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The M-System Bunkers series is all about throwing sand. The concept is hitting and throwing sand. You are not trying to hit the ball.

Next, Mike explains the idea that the ball goes where the sand goes. The clubface works with the sand differently. Where the clubface is aimed isn’t where the ball will go.

Mike covers hand action, which is more of a level swing than an up-down action because you are trying to hit down and throw the sand.

Lastly, Mike talks about setup and how you need to be stable and control your swing circle. Distance, control of swing, uneven lies, how you set up, and how to use the club are other topics Mike covers in The M-System Bunker Series.

BUNKERS

Golf is a game of emotion and adjustment. You have to be able to read yourself in order to adapt to the game.

READING YOURSELF

Your left thumb can create a lot of tension in your wrist, arm, and shoulder.

Mike explains how the left thumb has caused many problems in golf. He emphasizes the use of the left thumb is more for support. If you use your thumb to push down on the handle, it can cause tension.

In baseball, your thumb isn't extended in the grip. The same is for tennis. The thumb isn't on the back of the racket. Because Mike came from a baseball background, he used that same grip when he began playing golf.

When you take your thumb off and make a swing, your arms are relaxed, and it is easy to rehinge the club on the follow-through. As you put your thumb on the shaft, make sure there is no pressure. Don't push down on the shaft with your thumb; this creates tension. On the backswing, your thumb acts as a stabilizer to the shaft. When you swing down to impact, your thumb is loose, and on the follow-through, your thumb stops the club from collapsing at the end.

Mike suggests getting your thumb off your grip. Make practice swings to feel how loose your hands, wrists, and shoulders should be. If your thumb comes into play and pushes on the shaft, it will lock your elbow, wrist, and shoulder, making it hard for your hands to work on the follow-through.

Again, swing without your thumb on the shaft and switch back to using it without the tension.

PROBLEMS THE LEFT THUMB CREATES

The trail arm works the same in most all shots. It lines up with the shaft of the club you are hitting at impact. Start with your putter. Set up with just your trail arm. Your wrist is parallel to the club face. Then hit puts just using your trail arm. Your forearm should line up with the shaft. It pushes the shaft through the ball. The key is that your forearm does not twist. You can then do the same thing with your lead arm. The task is to make a stroke where the arm does not rotate. Then put both hands on the putter and hit some putts. This is the same relationship of your trail arm with even your driver.

IMPACT DRILL - PUTTING

As an instructor, you want to know what you are teaching works. Make opposite side swings to challenge the complexity of what you're offering students. It'll also help keep your body balanced.

OPPOSITE SIDE SWINGS FOR INSTRUCTORS

Knowing what club and swing you will need will put you in a good place. Practice reading the lie.

READING THE LIE

Sammy Slice helps us with our Quick Fix Friday.

If you are making a fairway shot and you want to hit the ball farther and not slice, then work with your clubface and grip.

First, close your clubface, and second, strengthen your left hand. Once you do that, the ball will go straight and not slice.

Make sure you aim more to the right, but your old swing path will bring you back onto the alignment stick, and the ball goes right up to the green.

Make this quick fix, and you will play better.

SAMMY SLICE DON’T SLICE ON THE FAIRWAYS

Most lies in bunkers are uneven or 'tilted.'

BUNKERS AND UNEVEN LIES

Start reading the green from the fairway.

100 YARDS OUT

Harry Hooker works on chipping for this Mulligan Monday.

Harry sets up a target line. Typically his swing goes out to the right, so Harry needs to figure out how to swing around to the left.

At first, you might hit it to the left because the club goes left.

The solution is to open the clubface, and the ball should go straight when the club goes left.

HARRY HOOKER CHIPPING OPEN THE CLUBFACE

Tossing the club in either hand keeps your wrists relaxed. The trick is to maintain this in the swing.

CLUB TOSS 101

You set up to the ball just outside the first ball. As you make your back swing you step your trail foot back. Then you step your lead foot back then hit the ball. You keep repeating this for as many balls as you have lined up. This is important because your instinct needs to be to move away from the ball. This is one of the best drills to teach you that offsetting force. 

WALK AWAY DRILL

MERRIL HOGE

Mike looks at how to hit a massive lob for this Quick Fix Friday. He takes his lob wedge and explains that it’s all about the grip in your left hand. There are two things you need to do.

First, take your thumb and little finger off, then put your right hand on and swing like a baseball bat. Mike demonstrates a baseball swing with his wedge.

Mike sets up with these two adjustments, thumb and finger off the club. This helps the club pass his hands when he swings.

Mike swings, the club passes his hands, and the bounce works with a massive high lob shot onto the green.

HITTING THE MASSIVE LOB

What happens to the driver after impact? If you intend on increasing speed, your arms will allow the club to re-hinge. If you prevent this, you increase tension, which slows down your swing.

RE-HINGE

The secret to chipping is actually your putting stroke.

CHIPPING

If you watch a hammer thrower. Or if you create the action with a basket and some balls. As the hammer and or weight swings around you. You are constantly offsetting the motion of the basket with an opposite force. This is what accelerates the basket and or maintains the circle and the balance. If you move into the force created by the basket you are immediately off balance. Plus the basket slows down. Tension then tries to make compensations to regain control. The same skills or tasks in throwing the hammer are what happens in a golf swing. I have never had someone swing a weight around them and move into or the same direction the weight moves. It is not instinct. So try this simple motion and feel how your body moves where is force going in your feet. Then duplicate it in a swing.

HAMMER THROW

Line of compression is the feeling your right hand has on the back of the shaft at the impact position.

LINE OF COMPRESSION

When it comes to combining motions there is an order in which it needs to be done. First, is set up and balance. Then, the main task is impact. Learn what that is. Then, gradually develop your swing based on the task of impact. Start with small swings and gradually build the motion until you are to full swing.

M4: COMBINING SKILLS

Once you have a proper grip then it becomes how your hands control the face. To learn this you need to hit different shots. How your hands manipulate the face is what makes the ball curve. You need to curve the ball to the left, to the right, and be able to hit it straight. Practicing these curves until you can make them happen on command is a basic skill and task. It is very important that you have this control before you move too much speed. You are only as good as your ability to control the curve on the ball or the face.

FACE CONTROL

How to bring atheltic movement to your golf swing.

ATHLETIC MOVEMENT IN THE GOLF SWING

A Malaska Golf member wants to know how to shape up his game.

Mike suggests you begin by working on your grip; however, he wants to focus on the swing first.

To begin, drop your right foot back and start making swings, doing the "L to L" drill. Make the "L" on your backswing and the "Reverse L" on the follow-through.

Most people struggle because when they swing, their body takes off, and they can't get back square to impact. The lever system is a great drill to make this work and doesn't put your chest out in front of the club.

Mike sets up, his right foot back, and makes the "L to L" swing as he hits the ball. This drill should be easy to do. It doesn't help to go any further if you struggle with this. This skill is crucial to help you to master the full swing.

Practice the "L to "L" Drill on the range before you go out to play.

SHAPE UP YOUR GAME

In the final video of the Player Lesson series, Mike Malaska helps Jimmy Pearcy master the art of shot control. This session focuses on teaching Jimmy how to shape his shots by understanding the relationship between the clubface and his hands. Building on the relaxed mechanics, leverage, and grip fundamentals from previous lessons, Mike introduces the techniques that allow golfers to control ball flight with precision and creativity.Mike begins by explaining the concept of shot shaping. He demonstrates how the clubface position—whether slightly open, closed, or neutral—affects the ball’s trajectory. By making subtle adjustments, a golfer can hit higher or lower shots, fade or draw the ball, or produce a straight shot. Mike likens this control to manipulating a tennis or pickleball racket, where small changes in angle and motion create spin and direction.To make the concept tangible, Mike sets up a series of drills. He starts by having Jimmy hold the clubface in his hands, showing him how to tilt it to simulate low, high, left, and right shots. Mike emphasizes that these adjustments don’t require big, forceful movements but rather small, controlled changes in how the hands and wrists guide the club through impact.The lesson progresses to hitting actual shots. Mike asks Jimmy to take his proper grip and address the ball, then manipulate the clubface to hit a hook, a fade, and a straight shot. Each shot requires Jimmy to focus on a different aspect of the clubface and its interaction with the ball. For a hook, Jimmy must slightly close the face; for a fade, he opens it; and for a straight shot, the face must remain square.At first, Jimmy struggles to coordinate the adjustments with his swing. Mike patiently guides him, reminding him to stay relaxed and let the momentum of the club do the work. He reiterates the importance of trusting the lever system in his hands and wrists, which naturally aligns the face without unnecessary tension. As Jimmy practices, his shots start to curve in the intended directions, and he begins to feel more control over the ball.Mike stresses that the ability to shape shots is a critical skill for any golfer. It allows players to navigate different course conditions, such as hitting low shots under the wind or curving the ball around obstacles. By developing this skill, Jimmy gains not only versatility but also confidence in his ability to handle various challenges on the course.To reinforce the lesson, Mike compares shaping golf shots to playing other sports. He explains that in tennis or pickleball, players learn to add spin or change trajectory by making slight adjustments to the racket. Golf, he notes, is no different: it’s about using the hands to control the clubface rather than relying solely on body movements or brute force.As the session continues, Mike challenges Jimmy to practice these techniques consistently. He encourages him to spend time experimenting with different shapes and trajectories, focusing on feel rather than distance. The goal, Mike explains, is not to hit the ball as hard as possible but to understand how to control the clubface and let the momentum of the swing dictate the shot.By the end of the lesson, Jimmy experiences a breakthrough. For the first time, he feels in control of where the ball is going and how it’s getting there. He realizes that shot shaping isn’t about making drastic changes to his swing but about subtle adjustments to the clubface and trusting the natural motion of his hands.Reflecting on the entire series, Jimmy expresses gratitude for the lessons Mike has provided. He appreciates how the focus on fundamentals, from grip and leverage to speed and control, has transformed his understanding of the game. With a relaxed, efficient swing and newfound control over his ball flight, Jimmy feels equipped to take his golf game to the next level.This final lesson concludes the series, leaving Jimmy with the tools and confidence to approach every shot with precision, creativity, and a clear understanding of his swing. By mastering shot control, he is now prepared to tackle any challenge on the course and enjoy the game at a higher level.

DIAL IN YOUR SHOT CONTROL

CHRIS LEBIEDZ

Creating an indoor practice hitting area for the off-season.

INDOOR PRACTICE

The right hand and clubface work in harmony with your left hip to get the club on the ball.

RIGHT HAND & CLUBFACE WORKING WITH YOUR HIPS 

Getting a feel for the club can help improve your swing. Practice getting a better feel for your club.

FEELING THE CLUB

MalaskaGolf.com is a powerful site with over a thousand videos to watch and learn. The best way to use the site and simplify the golf game is to understand The M-System.

You need to have a process each day. Begin with step one, execute that, and move to the next step. Work on something different with your swing, but there must be a base product and a base start.

Mike has a routine that he does every day. He starts with his right hand making little shots, then adds a little pivot. Mike moves to his grip, getting both hands on the club and making swings. As that begins working, he adds the L to L drill and hits a few shots. Complete all those drills from M1 and M2 before going any further.

People keep wanting more information, so we do more videos that help you better understand The M-System. Mike might make some adjustments, work on tempo, and see if that works. Again, having a solid understanding of a few basic concepts to work from is essential.

If you want to simplify the game, go through The M-System and if you have a question about a specific part of The M-System, go to a drill that reflects it in the Drill Center.

Simplifying is about step one, the clubface, and the ball. Then it is face control and how the face makes the ball go. Next is how your hands control the clubface, your posture and working with your arms in an arc, your wrists, and getting your body to work.

These are the basic fundamentals you should have. Once you master these skills, you can start adding different things to your swing. If you become good at The M-System and start adding things to it, things will make sense. If you don’t have the fundamental skills down,
then adding to it won’t make you any better.

Mike stresses that it is all about consistency. People tend to move on too quickly, try too many different things, and need to spend more time perfecting something.

Mike has spent his entire life getting good at three things. Jack Nicklaus also worked on those three things and a few other skills.

Watch the videos and start with the concepts of The M-System and build on them. Every day is an opportunity to reinvent yourself and start over.

Mike starts with the basics every time he goes to the range.

START WITH THE M-SYSTEM

Mike stretches a cord behind his neck and across his shoulders.

With your shoulder blades pinched together, bend down, turn, and stretch your left arm back as far as you can. You swing your arm back around again, and then you turn your right arm and stretch it as far as you can turn it.

Stay in your golf posture. Turn, stretch the band, and then do the same on the opposite side. Repeat.

This is a great exercise to get your scapula loading, extend your arms and lat muscles, and loosen up your hips.

FITNESS STRETCHING YOUR ARMS

A Malaska Golf Member has a question about your swing path relative to the target line.

Some people believe you should swing from the inside out, which is untrue. This concept was developed to help people who were swinging over the top. Instructors told them to swing from the inside out to the right field to remedy that. Mike explains that it is an exaggeration and not what happens.

Mike sets up with his oversized iron and an alignment stick in front of him. As he swings the club back, you notice that he swings on an arc up to the top. As the club comes down, it comes slightly from the inside before it hits the ball.

The point at which the club hits the ball is the apex of the circle. There are no straight lines in your swing. After you hit the ball, the club continues on an arc around to the left. The club does not swing down the target line.

This was a concept, unfortunately, that Mike was taught, and it killed his swing. They said Lee Trevino kept swinging his club down the target line on his follow-through. Mike got to stand behind Trevino one day and watched him swing and hit balls. He didn’t swing the club down the target line; it went around to the left.

His clubface stayed at a 90-angle angle to his swing arc, but he wasn’t changing his arc.

Whether you fade or draw the ball, you are hitting slightly from the inside, and then the club continues around to the left. Again, it does not go down the target line.

THE ARC OF THE CLUB

Malaska Golf Certified Coach Matt Baker, based in the United Kingdom, is answering a member question.A Malaska Golf Member has a question about the Arm Drop video and how it doesn’t get the club parallel to the path on the way down or to the ground. However, when Mike does it, it does.Matt agrees with the member, and he explains that the golf swing is a dynamic motion and there are lots of other things moving as well. The arm drop is just a feel. Matt demonstrates when you take the club back to the top of the swing and you let your arms drop, the club is still behind your hands. What you want to do is learn to have a separation between the arms and the body. You want the club to just fall down. During this motion, other things are happening as well, because the golf swing is a dynamic action. Your body is moving and pushing away from the ball from the clubhead through the shot.Also, at the same time, you are directing momentum on the way down, famously called the ‘Malaska Move’ or tipping the club. Matt demonstrates this move. As he starts the club down, you will see that Matt is ‘tipping’ the club out or forward on the downswing. If Matt had a steering wheel, it would feel like he was turning the wheel to the left.Matt reiterates that as you are changing the direction of the club, you are changing the momentum of the club. Matt’s favorite drill is the 3 Corners Drill. This drill helps you with ‘tipping the club’ out in front of you. When Matt practices the 3 Corners Drill, he feels like he gets everything out in front of him, and the club just swishes through on the swing and takes off.Matt agrees with the member that if you do drop your arms, the club will still stay behind your hands, because of momentum. What you must do is offset that momentum and change that path. This all happens in transition. Performing the 3 Corners Drill and working on changing momentum will transform your golf game.

MASTER THE ARM DROP

How the position of the ball affects spin.

BACKSPIN AND BALL POSITION

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

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

SPEED DRILL - LEFT RIGHT LEFT DRILL

PRACTICE-SWING TECHNIQUE

There are two reasons people come over the top. Regardless of which one affects you, we want the momentum of the clubhead moving towards the ball.

MOMENTUM

Our second installment of the Spotlight Member brings us to Utah with Todd Heugly.

TODD HEUGLY

Using the same wedge. Hit three different trajectories and make the ball go the same distance. You do this by the relationship of your trail hand knuckles to the wrist. The farther behind the wrist at impact the knuckles are the lower the ball flight. Being able to achieve the same distance with multiple trajectories is a big part of having an efficient short game.

SWING CONCEPTS - CHALLENGE

Shoulder rotation and the "inside - over-the-top" swing.

FULL SWING FLAWS

Joe discusses a general overview of fitness that is suitable for most. He says people should first get an assessment. Joe also talks about how the golf industry has done a fantastic job measuring what happens outside the body. But he believes, based on his experience, they could have done a better job with how the body moves, how the body is constructed, and the most efficient ways to move around the hips and the shoulders.

Joe's advice is to understand the balance of how your body moves, which leads back to basic posture. Joe notices that in most workout programs, people work on muscles that are already strong, tight, and dominating. These are sometimes called "mirror muscles," and we neglect the muscles we can't see.

Every joint in your body has six movements. Good posture is injury reduction, a better brake system, golf sequence, blood flow, and nutrition to our body's tissues.

Mike surmises that the best golf-specific training program wouldn't necessarily be golf-specific but function-specific. Joe agrees but adds that you must begin with a balanced body. If the body works as it is supposed to, it will do anything you want.

Mike talks about the imbalance of muscles for many people and how that pulls them out of position. They may get stronger in the short term, but in the long run, they may be more dysfunctional.

Joe says it is difficult to learn when people are locked in that position, and learning a new skill is almost impossible. The key is to get them in a new position for better learning.

JOE-LACAZE: OVERVIEW OF FITNESS

Learning the lever system by throwing and hitting the ball is the best way to begin and will help build your swing.

BUILDING YOUR SWING

Trajectory is all about how you control the face. Figure out which lunch angle works best for you.

CONTROL YOUR TRAJECTORY WITH YOUR DRIVER

ASK MIKE: ADVICE

Practice making shots with your right hand in order to feel how your wrist moves.  Get a sense of this before moving on to Part 3.

RIGHT HAND LOB SHOTS

The swing game is a program that teaches young people simple movemen patterns.

SWING GAME

Mike uses his exercise bands to do classic bicep curls.

Mike stands on both exercise bands and does biceps curls, making sure to curl his arms nicely and slowly.

You can also drop your arms after you have made the curl and catch them when they extend. Perform this exercise with your elbows against your side.

FITNESS CURLS

Now that we have looked at the shoulder rise in putting, see how that fits back to the full swing.

SEEING THE COMMON FEATURES IN ALL OF YOUR SWINGS

Distance doesn’t necessarily come by restricting your knees or hips. In fact, restricting movement during the swing can cause serious damage.

AVOID INJURY

How does force actually move through your feet and what helps it work.