Mike Malaska - Getting the club in front of you. Made easy...

[martynbirch]

Range tonight, 180 ball bucket, incredible, 170 great strikes, high and straight.

People were stopping and looking at me (never happens ever) as I was swinging so easy it's not true. Virtually no loss of distance with what felt like 50% effort.

I have always struggled with a flat shoulder turn low and inside etc but using this idea it doesn't matter. Club up on end, first move club handle comes towards groin area then it's a blur and a high straight shot.

I struggle with the 1st method mentioned above and end up with a sometimes functional chicken wing but lots of inconsistency. This reminds me of Paul Wilson and how simple but fast his swing is.

First impressions very positive, will see how it holds up in a round at the weekend.

[BdaGolfer]

Any tour swings (apart from Mike's student) where we could see these principles in motion? Stenson maybe?

[TheGeekGolfer]

[quote name='martynbirch' timestamp='1443646512' post='12392202']
Range tonight, 180 ball bucket, incredible, 170 great strikes, high and straight.

People were stopping and looking at me (never happens ever) as I was swinging so easy it's not true. Virtually no loss of distance with what felt like 50% effort.

I have always struggled with a flat shoulder turn low and inside etc but using this idea it doesn't matter. Club up on end, first move club handle comes towards groin area then it's a blur and a high straight shot.

I struggle with the 1st method mentioned above and end up with a sometimes functional chicken wing but lots of inconsistency. This reminds me of Paul Wilson and how simple but fast his swing is.

First impressions very positive, will see how it holds up in a round at the weekend.
[/quote]
The same thing happened to me during my range session the other day after working on this drill. The two guys in the 2 stalls to my right stopped hitting balls and watched me hit irons for about 10-15 minutes. After asking various questions about distance, etc, they returned to their buckets.

[Ezgolfer]

I agree with above . The only thought on downswing is right elbow to right pocket , for a split second the right arm feels short and space cramped . The ball takes in split second without any conscious effort at hitting it . My divots are even and rectangle . Occasional pull is my miss.
You have to be slow and very loose, .. let the shaft float almost.....

[thekru]

I will agree with the above also. This is BY FAR the best description of how to get the club in front of you that I have ever heard. This has saved my game and given me hope once again.

My feel and thought is: strong turn behind the ball, let the butt of the club fall into my right pocket, let the head of the club 'tip over', then just let it go and turn.

[Jaylasvegas]

[quote name='Hot Rod 71' timestamp='1443449514' post='12377760']
Another good video

[url="https://youtu.be/h_DVuuStY3Q"]https://youtu.be/h_DVuuStY3Q[/url]
[/quote] Reminds me of the zipper away drill Monte uses

[butette]

[quote name='martynbirch' timestamp='1443646512' post='12392202']
Range tonight, 180 ball bucket, incredible, 170 great strikes, high and straight.

People were stopping and looking at me (never happens ever) as I was swinging so easy it's not true. Virtually no loss of distance with what felt like 50% effort.

I have always struggled with a flat shoulder turn low and inside etc but using this idea it doesn't matter. Club up on end, first move club handle comes towards groin area then it's a blur and a high straight shot.

I struggle with the 1st method mentioned above and end up with a sometimes functional chicken wing but lots of inconsistency. This reminds me of Paul Wilson and how simple but fast his swing is.

First impressions very positive, will see how it holds up in a round at the weekend.
[/quote]

Can you get the swing to work with longer club like driver ? Seems like it could well for iron, but I have never seen any of his videos teaching student with driver.

[Slothead]

23k hits in 10 days is impressive. at .005% return on hits to potential lessons is 115.

anyone know what the 2 week GolfWrx record is for number of views on one topic?

[Ezgolfer]

[quote name='butette' timestamp='1443663020' post='12393318']
[quote name='martynbirch' timestamp='1443646512' post='12392202']
Range tonight, 180 ball bucket, incredible, 170 great strikes, high and straight.

People were stopping and looking at me (never happens ever) as I was swinging so easy it's not true. Virtually no loss of distance with what felt like 50% effort.

I have always struggled with a flat shoulder turn low and inside etc but using this idea it doesn't matter. Club up on end, first move club handle comes towards groin area then it's a blur and a high straight shot.

I struggle with the 1st method mentioned above and end up with a sometimes functional chicken wing but lots of inconsistency. This reminds me of Paul Wilson and how simple but fast his swing is.

First impressions very positive, will see how it holds up in a round at the weekend.
[/quote]

Can you get the swing to work with longer club like driver ? Seems like it could well for iron, but I have never seen any of his videos teaching student with driver.
[/quote]

It is harder with driver , lot more blocks with full length driver. I am able to hit hybrid and choked down driver really good .

[woody089]

I wanted to add my input. I've been practicing for a fraternity reunion in Nashville. high's swing speed, from the inside, with a timed-flip. This means I have several booming-hooks per round and can have 40 yard driver hooks at bad moments.

I flew into Nashville last Thursday night. Friday we were on the range (rubber maps). I decided "what the hell" and tried to hit some shots and immediately started hitting very straight shots. Here is the bottom line - 5 rounds of golf in 3 days, keeping this as my only and primary swing thought through all clubs. Out of the 5 rounds won 4 long-drives, 1 closest to the pin (180 yard part 3), and was low-stroke winner, with a driven green Eagle Par 4 (15th hole Gaylord Springs). carded my best rounds of the year with comparable ease.

[u]However most notably for my personal game[/u] - I DID NOT HAVE A SINGLE SNAP HOOK FOR 5 ROUNDS OF GOLF, but lost a few mildly high/right. Jim

[Ezgolfer]

Its making sense more and more..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me80N7314f0

[martynbirch]

[quote name='Ezgolfer' timestamp='1443667911' post='12393688']
[quote name='butette' timestamp='1443663020' post='12393318']
[quote name='martynbirch' timestamp='1443646512' post='12392202']
Range tonight, 180 ball bucket, incredible, 170 great strikes, high and straight.

People were stopping and looking at me (never happens ever) as I was swinging so easy it's not true. Virtually no loss of distance with what felt like 50% effort.

I have always struggled with a flat shoulder turn low and inside etc but using this idea it doesn't matter. Club up on end, first move club handle comes towards groin area then it's a blur and a high straight shot.

I struggle with the 1st method mentioned above and end up with a sometimes functional chicken wing but lots of inconsistency. This reminds me of Paul Wilson and how simple but fast his swing is.

First impressions very positive, will see how it holds up in a round at the weekend.
[/quote]

Can you get the swing to work with longer club like driver ? Seems like it could well for iron, but I have never seen any of his videos teaching student with driver.
[/quote]

It is harder with driver , lot more blocks with full length driver. I am able to hit hybrid and choked down driver really good .
[/quote]

You beat me too it, I did have success with driver but it's not as easy as with an iron or hybrid. Found my 3 wood better though as it seemed to respond better due to the extra weight in the club head.

[AntLockyer]

I struggled to square the face with driver always. Another one of Mike's videos talked about neutral grip for your physiology. I needed a stronger left hand than I was using and he also talked about the right hand relationship to the face. This has resulted in me having a different grip (not by a huge amount) that appears to have stopped all of my blocking issues with driver.

The rest of the time/clubs I basically move my hands straight down and let the club do the rest of the work.

I'm interested in the other stuff he talks about with using a club head to warm up and focus on the head/hand relationship to allow you to work the ball. He believes that to be a fundamental although I'm happy right now to be hitting straight shots the majority of the time as I have little need to work the ball.

I've hit some of the best iron shots ever since getting into this, my distance control and direction on approach shots is truly beyond where I thought it could be. It is definitely a case of my good shots being very good and my bad shots becoming playable.

Can you tell I'm excited?

[Mozza73]

I hit a lot of balls last night using this method.

Small swings, concentrating on the feeling of how my backswing and downswing feel if I only swing with my right hand, I find this is really key because If you swing one handed you naturally swing the club up on balance above your right foot and drop the butt down again to the same corner, the other big key is let it drop with no turn , when its on the way down you can pivot with everything you've got,

Not a single pull / hook the whole hour.

It really works

[slantsflood]

So happy for everyone that this is working for. It lets you smile again, which a can be rare in golf. And even though you are learning a new transition, its a pretty easy move. And it wants you to stay relaxed and tension free, which I think is what we all want for our bodies down the road.

[nova6868]

Have been working on this and took some video last night. With all the focus on keeping the club in front of me and my hands, I was hitting nice shots but noticed that my hips and shoulders weren't very open at impact. Nearly parallel to target line. I didn't really like the way this impact position looked.

Anyone else notice this? Maybe I just lost focus on turning since I was so focused on keeping the club in front of me.

[Ghost of Snead]

[quote name='nova6868' timestamp='1443698843' post='12394600']
Have been working on this and took some video last night. With all the focus on keeping the club in front of me and my hands, I was hitting nice shots but noticed that my hips and shoulders weren't very open at impact. Nearly parallel to target line. I didn't really like the way this impact position looked.

Anyone else notice this? [b]Maybe I just lost focus on turning since I was so focused on keeping the club in front of me[/b].
[/quote]

Could be, as in several of his videos Malaska advocates swinging in a circle which is only possible with a proper pivot.

[oscar10]

I have the Kindle edition of Mike's book and am sorry to say it's not edited very well. For instance. The steering wheel example pictures A and B are the same as C and D. In his video #3 I feel your pain C and D show the correct positions from the book. Must be from the hard copy. There are numerous examples of this in the Kindle copy. Good thing for the videos or you wouldn't know what the heck he was talking about! Must say that I really like his teaching however. Hope he makes a DVD.

[sprcoop]

[quote name='martynbirch' timestamp='1443678911' post='12394270']
[quote name='Ezgolfer' timestamp='1443667911' post='12393688']
[quote name='butette' timestamp='1443663020' post='12393318']
[quote name='martynbirch' timestamp='1443646512' post='12392202']
Range tonight, 180 ball bucket, incredible, 170 great strikes, high and straight.

People were stopping and looking at me (never happens ever) as I was swinging so easy it's not true. Virtually no loss of distance with what felt like 50% effort.

I have always struggled with a flat shoulder turn low and inside etc but using this idea it doesn't matter. Club up on end, first move club handle comes towards groin area then it's a blur and a high straight shot.

I struggle with the 1st method mentioned above and end up with a sometimes functional chicken wing but lots of inconsistency. This reminds me of Paul Wilson and how simple but fast his swing is.

First impressions very positive, will see how it holds up in a round at the weekend.
[/quote]

Can you get the swing to work with longer club like driver ? Seems like it could well for iron, but I have never seen any of his videos teaching student with driver.
[/quote]

It is harder with driver , lot more blocks with full length driver. I am able to hit hybrid and choked down driver really good .
[/quote]

You beat me too it, I did have success with driver but it's not as easy as with an iron or hybrid. Found my 3 wood better though as it seemed to respond better due to the extra weight in the club head.
[/quote]

I find it just as effective with a driver. I just have to pay more attention to having the club head in front of my right shoulder. If I get a little off it results in a push that is right side of fairway or just off. Playing 9 Sat. and 18 Sunday if it doesn't rain Sun. I'm excited.

[peachfuzz]

[quote name='Hot Rod 71' timestamp='1443449514' post='12377760']
Another good video

[url="https://youtu.be/h_DVuuStY3Q"]https://youtu.be/h_DVuuStY3Q[/url]
[/quote]

This. This right here just saved my season, and my dwindling hopes for ever getting better. It wasn't even the move he's talking about, or pushing backward to start the downswing. All he had to say was that bit about opposing forces when swinging an object on a string, and seeing as I studied physics in college, it clicked immediately. I haven't taken it out to the course yet, but it made so much physical sense to me that the only word/phrase to use is "epiphany," or "like... duh, so totally obv, you idiot..."

I watched the video yesterday, and was able to get to the range on lunch today to hit about a hundred balls. Right from the first ball it was center face contact. Sure, I hit some fat shots, and some thin shots, but even those went through the center of the face.

It even brought a true fade out of my shot instead of my tendency to either hook, or slice the ball. I found it nearly impossible to do either one, honestly. Even the poor shots were of the "push fade" variety rather than the push slicing banana. The flight seemed lazier (if that makes sense), and kind of just drifted instead of diving one way, or the other. Not sure if that's a good, or bad thing as I'm pretty inexperienced in such matters.

The only thing I need to figure out is where the distance went. I seem to have lost a good 20 - 30 yards on a lot of the shots. There were some which maintained my normal distance though, so I know its there, I just have to dig it out.

Absolutely giddy about having a tee time tomorrow afternoon now. I am even thinking about getting up early in order to get a round in at my local muni beforehand.

[millerman]

Hi all,

I read this thread as it was flagged as hot, and watched the u tube vid. Played with a client last night and before he got there did this drill and did some chipping.

Although I play off 7 I rarely see fairways and spend a lot of time hitting in semi rough, and just getting round.

Well whether it was because of the sun, relaxed atmosphere I don't know but never missed a beat so easy and if putting had been anything like I would have shot under par, wow it was easy.

Playing 3 days now on a break so will test this but seriously thinking of getting the book, the driver and the irons were the same straight and not a noticeable difference in yardage.

Will update and hopefully it wasn't a flash in the pan.

Regards

[cardoustie]

All I know is my last two league rounds have had minimal hooks and have shot 74 and 73 at my tough home course .... rated 73/138

It's working for me ... for whatever reason ... happier than a fat pig in sh_t

[solarbear88]

[quote name='millerman' timestamp='1443729962' post='12397008']


Playing 3 days now on a break so will test this but seriously thinking of getting the book, the driver and the irons were the same straight and not a noticeable difference in yardage.


[/quote]

I was very disappointed with the ebook.

[robbohank]

As expected.......what I feel like I'm doing (hands in clubhead out during transition) vs what actually happens just don't match. Based on some of my prior videos I do think I'm a little less underplane in the initial downswing but obviously more work to do.

https://youtu.be/4zcLGC9Hb1U

[solarbear88]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0iUwD28CZE

This video is pretty interesting and helpful. So is part 2.

[joshsparham]

So I've tried this move and I get nice thin divots with my irons. Tried it with the driver and hit nothing but top spin duck hooks. Anyone else having these issues?

[QEight]

[quote name='joshsparham' timestamp='1443750691' post='12398610']
Tried it with the driver and hit nothing but top spin duck hooks. Anyone else having these issues?
[/quote]

I get those when I do not release properly, when I am holding the wrist angles and pull the club through with the body. Very weird looking shots.

[millerman]

Hi,

If I do get the book it will be the hardback copy, heard nothing but bad reports re kindle download.

[Millbrook]

Anybody who has a deeper knowledge than myself (opens the door to many) have a comment on how this approach relates to the Chris Como/Dr Sasho MacKenzie discussion on the advisability of the club being below the hand path and how this helps square the face. I think they also say it helps swing speed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1256&v=iuJaSM7Kexw

If you accept their thesis the Malasky approach could lead to shorter distance, blocks out to the right or hooks when compensating and over actively squaring the face.

I've had some success with thinking of the right elbow going to the right pocket so haven't raised this as a 'knocker' but for further discussion.

[gators78]

[quote name='millerman' timestamp='1443766761' post='12399272']
Hi,

If I do get the book it will be the hardback copy, heard nothing but bad reports re kindle download.
[/quote]
[quote name='solarbear88' timestamp='1443746013' post='12398234']
[quote name='millerman' timestamp='1443729962' post='12397008']
Playing 3 days now on a break so will test this but seriously thinking of getting the book, the driver and the irons were the same straight and not a noticeable difference in yardage.


[/quote]

I was very disappointed with the ebook.
[/quote]

I dunno, if you take the ebook with the youtube videos, especially the 3 points to a flat surface Joe Nichols video, its very solid. I really like how he wrote the book and found it extremely informative, some of the photos may have been lost in translation, but I can say I've bought much worse ebooks.

The story of trying to break 40 with his coach was awesome. It's one of the few books you can tell was written by a great player that relies on a few simple 'feels' to free themselves up on the course.