TIPS: GOOD SWING NEEDS GOOD FINISH.

Byline: Ted Eleftheriou Special to the Daily News

Most people don't pay attention to the way they finish their swings. They figure, ``What difference does it make? I've already hit the ball.'' They're wrong. It's very important.

Try this exercise: Throw a ball overhand and hold your finish. Assuming you are right-handed, your weight should be on your left side with your right foot up on its toe and your right shoulder ahead of your left shoulder. Most likely, your belly button will be pointing a little left of the target at which you threw.

Chances are, you don't even think about your finish. It just happened because of your throw. A good golf swing's finish has the same characteristics.

Take a practice swing with your golf club. Your finish should be pretty close to this: weight transferred to your left side; up on your right toe for balance, seeing the entire sole of your shoe from behind; right shoulder trying to finish toward target and closer to target than left shoulder; belly button pointing slightly left of target; left arm in a backwards ``L'' position; club shaft across back of neck.

In addition, here's a little anatomy lesson. The bone that connects your shoulder to your elbow is called the humerus (not like ha-ha, funny). When you hold your finish, the left arm should be in a position where the humerus is parallel to the ground. If it's lower than parallel, you likely pulled across the target, resulting in a pull to the left or a slice to the right.

If it's higher than parallel, you likely swung too far inside out, resulting in a high push and a loss of distance.

Work on this finish and pose (your friends will be impressed), for the count of two after every shot. When you always finish the swing, even the not-so-good shots likely will be slightly better.

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