Moving your hips towards the golf ball on the downswing is one of the most common and destructive swing flaws in golf. This move, known as early extension, robs you of power, consistency, and clean contact. This guide will walk you through exactly what early extension is, why it happens, and most importantly, provide you with clear, actionable drills to eliminate it from your swing for good.
In the simplest terms, early extension is losing your posture during the downswing. At address, you create a specific angle with your spine as you bend over from your hips. In a good golf swing, you want to maintain that spine angle throughout the swing, especially rotating through impact.
Early extension occurs when your lower body - your hips and pelvis - don't rotate, but instead, they thrust forward towards the golf ball as you swing down. Your body stands up out of its posture too early. Think of it like this: your belt buckle, instead of rotating back and around towards the target, pushes out towards where the ball is.
When this happens, it sets off a chain reaction of compensations that wreck your shot. Because your hips have moved closer to the ball, there is no longer a clear path for your hands and arms to swing through. They get "stuck" behind you. From this stuck position, your body has only two options to try and make contact with the ball:
Sound familiar? Both of these outcomes lead to wild inconsistency. You might also find yourself hitting thin shots or topping the ball, as your body is rising up, lifting the low point of your swing with it. Ultimately, early extension prevents you from creating effortless power through rotation and forces you to rely on sloppy, last-minute hand manipulations. It's the opposite of a consistent, repeatable golf swing.
To fix the problem, we need to understand where it comes from. It isn't just a bad habit, it's often your body's response to an underlying issue. Here are the three most common causes.
Sometimes, the body physically can't do what the golf swing asks of it. A proper swing requires good mobility, particularly in the hips, and a stable core.
A quick self-test for hip rotation: Sit on the edge of a chair with your feet flat on the floor. Try to turn your torso to the right without your knees moving. Can you turn your shoulders 90 degrees? Now try the other side. If you feel very restricted, improving your hip mobility could be a big help.
The golf swing is a chain of events, and the order matters. The ideal downswing sequence starts from the ground up: the hips initiate the movement, which pulls the torso, then the arms, and finally the club.
Many club players do the exact opposite. They start the downswing aggressively with their arms and shoulders, throwing the club "over the top." When your upper body leads the charge, the lower body stalls out. It literally has no time or space to rotate, so it just slides and thrusts forward to try and catch up. This is a sequence problem, not just a hip problem.
Often, golfers think they need to "drive into" the ball to create power. They mistakenly believe that pushing off their back foot and moving their hips forcefully toward the target will generate speed. In reality, rotational speed - clearing the hips out of the way - is what creates effortless power and solid contact. The forward thrust is a power leak, not a power source.
Knowing the "what" and "why" is great, but now it's time for the "how." These drills are designed to retrain your body's movement patterns and give you the proper feeling of rotating through a shot while staying in posture.
This is arguably the most effective drill for this issue. It provides immediate, physical feedback when you do it wrong, which is the best way to learn a new feeling.
Start with half-swings without a ball. Really focus on the feeling of your hips rotating back and around, not forward. As you get comfortable with the sensation, you can progress to hitting soft shots and eventually full swings.
This drill helps correct the poor sequencing that often causes early extension. It teaches your lower body to lead the downswing, creating space for your arms to follow into a powerful impact position.
The purpose is to drill the feeling of your lower body waking up first. It will feel strange at first if you're used to casting your arms from the top. Stick with it. This ingrains the correct sequence and shows you how much space can be created by rotating your hips properly.
This dynamic drill is fantastic for feeling what it's like to fully clear your hips and transfer your weight onto your lead side. It virtually makes it impossible to early extend.
This exaggeration forces your hips to clear instead of stalling or moving towards the ball. It's an excellent way to feel the proper weight transfer and the powerful unloading sequence that you're aiming for in a normal swing.
Drills are great, but the goal is to take this new feeling into your real swing when there's a ball in front of you. Go slow. Use a "rehearse and play" method.
First, do the chair drill or the pump drill without a ball. Then step up and hit a ball with a 70% swing, trying to replicate that exact feeling. Alternate between one drill-rehearsal and one real shot. This process helps your brain and body connect the new feeling to the actual action of hitting a golf ball. Be patient, breaking old habits takes time and repetition.
Fixing early extension is about retraining your body to rotate, not thrust. By understanding what causes this flaw and committing to drills that promote proper sequencing and hip movement, you can finally build a swing that delivers consistent, solid contact and the effortless power you've been looking for.
When you're working on a feel-based swing change like this, getting real-time feedback is invaluable. Our app, Caddie AI, acts as your 24/7 golf coach you can ask to explain any concept, like early extension, or provide new drills tailored to your specific issues, anytime you want. You could even be on the course, struggling with contact, snap a photo of a tricky lie to get strategy, or simply ask for a swing thought to get you back on track. It takes the guesswork out of practice and helps you build a more confident, repeatable swing.
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