How to Fix Early Extension in a Golf Swing

That familiar, frustrating feeling of your body lurching forward at the golf ball mid-swing isn't just awkward - it's one of the most common power-killers in the game. This move, known as early extension, robs you of speed and consistency. This article will break down what early extension is, the real reasons it happens, and most importantly, give you practical, step-by-step drills to finally fix it.

What Exactly is Early Extension?

In the simplest terms, early extension is when your hips and lower body move towards the golf ball during the downswing. Picture your setup. You have a certain amount of space between your body and the ball. At impact, a good golfer maintains or even increases that space by rotating their hips open. A golfer who early extends loses that space entirely. Instead of turning, their pelvis thrusts forward, their spine straightens up, and they're forced to compensate with their hands and arms to even make contact.

This single fault is the source of so many common mishits:

• The Block/Push: When your hips thrust forward, they block the natural path for your arms to swing down. Your arms get stuck behind your body, leaving the clubface wide open at impact and sending the ball Weakly out to the right (for a right-handed golfer).
• The Snap Hook: As a reaction to getting stuck, skilled players will desperately flip their hands over at the last second to try and square the clubface. This over-correction causes a dramatic and unpredictable hook.
• Thin and Fat Shots: When your spine angle changes so drastically and you stand up out of your posture, the low point of your swing becomes incredibly unpredictable. One moment you'll catch the ball thin, shooting it low across the green, and the next you'll hit the ground well behind it.
• Massive Power Loss: True power comes from rotation. When you thrust forward, you stop rotating. You're effectively putting the brakes on your swing right when you should be accelerating, relying only on your arms for speed instead of your powerful core and legs.

Fixing this is not just about hitting it straighter, it's about unlocking the effortless power you know you're capable of.

The Real Reasons We Early Extend

Telling a golfer to "stay in their posture" is easy advice to give, but very hard to follow if you don't understand the root cause. Early extension is almost always a symptom of a deeper issue, and it usually falls into one of three categories.

1. Physical Limitations

Sometimes, your body simply can't perform the move you're asking it to. To rotate properly in the downswing, you need a combination of mobility and stability.

• Tight Hips: If you lack internal hip rotation, your body will seek the path of least resistance. Instead of your lead hip clearing back and open, your entire pelvis will move forward as a unit.
• Weak Glutes and Core: Your glutes and core muscles are the brakes for your pelvis. They are what allow you to maintain your "Tush line" and resist that forward thrust. If they aren't strong enough to stabilize your lower body during a powerful rotational move, early extension is almost inevitable.
• Poor Thoracic (Mid-Spine) Mobility: If your mid-back can't rotate well, your body will look for rotation elsewhere, often by creating a problematic swaying or thrusting motion with the Lowe rbody.

2. The Wrong Swing Concept

Many golfers early extend because they have the wrong mental picture of what should happen in the downswing. A common myth is that you need to hit "down on the ball," which many players interpret as a sharp, steep, over-the-top motion with the arms and shoulders. To avoid hitting the ground, their brain sends a signal: "We need to create room! Stand up!" This is a reactive move to save the shot from a flawed swing path.

Another faulty concept is trying to "help" or "lift" the ball into the air. We see the loft on the club, but subconsciously, we still think we need to scoop it. This lifting motion forces the spine and hips to straighten up, which is the very definition of early extension.

3. A Flawed Setup

Very often, early extension is destined to happen before you even start the club back. The two main culprits in the setup are:

C-Posture: This is a slouched look at address, where your upper back is rounded excessively. From this position, it's very difficult to rotate your torso properly. Your body's natural response will be to stand up in the downswing to create space and mobility.

S-Posture: This is the opposite of a C-Posture, where there's an exaggerated arch in your lower back. This posture disengages your core and puts your glutes in a weak position. When it's time to fire them on the downswing, they don't have the stability to hold your hip position, leading to that forward thrust.

A proper golf setup is athletic. It’s a hip hinge, not a knee squat or a waist bend. Getting this right is your first line of defense.

Your Guide to Fixing Early Extension

Alright, enough with the 'what' and 'why" - let’s get into the 'how.' We're going to use a series of drills and feels to retrain your body to rotate correctly and maintain posture.

Step 1: Checkpoint - A Better Setup

Good posture puts your body in a position to succeed. Grab a club and stand in front of a mirror.

1. Stand up straight and hold the club horizontally against your thighs.
2. Now, hinge from your hips, not your waist. Feel your glutes push backward as you tilt forward, keeping your back relatively straight and neutral.
3. Let your arms hang naturally straight down from your shoulders. This is where you should grip the club.
4. Finally, add a little flex in your knees. You should feel stable and balanced, with your weight in the middle of your feet.

This neutral, athletic setup engages your core and puts your glutes on alert, ready to stabilize you during the swing.

Step 2: The Feel - Clearing The Hips

The "feel" you're looking for is that your lead hip is moving back and away from the target line on the downswing. A powerful thought is to feel like you're trying to show your back pocket to the target. This creates the space for your arms and club to swing through powerfully on an inside path.

Instead of thinking about a complicated sequence, simply rehearse this motion. From the top of your swing, feel your lead hip initiate the downswing by turning *behind* you. Let the rest of the body, arms, and club follow this lead. It’s an unwinding, not a thrusting.

Step 3: The Drills to Re-Wire Your Swing

These drills will give your body the immediate feedback it needs to break the old habit.

Drill 1: The Wall Drill (or Golf Bag Drill)

This is the gold standard for fixing early extension because the feedback is undeniable.

• Set up without a club, with your backside lightly touching a wall or your golf bag stood on its end.
• Go to the top of your backswing. As a bonus, feel your trail hip cheek press into the wall.
• Now, start the "downswing." Your entire goal is to rotate so that your lead hip cheek moves back to take the place of the right one on the wall.
• If you early extend, you'll immediately feel the space open up between you and the wall. The goal is to keep contact with the wall throughout your rotation until you finish.
• Start with slow, deliberate rotations. Do this 10-15 times a day at home to build the motor pattern. Then take it to the range and try to replicate the same feeling with slow, half-swings hitting a ball.

Drill 2: The Chair Step-Around

This drill helps you feel what it’s like to actively clear your hips "into space."

• Place a chair (or headcover on the ground) just outside your lead foot at address.
• Take your normal setup. Go to the top of your swing.
• From the top, your first feeling should be turning your lead hip so it rotates behind you and away from the chair.
• A faulty, early-extension move would see your hip moving closer to the chair. The correct move creates more and more distance between your hip and that chair.
• Again, start slow and without a ball. Feel the correct motion, then slowly build up to full swings. This gives your body a clear A-to-B path for your hips that doesn't involve moving toward the ball.

Drill 3: The Pump Drill

This drill helps ingrain the proper sequencing of the downswing.

• Take your address. Swing to the top.
• Now, start the downswing, but only bring the club down to about waist height, focusing entirely on initiating the move with that hip turn we've been practicing. Then swing back to the top. This is one "pump."
• Perform three of these slow and deliberate pumps: Top &rarr, Hips Turn/Club to waist &rarr, Back to Top.
• On the fourth one, go ahead and swing all the way through, hitting the ball while trying to maintain that same feeling of the lower body leading the way.

This exaggerated rehearsal trains your body to fire in the correct sequence, making it more automatic when you go to make a real swing.

Final Thoughts

Fixing early extension boils down to starting from a balanced setup, and training your body to rotate its hips open in the downswing rather than thrusting them forward. Committing to these drills will help you reclaim your posture, create vital space for your arms, and convert that frustrating lurch into powerful and consistent ball striking.

It can often be tough to see or feel your own swing flaws, which makes practicing the an effective drill difficult. That’s an area where we designed Caddie AI to help. Instead of guessing, you can get instant swing analysis and feedback right on your phone, helping you understand not just *that* you're early extending, but potentially *why*. Have a question about how your setup looks, or need a new tailored drill for your problem? We can give you expert answers anytime, anywhere, removing the guesswork so you can get back to improving with confidence.