Golf swing follow through

Have you ever watched professional golfers on a Sunday afternoon at a PGA Tour event and seen how they all get to almost the same finishing position?

Now watch a Sunday afternoon on a driving range filled with amateur golfers.

Looks a little different, right?

Amateur players often neglect the golf swing follow-through, but they shouldn’t. If you want to understand the importance and the impact of a proper golf swing follow-through, we have you covered.

What is the proper follow through on a golf swing?

The proper follow-through on a golf swing has a player standing facing the target, with their belt buckle completely turned towards the flag, all weight on the front foot, and the club held high above the left shoulder.

To get to this comfortable and balanced position, you need a good amount of momentum and speed. Players that slow their swing down will lose golf swing rotational velocity, and it can result in an incomplete swing and shorter shots.

One of the most important parts of proper golf follow-through is ensuring you are never slowing the golf club down. You can reach this comfortable position and maintain your swing speed through impact, provided you rotate properly.

Should you follow through on the golf swing?

Golfers need to follow through on their golf swing. In fact, it’s one of the most important benchmarks for amateurs when trying to work on the proper Golf swing sequence, technique and swing modifications. If you don’t follow through, the velocity at impact will be lower.

In addition, there could be issues with the angle or direction of the clubface at impact if you do not get this ideal position.

Sometimes you may see golfers hit punch or Stinger shots where their follow-through swing path is shortened. This unique shot allows players to control the ball’s flight. However, you will notice that for these to be consistent golf shots, there still will be acceleration at impact.

What happens if I don’t follow through in golf swing

If you don’t follow through in golf, chances are there is an issue causing a deceleration in the swing. Deceleration in golf is a problem and can throw off the entire golf swing sequence.

No follow-through usually causes:

• Loss of distance on your golf shots
• Improper golf weight shift and poor balance
• Lower ball flight on shots
• A hard time getting the ball to fly straight (typically, slices and pushed shots are most common)

Even though the follow-through seems to happen after impact, getting to a balanced finish position tells a lot about body rotation and body weight movement in the swing. You will notice all professional golfers get to this position.

Why don’t I follow through on the golf swing?

Not following through on your golf swing is one of the common mistakes average golfers make. Here are a few reasons you may not be following through.

• Weight is unevenly distributed at the setup

Where is your weight distributed when you set up to hit a golf shot? Some recreational golfers put too much weight on their right leg. Putting weight on your right leg as you swing the club back is essential, but if you start with too much of it there, you may never get it through your swing.

This is an easy fix, get your weight balanced between your feet; from there, you should have an easier time making it to the left side on the finish.

• Feet too far apart

Getting your weight to the finished position is much harder if your feet are too far apart. Timing a weight transfer across a larger span and then physically completing it is harder than necessary.

Experiment with putting your feet closer together and see what difference it makes in getting weight to your left foot at the finish.

• Issues with the transition from the top

From the top of your golf swing, what is your first move?

There are often issues with both impact and finish positions for golfers that use their hands and arms to swing instead of rotating their bodies. Professional and low-handicap golfers start transitioning from the top of their downswing with a weight transfer and pivot.

The arms and hands then fall into place.

• Too focused on hitting the ball instead of swinging the club

Ensure your mindset is that the impact position is the middle of your swing, not the end. Some players struggle to get to the correct follow-through position because they are too focused on the golf ball. Move right through the golf ball to the final finish with your belt buckle facing the target.

Golf tips for nailing the follow-through every time you swing

Here are a few tips for getting to that classic finish position for male and female golfers.

• Turn your left foot out (right-handed golfers) at the address just a quarter turn to allow for easier hip rotation
• Do not dip the right shoulder too much at setup; this may put too much weight on the trail foot to start
• Never slow down the swing or club head speed through impact should be accelerating
• Recreational golfers can make a swing a couple of times with their feet entirely together and see if they can feel the way the weight moves through the ball
• One of the most common differences between those that have excellent follow-through (aka professional golfers) and those that don’t is balance. This is to say you should work on your balance and have a strong core if you want to follow through easier

Final thoughts

Hopefully, you now feel more knowledgeable about the golf swing follow-through and the biggest mistakes and issues players have with it. Remember that ball contact is not the end of the swing; it’s just the middle.

Making changes will drastically affect your ability to hit straight and long shots and develop a more consistent club path. Sometimes it just takes a few minor swing modifications for follow-through to be perfect.