Whats your opinion of Jimmy Ballard?

[Dan42nepa]

The connection theory really helped me and has been great for my back.. I have been using those principals since the 90's.

 

 

Dan

 

i mean 80's

[Redbear90]

When it comes to making pure contact with the ball, I find that the Ballard philosophy is extremely easy to understand and easy to teach as well. After reading his book, I realized that I had been using his technique without even realizing it. When it come to teaching literature and technique philosophy it is always important to keep an open mind. You may not agree with everything that someone is teaching, but not everyone will latch on to David Leadbetter's latest swing philosophy.

[Forged4ever]

Jim's theory and teachings are well grounded and he has been consistent over the decades since hitting the big stage, versus guys like McKlean and Leadbetter, who jump theory trains and come up with their latest swing du jour depending on the latest buzzwords and fads.

 

Rocco can't say enough about Jim as both a Gentleman or a Teacher, and credits him with keeping Rocco in the game and his back "quiet."

 

Welcome to the board Bro :)

 

Have a great season!!

 

Fairways & Greens My Friend,

Richard

[Chazb]

A few years ago I was on this other message board and a golf writer said that he offered Jimmy ten grand if he could break eighty on certain golf courses and Jimmy turned it down.

IMO I think Jimmy may be on the right track on his teaching but students may go overboard on the movement just reading the book.

You either have to get a person to person lesson or a clinic to fully understand what he is teaching.

 

[Forged4ever]

On 2/1/2016 at 10:09 AM, Chazb said:

A few years ago I was on this other message board and a golf writer said that he offered Jimmy ten grand if he could break eighty on certain golf courses and Jimmy turned it down.

WTF does Jimmy Ballard breakin 80 have to do with his ability as a Teacher????

 

He's an ole man for chrissakes 😉

 

That's like takin Butch or Hank on a Tour quality track now-

 

That guy is a bigger dick than the idiots we have here, lol

 

$10k???

 

Yea, like he had $10k to throw around like that, LMAO

 

Lemme guess, he ropes 300yd+ drives and 205yd 7i's, lmao

 

Oh Lord, I do love this game!!!

 

Stay Well My Friend 🙂

 

Fairways & Greens 4ever⛳️

RP

Edited August 13, 2022 by Forged4ever

[oikos1]

The connection theory really helped me and has been great for my back.. I have been using those principals since the 90's.

 

 

Dan

 

i mean 80's

 

A 16 cap who joined 3 months ago talking about a method they've used since the 80's...Priceless!

[Dan42nepa]

Thanks for the warm response on my first post... Live and learn.

[Muddler]

Jimmy Ballard had a magnificent head of hair back in the day. And his focus on a "connected" golf swing makes a lot of sense.

[Forged4ever]

Thanks for the warm response on my first post... Live and learn.

Dan, I answered your OP sincerely and I was jokin around with Oikos-

 

Apologies if I offended you-

 

It was not my intent :)

 

Have a nice evening-

 

All the Best,

RP

[Shilgy]

The connection theory really helped me and has been great for my back.. I have been using those principals since the 90's.

 

 

Dan

 

i mean 80's

 

A 16 cap who joined 3 months ago talking about a method they've used since the 80's...Priceless!

Or just a method for the guy with the bad back that could not otherwise play at all. Not everyone is looking to get to scratch. Some have issues that prevent that.

Welcome to the forum Dan.

[garyt]

The connection theory really helped me and has been great for my back.. I have been using those principals since the 90's.

 

 

Dan

 

i mean 80's

 

A 16 cap who joined 3 months ago talking about a method they've used since the 80's...Priceless!

Or just a method for the guy with the bad back that could not otherwise play at all. Not everyone is looking to get to scratch. Some have issues that prevent that.

Welcome to the forum Dan.

 

I agree. not every golf "swing" has to be PGA Tour ready. I could make a fortune if I could develop a swing that allows people who can't break 100 get consistent enough to shoot in the 80's, and actually enjoy the game but no way to improve from there. Maybe it lacks distance, or no way to work the ball, or whatever. Not everybody (in fact the vast majority) have no desire to be scratch, yet alone pros.

[naval2006]

I take Jimmy Ballard's concept of connection as central to any efficient swing. If I had to start from scratch, I think I'd go fully Ballard and I'll find the road to success in no time. The only drawback is that you need an instructor acquainted with Ballard's swing theory to "grasp" the swing.

[vitaminsteve]

For me, you have to take all teaching philosophy's with grain of salt. It might work for some and not the other. Or parts might work for you and some parts dont. That is why Butch Harmon is so successful I think. He doesnt subscribe to any real teaching philosophy's, except the fundamentals. He takes each student and does what he thinks is best for that student. When you get Haney, Foley, Leadbetter, Ballard and a million others they teach the same swing to everybody across the board.

[dualradius]

Jimmy's swing philosophy holds up - and I've never seen people hit the ball straighter. The possible downside: for the highest levels, I see a lack of traditional "coiling" that cold be argued to be THE KEY to big-time distance.

 

Does that matter for amateur golfers? Probably not. I'm 100% Ballard, and I certainly hit it by most people I play with.

 

So in my mind, it is THE way to learn how to swing the golf club. Get to your right side. Get to your left side. No flipping. No turning. Club face always square. Etc.

 

Easy stuff.

[bluedot]

Jimmy's swing philosophy holds up - and I've never seen people hit the ball straighter. The possible downside: for the highest levels, I see a lack of traditional "coiling" that cold be argued to be THE KEY to big-time distance.

 

Does that matter for amateur golfers? Probably not. I'm 100% Ballard, and I certainly hit it by most people I play with.

 

So in my mind, it is THE way to learn how to swing the golf club. Get to your right side. Get to your left side. No flipping. No turning. Club face always square. Etc.

 

Easy stuff.

 

It IS easy stuff, certainly relative to "methods" that emphasize positions and big turns. I've been playing this way for 20+ years, and to me, it's a simple way to play good golf. Maybe the two biggest advantages are the simplicity and how easy it is on the body, especially the lower back.

 

As to the need for an instructor, I don't know that there is any difference in Ballard's stuff vs. anybody else in that regard; if anything, there is LESS need. Ballard's book, as books go, is pretty darn good as a way to learn what he teaches, and there are now a lot of videos on the web that are very good, too. But ANY golf swing, regardless of the theory behind what the player is trying to do, can and will go haywire at times, and will benefit from somebody looking at it who knows what they are doing. In that regard, there is no difference.

 

BTW, I moved from GA to NC last year, and no longer had access to the guy who had been looking at MY swing when it went haywire for the last 15 years or so. In July, I contacted the Ballard office, and asked for a referral to an instructor in NC. They steered me to a gentleman named Barry Walters at St. James Plantation in Southport, and I took a lesson with him just to get looked at. Great experience; I'd highly recommend him to anybody who's in the area and is looking for a top-notch Ballard instructor.

[thekru]

For me, you have to take all teaching philosophy's with grain of salt. It might work for some and not the other. Or parts might work for you and some parts dont. That is why Butch Harmon is so successful I think. He doesnt subscribe to any real teaching philosophy's, except the fundamentals. He takes each student and does what he thinks is best for that student. When you get Haney, Foley, Leadbetter, Ballard and a million others they teach the same swing to everybody across the board.

 

There is not an instructor in the world that does not teach from some 'model' or basic philosophy. It is physically impossible for two people to have the exact same look due to each indviduals physical makeup.

[NoTalentLefty]

He believes in his method. I tried both his and Ernest Jones . Both say things that are opposite of the other and yet both work. Isn't it really what happens at impact and methods are a way to get to that point consistently?

 

The only lessons I took were in the early 90s. He worked on squaring my shoulders, feet, and club alignment which was an easy lesson that took about a week to implement. After that he gave me one swing thought: Hit the back inside quad of the golf ball. This lesson brought me from a 16 hcp to a 7 within a year. I hit a wall then and lost interest in golf due to my new girlfriend/wife.

 

He didn't talk about big muscle or hands or wrists or whatever starting the swing.

[Texsport]

Extreme distance is quite possible using the Ballard swing as proven by 2 of his former Tour players, Jim Dent and Dewitt Weaver - really, really long, both of them!.

 

The secret is strong and fast leg action.

 

My favorite club pro is all Ballard and swings 120mph with 178-180 mph ball speed. He's very athletic and was a sprinter in his younger days.

 

Ballard players are very straight hitters - always an advantage.

 

The Ballard swing is also better for older players IMHO.

 

Texsport

[dualradius]

Extreme distance is quite possible using the Ballard swing as proven by 2 of his former Tour players, Jim Dent and Dewitt Weaver - really, really long, both of them!.

 

The secret is strong and fast leg action.

 

My favorite club pro is all Ballard and swings 120mph with 178-180 mph ball speed. He's very athletic and was a sprinter in his younger days.

 

Ballard players are very straight hitters - always an advantage.

 

The Ballard swing is also better for older players IMHO.

 

Texsport

 

My question regarding "really fast leg action" is what is the point on the body you feel "goes first" on the downswing?

 

For me, it's ball of right foot (I'm right handed) or possibly right knee or right hip. But I think my first major feeling is ball of right foot?

 

Thoughts?

 

Beyond that, I don't have to think about swing plane, arms, hands, angles, etc. None of that. It's just fire the right side and I want to "spring up", while the club smashes down on the ball and my body is erect facing the target. I feel like when I'm hitting it well that my body is almost entirely erect and on left side facing target when I hit the ball. I know from video this isn't true, but it's the feeling I have when I'm hitting really well and in rhythm.

 

Make sense?

[Texsport]

In an earlier post someone questioned Jimmy Ballard's playing ability.

 

In his younger days JB was a wonderful player who turned professional.

 

Now, beside his age, he suffers from a debilitating nerve condition which is destroying feeling in his hands.

 

 

Texsport

[Hilts1969]

As I have mentioned on another thread I like the idea of elbows connected but like a certain amount of freedom. I have kept certain feelings from the Ballard method that have been stated. Wider stance, right foot straight, right knee flex, elbows down in backswing and downswing. I just allow for a small gap in the armpit area in the backswing and then reconnect them as my first move while the weight is shifting to my left leg.

 

Elbows go down towards hip joints then turn

[Llortamaisey]

In an earlier post someone questioned Jimmy Ballard's playing ability.

 

In his younger days JB was a wonderful player who turned professional.

 

Now, beside his age, he suffers from a debilitating nerve condition which is destroying feeling in his hands.

 

 

Texsport

 

I've never understood why some people think a good teacher has to be a good player. If they are a great teacher, they certainly won't have time to play/practice.

 

I don't think anyone expects a great player to be a great teacher. I'm not calling Dustin Johnson for golf lessons anytime soon. Why should vice versa be expected?

[nlk10010]

The more you look at the various teaching tips on the internet the more you can trace out what might be called a "teaching family tree". There seem to be a few basic approaches the disciples of which are the teachers of today. They have different techniques and interpretations but a lot of the basics are the same.

 

For example, I was looking at some Jimmy Ballard videos and one thing Rocco talked about was lifting the club up more vertically, so it's "light". His point was that if the club is too flat then the weight of the clubhead forces it down behind you and then you need to use a lot of effort and manipulation to bring it back down towards the ball. If the clubhead is tipped ever so slightly forward of the hands on the downswing then it's easy to direct the momentum of the club right into the back of the ball. Sounds suspiciously like Mike Malaska's approach, albeit presented in a different way.

 

Now I'm not passing judgment on the correctness of this viewpoint (as I've said before, almost EVERY technique is going to work for some people and not others), it's just got to be fascinating for a golf historian to trace these thoughts back to their origins.

[EntourageLife]

I agree with your post. Very fascinating indeed to really understand the progression. Jimmy Ballard was trained by Sam Byrd, former Yankee and PGA Tour winner (he was a Bo Jackson type). Byrd's teaching style was born from his baseball hitting techniques (observing Babe Ruth) and applying the athletic, connected method to striking a golf ball. Sam Byrd was considered one of best ball-strikers and hands down, best driver of his era. Jimmy confirmed the athletic, connected method while having success teaching Sutton, Colbert and Strange and about 50+ other tour players.

 

Great instructors (like Ballard, Harmon, Cowen) take proven methods and then also apply their own observations to help each individual student.

[dualradius]

I can't believe that: 1) my left arm is that straight - wow; 2) my right shoulder is way too low; and 3) I don't have nearly the force on the move that I think I have.

 

Ugh.

 

Darn you - Jimmy Ballard!

 

Just kidding of course.

 

I was taught to teach with Ballard by one of his original "disciples" from the 70s. I worked for this man in the early 90s. He was very eccentric - but a good teacher. HIs way of explaining Ballards theories made sense then - and still does. It's the only way I know how to teach the golf swing.

 

My boss hit it pretty long too. Played PGA tour back in his day - late 60s I think?

 

[media=]http://vimeo.com/180488161[/media]

 

[media=]http://vimeo.com/180488160[/media]

[EntourageLife]

Great post DualRadius. If a golfer just applies a few of Jimmy's fundamentals...they can't help but get better. I highly recommend his instruction book. Also, there's an instructional video Jimmy did from late 70's early 80's, even before his time at Doral. It's amazing. Some of the best instruction and explanation I've ever watched!

[LYG]

Ballard should be given credit for his revolutionary concept of teaching the core body movement by getting players to relate to their ability (already) to hit or throw a ball in other sports.

 

Ballard came up with that. Insightful, new at the time, revolutionary.

[Billy Baroo]

Ballard is legit and connection is now a fundamental spoken by the best instructors today.

 

I remember reading Leadbetter's first golf book, The Golf Swing, where he talks about the dog wagging the tail and I realized then that this guy just ripped off Ballard's ideas and published it like it was his own. What a rip off artist he was.

[Texsport]

Extreme distance is quite possible using the Ballard swing as proven by 2 of his former Tour players, Jim Dent and Dewitt Weaver - really, really long, both of them!.

 

The secret is strong and fast leg action.

 

My favorite club pro is all Ballard and swings 120mph with 178-180 mph ball speed. He's very athletic and was a sprinter in his younger days.

 

Ballard players are very straight hitters - always an advantage.

 

The Ballard swing is also better for older players IMHO.

 

Texsport

 

My question regarding "really fast leg action" is what is the point on the body you feel "goes first" on the downswing?

 

For me, it's ball of right foot (I'm right handed) or possibly right knee or right hip. But I think my first major feeling is ball of right foot?

 

Thoughts?

 

Beyond that, I don't have to think about swing plane, arms, hands, angles, etc. None of that. It's just fire the right side and I want to "spring up", while the club smashes down on the ball and my body is erect facing the target. I feel like when I'm hitting it well that my body is almost entirely erect and on left side facing target when I hit the ball. I know from video this isn't true, but it's the feeling I have when I'm hitting really well and in rhythm.

 

Make sense?

 

Ballard intends for you to drive off the inside of your right heel, facilitated by a braced right knee, out toward the ball of the left foot.. You set up on the balls of both feet but load into the right heel. When you drive from the right heel cross-laterally to the left, you create a slightly in-to-out swing path without diving under with the right shoulder (How you get stuck). Ballard teaches to keep the right shoulder high thru impact. (The only difference from a sidearm throwing action).

 

Relaxed arms are flung thru impact by their connection to the rapidly forward driving and rotating body - an on-the-body braced back-handed slap while extending the right arm past impact - to release the club face to a toe up position at waist high. Sam Byrd, who taught Ballard advocated a slight inward pull with the left hand/arm combined with a slight outward push with the right hand/arm on the downswing. Try it - automatic squaring of the face - right dualradius?

 

BTW - as far as power is concerned, Henrik Stenson's swing is based on Ballard pinciples, as the Swedish government's golf program was designed by a Ballard instructor.

 

Texsport

[dualradius]

Ballard should be given credit for his revolutionary concept of teaching the core body movement by getting players to relate to their ability (already) to hit or throw a ball in other sports.

 

Ballard came up with that. Insightful, new at the time, revolutionary.

 

This is effectively how I look at the golf swing - it's no different than any other athletic movement. Once you show people this, they are sold on this model / instruction of the golf swing.

 

KD