Golf Swing Follow Through: Speed Out Front!

Written by Todd in Online Golf Instruction

The ability to control the trajectory and direction of a shot is often impacted by the follow through. Too many amateur golfers are too ball bound and do not have a quality follow through. This often starts with the wrong swing though or swing feel.

If you check out different swings on the professional golf tours, you will see a variety of follow throughs depending on the golfer’s swing and the shot they are trying to hit.

One of my all time favorite players to watch his follow through is Tiger Woods.  He has various follow throughs depending on the shot he is trying to hit.  Also, Corey Pavin is a unique golfer with unique follow throughs.  Bubba Watson also stands out with his ability to work the ball and a swing that manipulates the club through impact and into the follow through.

Here are some common things you will see in the follow through:

When a golfer is trying to hit a low shot, they often have a low, held off follow through.

When a golfer is trying to hit a high shot, they often have a high, flowing follow through.

When a golfer is hitting a draw shot or a fade, they will manipulate their hands to get a certain reaction and spin on the golf ball.

So what does it all come down to for the amateur.  There is one key that I have found over the years.

Golf Swing Follow Through: Key Factors

There are two things that stand out.  First, the golfer must focus on creating the speed out in front of the ball.  Too many golfers have their highest swing speed prior to ever reaching the ball and do not maximize their swing speed.  And second, the golfer should work on various releases with their bottom hand into the follow through.

Below, we will dive into the following follow through related questions/topics:

  1. Why speed out front is a important
  2. How to work the ball with various releases
  3. Assessing and training your game through a fun drill
  4. Main swing though and swing feel
  5. Understand ball flight laws
Three great golfers, three different looking follow throughs.

#1 Golf Swing Follow Through: Why Speed Out Front Is Important

Way too many golfers are so ball focused that they throw all of their speed away way too early.  Here is what happens, the golfer gets to the top of the backswing, from there they throw away all angles and the club goes flying towards the ball.  However, there is a lack of speed through impact and into the follow through.  The golfer struggles with contact and overall distance in their golf swing.

Instead, the golfer should get a full turn and backswing and then focus on creating speed out in front of the ball. Through proper reaction to this thought, they will clear and rotate their body nicely and produce speed through impact and beyond into the follow through.

Not only will they hit the ball further, they will more than likely his it straight.  You see what happens is the golfer tries to manipulate the club through impact and actually hits the ball less accurately from trying to manipulate the results.  The golfer ultimately has to give up control to actually gain control.  The key swing thought through all of this is…speed out front!

#2 Golf Swing Follow Through: How To Work the Ball with Various Releases

There are 4 key shots that every golfer will wanton to work on.  They include the following:

  • Low Draw
  • High Draw
  • Low Fade
  • High Fade

Low Draw: Follow Through

The low draw follow through will have a lower more rounded follow through.  The golfer will often hold off the release slightly to keep the ball low and the handle ahead of the club at impact.

High Draw: Follow Through

The golfer will release the club fully with a higher finish to help hit the ball as high as possible. The swing should have an inside out path with a high follow through.  The key is to get to the path right of the club face for the right handed golfer at impact.

How to Hit A Draw in Golf (Complete Overview)

Low Fade: Follow Through

The golfer will want to again hold off the release with a feel that the right doesn’t quite get all the way through the shot and leaves the face somewhat open at impact.

High Fade: Follow Through

The golfer will want a high follow through with once again a feel that the right hand doesn’t quite get all the way through the shot and leaves the face somewhat open at impact.  They key with both fade shots is to get the swing path left of the clubface at impact.

Fade Shot in Golf (How, What, When, Where)

Rehearsing the follow through prior to hitting the shot.

#3 Golf Swing Follow Through: Assessing and training your game through a fun drill

Tiger Woods was known for the 9 shot challenge.  The 9 shots are the following:

  • Low Draw
  • Low Straight
  • Low Fade
  • Medium Draw
  • Medium Straight
  • Medium Fade
  • High Draw
  • High Straight
  • High Fade

9 Different Golf Shots in Golf: Complete Overview

Go ahead and try to hit 5 shots of every pattern.  This is a total of 45 shots.  Keep your score for how successful you were on the 45 shots.  For example, you might only be successful 10 times out of 45 attempts.  Go ahead and attempt this drill every driving range session and monitor your progress over time.

The long term benefits it that you will learn to work the ball, keep your swing balanced and have many options when you are faced with certain shots on the golf course.

#4 Golf Swing Follow Through: Main Swing Feel or Swing Thought

The key here is to keep the speed out front regardless of the release for the shot you are trying to hit.  The swing thought of having these speed out front will help you overall distance and actually hitting the shot that you desire.

The golfer really gets in trouble when they try to manipulate the golf club through the entire shot.  Instead, focus on getting the speed up front and make the minor adjustments in setup and the slight adjustment in your release to get your desired ball flight.

Golf Swing Thoughts (Overview)

#5 Final Advice: Understand the Ball Flight Laws

For years, there was great confusion over what actually caused the ball to start to the right and curve back towards the target.  Many thought that the path controlled the start line and the club face controlled the curve.  When in reality, the opposite is actually true.

For the most part, the ball will start in the direction of the clubface at impact.  So if the club is 3 degrees open or the right, the ball still starts right.  The ball will then curve dependent on the relationship of the club face to the swing path. 

To hit a draw with any club (one that starts right and curves back towards the target), the golfer will want a club face that is slightly open at impact to get the ball to start right.  However, the club face will be closed to the swing path, which means the swing path is further right than the club face.

In simple terms:

  • The ball will start in the direction of the clubface at impact
  • The ball will then curve away from the swing path

Example 1:

Club Face – 2 degrees open (or to the right)

Swing Path – 4 degree to the right

The ball will start right and curve left, or back towards the target line.

Example 2:

Club Face – 3 degrees open (or to the right)

Swing Path – 1 degree to the right

The ball will start right and fade away from the target.  This would be a push fade.

These two examples show the general pattern and what is needed to hit a draw shot with your driver.  Essentially, on average you want a club face that is 1-2 degrees open at impact with a path that is slightly further open or the right.

A complete game changer. Play golf 365 days a year!

My Secret To Golf Improvement

Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently.  About three years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage.  I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.

This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer.  I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day.  I can practice or play rounds of golf.  I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.

It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.

Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:

Final Thoughts: Proper Takeaway in Golf

The proper takeaway is important for your consistency.  At the end of the day, it is all about matchups in your golf swing and being able to control your start line and curve of the ball.  When you have predictability in your shots, you can properly manage your game and plot your way around a course!  This is a great way to play golf!  My Skytrak has been a game changer and I would highly recommend adding one to your tools!

One of my favorite quotes of all time!

Swing your swing. Not some idea of a swing.  Not a swing you saw on TV. Not that swing you wish you had.  No, swing your swing.  Capable of greatness.  Prized only by you.  Perfect in its imperfection. Swing your swing. I know, I did.

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you?  I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor.  Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed.  Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier.  Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system?  It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:

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