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Jimmy Ballard


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The answer to both of your questions is the same.. chances are you're pulling the club through the ball. You can't keep your left elbow down at impact if you're pulling the club through the ball. And when you pull the club you will open your shoulders.

 

And also, chances are, you're opening your shoulders because you may not be returning to your left side laterally. I'm guessing, as I can't see your swing, but I'm willing to bet you might be spinning out (which would cause you to pull the butt of the club too.).

 

Seems like when I push off of the right side, that I am getting too far left and coming in steep. I also release early.

Seems like I need to focus on using my ankle, knee, right hip to spring the club and then release the club down the line - with extension of the right arm.

 

As for pushing off - seems like I need to release the right side and not simply get to the left toe box area. Getting to the left toe area = I lean more than push off and release the right side.

 

UGH - the battle continues.

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Here is a front view video of my swing with a 7 iron...

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=6gPJh9xL3JQ

 

Here is a back view video of my swing with a 7 iron...

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=flUazuErrYE

 

NICE SWING speedster!!

I always thought the backswing was supposed to be more pronounced aka a larger coil into the braced right leg!?

 

Also see that you get ball contact before the divot.....how the hell do you do that? Also how do you keep your hands from rolling over and hopping the ball?

 

I have to get a video of my swing.....for my backswing, my weight goes back a lot more than yours (Into a braced right leg),......thus the downswing it goes forward to the toe box ares a lot more and I almost feel like I am lunging at the ball , You are very controlled and "over the ball" at all times.

Do you have any queues like make sure the left shoulder gets behind the ball or make sure the right wrist is flat?

 

Is a straight left arm (like you have) the way to go? In my swing the left arm folds in the backswing (even while connected to the body).

 

As for the start of the downswing, it seems like you hold the weight transfer to the front / hold releasing the right side......Is that correct?

I like how you are not spinning out around impact.....any tips you can share to not spin out with the upper body?

And I see your front shoulder (side view) moves up around impact....I thought the shoulders were supposed to be level?

 

Seems like the swing should be more effortless that I am doing and the videos you provide prove that.

 

Sorry for all the constant questions - just dont have many people around to pick their brain :)

 

Thank you for the swing video uploads.

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Here is a front view video of my swing with a 7 iron...

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=6gPJh9xL3JQ

 

Here is a back view video of my swing with a 7 iron...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flUazuErrYE

Thanks for posting these. Your move looks good. You're like the poster child for a ballard swing. There are almost zero recent videos of someone swinging as Ballard teaches (Stenson and Rocco are certainly Ballardesque but it's not the same). You seem to have very little lateral shift off the ball as most people associate Ballard swingers as having (fairly or not). Not sure if you've mentioned it or not but what is your natural ball flight?

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Thanks for posting these. Your move looks good. You're like the poster child for a ballard swing. There are almost zero recent videos of someone swinging as Ballard teaches (Stenson and Rocco are certainly Ballardesque but it's not the same). You seem to have very little lateral shift off the ball as most people associate Ballard swingers as having (fairly or not). Not sure if you've mentioned it or not but what is your natural ball flight?

 

A lot of people misinterpret the amount of movement Ballard wants, and controlling the brace of the body for me comes from the correct set-up.... my right foot is toed in slightly which helps me coil against a braced right leg without swaying.

 

This is one of the rare videos I take of myself, but I usually just listen to Jimmy and trust his eye. I honestly can pretty much do whatever I want with the golf ball, right now I am hitting a slight draw, but I also sometimes will hit a power fade. Usually though, I don't have one ball flight for the entire course, I switch it up based on the shape of the hole or the shot required.

 

Good point about moving off the ball and probably why people struggle with the Ballard swing. I too had way more movement off and then back to the ball then you do. That's how I thought it should be from reading. Seeing your swing is an eye opener.

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Thanks for posting these. Your move looks good. You're like the poster child for a ballard swing. There are almost zero recent videos of someone swinging as Ballard teaches (Stenson and Rocco are certainly Ballardesque but it's not the same). You seem to have very little lateral shift off the ball as most people associate Ballard swingers as having (fairly or not). Not sure if you've mentioned it or not but what is your natural ball flight?

 

A lot of people misinterpret the amount of movement Ballard wants, and controlling the brace of the body for me comes from the correct set-up.... my right foot is toed in slightly which helps me coil against a braced right leg without swaying.

 

This is one of the rare videos I take of myself, but I usually just listen to Jimmy and trust his eye. I honestly can pretty much do whatever I want with the golf ball, right now I am hitting a slight draw, but I also sometimes will hit a power fade. Usually though, I don't have one ball flight for the entire course, I switch it up based on the shape of the hole or the shot required.

 

That's why I had said fairly or not, because most people think Ballard is a sway. Your coil looks similar the video that was floating around of Jim Colbert a few years ago (since taken off youtube). I think it's great you've posted it, thank you for doing that. I figured you could hit all the shots, but I was more curious if you had a "stock flight" which it sounds like the draw is at this point in time.

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Here is a front view video of my swing with a 7 iron...

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=6gPJh9xL3JQ

 

Here is a back view video of my swing with a 7 iron...

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=flUazuErrYE

 

Your swing shows, that not every "Ballard" swing looks like Rocco Mediate or Jim Colbert.

 

You have a lot of wrist in your takeaway, more than I would have thought Jimmy would like, but obviously it works for you.

 

Nice swing!

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Speedster, nice!

 

The thing that I notice that might be a bit different from some of the other Ballard-type swings is that your right heel stays down just about until impact. Hal Sutton seems to be like this. Others are more like Rocco, where the heel comes up a bit sooner. Is heel down something that Ballard wants from you? Or, is it just the natural effect of the way you swing the club? How do you see the tradeoffs between the two?

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Look forward to reading the entire thread later tonight, once kids to bed. I hit balls for first time last week after six year hiatus, resultant from car crash and several surgeries, titanium rods in back and such. Just months before my accident I traveled down to Jim Grant in Atlanta to learn Ballards swing. Never hit the ball so solid, a life long bogey golfer, I finally broke into high 70’s a time or two. Was finally on the right track. So now, I am wanting to get back on that path if possible.

 

I made a post here then, The Ballad of Jimmy Ballard, that got a good bit of activity. Jimmy saw it and reached out, offered me a free lesson here in NC while he was on vacation. Absolutely the high point of my golfing career. So far the back is looking good after three practice days and two rounds of golf. Maybe its time to dust off my avatar and start back on the only swing in golf that appeared to help a hopeless hooker pusher like me. Lol. Thanks for posting this speedster, it was the Tiburon post years ago where I first heard of Ballard, fitting its you again that motivates my return.

 

 

Dan

NC

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Look forward to reading the entire thread later tonight, once kids to bed. I hit balls for first time last week after six year hiatus, resultant from car crash and several surgeries, titanium rods in back and such. Just months before my accident I traveled down to Jim Grant in Atlanta to learn Ballards swing. Never hit the ball so solid, a life long bogey golfer, I finally broke into high 70’s a time or two. Was finally on the right track. So now, I am wanting to get back on that path if possible.

 

I made a post here then, The Ballad of Jimmy Ballard, that got a good bit of activity. Jimmy saw it and reached out, offered me a free lesson here in NC while he was on vacation. Absolutely the high point of my golfing career. So far the back is looking good after three practice days and two rounds of golf. Maybe its time to dust off my avatar and start back on the only swing in golf that appeared to help a hopeless hooker pusher like me. Lol. Thanks for posting this speedster, it was the Tiburon post years ago where I first heard of Ballard, fitting its you again that motivates my return.

 

 

Dan

NC

 

Hey bud - read your other post from years ago, in its entirety, a month or so ago. That one lurker ruined it, but your posts were very informative (we wont go down the negative route because it becomes a cancer and spreads).

 

Hope all is well and we can swap some tips and all. I learned the Ballard swing from Bill Abrams (when he is in South Florida), but he is away for the summer in Illinois......so I am on my own. It's just me & this forum lol.

 

Few guys in here always help out with my multitude of questions, and I am so grateful for them.

 

Anyway - welcome back and stay healthy so you can golf more!!!!

 

 

------

 

My issue these days is I sway too much back and forward. On my practice swings I coil properly and move beautifully. My arms extend together after the ball!! When I am over the ball and swing......I weight shift too far back and thus shift way too far forward.....and my upper body has to take over to save the club. I flip/rotate the hands a lot and only get good contact when I time it right. I dont want to rely on timing, I want to have a consistent/repeatable golf swing!

 

Only been golfing for about 15 months, so I hope there is still hope for me.

 

Tomorrow I am going to play a quick round before the rain comes (South Florida), every single swing will be a practice swing to feel it the entire round.

 

If everything I'm doing is wrong, the opposite has to be right!

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Any good swing takes time, that may be the only thing everyone agrees on, lol. Since I had to stop playing, I avoided all things golf, really missed it. So many of my Ballard swing thoughts are vague. But I do recall feeling as if I was hitting the ball with my chest, odd as that sounds. In past I was a notorious flipper, very hands and arms (timing) hitter of the ball. Sporadic success, but never could keep it going. Ballards methods were sn absolute life saver here. Less is more comes to mind, I remember one piece triangle take away, coiling and firing off right side, and keeping left arm connected. Can almost feel that wonderful solid hit now. But details are skinny, suspect I will need to watch dvd a few times before trying it on the range. Looking forward to reading this thread tonight.

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97speedster

 

I've still got a copy of your original list - I've passed it on several times to others.

 

A huge thank you for the best and longest lasting swing information I ever have seen.

 

I hope you are doing well.

 

Texsport

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The high right shoulder and hip are something Mr. Ballard stressed to my son, a PGA club pro, when he worked with him.

 

Another interesting practice device was a wooden dowel that Mr Ballard cut to his recommended stance width for my son. It's been in his bag ever since.

 

Texsport

Mizuno GT180 10.5*/Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 5 X
Tour Edge Exotics CB F2 PRO 15.5* Limited/Speeder 757 EVO 7.1X (Gene Sauers club)
Titleist 915 18*/Fubuki K 80X
Titleist 913 Hybrid 21*/Tour Blue 105X (Matt Jones' club) (OR) TM Burner 4-iron/Aldila RIP 115 Tour S
Wilson Staff V4 5 and 6/Aerotech Fibersteel 110 S
MacGregor PRO M 7-PM/Aldila RIP 115 Tour S
Edel 50*/KBS 610 S
Scratch JMO Grind Don White 56*/DG X-100
Cobra Trusty Rusty Tour 64*/DG S-200
The Cure CX2 putter

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The high right shoulder and hip are something Mr. Ballard stressed to my son, a PGA club pro, when he worked with him.

 

Another interesting practice device was a wooden dowel that Mr Ballard cut to his recommended stance width for my son. It's been in his bag ever since.

 

Texsport

 

What is the length of the wooden dowel?

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Downswing & impact question......

 

Do the shoulders / chest start to open up when the weight shift happens towards the target or should the feeling be "back to the target" for as long as possible?

 

At impact should the chest be open with the arms whipping thru or should the chest/arms be over the ball "covering the ball"?

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Downswing & impact question......

 

Do the shoulders / chest start to open up when the weight shift happens towards the target or should the feeling be "back to the target" for as long as possible?

 

At impact should the chest be open with the arms whipping thru or should the chest/arms be over the ball "covering the ball"?

 

If you did use a dowel or yardstick to measure your stance width, it would be different for each person based on how broad they are.... I personally am 6'3" with broad shoulders so my stance would be wider than most peoples.

 

I try to keep my back to the target as long as I can on the downswing, if you open the shoulders too fast in the downswing it will cause you to hit a wipe or glancing blow. At impact, my chest is more square versus open and I cover the ball pretty well with my upper body.

 

In order to keep my stance width and ball position consistent from day to day, I practice indoors in my golf room using a grid style golf mat, but just remember that your ideal stance width will be based on your own body type.

 

Thanks for the back to the target as long as you can comment. I thought that was the correct way, but was not 100% for sure. I will work on that from here on out.

When you say your chest is square & covering the ball, what are your arms/hands doing.....If anything? Should there be a feeling of whipping them into impact or just have the come along for the ride? I ask because I have read / seen Jimmy & Hogan say you can throw your right hand sideways as hard as you want, yet when I do this I tend to open up and cut across the ball.

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I've got a question if you don't mind. On the downswing/at impact is the right arm over the left? Or the other way around?

 

If you get your right under your left, you're going to get stuck on the downswing and flip or block it. For me the arms are neutral and connected while I release the club and body in sync.

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