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Jimmy Ballard


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BACKSWING

 

-The right shoulder works up, not around.

 

 

Question for you speedster, related to the above quote. Would you say that the right shoulder working up would be be equal to the left shoulder working down? Reason I ask is I was messing around with the feeling of keeping the left elbow pointing down through the backswing. In order to keep that elbow pointing down(ish) without independent arm movement it seems to make my left shoulder go down more and thus my right shoulder is higher than my left. I can't remember from when I read the book if Jimmy would classify left shoulder down as bad and if left shoulder down was different than right shoulder up.

 

The right shoulder works up, but the left shoulder DOES not go down.... that would lead to a reverse pivot. The left shoulder moves level as the right shoulder works up and the body coils into the brace of the right leg.

 

Could someone explain this to me? I don't understand how the right shoulder works up but the left shoulder does not go down? How can one go up other one go lateral?

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BACKSWING

 

-The right shoulder works up, not around.

 

 

Question for you speedster, related to the above quote. Would you say that the right shoulder working up would be be equal to the left shoulder working down? Reason I ask is I was messing around with the feeling of keeping the left elbow pointing down through the backswing. In order to keep that elbow pointing down(ish) without independent arm movement it seems to make my left shoulder go down more and thus my right shoulder is higher than my left. I can't remember from when I read the book if Jimmy would classify left shoulder down as bad and if left shoulder down was different than right shoulder up.

 

The right shoulder works up, but the left shoulder DOES not go down.... that would lead to a reverse pivot. The left shoulder moves level as the right shoulder works up and the body coils into the brace of the right leg.

 

Could someone explain this to me? I don't understand how the right shoulder works up but the left shoulder does not go down? How can one go up other one go lateral?

It seems to me that the base of the neck is about midway between the shoulders. If the right shoulder goes up, and the left shoulder stays at its initial level, the base of the neck also goes up, half as far as the right shoulder. Seemingly, this would mean that the head also moves up by the same amount.

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BACKSWING

 

-The right shoulder works up, not around.

 

 

Question for you speedster, related to the above quote. Would you say that the right shoulder working up would be be equal to the left shoulder working down? Reason I ask is I was messing around with the feeling of keeping the left elbow pointing down through the backswing. In order to keep that elbow pointing down(ish) without independent arm movement it seems to make my left shoulder go down more and thus my right shoulder is higher than my left. I can't remember from when I read the book if Jimmy would classify left shoulder down as bad and if left shoulder down was different than right shoulder up.

 

The right shoulder works up, but the left shoulder DOES not go down.... that would lead to a reverse pivot. The left shoulder moves level as the right shoulder works up and the body coils into the brace of the right leg.

 

Could someone explain this to me? I don't understand how the right shoulder works up but the left shoulder does not go down? How can one go up other one go lateral?

It seems to me that the base of the neck is about midway between the shoulders. If the right shoulder goes up, and the left shoulder stays at its initial level, the base of the neck also goes up, half as far as the right shoulder. Seemingly, this would mean that the head also moves up by the same amount.

True if the head and cervical spine stays stationary during the swing. Ballard has the top of the spine, head and neck, moving back into the brace of the right leg. The Ballard setup, and backswing allow the head to move to the right, which allows the left shoulder to go back while the right shoulder goes up. If you keep the head still, and turn the shoulder joints around a fixed point, one goes up and the other goes down. That is not how Ballard's teaching approaches the movement of the shoulders. If you allow the top of the spine to move left, your left shoulder can move nicely back without dropping significantly. Watch Stenson or any of Cowen's players, the right shoulder moves distinctly up while the left shoulder appears more level. I also think this is a feel issue, no doubt 3d measurements would likely show the left shoulder lower than it's address position, the question is to what degree. At least that is the feel I have been working on. When my right shoulder goes up in the backswing, I really do not think of the left's degree of movement. If the right goes around, I am dead at the start.
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It seems to me that the base of the neck is about midway between the shoulders. If the right shoulder goes up, and the left shoulder stays at its initial level, the base of the neck also goes up, half as far as the right shoulder. Seemingly, this would mean that the head also moves up by the same amount.

True if the head and cervical spine stays stationary during the swing. Ballard has the top of the spine, head and neck, moving back into the brace of the right leg. The Ballard setup, and backswing allow the head to move to the right, which allows the left shoulder to go back while the right shoulder goes up. If you keep the head still, and turn the shoulder joints around a fixed point, one goes up and the other goes down. That is not how Ballard's teaching approaches the movement of the shoulders. If you allow the top of the spine to move left, your left shoulder can move nicely back without dropping significantly. Watch Stenson or any of Cowen's players, the right shoulder moves distinctly up while the left shoulder appears more level. I also think this is a feel issue, no doubt 3d measurements would likely show the left shoulder lower than it's address position, the question is to what degree. At least that is the feel I have been working on. When my right shoulder goes up in the backswing, I really do not think of the left's degree of movement. If the right goes around, I am dead at the start.

From a feel standpoint, I can see how that makes sense. Right shoulder going up, as opposed to around, sounds like your shoulder plane is tilted, and that seems appropriate in any system. As you say, the left shoulder almost has to go down, but that's not a feel that you really want to think about.

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So maybe forget the right shoulder? The thing that is really working UP is the right elbow, into a strong throwing position. Stand as if you were an infielder getting ready to make a throw to first righthanded, thinking of first base as down the target line; THAT is where your elbow should go. If the right shoulder is coming up, it isn't much, and it isn't the connection that Ballard is talking about.

 

EDIT: Again, though, I think the great thing about the Ballard swing is that you don't have to worry about stuff like where your shoulder is or whether or not your elbow is pointing at the ground or not. IF, and admittedly it's a big if, you get into the correct setup position, and IF you don't come forward onto your toes or get shorter as you take the club away, and IF you actually coil into the right side, there just isn't much to think about. I know that sounds too simple to be true, but it is.

 

When I'm playing well, if I hit a bad shot I just don't fiddle at all with my fundamentals; I know that I have to do them better. And by fundamentals, I mean setup; that's 90% of the Ballard swing. Maybe more...

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If I was going to put my golf swing in a nutshell, this is how I would describe it.... take the correct set-up, keep the club in front of my body, shift my weight and release the club (stay connected).

 

That's it.

 

I think that in 2018 with the massive amount of info coming along on TV, the internet, print media, etc., there is a temptation to believe that it MUST more complex than this, but it isn't.

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I think it is simply maintaining the triangle established at address thru the swing. Anti handle dragging thought. I had an instructor years ago who was taught by Ballard have me swing with my last three fingers of the left hand off the club. He then had me swing with no pressure in the fingers, pressure only on top of the grip, not below. Really uncomfortable but I just blistered the ball. In the downswing, if the grip lines back up with the center of the body at impact, the shaft springs. Some golfers might need to think more about this than others. I know when I am hitting thin pushes, I try to go back to this thought.

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Attached is a video of a drill I like to do on a regular basis. I use a large medicine ball that is 8 lbs and it helps me isolate the body and get in the correct position.... all I think about is taking an athletic set-up that enables me to feel like I can hold the ball forever without any strain on the back (Jimmy calls this a weight lifter position) and then I throw the ball against a wall while concentrating on how I want the low body to work in the swing; right heel going back and left toes going through.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzOC48oh5Jo

 

I have a 10 lb medicine ball with grips, and make full Ballard swings in slo mo. It works.

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  • 2 weeks later...

How close is this to the model.

 

[font=lucida sans unicode,lucida grande,sans-serif]Driver: Yonex Ezone 380 9*
Fairway: Tour Edge cb5 15*
Hybrid: Tour Edge cb5 19*
Irons: Hogan Ft Worth (15) 21*, 25*, 29*, 33*, 37*, 41*, 45*
Wedges: Hogan TK 49*, 53*, 57*
Putter: 2007 Odyssey Black #1
Bag: PING Hoofer[/font]

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Spot on there. I’ve been hitting it really crappy of late, and caught myself in the reflection of the sliding glass door “doing mirror work”....my setup had gotten way off. Believe it or not, I’d gotten TOO WIDE w/ my stance, and too bent over (center down). Trust me, when you use Ballard’s swing and your stance is too wide, THAT’S W-I-D-E! It was to the point that if I got coiled into the leg, I couldn’t get back up to the ball on the downswing, measured up. But just as important, if you subscribe to the Ballard method, you HAVE TO be as tall and upright as possible w/ your posture...I try to do what Colbert used to do, raise my head, look straight out, and then without lowering the head, just peer down from the bottom panorama of my eyes. Setup well, coil, keep club centered, fire the right hip and don’t stop til you are facing the target, club in center. Ball will be headed to your target, high and straight. Was so consistent today....gotta keep setup at the fore of thought.

 

Bottomline, Ballard is at least 90% setup...you can’t do the “active 10%” Of Ballard from a poor setup. Stand tall, connect the left arm on the chest, shake hands w/ the right hand, grip ground w/ insides of your feet, everything level and club centered. From there, it’s just motion.

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  • 1 month later...

How close is this to the model.

 

 

Pretty damn good, but Annika is even better.

 

If you watch Stenson driver swing face on- he forward presses the driver with his hands, while body moves about 4-5" to the right, BEFORE any club head movement. I'm working with an AMG guy who wants me to use him as a model for the lateral move at the start.

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