If you haven’t trained with a leveraged tool like a steel mace or steel club before, they can feel very awkward to begin with. A 4kg steel mace feels very different to a 4kg dumbbell or 4kg kettlebell because the point of contact is much further away from the centre of mass.
By gripping the macebell closer to the head (choking up), you can shorten the leverage thus decreasing the difficultly of the exercise.
It’s always best to start with a light weight at first, then increase the weight once you’ve mastered how to control, stabilise and move the mace dynamically.