What is the Malaska move? The Malaska move was introduced by Mike Malaska. Basically, in this technique, you have to move your hands down and ensure that your clubhead moves out. Specifically, it means that you have to move your hands down during the follow-through. Consequently, your clubhead should move out toward the ball. Unfortunately, some amateurs tend to commit mistakes when doing this move. One of the biggest ones is moving their hands toward the ball while they are on their way down. As a result, they will find themselves in a stuck position, forcing them to flip the club prior to the impact so they can have contact with the ball.
Do you know that Tiger Woods also uses the Malaska move? He does this by placing the club out in front of him while on his way down. Generally, the Malaska move indicates that you should figure out how to do this. Remember that you are doing it the wrong way if you move your hands toward the ball. The right way of doing this is to move your hands down to where you’ve started at the address, and make sure that the clubhead should be out toward the ball. It is important that you have to understand this difference.
Another critical point is knowing where you should place your hands during the follow-through. Unfortunately, most amateurs find themselves in a stuck position. You should start by moving your hands down, and in doing so, the club head will be able to move out.
What are the Different Malaska Moves?
Ultimately, there are two Malaska moves. The First Malaska move happens when you do a Mike Malaska backswing while the Second Malaska move happens when you make a follow-through. Most people focus more on the follow-through move. Nevertheless, the backswing move is just as crucial as well, but sad to say, a lot of people try to ignore it completely. But no need to worry, here, we are going to explain both.
The Malaska Backswing Move
The whole idea of the backswing move is to let the club stand up while you are on your way back. Be sure that the vertical wrist hinge is facing toward the sky. You can accomplish this by pushing the handle down. Think of it as if you are attempting to point the bottom of the club at your right foot while doing the takeaway. Mike should’ve focused more on this key move, most especially, in his Youtube videos. The good news is you can find a lot of drills on his site that can help you in developing the appropriate backswing movement patterns. However, you have to join his membership site so that you can access them.
Why Is the Backswing Move Essential?
If you have seen Mike’s videos, then you will notice that most of the time, he talks about the weight of the club. Apparently, it is safe to say that his entire philosophy is about knowing how to manage the momentum and the weight of the club each time you do a swing. The main point here is that if you will not be able to control the weight of the club properly while doing the backswing, then how will you be able to gain control of the weight when doing the transition and follow through? This means that if you are not using a backswing that is favorable to the Malaska follow-through move, then you might be causing more harm than good.
Furthermore, you should avoid taking the club extremely far away while you are on your way back. This is because it clearly contradicts the Joe Nichols swing theory. Mike’s instruction is mostly using this intellectual platform. When doing the backswing, it is a must that you bring the club back outside the ball, and make sure that the club stands up. You can do this if you hinge your wrists vertically.
Mike demonstrated the teardrop drill to most of his students. This is very valuable, most especially if you want to learn his recommended backswing. Joe Nichols and Mike also demonstrated that if you want the club to go back, then the butt of the club should be pointing down toward the ground. When done properly, you can feel that the club is very light, making it easier for you to get into an excellent position while you are at the top of the swing. This can also help when you are swinging extremely flat. This can be devastating for those who are trying to practice Malaska’s concepts.
Furthermore, you might think that it is a steep backswing. However, you just need to trust it. If you are prone to swinging way too flat, then using this move can be a game-changer.
The Malaska Follow Through Move
This particular move quickly catches everyone’s attention. He often refers to this as tipping the club while pointing it toward the ball as you start the follow-through. Most probably, the ultimate way that you will be able to learn the Malaska move is to practice the drill for hockey stick split grip. You can begin this drill by using your right hand at the bottom of the grip, perform a few swings, then decrease the gap between your hands, then perform a few more. By the time the gap gets smaller, you can switch to your normal grip. As much as possible try to imitate the movement of the drill for the hockey stick split grip.
Take note that this drill is the easiest way to learn the Malaska move. Also, keep in mind that you won’t be able to bring back the clubhead to the ball if you don’t move your hands down and keep the clubhead out. As a word of precaution, if your backswing is extremely flat, and you don’t follow Mike’s backswing move (inspired by Joe Nichols), then you might end up having a case of the hooks. The reason behind this is that you won’t be able to do the move successfully with a super flat backswing. Hence, if you are getting confused with this backswing move, then you should watch Mike’s entire series on “Momentum”.