In this Malaska Golf Player Lesson, Mike Malaska teaches Kenneth Garcia how to train one of the most important skills in ball striking: controlling the angle of approach.

Mike begins by explaining a simple practice drill that uses a tee as a reference point for where the ball would be. By placing a tee in the ground and making practice swings where the club brushes the ground slightly in front of that tee, golfers can train the swing arc to move forward through impact.

The goal of the drill is to create awareness of where the club bottoms out in the swing. If the club strikes the ground behind the reference point, the swing arc is bottoming out too early. When the club brushes the ground in front of the tee, the golfer is creating the correct angle of approach for solid ball striking.

Mike explains that great players constantly monitor this during practice swings. Every time they set the club on the ground and make a rehearsal swing, they observe where the club contacts the turf. This gives immediate feedback about whether the swing arc is moving correctly through the ball.

Many amateur golfers unknowingly make practice swings where the club hits the ground well behind the ball position. When they step into the shot, their body instinctively tries to fix the mistake at the last moment, often leading to flinching, poor contact, or inconsistent strikes.

Instead, Mike teaches golfers to rehearse the correct motion first. If the practice swing bottoms out behind the ball, the player should adjust and repeat the swing until the club brushes the ground in front of the reference point.

Once the angle of approach is correct, golfers can then begin refining the other two skills of impact: clubface control and swing path.

Through this simple awareness drill, Kenneth quickly learns how controlling the swing arc improves contact and creates more reliable ball striking. The lesson reinforces a core principle of the M-System: great impact comes from understanding how the club moves through the bottom of the swing arc.

Key Takeaways
• Tee Reference Drill: A tee helps train where the swing should bottom out.
• Monitor Practice Swings: Great players watch where the club contacts the ground.
• Forward Swing Arc: Solid shots occur when the club brushes the ground in front of the ball.
• Fix the Motion First: If the club bottoms out behind the ball, rehearse the swing again.
• Build Impact Skills: Once angle of approach is correct, refine face and path control.