Are you frequently frustrated by standing up during your golf swing, which often leads to inconsistent contact and a loss of power? This common golf swing fault, known as early extension, can feel incredibly persistent, but understanding its root causes is the first step toward significant improvement. The accompanying video provides excellent insights into why golfers stand up and crucial steps for rectifying this issue, focusing on the critical aspect of staying down in the golf swing to achieve better results.
Understanding Early Extension: Why Golfers Stand Up
Early extension is a detrimental movement pattern in golf where a player’s hips move closer to the ball and their spine angle becomes more erect during the downswing. This phenomenon is often observed as the right hip coming forward, causing a noticeable loss of the original spine angle established at address. Many golfers report feeling like they “stood up on that one,” yet this reaction is frequently a self-preservation mechanism initiated by the body.
It is important to recognize that the body does not intentionally try to hinder your swing; rather, it performs micro-calculations to ensure ball contact. When a golf club is brought down too steeply, there is a risk of hitting the ground before the ball, or missing the ball entirely. To prevent this undesirable outcome, the body instinctually stands up and rotates, thereby shallowing the club and allowing it to strike the ball. While this adjustment might save a shot in the short term, it significantly compromises consistency and power production over time, making it challenging to repeatedly hit the ball flush.
The Steep Downswing Connection
The relationship between a steep downswing and early extension is often a direct cause-and-effect scenario. A golf shaft that descends too perpendicularly to the ground during the initial phase of the downswing is characterized as steep. This club path means the clubhead is directed excessively towards the ground, creating a high likelihood of digging into the turf before impact. Consequently, the body is compelled to make a compensatory move to avoid a fat shot or a complete miss.
Conversely, a desirable downswing involves the shaft shallowing out, moving more parallel to the ground as it approaches the hitting area. This optimized path creates a more efficient angle of attack, allowing the golfer to maintain their posture and rotate powerfully through impact. Observing the first foot of your downswing in video analysis can reveal whether your shaft is getting too steep or starting to shallow effectively.
Initial Checks: Grip and Clubface Influence
Before delving into swing mechanics, it is beneficial to assess fundamental elements like grip and clubface position. An open clubface at the top of the backswing, for instance, can be a major contributor to early extension. When the clubface is open, the body might naturally stand up to stall the rotation and square the clubface at impact, thereby avoiding a slice. This complex interplay highlights how various components of the swing are interconnected, influencing the body’s compensatory actions.
Ensuring that the clubface is properly controlled throughout the backswing and transition is therefore a vital first step. A neutral grip and a square clubface position can reduce the need for drastic compensations, allowing the golfer to maintain their spine angle more effectively. Minor adjustments in these areas can yield substantial improvements in overall swing integrity.
Effective Drills to Promote Shallowing and Prevent Early Extension
Several targeted drills can be implemented to foster a shallower downswing and prevent early extension, each designed to build new neural pathways and muscle memory. These exercises help retrain the body to move more efficiently, reducing reliance on compensatory movements.
1. The Guided Shaft Drill
One effective method involves using a second club or alignment stick to gently guide the shaft into a shallower position during the downswing. This drill provides immediate tactile feedback, helping to build an awareness of where the club shaft should be. The sensation of the club slotting into a more parallel path is crucial for internalizing the correct movement pattern. This physical cue helps the golfer feel the desired shallowing motion without conscious manipulation.
2. The Two-Club Drill
Holding two golf clubs together, with one inverted and resting against the other, significantly increases the combined weight of the clubhead. As a slow swing is performed, the added mass naturally encourages the clubhead to drop into a shallower path. The increased inertia makes it considerably harder to lift the club into a steep, upright position. This exaggeration of weight is an excellent way for the body to learn the sensation of a more natural, gravity-assisted shallowing motion.
3. The One-Handed Swing (Lead Hand Off)
Executing swings with only the trail hand on the club can effectively train the shallowing motion. By removing the lead hand, the ability to force and manipulate the club into a steep position is significantly reduced. The natural weight of the clubhead, guided by the single hand, will more readily drop and shallow. This drill helps the club move into a position that encourages maintaining posture through impact, actively preventing the body from standing up prematurely.
The Crucial Role of the Takeaway
While the focus is often on the downswing, the chain reaction that leads to early extension frequently originates much earlier—specifically, during the takeaway. It is estimated that approximately 90% of golfers who experience early extension also struggle with their takeaway, often taking the club too deep inside. A deep backswing positions the club in a way that obstructs the path for an effective downswing.
When the club is too far inside during the backswing, the body’s natural inclination is to get the hands and shaft back in front of the body to have any chance of hitting the ball. This compensatory move invariably leads to a steep downswing and, subsequently, early extension. Therefore, addressing the takeaway is paramount for establishing a correct downswing sequence.
Keeping the Clubhead Outside the Hands
A fundamental principle for an effective takeaway is to ensure the clubhead remains outside the hands during the initial phase of the backswing. If you look at professional tour players, their clubhead is typically outside their hands until approximately the 8 to 9 o’clock position. This external position of the clubhead sets up a path that naturally encourages shallowing on the downswing. Preventing the club from getting too deep or “inside” early on is critical for avoiding a reactive steep downswing later.
Drawing Inspiration from Baseball: The Shallowing Analogy
The mechanics of a baseball swing offer a powerful analogy for understanding the shallowing motion in golf. Consider a baseball player pulling the bat back high during their load phase; as they transition into the swing to generate power, the bat head naturally drops and shallowers relative to their body. Although golf involves a bent-over posture unlike baseball, the principle of rerouting the club for power remains consistent.
By exaggerating the feeling of keeping the golf club head “high” or “outside” in the backswing, the body will instinctively seek to reroute it “lower” or “behind” to create power during the downswing. Practicing baseball-like swings, where the bat head stays high in the backswing and gets lower on the follow-through, can significantly enhance a golfer’s awareness of this essential shallowing movement. This cross-sport comparison helps reinforce the natural, athletic motions required for an efficient golf swing, supporting the goal of staying down in the golf swing and improving ball striking.
