Down-the-line
Early extension.
The hips lose depth toward the ball. Film down-the-line and watch the belt line from Address to Impact.
Down-the-line · Address, Impact, Follow-Through
What's going on.
The pelvis moves closer to the ball on the way down. The space the club needs disappears, so the body stands up and the hands take over. Blocks, hooks, thin, or fat. A two-way miss.
What's already OK.
You are still making a committed full swing. The space the club had at address just is not there at the strike.
The one thing.
Keep the space between you and the ball that you had at address, all the way to the strike. A chair behind you is only there so you do not take that space away.
The drill.
Stay on the chair
A chair, bag, or wall just touching at address. Camera down-the-line. Stock full mid-iron.
10 rehearsals, then 10 balls.
Stay on the chair through the strike so the club keeps the room it had at address.
Film again.
5 full mid-irons, down-the-line. Share the best. The next look is only this idea.
Down-the-line, the Address space is still there at Impact. The body can stand up after the strike, not before it.
- Watch Titleist TPI (Dave Phillips) 0:04–1:35
- Watch Mike Malaska 1:40–3:40
- Watch Martin Chuck 0:28–1:52
- Chair drill: 10 rehearsals, then 10 balls
- Film 5 down-the-line mid-irons and share the best
Watch these clips.
Official YouTube. Start times are the bit that teaches this idea, not the whole channel.
This is the down-the-line check. The rod on the tailbone is the space the club needs. Daylight between the hips and that line means the space is gone.
Watch how the lead hip ends farther from the ball than it started. That is the space the club keeps. Most people turn closer instead.
Down-the-line, something on the tailbone, stay on it through Impact. He names the stand-up as early extension. That is Address, Impact, Follow-Through.