Early Extension & Right Knee Movement

[kleydejong]

Long time early extender.  I've tried almost all the common drills.  I've made good progress in other areas of my swing (wrist angles, angle of attack, increasing clubhead speed) - but this EE thing is a tough cookie to crack. 

 

Here is a full send Driver swing from last week.  I have no swing thoughts on this, so this is really my 'default' swing right now.

 

 

I've been reviewing some of the prior online lessons I've taken and there has been some focus on my right knee.  Previously I had excess flex at setup, lock it with minimal extension in the backswing, and then as you see above it really drives forward towards the ball in the downswing.  In studying great professionals like Tiger, Rory, Greg Norman, Scottie Scheffler, Bryson - I think you see a pattern of Extend in the backswing - Flex in transition - Extend again through impact.  I seem to be pretty off in terms of this as a pattern.

 

So I was reviewing some drills and someone had showed me a drill to try and teach how you torque your right leg pressure.  It is a feeling of turning the right foot clockwise or even having the right foot slide backwards away from the ball.  So I've been experimenting with this drill as a feel.  Also welcome to lunch time with my family.

 

 

 

After some extended practice I produce this swing as a result.  I'm really trying to feel that last extension move during the downswing.  Pushing off the right heel even.  In direct opposition to my old pattern where the knee slides forward with no pressure in the ground. 

 

 

Does the concept in the drill make sense to help me work on the Early Extension issue?  I know the last swing is really not something that would be functional on a golf course, but it helps me to learn movement patterns at this length and pace. 

[milesgiles]

I see a difference but to me you should tidy up your setup, takeaway and backswing first. You arent in an athletic setup and you take it way to the inside and flat. Only my opinion 

[johnrobison]

I think it's an ok drill as long as you're unweighting the right foot, too. It's easy to do that drill and keep pressure on the trail side for too long. Moreover, while you do want the knees a bit more quiet, I'm not convinced that it should be your intent. I think your right knee action is a result of incorrect pelvis action and if you make correct pelvis action your intent, the right knee will quiet down.

 

Check this out and watch his pelvis pushing back deep at 1:40 

 

 

People refer to this as a sit or squat but for me it's way more aggressive than either of those feels. I feel like I'm trying to send something flying into the stall behind me. If you get into this flexion early, you can then go into extension later and your right knee will behave without you having to worry about it.

[golfarb1]

First things first , you need to improve your setup posture . Currently you setup with a noticeable “ C “ posture or an obvious kyphosis ( round shoulders) in your upper spine .  This leads to among other things problems with your ability to rotate . You need to setup with a spine much less curved in your upper spine , closer to that of Jon Rahm below .

 

Second , you need to stop taking the club so inside . This leads to a position at 9:00 where your left arm is very angled relative to the target line . The “C” spinal posture  at setup is a factor in this takeaway. The two printouts are from an article in the 4/2020 Golf Magazine by Athletic Motion Golf. 
 

To avoid an inside takeaway, you need to take your hands straight back until they pass your right thigh

Edited December 3, 2021 by golfarb1

[kleydejong]

4 hours ago, milesgiles said:

I see a difference but to me you should tidy up your setup, takeaway and backswing first. You arent in an athletic setup and you take it way to the inside and flat. Only my opinion 

 

2 hours ago, golfarb1 said:

First things first , you need to improve your setup posture . Currently you setup with a noticeable “ C “ posture or an obvious kyphosis ( round shoulders) in your upper spine .  This leads to among other things problems with your ability to rotate . You need to setup with a spine much less curved in your upper spine , closer to that of Jon Rahm below .

 

Second , you need to stop taking the club so inside . This leads to a position at 9:00 where your left arm is very angled relative to the target line . The “C” spinal posture  at setup is a factor in this takeaway. The two printouts are from an article in the 4/2020 Golf Magazine by Athletic Motion Golf. 
 

To avoid an inside takeaway, you need to take your hands straight back until they pass your right thigh

 

 

 

Thanks for the input.  I would acknowledge my takeaway is inside.  I have worked with that some.  I have worked heavily on trying to feel the right wrist extend / left wrist bow on the downswing and I see it is creeping into the backswing. 

 

I'm also curious about the setup information.  If I try to flatten my back I usually end up sticking my butt out and it doesn't really help with the right hip / knee moving towards the ball in the downswing. 

 

 

 

I can implement those feels, but I don't see the cause / effect connection with the early extension move.  I.e. I early extend with both setups and takeaways. 

[golfarb1]

You are making a serious mistake in underestimating how much a poor setup can effect the rest of the swing. It effects swing plane , your ability to rotate  , your balance among other things . It will also predispose your back to injuries .

If you do not learn to setup correctly , you should give all pretense of consistently compressing the ball. 
If you wish me the describe the in  detail how to setup , I will do so. If not have a happy holiday season
 

[kleydejong]

19 minutes ago, golfarb1 said:

You are making a serious mistake in underestimating how much a poor setup can effect the rest of the swing. It effects swing plane , your ability to rotate  , your balance among other things . It will also predispose your back to injuries .

If you do not learn to setup correctly , you should give all pretense of consistently compressing the ball. 
If you wish me the describe the in  detail how to setup , I will do so. If not have a happy holiday season
 

 

Not sure I'm following you.  I'm thankful for your feedback and am implementing these updates. 

 

I'm also trying to understand the cause / effect relationship between these different pieces of the puzzle. 

 

Am I incorrect in thinking that my right knee movement is a meaningful flaw?  Is the drill / feel I showed above helpful in correcting my flaw?

 

Can't both of the above be true?  I need to implement your suggestions on setup and takeaway AND implement better right knee pressure?

[hammersia]

7 hours ago, kleydejong said:

 

 

 

Thanks for the input.  I would acknowledge my takeaway is inside.  I have worked with that some.  I have worked heavily on trying to feel the right wrist extend / left wrist bow on the downswing and I see it is creeping into the backswing. 

 

I'm also curious about the setup information.  If I try to flatten my back I usually end up sticking my butt out and it doesn't really help with the right hip / knee moving towards the ball in the downswing. 

 

 

 

I can implement those feels, but I don't see the cause / effect connection with the early extension move.  I.e. I early extend with both setups and takeaways. 

 

That setup and takeaway looks better to me, you've got a bit of a funky head movement going on where maybe you need to think about the left shoulder going down as your first move off the ball.

 

Think it might have been mentioned before but it looks a very indoor swing as in you can't go full tilt at the ball, some videos from the range might look better.

 

If not, then experiment with the feeling of "throwing the club down the target line" (don't let go). Couple that with the backswing above and you're golden. 

[kleydejong]

20 hours ago, johnrobison said:

I think it's an ok drill as long as you're unweighting the right foot, too. It's easy to do that drill and keep pressure on the trail side for too long. Moreover, while you do want the knees a bit more quiet, I'm not convinced that it should be your intent. I think your right knee action is a result of incorrect pelvis action and if you make correct pelvis action your intent, the right knee will quiet down.

 

Check this out and watch his pelvis pushing back deep at 1:40 

 

 

People refer to this as a sit or squat but for me it's way more aggressive than either of those feels. I feel like I'm trying to send something flying into the stall behind me. If you get into this flexion early, you can then go into extension later and your right knee will behave without you having to worry about it.

 

Thanks for this.  I have worked on that feel before.  Monte's zipper away.  Or driving the left hip back and away.  I think I'm trying to identify if the right knee stuff I'm looking at can actually play a role in helping accomplish that movement.  My knee move seems to be kinda floaty.  Minimal pressure into the ground on the right foot.  But if I do the 'Normal' drill and feel that re-extend coming down that it might give me some additional grip to drive the left hip back? 

 

 

 

 

Clearly they aren't dragging the right foot backwards like Greg Norman, but that re-extension piece seems to be created by a similar pressure push no?

[MrHateCoffee]

watching this thread...  I have a similar issue with my right knee that's been a flaw for years.

[ALIF]

I made a homemade down under board with 2 x 2's. This has helped me keep my right heel on the ground longer and keep it from driving at the ball, ie; EE.