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A Malaska Golf Member has a question about the right hand and what it does after you hit the ball, specifically when you get to ‘L to L.’ Does the right hand keep going to the left, or does it change?Mike says in his case, it changes. Players like Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, and Vijay Singh come in so hard when they come into the ball that their right hand starts to bow out.Most players' right hand comes through the ball and flattens once they hit it. When the club goes around, their right hand rehinges back.Mike now demonstrates straight on. You can see Mike’s right hand come through, but it doesn’t keep going to his left. Mike explains that his hand rehinges and goes back up under the club and reverses.The Look Cool drill is a great drill for understanding wrist rehinging. The momentum of the club will rehinge the wrist on the follow-through. Joe Nichols, Mike’s mentor, taught him that this was all about releasing the club up instead of around. There are players who release the club around, but most release the club up.

RIGHT HAND ON THE FOLLOW-THROUGH

It's really interesting. Driving all the way up for the last round, coming up from Salt Lake, getting ready for the final day. You’d think you’d be nervous. I wasn’t. I was as calm as I’d ever been. I mean, I wasn’t anxious to get to the golf course. I just kind of felt calm, even though I knew I was going to try to do something that hadn’t been done—win this Open as an amateur. At that time, it was like a Korn Ferry Tour event.The Utah Open would draw 5, 6, or 7,000 people for the last round, and it was a pretty big deal. Pulling in, they had all the guards and everything set up because they only let the players park in the parking lot. So, on the drive up to the golf course, it was me and my caddie, Mark Ruff, in the car, getting there, getting ready, and heading out to the course.I hadn’t looked at the paper that morning, but my dad gave it to me before I left the house. The article was about me and the tournament, but it said I had very little chance of winning because I hadn’t won anything big. I was playing with a couple of tour players, and there were seasoned players right behind me. That article actually calmed me down because I thought, "Okay, these guys don’t think I can win, so I have nothing to lose." It was just, "Go out and play. We’ll see what happens." I didn’t have the pressure of “you’re supposed to win,” or “you’ve won a lot.”I felt like it was a “can’t lose” situation. I mean, if I didn’t play well, and let’s say I finished sixth, seventh, eighth, or ninth, I’d still have played well. I would be the low amateur in the Utah Open, which was a big deal. I had all of that. So, I was just out there playing. And I think maybe that mindset, where I didn’t feel like I had to win, allowed me to play to win, but I wasn’t worried if I didn’t.Even if I didn’t win, in my mind it was still a big accomplishment for how well I played. And I think that’s what people have to understand about competitive golf. You’re ready to play, you give it your best, and whatever happens, happens—you just learn from it. It’s when you put big expectations on yourself, and you want to win so badly that you get too focused on trying to win and become defensive, that you don’t play well.I wasn’t defensive at all because that article made me feel like, no matter what I do, I’m winning. If I played well, great. Win the tournament, awesome, big deal. If I didn’t, I’d still have plenty of accolades for what I’d accomplished. So, I’m sure that mindset helped me play well because I didn’t feel like there was any way I could lose. That kind of mindset is how you reach your potential in your game—where you feel like, no matter what, you can’t lose.If you start thinking, "I really should win this tournament" or "I should play well today" or "I should beat this guy in match play," or "This is an easy golf course, I should play well on it," anytime you get into those kinds of thoughts, it puts too much pressure on you. You get too focused on the future, and you don’t just go out and play.I’m sure that article was a big reason I had the mindset I did going into the last round.So let’s talk about why we’re even here. Fifty years ago, I won the Utah Open here. I was the first amateur to do it in, I think, 35 or 40 years. It hadn’t been done for a long time. It was like what we’d now call a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://Web.com">Web.com</a> event. There were big crowds, and Smith’s Food King was the sponsor. It was one of the biggest tournaments in the United States, outside of the tour.This golf course was my home course—I went to Weber State, and I played here all the time. It was just a really good golf course. I always liked it. Visually, it set up well for me.So this is about talking through some of those shots I hit during the last round. I remember every shot. I could tell you every tee shot. I could tell you every club. I could even tell you where I hit it on the greens on all 18 holes, which is interesting—how your memory works.This is really about, okay, here we are 50 years later, still playing competitive golf, and still involved in the game. Golf is a game for a lifetime. If you do it right, if you practice, and you take care of yourself physically—which is what the M-System is all about—you can play this game as long as you can walk. And even if you can’t walk, you can still play. There are guys playing in wheelchairs now; they’ve got special apparatuses on carts. Golf is one of the few games where, as long as your arms can move, you can play. And because of the handicap system, you can be competitive.It’s a lot of fun for me to come back here. I mean, I walk onto this property, and I’m sure Jack Nicklaus had the same feeling at Augusta and at a lot of the places he won. Every tour player, when you ask them about courses where they’ve won, will tell you—there’s a certain feel when you come back. It feels like home. You’re comfortable. You’ve had success.So, we want to go through and talk about a couple of shots—what I was thinking, the process, what happened. Where did I hit my tee shot? How did it affect my round? Things like that.It’s just fun to be back. Fifty years later, sometimes it feels like it was just a week ago, and I’m here doing this. Other times, it feels like it was an eternity ago, like it didn’t even happen. It’s just revisiting those old memories. Hopefully, some of these reflections will rub off and help you as a player.

UTAH OPEN REVISITED

A Malaska Golf Member wants to know if you are still doing the L to L if you want to curve the ball. The answer is yes.

Mike starts with the L to L, and when he swings, he makes tiny adjustments to the clubface so he can curve the ball. You are still making the L to L when you swing. You could call out different shots for Mike to make when he is at the top of his swing, and he can adjust the clubface on the downswing to make those shots. Those little adjustments with the clubface can make the ball curve one way or another.

Tour Players are so good with their hands, which is another reason Mike is a big proponent of playing the game with your hands.

When others in the golf industry say take your hands out of the game, Mike thinks it is insanity! You must train your hands to control the clubface. The hands hold the club, so they control the clubface and the club. Your hips do not control the face.

The better you get at controlling the face with your hands and using the lever system, the better player you will be when you add your body to it.

L TO L AND BALL CONTROL

When you are practicing make sure that you start out with small swings at slow speeds. Then gradually add more swing length and more push away for acceleration through the ball. Then go to a longer club. Try your driver. But as you lengthen the club start also slowing the swing down. Then reintroduce speed. If you can not control the club then back the speed and swing length down. Then gradually build it back up. 

ADDING LONGER CLUBS & MORE SPEED

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’t matter if you’re just starting out or if you have been playing for years at a high level. We’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’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

The front loader drill will get your right hip out of the way and get your left hip working correctly.

THE FRONT LOADER DRILL

PRACTICE-OVERVIEW

Over 70+ years of playing, Mr. Peterson has had the chance to watch some of the greats in real life. Here are some of the players who have shaped his game.

FAVORITE PLAYERS

A Malaska Golf member wants to know how to fix a strong grip. He had a strong grip for a long time and fought a push fade, a club coming too much from the inside. He was catching the ball and starting the ball out to the right of where he was aimed.

The grip that he used caused him to hook the ball, and he was taught that he needed to turn the face over on the swing. He also learned to come from the inside and hold the clubface off. 

You need to get the path to change so you’re not coming too much from the inside. The path needs to come more straight into the ball. You must also let the club go by taking your thumb off the club. The thumb tends to push, lock the wrist, and turn the face over. Practice by taking your thumb off and letting the club swing and your wrists pivot up and down.

You can hit the ball as hard as you want with as much speed, and won’t hit a pull hook. There needs to be an acceleration in the club to create speed.

When you have a strong grip, you don’t want to come from the inside and hold the face off to keep it from hooking. You want to let the club go, but your hands must work to keep the face from turning down. You can get your path heading straighter into the back of the ball, and when your hands let the clubhead pass, the face works differently.

FIXING A STRONG GRIP THAT HOOKS

What and when is the transition in pickleball? Similar to golf, when your raquet (or club) goes back, your body moves forward.

TRANSITION IN PICKLEBALL

The lever system is a very important part of your swing. Learn to get the club hinging and unhinging correctly.

THE LEVER SYSTEM

The pullback drill is another unconventional drill that Joe Nichols shared with Mike.  By pulling back, it puts force into the left leg as a stabilizer, which accelerates the clubhead.  These are very good things in a golf swing.

DEEPER LOOK INTO PULL BACK

Golf is a game played with your hands. Until you recognize that the hands and the clubface are the same, you will struggle.

HOW THE CLUBFACE WORKS AND HANDS

Hitting out is a priority over trying to reach the green.

CLEARING THE LIP

KRIS BRYANT

Combing path, face and trajectory gives you ultimate control of the golf ball - turning the game into and art form.

PATH FACE AND TRAJECTORY

Fixing common swing flaws by exaggeration, and swinging with the opposite path.

CHANGING PATH WITH OPPOSITES

When you swing, being able to see where the ball carries can be very helpful.

WORKING ON YOUR RESCUE WITH YOUR LAUNCH MONITOR

RAPSODO: INSIGHTS ARE COMING

Properly preparing for a tournament is very important.

TOURNAMENT PREP

When you’re in the sand, it’s about throwing sand, not about hitting the ball. Having the correct concept is the key to any shot. In the bunker it is about what you are trying to do with the sand not the ball. The ball is just another grain of sand. You are displacing sand not hitting a ball.

BUNKER OVERVIEW

Billy Fitzgerald, a Malaska Certified Coach, is subbing for Mike this week. A Malaska Golf Member has a question about how to determine grip pressure. The member says he is somewhere between extremely light and losing control of the golf club to extremely tight, where his arms and shoulder sockets tighten up.

Billy says this is a great question, especially since many people think they have the right pressure when, in fact, they don't. Billy notes that there is a point where you can actually hold the club too soft.

Grip pressure is important as it allows you to have control of the clubface. This is a constant feeling, and it never changes throughout the swing.

Billy suggests the first thing you do is grab and hold the clubhead with your hand. Feel the weight of the clubhead. Understand how that feels, even though you hold the club by the grip.

If you hold the grip of the club too tight, you won't feel the weight of the clubhead. If you hold the club too light, there will be a lot of play in the club. You won't feel the weight of the club either. 
The key is to feel the weight of the clubhead and secure it in your hands. Make sure there is no play in the grip.

One thing you can do is hold the club out in front of you and make big circles. This is a great drill to feel the weight of the clubhead without any play in your hands or your grip.

Billy recounts a story that Mike told him about Jack Nicklaus and that he controlled the grip pressure in his forearms. Jack was secure in his hands, but his forearms were soft.

You need to be soft enough in your wrists, arms, and club so that the weight of the club can hinge and unhinge your wrists, your elbows can fold, and your shoulders can turn. Billy notes that the member's grip pressure is probably more secure than his wrist, elbow, and shoulder.

To summarize, you want to feel the weight of the golf club. Even though you grip the handle, you still want to be able to feel the weight at the other end of the club. You want to be soft enough that the grip pressure is constant throughout the golf swing.

THE RIGHT GRIP PRESSURE

A Malaska Golf Member is good at making long putts but needs help with short ones.

Mike explains that the closer you get to the hole, the more you expect to make the putt and the ball go in the hole. The task, however, is to hit the ball and roll the line.

When you have to make a short putt, you focus so much on getting the ball in the hole and become afraid you will miss it.

It is important to concentrate on the task at hand: hitting the ball in the middle of the face and making it roll.

Mike has two balls set up with lines on them. One ball is the hole, and the other is the ball he is hitting. He makes a solid putt, makes the line roll, and hits the second ball. If you can hit the ball, you will have a better chance of hitting the hole because it is larger.

Mike suggests that when you are at the golf course, you should practice this exercise on the putting green. Think of this as playing pool, then practice hitting the left and right sides.

This teaches you to be specific with setting the line, aiming the line, and hitting a specific spot. You will start making those putts if you start practicing this and not aiming for the hole.

PUTTING PROCESS VS. OUTCOME

Instincts used in other sports, such as the transition, can be applied in golf. Like other sports, the golf swing is a movement pattern and a constant motion.

ATHLETIC INSTINCT

The right shoulder levels out as it goes through the ball.

HOW THE RIGHT SHOULDER WORKS

There are no positions in the golf swing because it is a fluid motion. If there were one position that mattered, it would be impact.

POSITION AT IMPACT

A Malaska Golf Member has a two-part question about the golf swing and how you can get injured, especially the lower back. The second question deals with the transition of the golf swing.

The member explains that for 50 years, he was told to take the club to the top, then as he came down, to take his hips and shoulders and twist and unwind as fast as possible. Mike says that the problem is when you twist like that in the downswing, it puts a lot of stress and force on your lower lumbar spine. It is not designed to handle that much rotational force.

In Mike’s swing, he pushes his right hip out of the way on the backswing and then his left hip on the downswing. His pelvis rotates, but there is no twisting force in his lower lumbar spine. Your body rotates as an effect, not a cause. There is no twist. The body rotates because when Mike is set up, his right leg pushes his right hip back, which also takes his right shoulder back. This, in turn, brings his left shoulder around.

On the downswing, Mike’s left leg pushes his left hip back, which pulls his right hip forward. Note that the rotation in the pelvis is caused by his legs pushing his hip sockets back and forth. There is no rotational force in his lower lumbar spine.

The second part of the question is about dropping the club or dropping the club into the ‘slot.’ What drops the club is like swinging a baseball bat or a tennis racket; you change direction.

On the initial backswing, you turn your hip, and your shoulders are at a 90-degree angle. As you take the club to the top, you change direction. When this happens, your upper body is slightly tilted. That tilt in the spine tilts the shoulders, and they direct your arms.

Dropping of the arms comes from the change of direction in your hips and the tilt in your spine.

AVOIDING BACK INJURIES

Don't shallow the club, shallow your arms.

STEEP AND ACROSS

LAG SHOT IRONS FLEX IN THE SHAFT

Mike sits down with MLB Hitting Coach Craig Wallenbrock and team to discuss the similarities between the golf swing and the baseball swing.

GOLF TALK WITH RON ROENICKE

Mike Malaska discusses head motion with a Malaska Golf member. Sometimes it can be helpful to have someone hold your head still or use a stick to keep it stable. But you need to be careful as you can hurt your neck.

Most often, your head reacts to what your hips and legs are doing. When Mike watches someone whose head is moving incorrectly, it is usually because their lower body isn’t doing what it should. Mike wants you to feel how your head reacts to what your lower body is doing. Be careful about just focusing on your head.

If you fix what your lower body is doing, your head does what it should.

CORRECTING HEAD MOTION

What makes the left heel lift off the ground?

LEFT HEEL OFF THE GROUND AND THE REASON WHY

A Malaska Golf Member mentions he is okay, feeling like he is back on the heels of his left foot, his lead foot, as the club goes through the ball.

Mike reassures the member this is correct and what the biomechanics are now preaching in the industry.

You play the game more from your heels than your toes. Mike has talked about this concept in previous videos. Every shot he makes, even pitch shots, his club runs into the ball, and his left leg pushes his left hip back. When this happens, Mike's toes lift slightly off the ground. As the club gets longer and the swing gets bigger, you will find that your toes lift even more.

Initially, when you swing down into the ball, force goes into the ball or the middle of your left foot; then, as you are halfway down on your swing, the force transfers to the heel of your left foot.

Mike demonstrates hitting a small pitch shot, another fuller pitch shot, and then a driver. You can see the left toe lift and force goes into his left heel.

Mike feels this same timing with all his swings. That's the beauty of all the forces around you when you swing. Mike also finds that his driver is the easiest to time the forces affecting the club because it creates the most force on him. It becomes easier to time those forces and make sure the rotation of his body is in sync with his club.

The driver should be the simplest club to time the circular forces. It is the same feeling and timing of the forces regardless of the length of the club. Practice with small shots and build up to your driver.

IMPACT AND FORCE IN YOUR LEFT HEEL

To play pro golf, you need to drive for dough.

DRIVE FOR DOUGH

Your hands control the club face. Practice so you can feel how your hands work.

HAND-EYE COORDINATION

Pitch shots are the topic of this Mulligan Monday.

Mike sets up off the green with a 30-yard pitch shot to the hole. It is crucial to ensure the Lever System comes into play. Mike demonstrates that with his right hand and arm.

The key is to match the swinging of the arm with the pivoting of the hip. You don’t want your knees sliding or your body stopping with your hands hitting. You also don’t want to throw your hips out with the club lagging behind.

Make sure you feel how your left hip, right arm, and club shaft match, precisely, how all the rotations match. Your arm is also pushing the shaft.

This is an important concept to understand, and once mastered; it is also your full swing. If you can’t hit a pitch shot, you can’t hit a driver.

PITCH SHOTS PIVOTING YOUR HIP

A Malaska Golf Member has a question about Moe Norman and Ben Hogan. Mike has had the opportunity to see them both hit golf balls.

Back in the 80s, Moe Norman hit balls for Mike at the finals of the Tour School. He hit balls for 45 minutes, and Mike was amazed
at how good Moe could hit it. Mike was also able to see Ben Hogan hit balls for about 15 minutes, and that experience was unbelievable.

The Member's question is about hand action. Did they both have the same hand action and lever system? They did not.

Moe had the club more in the palm of his hand as he had big grips on his clubs. He flattened or bowed his left wrist when he took the club away. Then, as he turned into the ball, he hit it and released the club on the follow-through. Moe didn't twist his forearm. Mike demonstrates how Moe sets up and hits the ball.

Hogan had a much weaker grip, and as he took the ball away, he would have a little cup in his left wrist. He wanted the clubface to be on the swing plane with his right palm facing out. Moe Norman's right palm was facing down. Because of this, Norman had much less face rotation in the club than Hogan did.

When Hogan took the club back, he had a lot of rotation in his forearms, palms facing up, and then he rotated his forearms really hard through the ball. This looked a lot looser in his wrists.

Now, Mike demonstrates Ben Hogan's swing.
Mike tried to imitate that same swing for a long time early in his career. Mike had difficulty timing the rotation of the forearms for that style of swing. The benefit of this swing style was that it helped Hogan not to hook the ball. Hogan wanted a hand action, an application that felt like he had two right arms. He wanted to be able to rotate his forearms as hard as he could and not hit a pull hook. This will work for you, but it isn't easy to time the clubface.

The two swings were very different, but where they were similar was if you stopped them both at impact. This is the most important position in the game, and there are many ways to get there. Moe Norman and Ben Hogan were very different but also very proficient in their golf swings.

BEN HOGAN AND MOE NORMAN

SPEED DRILL - SWING THE HANDLE DRILL

The game starts with impact. To build a solid swing, you need to start with putting.

IMPACT WITH GIULIA SERGAS - 201811

When you putt, there is very little face rotation. Learn how to train yourself to stay away from rotating the club face.

PRACTICING PUTTING WITH TEES

For this Mulligan Monday, Mike demonstrates that the golf swing is the Lever System. He takes his driver in his right hand and swings the club back and forth, hinging and unhinging his wrists.

Mike then hits a ball, using that same lever system with one hand. With that easy swing, he hits the ball 175 yards.

Mike comments that the swing looked flippy, and this time when he hits the ball, he will let his body rotate with the swing. Mike can also use his left hand, make the same motions, and hit the ball. The ball will go about 200 yards.

When you add both of your hands, there’s your golf swing!

THE GOLF SWING IS THE LEVER SYSTEM

Having the correct stance can improve your swing. Stay away from creating tension.

THOUGHTS ON STANCE

Brian Gott, Malaska Certified Coach, is subbing for Mike this week. A Malaska Golf Member feels like he's hitting all his shots thin because he's not extending his arms.

Brian thinks it's the opposite. He says he is moving up closer into the ball and having to pull the left arm up so he doesn't dig it into the ground and hit the ball fat. This is causing the member to hit the ball thin.

Brian suggests the member move farther away from the ball, make a small swing, and see if that left arm extends out all the way. If that still happens, then you are moving too close to the ball. You will feel like you are running out of room, and your body knows it isn't going to hit the ball, so it starts to pull up.

The key is to get the hip out of the way. The Right Foot Back Drill will help you do this. This will help to extend the arm through impact. Make sure you get the right hip back on the backswing and the left hip back on the follow-through.

Brian says you are getting too close to the ball and crowded when you swing. Your arms will start to come up, and you will hit it thin.

Get farther away from the ball, balance your arm, and extend it correctly.

HITTING THE BALL THIN

The many benefits of practicing in fairway bunkers.

BENEFITS OF BUNKER PRACTICE

Swaying changes the bottom of your swing.

THE SWAY FORWARD AND BACK

A Malaska Golf Member wants to know why you don't do an elevated swing before you do the L to L.

Mike explains that Joe Nichols taught him there isn't a down in the golf swing and that your swing should feel level and not down.

As you take the club back, you will lever it, then take it up to the transition point and back down to waist high. Joe Nichols described this as turning the corner. This is where the club is always pointing at you throughout the swing. You will also have the "L" on the follow-through.

Mike demonstrates the swing action. The club stays level as it moves across your body. Mike describes this as a waist-high fastball. Note that the club remains level, and the club is never behind him or past him. The club should always feel like it is in line with you.

Naturally, you don't swing over the top of the ball waist-high, but your hands should feel like they do. Because there is no tension in your wrists, the weight of the club drops down behind the ball. The momentum in the club's weight unhinges down to the ball and rehinges on the follow-through.

The momentum and weight of the club make the club go down, then up. Gravity and momentum will make your shots consistent.

Mike concludes that L to L and swinging level are the same. One holds the weight of the club up, and the other lets the club drop.

ELEVATED PLANE AND L TO L

Moving on from setup, Brian Gott covers putting tempo on Day 2 of the putting challenge. Feeling what tempo works for you is essential and personal as everyone is different. Practice putting about 15 feet from the hole and find your putting cadence. This is either 1-2 or 1-2-3 and practice saying this faster or slower. Discover what tempo is right for you and keep it the same. 

Another detail to pay attention to is that too many people have a very long forward stroke length. A good tempo allows you to be consistent with your putts and ensures you are longer on the backswing and have more energy into the ball. This tempo will also transition throughout the golf swing. Work on your tempo and rhythm, and you will get a lot better.

DAY 2 TEMPO

Three alternatives to "holding the angle" for casting.

THREE WAYS TO STOP CASTING

INSIGHTS-SMASH FACTOR

Controlling is the face is one of the most important parts of the game. Learn what causes the face to open.