This is a VERY hard principle to learn, especially for someone who has swung differently for a long time, because the feel is totally different. Once learned though, the results are simply astounding. When I do manage to fight off the old ingrained demons and keep the arms connected, I simply rotate the arm pits, feeling absolutely no movement of the flesh there. The arc feels so short, but the ball pops off the club face with a power I never knew before. Once learned, there is zero timing of anything to worry about. This is true swinging of the club with core power. How I wish I had this knowledge in my youth.
Simply the best communicator of explaining the golf swing, no BS or far out "theories". I have always put my complete faith in Jimmy's teaching and explanations.
I spent 5 days with Jimmy in the early 80's in Pell City AL. Hit 500 balls a day and had blisters on both hands! Hit a 6 iron with the hight of an 8 iron and the distance of a 5 iron. First two rounds back at my club I shot 64, 64 and thought I had conqured golf. I learned that the technique is good , but hitting 500 balls a day will help more. I still today use concepts that Jimmy gave me.
I took lessons from Jimmy in the mid 1980s. He had a lot of good ideas, but most players took his ideas and converted them into their swings in their own way. I remember a lot of his teachings, especially the thought that the arms are flung by the shoulders both back and through. Hence the saying "the arms are flung, not swung". This thought produces a swing somewhat like Jason Dufner.
I took lessons with Bill Abrahams as he teaches Ballards method...completely changed my stroke and game....i feel i can really play now...i owe him a debt of gratitude!
Whetedge has it spot on, when you first try it is so easy to chicken out halfway through the swing and either make a big arc or come over the top but I urge anyone struggling with their game watch this instruction and then commit to it no matter what the results. Then keep re visiting it untill you get it right, it is so simple and the consistancy of ball flight is worth it. Give a club to a non golfer and ask them to make a back swing , it will always be narrow so that tells me it is a natural move, I know some people will say you will never hit a ball 350yds and that Rory doesn't swing like this but you will find the slot on the way down and you will more than likely become more consistant.
Like any good pro he wants to create an exaggerated feeling so you will improve. Yes, when all parts of the swing are in sync you will hit the ball more consistently. However, Hogan never kept that kind of exaggerated and confining connection in his golf swing. Just look at this videos. Yes, he kept his elbows close together and closer to the body than most but his arms did separate from his body. Otherwise he would've never had any power. To me Ballard's advice is really about keeping all the moving parts in your golf swing in concert with one another. Take it any further than that and it just confines and stifles your swing.
Sounds great. Would like to have seen him actually hit a ball with this approach. Yet he is changing his radius by bending or hinging his left hand correct?
I tried Jimmy's "Connection" for years and it is ok but it really did not engrained the "feeling" of a connected golf swing. The V-harness will aid to get a connected swing. To me, the feeling of where the club is through out the golf swing is the connected swing. I showed a lad on how to connect his body to the golf club..... and the golf coach asked him ... how did he do it to have a remarkable improvement. To me, Louie Oosthaizen has a reliable-money making connected golf swing....tnx...
We are told here Hogan started his swing with weight to the right then to the left. I remember that Hogan said always START your backswing by TURNING your right hip, do not sway to the right.
Great fundamental for I PC on plane takeaway. Limiting hip turn to inside of thighs improves down swing and rotational weight transfer. (No excessive slide)
golfers who love their back should listen to this,follow or not your choice,but it sure does work in terms of accuracy and consistantcy,distance wise Rocco mediate still hits 285 yards,which is pga tour average distance.
There is no massive lateral movement as you are always on the inside of the right leg with resistance to the coil.Jimmy's advice is golden....connection,the left arm radius and maintaining spine angle are cornerstones of accurate striking.
the difference between throwing a sack of spuds and swinging a golf club is that the club moves to the left side (target side) of the hands in the second half of the backswing, and transferring the weight onto the right side can only hinder this movement. i do agree that a connected swing is correct but i do think that the connection should be acausal and not causal. we tend to think that we have to prevent the upper part of the right arm from coming into contact with the body in the backswing. but, when the upper part of the right arm is allowed to hub against the body it helps the body to turn and the right elbow to point down at the top of the backswing. it helps if the right arm stays passive in the first part of the backswing, until the left side of the forearm is facing straight in front of you.
@jayc650 Con well, by then you will have improved so much, by incorporating the the method of the experts into your game, that you won't need to try? but, my golf videos have received many likes; so, i can only assume that they have helped someone. and, you tube is not just for people who use it to promote their product. it is there for people to have their say. so you say what you have say, or what the experts tell you to say, and i will say what i have to say about the golf swing.
@jayc650 Con I didn't say that a player should try to hub their right arm against their body. I said swing connectivity should be acausal, and that we shouldn't try to prevent the right arm from coming into contact with the body. When the right arm folds it may come into contact with the body, and this can help the body to turn. But, there is no conscious effort to hub either arms against the body. I do realise that it is necessary to prevent the left arm from disconnecting and the forearm from rolling over; but, it is possible to rotate the arm in the takeaway, whilst keeping the club square in relation to the swing arc, by allowing the left shoulder joint to rotate in its socket. In the waggle, the digiti minimi, of the left hand, presses to the left when we waggle the club back. We then press in with the flexor retinaculum, of the left hand, to return the club to the ball. The digiti minimi resists against the flexor retinaclum as it returns the club to the ball. The digiti minimi and the flexor retinaculum are anatomically connected, and when the flexor retinaculum resists against the digiti minimi they work as antagonistic opposites. Pressure in the digiti minimi helps to keep the left arm connected with the left side throughout the swing. It, also pushes the lower part of the right arm back in the takeaway. The flexor retinaculum pulls on the left side of the the right forearm and this flexes the right arm. The function of both the flexor retinaculum and digiti minimi extends the left shoulder joint in its socket.
@jayc650 Con well, it's how i swing in the new you tube videos i have made. not as fluid as i would like it to be, but it certainly doesn't look like i'm swinging a bag of spuds. i've worked the tattie fields and i can promise you there is no comparison between the two. look forwards to seeing a video of your swing and you demonstrating your expertise.
in a connected golf swing... its the feeling between the body and the club... the hands are only an attachment... it is how a golfer controls the club with his body.
If you can have the feeling of a connected golf swing... in a few golf swings .... the connection is felt..... you don't need to tuck in a glove under the armpit or even put a harness.. its the "feeling" of the connection of the body to the club... tnx
Or (per Leadbetter) that there is no "independent" movement of the arms and hands during the swing. It all depends (ironically) on what you mean by "independent," but of _course_ the arms aren't locked into an identical and unchanging relationship to the other parts of the body.
Hogan did tie his arms close to the body. However Nicklaus always concentrated on having as wide an arc as possible. Nicklaus did not keep his arms tied to his body. More then one way to do it.
In all of Jimmy's presentations he seems to really set up with his right foot way off the line, closed stance. Is this part of the program? Rocco sets up square, Curtis was a bit open, Hal square set up. Or is Jimmy just overly presenting?
Theres a lot of great golf wisdom in this But in my journey to better golf it will lead to swaying unless you combine it with a method that stresses pressure into the ground not lateral weight shift! such as Pete Cowen .You have got to realise the difference between weight shift and weight pressure into the ground.Ballard seems to have spent a lifetime and not grasped it!
Being connect is nice ideas but HOW it is done let range of motion happen. The swing mechanics is one thing HOW to form, create the mechanics is the other half of the idea. Ben Hogan had it all for showed in in his Book the Five lessons where he had two drawing showing what HE felt in his swing. Five lesson is best swing mechanic book for it has clues to the swing where words show the swing but in the Drawing words for that time period did not exist. With out understanding the 4 components shown in those two drawing a golfer cannot realizes one component he needs to work on to enhance his swing. I say how all 4 component are formed and linked together determines the out come of very swing that is true swing mechanics for each club. Each club has its own swing Mechanics. There is what you see then there is internal forces part of the golf swing like shown in the form of head generator from Ben Hogan for do not engage your head generator will it affects your swing. Nice ideas but very incomplete to what HIS book details for being a small book with big swing mechanics forms.
Have seen how flat the great players were like hogan, watch their slow drill and they look like how you said how can you hit a ball from there, very connected bu flat to,o. Just saying is all. Good video!,
hogan is flat because he rotates his left forearm, but he is still connected.. jimmy's teaching is to not rotate your left forearm, hence, when you cock your wrist it goes upright.. that's all imo..
He takes all the BS theory out of the swing and keeps it simple. If you don't understand what he teaches, then you will never understand golf and will continue to fiddle around with your swing all of your life.
I do think the guy is a genius, but I wish we could get rid of statements (from him and others) that are obviously not true. Like, for instance, the idea that the relationship between the club (butt and head) and the spine doesn't change during the backswing. Of course it does.
All yak and no action. Why not demonstrate your thoughts and hit a few balls? On the downswing you don’t have th ‘y’ connection because you have to have a lag with the cocked wrists ready to smack the hell out the ball so what difference does it make on the up swing. A load of bollocks in my opinion. If you look at the tour players, they all have different swing actions and positions and it works for them because we are all built different and can’t all be robots.
Really? Swing with a "half a left arm". I hope Jimmy Ballard isn't wondering why tour players aren't calling him for swing advice. The modern golf swing is actually all about "separation", not this fallacy of "connection".
Curtis Strange was his student while winning two consecutive US Open. All Ballards pros eventually leave him. He is a difficult, intense person. But they leave AFTER peaking. Hal Sutton gives Ballard credit for his comeback.
This is a VERY hard principle to learn, especially for someone who has swung differently for a long time, because the feel is totally different. Once learned though, the results are simply astounding. When I do manage to fight off the old ingrained demons and keep the arms connected, I simply rotate the arm pits, feeling absolutely no movement of the flesh there. The arc feels so short, but the ball pops off the club face with a power I never knew before. Once learned, there is zero timing of anything to worry about. This is true swinging of the club with core power. How I wish I had this knowledge in my youth.
Simply the best communicator of explaining the golf swing, no BS or far out "theories".
I have always put my complete faith in Jimmy's teaching and explanations.
Probably the best golf video I watched on YoutTube to date!
I spent 5 days with Jimmy in the early 80's in Pell City AL. Hit 500 balls a day and had blisters on both hands! Hit a 6 iron with the hight of an 8 iron and the distance of a 5 iron. First two rounds back at my club I shot 64, 64 and thought I had conqured golf. I learned that the technique is good , but hitting 500 balls a day will help more. I still today use concepts that Jimmy gave me.
Jim Ballard was the greatest person ever to come into my golf swing. Pain free golf...
How did his instruction lead to pain-free golf? Thanks! 🙂
is this man the best teacher ever...surely
well explained Rocco, great input! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I took lessons from Jimmy in the mid 1980s. He had a lot of good ideas, but most players took his ideas and converted them into their swings in their own way. I remember a lot of his teachings, especially the thought that the arms are flung by the shoulders both back and through. Hence the saying "the arms are flung, not swung". This thought produces a swing somewhat like Jason Dufner.
I took lessons with Bill Abrahams as he teaches Ballards method...completely changed my stroke and game....i feel i can really play now...i owe him a debt of gratitude!
Best golf you ever played.
Where does Bill Abraham's teach ?
Always loved Jimmy Ballard instruction. Sort of similar to wild Bill Mehlhorn.
Wild Bill taught Byrd
What were the similarities that the two players/teachers shared? Thanks! 🙂
as of 2010 jimmy still doin it. one of my first books from early 80's and i still have it, also had his tape but that's gone.
same!
I have a bunch of Jimmy Ballad videos uploaded on my youtube account: ruclips.net/p/PLx4dzi0IxsscZDOPHvSaNCwYRYMPNzK-P
1st time I've not heard Rocco not talk on&on; now I know where he learned this trait.
Whetedge has it spot on, when you first try it is so easy to chicken out halfway through the swing and either make a big arc or come over the top but I urge anyone struggling with their game watch this instruction and then commit to it no matter what the results. Then keep re visiting it untill you get it right, it is so simple and the consistancy of ball flight is worth it. Give a club to a non golfer and ask them to make a back swing , it will always be narrow so that tells me it is a natural move, I know some people will say you will never hit a ball 350yds and that Rory doesn't swing like this but you will find the slot on the way down and you will more than likely become more consistant.
Like any good pro he wants to create an exaggerated feeling so you will improve. Yes, when all parts of the swing are in sync you will hit the ball more consistently. However, Hogan never kept that kind of exaggerated and confining connection in his golf swing. Just look at this videos. Yes, he kept his elbows close together and closer to the body than most but his arms did separate from his body. Otherwise he would've never had any power. To me Ballard's advice is really about keeping all the moving parts in your golf swing in concert with one another. Take it any further than that and it just confines and stifles your swing.
Good job Rocco!
Rocco had some amazing insight here
Sounds great. Would like to have seen him actually hit a ball with this approach. Yet he is changing his radius by bending or hinging his left hand correct?
I tried Jimmy's "Connection" for years and it is ok but it really did not engrained the "feeling" of a connected golf swing. The V-harness will aid to get a connected swing. To me, the feeling of where the club is through out the golf swing is the connected swing. I showed a lad on how to connect his body to the golf club..... and the golf coach asked him ... how did he do it to have a remarkable improvement. To me, Louie Oosthaizen has a reliable-money making connected golf swing....tnx...
This swing style changed my game! I now feel like a real player.
So simple a dummy can do this. Thanks!!!
So simple even a Caveman can do it LOL
We are told here Hogan started his swing with weight to the right then to the left. I remember that Hogan said always START your backswing by TURNING your right hip, do not sway to the right.
E.G Flores is spot on this method works simple and effective
he is the best for returning the club to the ball in the correct sequence without getting the hands involved at the wrong time.
Great fundamental for I PC on plane takeaway. Limiting hip turn to inside of thighs improves down swing and rotational weight transfer. (No excessive slide)
golfers who love their back should listen to this,follow or not your choice,but it sure does work in terms of accuracy and consistantcy,distance wise Rocco mediate still hits 285 yards,which is pga tour average distance.
Great Jimmy Ballard.
There is no massive lateral movement as you are always on the inside of the right leg with resistance to the coil.Jimmy's advice is golden....connection,the left arm radius and maintaining spine angle are cornerstones of accurate striking.
the difference between throwing a sack of spuds and swinging a golf club is that the club moves to the left side (target side) of the hands in the second half of the backswing, and transferring the weight onto the right side can only hinder this movement. i do agree that a connected swing is correct but i do think that the connection should be acausal and not causal. we tend to think that we have to prevent the upper part of the right arm from coming into contact with the body in the backswing. but, when the upper part of the right arm is allowed to hub against the body it helps the body to turn and the right elbow to point down at the top of the backswing. it helps if the right arm stays passive in the first part of the backswing, until the left side of the forearm is facing straight in front of you.
@jayc650 Con well, by then you will have improved so much, by incorporating the the method of the experts into your game, that you won't need to try? but, my golf videos have received many likes; so, i can only assume that they have helped someone. and, you tube is not just for people who use it to promote their product. it is there for people to have their say. so you say what you have say, or what the experts tell you to say, and i will say what i have to say about the golf swing.
@jayc650 Con I didn't say that a player should try to hub their right arm against their body. I said swing connectivity should be acausal, and that we shouldn't try to prevent the right arm from coming into contact with the body. When the right arm folds it may come into contact with the body, and this can help the body to turn. But, there is no conscious effort to hub either arms against the body. I do realise that it is necessary to prevent the left arm from disconnecting and the forearm from rolling over; but, it is possible to rotate the arm in the takeaway, whilst keeping the club square in relation to the swing arc, by allowing the left shoulder joint to rotate in its socket. In the waggle, the digiti minimi, of the left hand, presses to the left when we waggle the club back. We then press in with the flexor retinaculum, of the left hand, to return the club to the ball. The digiti minimi resists against the flexor retinaclum as it returns the club to the ball. The digiti minimi and the flexor retinaculum are anatomically connected, and when the flexor retinaculum resists against the digiti minimi they work as antagonistic opposites. Pressure in the digiti minimi helps to keep the left arm connected with the left side throughout the swing. It, also pushes the lower part of the right arm back in the takeaway. The flexor retinaculum pulls on the left side of the the right forearm and this flexes the right arm. The function of both the flexor retinaculum and digiti minimi extends the left shoulder joint in its socket.
@jayc650 Con well, it's how i swing in the new you tube videos i have made. not as fluid as i would like it to be, but it certainly doesn't look like i'm swinging a bag of spuds. i've worked the tattie fields and i can promise you there is no comparison between the two. look forwards to seeing a video of your swing and you demonstrating your expertise.
This is awesome. Thanks !
Easy peasy Jimmy. 💝🤷♂️
great advice
Rocco just loves a comfy pair of pants.
in a connected golf swing... its the feeling between the body and the club... the hands are only an attachment... it is how a golfer controls the club with his body.
Jimmy = Golf's Kenny Rogers
I tried the backhanded drill. Really REALLY works. Sorry honey
If you can have the feeling of a connected golf swing... in a few golf swings .... the connection is felt..... you don't need to tuck in a glove under the armpit or even put a harness.. its the "feeling" of the connection of the body to the club... tnx
So basically there is no wrist hinge in this swing?
Or (per Leadbetter) that there is no "independent" movement of the arms and hands during the swing. It all depends (ironically) on what you mean by "independent," but of _course_ the arms aren't locked into an identical and unchanging relationship to the other parts of the body.
Rocco's part was great
The Kenny Rogers of golf....sound advice from the Gambler.
Common let Rocco talk
Romband1919 lol this dude has taught so many major champions that’s why Rocco listens
Hogan did tie his arms close to the body. However Nicklaus always concentrated on having as wide an arc as possible. Nicklaus did not keep his arms tied to his body. More then one way to do it.
i think Rocco said waay to much here how rude,lol
That's so unlike Rocco. I think it was really a statue of Rocco...
Why Is Rocco There!?
You know Rocco don't care about how Hogan hit his ball, cause Rocco can hit a ball great consistently.
Poor Rocco!! Couldn't get a word in edgewise.
Rocco was a bit too chatty I thought.
I wish his mouth was a little slower...I would like to have heard from Rocco, great spirit...
Rocco was there for what purpose?
In all of Jimmy's presentations he seems to really set up with his right foot way off the line, closed stance. Is this part of the program? Rocco sets up square, Curtis was a bit open, Hal square set up. Or is Jimmy just overly presenting?
If I was to back hand someone I would snap my arm and wrist lol
Theres a lot of great golf wisdom in this But in my journey to better golf it will lead to swaying unless you combine it with a method that stresses pressure into the ground not lateral weight shift! such as Pete Cowen .You have got to realise the difference between weight shift and weight pressure into the ground.Ballard seems to have spent a lifetime and not grasped it!
Ask Curtis Strange Sandy Lyle Hal Sutton Rocco etc. Of course he gets it because they got it.
00:50 ish “Elbows connected to his stomach, not shoulders”
These instructors always get Hogan's weight shift wrong. He never drifted his hips laterally.
Being connect is nice ideas but HOW it is done let range of motion happen. The swing mechanics is one thing HOW to form, create the mechanics is the other half of the idea. Ben Hogan had it all for showed in in his Book the Five lessons where he had two drawing showing what HE felt in his swing. Five lesson is best swing mechanic book for it has clues to the swing where words show the swing but in the Drawing words for that time period did not exist. With out understanding the 4 components shown in those two drawing a golfer cannot realizes one component he needs to work on to enhance his swing. I say how all 4 component are formed and linked together determines the out come of very swing that is true swing mechanics for each club. Each club has its own swing Mechanics. There is what you see then there is internal forces part of the golf swing like shown in the form of head generator from Ben Hogan for do not engage your head generator will it affects your swing. Nice ideas but very incomplete to what HIS book details for being a small book with big swing mechanics forms.
Have seen how flat the great players were like hogan, watch their slow drill and they look like how you said how can you hit a ball from there, very connected bu flat to,o. Just saying is all. Good video!,
hogan is flat because he rotates his left forearm, but he is still connected.. jimmy's teaching is to not rotate your left forearm, hence, when you cock your wrist it goes upright.. that's all imo..
Why was Rocco there
Dude, Breathe
Why is Rocco there?
moral support.
He takes all the BS theory out of the swing and keeps it simple. If you don't understand what he teaches, then you will never understand golf and will continue to fiddle around with your swing all of your life.
I do think the guy is a genius, but I wish we could get rid of statements (from him and others) that are obviously not true. Like, for instance, the idea that the relationship between the club (butt and head) and the spine doesn't change during the backswing. Of course it does.
....except you're not throwing a weight in the golf swing. 85% of your swing speed is due to your trailing arm straightening.
No that’s no true
I’d backhand Him to stun him into silence just long enough that he might actually breathe
Lmao
Breathe
Outdated teaching!!
Slow down man and take a breath, you're hyperventilating.
I wish Rocco would shut up and let Jimmy say a word !
Hall of fame teaching business........no need to take another lesson !!!
All yak and no action. Why not demonstrate your thoughts and hit a few balls? On the downswing you don’t have th ‘y’ connection because you have to have a lag with the cocked wrists ready to smack the hell out the ball so what difference does it make on the up swing. A load of bollocks in my opinion. If you look at the tour players, they all have different swing actions and positions and it works for them because we are all built different and can’t all be robots.
This guy teaches a sway. Good luck with this advice.
There is no way you can sway if you keep the weight on the inside of the right foot as Ballard and Mediate do.
How blind was he
There’s nothing hogan about this swing. Stop using his name to justify a completely different swing
sypen1 ... Ballard worked for Sam Byrd who gave advice on the swing to Ben Hogan!
Majority of tour players do not swing like this!
they used to
Man, I'm tired of searching in golf. Some people have it, and some people don't. There is so much bullshit teaching out there.
Really? Swing with a "half a left arm". I hope Jimmy Ballard isn't wondering why tour players aren't calling him for swing advice. The modern golf swing is actually all about "separation", not this fallacy of "connection".
He's taught tour players who have won all 4 majors and multiple PGA Tour events…think he knows a thing or two about how to swing a golf club.
exactly. a lot of you tube tour pros on here that probably can't break 90.
Curtis Strange was his student while winning two consecutive US Open. All Ballards pros eventually leave him. He is a difficult, intense person. But they leave AFTER peaking. Hal Sutton gives Ballard credit for his comeback.