Improve Your Follow Through with the L to I Drill

The L to I drill is designed to improve your release and clean up the early follow-through, especially if you tend to chicken wing or fold the arms too soon after impact. Many golfers are taught an “L to L” motion, but that pattern often encourages an early rehinge of the wrists on the through-swing. This drill shifts your focus to something more useful for most players: extending through the strike, keeping the arms wide, and learning how to finish in a straighter, more connected position. It is an excellent bridge between short 9 to 3 release drills and your fuller swing.

How the Drill Works

In this drill, you make a controlled backswing to about chest height, where the lead arm and club create a soft “L” shape. From there, you swing through to a finish around waist height, but instead of allowing the club to quickly rehinge, you work toward an “I” shape on the follow-through.

That “I” is the key idea. At the finish, your arms and club should look more extended and in line with each other rather than bent and folded. The goal is to train arm extension, wrist unhinging, and a wide through-swing.

This matters because many amateur golfers let the clubhead pass their hands, then immediately pull the handle inward with the arms. That creates a narrow follow-through, a bent lead arm, and the classic chicken wing look. The L to I drill teaches you to keep moving outward through the ball instead of collapsing the structure of the swing right after impact.

Think of it as a slightly longer version of your release work. You are not making a full swing, but you are adding enough length to the motion that it starts to resemble your normal swing while still preserving the important release pattern.

Step-by-Step

Set up normally. Use a short or mid iron to start. Take your regular posture and grip, and aim as you normally would.
Swing back to the “L.” Make a controlled backswing until your hands are around chest height. The club should form a clear angle with your lead arm. This is not a full backswing—just enough to create width and structure.
Swing through the ball with speed but not force. Let the club release naturally. Your focus is not on hitting hard, but on moving through impact with good sequence and extension.
Finish in the “I.” Stop the swing around waist height on the follow-through. Your arms should be extended, the wrists more unhinged, and the club and arms appearing much straighter than they would in an early rehinge.
Hold the finish. This is important. If you cannot pause in the finish position, you are probably folding the arms, rehinging too early, or pulling the club inward with your hands.
Repeat with small shots. Start with short, controlled swings and modest ball speed. As the motion improves, gradually let it become more athletic while keeping the same follow-through shape.

What You Should Feel

When you perform this drill correctly, the through-swing should feel wider and more extended than what many golfers are used to. If you normally collapse the arms after impact, the motion may even feel exaggerated at first.

Key sensations

The club moves out through the strike rather than immediately being pulled around your body.
Your arms stay long through the early follow-through.
Your wrists unhinge as the club releases, but they do not instantly re-cock into a new hinge.
Your chest keeps turning, supporting the extension of the arms.
The finish is stable enough to hold without wobbling or collapsing.

Useful checkpoints

Your backswing reaches a compact L-shaped position at chest height.
Your follow-through ends around waist height, not wrapped around the body.
Your lead arm is not bent sharply into a chicken wing.
The club has not already rehinged into a folded finish.
Your overall shape looks long and straight, like an “I”.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Turning it into an L to L drill. If the club quickly rehinges on the follow-through, you lose the main benefit of the exercise.
Chicken winging the lead arm. A bent lead elbow through the finish is usually a sign that you are pulling the arms in instead of extending them.
Stopping body rotation. If your chest stalls, your arms will tend to collapse and the club will pass too quickly.
Trying to hold the club off. This is still a release drill. You want natural unhinging of the wrists, just not an early rehinge.
Swinging too long. Keep it in the three-quarter range. If you make a full backswing too soon, it becomes harder to control the finish position.
Hitting too hard. Excess effort often brings back old habits. Prioritize shape and structure over power.
Not pausing at the finish. If you never stop and check the position, you may miss the fact that the follow-through is still collapsing.

How This Fits Your Swing

The L to I drill fits best after you have already done some shorter release training, such as 9 to 3 work. In those shorter drills, you learn how the club releases through impact. This drill takes the next step by asking you to preserve that release while extending farther into the follow-through.

That makes it especially valuable if your contact is decent in small swings but falls apart when you move toward a fuller motion. Often, the missing piece is not the strike itself but what happens just after impact. If your arms fold, the wrists rehinge early, or the club gets pulled inward too quickly, your swing can become inconsistent and weak through the ball.

By training a chest-high backswing and a waist-high extended finish, you build a better pattern for the post-impact phase of the swing. You learn that the release is not just about the clubhead passing the hands. It also includes what your arms, wrists, and body do immediately afterward.

In the bigger picture, this drill helps you create a follow-through that matches what good players do with longer clubs: they stay wide longer, extend through the strike, and avoid the rushed, handsy rehinge that many amateurs develop. If you want a more connected release and a stronger follow-through position, the L to I drill is a simple and effective way to train it.