The lie: early extension is the root of all evil in the golf swing, the thing that separates good players from bad players. Brian Manzella, Golf Digest's #14-ranked teacher in America, opens with his answer: it's the single most overrated thing there is to work on if you want to improve your ball flight. Sam Osborne reserves judgment, for a few minutes.
First, what it is. You're bent over your belt buckle at address, and at some point through the ball you have no forward bend at all. Everybody extends. Johnny Miller, Weiskopf, Nicklaus, Watson, Norman, Faldo, Tiger, Ernie Els, Adam Scott, Justin Rose. Sit in a stadium seat looking at your feet, then do the wave. That's the move. The one guy who doesn't is Mr. Havercamp in Caddyshack.
Then the argument. Draw a line on your backside from a down-the-line camera, and if your hips come off it before impact, they call it early extension. By that definition Brian puts it at 98% of all golfers, at least. The term didn't exist until video cameras and line drawing, and TPI made it popular. The sales pitch Sam got as a young player: stay in your posture or you'll block it and hook it. Sam's answer: if it's a must, Jack Nicklaus has got a lot of trophies in his closet.
And what's right. Sam Burns at 16, hips around 60 degrees open at impact, and why a player that open looks "on the line" on 2D video without staying in forward bend at all. Why slicers do it more than non-slicers: the club is shifted out, and standing up is a fit-in move. Nicklaus, Craig Stadler, and David Toms on the turned shoulder plane. And what Brian thinks Michael Jacobs would say: it's an effect.
The fix. Brian uses it in a lesson fewer than five times a year. Get in a good posture, upgrade your whole swing before you ever look at it, and it shows up less on its own. Go to the range and try to keep your butt back and you'll hit the ground more, hook it more, or slice it worse. Sam's last word: Jack early extended his way to a sixth green jacket.
Chapters 0:00 Cold open 0:43 No More Lies 0:55 The lie: early extension is the root of all evil 1:19 Brian: the single most overrated thing to work on 4:47 Sam at 19 and the low 3 iron 5:51 What early extension actually is 7:54 The stadium wave: everybody extends 8:43 Every swing everybody likes does it 10:06 Mr. Havercamp, the one guy who doesn't 10:49 Is it just the direction you extend? 11:25 Sam: video, V1, and "you're standing up" 13:26 The argument: the line on your backside 14:05 98% of all golfers 14:53 Teaching a new golfer to bend over 16:53 The first lesson Brian ever gave, 1982 18:54 Where the term came from: video, line drawing, TPI 20:47 The sales pitch: stay in your posture 22:15 Jack Nicklaus, the most famous early extender 22:51 Sam Burns at 16 24:13 Why wide-open players look "on the line" 25:13 Slicers early extend more than non-slicers 27:31 The fit-in move 28:38 Turned shoulder plane: Nicklaus, Stadler, David Toms 30:32 So what should you care about? 30:46 Brian uses it fewer than five times a year 31:52 Michael Jacobs: it's an effect 33:54 Should you practice with your butt on a wall? 34:33 The 6 handicap from The Brian Manzella Show 36:08 The solution: posture, then upgrade the whole swing 37:51 What happens if you go try it anyway 41:13 Why it's still a thing 43:29 Sam: extension is a power move 44:17 The move worth learning 45:59 What most people will do instead 46:28 Way, way down the list 47:14 Go watch the '86 Masters
