Early extension in golf or "losing the tush line" is a common problem for golfers of every level.
It is discussed frequently on the forums as golfers analyze different aspects of the golf swing.
You can build a lot of good things into your swing, but when you examine it from down the line, many golfers start to stand up through the downswing and exhibit this early extension.
Let us take a look at how early extension affects the golf swing.
As you come into impact, one of the things we evaluate is the "tush line" which, seen from down the line, is simply a vertical line drawn straight down from the rear.
We generally draw the line at address and, as you can see in the photo, it falls a couple inches behind the heel.
Where Did It Go?
As you come down into impact, early extension in golf looks like the first photo in the image below.
You start to stand up, your rear comes forward, and you lose the line.
Maintaining the line looks like the second photo, where the tush line is essentially the same as it was at address. That is the position we are looking for.
If you lose the tush line, the club tends to drop to the inside and get stuck.
You are more likely to hit blocks, pushes, and snap hooks. It is also hard on your back and your lead hip.
Early extension indicates that you are doing a couple of fundamental things in the golf swing incorrectly.
We have a drill to help you develop the correct movement pattern.
It may be somewhat challenging at first, especially for right-handed golfers who are very trail-side dominant.
Many trail-side dominant golfers tend to push off the trail foot and develop that early extension in golf. That is where most of the problematic movement originates.
The second most common cause is rotation without weight shift — see the photo in the next section.
You get to the top of the swing and instead of shifting into the lead side, you stay where you are and just start rotating.
When you start to spin your body like that, without shifting your weight, you start out with all these great angles and then, as you turn, your body tries to straighten out into a line.
Seen from down the line, your body ends up looking much more vertical.
You have lost all those angles you had at address. To see how your own tush line and downswing positions compare to elite standards, try a free AI swing analysis.
How Do You Get It Back?
As always, we have a drill to correct the problem. It is very straightforward, but many golfers find it challenging initially.
Start out very slowly, hitting small, short pitch shots until you begin learning the sequencing, which is very different from what you are accustomed to.
That is where most golfers go wrong, actually.
They do not understand the sequencing of the downswing, so they go to the top and then just push and unwind and spin everything as fast as they can.
They end up with this early extension and lose the tush line.
For this drill, you are going to go to the top of your swing, pause, and then sit into your lead side.
It is an exaggerated move for the sake of the drill. You should feel like you are sitting down and really loading and engaging your lead glute.
When you do that, you get your weight onto the lead side where it belongs instead of just spinning around with your weight hanging back on the trail foot, or maybe partially shifted but not far enough.
Once you sit into the lead glute, you are stacked over the lead side.
You have the power to start swinging the arms and everything down and release the club.
Note that your trail leg is relatively passive at this point. You are not trying to push off of it.
Imagine that you are simply going to leave the trail leg quiet for now. It stays passive.
You will find that your knee flex increases on both sides because you are really making a sitting motion as you perform this drill.
Once you sit into the lead side, you can release the club.
Leverage - An Added Benefit
With the trail leg passive, as you sit into the lead side you finally engage the glutes, which provide stability and allow you to use the ground for leverage.
If you just stand there and spin, you are not generating anything from the ground. You might as well be on an ice skating rink.
Once you squat into it and start to engage the big muscles, you can push off the ground and stabilize.
Now you can use the hips for speed and power. That is the key.
If you suffer from early extension in golf, you may find this drill challenging initially because you are used to going to the top and just spinning.
Instead, you are going to go to the top, stop, and sit into the lead side.
Some of you may experience increased knee flex, and that is a positive sign. Do not be afraid to let it increase slightly.
The main thing is, do not feel like you are just spinning your hips. You are sitting, not rotating at this point.
You will have some lateral movement, but you are not adding any rotation into it yet.
There will be some natural rotation, just from sitting and starting to come down, but do not try to add to it because that would prevent you from getting fully stacked over to the lead side.
You should feel like you are still performing the Belt Buckle Drill — your belt buckle is still going to feel shut.
As you come down, you will naturally get into a good, squared-up, slightly open position with the hips at approximately 30-40 degrees.
That is where you want to be at impact.
Learn to sit into the lead side and you will start to be able to maintain the tush line and eliminate early extension in golf.
A simple additional exercise is to stand up against a wall as you go through the drill.
If your hips move away from the wall, you know you are starting to lose the tush line.
Learning to maintain the tush line and load correctly into the lead side will build power and stability into your golf swing. For real-time coaching on your downswing sequencing and tush line, try a free AI golf lesson.
Watch part 2 now to see how you're moving your body in the opposite direction of the pros!
The tush line falls a couple inches behind the heel
Pushing off the right foot: Creates early extension in golf, and the club gets stuck (above). Correct form (below)
Rotation without weight shift
Sitting into the left side...Key to stopping early extension in golf
Try standing against a wall
