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From the set up take the club back to waist high on the backswing. At this point when your lead arm is parallel to the ground you should have a 90 degree angle between the club shaft and your lead arm. Then swing down through impact and into the follow through until your trail arm is parallel to the ground. Again you should have a 90 Degree angle. 

L TO L

Rescues are longer clubs any player can hit.

RESCUES-EASIER TO HIT

Dropping your right foot back at setup helps get your right hip out of the way. Don't be afraid to play from here.

RIGHT HIP OUT OF THE WAY

Every club has an optimal launch angle. Practice with all of your clubs.

EXPLORING LAUNCH ANGLE WITH YOUR LAUNCH MONITOR

This Driver video zeroes in on creating speed. PGA professional Davis Love Jr. was one of the best drivers of the golf ball. His father had him do a drill which was phenomenal at creating and increasing speed. By creating more and more speed, everything has to stay in sync when you swing. You won't sync with your swing if you generate more speed and your body moves too fast. Your swing doesn't work, your smash factor comes down, and you hit the ball crooked.

Lay down four balls in sequential order. The object of the drill is to swing at each ball while increasing speed as your move on to the next ball. For the first ball, make a full swing and only hit the ball 125 yards in the air. This appears to be easy but is actually challenging to do. The point is to hit the ball squarely in the center of the clubface. At that speed, there is just enough speed to feel the momentum of the club, feel how your body works, and control the clubface. Golf is about different speeds and being able to sense and control where you are in space in time at different speeds.

Make the same full swing for the second ball but add a little more speed to hit the ball about 155 to 160 yards in the air. To create more speed, push away with your legs creating more force.

Then, move to the third ball and increase your speed to hit the ball 200 yards. If you lose control, back off the speed and make sure your swing is in sync with your body before you try to increase speed.

Going to the last ball, Mike swings at what he refers to as his full play swing, which is swinging at about 75-85% of his swing capacity. Mike doesn't usually swing 100% because it's harder to control the ball.

Go through this drill to help you as you start to increase speed making sure your body is in sync with your swing.

INCREASING SPEED

Foot action lets you transfer ground for effectively through your body.  Start to get a feel of this by keeping your feet flat and making swings with the club.

FOOT ACTION

There is a skill development process to max out your driver and get the best distance. 

The first part of this process is your grip and the lever system. Start swinging your driver back and forth with your left hand. Notice the lever created with your left hand, the club on the backswing, and the follow-through. This motion is the L to L.

Your arm should be relaxed going through this motion. Your body nudges and starts your left arm, but your left arm takes off, and your chest goes with your arm. The same levers work with your right hand.

The whole motion is soft; if you combine that and add speed, you have something. If your wrists are tight and you add too much body and swing hard without the lever system, you won’t create as much speed as you can.

One of the first drills you can do is Sitting on a Chair Drill or sitting on your knees and making swings with your driver. Start making easy swings, trying to hit tees, and then move to balls.

Sitting on your knees helps you focus on the lever system and keeps your legs out of play. You will be surprised how far you hit the ball with an easy swing. You will also realize how little effort goes into it.

Once you train the lever system and as your body starts to move faster and faster, then you can potentially create more speed. 

MAX OUT YOUR DRIVER

Mike On Nicklaus Part 3 -- Emotion And Adjustment

EMOTION AND ADJUSTMENT

Using his 7 iron, Austin moves from the ROTEXMotion Floor discs to the floor, applying what he has learned.

Mike says this is how you should practice. Use the ROTEXMotion Floor discs, then transfer that swing motion to the floor. It has been a great coaching aid for Mike and his students. The rotating of the feet on the discs gets your hips to move correctly. This also helps you to feel where the force is going.

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Austin makes more swings with his 7 iron and puts the timing of his swing together. Austin talks about how his backswing felt wobbly a few weeks ago, but now after using the discs, it feels perfect.

Mike also notes that when you are on the discs, your right leg straightens, then pushes your right hip up and tilts your shoulders. This throws your arms up in the backswing allowing your shoulder and hip planes to work parallel. This all should be a free-flowing motion. It’s like swinging on an elevated plane; your swing should feel level.

7 IRON OFF THE DISCS

Gott Golf uses technology to see which club will work best for a players swing. 

THE STATISTICS BEHIND IRON FITTING

Putting is about a number of skills. One, how well do you see line. How do your hands go on the putter. What is the correct set up. How to make the line roll. Then once you have these down how do you maintain and continue to develop your skills.

PUTTING REVIEW

Know what to keep and know what to let go of. Enough said. Experiment.

BLACKMAR ON OUTLIERS

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

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

SPORTS CONNECT: BOWLING

How do you get your arms to straighten naturally, without effort?  Watch Part 2 to strengthen your understanding of Impact.

PUSHING AWAY THROUGH IMPACT

You need to understand your own basic body. How it moves. What it can and cannot do. Every swing is unique. Even though you are trying to make the same moves you will look different doing them. That is Ok. You also need to understand the importance of your health. What you eat and drink has huge consequences on how you perform. Knowing how to control these variables can make big differences in your ability to perform and learn the swing and the game.

FITNESS & HEALTH

The swing plane and arc does change from club to club slightly. The driver is on the most incline compared with your wedge, which have the smallest arc.

If you set up a wedge middle iron and a driver together in you hands, you can definitely see that the arc will be different. The putter actually has the steepest plane.

For Mike he feels that it only changes a little bit, because Mike feels that his arms are swinging on the same arc.

When you set up to the ball, hold the club above the ball and let the weight of the club drop in behind the ball. Then you make a swing from there. When you move to a sand wedge, driver and repeat the setup process, you will notice a slight difference in the arc.

THE ARC OF THE SWING CHANGES FROM CLUB TO CLUB

Be consistent with your tempo. Make a swing with your favorite iron, find your tempo, and then use the same with your driver.

FIND YOUR TEMPO

Mike Malaska sits down with the Owner and Managing Partner of Rotex Motion, Dr. Joe LaCaze. Joe is an expert in the motion fitness arena. Mike and Joe met this year at the PGA National Coaching Summit, where they were both speakers. 

Joe, a former Navy Seal of 22 years, had decided to retire due to the damage his body has taken. Thirty-five hundred jumps from planes, landings, concussions, a hurt back, and sciatica have taken their toll on Joe’s body. The Navy wanted to do an intense operation on his back, but Joe decided it was time to move on.

He decided his next step was to become a Dr. of Chiropractic, and Joe spent the next 20 years figuring out everything about the body. In 2007, Joe had a back-related sciatica episode that was nearly suicidal. This was Joe’s tipping point, and he decided he would figure out his injuries. Fifteen years later, Joe has no back problems and can even hit 500 golf balls a day, and this is without surgery!

One of Mike’s mentors and business partners, Pete Egoscue, a former Marine, had a similar story to Joe. He had been shot and was told he would not walk again. Pete, like Joe, became a fitness expert and defied all odds by figuring out how to walk, run, and have no back pain without surgery.

Joe met Pete Egoscue while working with Jack Nicklaus in San Diego. This coincidently was when Mike was working with Pete and his fitness group. Pete has been a big influence on what Joe has accomplished.

NAVY SEAL TO FITNESS EXPERT 

PLAYING WITH A NEW SET

A Malaska Golf Member has a great question about "feel and real."

Mike talks about his mentor Joe Nichols who taught him how to compress the golf ball and gain speed instead of dragging the handle out in front.

The original question is about when you make practice swings and the club circles around your hands. Does this concept depart from what Joe taught? Mike says no.

Joe wanted you to tip the club out because he wanted your hips to stay back as you brought the handle down. When you swing at full speed, the club will land in a perfect position for you to hit the ball.

If you don't tip the club out on the downswing, the club's momentum will drop the club and then push your hands away from you. You'll have to twist your hands to get the clubface square with the ball. This means everything is late.

The key is to keep the club from getting too far behind you. That is why "tipping the club out" gets you in the perfect position to hit the ball.

The club is still circling your hands when you are "tipping the club out”, it's the same thing. It is a feeling of a change of direction and not a reality.

TIPPING THE CLUB

The momentum of the club has the ability to direct you. Begin feeling what needs to happen, and your swing will become much easier.

DIRECTING THE MOMENTUM OF THE CLUB

Shoulders match the slope, and add a club or two.

UPHILL LIES

Practicing in your yard can be fun and improve your swing. Learn how to set up a place to practice.

PRACTICING IN YOUR YARD

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

Having been involved with TaylorMade for the last 23 years. Most likely the biggest improvement in golf Products has come in this section of time. No company has pushed the envelop more. And has done more for not only the tour player. But for the enjoyment of the game for the day-to-day player. And being a part of their National Advisory board. I can tell you that what they have coming and their commitment to making the game easier to play and more enjoyable is incredible. I am lucky to have been a part of the wave that they have created.

TAYLORMADE

The last part of this video series with Billy Fitzgerald focuses on getting the club to move around Billy’s hands.

Mike Malaska says everyone talks about shallowing the club, but Mike wants the club, which is outside of your hands, to move and draw behind them. Mike makes a looping action with his hands. He mentions that it is hard for Billy to do this with his right leg pushing out on the downswing.

Because Billy hasn’t created space in his backswing, he throws his club out on the downswing. Billy can reroute his club as soon as there is space, and the club will come shallower into the ball.

Mike wants Billy to work on having his hands in front of the club until the club changes direction. This is where the hands become even with the club. On the downswing, the hands are behind the club, and they work back in front of the club down to impact.

Mike gets Billy to make a swing with Billy in a staggered stance with his right foot back. This will get Billy’s right hip out of the way and focus on making an up-to-under swing.

Having Billy’s right foot back gives him more space to swing and come down into the ball. Mike illustrates this by holding Billy and working through the looping motion. Before, because Billy’s right hip pushed out, he didn’t have the space in his downswing to make the looping action.

Mike shows Billy how the club starts out in front of his hands, to even, to a little behind, back to even, and then his hands in front of his club.

Billy makes an easy shot, and Mike says it will take care of his pull. Mike shows Billy feedback on the JC swing analysis video.

Mike goes over what Billy has learned so far. Firstly was to get Billy’s hips out of the way and his shoulders turned a little steeper. Secondly is how to use your right leg and foot when you change direction. Then it’s to get your club to work correctly with your hands. Mike says you will never stop pulling the ball if your hip moves up. You will have no choice but to be steep with your swing.

Billy repeats all the steps that Mike has taught him in the lesson. Mike reinforces the idea that the club works around the hands is what happens with all bat and racket sports. A tennis racket, ping pong paddle, and baseball bat do this. You want this shallowing action.

Mike and Billy discuss the progress Billy has made in the lesson. Mike also talks about the importance of foot action and that your feet shouldn’t be stable and should be moving. Mike says you should let your feet move as your body moves with the swing.

BILLY FITZGERALD - MOVE THE CLUB AROUND YOUR HANDS

Austin Graham, a Southern Californian native now residing in Ohio, is in Phoenix to work with Mike Malaska. Austin is eager to work on his wedge game, as he is experiencing confusion with his transition in the golf swing. He has too much lateral movement in his swing and wants Mike to help him with that. 

In this six-part series, Mike evaluates what is going on with Austin’s golf swing and addresses the lateral movement that is happening in Austin’s golf swing. Mike introduces Austin to the ROTEXMotion Floor Models to help with the movement of his hips and minimize the lateral movement of his body. Austin has an aha moment with this fitness device.

AUSTIN GRAHAM-PLAYER LESSON

Impact is the most important position in the game, but hardly anyone know where it is in their swing.  Watch this video to understand why it is critical.

IMPACT - PART I

Mike recounts advice that Phil Blackmar once gave him about competing. 

PLAY HOW YOU PRACTICE

The golf swing is a natural motion if you understand how your body works. Here are a couple of ways you can train proper body motion in your golf swing.

UNDERSTAND HOW YOUR BODY MOVES

Dropping your right foot back gets your right hip out of the way and makes it easier to hit balls on the range and the course.

STAGGERED STANCE PROGRESSION

Dan Quayle has been around golf for his whole life. Learn how Dan has kept up with golf his whole life.

GOLF TALK WITH DAN QUAYLE

Dr. Debbie Crews talks about stepping outside of the box in order for you to play your optimum game.

A CONVENTIONAL SWING MAY NOT BE YOUR BEST SWING

DIVINE NATURE PARTNER VIDEO

The golf swing is a continuous motion. All your parts need to be working together in harmony. If one piece is off, the entire swing is off. Understanding how your entire body works independently and together from your hands and wrists to your shoulders, legs and hips will help you be a more consistent player.

KEVIN PLAWECKI - SHOULDER TURN

Overcoming the challenges of shooting your lowest score

SHOOTING YOUR LOWEST SCORE

Set up, hinge your wrists parallel to the ground, and swing the club to the top. This drill will help you hinge your wrists and get your club to the transition point of the swing.

THE HINGE DRILL

WHAT IS A SWING

Having the yips does not mean you will miss your shot.  Here are ways to work with the yips.

STAY ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE YIPS

Brian began Gott Golf in 2008. As he developed his unique approach to fitting clubs for golfers of all skill levels, demand grew.  For 2015 and 2016, Brian was awarded Golf Digest’s coveted “Top 100 Club Fitters in America Award” (new award winners will be announced by Golf Digest in November).  Today, he works with some of Colorado’s most prestigious golf clubs, including The Broadmoor, Cherry Hills Country Club, Castle Pines, Maroon Creek, and others. “I wanted people to know that they could get a tour quality club fitting experience without having to break the bank to do it. They don’t just have to settle for off the rack clubs, either. Give me about 45 minutes in a fitting session, and I can build a custom set that is tailored to your specific needs and abilities.”

Though the current season is winding down, Gott has interesting plans for Colorado golfers and encourages people to visit www.gottgolf.com for new offerings that will be launching next season. Some things to keep an eye on include putting clinics, the launch of a new online store, and the expansion of his current events and relationship with Common Ground Golf Course, the PGA, and golf courses throughout Colorado.

BRIAN GOTT

This Mulligan Monday focuses on foot action. Begin by making a swing flat-footed. Then make another swing and let your right foot roll in. Repeat this motion, but finish the swing after allowing your right foot to roll in. Then your blend all these movements together. The object of this exercise is to start to hit the ball with your feet firmly on the ground and add more and more foot action.

BUILDING BETTER FOOT ACTION

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

POWER CLEAT WITH CRAIG WALLENBROCK

Technology can give us the numbers that give us consistency, but here's how to adjust to the changes that you feel.

ADJUST TO WHAT YOU FEEL

The process of learning is to get the ball in the hole.

THE PROCESS OF LEARNING

Mike has found that the driver is one of the easiest clubs to hit as it swings in the largest circle and creates the most force, making it simple to time everything.

The industry says your body and core are the main focus and emphasis in your swing. Mike believes this is important; however, this isn’t the right place to start for most people as a priority. Learning how to hit the driver well and have fun is a skill development process. Most people don’t approach the driver the right way and therefore don’t maximize the benefits of hitting the ball farther.

The M-System Driver series covers, Posture, the two parts of the Lever System, Increasing Driver Speed, Face Control, Creating Driver Speed, Driver Sports Connect, Driver Fitness, and concludes with a Driver Summary. The M-System Driver series will get you on the right path and produce the results you need to hit the ball farther and with more control.

DRIVER OVERVIEW

First take a ball. Get set up and just turn and throw a ball into the ball that is on the tee. You should also just like throwing step with your lead foot. Then once you have a feel for how the transition works. Your lower body starts going forward as soon as your arm starts going back. Set up to the ball with a club. Now all you are doing is throwing the club head into the ball on the ground. So as you start back step forward and throw or direct the momentum of the club head at the ball. 

ASHLEY - THROW THE BALL DRILL

Mike moves to the Downward Dog position and explains how this helps your golf game.

Mike has a towel laid out and gets on his hands and knees, ensuring everything is at 90 degrees. The first thing he does is to pike up with his hips and legs, forming an inverted V. His back is flat, and he
lowers his heels to the ground. You might find that you won’t be able to flex your heels as they might feel tight.

If you can’t extend your heels back so that they are flat and your hips are round, then you must be careful with your golf swing. Because Mike is flexible, he can bend a lot at setup. If you aren’t as flexible, then don’t bend as much.

FITNESS DOWNWARD DOG

Hi, I'm Billy Fitzgerald, a Malaska-certified golf coach from Chicago. Jimmy Thorne writes in with a question about arm drop in the golf swing. To clarify, yes, your arms do drop, but they do so as a reaction to your change in direction. I often see people trying to focus on dropping their arms or pulling them down intentionally.If I reach the top or transition point of my swing and simply try to pull my arms down, my right side, or trail side, is likely to follow, causing me to come over the top almost every time. This often results in pulled shots. From down the line, you can see that when I get to the top and just pull down, my entire right side follows. So, your arms naturally drop as a response to the change in direction, not from consciously pulling them down.When I swing back and my hip socket clears out of the way, as soon as I finish turning and change direction, I plant my foot in the ground. This action tilts my shoulders, which allows my arms to drop naturally. So yes, your arms do drop, but how do we work on achieving this?I have a board here to demonstrate. If I allow my arms to drop as I move left to right, as soon as my right foot plants on the ground, I turn out of the way and shift left again. My arms drop naturally with this movement. This step is part of the transition point in the swing. There’s a small amount of lateral motion—just enough to plant my foot without sliding, which stops the momentum, lets my arms drop, and allows me to turn through the shot.To practice, I suggest starting without a club, making swings to feel this rhythm. You can even hold the club out in front of you for some balance and rhythm as you swing back and allow the arms to drop. Think of it as “left-right,” with a little step that causes the arms to drop from the change in direction.So, yes, your arms do drop, but it’s the change in direction that makes them drop. That’s why you need to stay soft in the shoulder sockets so that when your foot hits the ground, your arms drop naturally, the club stays in front of you, and you can then turn through the ball.

STOP FORCING ARM DROP

A Malaska Golf Member says he feels the rotation of his body in his stomach rather than in his hands and arms. Mike says many people use their abdominals to move their upper body when they putt.

Mike holds a tennis racket and moves it from side to side. His abdominal muscles are moving his body. 

The Malaska Golf Member says when he turns the corner in the Turn The Steering Wheel Drill, he feels the rotation in his stomach or core. He wants to know if that is okay. Mike demonstrates with a tennis racket and says it is fine.

Mike has learned in golf that our biomechanics and feelings may be different, but we may all be doing the same thing.

Be careful with people pigeonholing what you should do or feel because it may not fit your DNA for motion.

The art of being a teacher is addressing what is going on and getting that person to see who they are. The key is to see what triggers it for them when they make the correct move. Many Tours Players work on the same things but may all have different triggers to make the shot.

Remember, it comes down to what you want the club to do, how you trigger it, and what it feels like when you do it. If you can identify that, then you've got it. What has always helped Mike is using a tennis racket as a steering wheel. When Mike swings back and his wrists hinge, he turns back and then turns the club down.

If you feel it in your stomach as you turn the club, that's okay if you do it correctly. Whatever you identify that makes it work is what is suitable for you.