Hold Your Finish When Practicing

One more thing about practicing properly, before we move along into the Set-Up.  Have you ever noticed professional golfers on television or live at a tournament, posing and hold their position or finish, after they hit their shots, watching intently as the ball flies to the target?  Why do they do that?  Are they really just posing to look good, just in case the TV camera is on them?  Or is there a method to their madness?  I believe most golfers have learned from TV announcers that the players are doing what we call; “Holding your Finish.”  What I don’t believe the average golfer understands is why the players are Holding Their Finish.

Simply put, Holding Their Finish is a product of what they do when they practice either the Long Game or the Short Game.  When they play a round of golf, naturally they will continue doing what they ingrained during their practice sessions.  That is the beauty of practicing correctly vs. incorrectly.  What you learn and ingrain in practice will go to the course with you, whether you like it or not.  They have learned that there is an incredible amount to learn from a follow-through.  We call it Feedback.  We can learn so much from a swing finish.  For instance, a well balanced finish will tell you that you must have done some very positive things during the swing.  It says that all of the components of the swing worked In-Sync and correctly.  Most likely you probably also hit a decent golf shot.  You can also observe your body position at the end of the swing.  In a Short Game wedge shot, are you well balanced with most of your weight over your left leg and up on the toe of your back foot , standing tall and proud of the shot that you just hit, with your hips and chest pointing at the target, and your hands nice and high above your shoulders?  Or are you leaning over slumped, with your head cocked to the side, your hips and chest pointing to right of the target, your weight still on your back foot and heal, your hands about hip high, watching the ball rocket low and to the right of your target?  Hopefully it’s the former.  But, if it is the latter, hope is not lost. 

The value of the Feedback gained by Holding Your Finish, allows you analyze the finish, realize what you did wrong and make the correction right then and there.  It’s called; Hold, Check and Correct.  By doing this, you are telling you body that; “this is where I want you to be on the next follow-through.”  You will then have a much better chance of accomplishing the finish that you want on the next swing.  It’s also called; Short Term Muscle Memory.  Tell your muscles and body what you want them to do by letting them feel it.  It would be wise to make a habit of Holding Your Finish on every shot on the practice range.  The bad shots are the hardest to Hold, but a poor shot’s finish will give you incredible Feedback.  Remember; Hold Your Finish on the practice tee and you will automatically Hold it on the golf course.