers see noticeable improvements within a few weeks. Don’t expect overnight results; be patient and persistent.

• What’s the difference between early extension and a good hip turn?

A good hip turn in the golf swing is a controlled rotation of the hips around the spine, allowing for proper body sequencing and power generation. Early extension, on the other hand, is an uncontrolled forward slide or thrust of the hips towards the ball, which leads to a loss of posture and an inability to deliver the club effectively. For more insight, What Is Early Extension in Golf and How to Fix It offers a clear distinction.

• Should I feel tension in my body when trying to stop early extension?

No, you shouldn’t feel excessive tension. While you’ll feel engagement and control, the goal is a fluid, rotational motion. Trying to force your body into unnatural positions or holding still can create tension and hinder your swing. Focus on smooth, controlled movements.

• Can flexibility issues contribute to early extension?

Absolutely. Limited hip flexibility or tightness in the hamstrings and glutes can make it difficult for golfers to rotate their hips properly without sliding forward. Working on flexibility and mobility exercises can be a valuable complementary practice to specific swing drills.

Sources

[1] How to Fix Early Extension in Your Golf Swing: https://golfhubz.com/how-to-fix-early-extension-in-your-golf-swing

[2] What Is Early Extension in Golf and How to Fix It: https://golfhubz.com/what-is-early-extension-in-golf-and-how-to-fix-it