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Mike Malaska has a Player Lesson with Dr. Joe LaCaze, Owner and Managing Partner of Rotex Motion. Joe is a former Navy Seal and avid golfer who has worked with elite athletes for 26 years. He is a guru in the motion fitness arena. His company sells products that will help you with flexibility and better movement patterns.

Joe LaCaze- Player Lesson

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

Swing Game

The distance the ball goes out of a bunker is based on three things. The amount of sand. The speed of the swing. And the club that you are using. Practice mainly speed and club selection more than amount of sand at first.

DISTANCE CONTROL

Your practice station is the foundation of your practice. Here, Mike explains to Caroline how to set this up.

CREATING YOUR PRACTICE STATION

Either place a band around your hips and connect it to the ground or a cable system connected to your belt buckle. Then create tension in the cable. It is now pulling your towards it. Then start your backswing and increase the tension in the cable or band. Notice where your force goes in your trail foot. Towards the inside of your trail heel. Then start to rotate back to the start point. Keeping the tension in the cable. Now move onto your lead leg and continue to push away or create more tension in the cable as you move to the follow through side. Again your instinct to keep tension in the cable will give you the feel for your swing.

CABLE PULL

Hi, I’m Mike Malaska, and I’m here with Billy Fitzgerald and Brian Gott to talk about some Ask Mike's questions. We have an incredible team of instructors who work with us—Julie Yang, Pepe Cortez, Matt Baker, Doug Roberts, and others. They’ve all been through the M-System and truly understand what these Ask Mike's are about.I personally review most of the questions, and you can trust our team to provide accurate answers. This isn’t complicated. Over time, we’ve noticed that questions tend to become consistent people are often dealing with the same challenges. Whether it’s me or one of our instructors answering, you’re always going to get the right guidance.The Ask Mike's section is also a great place for you to voice your questions. It helps us as teachers because it shows us what people might be missing in their lessons. Interestingly, I’ve found that many people don’t ask their questions during lessons. Instead, they’ll email later and say, “I wanted to ask you this.” My response? “Why didn’t you ask me during the lesson?” Probably because they know I would’ve made them do it!Anyway, Ask Mike's is an excellent feature of the site. Our instructors are just as good as I am at addressing your concerns. So, send in your questions—you’ll be well taken care of. Now, let’s dive into today’s question.Hi, I’m Brian Gott, a Malaska Golf Certified Coach, and I’m here to answer a question for Ask Mike's. This one comes from Tom Thornalley, and it’s something we hear all the time—at least once per lesson!Tom asks about the impact drill and whether it’s valuable to use with the driver.Tom, let me share what Mike always says when we hear this question: “Should I do this with the driver?” His response is, “Only if you want to hit it well.”The impact drill is vital because it helps you feel what it’s like to be in the proper impact position. To practice this, start by getting into the impact position. Remember, it’s not about getting the hands forward—it’s about moving the hips out of the way, something we emphasize a lot in the M-System.Here’s how to practice: Get into the impact position, stay there, and make a small swing. By starting from impact, you’re already in the correct spot.Repeat this drill—impact, impact, and then a little swing. As you work on it, you’ll develop a feel for the correct impact position, and your overall swing will improve significantly. Keep practicing, and remember, the impact drill works with every club—including the driver.

Impact Drill With A Driver

How to Control Curve vs Trajectory in Your Golf Swing In this episode of Ask Malaska Golf, Mike Malaska and Malaska Golf Certified Coach Julie answer a key question from member Rob Sacks: &ldquo;Is it more important to control curve or trajectory?&rdquo; Their answer: Master curve first. It's a core principle of the M-System, which emphasizes building your swing through clubface control and swing path before focusing on shot height or trajectory.
What You&rsquo;ll Learn in This Video: &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Why controlling curve (draws and fades) is more important than trajectory when developing a consistent swing &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;How clubface and path shape ball flight, and why they should be your focus before anything else &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Why trajectory is a result, not a starting point, and how to add it once you can shape shots &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;How the M-System helps you train the right sequence of swing fundamentals for lasting improvement
&ldquo;If I&rsquo;m out practicing, the first thing I want to work on is: Can I curve the ball to the left? Can I curve the ball to the right? Once I own that, I can start to adjust trajectory.&rdquo; &mdash; Mike Malaska &ldquo;I always start with face and path. That&rsquo;s the foundation. Trajectory is important, but it comes after you&rsquo;ve mastered curve.&rdquo; &mdash; Coach Julie
Key Takeaway: The M-System helps you master the fundamentals of face and path first, so you can maximize control over your shot shape and maintain a consistent, repeatable swing. Build your game in the right order and trajectory control will follow naturally.

Controlling Curve vs Trajectory 

From 130 to 120 yards and in. Force is in front foot. No force transfer. You rotate on your lead leg. The swing because of ball position is slightly downward. Right foot or trail foot is for balance and stability not speed.

INSIDE 120 YARDS

Mike works with Kory on getting the left hip out of the way at impact.  Offsetting forces create more speed with the driver.

OFFSETTING FORCES

The&nbsp;Ashley Huizing Player Lesson Series&nbsp;with Mike Malaska is a comprehensive journey into improving golf mechanics, tailored for players of all levels. Across four detailed lessons, Mike addresses the critical aspects of the swing, emphasizing practical adjustments, personalized techniques, and simplifying complex concepts.
In the&nbsp;first lesson, Mike explores two contrasting approaches to golf and debunks myths perpetuated by professional legends. He critiques the impracticality of replicating Ben Hogan&rsquo;s intricate swing method for the average player, stressing the importance of balance, control, and adaptability over rigid adherence to elite techniques. This sets the foundation for Ashley to develop a consistent and reliable swing that suits her individual strengths.
In the&nbsp;second lesson, the focus shifts to Ashley's swing mechanics, particularly hip movement, hand coordination, and sequencing. Mike introduces drills that emphasize proper hip rotation to avoid early extension and reduce strain. By syncing the hips, arms, and club, Ashley begins to build a smoother, more powerful swing. This lesson highlights how small adjustments can create a solid foundation for overall swing improvement.
The&nbsp;third lesson&nbsp;dives into refining Ashley&rsquo;s short game with chip shot drills designed to improve hand-club coordination and swing efficiency. Mike simplifies the mechanics, teaching Ashley to maintain a square clubface and promote natural motion through small, controlled swings. These drills build muscle memory, minimize over-rotation, and create a more consistent short game.
Finally, in the&nbsp;fourth lesson, Mike introduces Ashley to grip refinement and advanced swing adjustments. He emphasizes proper club placement within the fingers and demonstrates how a correct grip improves control and power. Mike also redefines the concept of "release," focusing on directing club momentum forward rather than relying on wrist unhinging. With these refinements, Ashley achieves better alignment, reducing compensatory movements and increasing accuracy and power.

Ashley Huizing-Player Lesson

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

The pivot or rotation of the body has to be in sync with the club motion. The key with pitching is as the club moves through impact your lead leg pushes your lead hip socket farther away from the ball than it was at address. Also your trail shoulder moves level not down through impact. Timing these three motions. The swinging of the club. The movement of the lead hip and how the trail shoulder works. All in harmony is one of the main tasks in all swings.

PIVOT

On the range players tend to hit ball way to quickly. There is a place and time for repetition. But if you want to see where you are in the game relative to playing. Then once you get a feel for your swing. Then put at least one minute between each shoot. Then you will start to see what is going to happen on the course. The biggest difference between the range and the course is time between shots. So put time between each shot. Watch what it did. If you like it replay it in your mind. If you do not like it then make a correction. Make some practice swings. Then see if the corrections you are making work.

PRACTICE TIME BETWEEN SHOTS

Practice both path and face control with a starting line.

PATH AND FACE CONTROL

Your body is a very important part of your golf swing. You must understand the basic task that it is trying to accomplish. Once you know what the task is and you have drills to feel how it works, it is not that hard to allow your body to do what it is designed to do. You are making perfect body motions for your swing multiple times per day, and you are not even thinking about them.

M3-How the Body Works

How golf and music are played the same way.

Alice Cooper

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

Sammy Slice is in the bunkers this week, practicing throwing sand with his club and watching where the sand goes.

It doesn’t matter if Sammy closes or opens the clubface; the sand still goes in the same direction. The key to remember is the ball goes where the sand goes.

Sammy gets comfortable in the bunker and has an alignment stick pointed at the pin. All Sammy does is hit and throw sand down the stick.

The ball goes towards the hole because the ball goes where the sand goes.

Sammy Slice Bunkers-Practice Throwing Sand

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