Early extension on the downswing is a death knell of good ball-striking. What is this and how do we solve it? TMCC Teaching Pro Marc Ong has some answers.
Finding your ball squirting to the right? Hitting it fat, or pulling your shots to the left? Chances are, your problem is the dreaded early extension.
This occurs when, on your downswing, your hips thrust forward too early (Pic 1a and 1b), before you actually impact the ball. The result is often the club approaching the ball from too steep an angle and the toe of the clubhead digging into the ground. A shot that shoots towards the right is a common result of this.
One drill you can try to solve this is the one-handed swing drill. Grip down on a short club (Pic 2), like a pitching wedge or 9-iron, with your right hand (for right-handers). Take a short backswing (Pic 2a) with just the right hand, and swing through the ball (Pic 2b) making sure to keep the hips in the same position throughout. Focus on keeping the right elbow closer to the body, and maintaining the spine angle through the swing. After impact, rotate through to a finished position with your belt buckle facing the target.
Another drill you can do is the hip-to-wall drill, which you can do anywhere. Start by taking a setup posture with your butt touching the wall (Pic 4). Holding a club across your chest, rotate back like taking a backswing, keeping your right butt cheek against the wall (Pic 5).
Rotate through on a simulated downswing while keeping the left butt cheek touching the wall (Pic 6). This will help you maintain hip position on your golf swing. You will notice that when the hips move away from the wall on your downswing, you’ve extended too early.
These two simple drills will help you on your way to solving your early extension woes, and having you improve your ball-striking in no time.