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When you find drills that help you, integrate them into your practice swing. Here's how to blend it all together.

USING DRILLS FOR YOUR PRACTICE SWING

When your arms and body work with the club, you gain more control of your swing. Practice getting a feel for the forces of the swing.

DOUG ROBERTS

Standing on your left foot, while balancing on your right toe when making swings is a great drill to master shots 100 yards in.

LEFT FOOT RIGHT TOE DRILL

If you are not practicing swings with your non-dominant side, you might be creating imbalances within your body. Here’s how to improve awareness of your body and swing better.

NON-DOMINANT SIDE TRAINING

The handle of the club stays fairly level to the ground as the clubhead breaks up. That’s not lifting the club and actually creating width, which is keeping the handle or club level to the ground.

HOW THE HANDLE WORKS LIFTING THE CLUB

Joe Nichols related Mike's background in sports such as baseball into the golf swing.  Of everyone Mike has encountered, Joe knew the swing the best.   Hear Mike recount some of why that was.

THE MAGIC ABOUT JOE

Practice putting and chipping with tempo.

PUTTING CHIPPING AND TEMPO

These are some of the best companies in the world as it relates to Golf, Sports, and Lifestyle. We've partnered with them to highlight how Mike utilizes them through the year and in everyday life.

MALASKA PARTNERS

To get great results on the golf course, focus on impact and follow-through, not your backswing.

IMPACT AND FOLLOW-THROUGH

Playing from your worst shot will help you get an understanding of what your game is like.

UTILIZING YOUR WORST SHOT

In a golf swing like all sports there is no real top. That is a point in time where the club is transitioning from one direction to another. In your swing it works just like a forehand in tennis, hitting a baseball or throwing a ball. As your arm goes back your body starts forward. It is a natural motion. There is no top. That makes your swing static and impossible or very difficult to create the correct sequence. Your instinct is your best teacher.

CLUB TRANSITION POINT

Pickleball is a paddleball sport that combines elements of badminton, table tennis, and tennis for two or four players. Mike demonstrates the cross-over between Pickleball and Golf as another way to relate sports together.

PICKLEBALL & GOLF

Making a golf swing is similar to driving a car. The club head is the car and your are using the club as the stering wheel to turn the corner. As the swing changes directions you need to feel as though you are directing the momentum of the club back out in front of you. This gets the club in the correct arch so you can accelerate the club head into the ball. The picture is that the club head is coming over the top of your hands from inside the target line. As you make this move momentum, Gravity and centripetal force make it look much different than it feel. That is why most players never figure out how to make the positions they have seen actually work in outcome.

TURNING THE CORNER

How you set the club up can help you on miss hits.

HOW TO SET UP THE CLUB PROPERLY

Maintain the swing arc by constantly pushing away from the momentum.

CONSTANTLY PUSH AWAY

When it comes to getting a wedge fitted, the bounce is a very important factor. Learn how different bounces change your swing.

FITTING WEDGES WITH BOUNCE

When you stand, your hips and shoulders can rotate safely independent of each other. When you swing a golf club, you reduce the amount of rotation that can happen in your spine. Here is how you can generate speed safely.

GENERATE SPEED SAFELY

A Malaska Golf Member recovering from back surgery is returning to playing golf and wants to know how to get more speed again.Mike first ask what the member did before the surgery to cause that. It may not have happened because of golf, but golf could have aggravated it.In golf, you need to learn that the shoulder and hip sockets are in a box. When Mike turns back, his right shoulder goes down, and then his right hip goes back, maintaining the symmetry of the box. Then, as he comes back, his left shoulder goes up, and his right hip goes down. Or you could think that Mike's right shoulder goes up and his left hip goes down. You come back into the ball, and they switch.What happens when you start having back trouble? Many Tour Players are taught to maintain and rotate their backs, and when they start down, their right hip comes up, and their shoulder goes down. This creates a lot of side bending, which forces you to twist your body to catch up. It is a great way to hurt your back.You don't want to swing this way. As Mike describes, you want your box (shoulders) to turn together.&nbsp;Once you can do that, speed comes from creating a lever system with your hands and wrists. Then, your right hip has to push out of the way to accelerate the club while maintaining the body's position.It's a step-by-step process. First, ensure your swing doesn't put any pressure on your body, and then you can gain speed.

RETURN FROM BACK SURGERY

This is part 1 of a more complicated move. Learn what it is and how it increases distance automatically. Warning: Looking too cool can be dangerous.

RECOIL FINISH - PART 1

Get in a set up position holding on to bands or a pulley system. The goal is to pull the pulleys or bands and create more space with your hips. On the backswing side you push away from the pulley. Your force goes into he heel of your trail foot and on the inside. Then you go back to set up or impact then around on the follow through side. Always pushing away from the force on the bands or the cables. This is how you offset the inward force that the club puts on your when you swing. 

PULLEY DRILL

Mike uses a band to perform tricep extensions. 

He holds the handle with his right hand above his shoulder and lets the band hang behind his back. Reaching back with his left hand, he grabs the band to stabilize it.

Use your right hand to raise the handle up and down to do the tricep extension. Do this exercise on both sides.

The object is to balance and strengthen your triceps and biceps.

TRICEP EXTENSIONS

Here are the four stages of pre-shot routine. 

PRE-SHOT ROUTINE REVIEW

ENJOY THE GAME MORE
Golf is not a complicated sport when you really think about it. It’s been played the same way for hundreds of years. My goal is to give you a better understanding of why things happen the way they do. So, ask me anything. If one of my videos raises a question, post your question in the comments section beneath it. Every week or so I’ll be exploring the most common questions, and I’ll post my video responses right here for everyone in the Malaska Golf community to see.

ASK MIKE

Good swings start by finding your balance.

FINDING YOUR BALANCE

A Malaska Golf Member has a question about getting the most out of a driver relative to speed.

Mike talks about the ‘sweet spot’ on the driver and how most people think you can achieve maximum speed and carry by hitting the ball there. Mike comments that the way drivers are made today, you can gain more distance if you hit the ball slightly off-center, slightly high, and up to the toe.

Mike explains that the clubface is still solid there, and when you hit it high in the face and on the toe, the toe travels faster than the center of the club.

Mike says this sounds crazy, but the outside toe is traveling faster than the heel of the club. You can gain a mile or two clubhead speed if you hit it this way.

Again, the way drivers are built today, you can gain more distance by hitting the ball slightly off-center, slightly high, and up to the toe.

Mike says that this sounds crazy, but the outside toe is travelling faster than the heel of the club. You can gain a mile or two of clubhead speed, if you hit it this way.

Again, the way that drivers are built today, you can gain more distance hitting the ball slightly off-center, a little high and up to the toe.

OFF-CENTER HITS GET MORE DISTANCE

In third video, Mike Malaska works with Ashley Huizing to refine her short game using chip shot drills. These drills focus on training the hands and club to work together efficiently while promoting proper swing mechanics and control.Mike begins by emphasizing the importance of hand mechanics and clubface control. Using only her right hand, Ashley practices small swings, focusing on how the clubface aims at the ball during the takeaway and follow-through. The goal is to let the club release naturally, moving left after impact while keeping the face square. Mike explains that this motion is essential for straight and consistent shots.The drills start with hitting small chip shots of 10 to 20 yards. Ashley learns to avoid over-rotating her arms, a common issue that leads to inconsistency and glove wear. Instead, she focuses on a wrist action similar to a bowling motion, allowing the clubface to remain square to the swing arc. By reinforcing this natural motion, Ashley builds muscle memory and gains confidence in her hand-club coordination.Mike addresses common mistakes, such as routing the club too far inside, which often causes the ball to fly off to the right. To correct this, he advises choking down slightly on the club and focusing on swinging it left after contact. The club should move left naturally without the face shutting down. Watching professional wedge players demonstrates how this technique leads to straighter and more controlled shots.The concept of separation is introduced, where the club moves left after impact while the ball travels straight. This motion allows for a consistent and efficient swing path. Mike highlights that chasing the ball or forcing the swing disrupts this natural separation and results in poor contact or fat shots.As Ashley practices, Mike simplifies the process, steering her away from over-complicating the mechanics. He notes that many traditional swing teachings place unrealistic expectations on golfers, leading to frustration and slow progress. Instead, his approach focuses on repeatable and practical movements that are easy to learn and apply.By the end of the session, Ashley sees significant improvements. Her swing arc aligns correctly, and the clubface remains square, allowing for consistent, straight shots. Mike reinforces the importance of practicing these drills regularly to refine technique and develop a reliable short game. With this foundation, Ashley is better equipped to approach her full swing with confidence and precision.

MASTERING CHIP SHOTS

The most satisfying and the most devastating club in your bag. It really should be the club that is one of the easiest to hit. It creates the most force. So if you know how to react to that force it should be easier. It also is a club that is most of the time hit off a tee. Which makes impact easier. Because it diminishes the importance of angle of approach. Many angles work. It is interesting that what helps you hit the driver your maximum is not necessarily strength but the use of the forces around us. So it is not as much effort as it might seem to hit it plenty far to participate at most any level.

SKILL PATHWAYS: DRIVER

In putting and in all swings you want your trail arm to line up with the shaft and push the shaft through the ball. You do not want any twisting in your forearm. If you put the club in your lead hand again as you swing your arm is in line with the shaft and your lead wrist does not twist. It can flex and extend but should not twist. Practice these independently and together. 

RIGHT ARM - LEAD ARM ONLY

Throwing a ball creates proper body motion and sequence.

BALL TOSS

Hi, my name is Matt Baker, and I'm a Malaska Golf Certified Coach based in the UK. Today’s question comes from Lisa Barton, who has been playing golf for about 20 years. She mentioned that she’s struggling with her arms separating from her chest during the swing. Despite working with many golf professionals and trying various techniques, she hasn’t found a solution.This issue shouldn’t be too hard to fix, but it’s important to understand it visually. The problem is likely caused by rolling the club away during the backswing, which pushes the handle of the club further from the body, resulting in the arms separating from the chest. To fix this, we need to change the perception of the swing.A helpful drill involves using an alignment rod or a club. Line it up so that it’s in line with the butt end of the club. Visually, this will help you trace the hand and the club’s movement along the rod. As you swing, focus on pushing the handle down and setting the wrist gradually while keeping the club head outside your hands. This technique will keep the arms connected and prevent the club head from going behind you.Joe Nichols referred to this as the "three corners drill." The idea is simple: the eyes see, the brain receives, and the body reacts. Push the handle down and hit that corner, and the rest of the swing should fall into place. It’s a great visual drill to help keep your arm connected without rolling the arm excessively.

FIX ARM SEPARATION

A Malaska Golf Member who is left-handed has a question about the right thumb. When he swings a club, his right thumb is sore, and he wants to know why. If you are right-handed, then your left thumb will often be sore. Mike explains that your right thumb is one of the biggest killers in golf. Mike uses an analogy of other sports to describe where the thumb is on a baseball bat, tennis racket, ping-pong paddle, and hockey stick. Mike says that the thumb is never on the top of the club because it puts a lot of pressure on it.The tendency in golf is when you put the thumb on top, and in this instance, we are talking about the member’s right hand when he puts his thumb on the back of the shaft, the right thumb should act like a stabilizer as he swings to top of the backswing. As you come down through the ball, if Mike didn’t have his left hand on (as a left-hander), his thumb would float on the club. It wouldn’t be pushing on the club. What happens when you swing down, the right thumb on a left-handed player or the left thumb on a right-handed player, is that your thumb is pushing into the shaft. This slows your wrist down and makes it tight. All the force gets pushed into your thumb instead of your wrist releasing with no pressure on your thumb. This is where the thumb kills you.First, make some swings like a baseball player and take your thumb off the handle. Mike sets up and hits the ball. Because his thumb is off, there is no pressure on the shaft.Now Mike grips the handle again, but this time, he just places his thumb there. He isn’t going to push; Mike is just going to set it there and cover it with his back hand. The goal is to keep the tension out of the thumb.Again, the thumb is there for stability on the backswing and follow-through, and there is no pressure on it.

TROUBLE WITH YOUR RIGHT THUMB

Mike Malaska works us through a drill that focuses on driver face control. He likes to refer to the driver as a placement club.

Mike places four balls on tees to hit different shots. He hits a hook, fade, and a low shot while getting control of the face. Mike hits the ball, making the ball curve to the left, and then takes other shots. This drill aims to get a feel of how to control the clubface and find what curve works for you.

You need to find a curve shot you can do comfortably. Making the correct curve can really open up the golf course if you play the correct fade. Many players play with fade and other draws. Mike is more comfortable playing the draw when he is under pressure. It is how Tom Watson played. There isn't a right or wrong way; it's whatever gives you the most control.

Mike once asked Jack Nicklaus, if you are playing a par 4 dogleg to the left, are you going to hit a draw around the corner or a fade? Jack replied that most of the time, he hits fades. Mike then said that if it is a dogleg left, aren't you supposed to hook it? Jack replied with his words of wisdom that he was trying to get the ball from point A to point B in the air and not rolling on the ground. The moral of the story is to play what works best for you and the shot that you have the best face control.

Practice on the range. Start by swinging slow and getting control of the clubface. Then hit big curves, big hooks, and big slices. Hit it low, hit it high, so you start to learn control and get your hands to control the clubface. That will pay big dividends when you go out to play.

FACE CONTROL

This Mulligan Monday can be done on the range or at home. Begin by putting your weight on your left foot and then put your right hand in front of you.

Then take your right arm back and make swings. As you swing down into the ball, your left leg must push the left hip out of the way.

Pushing your left hip back moves your right hip and your shoulders forward, which brings your arm forward.

The key is to feel that overall motion of swinging back with your arm and swinging back to impact. It is important to move your left hip out of the way.

Program this sequence into every swing you make.

RIGHT ARM LEFT HIP ACTION

It is imperative to grip the club primarily in your fingers and not in the palm of your hand. Mastering your grip is paramount to having the most leverage and strength in your hands.

GRIP IN YOUR FINGERS

When it comes to playing the game and understanding the mind, Mike’s good friend Phil Blackmar is probably one of the best in the world, in his opinion.

Mike was recently talking with Phil about hitting the ball solid and what works for Mike is that he focuses on just that concept. Making sure he hits the ball solid; Mike tends to hit the ball better rather than just thinking about making swings.

This comes down to athleticism, and it’s essential to hit the ball solid. Practice hitting the ball solid and putting the clubface on the ball. You can also practice different stances and takeaways but hit the ball solid.

When you start working on making the clubface hit the ball solid, your body starts making corrections as you swing because your body is focused on making your hands run the club into the ball. Then your athleticism takes over.

Like when you play tennis, when the ball bounces, your body reacts athletically to hit the ball. When you start hitting multiple golf balls your body athletically gets into position.

Practice hitting multiple balls solid. This is a great drill to train your mind and focus on hitting the ball solid with the clubface. It will start to eliminate things that aren’t relevant to your swing, like how your swing looks.

Putting the clubface on the ball is a crucial part of practicing.

HITTING THE BALL SOLID WITH ATHLETICISM

Joe Nichols viewed the shoulders as a pulley system when it came towards the beginning of the backswing.  He ingeniously linked the hips, the hands, and the clubhead lever system so that it was impossible to get the clubhead behind you.  This is part 1 of Joe's backswing.

PULLEY SYSTEM - BACKSWING - PART 1

Dedicate sufficient working on what you need. This sounds obvious, but it will maximize your practice.

MAXIMIZE YOUR PRACTICE

The one concept that everyone should learn from Joe Nichols, Mike Malaska’s mentor, is the lever system.

Joe would make his students practice the Looping The Club Drill. You would push the handle of the club down on the backswing, and the clubhead would go up and make a circle on the downswing and the follow-through. The club would go up, under, hit, and around and back. It was like making a figure 8.

Joe Nichols was big on the handle of the club and wanted you to feel like, as you took the club away, you pushed the handle down. This would make the clubhead go up and not behind you, as most people do. 

The weight of the clubhead would go up and down and into the ball. Again, you make a slight loop with the club relative to your hands.

If there is any drill you should learn from Joe Nichols, it is the Looping The Club Drill, which works on the lever system.

JOE NICHOLS LOOPING THE CLUB

WADE MILEY

A Malaska Golf Member comments about starting with small skills and building them daily.

Mike believes this is the key to golf. Malaska Golf has the M-System that gives you a step-by-step process, and you should learn those steps. It is best to start that same way every time you practice. The Tour Players have the same routine.

If you can't do the small skills, you assume they will show up when you make a bigger swing.
They won't. Then, it becomes compensation after compensation to find the flaws in your big swing when it's actually in your basic skills.

Mike likes to make small shots with just one hand, swap to the other, and then use both hands. If you can't do these basic skills, trying to make big swings may not work.

Those little swings teach you to line the club up with the shaft and push it through the ball. This is called the line of compression, and once you feel that, it will show up in all your shots. The same relationship you make for the small swing shows up in the big swing.

Master the small skills and get a practice routine. Your swing will get so much better.

MASTERING BASIC SKILLS

How you play under pressure is very important. Learn how clubs are fitted to help you under pressure.

FITTING WEDGES TO TACKLE CRITICAL SHOTS

It is imperative to have your left leg push your left hip out of the way at impact position.

IMPACT POSITION

How to find a light grip pressure using a pre-shot routine on the course.

ON THE COURSE

Using the club face to pick the ball up off the ground requires face control. Learn how to gain control.

PICKING THE BALL UP OFF THE GROUND

Mike's gives Nocy, his guitar teacher, a golf lesson - and Nocy returns the favor.

NOCY KARKOUR

The ground is a very important factor of your game. How the club interacts with the turf will decide how your swing performs.

CLUB AND TURF INTERACTION

Practice needs to be very organized to get the most out of it. First make sure that you set up a practice station. Then have training aids that you can use to give feed back. That can be sticks or swim noodles or water bottles. Use sticks to train your perception of start line. Then practice like you play. Put time between shots. Do not be in a big hurray to just hit a lot of balls. Hit balls with a purpose not just for exercise.

HOW TO PRACTICE - REVIEW

Developing the skills for the short games are the same skills and or tasks that you use in the full swing. This is the basis for the full swing. Small swing success before big swing success. Plus your short game is where about 50 to 60 % of your scoring comes from. It is the area that you can make the most improvement the fastest and the biggest impact on your score.

SKILL PATHWAYS: SHORT GAME

Hi, my name is Matt Baker, and I'm a Malaska Golf Certified Coach based here in the UK. This is a great question from Mike Witkowski, asking: When should you hinge the wrist? Is it at the start of the swing or at the top of the swing?That's a really good question because, as with many things in golf, there are so many different variations on this, especially if you watch tournament players.Our recommendation is to start hinging the wrist as soon as possible—almost immediately. The way I like to feel it is by imagining that I'm pushing the handle down while pulling the clubhead up. This really helps get the club swinging on the correct path.And that's the key feeling—you definitely don't want to hinge only at the top. You don’t want that sudden "snap" motion. Some coaches teach that, but in my experience, it can cause a rebound effect, and I don’t like that. I’ve tried it, and it didn’t work well for me. So, setting the wrists early is crucial.The feeling you want is that, as you take the club back, the handle is being pushed down and the clubhead is going up. Ideally, the full wrist set might happen around the halfway point of your backswing, then you complete the swing and follow through.So, the key takeaway is to hinge the wrists as soon as you can. Focus on the feeling of "handle down, clubhead up." Say it to yourself: "handle down, clubhead up"—and swing through. It will help you complete the swing consistently every time.It’s a gradual motion as you're swinging back—gradually pushing the handle down and lifting the clubhead up. It’s not a snap motion, but a smooth, continuous movement.I hope this helps answer your question, and good luck with it!

WHEN TO HINGE THE WRISTS

So, the way the members play it, this is their third hole, or sometimes their 10th, 11th, or 12th hole. For us, it was the third hole, and I had just gone birdie-birdie and hit a perfect tee shot. This is where I told my caddie—and this is where you have to be careful about getting ahead of yourself—I'd played with these guys for two and a half holes.On this particular par 5, I had driven it about 20 or 30 yards past both of them. I could reach the green with an iron. I told my caddie, “Mark, these guys can’t beat me.” Now, that’s a nice thought, but I was only three holes into the round, and you’ve got to be really careful about getting ahead of yourself.The ball’s in good shape here, but I hit a tree, and I’m a long way out. The ball is sitting down in the rough, as you can see. Now, I could take an iron, but the problem with an iron is that it catches the grass, and the ball probably won’t come out cleanly.So I’m going to take this 7-wood, choke down on it, and hit a low bullet cut out of here. That club will get me just to the front edge of the green or just short. You can use this club, even if you're 150 yards away in this kind of rough, because it cuts through the grass much easier. A 7-wood or 9-wood out of the rough is ten times better than an iron because the grass catches the iron’s head, but it can’t catch the whole head of the wood, so it goes through the grass better. If you're playing a course with this type of rough, a 7- or 9-wood is invaluable for getting the ball up on the green or close.In the Open on this hole, a par 5, the only bad tee shot I hit was a pulled drive that caught the trees and kicked over. I took the wrong club—a 5-wood—and had to slice it 50 to 60 yards. I aimed it almost at another green and hit a really high cut, landing it on the front left part of the green.Just like that! I got it up over the trees, sliced it about 50 yards, and ended up on the front right part of the green. That was a turning point for me. If I had missed and hit a tree, who knows what would have happened. It probably wasn’t the best shot, but looking back at my career, that shot, given the conditions, was one of the best I’ve ever hit.This shot probably won me the tournament, mostly because of the momentum swing it created, which happens in every round. You look at this hole, a 180-yard par 3, with the pin in the very back right corner. There’s a big cliff on the right, and I got up here, and given how I was playing and how I was hitting it, I aimed at the right edge of the bunker. I hit it right at that edge, and it drew into the back right pin placement, about six feet from the hole. I made birdie and regained a two-shot lead.I’ve come back here many times, especially after I improved my swing, but I never had a consistent shot until now. Standing here today, I think about how comfortable you have to be to aim at that bunker and hook it into that back right pin placement. I wasn’t even thinking about losing it into the canyon because every shot I hit that day was solid with a little draw. I aimed at the bunker, drew it, and if it drew too much, it would land in the middle of the green.I hit a 6-iron back then, and today I’m using a little more club, but I’m going to aim at the bunker and try to hit the same shot. Wow, I hit the same shot. It’s interesting—here I am at 70 years old, and I’ve gone back to how I used to hit it as a kid. I had a lot of confidence. I stood up, aimed at the bunker, and hooked it into the back right pin placement.Again, this is about knowing what shot you can hit. When I stood here during the Open, I had no fear of that canyon. People have asked me countless times, “What shot did you hit? Where did you aim?” I simply aimed at the bunker and hooked it in there. “What if it didn’t hook?” Well, every shot I hit solid drew 5 to 10 yards, so I had such a consistent ball flight that I could count on it.Most people would aim at the middle of the green and try to cut it back into the back right pin placement, but I’ve never been able to do that. Even though in theory that’s the right shot, you have to hit the shot you’re comfortable with. That’s what I was doing at the time—hitting it solid, playing my game, and hitting my shots. It was good enough to beat some tour players and shoot incredible scores here as an amateur.Why did I change? I didn’t fully understand my swing, and I was trying to get better. That’s the scary part—when you start saying, “Let’s get better” just for the sake of it. This is about shooting a score and controlling the ball, and I had control back then.I’ve got 78 yards to the pin now, and I’m using my 58-degree wedge, which I normally hit about 80 or 90 yards. But since the pin is at the front, I have to carry it on and stop it quickly. So, I’m going to take a little loft off, hit it lower, and get a lot of spin on it.There we go, about three feet. Actually, that shot I just hit, compared to when I won, is one I didn’t have in my arsenal back then. Now, it’s all about those shots inside 100 yards, using a 58- or 60-degree wedge, flighting it down with a little draw or fade, so it hits, spins, and stops. These are the kinds of shots that make a big difference in your game.Yes, you want to work on your full swing, but controlling the face and trajectory inside 100 yards—those are the fun shots to hit. To me, that shot is more enjoyable than hitting a full driver."Birdie on the first, or birdie on the sixth."

STRATEGIC SHOT-MAKING

Set up a number of sticks. One is on your target line. The others are spaced apart to create gates to hit the ball between. As you practice make the same backswing but then change the path of your arms on the down swing to make the ball go through the intended gate. Start by making swings that start the ball way to the right. If you are a right handed player. Then gradually change the gate to make the swing path be less from the inside. This is teaching you path control with your arms. 