In a world rife with assumptions among golfers, another has seemed to have struck its head out.
The latest is that as soon as they have struck the golf ball, absolutely nothing matters in the last stages of the golf swing. This is yet another fallacy in the sport, and the follow through plays a crucial part.
The Role of The Follow Through
The follow through is the final stage of putting all the pieces of your golf swing together. It puts your starting position together with the finish with the intention of training your body to run the same cycle each time. So, If you start with position 1 every time and finish in position 3 each time, you’re possibly going to go through position 2 every time.
When your follow through position is not smooth and out of balance, what follows prior to that is possible to be obscure and unpredictable.
The Importance of The Follow Through
In order to get the best golf strike that you possibly can, you have to get your entire body through the ball. Don’t just focus on what you do with the club. The motion that is generated by your swing must go somewhere the moment your club contacts the ball. This is what your golf swing follow through enables.
Your follow through helps in maintaining your swing velocity for the duration of impact, and is vital in directing the path you want your swinging motion and ball to move in.If you don’t have a suitable follow through it’s possible that your ball won’t fly as you want it to.
Also, you run the risk of becoming off balanced because of abandoning the finish.Getting a firm grip on your swing’s finishing position the same way every time will build a rhythm in your game. Doing this is required for playing reliable shots, which is the key to reducing your handicap.
How to Nail Your Follow Through
Always remember that your follow through always must be a response to the motion of your swing and how much resistance you get in impact. Each follow through is different. So, it won’t be the same from playing on a deep rough as you would be playing on the fairway or the tee. When you are playing a normal shot, pay attention to the following:
- Put your weight on your left foot,
- Keep belt buckle in the direction of the target
- Hold your chest to the left of the target.
If you want to get this right, try doing a few practice swings where you finish like this. When this becomes second nature to you, then do some shots where you don’t focus a lot on impact. Instead, try this move on a normal shot and get the same finish.
We have gathered some interesting pointers below with the aim of improving your golf follow through.
Hips Should Face the Target at the Follow Through
You have to get used to facing the target at the follow through. By the end of the follow through your hips have to aligned to the target. In other words, they have to face the target directly.
This contrasts with an over rotation where the hips move past square and to the left of the target. This is typically a tell-tell sign of over upper body rotation. It is also different to an incomplete swing where the hips in no way reach the point where they face the target.
Don’t Quit at Impact
The best follow through should be full and without any interruption. Even if you have good impact with the ball, the follow through is still an essential part of the golf swing. Don’t take its execution lightly under any circumstance.
A decent follow through and finish position will need a good journey on the way there. This contrasts with golfers who merely leave their swings after impact.
Weight Should Be Completely Over Your Left Foot
Always follow through while your body weight is evenly split over your two feet at the start of the swing. Then when you reach the end of the follow your weight should be resting on top of your left foot.
This is obviously different from having your weight placed on your right foot at address and as you execute the follow through. Emphasising your weight on the right foot can give rise to a reverse pivot swinging mistake.
The normal weight flow should move towards the back foot during the backswing and the front foot during the downswing. Ultimately but gradually making its way to the front as you finish your swing.
As a final point, you should be capable of holding your finish in complete balance while waiting for the ball to land. When you are not capable of holding your follow through, you might be swinging off-balance.
Though this may be evident in your follow through, the balancing problems probably started prior to impact and is likely giving more problems in the value of your golf shots.
Common Mistakes in The Golf Swing Follow Through
Being able to identify the problems in your finishing position will be valued down the line. This will help you better not just with your follow through but your swing in general
We have listed some recurring reasons why you might battle to follow through on your golf swing.
Quitting The Swing Follow Through Too Early
You shouldn’t just quit your swing the minute you reach impact. Bear in mind that what happens when the ball is in the air is just as important as the shot itself.
Leaving your swing too soon will result in your finishing position being random. Also, you’ll be prone to slowing down your club speed’s speed when you’re on the verge of reaching impact.
Above all, this will hinder your shot consistency and you won’t reap any of the crucial benefits discussed above.
Not Enough Reach in The Arms
By not having enough reach in your arms after impact, you run the risk of getting hooked shots or slices. This has an impact on the consistency of your club path in the follow through. Having insufficient reach in your arms could lead you to carve across the ball or a shortened follow through.
Perhaps you’re someone who tends to fold their arm like a delicious chicken wing after striking the ball. The “chicken wing” fold happens when a player bends their lead elbow skyward in their follow through. A common error which occurs when the arms are not extended together.
It also limits how much you can open your body up in the follow through, and you’ll be in the habit of leaving your club face open.
Keep Your Weight Off Of Your Back Foot
Don’t keep your weight on your back foot as you end your follow through. This indicates that you haven’t adjusted your motion forward in the swing. As a result, you haven’t gotten through the ball correctly.
You have to raise your trail foot in order to change that weight over into the lead foot.
Keep Your Spine Angle
As your body moves away from the position of impact, try to keep the angle of your spine in the same position when you set up to the ball.
This keeps you from lifting out of your shot too soon- a regular problem for slicing the ball.
Over or Undershooting Your Chest
Lastly, you can follow through too much in your swing. This happens when your chest twists too far and you overshoot the ball. Overshooting indicates that the body is getting ahead of the shot. A common mistake in players who attempt to hit the ball as hard as they can.
This contrasts with an incomplete swing where the chest doesn’t reach as far as the target throughout the follow through.
With all this in mind, take the time to treat your golf swing follow through with the same care as the rest of your golf swing.
FAQ
What happens if you don’t follow through on your golf swing?
Being reluctant to follow through on your golf swing, you will likely hit the ball inaccurately and with less power.
How To Tell If Your Follow Through Is Correct
The best way to tell if you are following through correctly on your golf swing, is by keeping your head down and your eyes focused on the ball.
Conclusion
By working on your follow through, you can quickly make dramatic improvements to your golf swing. You’ll strike the ball better, with more power and consistency, and you’ll swing safely and free from pain.
A great golf swing follow-through is simply a consequence of a great golf swing, the continuation of a great release. The way that you move in the follow-through is a reaction to the moves that you made throughout the swing, particularly during the transition and downswing.
