What is early extension in golf? Early extension in golf is when your body straightens up toward the ball during the downswing, causing you to lose your spine angle. Can I fix early extension easily? Yes, you can fix early extension with simple drills and focus points. Who is most affected by early extension? Many amateur golfers struggle with this common fault, often leading to poor strikes and inconsistency.
Early extension is a major issue in the golf swing. It robs players of power and accuracy. When you stand up too soon, you move your low point forward. This makes you hit the ground behind the ball (a chunk) or hit the top of the ball (a thin). To hit solid shots, you must keep your spine angle intact until impact. We will look at why this happens and give you simple ways to stop early extension.
Diagnosing Your Early Extension Problem
Before we try to fix early extension, we need to know if you really have this issue. Many golf swing faults look similar. Early extension happens when your hips move too close to the ball during the downswing. Your chest lifts up toward the sky. This is the opposite of what you want.
Signs You Are Extending Too Soon
Look for these common signs in your game or video of your swing:
- Fat Shots (Chunks): Hitting the ground well behind the ball.
- Thin Shots (Skulled): Hitting the ball on the equator or top edge.
- Loss of Posture: Watching your chest rise before impact.
- Casting the Club: Releasing the clubhead too early because you stand up.
- Inconsistent Contact: Sometimes hitting the top, sometimes hitting the bottom.
A common cause of this problem is poor golf posture issues established at address. If you start hunched over too much, your body tries to correct itself by standing up. Another big factor is trying too hard to hit the ball with your hands, rather than rotating your body.
How to Check Your Spine Angle
The easiest way to check is to film your swing in slow motion from the side.
| Swing Phase | Proper Position | Early Extension Look |
|---|---|---|
| Address | Maintain forward tilt. | Maybe too upright already. |
| Top of Backswing | Hips turned, spine angle held. | Hips might have moved away from the target (sway). |
| Impact | Spine angle matches address angle. | Chest is higher than it was at address. |
If your belt buckle moves toward the ball before impact, you are likely extending. You need to maintain that proper golf spine angle all the way through.
Why Does Early Extension Happen?
There are several reasons this fault appears. Often, it is a mix of mechanical issues and bad habits from trying to generate power.
Incorrect Weight Shift and Sway
Many golfers try to keep their weight too far back. When they start the downswing, they shift their weight incorrectly. Some stop swaying golf by overcorrecting and thrusting their hips directly at the ball. This movement forces the upper body to move up and away from the ball. If you stop swaying golf too aggressively, it often causes early extension. The lower body action needs to be rotational, not a direct thrust.
Trying to “Get Under” the Ball
This is a classic mistake. Golfers hear they need to hit down on the ball. They interpret this as driving their hips toward the ball to lift the ball into the air. This motion leads directly to an early lift of the chest. They are confusing the low point of the swing with the direction their body travels.
Poor Rotation and Hip Stall
If your hips do not turn out of the way fast enough, your arms and chest have nowhere to go. To avoid hitting your legs, your body stands up to create space. This is the body’s attempt to avoid standing up golf swing mechanics that would cause a severe block or hook. A stalled hip forces the upper body to rise.
Backswing Sequence Errors
The way you start your golf backswing sequence plays a big role. If the backswing starts too much with the hands and shoulders, it often forces an over-compensation on the way down. A proper sequence loads the trail side, setting up the lower body to start the downswing correctly.
Easy Drills to Fix Early Extension
Fixing early extension requires reprogramming your body’s movement patterns. We focus on keeping the lower body back while the upper body unwinds.
Drill 1: The Wall Touch Drill
This is a fantastic drill for feeling the correct relationship between your hips and the ball.
- Stand facing a wall about 6 to 8 inches away from your back foot.
- Take your normal setup, ensuring your rear end is close to the wall.
- Make slow-motion half swings, focusing on your golf backswing sequence.
- As you swing down, feel your trail hip bump slightly toward the target line (not toward the wall).
- Crucially, feel your butt stay in contact with the wall deep into the downswing.
- The moment you feel your rear lift off the wall before impact, you are extending early.
- Maintain pressure against the wall until after the moment of impact.
This drill teaches you to keep your lower body back while rotating, which is key to maintaining your proper golf spine angle.
Drill 2: The Box Drill for Hip Bump
This drill helps manage the lower body transition without standing up.
- Place two alignment sticks on the ground. One aligns with your target line, and the other is placed about 12 inches inside the first stick, parallel to it. This creates a narrow “box” for your trail foot.
- Set up normally.
- In the transition, focus on feeling your trail hip move slightly toward the target (a small bump), but stop well short of kicking your foot into the outer stick.
- The goal is to feel the weight shift to the lead side before your hips fire too hard toward the target. This counteracts the urge to avoid standing up golf swing by pushing your hips out.
Drill 3: The Chair Drill
This is the classic drill to prevent the golf hip thrust that causes extension.
- Place a sturdy chair or stool directly behind you, set so that the back of the chair barely touches your butt when you are at address.
- Swing normally, but the goal is to never let the back of your butt come off the chair until the club has passed the impact zone.
- If you stand up, your rear will immediately leave the chair early. This gives immediate biofeedback.
This drill forces you to maintain flexion in your knees and hips as you rotate. It teaches proper lower body mechanics for the golf transition fix.
Mastering the Lower Body in the Golf Transition Fix
The transition from backswing to downswing is where most early extension begins. If the transition is flawed, the body desperately tries to correct itself, usually by standing up.
The Role of the Lead Knee
To maintain your spine angle, the lead knee (left knee for a right-handed golfer) should flex slightly toward the ball during the transition. This subtle inward movement helps cover the ball and keeps your center of gravity low. If your lead knee straightens too early, it pulls your hips out and forces you to stand up.
Sequence Matters: Ground Up Power
Think about the golf backswing sequence loading the ground. In the downswing, you need to “squat” slightly onto your lead leg before rotating. This brief squat loads the ground forces.
- Good Sequence: Hips start down/forward slightly, then rotate powerfully.
- Early Extension Sequence: Hips thrust forward/up immediately.
When you move down correctly, you feel pressure build on your lead foot. This pressure allows your torso to stay back slightly, setting up the perfect conditions to shallowing the golf swing.
Posture and Setup Adjustments to Prevent the Fault
Sometimes the fix starts before you even swing. Poor starting posture makes it very hard to maintain the correct angle.
Setting the Proper Golf Spine Angle at Address
- Bend from the Hips, Not the Waist: Pretend you are sticking your rear end out slightly. Your upper body will naturally tilt forward. This tilt must come from hinging at the hips, keeping your back relatively straight.
- Knee Flex: Allow a slight, athletic flex in your knees. They should be bent, but not squatting. Too much knee flex can lead to an over-correction on the downswing.
- Spine Tilt: For irons, you want a slight tilt away from the target (shoulders lower on the trail side). This sets the stage for a downward strike while keeping your chest behind the ball slightly.
If you start too upright, your body has a long way to travel to maintain posture, making it easy to lose the angle. Good setup minimizes the chance of developing golf swing faults later on.
Feel the Weight Distribution
At address, aim for 50/50 weight distribution, or perhaps slightly more weight on the balls of your feet rather than your heels. If you feel too much weight on your heels, your body will naturally want to stand up to find balance on the downswing.
Advanced Concepts: Connection and Shallowing the Golf Swing
Early extension often goes hand-in-hand with an over-the-top move. When you stand up, the club gets stuck behind you, forcing you to cut across the ball. Correcting posture supports shallowing the golf swing.
Connection Through Impact
When your chest lifts, it disconnects your arms from your body rotation. Keep your chest moving around your spine angle. Imagine keeping your sternum pointed toward the ball for as long as possible. This requires your hips to clear out (rotate), not thrust up.
Shallowing the Club to Stay Rotational
Shallowing the golf swing means getting the club shaft more laid off (flatter) in the downswing transition. This flat plane allows your body to rotate naturally without needing to stand up to avoid hitting yourself.
If you pull the club over the top (steep angle), your body instinctively stands up to provide clearance. By focusing on shallowing the golf swing, you give your body the space it needs to rotate underneath the extended arm swing, thus preserving your spine angle. A key feel for shallowing is letting the handle lead slightly while the clubhead trails.
Table: Common Causes and Corresponding Fixes
| Primary Cause | Resulting Fault | Recommended Fix Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Hips thrusting towards the target | Early Extension | Wall Touch Drill (Keep butt back) |
| Starting too upright/straight | Standing up off the ball | Hinging deeper from the hips at setup |
| Trying to lift the ball | Casting/Loss of Lag | Chair Drill (Maintain knee flex) |
| Over-rotating the lower body too early | Hip Stall/Standing Up | Focus on rotational movement, not linear thrust |
Training Habits for Long-Term Change
Changing ingrained golf swing faults takes time and repetition. You cannot fix early extension just by thinking about it on the course. You must train the new movement away from the ball first.
Tempo and Smoothness Over Speed
When you rush the golf transition fix, you engage stabilizing muscles too hard, leading to jerky movements like early extension. Practice your drills at 50% speed. Focus only on feeling the correct lower body position—low and rotating—not on hitting the ball hard. Power comes from correct sequencing, not brute force extension.
Visualization
Visualize yourself rotating around a fixed axis point (your head, relatively speaking). Imagine keeping your belt buckle low and behind you until the club passes the impact zone. This visualization helps counter the natural urge to push the belt buckle toward the target prematurely.
Using Training Aids
A simple headcover placed just behind your trail hip can serve as a non-intrusive reminder. If you use too much golf hip thrust, you will kick the headcover away on the downswing. This provides excellent real-time feedback that is less rigid than a wall.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Early Extension
Is early extension always bad?
While significant early extension is almost always detrimental to consistent ball striking, a very slight amount of natural rising is inevitable as the body uncoils through impact. However, when players actively stand up before impact, it becomes a serious fault. The goal is to maintain the angle established at address through impact, not to maintain a static posture.
How long does it take to fix early extension?
This depends on how long you have had the habit and how often you practice. For most dedicated amateurs, seeing noticeable improvement in feel and contact takes 4 to 8 weeks of consistent drilling (15–20 minutes, three times a week). Realizing the fix on the course can take longer due to pressure.
My trail hip seems to move towards the ball, is that the golf hip thrust?
Yes, if the trail hip moves laterally toward the target before the downswing is finished, that is the thrust. It often happens as an over-correction to stop swaying golf. The proper move is a bump toward the target (shallow) followed immediately by powerful rotation through the impact zone, keeping the butt end low.
Can my grip cause me to stand up?
A very strong or weak grip can contribute to compensatory movements. A very weak grip often makes golfers try to flip their hands to square the face, which often involves standing up to get the hands through. Ensure your grip is neutral first, then address the golf posture issues.
How does this relate to shallowing the golf swing?
The two are deeply linked. If you stand up (early extension), the shaft naturally steepens because you create room by lifting your chest. If you maintain your posture, the low point stays back, and the club has a natural path to shallowing the golf swing as your lead arm drops slightly into the slot. One fixes the other.