One of the nonnegotiable elements of any swing is that it must eventually end. Lots of technique focuses on the mechanics of the backswing and downswing transition without addressing how impactful the follow-through can be for power and accuracy. Deceleration is more often the limiting factor in a golfer’s quest for greater club head speed in the follow-through than an actual lack of ability to accelerate or create speed in the downswing. Contrary to belief, just telling yourself to swing harder by cranking back the club deep into your backswing like you’re John Daly and swinging out of your shoes will not actually produce a greater clubhead speed if your body is not primed to take on that stress. Let’s take a look a further look into this concept and highlight the muscles we want to focus on that will give your nervous system more confidence in your body’s ability to rapidly decelerate the club in the follow- through.

The purpose of the follow-through is for deceleration to occur post-impact. Core muscles such as your obliques, quadratus lumborum, psoas major, and transverse and rectus abdominis muscles work overtime during this phase to produce a force that is able to overcome the forces created in the downswing to begin decelerating the club. The lat muscles lengthen during this phase of the golf swing to stabilize the shoulders and safely slow the arms before reaching the end range of the follow-through. Strengthening these muscles can ultimately determine how much control your body has in stopping the swing at a rapid pace. A strong core allows the golfer to decelerate the golf swing almost instantly, allowing for the initial follow-through phase to still allow for the club to accelerate through the shot. A nervous system that senses weak core control will force the body to decelerate the golf swing earlier to prevent injury from occurring.