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Learning to read greens is your Malaska Golf Quick Fix Friday. First, start by reading off the green from 40 to 50 feet away. This will help you see how your ball will break when it lands.

Second, look from behind the ball and towards the hole.

Third, where Mike spends most of his time is walking it off, standing behind the pin, and viewing the putt from this angle. Doing this is a great way to gauge your putt's path and give you the best perspective of how the putt will break in the last 3 feet.

Once you make that decision, step up, aim the ball, take the putter back and try to roll the ball on the line. This is a great way to read greens.

LEARN TO READ GREENS

Several Malaska Golf Members have had questions about Ben Hogan and what he did with his clubs. Ben used to take a coat hanger and measure the length of the club handle against a metal coat hanger. He would then clip off the hanger, just barely the length of the grip.

He would then put that on the back of the club shaft and tape it on the club handle. Mike demonstrates this. Ben did this because when he gripped the club, he could feel a ridge on the handle with his fingers. Mike shows how he put the club in the crease of his fingers where the second knuckle of the hand is. Mike closes his hand over the club and grips it.

This is a really great way to get a feel of putting your hand on the club. The coat hanger helps you feel the ridge in your fingers. When you have a round handle, it’s hard to feel the back of the club relative to your hands.

Hogan also set the hanger a little off-center so that the clubface was slightly open when he gripped the club. This is a great way to feel the club in your hands.

Some companies like Lamkin have a reminder grip on the handle; however, they show the handle going into the third crease of the fingers instead of the second crease. It is the second crease where your knuckles are. When you wrap your hand around the club, you have the strongest finger-hand lever system you can create in the golf swing.

Using a coat hanger is a great tool to help you practice and feel the back of the club shaft with your fingers.

BEN HOGAN COAT HANGER TRICK

The downward force and pushing up to make a basketball shot is the same motion applied in a golf swing.

BASKETBALL AND GOLF CONNECT

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

Learning how to control the club is very important. Learn how momentum effects your swing.

DAN QUAYLE

Instinctively if you take the club in your lead hand to hit something you will put the club more in the fingers. Your hand will be in what is called a strong position. When you chip the ball with just that hand you will not want to rotate the face. Your wrist just hinges back and forth as your arm swings. Also if you put the club in your trail hand. To hit something or to chip a ball. Once you have the club in your fingers. You will just flex and extend your wrist. You will not twist your hands. It does not make sense. You then just put both hands on the club in those positions and start the swing. Here is where my instinct was correct. I only wish I would have stayed there.

GRIP INSTINCT

The Split Grip Drill is excellent to practice if you struggle with the Lever System. Working on this will help with distance and control.

SPLIT GRIP DRILL

A Malaska Golf Member has a question about having a strong grip. The member feels that her left wrist cups even more on the backswing.Mike notes that most people hold the club in the palm of their hand, which is one of the biggest mistakes in golf. This type of grip doesn’t allow the wrist to hinge correctly.Mike suggests that you must practice the first move on the takeaway. You feel like you are pushing the handle down, and your right hand faces the ground behind you. If your right wrist rotates, then your left wrist cups. You can feel this move in either your left wrist or your right.Most people can feel their right hand hinge back. It is the same as when you hit a forehand shot in tennis. The racket works back. You don’t spin the racket over.Mike demonstrates the swing with a stronger grip. Your palms are facing down on the backswing; you swing to the top and then down and hit the ball. This makes it easier to catch the clubface up and is really stable at the top instead of being flippy and all over the place

DON'T TWIST YOUR RIGHT HAND

Learning how to blend the body and the arm and club motions. You start with posture and set up. You then go to impact. Once you identify impact you hit small shots from your impact position. You then make small swings where you feel how forces move in your feet and how pushing away from the force of the club accelerates the club and straightens your arms on the follow through. You also feel how force is moving in your feet. Then to put it into a continuous motion you copy the sports motions. How you hit a tennis forehand. Hit or throw a baseball. The sequencing of motions are the same in all those sports.

COMBINING SKILLS - REVIEW

Tim Lawless asks about Joe Nichols and the Hinge Drill. The background Tim supplies is that when he practices the Hinge Drill from the elevated plane, he can make great contact with the ball and hit it fairly well. However, when he goes back to hitting the ball from his normal setup, he's unable to get his hands and the club into the correct position during his backswing.

The first piece of advice Mike gives Tim is to stick with what works. If using the Hinge Drill as part of your swing is how you make good contact with the ball, then use that until your swing becomes more natural and you can set up with the club on the ground.

Mike played for around six months using the Hinge Drill as part of his normal routine. For every shot outside of 100-yards, Mike would hinge his wrists, then make his swing and hit the ball. That's why you see so many tour pros incorporate that in their practice swing.

Secondly, let's discuss the Hinge Drill and what is really going on when you hinge the club up prior to your swing. What does that feel like? All you're really doing is pushing down on the club. Lift the club head by pushing down with your lead arm/hand and let it pivot in your trail arm/hand. It's that simple. Push down and the club head elevates.

As you move to start your swing, you should feel like you are pushing the handle down in the first half of your backswing. This prevents your swing from breaking down and keeps your hands (and the club) in position so as you reach the transition point (top) you are able to complete your swing on the path without having to correct your hands.

INCORPORATE THE HINGE DRILL IN YOUR SWING

Your feet are a ten million year old balancing machine. Discover how this works in your golf swing.

POSTURE AND BALANCE

As you swing a golf club there is a point in time where the club was moving in one direction and then it changes directions. That spot or transition point has been called the top. The problem is that there is no point in time when the club and your body reach a top position and then go. That ruins the natural sequencing of sports. You are constantly moving. The club is constantly moving. What appears to happen and what actually happens are very different.

TOP OF THE SWING

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

Use the momentum of the club to create your backswing.

FRONT LOADER DRILL

Putting is the difference between winning and losing. Here's what you need to win.

ADVANCING IN PUTTING

Mike discusses his passion for fitness over the last 35 years and how it applies to your golf game.

FITNESS OVERVIEW

SPORTS CONNECT: BASEBALL

If you feel the momentum during the change of directions, you will improve drastically.

FEELING HOW MOMENTUM HELPS THE SWING

IFYP: FULL SWING

The Coup De Grace of Looking cool occus when these three skills happen one after another. It not only makes you look cool, instantly makes your group think you've got a lower handicap than you do, but it trains relaxation in your shoulders, arms and hands.

RECOIL FINISH - PART 2

Talking about hip turn and hip movement with Eric Cogorno. The Walk Back Drill is a great drill for players who move up into the ball. It also gives your brain a good task in relation to hip movement through the golf swing.

THE WALK BACK DRILL WITH ERIC COGORNO

A Malaska Golf Member watched a video where Tiger Woods out-drove another golfer while hitting off his knees. The member wanted to know the value of this drill and what it does.Mike says everyone should learn to hit a driver off their knees. It’s not hard on your back and teaches you several good things.Mike gets on his knees the same way Tiger did, and what it teaches you is how to lever the club and create speed with your arms.Mike demonstrates the Lever System. If you are tight when you swing, you won’t be able to hit the ball. Many Tour Players can hit the ball off their knees because the Lever System is the biggest speed producer.Mike hits the ball about 200 yards off his knees with an easy swing. Another thing this drill does for you is help with the club path and angle of approach.Most people who attempt this drill for the first time will hit the ground behind the ball. They are so used to throwing their body out and into it that the club drops behind their hands, and they can’t feel the arc and direct the momentum of the club right into the back of the ball.If you swing over the top, you will stick the club in front of the ball. By making practice swings, you will start to learn the club path. Mike hits another ball off his knees, and he explains the club path.This is the same club path and arc when you stand up and address the ball. It’s just on a different angle. Your hands work the same way.Mike throws his hands around him with the club, and this is where you create speed. You aren’t playing with ‘quiet hands,’ as Mike demonstrates.Your hand might feel quiet for other reasons, and Mike has done videos about this on the website.The drill that Tiger did is monumental and good for everybody in golf.

HITTING A DRIVER FROM YOUR KNEES

Using a launch monitor when you practice can drastically improve your swing.

TRAINING YOUR WEDGES WITH YOUR LAUNCH MONITOR

Set the ball down with the line pointing up. Then the goal is to hit the ball in the center of the face with the path correct so the line rolls perfectly. If the line wobbles then either the path of the face are off. To control distance you need to be able to roll the ball. If it is off learn to roll the line first. Trail arm is a big part of the stroke us it first.

ROLL THE LINE

Each person has a different swing. Finding the right putter for your swing is very important.

FITTING A PUTTER

Malaska Golf Certified Coach Matt Baker reviews the M-System M1: Pitching-Pivot Drill. This drill was a game-changer, his aha moment. Matt practices it every time he is out on the course.

Matt takes an iron with one hand and swings freely with his right arm. As he swings, he blends in as the club comes down, pushing his left hip backward with his left leg, timing the clubhead down and through. He always does this exercise before he plays.

This drill teaches Matt to use his right hand and levers correctly. It also helps him time the pivot action of his left hip. Matt likes the straight-line forces that happen when the hip moves back. It helps to get his timing correct as he swings through the club.

Matt uses a pitching wedge to demonstrate making these shots. He chokes down on the handle and likes what this drill does for him. Matt swings back and through the ball. He can coordinate where the bottom of the swing is and where he releases the club. This also helps him to open up the swing.

Matt knows he will hit the ball straight when his right hand is working correctly. When he feels confident with that, he plays with the trajectory by changing the angle in his hand.

MATT BAKER M1: PITCHING-PIVOT

If you slice the ball with your driver, then close the clubface to get the ball straight.

THE FACE TO FIX THE SHOT

The Walkthrough drill is a very helpful drill to understand swinging back and through.  

HIT THE BALL

Using your hands to control the face to make the ball curve the way you want it to curve.

CURVING THE BALL: FACE CONTROL

Face control is necassary before speed. Feel how to create spin on the ball.

HOW TO IMPART SPIN WITH YOUR DRIVER

PIVOTING THE CLUB

How to "tip" or pivot the club without casting.

TIPPING IS NOT CASTING

Mike uses his exercise bands to perform overhead extensions. He begins by standing on the end of the cords. He holds the handles behind his elbows and raises his arms straight up and down.

Mike repeats this exercise, and the key is to try and extend your arms straight up.

OVERHEAD EXTENSIONS

Mike takes his exercise band and wraps it around both ankles. He turns his toes inward while placing his hands on his chest. Mike takes three steps to the left and then three steps back to the right. This motion focuses on stretching the legs by not leaning with your body. The key is to stretch with your legs and lead with your heels. Go back and forth and do a set of five.

Next, turn your heels outward, walk forward three times, and then back. You are swinging your legs out and around. Your upper body still stays relatively still.

Stretch to the sides and then walk to the front and then back. This exercise will help your hips.

FITNESS BANDS

Mike believes many people get too mechanical with their swings because the golf industry fixates on golf positions.

Mike sets up multiple balls in random positions and swings continuously, one after the other hitting each ball. Part of this exercise is to trigger your hand-eye coordination and your athleticism. The key is to get the clubface on the ball.

This exercise is like tennis, where you constantly hit multiple shots in different positions. It is the same as playing baseball and swinging at different pitches.

Continuing this retains your balance and control of the club and puts the clubface on the ball. Your wrist also levers, which creates force.

This drill is fun to do. It takes the mechanics out of the golf swing. Start with a wedge and experiment with different clubs.

Again, this drill gets you back into athleticism and hand-eye coordination rather than positions.

DON’T GET SO MECHANICAL WITH YOUR SWING

Learn what Hale means when he says, "a tick up is better than a tick down."

WORK TOWARDS A POSITIVE DIRECTION

Getting your hands on the club correctly and getting a feel for how the force transfers throughout your swing will help you hit the ball straighter and farther.

MICHAEL CONFORTO - GRIP & TRANSFERRING FORCES

Start every practice by learning your tendencies.

FIRST SHOTS OF THE DAY

Join Mike and MLB Hall of Fame Pitcher Goose Gossage for a Player Lesson.

CONNECTING  PITCHING AND GOLF WITH GOOSE GOSSAGE

Sliding sometimes occurs as people try to shallow the club. Here's how to get the result you way

EXAGGERATE TO FIX SLIDING

Brian began Gott Golf in 2008. As he developed his unique approach to fitting clubs for golfers of all skill levels, demand grew.  For 2015 and 2016, Brian was awarded Golf Digest’s coveted “Top 100 Club Fitters in America Award” (new award winners will be announced by Golf Digest in November).  Today, he works with some of Colorado’s most prestigious golf clubs, including The Broadmoor, Cherry Hills Country Club, Castle Pines, Maroon Creek, and others. “I wanted people to know that they could get a tour quality club fitting experience without having to break the bank to do it. They don’t just have to settle for off the rack clubs, either. Give me about 45 minutes in a fitting session, and I can build a custom set that is tailored to your specific needs and abilities.”

Though the current season is winding down, Gott has interesting plans for Colorado golfers and encourages people to visit www.gottgolf.com for new offerings that will be launching next season. Some things to keep an eye on include putting clinics, the launch of a new online store, and the expansion of his current events and relationship with Common Ground Golf Course, the PGA, and golf courses throughout Colorado.

MALASKA CERTIFIED: BRIAN GOTT

PUTTING AND ROLLING THE LINE

Knowing how the handle and bounce works are the first things to gain familiarity with for hitting these lob shots. Here's how you practice that.

LOB SHOT FUNDAMENTALS

Mike works with MLB Players on the Rapsodo Launch Monitor.

MLM MLB PLAYERS

AIM AND PRACTICE STATION

The biggest similarity in all sports is the loop that that racket or the bat or stick or club makes. If you take a tennis racket and hit a forehand. The racket goes back on one line and down on a shallower or more from the inside line. A baseball bat does the same thing. A ping pong paddle also. So if you take a sport you know make the motion. Then put a golf club in your hands and copy the motion. You will be really close to a great golf swing. Your body is a pattern machine it does not know sports only motions. So tap into what you already know.

HOW TO PRACTICE - SPORTS CONNECT

A Malaska Golf Member has a question about the backswing. Sometimes, his arms get too far back behind him. The member wants to know a drill that he can use to make the club do what it’s supposed to do.When Mike takes the club back, the club gets behind his hands, and his arms and hands swing back and straight up; that’s okay. That’s how Mike takes the club away. He doesn’t necessarily bring it back and make a loop with it.Mike swings back with the club in line with his hands and then moves it behind his hands, demonstrating this.He is swinging the club on a line (arc), and his shoulders keep this all in sync.The problem most people have is that their shoulders don’t turn on the same arc of the swing, but they turn back. This is what gets most people in trouble.Holding an alignment stick with your golf club is a good drill for feeling how your club works and getting your shoulders steep enough. Mike holds the stick together with his club, and the stick extends up past the handle and the back of his belt.&nbsp;The key to this drill is to take the club back. As you do this, you have to get the stick off your hip and make it swing down on the other hip. When you do this, your shoulders turn steeper. Mike again demonstrates the swing with the alignment stick on the end of the golf club.Again, this is a great drill to help you turn your shoulders steeper instead of turning your shoulders and arms back.

DON'T TURN YOUR SHOULDERS

Matt Baker, a Malaska Certified Coach, is subbing for Mike this week. Matt answers a question from a veteran who is 
an amputee above the knee. He has an issue with his right leg because it must remain straight. Unfortunately, he is losing distance and contact with strike on the ball. He also feels like he can’t transfer his weight properly.

When Matt practices and plays, he can sometimes practice multiple shots just balancing off one leg. You can pivot around your left leg. You don’t need to rely on your right leg. You can start on your left leg and keep your right leg straight, almost like a post, to help stabilize yourself.

The best thing to work on first is to drop your right foot back while you open your hips, allowing you to get a bigger turn in your backswing. This will help you generate more speed and power.

Second, work on the Lever System, creating an ‘L’ on the backswing, an ‘L’ on the forward swing, and
pivoting around your left leg.

Matt demonstrates the swing and summarizes. Drop the right leg back to open the hip, allowing you to turn more. Hinge the wrist and do the lever system from the M-system.

BALANCING OFF ONE LEG

What should your mind be doing when you hit a golf ball? The last thing you want to do is to start thinking about positions and giving yourself
verbal commands.

Mike often makes practice swings off to the side and incorporates a couple of drills for what he wants his swing to do. Then Mike ties this all together with the motion of taking the club through the ball.

Once Mike has a feel for the swing, he has a mental picture of how he wants to execute the shot. Mike has programmed the flow and
motion of the swing when he sets up to the ball. Now it’s about focusing on the motion and hitting the shot.

Mike will also immediately assess how his shot went and, if necessary, make the appropriate adjustments.

When you are over the ball, what is the target? The target is not the destination and where the ball is going, but the ball. If you are focused on hitting the ball correctly, it will go to your destination.

This concept is the same for baseball; you concentrate on hitting and knowing where the ball is going. This feeling also applies to tennis and ping pong.

Mike has a clear picture of what he wants to do with the club, path, and face to make the ball go to the destination.

The ball is the target and what you are going to hit.

WHAT’S YOUR MIND DOING

A Malaska Golf Member has a question about how to make a shot that hooks and fades, but more importantly, what you do with the clubface.

Mike uses an oversized club to demonstrate what the clubface does. If Mike swings the club and the clubface comes into the ball 1 or 2 degrees from the inside and is square to the path, he will hit a slight draw.

If you want to hit a bigger draw, you only need to add more face rotation. Mike doesn't want you to twist your hands. The reality of face rotation is that you only have to move the clubface in small increments to hit a bigger draw or fade. Combining that with changing the club path a few degrees makes the ball curve. You aren't doing much to make the ball curve.

Mike is a former pitcher and could throw a slider, curveball, and fastball. When Mike comes down into the ball and wants to hit a draw, he adds extra pressure from his index finger. He adds extra pressure from his middle finger if he wants to hit a fade. If Mike wants to hit the ball straight, he simultaneously pushes with his index and middle fingers.

Mike demonstrates this with the oversized club. He has been hitting this way for a long time and can feel tiny bits of force on the club by using his fingers.

Mike doesn't understand why some experts in the golf industry tell players to "take their hands out of the game." It's all in the hands. Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and most superstars have phenomenal hand-eye coordination. Bob Toski is also a savant with his hands.

It takes practice to figure out how much you integrate to get the ball to do what you want.

Again, you can make the ball curve, do it with your hands, or make the same swing and set the clubface closed or opened. You must ensure that your eyes and swing stay on the same path when you open or close the clubface.

When making small adjustments to your swing, you must make exaggerations to make the ball curve big. Then you dial it in from there. The key is to work on feel and touch with the clubface to get the curve you want.