Hey Tom,
i have always struggled with “early extension“ and wanted your thought on a feel. I know with the stack and tilt method you like to get the trail leg straightening on the backswing, which I do but this seems to get me to reflex it on the downswing causing me to get closer to the ball. I struggle with miss hits towards the toe or in some cases a solid “s“ word. I feel like I’m having far more success on trying to keep my trail knee flexed, which I know is limiting my hip rotation. i guess my question should I be locking my trail knee in the backswing and keeping it straight on the downswing or keep some flex in it and feel like I don’t straighten it as much? It’s hard to articulate but hopefully you understand, haha.
thanks,
justin
Welcome to the Members Forum Community, @justin!! I hope to see you participating regularly here in the great dialogues taking place on a wide variety of golf topics!!
There are several sequential drills in Part II of the Get Out and Go Play Program that can help you to overcome your issue and get things on the proper track. These all assume that you have already mastered the fundamental elements of the grip and setup described in Part I or in Chapter 1 of the Golf Swing Simplified course, because oftentimes I see golfers rushing through these essential basics (which differ considerably from what you were previously taught) or skipping over them completely. Don't do that.....
The trail knee does not "lock", but if you execute the backswing correctly and have your weight gradually loading into your lead leg, both knees should respond accordingly - the lead knee flexing and the trail knee straightening. If the weight drifts backwards - which it should not do at any point in the swing - then the legs and knees are not going to react as prescribed.
As for early extension, you'll find this diagnostic video in Fixing Common Swing Problems, followed by a couple of drills that address this issue.
TS