One more thing I would like to see on the swing meter which again would add a little challenge AND realism.
Have an "overpower" zone. I know other past golf games had this and I liked it quite a bit (bad memory stops me from naming what they were)
So now the meter is heading left from the start (as described in OP) , you now have a "ding" on the left you must hit or it goes into the overpowered zone (just like in golf when you swing too hard the results are not usually desirable, sometimes though)
So just like in real golf, if you manage to still hit the sweet spot on the ball (here on the forward swing right ding) you might get a nice powerful ball with a few extra yards than normal. However often when you try to hit it too hard your balance goes off and well, you golfers out there know the results, nice hook or slice 
If possible, the best way to implement this is to have the meter speed go a little faster on the forward swing IF you entered the overpower zone (more into it, faster you go as well), making the righthand ding a little harder to hit. again the realism.
I remember one game in particular too that I used to play, when you went full power (all the way into the red overpower zone on the left) and you missed the righthand ding, the results were exaggerated somewhat (like worse than normal hook) , not unlike real golf once again.
I really think a meter like this would add a TON to the game, maybe others will disagree! LOL