It can be said that a golf swing has three parts: the backswing, the downswing and the afterswing, or as some call it, the follow-through or finish. Your swing does not end when you hit the ball. Impact occurs only halfway through a proper golf swing. Once you’ve hit the ball, you still have much further to go. In fact, think of it as the ball gets in the way of your swing, so you have no choice but to hit it.
What is helpful is to imagine your golf swing as a pendulum. Hitting the ball occurs on the downside of the swing, but the pendulum still has another complete arc before the swing is complete. When you swing in golf, the same is true. How you finish your swing is just as important as how you begin it. Many problems can be corrected just by perfecting your follow through.
To analyze your finish, take a normal swing and hold your ending position. Once there, look closely at your arms. Your forearms should be completely crossed, making a clear X with the intersecting points being the middle of your forearms. If you don’t see a clear X, this can mean that you are chopping your shot or hitting at the ball
instead of focusing on a proper, full swing.By not executing a full swing you actually will lose power and your ball will lose distance as a result. Make sure that you properly swing the club around your body and end with the club facing towards your back. For right-handed golfers, your right shoulder at the finish should be the closest body part to the target.
Another tip is to keep the club low to the ground after impact. By instantly bringing your club up after impact you can risk sending your ball on a crooked flight path. Try to keep the club low to the ground for at least a few inches after you have hit the ball before you bring the club skyward. This will ensure that you are swinging through the ball, not hitting at it.
Another tip is to make sure you swing down on the ball. Swinging down on the ball will mean you rip a divot through the grass if you’re on a fairway. Because you want to make ball contact with the club first, the club will hit the ball just before it reaches the bottom of the arc. Next the club will rip through the grass.
Finally the club will whip around the body. Don ’t be afraid of the grass. If you see the grass fly up in the air as you’re finishing, you probably just made a great shot.