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IFYP: PRE-SWING

Tournament play can be stressful, so being in the right mental state is key. Learn how Phil keeps himself level when under pressure.

PHIL BLACKMAR'S MENTAL GAME IN TOURNAMENT

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

VISUALIZING FEELINGS

Triggering your golf swing starts with force going forward to go back to go forward again in the golf swing.

SPRING TRAINING TRIGGERING YOUR SWING

Jack Jr. works with Mike on a chipping lesson.

ON THE RANGE WITH JACK NICKLAUS JR

Set up to the ball. Then move your trail hand down on the club shaft below the grip. So there is a space between your lead hand and your trail hand. You are now holding the club like a hockey stick. Then make a back swing. This will naturally make your wrists lever. Then swing back to the ball. To do that the handle has to swing in towards your body instead of out and away from you. Then rehinge the club on the follow through. You can do this and hit the ball at slow speeds. It gives you a great feel for how your arms and wrists work in the swing. 

SPLIT GRIP

Mike Malaska works with John Lang on his golf swing. He starts with his experience and how he made the sports connection between golf and other sports he has played.

From a baseball, tennis, and basketball background, this was the first sport Mike played where the ball wasn’t moving but was stationary on a tee. Mike made a lot of connections with other sports that made it easier for him to play golf.

The first connection is that you do not hit the ball with your club shaft; you hit it with the clubface. Your hands are essential to understanding the clubface. It would help if you thought about the club shaft as an extension of your arm.

When Mike started playing golf after baseball, he likened the clubface of a golf club to that of a baseball bat. When he set up to the ball and opened the clubface slightly, the ball would go to right field. With a slightly closed clubface, the ball would go to left field, and of course, if Mike hit it straight, it would go to center field.

The baseball analogy made sense to Mike, and most people who start to play golf try to hit the ball with the shaft and not the clubface. Mike even used a 10-finger baseball grip when he first started playing golf, and he looked at the clubface as a baseball bat.

Mike tells John that he is going to get his hands on the club correctly and get them to connect to the clubface. 

THE CLUBFACE IS YOUR BASEBALL BAT

In a lesson with Billy Fitzgerald, Mike Malaska emphasizes the importance of the initial movement in the backswing. He discusses how Billy's normal backswing tends to feel more straight back, causing his arm to feel higher and less connected. Mike points out that at the start, Billy experiences more tension in his wrists and hands, which influences the swing's fluidity. By addressing this early stage, Mike aims to reduce the overuse of certain muscles and help Billy maintain better control.Mike explains the significance of rotation and wrist set during the backswing, noting that at some point, Billy needs to achieve both external and internal rotation for a successful swing. Mike suggests focusing on the proper wrist positioning early in the swing, which would allow Billy to simplify the rest of the movement. Instead of figuring out the necessary adjustments mid-swing, he could focus on turning his body naturally, with the club and arms following in sync.A key point of Mike’s lesson is timing the change in direction. He demonstrates how shifting the club’s momentum correctly allows it to shallow out during the downswing. If Billy changes directions at the right moment, the momentum will naturally guide his arms and club into the correct position. Mike emphasizes that this approach will prevent Billy from overcompensating with his upper body, which often leads to inconsistency in his shots.Throughout the lesson, Mike highlights the difference between the backswing and downswing movements. He explains how the handle should feel like it's moving outward in the backswing while coming in during the downswing. By mastering this opposition, Billy can create a more fluid and reliable swing. Mike's observations and adjustments aim to help Billy improve his consistency and avoid the common pitfalls when under pressure on the golf course.

KEYS TO A CONSISTENT SWING

Meet Matt Baker, PGA Professional and newest Malaska Golf Certified Coach. Matt is based in the United Kingdom.

Matt has been a golf professional for over 25 years, working his way up from Assistant Pro to Head Pro, and now teaches full-time.

Matt started playing at age 14 and immediately fell in love with the game and how the swing worked. Golf became his passion. Matt was intrigued with the motions of the game, putting the swing together, and helping other golfers, which led him to coach.

Matt, who was looking to improve his game, came across Mike Malaska on YouTube, he loved what he saw, and the videos improved his game immensely. Not only did he improve, but Matt gained a better understanding of the game because it was simple and made sense. The key takeaway was that Mike Malaska’s instruction and coaching just made sense to Matt!

Matt has applied this knowledge to his game and especially to his students. Matt has seen great success from them as they start to play better golf and understand the game.

Matt also loves the sport connect and how other sports relate to golf, making the game more understandable. His goal is not to teach you something you don’t understand but to teach something you already possess and can do.

Matt is excited to be a Malaska Golf Certified Coach and help others play better golf. The M-System is Matt’s favorite, and he does it every day.

MATT BAKER CERTIFIED COACH

The hand action and the lever system with a baseball swing are the same as the golf club in a golf swing.

HITTING

This Quick Fix Friday is in the bunkers with Sammy Slice.

Sammy has a fix for you if you are a slicer in the bunker and come over the top.

The biggest problem is when you get in the bunker and come over the top; you tend to fall back on your swing. This means you hit too much behind the ball and bounce into it.

The “Fix” is to stand on your left side and use the same swing. You will not fall backward. You will hit down into the sand and throw the sand and ball out towards the hole.

SAMMY SLICE BUNKERS STAND ON YOUR LEFT SIDE

L TO L LEAD FOOT ONLY

The rules for entering and leaving the bunker.

RULES IN THE BUNKER

A Malaska Golf Member has a question about going through the M-System and then taking that to the course to play.

Mike practices the M-System every day while warming up. He also has a process for the shots he wants to hit. The M-Systems reminds Mike of the shots he must take for his swing to have the best chance of hitting the way he wants.

The first thing you must decide when you go out to play is whether you are trying to shoot a score.
Second, are you going out to work on your swing on the course and see what happens?

If it is the latter, you can work on the M-System, break it down, try different parts, and work on various shots. However, if you are trying to shoot a score, you should use the M-System to warm up on the range, which Mike does when he plays.

Mike goes through the M-System quickly, gets a feel for it, and then moves on to full swings. He then analyses the shots he is making. This whole warm-up process helps Mike figure out what his game and swing look like that day.

When Mike goes out on the course, he has a pre-shot routine that he also goes through.
He pictures the shot he must make and then takes a practice swing. It could be part of the M-System, such as the L to L; it could be getting his right hip out of the way. Whatever Mike needs to do, he reminds himself in a practice swing.

Once Mike gets a feel for the overall motion, he hits the ball. After he makes the shot, he evaluates it. You can take aspects of the M-System, like the L to L Drill, and make some swings. You make those swings before you hit the ball, if that helps.

When you finish playing, go to the range and look at how you played and what happened. See where you struggled and what part of the M-System can help you.

It could be posture, grip, and any number of things. Going to the range to work on your game after you have just played is a great way to improve. You can make the adjustments you need for immediate feedback.

This is a great way to learn how to make those adjustments. Mike recalls a story about Jack Nicklaus and how he played a round where he hit terribly. Jack then went to the range and made seven shots. Mike was astonished that Jack had only hit seven balls. Jack responded to Mike that he only needed those seven to get his feel back.

The great thing about going to the range afterward is analyzing what felt good when you made new hits. The key is understanding what felt different out on the range from the course and figuring that out.

Learn how to identify the difference between how you played on the course and the hits you are making on the range. This will make you a better player.

TAKE THE M-SYSTEM TO THE COURSE

In this player lesson, Mike Malaska helps beginner golfer Sandy James. He tells her to make a practice swing. As she sets up to the ball, Mike has her aim her body to the left. He wants her to lever her wrists, swing and hit the ball without worrying about where it goes. 

Even though the ball ended up in the hazard, Mike was happy because Sandy used her grip, got set up, and made a practice swing feeling the lever system.

Now they go down onto the fairway and take another swing. Mike doesn’t want her to spend a lot of time hitting multiple shots and certainly doesn’t want her to keep score.

After Sandy hits another shot on the fairway, they will go up to the green. Mike is then going to show her a game where she keeps score. It has nothing to do with these first shots. It is about getting used to being on the course, making swings, getting the ball in the air, and having fun.

ENTRY-LEVEL COACHING DRIVER

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.

SPORTS CONNECT: PICKLEBALL

A couple of great exercises for strength flexibility and awareness is one the Leg press and two the sitting floor twist. The leg press you just kneel down. Place your right foot out in front of you. Your left knee is directly Below your left hip. Then you just try to push your hips and upper body up. Your lead knee stays over your lead ankle. Then do the same thing on the other side. To gain rotation. Sit on the ground. Legs straight. And upper body vertical. 90 degrees to your legs. Then take your left foot and place it on the right side of your right leg. Take your right arm and place it on the left side of your left leg. Then rotate as much as you can. Then do the same thing the opposite way. These are great for strength and flexibility. It does not matter what level you are with these. Just seeing what you have is important. Then if and when you get better. You are better.

HOW THE BODY WORKS - FITNESS

Don't copy. Learn to feel where the ball is going.

ON COPYING SNEAD AND HOGAN

Mike Malaska brings out the ROTEXMotion Floor Models for Austin Graham to use.

Mike puts both feet on the Floor Models and demonstrates what he wants Austin to do. As Mike turns his arms and body back, his right leg straightens, his left leg bends, then he twists his feet back to square. The purpose of this is to feel what your hips are doing. Mike shows Austin the movement he wants him to make and where he thinks Austin is off.

Mike gets Austin to imitate this twisting motion without a club first, then asks Austin what he thinks his right hip and femur are doing. Austin says that his right hip is staying out of the way and turning down. Mike says that, in fact, the right hip is moving back, away from him.

Mike takes Austin’s sand wedge and demonstrates how to bring his club back, twist his feet, and swing. Austin does what Mike taught him. Mike observes that Austin’s right hip is now doing what it should. Austin is transitioning correctly.

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Austin has an aha moment when he realizes there is only a slight lateral movement of the hips and not a large movement of the hips and legs.

Mike discusses things that have happened over the last 10-20 years. At the tour level, left-hand grips have gotten significantly stronger, with less rotation of the clubface and less lateral movement. You need that lateral motion to tilt your shoulder and start your arms down. Mike demonstrates this slight motion by swinging his arms.

Austin mistook his lateral movement as sliding his legs and body into the ball. Mike goes behind Austin, working with his hips to feel the slight transition. The ROTEXMotion floor discs are a great way to feel that movement.

Mike says there must be some lateral movement, but it is minimal. It takes place before you reach the transition point of the club. Austin feels that difference when he swings his wedge on the discs. This movement is what Austin has been looking for in his golf swing.

SLIGHT LATERAL MOVEMENT

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 FACE CONTROL

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

HOW BOUNCE AFFECTS YOUR WEDGE

The first step in putting is to be able to read the green. Brian uses AimPoint, which is a green reading system.

PUTTING READ

Harry Hooker returns to discuss what you can work on if your swing with a driver resembles Harry’s. 

Harry’s normal grip has his right hand underneath the club handle. This Mulligan Monday, Harry will rotate his right hand counterclockwise around to the top of the handle. 

Mike sets up and swings the driver. The ball shoots to the right and is lost. Because of Harry’s grip, Harry will have to adjust his aim and path to compensate. 

The grip changed Harry’s curve, so he must now change his path.

HARRY HOOKER DRIVER CHANGE YOUR GRIP AND PATH

Malaska Golf Certified Coach Matt Baker, based in the United Kingdom, is answering a member's question this week. The member is concerned about casting on the downswing, which a friend has pointed out. This friend also noted that the member has a flippy release, or is releasing the club too early, resulting in hooking the ball to the left.First, double-check your grip. Make sure that your left hand is placed correctly on the club. Matt refers to this as a natural neutral position. He suggests letting your hands hang naturally before transferring them onto the club handle. Matt also talks about the knuckles you should see and demonstrates how the heel of the hand acts in a chopping action, instead of a flippy release. This is the first thing you need to get right.The second thing to focus on is practicing impact. Matt addresses the ball and moves into his left side, as you would do in a swing. He emphasizes feeling pressure move from the middle of the feet to the heel of the left foot, by pushing the left leg backward to clear the hip.This improves hand position, making the left shoulder go back and the right hand and shoulder come down. The right side will then align behind the club shaft for proper compression. Matt also mentions feeling his right leg coming down and inward when hitting the ball, rehearsing the impact position.Visually, when Matt is at the impact position, he can’t see his left hand as it covers his left knee. It feels like his hands are far forward, though from the camera view it might not appear that way. This is an important concept to grasp. You don't need to hold the angle through impact; it's a position you will naturally achieve.Matt demonstrates this process down-the-line by getting your grip correct, taking your address position, then moving into your left side, getting the left hip back with your left leg. Ensure your left shoulder goes up and your right shoulder goes down. The right hand and arm should be behind the club shaft at impact. Start with chip shots to get the feel of impact. Progress from chips to full swings, moving from impact backward. Matt practices this frequently, as it’s the most crucial position. He then demonstrates with a full swing.Practicing the impact drill will significantly improve your strike and give you much better control of the ball.

STOP CASTING

Excited to be partnering with Lag Shot Golf. I am a huge proponent of getting people to feel the right swing. You can try to force yourself to hit the right positions and train yourself to check the box at every part of your swing, but when you feel the right swing, you know you're doing it right. The Lag Shot Golf product line of training aids helps with that feel aspect because you can not only physically feel yourself creating pressure in the shaft, but you can see it as well.

LAGSHOT

LAG SHOT FEEL IT LOAD AND KICK

Harry Hooker moves to the fairways and focuses on where his practice swing hits the ground.

Harry noticed his club was hitting way back off his right foot when he made practice swings.

The “Fix” is for Harry to set up to the ball and position his feet to where Harry’s club hits the ground.

When Harry makes a swing, he hits it solid down the fairway.

Watch your practice swing; it indicates where to set up and address the ball.

HARRY HOOKER FAIRWAYS PRACTICE SWING

The grip is slightly less in the fingers. It is more diagonal in the lead hand than with chipping and putting, but not as much in the fingers off the lead hand as with full swing.

GRIP

In the golf swing your lead arm stays fairly straight. Not because you keep it straight. It stays straight because of what your trail arm does. As you start the club back. Your wrists begin to hinge. As they hinge your trail arm is always trying to push your lead hand away from you. So the pushing away with the trail arm is what keeps your lead arm fairly straight. That keeps the tension out of your lead arm and lets it accelerate through the ball.

KEEP YOUR LEFT ARM STRAIGHT - ONE PIECE TAKEAWAY

Nibley was a great learning experience for kids gettig involved in golf. 

HOW NIBLEY SHAPED ME INTO WHO I AM TODAY

Using a launch monitor can help you see your swing and what you need to change.

CONTROLLING YOUR DRIVER WITH YOUR LAUNCH MONITOR

Setup for putting, chipping, and full swing is essential for the right arm and line of compression.

PUTTING CHIPPING AND FULL SWING SETUP

Welcome to our new feature, the Malaska Golf Member Spotlight, where we feature one of our active members. This Member Spotlight focuses on Chris Grundy and what Golf has meant to him.

CHRIS GRUNDY - SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND - 20200725

PUTTING WITH TIME BETWEEN PUTTS

Get in your set up position. Then put the club out in front of you where you want it to go after impact. Then let the weight of the club and or momentum swing the club back into the backswing. Let the club swing where it wants to go. Then swing down and hit the ball. This really helps you feel the momentum of the club and takes the tension out of the backswing. 

FRONT LOADER DRILL

If you don't use your imagination, you have no chance when playing at Augusta because the speed of the slopes and angles of the breaks are unreal.  Keep that in mind for the Masters.

PLAYING AUGUSTA

Dial in three wedges from three key distances

DIAL IN WEDGES AND DISTANCE

Stop struggling with hitting the ball on the hosel and making pitch-out shots.

What causes you to hit the ball into the hosel? When you set up to the ball, your hands and arms move farther away from you, or your body moves closer, which runs the hosel into the ball.

Swinging too much from the inside can also cause you to hit the ball into the hosel because your hands and arms are moving away from you.

What’s the fix? First, set up to the ball, look at where your hands are, and make a swing. On the swing, make sure your left hip pushes out of the way as you come into the ball. Your hands must feel like they come closer to you and go around to the left. If your hands return to the same spot or inside that and go left, you won’t hit the ball into the hosel. It’s actually impossible.

The key is to make sure you move away from the ball. As you run the club into the ball at impact, that is the apex of the arc, and the club moves around to the left.

STOP HITTING THE BALL ON THE HOSEL

Your left leg gets your hip to work correctly. Practice making swings where your arms have room to swing.

STANDING ON YOUR LEFT FOOT

If you could slow down the world for a better shot, would you?

FOCUS AND RELAX

IVAN POVOROV

Malaska Golf Certified Instructor, Pepe Cortez, advises how to approach the first tee and overcome the jitters.

FIRST TEE JITTERS

A Malaska Golf Member wants to know how to incorporate the L to L Drill into his full swing.

Mike demonstrates the L to L Drill and then applies that to his full swing. All Mike is doing is extending the backswing and the follow-through of the L to L Drill. He is just adding a little more turn.

If you were to slow the swing down, the positions would be the same as the L to L. The club still hinges on the backswing and rehinges on the follow-through. Most people try to “chicken wing” their arms or do other things because they don’t let the weight of the club rehinge on the follow-through.

Some Tour Players can extend the club more on the follow-through because they are so flexible. They can continue rotating their pelvis at a speed that keeps up with the clubhead. For most players, once their hips stop, the club rehinges.

Again, work the L to L into your swing and recoil the club back to the L position after the swing. This will help you to reinforce what that feels like.

L TO L IS YOUR FULL SWING

How changes fundamentals like posture can lead to dramatic improvement.

CORRECTING POSTURE

In this video, a Malaska Golf Member has a sports-connect question about throwing a frisbee. This is a great way to feel how you turn the corner and how your left hand works on the follow-through.

Mike grabs a frisbee with his left hand and cups it. He makes a throwing motion which is the same left-wrist action as in a golf swing. Mike demonstrates this action by throwing the frisbee.

Mike then faces the camera and shows the frisbee at the point where you hit the ball in golf and the release of the frisbee or the follow-through.

Mike has drawn an “X” on his glove to illustrate that the “X” is visible to the camera when your hands release through the swing. Your wrists don’t turn over and show your hands to the sky. This is an old way of teaching where you have swung and opened the clubface and rotated your forearms.

If you have a baseball grip, the hand action is the same as when you swing. Mike takes his golf club and applies the same frisbee-throwing action to hitting a golf ball.

A FRISBEE AND HAND ACTION

BODY ROTATION

Golf has gone through many changes. Learn how players have changed their attitudes over the years.

THE EVOLUTION OF ATTITUDES IN GOLF

Chipping is just off green putting. The ball gets in the air because of the loft in the face. Set up with your weight or force slightly on your lead foot. This changes the angel of approach to the ball. You are catching the ball on the face then brushing the ground. The loft of the face gets the ball in the air. Put a dot on the face on the fourth grove from the leading edge. The back of the ball and this dot connect. You use the same line of compression that you did in putting.

CHIPPING THE BALL IN THE AIR

Mike Malaska discusses instinct and grip. A member wants to know if you can get it too strong. Mike says yes, it is possible. 

Starting with your left hand, take a club and act as if you were going to hit something. Where you place your hand is about where you want your grip. Repeat with your right hand and then put both hands together. 

The joints should line up to where you have the most amount of force and where it is most stable. The thumb should go on the side of the shaft, not on top. Instinct will tell you not to put the thumb on top because the club would pull out of your hand when you hit.

If your grip is too strong, you would have to turn it far underneath, and then your hand would want to turn back to line your fingers and joints up where they were. 

Again if you take the club and act like you’re going to hit something, instinct will tell you where you place your hand and thumb.

INSTINCT AND GRIP

Tour pros hit lower shots in their short game compared to average golfers. The first way you can begin to control trajectory is by using a lower lofted club.