In this Focus of the Month, Mike Malaska breaks down the most common grip mistakes he's seen from member video submissions—and explains how correcting them can unlock speed, consistency, and control in your swing.
Your grip is the only connection you have to the golf club. If it’s wrong, everything else in your swing gets harder. If it’s right, the game starts to make sense.
Mike demonstrates the proper grip method from setup to execution, explains why most slicers struggle with weak hand positions, and shares the biggest mistake he's seen after 50+ years of coaching: shoulder tension that ruins hand placement and leads to poor performance.
You’ll learn how to build a functional grip for the full swing by aligning your hands across the correct knuckles, gripping with relaxed shoulders, and understanding how to rotate your arms independently of your shoulder socket. You’ll also discover why many players hook the ball when they finally grip the club correctly—and why that’s a sign of progress.

What You’ll Learn:
Why your grip determines your swing success
The correct lead-hand position for speed and leverage
How to remove tension from the shoulder socket
Why slicers tend to hook it when they finally get it right

Key Takeaways:
Most golfers grip too weak, then rotate their shoulders instead of their arms
Grip the club in front of you, not on the ground, with the face slightly open
Strengthening the grip often reveals tension you need to fix—not avoid
A proper grip will square the face automatically—stop manipulating it