When Weber State collegiate golfer, Mike Malaska won the 1974 Utah Open golf tournament as an amateur, playing against the best professional golfers in the area, some who were also competing on the PGA Tour, it offered a hint of the promise of what he could accomplish in the sport of golf.
But no one could have foreseen that journey, which began on a sultry summer weekend at Ogden Golf and Country Club, would take him to the very loftiest pinnacles of achievement and success in the business world of golf, not just playing the game at the highest levels, but revolutionizing how the sport is communicated, played, and taught to the millions of players world-wide who subscribe to his teaching website, view his countless YouTube videos, watch him on the Golf Channel, or attend his golf schools, camps, and business presentations.
The accolades and awards he has received are many and distinctive including: 1974 College All-American; 2011 PGA National Teacher of the Year; 2015 Utah Golf Hall of Fame; Golf Digest’s 50 Greatest Teachers; Weber State’s Athletic Hall of Fame; and Worldwide Director of Instruction at Nicklaus Golf Academies, among many others.
His teaching website, https://www.malaskagolf.com/ has become a world-wide brand with 3,000 subscribers and 6 million YouTube videos along with his two best selling books, “I Feel Your Pain,” and “The Invisible Swing.”
In a deeply personal and candid recounting of his journey from diminutive Nibley Park Golf Course in suburban Salt Lake City, to the lofty heights of achievement, national acclaim, and inclusion among the greatest teachers in the history of golf, Mike shares some of the lessons he has learned along the way.
I caught up with Mike after a long day of teaching as Director of Instruction at his home base, Superstition Mountain Golf & CC, in the foothills of Scottsdale, Arizona.
Please listen here.
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