Common Movement Patterns and Faults

Now that we've established a clear biomechanical model of the golf swing, we can begin to analyze real-world movement. This is where theory meets coaching reality.

Most golfers do not struggle because they lack effort or intent — they struggle because their bodies are unable to manage the forces the swing demands. These limitations may come from:

• Previous injury history
• Restricted mobility
• Poor force absorption or sequencing
• Insufficient strength or stability at key joints

The golf swing is a high-force, high-speed kinematic sequence. When that sequence is intact, force is built, transferred, and released efficiently. When there is a break anywhere in the chain, compensation follows — and with it, inconsistent performance and increased injury risk.

Your job as a coach is not just to spot technical errors, but to identify where the system is failing and why.

Below are five of the most common biomechanical faults you'll see — and what they're actually telling you.

Fault #1: Early Extension — Loss of posture through impact

Early extension occurs when the golfer stands up through impact, losing spine angle and distance from the ball. The result is inconsistent strike, loss of power, and poor club delivery.

Biomechanically, this is a center-of-mass problem. As the golfer approaches impact:

• The center of mass lifts vertically
• Force leaks through the lumbo-pelvic region
• The body can no longer tolerate the rotational and vertical forces being produced

Key contributors include poor coordination between glutes, adductors, and hip flexors; insufficient control of pelvic rotation; and inability to absorb force through the lower body.

In particular, the relationship between the glutes and the adductors is critical. These muscles help regulate how rotational force passes through the hip joint. If that system is stiff, weak, or poorly coordinated, the body exits posture early as a protective strategy.

Early extension is not a "timing issue." It is a capacity and force-management issue.

Fault #2: Reverse Spine Angle — Failure to load the trail side

A reverse spine angle occurs when the golfer moves toward the target during the backswing instead of loading into the trail side.

This eliminates width, torque, and elastic energy storage.

Because the backswing dictates the downswing, this fault is self-reinforcing. If the golfer moves forward going back, they will move forward again coming through — resulting in severe loss of speed and inconsistent ball flight.

A common secondary issue here is knee valgus collapse on the lead side: the knee falls inward, the hip follows, and force transfer through the ground is disrupted. At that point, the spine must compensate by tilting and rotating simultaneously — placing stress on the lumbar spine and hips while destroying swing efficiency. This is both a performance fault and an injury risk flag.

Fault #3: Excessive Sway — Lateral movement outside the base of support

Sway occurs when the hips move laterally beyond the stance width rather than rotating within it.

Once the body moves outside its base of support: athleticism drops sharply, sequencing breaks down, and compensatory movements are required to return to center.

Three major consequences follow:

• Loss of rotational force — The central longitudinal axis is abandoned, eliminating efficient torque generation.
• Poor force control at the hips — Shearing forces increase, stability decreases, and energy is wasted rather than transferred.
• Spinal displacement — The spine follows the hips, further disrupting posture and balance.

Sway is not just "too much movement" — it is movement without load, control, or intent.

Fault #4: Over-the-Top Move — Upper body dominance and sequencing failure

This is the classic slice pattern and one of the most common faults in recreational golfers. Biomechanically, this represents a complete breakdown of three-dimensional motion.

Instead of the lower body initiating, the trunk unwinding, and the club lagging naturally, the golfer pulls down with the arms, dominates the motion with the upper body, and collapses into a sagittal, "chopping" pattern.

This produces an out-to-in club path, poor face control, and deceleration into impact.

Often, this fault begins before the swing even starts — with poor setup and center-of-mass positioning. A rushed or unstable setup leads directly to an uncontrolled transition.

Over-the-top is not a hand problem. It is a ground-use, posture, and sequencing problem.

Fault #5: Ineffective Weight Transfer — Poor pressure management and instability

Weight transfer is not simply "right to left." It is about pressure creation, control, and redirection.

When functioning well: pressure loads into the trail foot during the backswing, direction changes dynamically, and force transfers into the lead side for impact.

When it fails, we see reverse pivots, sway, early extension, and loss of athletic feel. In other words, nearly every major swing fault has a weight-transfer component.

Golf, like all athletic movements, depends on the ability to change direction, control center of gravity, and remain stable under speed. If a golfer cannot do this, power drops and injury risk rises — regardless of skill level.

Putting It All Together

These five faults share a common root: the inability to stabilize, sequence, and control force.

When force cannot be managed: performance suffers, compensations appear, and injury risk increases.

As a coach, developing your expert eye means:

• Seeing the fault
• Understanding why it appears
• Identifying whether the limitation is technical, physical, or both

If a golfer can move better, they can swing better. Once that foundation is in place, technical refinements become far easier — and far more durable.

In the next module, we'll move from fault identification to targeted correction strategies, showing how to address these issues at their root rather than chasing symptoms.