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Stop Standing Up! 5 New-Generation Golf Drills To Eliminate Early Extension And Unlock Power In 2025

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Early Extension is arguably the most common and destructive swing fault in amateur golf, immediately sabotaging power, consistency, and ball striking. For too long, golfers have tried to fix it with simple "stay down" thoughts, which only address the symptom, not the root cause. This article, updated for December 26, 2025, dives into the latest, most effective drills that focus on correcting the root issue: a flawed lower body pivot and sequencing.

The core problem, defined by experts like the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI), is the forward thrust of the lower body (hips and pelvis) toward the golf ball during the downswing. This action forces the upper body to stand up, resulting in a loss of your original spine angle and an inconsistent path, leading to thin shots, fat shots, and a weak impact position. The good news is that modern, targeted drills can fix this fault permanently.

The Silent Swing Killer: Understanding Early Extension and Its Causes

Before diving into the fixes, it is crucial to understand *why* early extension occurs. It is rarely a conscious decision to "stand up." It is a compensation pattern for something else that went wrong earlier in the swing or a physical limitation.

The primary result of early extension is a complete breakdown of the kinematic sequence—the optimal chain of motion that transfers energy from the ground, through the legs, torso, arms, and finally to the clubhead. When the hips thrust forward, this sequence is destroyed, leading to a massive loss of speed and consistency.

The Root Causes of Early Extension (LSI Keywords / Entities)

  • Lack of Hip Internal Rotation (Mobility): A common TPI finding is that golfers with poor hip mobility cannot rotate their trail hip correctly on the backswing or their lead hip on the downswing. The body compensates by pushing the pelvis forward (thrusting) instead of rotating.
  • Incorrect Weight Shift/Ground Reaction Forces: Instead of correctly shifting the weight to the lead side and rotating, the golfer pushes off the ground *horizontally* toward the ball, rather than vertically and rotationally.
  • Poor Trail Arm External Rotation: A common upper-body cause is a lack of external rotation in the trail arm during the downswing, which forces the golfer to "throw" the club over the top, which the lower body then compensates for by thrusting.
  • Over-Rotation on the Backswing: Excessive spinal extension or a deep backswing can put the golfer in a position where the only way to get back to the ball is to stand up.

The 5 Most Effective, New-Generation Early Extension Golf Drills for 2025

The latest and most effective drills focus on retraining the lower body pivot and maintaining the crucial spine angle through impact. These require external feedback—using objects, not just swing thoughts—to retrain your movement patterns.

Drill 1: The Tush Line Wall/Chair Drill

This is the gold standard for fixing early extension by training the proper hip rotation and pelvic tilt.

How to Perform the Drill:

  1. Setup: Stand in your normal address position, with your trail hip/buttock barely touching a wall, a golf bag, or the edge of a chair placed directly behind you.
  2. The Goal: The "Tush Line" is the imaginary line you want your hips to follow. The goal is to maintain contact with the wall/chair during the backswing and, most importantly, during the downswing and through impact.
  3. The Feel: As you start the downswing, you should feel your lead hip pulling back and rotating *away* from the wall, rather than thrusting *into* it. If you push the wall, you are early extending.
  4. Practice: Start with half-swings, focusing only on the lower body motion. Once you can maintain the Tush Line, progress to hitting balls.

Drill 2: The Trail Heel Wedge Anchor

This simple drill provides immediate feedback on your weight shift and prevents the trail leg from kicking out too early, a key component of early extension.

How to Perform the Drill:

  1. Setup: Place a golf club head (like a wedge or iron) or a small, thin book directly under the heel of your trail foot. The ball of your foot should still be on the ground.
  2. The Goal: The wedge acts as an anchor. The objective is to keep pressure on the trail heel and *not* let the wedge drop or move forward until after impact.
  3. The Feel: This forces you to initiate the downswing with a rotational move, keeping the trail hip back. If you early extend, your trail knee and hip will thrust forward, lifting your trail heel and dropping the wedge instantly.

Drill 3: The Weight-Forward Rotation Drill

This drill is excellent for golfers who struggle to transition their weight to the lead side, which often leads to a desperate, thrusting move from the trail side.

How to Perform the Drill:

  1. Setup: At address, intentionally place 60-70% of your weight on your lead foot (the front foot).
  2. The Backswing: Make a shorter, controlled backswing, maintaining that heavy pressure on the lead side.
  3. The Downswing: Focus on rotating your body around the lead side. Because you are already anchored forward, it is much harder to thrust your hips toward the ball. This trains a proper pivot and encourages the lead hip to clear out of the way, which is the opposite of early extension.

Drill 4: The Lead Hip Clearing Rehearsal

A proper downswing requires the lead hip to "clear" or pull back toward the target line, creating space for the arms and club. Early extension stops this clearing.

How to Perform the Drill:

  1. Setup: Without a ball, get into your address position.
  2. Rehearse Impact: Move slowly to a perfect impact position. The key feel is that your lead hip is significantly rotated open (pulled back) and your hips are flat against the imaginary "Tush Line" wall.
  3. The Drill: From this impact position, slowly move up to the top of your backswing. Then, rehearse the downswing, focusing on that immediate "pulling back" or clearing of the lead hip to return to your rehearsed impact position. This trains the muscle memory for the correct sequencing.

Drill 5: The Head Against the Wall Drill (Spine Angle Fix)

While the lower body is the cause, the upper body's reaction (standing up) is what kills the shot. This drill forces you to maintain the upper body's spine angle.

How to Perform the Drill:

  1. Setup: Stand with the back of your head lightly touching a wall or a sturdy vertical object.
  2. The Goal: Make full swings without letting your head move away from the wall during the downswing.
  3. The Feel: If you early extend, your upper body will lift, and your head will move back and away from the wall. This drill forces you to keep your head stable and maintain the forward bend (spine angle) you started with, which in turn discourages the lower body thrust.

Why Modern Drills Focus on the Lower Body Pivot

The shift from old "keep your head down" advice to modern lower-body drills is rooted in advanced golf swing analysis and biomechanics.

Golfers now understand that the power in the swing is generated from the ground up, using ground reaction forces. A proper pivot, which includes maintaining your spinal extension and pelvic tilt, is what allows energy to be efficiently transferred. Early extension is simply the body’s way of trying to save a swing that is out of sequence.

By using external feedback devices, like a chair for the Tush Line or a wedge for the Trail Heel Anchor, you bypass the confusion of a "swing thought" and force your body into the correct movement pattern. This physical feedback is necessary to retrain the brain and muscle memory.

If you are struggling with early extension, commit to one or two of these drills—especially the Tush Line Drill—for a minimum of four weeks. Consistency in practice will retrain your lower body pivot, restore your spine angle, and dramatically improve your ball striking and compression, leading to longer, straighter shots in 2025 and beyond.

Stop Standing Up! 5 New-Generation Golf Drills to Eliminate Early Extension and Unlock Power in 2025
early extension golf drills
early extension golf drills

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