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Access the Malaska Golf app for M-System golf instruction, training videos, drills, member content, and coaching resources designed to help golfers simplify their swing and play with more confidence

Malaska Golf App | M-System Golf Instruction & Training

Mike Malaska talks about the change of direction in a golf swing. He believes there is no "top of the swing," just a start and a finish. 

There is a point and time in the backswing at the club transition point where inertia takes over, and you start on the downswing. This should be one fluid motion, so think of the "top of the swing" as "the club transition point."

If you change directions correctly, that's what drops your arms and gets the club coming down perfectly into the ball. You will come over the top if you change directions incorrectly or too late.

A great way to practice change of direction is to use an Eye Coach tennis machine, where you can practice your forehand with a tennis racket. As Mike swings and hits the ball, the racket goes back, and he moves forward.

That same timing and motion are identical to a golf swing. As Mike swings the golf club back, he steps forward. This change of direction is a continuous athletic motion. It is not wrong to practice the transition point, but when your mind thinks to swing to the top and start down, you won't be able to get to your left side soon enough.

This same concept applies to multiple sports, such as baseball, hockey, soccer, and golf.

USING A TENNIS SWING MACHINE TO PRACTICE TRANSITION

Practice working on swinging the club with the trail arm. This drill helps you keep your shoulders level, not slide your body, stop the up and down motion in your wrists, and get your hips out of the way as you pivot through the ball.

TRAIL (RIGHT) ARM DRILL

The M-System is a 5-tier instructional plan designed to simplify the game and build your skills for every type of swing. It doesn&rsquo;t matter if you&rsquo;re just starting out or if you have been playing for years at a high level. We&rsquo;ll go step-by-step through every aspect of the sport from basic setup to advanced theory and swing drills. Each video explores a new aspect of the game to give you a greater understanding of what&rsquo;s happening when your club hits the ball. Every level increases its focus as you increase your ability. I promise you, golf is not overly difficult. You just have to unlock the game that works best for you. And this is exactly what The M-System is designed to do.

M-System

In the fourth video of the Player Lesson series, Mike Malaska shifts his focus to one of the most fundamental elements of the golf swing: the grip. This session emphasizes how the way a golfer holds the club directly impacts every aspect of their swing, from power and control to ball flight and consistency. For Jimmy Pearcy, learning to perfect his grip is a transformative step in his journey to improving his game.Mike begins by explaining that the grip is the connection between the golfer and the club, and getting it right is essential. He walks Jimmy through a step-by-step process for properly positioning his hands. Starting with the left hand, Mike instructs Jimmy to grip the club in his fingers rather than his palm. The hand should fold naturally over the club, with the thumb resting gently along the side. The right hand then fits snugly over the left thumb, with the "V" formed by the thumb and index finger of both hands pointing toward the same spot.Mike emphasizes a critical checkpoint for grip alignment: when Jimmy looks down, he should see three knuckles on his left hand. This alignment ensures that the wrist and forearm are positioned to support the natural movement of the clubface. Mike warns that if this alignment is off, the rest of the swing will falter, making it impossible to strike the ball consistently.To illustrate the role of grip in swing mechanics, Mike draws on analogies from other sports. He describes how a baseball player grips a bat to generate leverage and power. Similarly, in golf, the grip allows the wrists and hands to act as levers, creating speed and control. Mike shows Jimmy how this lever system works by having him practice a "lever-and-hit" motion, where the hands guide the club into the ball with a fluid release.As Jimmy practices, Mike identifies an issue with tension in his grip. He explains that excessive tightness robs the swing of speed and power. A relaxed grip, on the other hand, allows the club to move naturally, maximizing both efficiency and control. Using a series of drills, Mike encourages Jimmy to let the weight of the clubhead dictate the motion, focusing on a smooth hinge and release of the wrists.Mike connects these concepts to ball flight and spin control, introducing Jimmy to the idea of shaping shots. Just as a tennis player learns to apply topspin for greater control and precision, a golfer must master the clubface to produce a consistent draw. Mike explains that a proper grip ensures the clubface aligns correctly at impact, allowing Jimmy to hit powerful, controlled shots that start slightly to the right and curve back toward the target.The lesson continues with Jimmy hitting shots while applying these principles. Initially, he struggles to adjust, but as he loosens his grip and focuses on the lever action, his swings become more fluid and powerful. He begins to hit solid shots with less effort, a testament to the effectiveness of a proper grip and relaxed motion.Throughout the session, Mike emphasizes the importance of practicing the fundamentals. He reminds Jimmy that the grip is the foundation of a successful swing and that consistent practice is key to making it second nature. He advises Jimmy to spend time hitting balls into his net at home, focusing on his grip and the lever system until it becomes an automatic part of his swing.By the end of the lesson, Jimmy experiences the difference that a correct grip can make. He learns that the hands and wrists play a crucial role in controlling the clubface and generating power. With Mike’s guidance, Jimmy begins to see how mastering his grip can unlock greater consistency, accuracy, and distance in his game.This session marks a significant milestone in Jimmy’s journey. By focusing on the grip, Mike equips Jimmy with a foundational skill that will improve every aspect of his swing. With this newfound knowledge and practice, Jimmy is poised to take his game to the next level.

Perfect Your Grip Step By Step

The main Malaska Collections are just the start of what we have planned for Malaska Golf. Here in Malaska Originals, we highlight our curated video series with more to come on the horizon.

Malaska Golf Originals

Your hands control the clubface. If your hand action is off, your swing will always rely on compensations. Day 5 is where everything begins to come together&mdash;grip, motion, and clubface control. In this lesson, Mike Malaska shows you how your hands should move through the swing so you can flatten the lead wrist, cup the trail wrist, and square the face without twisting. You will learn how the lead hand works like a chop, and the trail hand pushes and releases. Mike explains how the wrists interact at setup, backswing, impact, and finish&mdash;switching roles as the swing transitions. This is not about flipping or scooping. It is about building structure and consistency. You will also learn how to rehearse this movement slowly and deliberately without even hitting a ball.
What You&rsquo;ll Learn About Hand Action: How the lead and trail hands move throughout the swing Why flattening and cupping matter more than rotation or twist How to feel the hand action at home with slow practice Where the wrists should be at setup, top, impact, and follow-through How this hand sequence squares the face without manipulation
Mike emphasizes that you do not need to hit balls to improve this. In fact, most of this is best practiced at home in slow motion. These small details will become automatic with time. The more you train your hands to work correctly, the less you will rely on timing or compensations in your swing.
Key Takeaway: Great ball striking comes from great hand action. Practice flattening the lead wrist and cupping the trail wrist through the swing. That is what squares the face and unlocks control.

Day 5-Hand Action in the Golf Swing

Hi, my name is Matt Baker, and I'm a Malaska Golf Certified Coach based here in the UK. This is a great question from Mike Witkowski, asking: When should you hinge the wrist? Is it at the start of the swing or at the top of the swing?That's a really good question because, as with many things in golf, there are so many different variations on this, especially if you watch tournament players.Our recommendation is to start hinging the wrist as soon as possible—almost immediately. The way I like to feel it is by imagining that I'm pushing the handle down while pulling the clubhead up. This really helps get the club swinging on the correct path.And that's the key feeling—you definitely don't want to hinge only at the top. You don’t want that sudden "snap" motion. Some coaches teach that, but in my experience, it can cause a rebound effect, and I don’t like that. I’ve tried it, and it didn’t work well for me. So, setting the wrists early is crucial.The feeling you want is that, as you take the club back, the handle is being pushed down and the clubhead is going up. Ideally, the full wrist set might happen around the halfway point of your backswing, then you complete the swing and follow through.So, the key takeaway is to hinge the wrists as soon as you can. Focus on the feeling of "handle down, clubhead up." Say it to yourself: "handle down, clubhead up"—and swing through. It will help you complete the swing consistently every time.It’s a gradual motion as you're swinging back—gradually pushing the handle down and lifting the clubhead up. It’s not a snap motion, but a smooth, continuous movement.I hope this helps answer your question, and good luck with it!

When To Hinge The Wrists

To create maximum speed and control the lever system needs to work properly. By the time your lead arm gets parallel to the ground on the backswing. You need a 90 degree angle between the lead arm and the club shaft. That same relationship needs to happen on the follow through by the time your trail arm gets parallel to the ground on the finish. Your hands need to also work in a manner that minimizes the face rotation relative to the swing arch. This makes power and consistency very attainable.

L TO L

M-System Elite

Determining where your swing bottoms out is how you decide on ball position. Learning to hit the sand in the same place is critical to consistent bunker shots. Draw a line and hit the line. That is a very important skill.

ANGLE OF APPROACH & THE LOW POINT OF THE SWING

Hi, my name is Matt Baker, and I'm a Malaska Golf Certified Coach based in the UK. This is a great question from Russ John. His question is whether you should hold the angle in the right wrist at impact or throughout the swing.The answer is no, you shouldn’t forcibly hold that angle. Doing so creates tension and can cause you to lose speed and power by dragging the handle through impact. Instead, you want your wrist to hinge and unhinge naturally, with proper timing.At impact, there should still be a slight flex in the right wrist, but after hitting the ball, the momentum of the club will cause the right arm to extend and form a straight line, followed by the wrist hinging up. This slight wrist flex at impact is due to correct use of the club's momentum, and it's all about timing the hinge and unhinge properly.A key tip is to practice the pivot drill, which helps time everything correctly. Some golfers tend to stop their hips, releasing the wrists too early. By tying the swing to proper body movement—pushing the hips back and away from the target—you can create the right release at the right time for a solid, compressed shot.Instead of focusing on holding the angle, work on pushing the left hip back and through. Practice with smaller shots to get the feel, ensuring the wrists hinge, unhinge, and rehinge, along with the proper hip movement. This will help you strike the ball cleanly and generate more distance.

Don't Hold The Angle At Impact

Hi, my name is Matt Baker, and I'm a Malaska Golf Certified Coach based in the UK. I'm filling in for Mike this week on "Ask Mike" because he's a bit busy.Now, we have a great comment from a gentleman named Michael Brand. Michael mentioned how helpful Mike’s advice was in the video where he talks about taking the left thumb off the handle and holding the club this way.For Michael, this tip helped free up his wrist hinge, which is exactly what we want. It's a drill that most golfers should practice regularly. Why? Because golfers often place their left thumb on the side of the handle, which turns it into a pusher. This can cause the handle to be pushed during the downswing, resulting in a loss of wrist freedom. And that freedom is key to improving your swing.Interestingly, Butch Harmon’s father, Claude Harmon, won the Masters playing without his left thumb on the handle because this freedom helps you release the wrists. This is exactly what we want: free wrists that hinge, unhinge, and rehinge during the forward swing. This creates clubhead speed and better control of the club.After a few swings, once you've developed that sense of freedom in the wrists, you can place your thumb back on the handle. At that point, the thumb serves more as a stabilizer, particularly at the top of the swing, preventing the club from going over your shoulder while still maintaining freedom in the swing.This drill helps with releasing the wrists and using the hands correctly. Practice it as much as you can, and you'll generate better clubhead speed and have the freedom in your hands to release the club properly, leading to better, more relaxed golf.

Left Hand Off The Handle

Your hands are your swing. If you use them in a certain manner. It becomes significantly easier to control the ball. Your lead hand basically hinges and unhinges. Your trail hand flexes and extends. There is very little fact rotation relative to your swing arch. Also if your lead hand is in this hinge position it is very strong. IT is how the lead wrist is designed to hit an object with the most force and the least chance for injury. Your trail hand flexing and extending is how you throw a ball, Shoot a basketball, or throw a bowling ball.

WRIST HINGE

A Malaska Golf Member has a question about a video that Ashley Malaska Moss did on the L to L Drill.Mike Malaska explains that many of the drills are slight exaggerations. When you do the L to L, you move from the ‘L’ on the backswing to ‘L’ on the follow-through and hold that position. However, if your body stops, the momentum of the club swinging through will cause the club to turn or flip over.Mike demonstrates from straight-on, where you can see the rotation in his arms. This is what they were asking about.When Mike does the L to L, he doesn’t swing hard and holds the ‘L’ on both sides. That way, his arms are stopping, and he is able to do the drill.If he goes to full speed while doing the L to L, then some rotation in the arms will happen. The momentum of the club will take over as it swings through on the follow-through.Again, drills are exaggerations. Mike actually likes to see people do the L to L drill while loosely holding the club in their fingers. Mike explains that this is so that you can feel the momentum and weight of the club, making your wrists hinge, unhinge, and rehinge. This is better than trying to hold the club too tight and start hanging on the club with your shoulders. Drills like the ‘Look Cool’ drill help you create the momentum of the club.Start holding the club loosely, then add a little structure and tension until you find the correct pressure when doing the L to L. That’s how you build it.Remember, the L to L is a slight exaggeration. Some things wouldn’t happen in full swing. Mike also notes that because your body stops, your wrists will rehinge earlier than they would in full swing.The L to L is there for a reason and is a slight exaggeration, but if you master it, it will pay big dividends.

L to L is an Exaggeration

The drill library is a collection of several drills to help your game. To begin, familiarize yourself with what is in there. Depending on what you are working on, guide yourself to drills that will help with your game. These drills all relate to some part of the M-System. If you have a problem with a particular part of the M-System, you can find additional drills in the drill library. These will help you navigate your game through that system. Just have fun. Try the drills. There is not a drill in the drill library that will hurt you. Suppose you find a drill that is hard to do. Work on it. It will make you a better player.

Drill Center

If you stay on your left side when you hit the ball 100 yards in, is it ok to do that with all your clubs?

Mike says this is the Stack and Tilt method, and you are basically playing off your left foot. Force is going from right to left. You aren't trying to hit the ball as far as you can, but you are trying to control trajectory as much as possible.

Mike stands on his left foot and swings from 100 to 120 yards. When he gets outside that range and is still on his left side, he finds it harder to get the ball in the air. Also, Mike can't hit the ball as far.

When you are creating speed, it comes from the ground up. When you swing left, right, left, that whole change of force is a considerable speed producer that goes through your body.

If you stand on your left side, you have eliminated the loading of the shaft, and you won't hit the ball as far. You will hit the ball a little lower and more to the right.

Golf is about a blend of motions and actions. When Mike is hitting short shots, he hits from his left side. If he hits his driver with the same setup, he could hit it fine, but he wouldn't get the distance. Using the left, right, left motion allows Mike to pressure the shaft and become a big speed producer.

It's the change of direction in your body and the force it puts into your club.

Playing on your left side is a way to play, but after 100 yards, you will have to give up distance and speed.

 STANDING ON YOUR LEFT SIDE

Renowned 2024 Golf Digest Legend of Golf Instruction Mike Malaska has crafted the M-System Lite, which stems from the world&rsquo;s premier golf swing process, the M-System.
Mike has distilled the M-System's main concepts into 5 concise, impactful, game-changing videos designed to simplify and improve your game quickly.
Mike understands that many people may not have the time or commitment to invest in or commit to a lengthy training program like the full M-System, and the M-System Lite is the answer.
With just 5 videos, you&rsquo;ll witness remarkable improvements in your swing and see your score drop dramatically on the course.
The M-System Lite starts with an overall introduction video from Mike. Then, videos on M1: Line of Compression, M2: The Lever System, M3: How the Body Works, M4: Combining Skills, and M5: Practice. This all aligns with the original M-System M1-M5, and these are the most important concepts to understand from the M-System.
The M-System Lite is a fast track to a better golf swing, and mastering these 5 videos will undoubtedly pay off in lower scores and increased confidence.
Once you have mastered the M-System Lite, you can continue your golfing journey and augment it with the full M-System.

M-System Lite

A deep dive into Pitching with Mike Malaska and the M-SYSTEM

Pitching

In this three-part Player Lesson series, Mike Malaska works with Malaska Golf Certified Coach Matt Baker from England during the annual gathering of Certified Coaches in Arizona. As a coach who teaches the M-System and helps golfers improve their games every day, Matt steps into the role of student as Mike helps him address a swing pattern that has followed him for years.
The series begins by identifying an old compensation that developed from years of trying to control the clubface and avoid the pull hook. Although Matt's swing mechanics and clubface control have improved significantly, Mike explains how golfers often continue making compensations for problems they no longer have.
From there, Mike introduces a more athletic movement pattern based on principles found in baseball, tennis, and other rotational sports. Matt learns how to stop sliding through impact, create space with proper pelvis movement, and allow his body to rotate more freely through the shot.
The final lesson focuses on trust. Mike explains that lasting improvement only occurs when golfers experience success with a new movement and allow their subconscious mind to accept it. Through repetition, performance, and on-course application, Matt begins replacing fear with confidence and learns to trust the movement he teaches to others.
Throughout the series, Mike shares personal stories from his own playing career while demonstrating how compensations develop, why they persist, and how golfers can eliminate them. The lessons provide valuable insight into the relationship between clubface control, body rotation, athletic motion, and trust.
This series reinforces a core Malaska Golf principle: better golf is often achieved not by adding more swing thoughts, but by removing the compensations that prevent the body from moving naturally. By identifying old habits, replacing them with athletic movement, and learning to trust the result, golfers can create a more powerful, efficient, and repeatable swing.

Matt Baker Player Lesson

Most all sports crossover. Your body is a pattern machine. It does not know if you are playing golf or tennis or baseball. It is just duplicating or learning patterns. Once you learn a pattern it is transferable to other sports. So any sport that you play has application to golf. And if you play golf it has applications and direct crossovers to other sports. So rather than learn something new why not use what you already know. Most of the motions you make in a swing you already know how to do them. You are doing them every day just moving around and being involved in the universe.

Sports Connect

Golf should be easy. It should be fun. That&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;ve put together this&nbsp;21 Days to Your Best Golf Swing&nbsp;program &ndash;to help you finally&nbsp;own your own swing.&nbsp;For just $21, you&rsquo;ll follow the same world-class swing process I teach my students, step-by-step, one day at a time. What do you have to lose&hellip; except your slice?&nbsp;This program will help you&nbsp;Master&nbsp;the fundamentals,&nbsp;Maximize&nbsp;your potential, and&nbsp;Maintain&nbsp;your edge &ndash;the same 3 M&rsquo;s I use with every player I coach.

21 Days to YOUR Best Golf Swing [Purchase]

How do you determine how much grip pressure you need on the hands and the club?

Once you put your right hand on the club, your right palm goes on the back of your left thumb. There is a pressure there, and you want that to remain constant throughout the swing. You don’t want to tighten your grip pressure because as soon as it does, your wrists freeze up. What is the correct amount of pressure?

If you take the club and hold it above your hands, there is virtually no tension or pressure in your hands. If you let the club drop to just below your hands, you will start to feel your grip pressure change. Your forearms will begin to tighten up.

Now, bring the club halfway back. Make some soft circles with the club where you feel the pressure on your left thumb. As you make these circles, you will notice that the feeling isn’t tight or restricting your wrists. However, if you increase the amount of grip pressure, you start to lose the feel you have for the weight of the clubhead. All you can feel is the pressure on your thumb, and your grip pressure will be too tight.

Once you identify the correct grip pressure, lower the club and set it up behind the ball. Make a swing and maintain that pressure throughout the swing. You must identify how much grip pressure you need and then maintain it.

PROPER GRIP PRESSURE

(Build a Better Swing from the Ground Up with Mike Malaska&rsquo;s Proven Process) What if you could rebuild your entire golf swing in just three weeks&mdash;step by step, with a system that actually works? 21 Days to Your Best Golf Swing isn&rsquo;t just a lesson plan&mdash;it&rsquo;s a structured transformation. Led by Hall of Fame coach Mike Malaska, this series guides you through the exact process he&rsquo;s used to help thousands of players break bad habits, simplify their motion, and gain total control of their swing. Each day introduces one key concept or drill that builds on the last, so you're never overwhelmed&mdash;and never left guessing. You&rsquo;ll train your hands, feet, body, and mind to work together as one. This is how the swing becomes repeatable, powerful, and built to last. Each day targets a key component of the swing: from grip, face control, and balance&hellip; to footwork, momentum, and impact. You&rsquo;ll learn how the body and club work together, how to generate effortless speed, and how to train smarter&mdash;not harder. Whether you&rsquo;re a weekend golfer or a serious player, this series will reshape your game from the ground up.
What You&rsquo;ll Learn Over 21 Days: Why your grip is your swing&mdash;and how to fix it How to feel and control the clubface without guessing How to train with L-to-L motion for speed and consistency Why your feet and lower body control swing path and power The truth about impact&mdash;and how to make it automatic How to stop early extension and maintain posture naturally How to separate Practice from Play for real improvement And how to build a long-term process to Master, Maximize, and Maintain your swing
Key Takeaway: Real improvement doesn&rsquo;t come from isolated tips. It comes from following a proven process that simplifies your swing and builds your instincts over time. 21 Days to Your Best Golf Swing is that process. Train one day at a time, and you&rsquo;ll never go back to guessing on the course again.

21 Days to Your Best Golf Swing

When you set up to the ball what your eyes see as the start line is way off. You need to set sticks up so you have a target line and a stick about 6 to 10 feet in front of your target line stick. Directly on the target line. So when you set up to the ball. You then actually see the correct start line to make the ball go at the flag or destination. Being able to understand this picture is a big part of trusting the correct path into the ball. With out the sticks you would never really trust the correct start line. This is a big reason players aim right and come over the top to hit the ball.

TARGET LINE & PARALLAX

A Malaska Golf Member asks about crossover sports and getting a feel for the golf club.

Mike has heard people in the golf industry talk about “throwing a ball.” They want you to feel the golf swing and feel like you are throwing the golf ball way out in front. Doing this causes your right elbow to go in front of your hip, an exaggeration you don’t want to happen. Your right elbow should work on your right hip. Ben Hogan kept his right elbow even with his hip when he swung a golf club. It never outran his hip.

Mike says you don’t want to feel like you are throwing the ball out in front of you. Instead, try throwing a ball at another ball placed where you would set it up on a tee.

Mike demonstrates this and says that if he practices enough, he can hit the ball anywhere on the surface of the target ball. This drill helps you to direct momentum down towards the ball and, in this case, a golf club. When you swing, you are directing the momentum of the clubhead down to the ball.

Mike also shows us if you follow what others are saying and want the clubhead to run into the ball, you will miss the ball on the swing.

Again, Mike says you are throwing momentum into the back of the ball with the golf club. Get a feel for throwing a ball and feel how loose your wrist is when you do this. This is the same feeling you have in a golf swing.

THROWING A BALL

An all-around athlete and true competitor from the time she could walk, Ashley dreamed of a career in sports. It all started with a passion in soccer and softball, but she later grew to love the game of golf. Her understanding of other athletic movements helped her easily transition to golf when she picked up the game at the age of 16. Ashley went on to play for the University of Arizona, winning the Pac-10 championship as a team in 2010. Later transferring to Brigham Young University, she finished her last year of school and graduated with a degree in Business Marketing.

Along with playing professionally, she is an LPGA Class A and Malaska Golf Lead Instructor at Superstition Mountain Country Club in Gold Canyon, Arizona. She is also the founder and CEO of Born2Golf, a program that helps students figure out the role that golf will play in their lives. She is a part of the prestigious list of “Golf Digest’s Best Young Teachers in America” for 2019-2020. Other certifications include: U.S. Kids Certified Instructor, Positive Coaching Alliance Member, and Liaison between the LPGA and Arizona Women’s Golf Association.

Ashley’s philosophy of teaching follows in her father’s footsteps. She believes passion in golf starts with a reason to love the game that has given her so much. As an instructor, Ashley uncomplicates and simplifies the game as much as possible — making movement patterns more athletic and less confusing for all levels of players. She believes the best players develop their own game, instead of trying to mold them into a tour-player model.

ASHLEY MALASKA MOSS

The driver and putter are the two most important clubs in the bag. With the driver, it is essential to hit the ball a decent distance and control where it goes off the tee. It is crucial to get started the right way. You can't play the game if you can't hit your driver well. It won't put you in a position to chip or putt the ball because you are out of play all the time. Learning to hit the driver well is paramount to playing the game. Hitting a driver well is the most enjoyable part; everyone likes to see how far the ball goes. The problem is that what people perceive will make the ball go farther and what makes the driver move fast is incorrect. What people attempt to do with tension and effort to make the club move faster actually slows the club down. When you put everything together, you can have fun with how the driver works, how those forces work, hitting the ball farther, and controlling the golf ball. When you go through The M-System Driver series, you will learn different parts of what you are trying to do to get the right feel of swinging the driver. If you get out of sequence and one part doesn't work, and you try to make the ball go far or create more speed, then you are creating speed the wrong way. This is harder to control the clubface and to be able to have fun. Getting off the tee successfully and getting the ball in play can make the driver the most important club in the bag.

Driver

A Malaska Golf Member has a question about the Malaska Move.Mike says the funny thing is that he had nothing to do with it. It was a move that Joe Nichols taught Mike, and several other coaches talked about it.Mike shows the Malaska Move, where you start down on your swing, and the club works back out in front of you rather than going out in front of your body.The Member’s question is if he does the Malaska Move, will it make his hands tip over the top and go over in the follow-through? Mike explains that won’t necessarily happen. When the club is on the downswing, when you change directions, the handle comes down, and the club will go out.The momentum of the club will be in the right arc as you turn into the ball. You don’t have to catch it up.A lot of the twisting of the clubface happens because the club is too back and out. Mike demonstrates this. You have to either twist your body hard or catch the club up with your hands.If you do the Malaska Move, where the arms and handle come down, with the club going out, you can just turn on the ball, and the clubface will run into the ball. There is no twisting of your forearms because the momentum of the club is out in front of you, and everything stays together as you hit the ball.It is all about directing momentum. It feels one way. It does something different.

The Malaska Move

This Malaska Golf Ask Mike comes from several members, YouTube subscribers, and emails. They all want to know the proper hand action, release, and what your hands should do.

Mike explains that it is simple once you get the grip right. However, many don't move their hands correctly, which distorts the clubface.

Mike takes us through a few steps to give a visual and feel for what your hands must do. Mike uses the Malaska Cam to show what the hand action looks like from his eyes and relative to the target lines on the floor. Viewing from the player's perspective gives you a greater understanding.

Mike talks about how everyone was supposed to have a neutral grip, palms opposing. If you have that grip, there will be a lot of twisting of the hands in the swing. It makes it difficult to be consistent. Mike laments that he played this way most of his professional career and wishes he didn't.

Mike demonstrates how your hands should work. Your left hand is on an angle, and your right is more vertical. Mike shows us the hand action as he moves his arm and hand back. It doesn't twist.

Mike's right hand levers back like an underhand throwing action, while the left hand is like a chopping action. When you put the two hands together and swing your arms, that's your grip. 

It is crucial to understand this concept. When Mike takes his grip and opens his hands, his palms are not opposing.

Mike also demonstrates how swinging with his left hand is like hitting a baseball bat, you lever and hit. Your right hand levers and throws. You put that together, and that is your hand action.

Mike walks us through the Malaska Cam so we can see hand action from his eyes.

HAND ACTION IN THE SWING

This is M1. The M-SYSTEM is a complete training system for your whole game. Start with M1. Learn the fundamentals, advance through M5. Then start learning about individual skills specific to Driving, Bunkers, Short Game, Putting, Chipping and Irons. Welcome to Malaska Golf.

M1-Swing Concepts

In this episode of Ask Malaska Golf, Malaska Certified Coach Brian Gott responds to a question from Darrell about developing a blister on his pinky finger and how grip size may be affecting his swing.
Darrell&rsquo;s issue points to a common problem: grips that are too large. When the grip is too big, the club shifts into the palms instead of the fingers, which disrupts pressure points and forces the golfer to squeeze too tightly.
Brian reinforces a core M-System principle: the club must sit in the fingers. The idea of &ldquo;fingertips&rdquo; is used as an exaggeration to ensure the club is not sitting deep in the palm.
He explains that glove wear can reveal this issue. Proper grip pressure typically wears the glove at the thumb. If the glove is wearing across the top of the hand, it&rsquo;s a sign the grip may be too large and sitting incorrectly.
The blister on the pinky is another indicator. When the club is not supported correctly in the fingers, the right pinky can start to overwork or lose its role entirely. Instead, the primary pressure should come from the middle fingers of the trail hand, which stabilize the handle and secure the lead thumb.
Brian emphasizes that the grip should be firm, but not tight. Excess tension limits the ability to create the lever system, which is where speed comes from in the M-System.
He suggests testing a slightly smaller grip size to make it easier to position the club correctly in the fingers. With proper structure and pressure, golfers can improve both face control and speed without adding effort.
&ldquo;When the grip is in the fingers and the pressure is in the right place, you can control the face and create speed without forcing it.&rdquo; &ndash; Brian Gott
What You&rsquo;ll Learn in This Video: &bull; Why grip size affects how the club sits in your hands &bull; How to identify improper grip through glove wear &bull; Why the club must sit in the fingers, not the palm &bull; How proper finger pressure stabilizes the clubface &bull; How grip pressure influences speed and the lever system

Fix Your Grip Size

If your grip is wrong, your swing will always be limited&mdash;no matter how much you practice. That&rsquo;s why Day 4 of this series is dedicated to one thing: understanding and mastering the three essential golf grips. Mike Malaska explains how each grip serves a different purpose depending on the shot you&rsquo;re hitting, and how your hands need to adjust between putting, pitching, and full swing. You will learn why the putting grip sits deep in the palms to reduce motion, why the pitching grip allows for precise control of your wrist angles, and why the full swing grip belongs in your fingers to allow proper wrist hinge and maximum speed. Mike breaks down each one, shows how to find the correct position for your hands and fingers, and explains how grip influences wrist action, clubface control, and power. This lesson is not about theory. It is about feel. You will learn how to spot the differences between the three grips and train the sensitivity needed to switch between them confidently. Mike also shares a powerful reminder&mdash;even tour players like Scottie Scheffler check their grip daily to maintain consistency.
What You&rsquo;ll Learn About the Three Grips: How putting, pitching, and full swing grips differ in hand position and purpose Why the full swing grip belongs in your fingers for leverage and speed Why putting and pitching grips sit higher in the palm for stability and control How your grip directly affects your wrist function and angle of approach Why daily grip work is essential&mdash;even if you think your grip is fine
Mike emphasizes that the grip is not something you check once and forget. It is something you build feel for and revisit constantly. A small change in your thumb or hand placement can have a big effect on your contact, trajectory, and distance. This is not just a setup detail&mdash;it is a swing fundamental.
Key Takeaway: Your grip controls your swing. Train all three&mdash;putting, pitching, and full swing&mdash;and know why each one matters. The way your hands connect to the club determines what your body can do with it.

Day 4-The Three Grips in Golf

Billy Fitzgerald has been a student of the game and teaching golf for over two decades. In his early childhood his father, owner of Fitzgerald Gravel in Michigan, gave him a choice to pick stones out of black dirt or golf balls off the range at the local country club. He picked golf and would never look back.
Billy competed at the junior and high school levels before playing his college golf at Grand Valley State University. After graduating from GVSU he would take his first professional job at Bay Harbor Golf Club in Northern Michigan. It was here where Billy met the legendary Jim Flick spending the next decade learning from one of the games best. Jim spent his summers in Michigan and winters in Arizona at Desert Mountain as would Billy, joining the teaching staff in the desert.
In 2008 Billy accepted the job as Director of Instruction at Olympia Fields Country Club in Chicago, IL and was recognized as one of Golf Digest&rsquo;s Best Young Teachers from 2010-2020. During this time he contributed articles and videos to the magazine and website. In 2014 he was appointed lead instructor at Beverly Country Club also in Chicago where he is currently the Director of Instruction.
In 2016 Billy traveled back to Arizona to spend a few days with Mike Malaska, whom he had developed a relationship with through Mr. Flick. &lsquo;&rsquo;After spending a few days with Mike I was blown away at the simplicity and pure genius of his teaching style. It really lit a fire in me. The ability to take things we already know how to do and connect sports and golf was a home run.&rdquo; Over the next 7 years Billy trained with Mike not only on his own game but to take his teaching to a new level. Billy is thrilled to have Mike&rsquo;s endorsement as a Malaska Certified Coach and is ready to help your journey to become a complete golfer.

Malaska Certified-Billy Fitzgerald

Golfers everywhere chase the same things: solid contact, effortless power, and consistent results. But for most players, those goals stay just out of reach&mdash;because they&rsquo;ve never been taught the one move that ties it all together. That move is called the line of compression. It&rsquo;s not a trendy tip or swing theory&mdash;it&rsquo;s the core motion that creates real ball-striking consistency. It&rsquo;s what allows the club to strike the ball solidly, compress it against the ground, and send it on a true, penetrating flight. The best players in the world have it. Most amateurs don&rsquo;t. In fact, many golfers practice for years without ever learning how to create it. In this opening lesson of the 21-day series, Mike Malaska breaks it down. He shows you how to feel it by aligning your right arm with the shaft and using simple training tools like a putting track or a tee gate. Your goal is to roll the line on the golf ball smoothly while striking the center of the clubface without clipping the toe or heel. This daily calibration drill ensures that every shot you hit is built from the same solid foundation.
What You'll Learn About Compression in the Golf Swing: How to create the line of compression with a connected, powerful motion Why solid contact starts with center-face strikes How to roll the ball cleanly with no wobble How this motion applies to every shot&mdash;from putts to sand shots
Train the Feel If you&rsquo;re struggling to connect the motion, grab a tennis racket or a baseball bat and swing it. These larger tools exaggerate the feel of compression and make it easier to sense how your hands, arms, and body should work together.

Day 1-Line of Compression

A good picture for your swing is the areas the handle of the club swings trough. If you take a line directly under the but end of the club. Extend it parallel to the target line. Just to the right of your back foot about 6 inches put a tee. Then place another tee the same distance in front of your front foot on that line. On the backswing the club shaft goes directly over the back tee and the club shaft aims at the tee. On the down swing the club hits the same point. On the follow through the butt end of the club is directly over the front tee and the club shaft is aimed at the tee. 

CORNER DRILL

Billy Fitzgerald, a Malaska-certified coach, addresses a question from Malaska Golf Member about the "left-right-left" movement in the golf swing—starting with pressure on the left side, shifting to the right, and then back to the left. This movement is a technique for generating momentum, and Billy notes it’s a question he receives often.Billy explains that this movement helps restore a sense of athleticism in the swing. In many sports, shifting weight to the opposite side before moving adds power by creating something to push off from. This left-right-left sequence not only enhances athleticism but also improves timing and rhythm while preventing a static start.One of the most common challenges he hears from golfers is difficulty initiating the swing. Billy explains that the left-right-left motion helps start the swing by signaling to the body that it’s time to go. He suggests that it’s a great addition to any pre-shot routine, helping break up the feeling of stiffness.To illustrate the concept, Billy references Vijay Singh, a golfer known for his smooth rhythm. Singh’s technique included a slight knee kick that would initiate a leftward shift, then back to the right, and finally left again in the swing—a consistent and powerful rhythm, regardless of the club he was using.Billy demonstrates his own routine with a balance board to practice shifting weight. He encourages students to place initial pressure on the left, then move right and return left in the swing. He notes that this slight movement brings rhythm to the swing, allowing him to initiate it smoothly, stay athletic, and easily pull the trigger at impact.

Power Up With Left-Right-Left

In this video, Austin Graham moves from his wedge to his 7 iron and returns to the ROTEXMotion Floor Models. Austin applies what he learned with the wedge, makes practice swings, and then hits some balls. His swing is looking great.

Mike asks Austin if using the longer club feels more magnified going through the swing motion. Austin replies that it does. Mike stands behind Austin, places his left hand on his left hip, and notices there isn’t much lateral movement, which is good. Now Austin should take the feeling of the swing motion with the 7 iron on the discs and repeat it on the floor.

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Austin and Mike discuss how their body feels when they swing with the slight lateral movement. Mike feels force go from his right foot to his left foot and doesn’t feel his pelvis move. Mike makes the analogy of a baseball swing which is the same.

This is Austin’s aha moment, where he realizes there is only a slight lateral movement with his body, not the sliding he has been doing. Mike says your hips should only move a couple of inches before moving into your left side. Your left hip then stabilizes and pushes back as you swing through.

Mike reiterates that when Austin swings with his wedges, he is swinging mainly off his left foot. He still must apply a slight lateral movement.

Mike and Austin finish the video by discussing that there really isn’t any twisting of the hips, a concept many golfers are confused about. Mike says it is the femurs that rotate in the hip sockets.

WORKING WITH A 7 IRON

This question comes from a 68-year-old Malaska Golf Member who has had back problems and wants to keep playing and not have similar issues.

Mike discusses that you need to eliminate having side bend. Side bend and twist put a lot of pressure on your lower lumbar spine. The key is to eliminate or minimize that. When Mike swings, there is virtually no side bend. He used to swing where he would hang back and have a lot of side bend. This eventually resulted in Mike having back problems.

First, when you swing, you want your spine angle to stay fairly neutral. It will tilt a little, and after you hit the ball, you will stand up on the follow-through. A mistake is continually staying down as you drive through the ball. Many Tour Players talk about “standing up through the ball.”

Second, you want to match the rotation of your pelvis with your arms. You definitely don’t want to fire your hips in front of you.
Mike pushes his left hip socket as the club descends. His hips appear to rotate, but not as he comes through the ball. There is no twist, he is not torquing his hip, and it is not coming up. Mike’s left hip moves back, and his pelvis is tilting instead of moving up.

When you are rotating, you want to be able to push your left hip back so your pelvis feels like it is rotating with the right side of your body and arm.

If you do these two things, you won’t cause any additional pressure in your lower lumbar spine. The chances of hurting your back are minimal.

BACK INJURY FREE FULL SWING

Today's Mulligan Monday is all about fixing your backswing. Grab your tennis racket and practice swinging a forehand shot.

As you take the racket back on the backswing, the racket face closes and faces the ground. You complete your swing in a circle as you follow through to hit the tennis ball.

Combine your golf club with the tennis racket and practice making a tennis swing. You will find that it is the same motion and swing.

Use a tennis racket to feel your golf backswing.

USING A TENNIS RACKET TO FIX YOUR BACKSWING

Here we are with Ask Mike. I'm joined by Brian Gott and Billy Fitzgerald. Today's question comes from John Geraldo, who wants to know: Billy, when does a chip become a pitch?
That's an interesting concept for most people, and I think a lot of golfers have different ideas about it. I believe we're mostly on the same page, though. So, Billy, why don't you help him understand? When does a chip become a pitch?
First, let&rsquo;s define what a chip is and how it feels. Putting and chipping are almost identical, with a slight difference in ball position and the way we approach the ball.
For a chip shot, I use my putting grip. The ball is positioned slightly farther back in my stance, and I lean forward to ensure I catch the ball on the downward part of the strike. I can only make a certain length of swing with this setup before it starts to feel uncomfortable.
For me, that limit is about hip-high to hip-high. Any longer than that, and I feel like I have to involve my body more, which becomes uncomfortable. That&rsquo;s when it transitions into a pitch for me.
With a pitch shot, I need to generate more speed in the club, so I change my grip. I move from my putting grip to a pitching grip, which is closer to my full-swing grip but still slightly in the palm. This grip change allows my hands to work more, and it enables my body to pivot naturally, giving me the speed I need.
Let&rsquo;s go through both techniques:
For the chip shot, the ball is back in my stance. I lean forward slightly and make a putting motion. For the pitch shot, if I need to go a bit farther, I change my grip to a pitching grip. This allows for a little wrist hinge and some body motion, which adds speed to the club.
The difference between a chip and a pitch varies for each golfer. It comes down to when the chip motion feels uncomfortable or insufficient for the required shot. That&rsquo;s when you need to add speed by adjusting your grip and motion.
So, to sum it up, when you feel a chip is no longer sufficient for the shot, change your grip, add some speed, and transition into a pitch. That should help clarify the difference and improve your short game.

Chip vs. Pitch Key Differences

Hi, I'm Billy Fitzgerald, a Malaska-certified golf coach from Chicago. Jimmy Thorne writes in with a question about arm drop in the golf swing. To clarify, yes, your arms do drop, but they do so as a reaction to your change in direction. I often see people trying to focus on dropping their arms or pulling them down intentionally.If I reach the top or transition point of my swing and simply try to pull my arms down, my right side, or trail side, is likely to follow, causing me to come over the top almost every time. This often results in pulled shots. From down the line, you can see that when I get to the top and just pull down, my entire right side follows. So, your arms naturally drop as a response to the change in direction, not from consciously pulling them down.When I swing back and my hip socket clears out of the way, as soon as I finish turning and change direction, I plant my foot in the ground. This action tilts my shoulders, which allows my arms to drop naturally. So yes, your arms do drop, but how do we work on achieving this?I have a board here to demonstrate. If I allow my arms to drop as I move left to right, as soon as my right foot plants on the ground, I turn out of the way and shift left again. My arms drop naturally with this movement. This step is part of the transition point in the swing. There’s a small amount of lateral motion—just enough to plant my foot without sliding, which stops the momentum, lets my arms drop, and allows me to turn through the shot.To practice, I suggest starting without a club, making swings to feel this rhythm. You can even hold the club out in front of you for some balance and rhythm as you swing back and allow the arms to drop. Think of it as “left-right,” with a little step that causes the arms to drop from the change in direction.So, yes, your arms do drop, but it’s the change in direction that makes them drop. That’s why you need to stay soft in the shoulder sockets so that when your foot hits the ground, your arms drop naturally, the club stays in front of you, and you can then turn through the ball.

Stop Forcing Arm Drop

The most popular grip is resting your left index finger on top of your right fingers. Do not interlock your fingers.

THE MOST POPULAR PUTTING GRIP

Posture might not be flashy, but it is one of the most important parts of your golf swing. Without the right posture, your body cannot move the way it is designed to. In Day 6, Mike Malaska breaks down exactly how to build your posture from the ground up&mdash;so you can move with power, balance, and consistency. You will learn how posture is built from your hip sockets, not your back or knees. Mike shows you how to start in a neutral standing position and then hinge from the hips, keeping your feet quiet and your weight balanced across your toes, heels, and the balls of your feet. From there, he explains the slight tilt needed to create a strong, athletic posture that works across your putting, chipping, and full swing. This is not just a setup drill. This is your entire swing foundation. Mike shares how even using your shadow can help you build body awareness and maintain posture throughout the motion. If your posture is off, your body will make compensations. But if it is correct, everything becomes easier.
What You&rsquo;ll Learn About Posture: How posture starts with balance&mdash;not tension Why your bend should come from the hips, not the knees or back How to combine hip hinge with slight tilt for athletic setup Why posture stays consistent across putting, chipping, and full swing How to use your shadow to train posture visually
Mike emphasizes that this is something you train every day. Get into a routine where your posture is the first thing you check. Set your feet, hinge from the hips, add a slight tilt, and drop your arms naturally. If your posture changes, your swing changes. Make posture part of your pre-shot routine for life.
Key Takeaway: Posture is the foundation of movement. Hinge from the hips, balance your weight, and stay consistent. Your body can only move as well as your setup allows.

Day 6-Posture in the Golf Swing

M-System Max

Your body is a very important part of your golf swing. You must understand the basic task that it is trying to accomplish. Once you know what the task is and you have drills to feel how it works, it is not that hard to allow your body to do what it is designed to do. You are making perfect body motions for your swing multiple times per day, and you are not even thinking about them.

M3-How the Body Works

The first skill is to learn how to curve the ball using path and a square face.

CURVING THE BALL WITH PATH

Understanding how to make a center face hit can be difficult. Learn how to use knowledge you already have.

Feeling Center Faced Hits

If you just sit in a chair and take the club set it on your trail shoulder with your arms relaxed. The handle of the club is pointed straight away from you. Then just direct the momentum of the club out away from you and let the arms and wrists react. There is no of very little rotation in your body. The handle will pivot. The club head will accelerate. The lead arm will straighten then fold up. Understanding and being able to do this is what your swing really feels like. IF you add body pivot to this action you will gain a tremendous amount of club head speed.

THROW THE CLUB DRILL

Billy Fitzgerald, a Malaska-certified coach, addresses a question from viewer Peter Zhu about the slapping motion of the hand through impact in the golf swing and the role of the right wrist. Billy explains how the wrist and forearm should align at a 90-degree angle to the spine to ensure proper mechanics.Using a dowel for demonstration, Billy shows how this alignment keeps the club on plane, allowing the hand to return to impact naturally without twisting. He emphasizes the importance of shoulder alignment, as maintaining a 90-degree angle with the spine enables the arms and hands to follow a vertical path, supporting a consistent swing.The slapping motion at impact, Billy explains, is achieved by this vertical arm and hand movement. Without the proper shoulder alignment, the arms can twist, causing the clubface to open and making square impact difficult. This coordination is key to a powerful and accurate strike.Billy highlights the role of grip, especially the left hand, referred to as the "chopper." This grip position stabilizes the clubface, allowing the right hand to slap through impact without twisting, making the swing more reliable.To build awareness, Billy recommends practicing the feel of each body part—the shoulders, hands, and arms—independently before integrating them into a cohesive movement. This approach helps golfers understand each component’s role in a fluid, powerful swing.In summary, the correct grip, along with coordinated movement of the shoulders, arms, and hands, enables a clean, effective slapping motion at impact. Billy thanks Peter for the question, hoping this breakdown clarifies how each part contributes to optimal performance.

Wrist Position For Perfect Impact

Hitting balls off your knees is a great way to start to put two things together. One the lever system.Two the path or plane that the club swings on. As you hit balls off your knees the first thing is to focus on the hinging, unhinging and rehanging of the wrists. Then as you hit the ball you must have the correct path into the ball. If you come over the plane. You will go right over the ball. Or drive it into the ground. If you drop the club under too much the club will hit the ground way before you get to the ball. You need perfect path. Once you do that you stand up and duplicate the feel relative to your upper body.

THROW THE CLUB DRILL - KNEES

Play The Game With Nic Singleton

How is tee time in under 24-hours? Use this tip to quickly prepare for that match with your friends.

Quick Fix Fridays

At Impact the loft in the clubface is the reason the ball gets in the air.

CHIPPING IMPACT

The pivot or rotation of the body has to be in sync with the club motion. The key with pitching is as the club moves through impact your lead leg pushes your lead hip socket farther away from the ball than it was at address. Also your trail shoulder moves level not down through impact. Timing these three motions. The swinging of the club. The movement of the lead hip and how the trail shoulder works. All in harmony is one of the main tasks in all swings.

PIVOT

How your body moves is an important part of the swing. It is also a big speed and control producer (if it works correctly). However, if it is trained incorrectly it can make it almost impossible to reach your speed and control potential. It can also potentially create patterns that can lead to injury.

Ask Malaska Golf-Body Motion

The latest additions to the Ask Malaska Golf Collection.

Ask Malaska Golf-What's New

This series goes far beyond simply "swinging harder." Instead, it takes a methodical, athletic approach rooted in biomechanics, sequencing, and real-world experience. You&rsquo;ll learn the Five Gears of Speed&mdash;a progressive framework that starts with basic hand control and gradually builds to explosive full-body movement and maximum speed generation. With each step, you&rsquo;ll learn to layer new swing elements while maintaining control and efficiency.

7 Days for MORE Driver Distance PRODUCT

A Malaska Golf Member has a question about feeling relative to where his hands are pointed. This is a really good question, as Mike always says, ‘Your hands control the golf swing.’ If you can control what your hands do, then there is a good chance the clubface will work.Now, if you aren’t connected to what your hands are doing or your grip, you are trying to do everything with your hips. Your hips don’t control the face.The Member’s comment is that as he is working on grip, line of compression, and impact, he feels like his left palm at impact is facing down and more into him, as opposed to facing out and up.Mike talks about what hurt him in golf. He had had his grip changed, and as he came into the ball, he had to bow his wrists.Mike got pretty good at this until he broke his wrist and tore a tendon. This was Mike compromising that joint.Now, instead of facing down, Mike’s palm is facing toward his leg. Mike said that what the member is feeling with his palm is a really good thing.If your grip is correct, it is a chopping action with your left hand and wrist. Your palm will be facing in if you do it this way. As you swing through, your arms straighten, and the release action is up. You don’t twist or rotate the club as you swing through. There is a big difference.If you use the grip Mike talks about, your joints line up, you hit the ball, and your hands work. It’s a good feeling to have your palm facing down and toward you, then toward the sky.

Hands Control the Golf Swing

In this second episode of the Malaska Golf Player Lesson, Mike Malaska takes Jeff Coburn and Jeff Krull onto the practice green for a deep dive into putting speed control and center-face contact&mdash;two skills that determine whether you two-putt or three-putt.
 Mike begins by explaining that most golfers misread the cause of missed putts. Direction matters far less than distance. True distance control comes from striking the ball in the center of the putter face every time. A glancing strike or off-center hit causes the ball to skid, lose energy, and stop short or race long.
 To fix that, Mike introduces two proven tour-level putting drills. First is the tee-gate drill, a classic practice used by tour pros to train centered contact. By placing two tees just wider than the putter head, golfers instantly feel when they clip a tee and mis-hit the ball. The second is the roll-the-line drill, where a striped ball reveals how pure the roll is. When the stripe rolls end-over-end, the putt was struck perfectly square; if it wobbles, contact or face control is off.
 As Jeff and Jeff work through both drills, Mike emphasizes a crucial putting principle: speed control comes from solid contact, not effort. Once you can roll the line straight, you can build consistent feel from 10 to 40 feet and develop instinctive distance awareness.
 He also discusses common setup mistakes, including grounding the putter before takeaway. Mike demonstrates why keeping the putter slightly off the turf frees the stroke, prevents catching the grass, and improves rhythm and flow. The focus should never be on forcing the stroke but on feeling the face and rolling the ball naturally.
 By the end of the session, both players understand how to merge face awareness, tempo, and feedback into one process. Practicing these drills daily transforms putting performance&mdash;short putts start rolling end-over-end, long putts travel the perfect distance, and confidence replaces guesswork.
 This episode captures one of Mike Malaska&rsquo;s core short-game philosophies: mastering center-face contact is the fastest way to control distance and eliminate three-putts forever. &nbsp; Key Takeaways &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Hit the Center: Solid impact creates consistent roll and predictable distance. &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Tee-Gate Drill: Train precise contact and improve stroke path instantly. &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Roll the Line: Use a striped ball to monitor face control and roll quality. &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Speed Before Line: Most three-putts come from poor speed, not mis-reads. &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Feel the Face: Keep the putter slightly off the turf for a smooth, free stroke.

Master Putting Speed Control

The golf swing is a circle. The idea is to hit the ball at the apex of the circle or arch. The club then continues around in the circle. Only for a very short distance. A few inches is the club moving down the target line. But that is so small. If you try to swing down the line you get in the way of the natural forces that create acceleration.There are no straight lines in a circle.

Swing Down the Target Line

Grip is the first and possibly the most important skill or task. How your hands are on the club determine what you are going to have to do to square the face. Your lead hand goes on how you're arm hangs. This is so when the momentum of the club pulls on your arm the grip squares the face. This is also a strong hit position for that lead arm. Your trail arm goes on with your palm as a mirror image of the face. This arm is to push the shaft and accelerate the club head not twist the face. If your grip is correct then squaring the face becomes much easier.

LEVER SYSTEM GRIP

Distance control is one of the most overlooked but most important skills in golf. You can read the green perfectly, line up the putt exactly right, and still miss if your speed is off. That&rsquo;s why Day 2 of this series is focused on helping you control distance by improving face control and center contact. Most golfers think they need a different stroke for every length of putt, but the real solution begins with delivering the putter square, striking the center of the face, and developing feel over time. In this lesson, Mike Malaska shows how to train speed and accuracy using drills that provide instant feedback. He starts with a simple face control drill using a box. A straight roll means your face was square. A twist to the left or right means the face was closed or open. Then, he teaches a progressive distance ladder drill to develop touch across short, medium, and longer putts. You will also learn how to apply this on uphill, downhill, or flat surfaces, so your stroke adapts to real-world conditions. Mike also reminds you that each day in this program is not a tip&mdash;it is a training session. Don&rsquo;t just roll a few balls and move on. Spend time. Build the skill. This is how real player&rsquo;s practice.
What You&rsquo;ll Learn About Distance Control in Putting: How face angle affects roll, even on short putts Why center-face contact is essential for speed control How to use a box or board to check face alignment How to build feel with the distance ladder drill Why practicing on different slopes helps you adapt under pressure
This session is about feel, precision, and building habits that last. Once you control the face and find center contact, speed control becomes repeatable.
Key Takeaway: Speed control is the foundation of great putting. Face control and center contact give you that speed. Practice with feedback and commit to the work.

Day 2-Control Distance in Putting

Most golfers struggle with chipping because they try to help the ball into the air. They flip their wrists, lean back, or slow down through impact. But that is not how good players&rsquo; chip. As Mike Malaska explains, the ball gets in the air because of the loft on the club, not because you try to lift it. And the motion you need is one you already have. It is your putting stroke. Day 3 is about applying the same movement you have been working on&mdash;center contact, face control, and body connection&mdash;to your chip shots. The difference comes in your setup. By placing the ball slightly back in your stance and shifting pressure toward your lead side, you create a downward angle that helps you catch the ball first and brush the turf after. Mike shows you how to keep everything else the same. The hands, the right arm on the shaft, the motion&mdash;none of that changes. This is chipping built from your putting foundation. In this lesson, you will learn how to train proper contact with the dot drill and how to get immediate feedback using a sand-line drill. These simple tools show you exactly where your club is landing and help you feel the difference between a solid chip and a mis-hit.
What You&rsquo;ll Learn About Chipping: How to use your putting motion for clean chip shots Why ball position and setup create launch&mdash;not wrist action How to use a dot on the face and the ball to train center contact Why you should hit the ball first and brush the ground second How a sand-line drill gives instant feedback on strike quality
Mike emphasizes that this is where you begin building your full swing. The mechanics remain the same. The setup changes. You are not inventing a new motion&mdash;you are adapting what you already know and learning how to control the bottom of the arc.
Key Takeaway: Chipping is putting with a lofted club and a new setup. The ball gets in the air because of the face. Catch it first, then brush the ground. Keep the motion simple and trust what you have trained.

Day 3-Off Green Putting

The final video in the M-System Lite series is M5: Practice. Now that you have combined M1 through M4, it’s time to practice correctly.Mike explains that when you are going to practice or even go out to play, the first thing you should do is get loosened up. He uses a pair of stretch cords to do multiple exercises and stretches. He loosens his shoulders, does curls, and exercises to work on bending and rotation. Making sure that you are loose before you practice will help your swing be more consistent, and you will have less chance of injury.&nbsp;Mike has a practice station set up on a fairway. He emphasizes the importance of setting one up when you are practicing. You need to be consistent with setting one up to get better. He has an alignment stick for the target line, a reflective stick for where he wants the ball to start, another stick to line up shoulders, eyes, hips, and maybe your feet, and the last stick for ball position.Mike sets up to the ball the same way every time, with whatever club he is using. Mike must have the same visual picture and target. Now, Mike swings and watches the ball flight relative to the target. The ball was right at the hole, so that was the feeling that he was looking for.Mike talks about training aids or objects to help with your swing. For instance, if you are swinging ‘over the top,’ then a good way to help you swing back to the correct path is using a head cover. Mike places a head cover, lined up to the side of the ball. If Mike swings from the inside, he will miss the head cover and hit the ball. If, of course, he swings over the top, he will naturally hit the head cover. This is a great way to test the path of your swing and give you immediate feedback.The next important thing to practice is face control and path control. Mike makes a practice swing, curving the ball to the left, then he will curve the ball to the rightand hit the ball low and then high. This is all about face control.Next, Mike focuses on path control. He wants to hit the ball so that it starts on the right side of the reflective alignment stick. Mike must make sure that he comes down from the inside on his swing to curve the ball to the right of the stick. This is path control. Then, Mike will curve the ball to the left, training his arms to swing on the correct path. Now, you put face control and path control together.Mike has set up the practice station on a course because when he is on the range, this is what Mike visualizes. When Mike is on a range, he sees a fairway or a hole that he is hitting at. Most people on the range are just randomly looking out at the range. Think about a shot you will make out on the course. Set up and hit the ball; picture that fairway or green. This is a great way to set up and visualize different shots you can make in different situations. When Mike was young, he practiced this way because the golf course he belonged to didn’t have a range. Mike would practice for many hours with an alignment stick on the ground. He was lucky to use the golf course as his practice area.The key learning here is to set up on the range like you really play and put time between shots. Putting time between shots while you practice is more like how you play in a round of golf. You don’t hit shots continuously, one after another. Make a good shot, wait a minute, and then try to duplicate it. If you can, great, and if you don’t, then think about your miss and how to correct it.If you practice this way, it will pay off tremendously, rather than just hitting random balls and hoping you get better.

M-System Lite M5-Practice

In this episode of Ask Malaska Golf, Certified Coach Matt Baker from Manchester Golf Club in England answers a question from Ryan Bart, who had been playing well until one round where everything fell apart. After reviewing Malaska Golf videos, Ryan realized the issue: he wasn&rsquo;t moving his left hip, and it caused fat shots, early extension, and a total loss of consistency. Matt confirms this is one of the most common faults in golf. When the left hip doesn&rsquo;t move back and out of the way, the right hip drives forward, causing the golfer to stand up into the ball. This stalls the body, forces an early release, and often leads to fat shots or flippy contact. The fix? Practice feeling the left hip clear and rotate away. This keeps momentum moving properly, allows the wrists to release at the right point, and cleans up your low point. Even mid-round, Matt encourages players to rehearse this move before each shot, especially after mistakes. Golf is about adjusting, and the M-System gives you the awareness and tools to do that under pressure.
What You&rsquo;ll Learn in This Video: &bull; Why not moving your left hip leads to fat shots and early extension &bull; How to fix your low point and release by rotating the left side &bull; Why the right hip pushing forward causes major swing breakdowns &bull; How to make real-time adjustments mid-round using M-System drills
&ldquo;If the left hip doesn&rsquo;t move, the right hip takes over, and that&rsquo;s when everything falls apart.&rdquo; &ndash; Matt Baker
Video Bullet Point Summary: &bull; Left hip rotation is key to strike consistency &bull; Early extension often stems from blocked left side &bull; Push the left hip back and around to delay release &bull; Use mid-round rehearsals to reset your mechanics

Fix Fat Shots Fast

IMPROVE EVERY DAY Whether you&rsquo;re a Tour Pro or a weekend player, there&rsquo;s always room for improvement. The more you understand about the forces at work in the golf swing, the better you&rsquo;ll be able to control the club face and strike the ball. When I&rsquo;m on the range or on the course as a coach, I do my best to explain these natural forces in a way that reveals the &ldquo;a-ha moment&rdquo; for players. It doesn&rsquo;t matter what your handicap is, seeing how other golfers are applying their understanding to improve will ultimately help you fine tune your swing as well. I&rsquo;m also going to share firsthand experiences at some of the world&rsquo;s finest courses, so you&rsquo;ll know what to expect when you visit and play. This is what the Player Lessons section is all about.

Player Lessons

The shaft fits diagonally in your fingers and the heel pad folds on top of the grip. The thumb is slightly to the side and here's why.

LEFT HAND PART II

Mike Malaska has another Player lesson with PGA Teaching Pro Billy Fitzgerald from Chicago, Illinois. This is a 4-part lesson where Mike works with Billy&rsquo;s hips to get them back and out of the way in his swing. Mike also focuses on the importance of impact position, how the right foot rotates, and how to move the club around with your hands.

Billy Fitzgerald- Working The Hips

Before you go out and play, what you do before hand is very important. If you find yourself comfortable with something, don't stop doing it.

GETTING READY TO PLAY

Once you are set up. Just hinge your wrists until the club is parallel to the ground. The only thing that moves is the club and your wrists. At this point your wrists are in the position you want them at the top. Then take the club and your arms back. The club head stays on the target side of your hands until your arms reach waist high. Then the club head breaks up and over your hands. As you swing to the transition of your swing the club head keeps moving away from the target line. Then as you change directions the momentum of the club will help your arms fall on the correct path into the ball. 

HINGE

A Malaska Golf Member has a great question for Mike, and it is about how your left wrist works in the swing. There are many swing concepts out there, and some aren’t even close to what you should be doing.

Mike came from baseball to golf and used his baseball swing to hit a golf ball. Mike demonstrates how he swings and hits a baseball with his golf club. You can see what the left wrist does when he swings on the follow-through. You don’t twist your wrists at contact in baseball or other sports.

Mike equated hitting a golf ball to a low outside pitch. Mike demonstrates this. When he hits the ball, his left wrist is fairly flat, and on the follow-through, Mike’s wrist worked the same way it did in the baseball swing.

Mike rapidly got good with his golf swing and game at a young age. The coach at the time took a video of Mike’s swing and said his clubface was shut and that he had a flippy release. The coach said they had to get rid of that. He changed Mike’s grip and introduced a new swing concept: when you hit the ball, you rotate your left forearm and turn your wrists over with your left palm up.

Mike says that from then on and the rest of his career, he was never as good as he was in his late teens. Mike was winning everything back then, and it was really easy.

The ironic thing is that Mike, at age 69, is back to playing the way he did then and is now a more consistent ball striker than in his professional career. Mike attributes that to understanding how the hands work and controlling the clubface.

Mike says that your left wrist goes back and hits the ball, and then the club straightens your arms, and they fold up on the follow-through. You can see what the wrists are doing. Again, the wrists aren’t twisting over at impact.

Mike stresses the concept of hand action and release. Understanding this can either make your game easy or impossible to play.

THE SECRET TO THE LEFT WRIST

Mike Malaska talks fitness with Dr. Joe LaCaze, Owner and Managing Partner of Rotex Motion. Joe, a former Navy Seal and avid golfer who has worked with elite athletes over the last 26 years, is an expert in the motion fitness arena. His company sells products that will help you with flexibility and better movement patterns.

Golf Talk- Joe LaCaze

Developing a set of skills to learn and teach can be very helpful in improving the swing.

TESTING YOUR TEACHING

ENJOY THE GAME MORE Golf is not a complicated sport when you really think about it. Mike, or one of our certified instructors will answer your question with the M-Sytem learning process at the core to every response. It&rsquo;s been played the same way for hundreds of years. Our goal is to give you a better understanding of why things happen the way they do. So, ask us anything. If one of our videos raises a question, post your question in the comments section beneath it. Every week or so we will be exploring the most common questions, and we post our video responses right here for everyone in the Malaska Golf community to see.

Ask Malaska Golf

IN THE CLUBHOUSE WITH FRIENDS, PLAYERS AND LEGENDS Sometimes the best part of the game is talking about the game. Find out what&rsquo;s really going on inside players&rsquo; heads. Hear the stories that become legends firsthand. Get a better understanding of the mental side of the game, the highs and lows. Explore what players and instructors think about how the game is taught, practiced and played. This is how I end every day at the course. Now, it&rsquo;s here for you to enjoy as well. These are the clubhouse conversations that keep the game going long after the sun has set and the clubs have been put away.

Golf Talk

Welcome to Malaska Golf Elite&mdash;and congratulations! You&rsquo;ve just made an incredible investment in your game&mdash;one that&rsquo;s going to pay off in a big way.
What sets the Elite level apart is your access to the M Coaching Series. Why is that such a game-changer?
I took the M-System&mdash;which is already a powerful tool&mdash;and expanded it to show you how to coach someone through itor how to coach yourself through it. Instead of simply saying &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s the skill we&rsquo;re working on,&rdquo; I walk you through the why, how, and where it fits in the full swing. This added depth and detail make the M Coaching Series a truly next-level experience.
You&rsquo;ll not only improve your own game, but if you help others, you&rsquo;ll start to see how everything connects. Teaching deepens your own learning&mdash;and I&rsquo;ve experienced that firsthand. Every time I teach the M-System, my swing gets better. Contrary to what some instructors say, teaching has made me a better player, not worse.
The better you understand how the swing works and why each piece matters, the more the confusion disappears. Everything becomes simpler and clearer.
Director of Distance &ndash; Featuring Justin James. Everyone wants to hit the ball farther. So we went straight to the best: Justin James, World Long Drive Champion.
I&rsquo;ve known his dad, Jerry James, since the 1980s&mdash;we played in tournaments and clinics together, and he could launch the ball. When Justin struggled with injuries, Jerry sent him to me. We tapped into his baseball background and helped him rediscover natural movement patterns. With just a few grip and hand action changes, Justin gained speed with less effort&mdash;and avoided further injury.
Now, he&rsquo;s a part of our team&mdash;and teaches you how to create speed. His swing aligns perfectly with the M-System, adding a few of his own speed-building tweaks along the way. Even the best are using the M-System framework.
21 Days to Your Best Golf Swing
This program gives you 21 guided practice sessions to actively work through the M-System.
Each day, you focus on a segment. But the secret? You don&rsquo;t forget previous days&mdash;you build on them. Day 2 includes Day 1, Day 3 includes Days 1 and 2, and so on. This compound approach mirrors how tour players practice. Eventually, pros can run through all 21 segments in 10&ndash;20 minutes. I can do it in 6 or 7. It becomes a daily routine that reminds your body what your swing is about, keeping you consistent and clear.
Just like any successful job has a checklist, your swing needs one too. That&rsquo;s what the M-System is.
Inside Jack Nicklaus&rsquo;s MindJack Nicklaus graciously allowed Phil Blackmar and me to interview him in his home. I&rsquo;ve known Jack for over 40 years&mdash;played against him, partnered with him, and even worked with him on physical fitness. Our team helped him avoid back surgery, and he&rsquo;s still doing the exercises we gave him in the 1980s.
This interview isn&rsquo;t about his swing. It&rsquo;s about how Jack became Jack&mdash;how he thinks, how he made adjustments, and how he learned. We asked the right questions, and from years of conversations, I&rsquo;ve pieced together how one of the greatest players in history developed his game&mdash;and how you can apply the same principles.
Meet Your Elite-Level Coaches Every Malaska Golf coach involved with Swing Check is a high-level player&mdash;college, mini-tour, or professional competitor. They know what it&rsquo;s like to play for a score, not just teach theory. Swing Checks are available to Elite Members as an add-on product based on instructor availability.
I&rsquo;ve known them all for years. Each of them understands the M-System&mdash;because at some point, I helped them with their own games. They&rsquo;ve lived it, and now they teach it. I&rsquo;d trust any one of them with my own swing. That says everything.
Now, Here&rsquo;s What Matters Most You now have access to more information and tools than most golfers ever will&mdash;but what really matters is this: What are you getting out of it? Are you hitting roadblocks? Are you seeing breakthroughs?
We want to hear from you&mdash;so we can share your success and help you through challenges. Sometimes a roadblock is just a matter of the explanation not clicking. When you tell us, we can fix that&mdash;for you and for others.
Your feedback makes you a key part of your own improvement. That&rsquo;s a big deal&mdash;and we&rsquo;re honored to be part of your journey.

Welcome To Malaska Golf- Elite

Malaska Golf Certified Coach Matt Baker, based in the United Kingdom, is answering a member question this week.A Malaska Golf Member says he loves the ‘Hitting off Your Knees Drill,’ but it irritates his knees when he does it. Hitting off your knees is a great drill to learn and train the swing path. If you tend to swing underneath, then you will be hitting the ground behind the ball. Similarly, if you ‘swing over the top,’ you will hit in front of the ball.This drill really trains your hands and arms and the path to swing around your body correctly. Because the golf swing is a circular motion, this drill also trains the release of the hands and wrists correctly.The good news is that you don’t have to hit off your knees to enjoy this drill. You can use a chair or a bag stand, and you will still benefit from this drill. Matt recommends dropping your right leg back when you sit in the chair. Again, this trains the correct circular motion around your body. More importantly, it trains how the wrists work and how the arms rotate in the shoulder sockets.Matt emphasizes that you don’t have to hit off your knees if you don’t want to and if it hurts your knees. Try hitting it off a chair and get good at that. It is probably easier with a driver than a 7-iron.

Hitting Off Your Knees

For this Quick Fix Friday, Mike pulls out his driver and starts practicing on the range.

Mike sets up three tees, and the key is to make easy swings and hit the ball solid. Mike hits the first ball in the center of the face, online, with a slight curve. 

Mike hits the next shot, adds a little draw, and follows with the third shot hitting a fade.

With all three hits, you can feel what the club is doing with face control even though you aren't making a full swing. 

This drill will help you with your full swing, especially since you aren't adding acceleration. Mike starts with the driver, puts it away, and works on his other clubs before returning to the driver.

START WITH YOUR DRIVER EASY SWINGS

Hi, my name is Matt Baker, and I'm a Malaska Golf Certified Coach based here in the UK. This week&rsquo;s question comes from a gentleman named Jimmy Carlson. He commented on Billy Fitzgerald&rsquo;s video about the left hip and the clubhead swing, specifically using or pushing away from the ball.
Billy is fantastic at explaining this&mdash;probably better than any of us. He has a great way of breaking down this concept, and this feeling of pushing the left hip is incredibly important. If I stand this way and demonstrate, it&rsquo;s the feeling of the clubhead coming down to hit the ball while simultaneously pushing the left hip away from it. It feels like your body is moving in opposite directions as the clubhead comes through.
This movement creates natural forces that not only help speed up the club but also give your arms more room, as Jimmy observed. That&rsquo;s a great observation, by the way&mdash;it&rsquo;s not just about generating speed. A byproduct of this motion is that it does so many beneficial things, including directing the club on its arc or circle.
This drill is great to practice. It ties back to M1 in the M-System, and I absolutely love doing it. It&rsquo;s called the Pivot Drill, and it&rsquo;s one I do all the time. You swing with just one hand, standing there and hitting shots. It teaches you everything you need to know. I used to struggle with getting the left hip to push back, but the M-System simplified it for me. Once I could feel that motion, as Mike would say, "Once you feel it, it&rsquo;s very hard to forget it." And that&rsquo;s true&mdash;once you feel those forces pushing away and working together, it&rsquo;s difficult to lose that sense. Even if you temporarily forget it, the feeling comes back quickly.
For me, if I lose that feeling, I go back to making a few one-handed swings. It doesn&rsquo;t always start off great, but I&rsquo;ll grab a seven iron, hold it lower on the grip, and swing back while focusing on pushing the left hip back. As I do this, I can feel the clubhead swinging and the momentum working for me.
Even without a tee, I can practice just by swinging back, feeling that left hip push back, and creating space and room for the clubhead to swing around me. It&rsquo;s a fantastic drill, and if you ever lose that feeling, just return to these one-handed swings. They work superbly well.
So, great observation from Jimmy! Yes, Billy explains this concept really well. By focusing on pushing the left hip back and feeling those forces at work, you&rsquo;ll naturally create all the right movements at the right time. Once you master this, the timing becomes second nature, and if you ever lose it, just revisit the drill to regain that feeling.

Left Hip Push For Power

Brian Gott, a Malaska Golf Certified Coach is answering Ask Mike’s this week. This question comes from Tyler Dunnigan. Tyler asked about lead arm depth in the backswing.If you remember, a while ago, everyone was focused on the towel drill, where we would stay connected by pinning the left arm against the chest and keeping everything tight. Well, that’s been disproven by biomechanics. We now know that pinning the arm against the chest causes too much rotation, flattens out your swing plane, and makes it difficult to get back to square and stay on plane.What we want is lead arm depth, but not wrapped around the body. We want a good shoulder turn, with the arm out and away. If you look from this angle, as I take the club back, the arm is not pinned against my chest. It does connect when it comes down here, but we don’t want it wrapped around the body.We want the arm to stay out. The angle between the chest and the arm only changes about 17 degrees for most good players. We just don’t want to get too wrapped around, as it causes too much rotation. The more we can get the arms out and up, the easier it is to bring them down. Mike has a drill in the M System called the Four-Step Drill, which will help with this a lot.The Four-Step Drill goes like this: Step one, take the club out; step two, rotate; step three, push the arms out and away; and step four, hit the ball. Remember, you want a good shoulder turn with the arm going out and away, keeping everything in front, not pinned behind. If the arm gets pinned behind, you end up with too much rotation, the club gets laid off, and you must play catch-up.So, try the Four-Step Drill, and remember: the club goes out, up, and away—not pinned against your chest and wrapped around.

Lead Arm Depth

The golf swing is very similar if not close to an exact duplicate too many sports. The way you hit a ping pong ball or a forehand in tennis. Swing a baseball bat or a Hockey stick. The golf swing follows the same motion. The racket or bat or club swings back on one arch and down on a lower arch. It is a loop to the inside of the take away or target line in golf. There is a shallowing out of the club from the backswing to the downswing arch in most all sports. So use your tennis racket. Make a few forehand swings. Then take your golf club and copy the motion.

THE LEVER SYSTEM - SPORTS CONNECT

In the final segment of this tribute panel, the discussion turns to Bob Toski&rsquo;s legacy as a teacher and why his ideas still matter in the modern game. The panel reflects on the qualities that made Toski one of the most influential instructors in golf history and why his approach remains so powerful decades later.
Mike Malaska explains that one of Toski&rsquo;s foundational beliefs was simple but profound: your eyes perceive, your brain receives, and your body reacts. Toski understood that golfers needed the right visual picture and the right feel in order to respond naturally and athletically. Rather than forcing players into rigid positions, he helped them understand what they were trying to do and how their bodies could best respond.
The panel also highlights how Toski&rsquo;s own physical limitations shaped his understanding of the swing. At only 119 pounds, he had to learn efficiency. He could not rely on strength or size, so he developed a motion built on timing, sequencing, feel, and precise clubface control. That became one of the great gifts of his teaching: showing players that they did not need to overpower the game to play well. They needed to understand movement, efficiency, and how to make the club work for them.
Throughout the conversation, the group reinforces that Toski was not a method teacher. He was a teacher of people. He saw the individual in front of him, understood their tendencies, and gave them what they needed rather than what was fashionable or theoretically perfect. That ability made him unique. He refused to simply satisfy a student&rsquo;s assumptions about what they should work on. Instead, he identified what would actually help them improve.
The panel also reflects on another vital part of Toski&rsquo;s legacy: his ability to make people feel good about themselves. Whether teaching a touring professional, a club pro, or an everyday golfer, Toski gave people belief. He challenged them, pushed them, and entertained them, but he always left them feeling like improvement was possible. That combination of honesty, passion, and encouragement made his influence deeply personal as well as professional. Stories from the panel capture the joy and charisma that defined Toski&rsquo;s relationships. Whether sharing memories of Augusta National, lessons on the practice tee, or late-night conversations filled with music and storytelling, each speaker describes a man who brought energy, humor, and soul into every room he entered.
The segment concludes with a moving tribute from Jack Nicklaus, who reflects on Toski&rsquo;s impact as a player, teacher, and friend. It serves as a fitting end to a conversation that celebrates not just what Bob Toski taught, but how he made people feel about the game and about themselves.
This final chapter of the series makes clear that Bob Toski&rsquo;s legacy is not only found in golf instruction theories or swing ideas. It lives on in the countless players, teachers, and students he inspired to see golf as a game of feel, imagination, efficiency, and joy.
Key Takeaways &bull; Bob Toski taught that the eyes, brain, and body must work together in the swing. &bull; His own size forced him to develop an efficient and highly functional motion. &bull; Toski believed golfers needed feel, visual understanding, and clubface control. &bull; He taught the person in front of him rather than forcing a rigid method. &bull; His greatest gift as a teacher was helping people believe they could improve. &bull; Toski&rsquo;s legacy lives on through the players, teachers, and students he inspired.

Celebrating Bob Toski-The Teacher and His Legacy

Joe Nichols is someone you may not have heard about, but is someone you should know. His knowledge for improving your game is unparalleled and has influenced Mike's teaching and understanding of the golf swing. Find out more in this video.

Joe Nichols-201801

LOW DRAW PITCH SHOT

The lever system is one of, if not the biggest speed producer in the golf swing. If you do not have a solid understanding of the main components: Grip, Face control, Lever System, Arm Path and Club Head Path, you will fight the swing forever. These are simple but most of the time they are over looked. This could be the main reason you are struggling with the game. It really is simple if done in the correct sequence of learning.

M2-The Lever System

Brian Gott stresses the importance of getting fit for the right putter. Learn how to use it and stick with it. There are many options, such as putters with different lengths, head styles, and grips. Visit a local club fitter and make sure you get fit for the right putter that works the best for you to help your game. 

On Day 1, Brian covers putting setup, stance, and grip. At setup, you want to have a good shoulder width stance, push back at the waist and let your arms hang down. When you set up, most people’s arms hang at different lengths, so the most important aspect is putter length in relation to your arm length. 

There are many ways to grip a club, and a lot of it is a personal preference. Ensure your putter shaft moves up with the forearms in your setup. Brian also uses a mirror and a chalk line to help visualize. You can also use tees to accomplish this. When you set up to the ball, ensure your shoulders and hips are square. Use the mirror to look down and see where our eyes are. They don’t necessarily have to be over the ball. Good posture and visualizing the line straight to the hole will improve your putting.

Day 1 Setup

To get into impact. Take your posture and set up. Then move just a little bit of weight or force into your lead leg. As you are doing that push your lead hip back away from the target line. This will pull your trail hip forward. It will drop your trail shoulder and your trail arm will now be no the shaft plane. Once you feel that portion. Then go back to address and do it again. Keep duplicating the process of set up and impact. The more you understand that feeling the easier it will be to develop your swing.

Impact

Golf Challenge is made up of simple programs to help you become the best golfer you can be and get you closer to your best game. These challenges will be the cram course on how to become more consistent within a specific skill/task in your swing and/or your game.

Golf Challenge

Born in South Korea, Julie swung her first golf club at age six. She achieved early success, winning her first tournament at seven and debuting in a professional tournament at twelve. She had an illustrious junior and amateur career, winning the 2007 U.S. Kids World Championship and becoming the youngest winner of an AJGA tournament. At fourteen, she moved to Scotland to experience golfing in different types of courses, and environments. There, she won multiple European national titles, ascending to the top of the world amateur ranking. In college, Julie played four seasons for Oklahoma State University, during which she earned NCAA All-American honors and claimed the title of 2014 Big XII Player of the Year. At age nineteen, Julie qualified to become an LPGA Tour Player. Throughout her professional career, she competed in professional tournaments worldwide, including all five major championships in women's golf, and posted a 6th place finish at the 2016 LPGA Coates Golf Championship.
Transitioning into the teaching aspect of golf, Julie brings a truly unique experience to Malaska Golf. Working with renowned experts like Mike Malaska, competing alongside the top athletes in the sport, and engaging at every level of golf, Julie brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and skill to her coaching.
Her teaching philosophy is rooted in empathy. Having overcome many challenges that golfers often face, understanding that each individual has their distinct learning style and natural movement pattern, and acknowledging the reality that solutions that make sense off the course don't always translate to success on it. Julie's approach focuses on discovering and refining individuals' innate abilities to produce attainable and enduring results. She currently offers tried-and-true golf guidance, personalized instruction, and mentorship in the mental and emotional aspects of golf, both virtually and in the Phoenix area.

Malaska Certified-Julie Yang

(Master Face Control with One-Handed Swings) This is where your range routine should begin&mdash;every time. Day 10 focuses on face control and how your hands influence the clubface from takeaway to impact. Mike Malaska teaches a simple but powerful one-handed drill that he&rsquo;s used since childhood to develop feel, precision, and trajectory control. The concept is simple: train one hand at a time to control the clubface&mdash;and you&rsquo;ll start every practice session with purpose. In this video, Mike shows how hitting short pitches with your trail hand only teaches the club to work correctly through impact. Then he switches to lead hand only to develop strength and face awareness. You&rsquo;ll learn how the hands influence the club&rsquo;s path, face angle, and shot height&mdash;all without flipping or twisting. Mike explains how small changes in hand position affect trajectory and control, helping you train touch and accuracy from the very first swing of your day. This is not just a warm-up&mdash;it&rsquo;s the foundation for everything else that follows.
What You&rsquo;ll Learn About Face Control and Hand Training: How to train the clubface to stay square through impact Why starting your session with one-handed swings improves consistency How to control trajectory based on wrist and knuckle position How lead and trail hands work differently through the swing Why this drill is the first thing Mike does&mdash;every day Mike emphasizes that this isn&rsquo;t just a drill&mdash;it&rsquo;s your daily checkpoint. These short swings train your hands to square the face, control height, and develop feel. Whether you&rsquo;re warming up or rebuilding your motion, start with this drill.
Key Takeaway: Train your hands before you train your swing. Start every practice session with short one-handed shots to teach your hands how to control the clubface. Better face control equals better golf, simple as that.

Day 10-Train Your Hands at the Range

Before making fast swings, you must first practice club face control.

EASY FULL SWINGS WITH A DRIVER

A Malaska Golf Member has a question about Jack Nicklaus's practice of putting the ball in the same position with every club.With a sand wedge, Jack would position the ball off his left heel. The handle of the wedge was right on his left thigh, where his left hand would be and where Jack would always set up.Moving to a 7-iron, Mike’s right foot drops back. It looks like the ball is further forward, but the hands and handle are in the same position off the left thigh.Now, to the driver, It’s the same as the 7-iron, only the right foot is farther back. The hands and handle still come off the left thigh.All Jack does is keep dropping the foot farther and farther back, but the hands and handle are in the same position, regardless of a wedge, 7-iron, or a driver. Jack is very consistent in the way he sets his club up relative to his body.He also has a leg action that allows it to work on all his clubs. Now, some players do that by having everything up off their left heel. Others move as the club gets shorter and goes farther back in their swing. You must find what's best for you and then be consistent with it.

Jack Nicklaus and Ball Position

Certified Coaches

A Malaska Golf Member wants to know about the Figure 8 Drill, and if you do it, can you hit the number 2 corner? The member is actually combining two different drills.

Mike had a golf teacher named Joe Nichols who talked the corner. He said there were 3 corners in a golf swing. Mike shows us where those corners are. He then places a tee into the ground just on the outside of his right foot. Joe wanted you to get the handle of the club over the tee on the backswing. This was the first corner.

The member wants to know if you do the Figure 8 Drill, can you still hit the corner? Mike demonstrates this drill by making a figure 8 motion with the club as he makes a swing. He says if you watch closely, the club is circling around the handle. It is not the handle that is doing the circling or his arms. Mike shows us how the club goes up and under. The motion of the handle can still hit the corner where the tee is. The club is going around the handle on the downswing. This is the same hand action as hitting a forearm in tennis and hitting a baseball. There is a circle action on the backswing. Mike shows us the continuous action of swinging a figure 8 and hitting the ball.

Yes, you can hit that corner doing the Figure 8 Drill. The purpose of this drill is to feel the club coming under instead of over the top on the downswing.