Early Hip Extension on the downswing is a common fault in golfers. Most good golfers maintain the forward angle in their hips throughout most of their swing.
So What is Early Hip Extension?
Early Hip Extension is when the hips move towards the ball during the swing causing a loss of forward bend (or hip flexion)
Why is it Important to maintain hip flexion (our posture)?
Maintaining our posture and hip flexion has many benefits in the swing.
- Allowing the golfer to more accurately return the club back to the ball through impact with less requirement for compensations or timing.
- The extending hips don’t allow the hips to rotate through impact correctly, causing them to stall.
- The hips moving toward the ball will allow less room for the trailing elbow and hands to support the club through impact. The player may then be cramped and end up releasing the club early or incorrectly causing miss-hits or offline shots.
- Relying on timing so much to make up for technique flaws is what leads to greater shot inconsistencies.
Watch the following explanation on Early Hip Extension in a student of mine…