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Early Extension 

EarlyExtension

Early Extension occurs when the hips and spine of a golfer start to go into extension, or straighten up too early, on the downswing. This can be seen when the pelvis moves closer to the ball on the downswing. The lower body does not easily rotate through impact, instead it pushes forward and the person stands up.

Players will often complain of being stuck or trapped with their arms on the downswing. This is because the lower body has moved into the space where the arms need to go. The result can be a block or hook as the hands and arms desperately try to deliver the club to the ball. Because of Early Extension, if golfers don’t do anything with their hands through impact they may actually shank some shots because they are closer to the ball than they were at address.

The easiest way to diagnose this characteristic is from the target or down-the-line camera view. When you get in your setup position, draw a vertical line on your rear end. Make sure there is no daylight between your rear and the line. Next go to the top or your backswing and pause the video. Remember, the pelvis is elliptically shaped (not circular). Therefore, since the best golfers will not move any closer to or farther from the ball during the backswing, their trail side hip will appear to sit deep into the line at the top. Then take the video to impact, if there is daylight between your rear end and the line, you have early extended and moved your lower body closer to the ball.

Physical Causes

      Research has shown that any limitation in performing a full deep overhead squat can force you to early extend during the downswing. In fact, you have a 99% likelihood of early extending if you have deep overhead squat limitations.  These limitations may alter a good address position and force you to change your spinal posture throughout the golf swing.

      Internal rotation of the lead hip is paramount for allowing the lower body to fully rotate without forward thrust toward the golf ball. If the pelvis is unable to rotate around the lead hip due to joint or muscular restrictions, then forward and lateral movements will dominate the pattern.

      The ability to separate the upper body from the lower body allows you to maintain stable posture and proper sequence of motion during the swing. Limited thorax-to-pelvis separation is usually caused by reduced spinal mobility and shortened lat flexibility.

      The ability to stabilize your lower body is directly proportional to gluteal and abdominal strength. A stable neutral pelvic posture helps prevent the lower body from thrusting toward the golf ball during the swing.

The Early Extension swing characteristic can also be caused by:

      Clubs that are too long.

      Standing too far from the golf ball.

      Too much weight on your heels at address.

      A poor swing path.

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