Golf is known to be a technical sport full of technical terms that you may not know the meaning of. One of those golf terms commonly mentioned on golf courses and TV broadcasts is the term “Follow-Through”.
If you are reading this article, you may wonder: What exactly is a “Follow-Through” in golf?
In this article, we will explain to you exactly what the term “Follow-Through” means in golf.
What Is A Follow-Through In Golf?
In golf, a “Follow-Through” is the last part of the golf swing. During the “Follow-Through”, a golfer will swing their club forward in an arc towards the back of their head, right after making contact with the ball, sending it far away and influencing its trajectory.
In the great game of golf, the expression “Follow-Through” is often mentioned on golf courses and on TV broadcasts.
In golf, the term “Follow-Through” is the name given to the last part of the fundamentals of a golf swing. The “Follow-Through” in golf starts as soon as a golfer makes contact with the golf ball.
During the “Follow-Through” phase of a golf swing, a golfer will swing their club forward in an arc motion until it comes back around their head. The club head should finish somewhere around the golfer’s head or their shoulders.
After the golf ball leaves the club, the “Follow-through” does not impact the ball’s trajectory, but it is still important to do to maximize your power. It would feel very awkward to stop your swing motion right after you hit the golf ball, and hard to maximize power this way.
The “Follow-Through” in golf is important for two main reasons.
The first reason is that the follow-through in golf directly impacts the trajectory of your golf ball in the air, as long as there is contact with the golf ball. If you define the “Follow-Through” as not incorporating ball contact at all, then this point is void.
In the case ball contact is part of the “Follow-Through”, a bad follow-through can ruin your golf shots, sending your balls into the rough, and damaging your golf score.
If your follow-through does not move the club head to hit the golf ball in the correct way, you will not get the shots you want, which will lead to frustration. You can think of a good follow-through as being a target to hit. If you hit this target, you will likely have good ball contact.
The second reason why the golf “Follow-through” is important is because it can be used as a hint as to whether your technique is good or not. In fact, when you end your “follow-through”, you should not be out of balance, and most of your wait should be on your front side.
If you nearly fall over during or after the “Follow-through”, or lose your balance, then that means you are doing something wrong in your golf swing.
You need balance to get a good golf swing. If you do not have balance during the follow-through, odds you were not balanced during the rest of the golf swing.
Make sure your knees are bent just the right amount and that you are controlling your movements and sending force in the correct directions.
Other elements of a good golf “Follow-Through” is having your upper body and hips facing the target at the end of the motion, as well as the back heel lifted off the ground.
Your arms should also fully extend after hitting the golf ball, right before allowing arms to bend back like in the example down below, where your club finishes behind your head and shoulders. Your arms will probably cross over slightly during the full arm extension.
Down below, you can see an image of a golfer at the end of his follow-through.
As you can see in the image above, the end of a good golfer’s follow-through is marked by the club being behind the head, the upper body facing forwards, good balance, and the back heel lifted off the ground.
If you are having a hard time finishing with your chest towards the target at the end of the “Follow-Through”, focus on progressively turning your hips during the swing, and realize your back foot can move as well.
If you are right-handed, your “Follow-Through” will wrap your club around the left side of your head. If you are left-handed, your “Follow-Through” will wrap your club around the right side of your head.
If you would like to achieve flawless “Follow-Through” technique, and improve your golf score, you can read our guide: How To Improve Your Golf Score? – 9 Pro Tips.
Origin Of The Term “Follow-Through”
The origin of the expression “Follow-Through” in golf is quite simple, and is based in the English language.
The verb “to Follow” in English means “to go or to come after”. In golf, the “follow-through” is the last part of the golf swing, and it “comes after” the other parts of the golf swing.
You can easily see the parallel between the verb “to follow” and the term “follow-through”.
In addition, during the “follow-through” part of a golf swing, a golfer is swinging their golf club forward, “through” the golf ball.
By assembling the verb “to follow” and the word “through” into one single word, you obtain the “follow-through”.
Therefore, it makes perfect sense where the term “Follow-Through” got its name from in golf.
Conclusion
There you go! After reading this article, you have learned exactly what a “Follow-Through” is in golf.
Do you have any other golf expressions you wish to know more about? Let us know in the comments down below!
