How to Perfect Your Golf Swing [Hardcover]

Jimmy Ballard (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition - Second Printing edition (January 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0914178385
• ISBN-13: 978-0914178385
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly the best ever, November 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Perfect Your Golf Swing: Using Connection and the Seven Common Denominators (A Golf Digest Book) (Paperback)

In my humble opinion based on reading perhaps 1,000 books on golf over the past 40+ years, this may be the single best golf instructional book ever written. It's short, it's clear, it's well-illustrated, and it's an approach to instruction that WORKS. As I recall, Ballard was selected as the "teacher of the decade" for the 1980's by Golf Magazine, and with good reason. His fundamental principle of "connection" is, as he says, not merely the key to golf but to any number of sports. He has identified the fundamental principle that distinguishes the great ball-strikers from the hacks and also-rans. Regardless of what they may SAY they do, or FEEL they do, Ballard has identified what the great ball-strikers really DO. I recently took some lessons at the Kapalua Golf Academy and came home thinking "That sounds just like what Jimmy Ballard was saying 20 years ago." I picked up a copy of this book and confirmed that it indeed was what Ballard was saying 20 years ago. You may need some professional guidance to confirm that you are grasping what Ballard is saying, but I'm convinced that what he is saying is pretty much the one overriding key to the golf swing. I'm astounded that this book is out of print because it deserves to live alongside of Hogan's Five Lessons and a handful of other indisputable classics.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Try this drill, February 27, 2002

By 

Craig Davis (Columbia, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Perfect Your Golf Swing (Hardcover)

If you want to test Ballard's theories, try the drill on
page 60: "Another way to get a feel for [connection] is to
hit some medium or short irons with a handkerchief under
your left shoulder. If you drop the handkerchief, you've
unplugged, or disconnected, allowing the arms to work
independently of the body." You may have seen Vijay Singh
hit practice shots with a headcover under his left arm
and wonder what he was doing. That's what he's doing.

I've played 40 years, including college golf, and have a
single digit handicap. I am 5'8", small framed, under 150
lbs. Without the big muscle approach, I'm toast. His
common misconceptions alone will help you.

This title should be put back in production. It would
eliminate a lot of human suffering.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Golf Book Ever!! By the Best Golf Instructor, October 16, 1999

By 

Dave Schlenker (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Perfect Your Golf Swing (Hardcover)

I've read many golf books and magazine articles but not until I read Ballard's Book, did I understand the golf swing. I now can strike the ball consistently rather than occasionally hit at it. This encouraged me to get lessons from him personally. Golf is too simple now. Just ask Jim Colbert and Hal Sutton. Two perfect examples of Ballard's swing.

To some, it may appear to be an unconventional swing but it produces incredible results. Don't let anyone touch your swing that isn't at least familiar with Ballard's teachings. I have learned in a short time to hit the ball straighter and longer, dropped from an 18 hncpd to a 10, have hit as many as 15 greens in a round and have dropped at least one club for each distance. Ballard's system is particularly good for the 'non athlete', the elderly or for new golfers and children just learning the game. Ballard's "Connection" is the key to consistently good golf. I hope for golf's sake that the publishers of this put it back into print. Obviously, either they are not golfers or have never wanted to improve their game.