Don’t Get Trapped Chasing a Perfect-Looking Swing
Watch enough professional golf and it’s easy to start believing there is one way a great golf swing is supposed to look.
Mike Malaska sees it differently.
When he looks at a player like Ryan Fox, he isn’t trying to compare every position to a textbook model. He is looking at the player’s grip, joint alignments, hand action, and—most importantly—how the clubface works through the ball.
Ryan Fox may not have the swing people typically describe as “picture perfect.” But from waist-high to waist-high, Mike sees exceptional control of the clubface and a spectacular impact position.
That is what matters.
What Are You Actually Trying to Control?
Golfers can spend a lot of time trying to put the club into certain positions.
Mike knows that trap firsthand. In the video, he talks about practicing positions over and over in an effort to create the supposedly perfect swing—and ultimately making the motion more complicated.
That is an important distinction.
Your goal isn’t to make your swing look like Adam Scott’s, Scottie Scheffler’s, Ryan Fox’s, or anyone else’s.
Your goal is to understand how you control the golf club.
Look at great players throughout the history of the game and you’ll find plenty of unique-looking swings. Mike points to Fox, Scheffler, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, and Lee Trevino. Their motions aren’t identical, but they all found highly effective ways to use the club and control the face through impact.
As Mike puts it:
“It’s not necessarily about the swing. It’s what the club face does and the ability to control it under pressure.”
Watch Your Swing Differently
The next time you look at your own swing on video, resist the urge to immediately judge whether it looks right.
Instead, pay attention to what happens through the most important part of the motion.
From roughly waist-high coming into the ball to waist-high after impact:
- What is the clubface doing?
- How are your hands working through the ball?
- Can you predict where the ball is going to start?
- Are you controlling the club, or fighting to manufacture positions?
A swing can look unconventional and still work extremely well.
A swing can also look beautiful and fail to give you the control you need when the pressure is on.
That is why understanding your own motion matters more than simply copying somebody else’s.
Build a Swing That Works for You
This is also why Mike connects this lesson directly to The M-System.
The goal isn’t to force every golfer into the same set of positions. It is to better understand how your body, hands, and the golf club work together so you can create a motion you can control and repeat.
Stop chasing somebody else’s version of a perfect swing.
Start paying attention to what the clubface is actually doing through the ball.
By Malaska Golf EditorialJuly 21, 2026