This topic contains 5 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by 
David 7 years, 9 months ago.
- Early Extension
-
-
I just finished Day 23 and hit balls for the first time on the course. I’ve battled early extension for quite some time. Anyone else battling this? Thoughts on Tathata movements to help fix?
(special note: “I” below refers to the effort of my student/daughter who I am taking through the program.)
Mickey,
The vast, vast majority of country club golfers that I have witnessed have early extension. I’ve been studying this for some time and honestly I’m beginning to question the value of the effort required to “correct” it. Here is why. While most PGA pros do not have any or very little early extension, there are many great non-pro golfers that do have it. I have a female friend who plays from the men’s tees at low single-digit handicap and is a recent and young inductee into our state golf hall of fame. While we were playing last summer she let me video her down the line. I was shocked that her down-the-middle, super-long drives came from a swing that had the dreaded early extension. Yesterday I looked at some swings of LPGA players, some of which had quite a bit early extension (Christie kerr was one).
Here is where I’m struggling with how to correct early extension. As one surfs to level with strength his/her arms are to slam onto the body. A lot of pressure seems required in the hands (especially) so that the weighted club head, governed by the laws of physics, doesn’t continue its path into the big ball (earth). A bit of early extension, which “vertical” players normally deploy, will exert centripetal force speeding up the club head (if memory serves me correctly, Lexi may use this).
I have gone through all of the exercises and applied concentrated effort to the specific movements that should eliminate early extension. While there is some improvement that shows up in video, I have also witnessed a loss of distance and excessively low ball flight.
The baseball throw and movements that go to just before and after impact is where I have focused. But know there is a huge difference between having no club or club upside down and when one is actually swinging with the weighted end down. If we figure this out the future could be amazing. It’s just darn hard, right now, to keep the positive energy out in front. Reviewing video yesterday did help me with my decision to stick with it a bit longer.
So, like Mickey, I would love to hear from anyone who has overcome early extension and experienced improved distance and ball flight simultaneously.
Mickey – I’ll try to carve out time later today to post a list of Tathata videos that I’ve found that were are suppose to help struggling students in this area. Thanks for posting this question!!!
Hi Mickey,
I apologize for taking longer than I promised but I wanted to conduct a more thorough search for deeper discussions with respect to early extension. Perhaps it takes someone with exceptional talent, or great strength, or smarter, or many, many hours of intense focus on this one area (or a combination of these), but none of the videos or the program has made much of a dent in our early extension “problem’ to date. I continue the internal debate about whether it’s a “problem” worth solving or if there are other, far more important issues that we should address that would provide outsized benefits to our golf game. I hope this helps!!
Discussion: http://legacy.tathatagolf.com/forums/topic/common-causes-of-impact-errors/#post-552991
And, finally, here is a link to a question that I posed on 10/5/16, which Bryan answered with a video that may help you: http://legacy.tathatagolf.com/forums/topic/body-movements-6-7/
Thanks for the great responses!!! I’ve tried to correct this for years, but it hasn’t really impacted my ability to play decent golf. I’m a 1 handicap with club head speed around 110. I just hate the inconsistency in my game, especially with the driver. When the driver is on, I can make a ton of birdies. When the driver is off, I’m scrambling the entire round.
Periodically I’ve gone through bouts of the dreaded S*&nks ( I hate to even say the word). This has caused me to be hesitant in firing my lower body.
After looking at your posts and reviewing more of the program, I’m wondering if more of the bigger issues aren’t my extreme in to out swing path and I have a tremendous amount of spine tilt away from the target in the downswing.
I really like the Tathata program thus far. I can’t wait to continue to work at it.
These forums are an incredible place to communicate with other golfers. Again, thanks for your responses. I will also try to add more comments as I progress and hopefully I’ll be able to help other golfers at some point.
LOL! I’ve had the shanks in the past but finally figured it out. For me it was a combination of taking my hands too far “inside,” fast hips, and not pressurizing my arms on the body. I was able to avoid shanks by addressing the first two, however, adding pressure, I think, should help with my ball over drawing.
I suspect you have nailed your issues and can correct them with a little effort. Feel free to toss up a link to a YouTube video of your swing if you would like an extra set of eyes on it.
Mickey – Below are a couple of screen shots of Alex’s swing at various points. Like Nicklaus, Alex’s head is essentially level with where it started at set up.
As I was thinking more about the #tathata60day punch-back move during a swing, I decided to review the move that @alex_moore_tathatagolf makes. @vjohnsongolf – This photo set probably captures the essence of your comment. I think what is happening her is Alex is moving into his back glute, which is pulling his front side away from the ball. Anyone @tathatagolf – Am I in the ballpark? #golf #golfswing #golfing #golfcoach #golfisfun
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.