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Many people forget that golf is a game. Here's how to most efficiently improve while sharing it with your friends and family.

THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO PLAY GOLF AND HAVE FUN

PERFORMANCE COMBINES - BEAT MIKE

In first lesson, Mike Malaska works with Ashley Huizing to explore two distinct approaches to playing golf while addressing common misconceptions that have hindered many players' progress.Mike begins by explaining why trying to replicate the techniques of professional legends, such as Ben Hogan, is often impractical for the average golfer. Hogan’s swing method, which relied heavily on forearm rotation and grip adjustments, was developed out of necessity to correct his tendency to hook the ball. Starting with a strong grip as a young player, Hogan struggled with low hooks and spent a year refining his swing to eliminate them. His solution involved weakening his left hand grip and positioning his right hand more neutrally to allow for aggressive forearm rotation without hooking.Mike highlights that Hogan’s method, while mesmerizing and effective for him, was highly specialized. Hogan’s precision required relentless practice—hitting at least 500 balls daily to maintain his skill. Even missing one day would set him back two days of practice. This level of commitment and expertise is unattainable for most golfers, yet many view Hogan’s approach as the ultimate standard to emulate, often leading to frustration and inconsistent results.Mike points out that while some of Hogan’s fundamentals have value, much of his technique is overly complex and not practical for the average player. He shares his own experience of trying Hogan’s method for three years. Although he could consistently strike the center of the clubface, he had no control over direction or distance, making it impossible to aim at specific targets. The result was a lack of precision, missed opportunities for birdies, and limited success under pressure.The lesson emphasizes the need for a simpler, more sustainable approach to the golf swing—one that focuses on balance, control, and adaptability rather than rigid adherence to complex techniques. Mike acknowledges that trying to replicate a method that took a "savant" years to perfect and required extreme daily practice is not only unrealistic but often counterproductive.By debunking these myths and presenting alternative methods, this lesson sets the stage for Ashley to develop a more consistent, reliable swing suited to her own strengths and abilities.

GOLF METHOD AND MYTHS

Delofting allows players to hit the same club farther

DE-LOFTING

As you engage the hands and utilize the shoulder action, the knees do something specific.  Here is what they do and, more importantly, what they don't do.  You  can even see this mirrored in Jack's lower body.

PULLEY SYSTEM - BACKSWING - PART 2

Mike On Nicklaus Part 1 -- Golf Does Not Define You

GOLF DOES NOT DEFINE YOU

From set up. Your force or weight is even in your feet. Your toes are quiet. As you go to impact. Force goes to the heel of your lead foot. Your toes on that foot lift. On your trail foot. As you come into impact the force in your trail foot goes first to the inside of your trail foot, then towards the ball off your foot. This will make your toes start to grab. Your feet or how you pressure the ground makes your body move.

FORCE IN YOUR FEET

On Day 5, the final day, Brian Gott puts everything together with all the skills you have learned. Make sure you have mastered setup, tempo, path, and putting speed. Brian emphasizes that you should practice what really matters to become a better putter and not randomly throw three balls on the green and hit the balls towards the hole. 

To mimic real-life putting scenarios, he sets up a practice session with multiple balls around the green at different lengths, from 4 feet to 6 feet. Putt each ball individually like it matters or has a consequence. Once you have completed this drill, move the balls farther out. Doing this will make you a better putter. Make sure that you practice what counts so that you can have putting consistency and do better on the golf course.

DAY 5 HOW IT ALL WORKS

When you play from your lead leg, there shouldn't be any force transfer in your short game.

PLAYING FROM YOUR LEAD LEG

Sammy Slice takes his golf swing to the fairways. This Mulligan Monday, Sammy will work on strengthening his grip and keeping his clubface closed.

Sammy will hit shots until he can make the ball curve to the left. Once Sammy accomplishes that, he will use the same hand action and the same clubface, but the swing path will come more from the inside of the ball.

The ball now starts to the right and curves back to the left.

SAMMY SLICE FAIRWAYS CURVE THE BALL LEFT

Mike connects the relationship with baseball to golf and how the grip is almost identical at impact. Hitting a golf ball and a baseball is essentially the same.

BASEBALL SWING

Mike talks about a new way to swing that he's seen in videos and discusses the idea of arms out in front of you.

Mike says it is universally understood that when you take the club away, the clubhead is in front of your hands, not behind. Most teachers in the industry are on board with this idea.

When you get to the transition point (the top of the swing), that is where there are some differing views. There is an idea out there about how the club works, and there are many ways to describe it: hub path, clubhead path, and center mass. A lot of physics is mentioned relative to forces.

One comment mentioned is that when players' arms come down from the top of the swing, they run their arms into their bodies. They explain this as getting stuck. Their solution when you change directions on the downswing is to put your arms out in front of you by dropping the club behind you. When this happens, you pull the handle down, allowing your arms to swing. Mike agrees that in this swing concept, you want room for your arms to swing; however, he wants to talk about how the body works first.

When Mike sets up, swings back, and goes down, his arms are in front of him. Mike can shallow the club and his arms in the downswing without getting stuck. His hips aren't in the way. Mike doesn't understand why people are getting stuck.

Mike explains that if your right hip is working correctly, the club will be in front of you sooner, in a better swing arc, with less manipulation and less force without the twisting from your body. Mike demonstrates what he is talking about when his hip works. He swings back, his hip moves back up to the transition point, and Mike shows you there is plenty of room for his arms to swing into the ball. Mike can shallow his arms, make a big loop and not get stuck.

Throughout his career, Jack Nicklaus talked about his swing and that his goal was to get his right hip far out of the way to get his arms back down to the ball. Tiger Woods talked about basically the same thing. Tiger wanted his right hip socket as deep as he could possibly get it, and when he came down, he wanted his left hip to do the same thing. This created a massive amount of space, offsetting the momentum of the club. Jack talked about releasing the club from the top. He was trying to get his club in the correct arc so he could push back away from it.

Mike uses the ROTEXMotion Floor Models to demonstrate how old guys like Sam Snead and Ben Hogan moved. They used to do the "sit down" position. When you swing to the top and push your hip back, it looks like you are sitting down. Mike shows you there is still plenty of room for your arms to swing down after you twist your feet.

Mike doesn't disagree that you need room for your arms to swing. But to achieve this by throwing your arms out in front of you with the club dropping back, pulling the handle, and twisting to get the club out to the ball is complicated.

Mike summarizes that working on this is about getting your right hip out of the way. The club is in front of you, and you shallow the club down, leaving plenty of room for your arms and the club to go up and come down. You don't have to swing and deal with multiple loops and forces to get the club to the ball. It's about ease of motion and consistency.

Mike says there are multiple ways to do it, and you can try that swing concept; however, he believes this is a better approach.

ARMS OUT IN FRONT OF YOU

Professionals use less energy with better results.  In this episode, we  talk with Martial Artist Scott about the benefits of body control, awareness of energy, and force transfer for better self expression.

BODY CONTROL

When You swing a golf club the instinct is for your hands to move at the ball from the top. But they do not. Your picture and the reality is that your hands have to swing inside the ball for the club head to move to the ball correctly. So when you start your downswing picture your hands looking like they are going to miss the ball about 10 inches inside the ball. Remember the club head is not on the same arch as your arms. It is a bigger circle. 

HANDS DO NOT SWING AT THE BALL

Sammy Slice tends to slice the ball 40 yards. This Quick Fix Friday is to fix this.

There are two ways to do that.

First, set the clubface more closed because when Sammy swings his driver, the clubface is open.

The other solution is to change your grip. Turn your left hand clockwise and turn your right hand counterclockwise.

Practice this grip on the range and decide what nuances you need to make so that the ball goes straight.

Take this new “Fix” and go out and play.

SAMMY SLICE HOW TO HIT THE DRIVER STRAIGHT

When it comes to pitching, your right forearm is very important. Learn how to keep it in line with the shaft.

PITCHING

Mike tries to break 40 from the worst positions off the tee

IFYP: MENTAL GAME

Jack Jr and Mike discuss what Nicklaus meant by "release."

NICKLAUS AND RELEASE

The correct club setup is vital in pitching. The length of your swing and the speed at the bottom of it control your distance. Figuring out the best combination will improve your pitch shots.

DISTANCE & FACE CONTROL

Getting a feel for how your body works when you swing is very important. Learn how your body pushes away from the club and how this benifits your swing.

PUSHING AWAY FROM THE CLUB

Focusing either on your right scapula or belt buckle to turn through the ball.

THE RIGHT SCAPULA AND/OR YOUR BELT BUCKLE

Every golf experience is a life experience.

GOLF, LIFE, AND ECLIPSES

Rolling the ball down the line sounds stupid, but it's critical. Here's how to be a precise putter.

ROLL THE BALL

Pressure can cause you to make mistakes in your game. Learn how to adjust and correct your errors.

THE PRESSURE OF TOURNAMENT PLAY

The swing is a channeling of ground forces being moved through your body.  It may sound counterintuitive, but the ground is not a bad place to start.

START YOUR SWING WITH YOUR FEET

Sitting on a chair and making swings is a great way to feel how yur arms work together.

WORK YOUR ARMS TOGETHER

The walk through drill can be very helpful in staying balanced and maintaining consistancy.

THE WALK-THROUGH DRILL

You can practice anywhere as long as you have some room. Learn how to use obstacles in your yard to improve your swing.

USING OBSTACLES IN YOUR YARD

Performing the pulley drill creates the same force applied in your left and right foot in a golf swing.

IMPORTANCE OF THE PULLEY DRILL

LAUNCH ANGLE - 7 IRON

Billy Fitzgerald, a Malaska Certified Coach, is helping Mike this week. A Malaska Golf Member has a question about distance. Although he hits the ball straighter, he still isn’t getting the distance he wants.
The member lists several ways he is trying to gain speed. First, Billy cautions the member because the golf swing is one fluid motion. Although it is a fluid motion, you do hit some positions.

Another point Billy makes is that working on one thing at a time is essential. If you have too many different things going on in your head, it makes it challenging to maneuver smoothly through the swing. Your swing is a free-flowing motion. Billy advises you to work on one concept at a time before moving on to the next.

Billy talks about the different circles that help you gain more speed. First is the swing circle the club is working on, or the outer circle. Second is the circle the body works on, which is the inner circle. The object is for those circles to match up.

Typically, for the average player, there becomes a point where they can only have so much speed with their hands, wrists, and arms. Tension comes into play when you try to gain more speed and become tighter. This is not a good thing. 

Ensure your outer circle and your hands and levers are working correctly. Feel how the club is swinging. Once you do this, it is time to match up both circles. Actual speed starts when they both work off each other.

Billy demonstrates how this happens. As the club comes down in the backswing, the left leg pushes the left hip out of the way as you accelerate through the ball. With your hands working correctly, it’s ensuring the two circles work together in the swing. This will help you accelerate the golf club.

Billy reminds the member not to have too many different ideas going on in his mind, as that will create tension.

Work with the outer and inner circles to push away and accelerate the club.

GAINING DISTANCE

Mike discusses the importance of pitching in your game. The goal of M-SYSTEM Pitching is to simplify difficult concepts and help you master pitching from setup to follow through.

PITCHING OVERVIEW

CHIPPING IS "OFF GREEN PUTTING"

Your body is what generates speed when you swing. Practice getting comfortable with the forces around you.

YOUR BODY AND YOUR SWING

Mike Malaska works with Frank Cox on his golf swing. Frank has a unique swing when it comes to hitting the driver. He does not have a problem hitting the ball a long way, and he tends to fade with a giant pull.

Frank has a weak grip, and the clubface is open at impact. He also twists his body and turns hard on his swing. He finds himself having to twist his hands at impact to catch up.

Mike works with Frank on having a stronger grip, shutting the clubface on the takeaway, and pushing his left leg back, which gets his left hip out of the way. This allows Frank to accelerate his swing at impact and on the follow-through.

With less effort and more control, Frank can hit the ball as far, if not farther, and straighter with more consistency.

FRANK COX

The average person doesn't have the instinct to return to basics. Nobody goes through this process except for professionals.

UNDERSTANDING THE SWING WITH GIULIA SERGAS - 201811

Kory uses the bag stand drill to work on his driver. He focuses on not sliding his legs and knees forward and getting his hips out of the way at impact.

BAG STAND DRILL DRIVER

Brian Gott talks about putting path on Day 3. Set up four tees slightly wider than your putter head, both behind and in front, so that you can move the putter between them. Start working on the path with one hand pushing the ball through, then proceed with two hands. As you practice this, you can move the tees closer and tighter to the heel and toe of the putter head. After you get comfortable with this, add the ball and work on hitting it through the path. 

It is imperative to get the clubface square. Using a line on the ball helps you get a square clubface and ensures the ball rolls end over end towards the hole. This exercise aims to get the clubface square and run the ball down the intended path into the hole. 

DAY 3 PATH

It's important to make sure the club is more in your fingers. Rest the club on your shoulder and concentrate on feeling this in your fingers before you swing.

MORE IN YOUR FINGERS

This Quick Fix Friday follows Harry Hooker fighting his big sweeping hook with his driver.

Harry will take both hands and rotate, moving them to the left. This grip is stronger.

Harry sets up to the ball with his new grip and drives straight down the middle of the fairway.

Harry’s fix to his big snap hooks is to adjust his grip.

HARRY HOOKER DRIVER MOVE YOUR GRIP

This is such a good golf course, and I want to make sure you can see some of it. They've just top-dressed the greens, which is what they have to do here in Utah during the summer. So there's a little bit of sand on top of them, which makes them look a little white. It's a maintenance procedure.Unfortunately, we couldn't get the greens to look perfect, but I can tell you that even with the sand, these greens putt great. Walking on this course, the property, the shots, the visual concepts—there’s a lot of golf here. I love trees, I love holes where the angles and trees and all that stuff come into play.Even though I live in Arizona, which is desert golf and doesn’t have the same dynamics with big trees, it’s a different type of golf. But I want you to see how beautiful this course is. And if you’re ever here and know someone who’s a member, you’ve got to come and play it. It’s one of the best golf courses in Utah, for sure.Now, relative to the last day, this is the 18th green here. The members don’t play it this way, though. This is part of the front nine, and they finish on a par three as their 18th hole. But for us, this was the 18th hole in the final round. The pin was right here. It's a huge green, with the pin placement at the back. I hit my best tee shot of the week—a nice high draw—and ended up right here, with about 82 yards to the front edge of the green and around 100 yards to the flag. They’ve thinned out a lot of trees since I was last here, which is interesting.This hole is tough for driving because the trees hang over the tee, which is set up for a cut. But I was drawing the ball consistently. So the question was, do I hit driver? My caddie, who was excellent and helped me a lot, said, "Mike, you haven’t hit a driver offline all day. Let’s just get on the right side of the tee or way over on the left and go right over the top edge of the trees." So I hit it perfect—the best drive I hit all week. I had a two-shot lead coming into this hole, so I knew that if I just hit the fairway, I wouldn't make worse than bogey.But the pin was clear in the back, which I think is the hardest pin placement on the green. If you miss the fairway to the right or hit it left into the trees, getting the ball back there is almost impossible. This club doesn’t really have a full driving range. You can see they’ve put the tees way up, and they can hit up to those flags, which are only about 150 yards away.When we played the Utah Open, the practice tees were set much farther back, near the cart path, so you could hit up to a 200-yard shot. But even then, we just used it to warm up. In fact, every day, the first full driver swing I made was off the first tee. I’d hit a couple of drivers on the range, but they wouldn’t go past the tees. I was making big swings, just trying to hit it solid and get a feel for the swing.It’s interesting practicing like this, where you can’t hit the ball far and are just focusing on hitting it solid and controlling its flight. That’s actually better than standing there and rifling your driver, which is what most people do. So, even though this is a restricted area, it actually sets you up for a better warm-up.Again, we're up here on the range. They’ve got maybe a 120-yard shot, and I suppose you could hit into the rough and get it up to 180 or 190 yards. Back in the day, this tee was cut all the way back to the cart path, so it was probably another 50 yards longer. But you couldn't just stand here and rifle drivers out. They wouldn’t let you. In fact, a lot of times, they wouldn’t even let you hit drivers. During the Open, they let us, but you were only supposed to hit it to the trees over here, which from the back tee was only like 200 yards.For me, I didn’t know what I was doing; I just made long, smooth swings, hit the ball solid, and got a feel for how it was curving. I’ve never been in a rush to hit it far. The biggest problem I see, which I instinctively avoided, is swinging too hard and hitting the ball randomly. When I was a kid, we practiced with a shag bag, and we had to pick up the balls after hitting them. So, I was always concerned with where the ball went, rather than how far.I’m confident that’s one reason I got so good so quickly—I never swung so hard that I’d lose control of the ball. I didn’t want to lose a golf ball.So anyway, this is the practice area. It’s pretty much the same as it was back then, maybe 40 yards shorter. It’s just a place to warm up.For the members, they play this as their 10th tee, but for the tournament, they wanted to finish on 18, so they used this spot. There was a lot more room for the galleries here than at the par three, which is where the members usually finish.The first day—or the fourth day—when I came up here, it was just a gorgeous hole. It drops down, comes up one level, then another, and finally up to the top. For me, at the time, every ball I hit had a slight draw. That's another reason this course is so great: about 75 percent of the holes set up perfectly for a draw. I just set up on the left side of the tee, aimed at the left edge of the right-hand trees, and swung. It was so comfortable, and I felt so good.The two best tee shots I hit during the final round were on the first hole and the 18th. I hit them all well, but these two stood out. The adrenaline, the atmosphere—it all played a part. This tee shot on the first hole was crucial because when I hit it compared to the other two guys I was playing with, I was way past them. I ended up making birdie on the first hole, which increased my lead and made me feel like, "Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go."

VISUALIZING THE COURSE

LESSONS FROM FIRST YEAR ON TOUR

In the third video of the Player Lesson series, Mike Malaska works with Jimmy Pearcy to tackle the fundamental concept of generating speed in the golf swing. Building on the themes of relaxation and natural motion explored in previous sessions, this lesson focuses on how Jimmy can unlock effortless power by leveraging his hands and arms while reducing tension in his swing.Mike begins the session by introducing a drill designed to give Jimmy an immediate understanding of how speed is created. He instructs Jimmy to adopt a baseball grip and place the club on his shoulder. The objective is simple: snap the clubhead through the swing using his hands and arms, letting it release naturally. Jimmy quickly grasps the feel of this motion, noticing how speed can be generated with minimal effort.To bring the drill closer to a golf setup, Mike has Jimmy bend slightly and perform the same snapping motion at ground level. This adjustment highlights the importance of maintaining a fluid wrist action and a relaxed grip, both of which allow the clubhead to accelerate through impact. Jimmy’s initial attempts demonstrate significant improvement, and he begins to experience what Mike describes as an “aha” moment.Mike pauses the session to provide visual feedback, comparing Jimmy’s swing positions with ideal examples. He points out that while Jimmy is close to achieving the correct wrist hinge on his backswing, his follow-through is lacking the necessary release. By the time his right arm reaches parallel to the ground on the follow-through, the clubhead should be fully released and pointing upward, a position that Jimmy has yet to achieve. Using side-by-side comparisons, Mike illustrates the stark difference between Jimmy’s current swing and a more efficient, speed-generating motion.The lesson continues with Jimmy practicing the drill, first with the baseball grip and then transitioning to a traditional golf grip and stance. Mike emphasizes that the goal is not to perfect ball striking but to internalize the feeling of a proper release. He reassures Jimmy that even if the ball doesn’t fly perfectly, the primary focus is on understanding how to generate speed by snapping the clubhead through impact.As Jimmy progresses, Mike explains that tension in the swing is the primary obstacle to speed. He draws a parallel to serving in tennis, where holding the racket too tightly reduces the ability to create power. Similarly, in golf, gripping the club too hard or over-controlling the motion inhibits the natural acceleration of the clubhead. By staying relaxed and letting the hands and arms work freely, Jimmy discovers how much easier it is to generate speed without forcing the swing.To reinforce the lesson, Mike challenges Jimmy to reflect on the difference between the tension-free motion of the drill and the tighter, more controlled feel of his regular golf swing. Mike stresses that speed comes from allowing the natural mechanics of the swing to take over, rather than trying to control every element of the motion. He encourages Jimmy to incorporate this drill into his practice routine, noting that even short sessions focusing on the snap and release can lead to significant improvements in both speed and consistency.By the end of the session, Jimmy has a newfound understanding of how to create speed in his swing. He learns that power isn’t about swinging harder or using more force, but rather about sequencing and allowing the club to release naturally. With Mike’s guidance, Jimmy experiences the difference a relaxed, efficient motion can make, setting him on a path to greater confidence and effectiveness on the course.This lesson marks a pivotal step in Jimmy’s progression as a golfer, providing him with practical tools and insights to achieve faster, more powerful swings while maintaining control and consistency.

CREATING SPEED-JIMMY PEARCY

Mike and Joe discuss the joints and functional movements. Mike learned functional movement patterns while working with Pete Egoscue.

Mike takes issue with the golf industry using Tour Players as a model of how-to-play golf as Mike states they are dysfunctional athletes, to begin with. They have been playing golf since they were kids and have developed body movement patterns far superior to the average person. Trying to superimpose the abilities and body movement patterns of a Tour Player to an average golfer is almost impossible.

Most Tour Players have multiple trainers helping them become more functional. Mike also observed that when he worked with Pete Egoscue at their summer camps, many pro athletes were not as good as they thought after being physically assessed. They looked good but were also dysfunctional, and they only exacerbated the problem with their workouts.

Mike tends to look at different forces in the body and where they are going. Is that part of the body designed to take the amount of force and pressure? Overworking that area in the gym to compensate isn’t always the answer. The key is building a solid foundation; you are only as strong as your weakest link.

Joe concludes that there are six basic movement changes throughout the body, and we should work on every one of them, from the hands and core to the feet. When we do this, we will create more mobility and stability, which is the base of what Joe likes to see when working with athletes.

BODY MOVEMENT PATTERNS

A look at the common flaws and fixes concerning the full swing and sequence. Flaws include over the top, tension, and incorrect body rotation.

SWING AND SEQUENCE

MAKING A SWING

Controlling distance is a very important part of your game. Practice making shiots at different distances.

DISTANCE CONTROL

FOCUS ON MOTION

The right hand squares to incoming force. In the golf swing, it squares to the incoming force of the ground. Here is what your right hand fingers should do to let the face square at impact.

RIGHT HAND PART I

Renowned 2024 Golf Digest Legend of Golf Instruction Mike Malaska has crafted the M-System Lite, which stems from the world’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’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.