Even though the follow-through happens after you hit the ball, it's critical to helping maintain club head speed. An improper follow-through can lead to decelerating the club prior to contact, resulting in a loss of power and distance. The key to a correct follow through is to let it happen rather than trying to make it happen.
Step 1
Practice your follow-through by swinging without a ball on the tee. Swing your club and tap your left shoulder twice with your right hand after your swing, if you are a right-handed golfer. Tapping your shoulder twice will force you to bring the club all the way through contact and finish high for a full swing. Your forward swing, including the finish, should be one movement, not two. Don't hit the ball, then push the club through with a second motion just to follow through or tap your shoulder.
Step 2
Open your hips prior to making your downward swing. Your hips should accelerate your trailing shoulder, which will drive your arms forward. Rather than using your arms to start your forward swing, they should "go along for the ride" as your hips and shoulder drive them forward. This will allow them to continue the swing after you make contact as they naturally move forward.
Step 3
Shift your weight from your back leg to your front leg. This weight shift will help accelerate the arms forward, allowing them to continue forward naturally. If you do not open your hips and shift your weight forward as you swing forward, you will create the less-desirable pull-through motion associated with a sport swing, according to Ben Kibler of the Lexington Clinic Sports Medicine Center. This makes your hips go backward as you swing.
Step 4
Turn your hands and wrist over prior to contact. Snapping your wrists into your shot not only helps you get your club face in the correct position, but allows you to maintain acceleration throughout your shot. If you don't snap your wrists, you will use your forearms to begin slowing the club down before contact, and your mechanics will not allow you to finish your swing above your shoulders.
Tips and Warnings
- Visualize three balls, one in front of the other, on the ground front of you. In order to learn the concept of hitting through a golf ball rather than chopping down at a golf ball, pretend you are trying to hit three golf balls without changing your forward swing path.
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