Best Way to Perfect the Followthrough in Golf

If you develop an instinct to finish well, it keeps your mind focused on striking the ball and making good shots. If you make a good followthrough it will also often correct the errors in the backswing.

It is rather like throwing a ball. If you throw a ball to a target straight in front of you, your arm swings back in response to this. If you try to throw the ball to the right, your arm moves back differently. The thoughts of how you followthrough with that throw determine how you swing backwards. The same applies to the golf swing. Get the attack and followthrough correct and the backswing falls into place.

There are two points of power in the golf swing. The first is to deliver power through impact with maximum speed. The second is to put the brakes on smoothly at the end of the swing. Hitting the ball hard doesn’t mean strangling yourself in the followthrough. Feel the strength and control of your finish.

The aim should always be to release and relax through impact. You have to get rid of the power of the swing into the golf ball. You shouldn’t find yourself holding your breath at the end of the swing. If you are, this is a sure sign of too much tension, which means you didn’t get rid of all the power into the ball.

To feel a really good followthrough, hit the ball, hold the finish and count out loud ‘one, two, three, four’. If you are holding your breath, you can’t count! When you first start doing it, that count of four will probably feel ridiculously long. For a good woman golfer the ball should be in the air for about eight seconds. Holding the followthrough for a count of four isn’t long: it encourages you to make a followthrough, it ensures you are perfectly balanced and makes sure that you breathe properly.

At the end of a perfect followthrough your legs and shoulders should stay still for several seconds. The arms unwind first, returning naturally to the side of your body, elbows still bent, club shaft pointing up in front. This is the position almost all professionals hold as they watch the ball flying towards the flag. If your followthrough has been good you will easily come to this position, where the direction of a good followthrough can clearly be seen.

As an exercise, extend the count of four. Hold the finish, count one, two, three, four. Arms down, legs and shoulders still, then count five, six, seven, eight. It takes eight seconds to make a hole-in-one! If your swing has been good the club should naturally return to a square position and not to an open position.

A woman golfer wants to create as much speed as she can through impact. If you feel that you swing too fast, this is usually caused by poor balance. The better your balance the more speed you can generate.