I love the segment with Jimmy Ballard and Rocco.
Jerry,
If you enjoy Ballard, I copied this post from another forum YEARS ago. I wish I could remember the posters name to give him credit... it was a public forum so I'm sure it's OK to share. I hope this is helpful to you...
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Quoted from BombSquadGolf circa 2004These are the rules: If you don't like this thread, then don't read it....pretty simple! If you want to argue about the golf swing, then find someone else to argue with, because I really don't care how you choose to swing the club....there is more than one way to skin a cat! If you have questions or don't completely understand something, then I'll be more than happy to answer....this is for pure information purposes, not to debate because your club pro told you something different!
I started playing golf in 1978 and was fortunate enough to learn from the some of the best instructors in the game. My first formal instruction came from the late and great Claude Harmon, winner of the 1948 Master and also Butch Harmons father who taught all the Harmon brothers everything he knew. In 1984 I started working with Jimmy Ballard who was "the man" in the days before David (Leadbetter), Hank Haney, Rick Smith etc...At that time I was already a scratch golfer, so i already had figured out how to score. In the 1990's after I moved to Florida, I became even closer to Jimmy Ballard and started to spend hours and hours around him and learning every possible thiing I could. At that time I was playing mini tours, the Asian Tour, South American Tour, Hogan Tour/Nike Tour/Buy.com Tour/Nationwide Tour (I played in events out there under all 4 names smile.gif ), Golden Bear Tour and going through brutal PGA Tour School every October! In 1999 I decided to start going to Las Vegas to have lessons with Butch (and his 1st assistant Shawn Callahan), only because the opportunity arose and seeing I had already learned from his father I figured it would be an easier transition. This had nothing to do with Jimmy Ballards method of the swing not working, because my ball striking was definetly not the problem. I just thought that Butch was more complete with what he knew about the shortgame and what he had learned to add to his repertoire from Tiger.
One thing about golf is that no matter how good you hit the ball, you're not going to hit every green, so you better be able to get the ball up & down....this is what separates the Tigers and Michelsons from rest of the field. I always was real good ballstriker and a good putter, but I chipped and pitched the ball like Hal Sutton....in 1997 I had a round where I hit 17 greens, had 23 putts and shot -12 (60) with a stretch of 9 birdies in a row. On days like that, it really doesn't matter how you chip/pitch the golf ball and I was fortunate to have a lot of those days....but in a four day and 72 hole event your not going to hit all 72 greens although it was always my goal to and I came close a few times smile.gif .
Now it's time for the meat and potatoes!
Jimmy Ballard, like all the great teachers, breaks the swing into three categories: The set-up, backswing, and the downswing. What I am going to share with you is a summary of notes that I condensed over years of learning just to keep things simple for myself.....after all, when you play golf for a living and are on the road, you have got to be your own best teacher. So I simplified everything and then just learned correct myself from day to day, and even sometimes from hole to hole smile.gif .
All great swings start with a good set-up....if you can't get that right, then your fu_ked from the start and won't ever reach your potential!
SET-UP
-Feet with the driver should be atl east shoulder width apart.
-The right foot is square; the left foot is flared out a quarter of a turn.
-A straight back at address promotes a level, less around swing. Drill: put the club behind the ball, then look at your caddy in front of you while taking your stance....then lower the eyes to ball (gets rid of the hunched look)!
-In the grip, both hands oppose each other in a neutral position.
-The ball is positioned off the left heel for full shots.
-The chin should be up, and the chest high.
-The shoulders should be level at address and my upper left arm plugged into my chest (feel like you have a short left arm at address).
-The left arm points down at a address...not at the target.
-Soft arms at address.
-The right arm should be above my left at address, not tucked under.
-Both knees are braced in at address.
-At address, the arms form a triangle with the butt end pointed at the middle of the chest bone.
BACKSWING
-On the backswing there is a loading of the weight into the inside of right foot and leg.
-The left arm should be bent and feel short the entire swing.
-The thumbs both feel like they are under the shaft at the top of the swing.
-The club works straight back (not around) with no forearm rotation...the triangle formed by the arms remains intact with the butt end still pointing at the chest bone. No angles or cocking of the wrist and feel toe down.
-The left hip, left shoulder, and head should all get behind an imaginary line drawn up from the ball.
-Maintain the short left arm on the backswing (connection).
-The right shoulder works up, not around.
-The right wrist is flatter, not cupped (as opposed to some who say you should feel like a waiter holding a tray at the top of the backsing ).
-The left heel comes up, and the left knee points behind the ball.
-Keep the same amount of flex in my right knee from address to the top of the backswing.
DOWNSWING
-The hips and shoulders work level through impact with the eyes releasing to the target (ala. Annika....who in Jimmy's opinion has the most sound swing in golf!) -If the head stays down and still through impact, there will be a hang back in your finish...REVERSE C!
-The only cocking in the swing "feels" like it is done by the elbows, not the wrists.
-Both elbows "feel" like they point down to the ground on the backswing, downswing, and when you finish.
-The left thumb and elbow work like you're "thumbing a ride" through impact. Don't get separation between the arms, because this leads to a blocked position.
-The elbows should finsih close together with a full body release.
-The finish mirrors the backswing.
-In the finish, the shoulders, eyes, and hips are all level.
In comparing Ballard to Butch, here are some of the main differences: Butch wants more weight on the right side at address and the spine tilted away from the target, not straight up and down. He says this makes it easier to get behind the ball without having to make a lateral weight shift.....you just kind of pre-set yourself more behind. Both teachers want a stance that is wide, and atleast shoulder width with the driver. Butch wants the back flat and the arms hanging straight down, which Ballard would say makes you too top heavy.....Ballard likes the feel of taking your stance like your cradling something heavy in your arms. Both teachers want your left shoulder to be over your right leg at the top, but Butch wants it to turn over the right leg....you never hear Ballard use the word "TURN", and says that the only way to actually "turn" in the golf swing is if you have one leg, but with two legs you have two hip sockets. Both teachers definetly want the arms to release through impact with the right arm over the left. Butch wants the club to shallow out more on the downswing which you accomplish by trying to keep your back to the target longer on the downswing....a drill Butch also uses for this is he puts a headcover outside the ball. The one thing that I know Ballard doesn't like that Butch teaches is that Butch wants the left arm high at the top of the swing....Ballard says that is pure disconnection and wants the upper left arm to stay connected to the chest.
The one thing I will say is that what Ballard teaches is very easy to repeat day in and day out. He is not a "try this and try that" type of teacher, he teaches a definite method that he learned from the late and great Sam Byrd and hasn't changed his philosophy in over 40 years. There is no other method that holds up better under pressure. There is a longtime saying on Tour that is often repeated by some of the best players in the world...."if you need someone to hit the ball exactly 162 yds., then you hand the club to Hal Sutton ". I've had the pleasure of spending time with some of the best modern day instructors...ie Leadbetter and Harmon. Leadbetter has ended more careers than he has helped, and Harmon is the most polished looking swing instructor, but no bodies method holds up better and is easier to follow than Jimmy Ballards. I remember having a discussion with Paul Azinger 15 years or so ago about modern day teachers, and he said that the thing that he like about Ballard was that he actually turned golfers into successful Tour players (started working with Hal Sutton at age 17 & Curtis Strange in 1980), not like some of these other teachers that turned already Tour players into better swingers....alot of people don't realize that Faldo was already #1 in the world when he started changing his swing with Leadbetter. That's every teachers wet dream come true!!!
Unlike most great teachers, Ballard only has one book on the golf swing, whereas most good teachers have several.....Ballard is always asked when he is going to write another book, but his reply is "I got it right the first time, so why would I need to write another one". The true test is putting it under pressure and seeing how it holds up, and I will tell you this.....what Ballard teaches holds up under pressure because it's all big muscles without the small twitchy ones that are used when you set angles. Any angle you set on the backswing, has to be perfectly unduplicated on the downswing in order for the club to square up.....getting rid of the angles will make the swing easier to repeat and hold up under pressure when you are so nervous that you can barely grab a breath!
In a nut shell, the three main things that I always try to focus on and that all great ballstrikers have in common:
1. Keep the club in front of the body.
2. Get behind the ball.
3. Release the club.
GOOD LUCK!!!
