Early extension is one of the most common and damaging swing faults. When the hips move toward the ball in the downswing, posture is lost and contact suffers, often leading to thin shots, blocks, and weak strikes.

The good news is you don’t need a full swing overhaul to fix it. A simple, constraint-based drill taught by Joe Plecker can eliminate early extension while improving sequencing and power. It’s called the Trail-Foot Torque Drill, and it trains the correct movement from the ground up.

Early extension occurs when the trail hip thrusts toward the ball instead of rotating. This drill prevents that move by using the trail foot to create resistance.

Setup
Place a slider, towel, or paper plate under your trail foot. Set up normally with good posture and balance.

Execution
Make a normal backswing. As you start down, pause when your hands reach halfway between the top and impact. From there, gently push your trail foot backward along the ground—away from the ball—without lifting it. You should feel your hips stay back, pressure shift into your lead side, and your body begin to rotate instead of thrust.

Resume the swing and finish through the ball.

By restricting early extension, this drill removes guesswork. A few focused reps help restore posture, improve contact, and unlock power without extra effort.

Forward shaft lean at impact is one of those phrases golfers hear so often that it turns into a command: Get your hands ahead of the ball. Do that, and you’ll strike it pure. Except for many golfers, trying to “force” shaft lean only creates tension, weak contact, and timing issues.

Here’s the important reframe: forward shaft lean isn’t something you do — it’s something that shows up when the body is working correctly.

The illusion comes from what shaft lean looks like versus how it’s actually created. Yes, at impact, the hands are ahead of the ball and the shaft tilts forward. But that position doesn’t happen because you shove your hands toward the target or hold off the release. In fact, trying to manufacture it with the hands usually makes things worse.

True shaft lean is the byproduct of rotation.

At a solid impact position, the lower body leads. The hips are open to the target, the shoulders are slightly open, and the weight is favoring the lead foot. When the body rotates open through the strike, the arms and club naturally lag behind for a split second. From face-on, that separation creates the appearance of forward shaft lean.

Here’s the key insight: if you freeze the swing and square the hips and shoulders back to neutral, the hands actually sit farther back than they were at address. The shaft only leans forward because the body has already turned past the ball. That’s why trying to “push” the hands forward without rotation feels forced — you’re skipping the engine and yanking the trailer.

A better feel is to focus on opening the body through impact and letting the arms follow. When the lower body clears and the chest rotates, the hands arrive in front of the ball on their own. Contact improves, compression increases, and the strike feels effortless instead of manipulated.

So the next time someone tells you to get more shaft lean, don’t think hands forward. Think body open. When rotation leads, shaft lean takes care of itself — and the ball flight will tell you immediately you’re on the right track.

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Devil Ball targets the most important factor in putting: face angle at impact. Up to 90% of a putt’s start direction is determined by where the face is pointing at contact. If it’s even slightly open or closed, the miss is baked in.

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