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LAG SHOT WEDGE CHIPPING

On this Quick Fix Friday, Mike discusses how to get control of your golf club.

The closer you get to the club's balance point, the easier it is to control the club. You may have more speed as well. To achieve this, Mike chokes down on the club.

Mike has set up three balls on tees and practices the "L to L" swing with his club: an "L" on the backswing and a reverse "L" on the follow-through. The object is to control each one.

Mike makes the first swing and hits the ball. He also rolls his left foot and right foot in on the swing. He ensures he holds the "L" on the follow-through until the ball hits the ground.

Mike makes two additional hits doing the "L to L" swing. he is trying to get control of the club relative to his body through the swing. He also focuses on keeping control of the ground as his body pushes away. 

It's all about the Lever System.

CHOKE DOWN TO GET CONTROL

How to see bunker shots as "throwing sand"

BUNKERS AND THROWING SAND

A Malaska Golf Member recently had an aha moment when he started to feel how the handle of the club comes down and moves the club out in front of him. He wasn’t dragging the handle.Mike says he knows some people teach this concept, and in fact, Mike did it for a big part of his career. The problem with this is that if the inside circle, your body gets way ahead of the clubhead, you will have a hard time catching the face up.Jake Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and others felt that starting the club released the club from the top. As the club started away, it worked back out in front of you instead of getting underneath. This got you ‘stuck.’Again, once you change directions and get the club out in front of you, the handle comes down, and the clubhead works out. This allows you to get to impact. You should feel like your chest and club are going through the swing together, as opposed to getting your hand way out ahead of you.Mike demonstrates the swing, and he iterates that the club and your chest go through the ball at the same time.Now, if you look at it on video, it doesn’t look that way, as the club is moving much faster. This is what it feels like to Mike, and it keeps the club in sync. You don't have to catch the club up or twist the face to get the ball to go straight.

TRANSITION OF THE CLUB

The throwing action of a baseball, the lag or loading of your wrists, is the same feeling and movement as hitting a golf ball.

THROW AND HIT 

Mike Malaska opens by welcoming everyone to Riverside Country Club and reflects on the significance of his 50th anniversary since winning the Utah Open. He shares how winning the tournament as an amateur at Ogden Country Club 50 years ago marked the beginning of his professional golf journey. Now, as he prepares for this year's final round, he views it as a rebirth, embracing the opportunity to continue competing and giving back, particularly through his involvement with the Special Olympics.He highlights the importance of grip in golf, explaining how it connects the hands to the clubface, and addresses common questions from the audience about grip and swing mechanics. Mike emphasizes the value of having the correct grip and offers practical advice on how to develop and refine it. He also discusses the influence of his mentor, Joe Nichols, and the key drills that helped him master his technique, which he now passes on to younger golfers.Finally, Mike introduces Mark Ruff, the former green superintendent who played a pivotal role in his early golf career and was also his original caddie. Mark will be caddying for Mike once again in the 2024 Utah Open. They reminisce about the impact of working on the maintenance crew at Nibley Park Golf Course, which shaped Mike's respect for the game and the work that goes into maintaining a course. Mike encourages others to experience the same, while also reminding the audience about the special offers from Malaska Golf, including discounted memberships and exclusive giveaways.

MALASKA GOLF LIVE UTAH OPEN REPLAY

If you are having trouble getting your hips out of the way and swinging over the top, this drill will help. Practice using different clubs.

RIGHT FOOT BACK DRILL

Hi, my name is Matt Baker, and I'm a Malaska Golf Certified Coach based here in the UK. We've got a great question today from John Creighton, who asks which hand controls the club the most during the swing.The answer to that is, if you went to any PGA or tour event worldwide and surveyed the professionals, it would likely come up 50/50. Some players favor their left hand, while others prefer their right hand. Interestingly, this can change from event to event or even day to day. Some days, players feel more control with their left hand, and on other days, they may feel their right hand is doing more.The real answer is that it varies for each person. You need to experiment and find what works best for you. Personally, I tend to use my right hand more, but that's my preference as a right-handed person. It doesn't always go that way for everyone.To explore this yourself, I suggest practicing with both hands. I often hit single-handed shots with my left hand, focusing on controlling short chip shots down the range. Then, I do the same with my right hand to see which one feels more in control. This practice helps me understand which hand plays a bigger role for me.I encourage you to try this out and see which hand gives you the best control. I hope that helps answer your question, and I appreciate you watching. I look forward to catching up with you all real soon!

WHICH HAND LEADS YOUR SWING

Being able to separate upper body rotation from lower is a big part of swinging the club. It starts with the putter. You should be able to rotate your upper body and not move your lower body. This sounds easy but you hardly ever do this. So practicing it is important. It also addresses and makes you aware of how flexible you are relative to rotation between your upper and lower body.

PUTTING FITNESS

In the golf swing you are not moving weight you are transferring force. If you try to shift weight you will tend to sway. So it is not a weight shift. It is a force transfer. On my backswing I move force into the trail heel. Then as I change directions force goes into my lead foot. Towards the ball off the foot. As I swing through the ball my force in my lead foot goes to the lead heel. You play the game more from your heels than you do your toes.

SHIFT YOUR WEIGHT

Scoring is (obvioustly) putting the ball in the hole

THE BALL GOES IN THE HOLE

The shaft fits diagonally in your fingers and the heel pad folds on top of the grip. The thumb is slightly to the side and here's why.

LEFT HAND PART II

LAG SHOT HITTING A DRAW

I like to call this off-green putting. Because it is the same action as a putting stroke. This is where you start to learn how to compress the ball. And what gets the ball in the air. It is also the part of the game that will save your scores. And if your short game is good. You are not afraid to miss the green. You know you can get the ball up and down. So it takes the pressure off your full swing. Everyone can have a great short game. It fore sure is not about strength and or flexibility. IT is attainable for anyone.

SKILL PATHWAYS: CHIPPING

When your toes move, your body knows it is unbalanced. Practice your natural standing position.

BALANCE

Billy Fitzgerald, a Malaska-certified coach, addresses a question from viewer Peter Zhu about the slapping motion of the hand through impact in the golf swing and the role of the right wrist. Billy explains how the wrist and forearm should align at a 90-degree angle to the spine to ensure proper mechanics.Using a dowel for demonstration, Billy shows how this alignment keeps the club on plane, allowing the hand to return to impact naturally without twisting. He emphasizes the importance of shoulder alignment, as maintaining a 90-degree angle with the spine enables the arms and hands to follow a vertical path, supporting a consistent swing.The slapping motion at impact, Billy explains, is achieved by this vertical arm and hand movement. Without the proper shoulder alignment, the arms can twist, causing the clubface to open and making square impact difficult. This coordination is key to a powerful and accurate strike.Billy highlights the role of grip, especially the left hand, referred to as the "chopper." This grip position stabilizes the clubface, allowing the right hand to slap through impact without twisting, making the swing more reliable.To build awareness, Billy recommends practicing the feel of each body part—the shoulders, hands, and arms—independently before integrating them into a cohesive movement. This approach helps golfers understand each component’s role in a fluid, powerful swing.In summary, the correct grip, along with coordinated movement of the shoulders, arms, and hands, enables a clean, effective slapping motion at impact. Billy thanks Peter for the question, hoping this breakdown clarifies how each part contributes to optimal performance.

WRIST POSITION FOR PERFECT IMPACT

Rotating your left arm out of the top is what pins your arm against your side and gets your club in the correct position.

ROTATING THE LEFT ARM IN THE DOWNSWING

Jim Flick Invitational Part 3 -- The Hands Square The Face

THE HANDS SQUARE THE FACE

Developing a set of skills to learn and teach can be very helpful in improving the swing.

TESTING YOUR TEACHING

Elbow curls work on mobility and flexibility in the shoulders and keep the triangle in your arms on the backswing.

ELBOW CURLS

If your body gets too close to the ball, you won't be able to swing. Practice getting your center away from the ball.

YOUR PELVIS AND THE GOLF SWING

PBA Champion Josh Blanchard demonstrates how body alignment can make your bowling and golf swings easy and consistent.

PBA BOWLING PRO JOSH BLANCHARD

Before you can add speed, you must first understand rhythm. Learn how to create a tempo that will help you practice.

TEMPO AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO SPEED

How the handle of the club works directly effects the club head. So in this drill the task is to hit the ball. Then pull the handle back until it is even with where the ball was. The club head should stay closer to the target than the handle. This helps establish your lead sides roll in the swing and creates a snap or whipping effect on the club head. 

PULL BACK DRILL

Control of the club face must be gained before speed is introduced. Practice different techniques and find which works swing works best for you.

FINDING A SWING TO USE UNDER PRESSURE

Understanding how to practice is critical in developing your game. If you do not practice correctly most of the time you will spend will be wasted. There is a process and a step-by-step approach needed to maximize your practice time. It also becomes the process that finds the problems that you might be having in your swing. It becomes your base for the swing. Take control of what you have control of. Learn the visual complexities of the game. Stay consistent with these and your game will never get too far off.

SKILL PATHWAYS: PRACTICE

As Scott demonstrates a martial arts movement, we see how all movements can be strengthened with a step-by-step understanding of sequence.  

MOTION THROUGH MARTIAL ARTS

Practice path, face and curve with full swing.

FULL SWING PRACTICE

ON THE RANGE

The momentum of the clubhead should move you through the shot.

FEELING THE CLUBHEAD

When we look at the body it plays a very important roll in the swing. But the first and most important part is to understand the task of the pelvis or the hips. What are you really trying to do. We started with the hammer throw. That is what a golf swing is. Most people move correctly when the copy that sport. We talked about sitting down in a chair. How that relates to a swing. We used cables or bands that created forces for us to move against also giving a feel for what a swing is. Shooting a basketball also has relevance to how you hit a golf ball. These are task or skills you already know how to do. So just learn what they are and use them in your swing.

HOW THE BODY WORKS - REVIEW

There are many phrases in golf. Once you know what needs to happen, the game will become much simpler.

THE SWING PLANE

A Malaska Golf Member has a question that relates to humor, and Mike thinks it’s one of the most important aspects of playing golf.Mike says that golf is supposed to be fun. If you come up to a ball, hit a bad shot, blow up, and throw your club on the ground, you probably won’t get very good because there is too much pressure to perform. Your body starts to anticipate whether it will hit a great shot or a poor shot. You rarely see Tour Players play this way, especially when they are leading tournaments.It is better to laugh at yourself than get mad at yourself. Mike understands that it sounds easy, but it’s hard to do.If you have a concept with something you are trying to do in your swing and hit a bad shot, then go over what you did and try to process it. The more that you do that, then the better chance you have at becoming a better player.The more you get mad at yourself for a bad shot, bad round, or mad at the person you played, or the greens were bad, etc., all that is going to do is build up anxiety. Then you won’t be able to enjoy the round. You should enjoy it even when you don’t play that well, because you should learn from it.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE FUN

Preparing your golf bag for a tournament.

TOURNAMENTS

Before you can hit a ball far, you must first learn how to control the face. Learn how to use the face of the driver to your advantage.

DRIVER CONTROL

Exercising, keeping fit, and stretching will help your golf game. It is the focus of this Malaska Golf Quick Fix Friday. Mike uses exercise bands to warm up and to get the blood flowing. 

You can do bicep curls and other exercises to work the upper body. Put a band around your legs and do leg stretches to warm up your hips.
There are multiple exercises you can do with leg bands.

Then move on to stretching by touching your toes, bending, or twisting.
This helps prepare you to be loose and ready to go when you hit that first driver.

USING EXERCISE BANDS

RAPSODO PARTNER VIDEOS

Lag is letting weight of the club maintain the angle in the wrist as you swing forward to the ball.

In the set up you want to make sure that your weight is on your front foot. Your weight stays on your front foot through out the swing.

SET UP & BODY

With the driver you want the club to catch the ball on the up swing. So the ball goes up off the inside of the lead foot. Or off the lead toe. Your weight is more on your trail foot than on your lead foot. This creates more tilt and an upward strike on the ball. This works because the ball is on a tee.

DRIVER AND ANGLE OF APPROACH

A Malaska Golf Member makes some brilliant observations about the golf swing. The member notices that the arc of the backswing is different from that of the downswing. When you start on the downswing, the club comes down on a steeper arc than the backswing.

The member wants to know if it is correct that your hands move away on a wider arc when you start down. He also wants to know if the reason you feel you are wider coming down and your downswing arc is steeper than your backswing is because of the change of direction.

Mike agrees with both of these assessments. Mike says you must be careful with how these things fit together. Mike has made a lifetime of observations and practicing the swing to figure this out.

Again, the backswing arc is different from the downswing arc. The downswing arc is steeper, but not because you aren’t pulling your hands in. It is the change of direction that causes this to happen.

Good players feel like their hands are moving away from them and that their right arm is constantly straightening from the elbow, not the wrists.

Mike concludes that if you understand this concept, you are well on the way to understanding the golf swing.

THE SWING ARCS ARE DIFFERENT

The mental side of golf is very important. Once your head is in the game, your swing will improve.

SWING STRATEGY

In order to swing correctly, your hips need to work in your favor. Learn how your left hip helps your swing.

GETTING YOUR LEFT HIP BACK

Mike talks with a Malaska Golf member about what encourages him to teach and draws on his shared experience of golfing after being injured.

MR. ESMOND - GOLF AFTER INJURY

When setting up to the ball. First make sure that you are balanced your bending from your hips but your toes are quiet You need to make sure that your arms have room to swing back. Set up with your lead arm on top of your left breast and your trail arm is on the side of your trail breast or on your side. This creates an open path way for your arms to swing back on the backswing. You then do not have to move your arms out and around your body. 

ASHLEY - SETUP & BALANCE

INSIGHTS: LAUNCH ANGLE

When it comes to pitching and chipping, you want to avoid letting your shoulder drop. Learn how to keep your shoulder at the optimal level.

PRACTICING PITCHING AND CHIPPING WITH ONE ARM

Swinging the driver while on your knees is a great exercise to feel how your arms loosen up and your wrists work.

DRIVER PRACTICE FROM YOUR KNEES

PLAY THE HAND YOU'RE DEALT

Video honoring Toski at the 2017 Jim Flick Award ceremony.