Customer Reviews

How to Perfect Your Golf Swing

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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.

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.

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.

As a long time duffer and avid reader I've probably read 100 different golf books...the golfing machine, hogan's five lessons, power golf, Greg Norman, Tom Kite, etc. This simple book outshines them all. It wasn't until a friend told me about this book that I truely understood the golf swing. And yes, Virginia, it really is rather simple. Ballard ties the swing to other athletic movements such as hitting a baseball. He also stresses balance and using the "large muscles" to hit the ball. No more trying to manipulate the ball with a flick of your wrists...unless you're Cory Pavin it doesn't work. I found myself forgetting about my hands and forearms and guess what?...presto, a free release, solid contact, draw and good-bye slice. I went over the seven steps in one summer and shaved 10 strokes off my handicap. Now I'm not nervous when hitting off the first tee with onlookers waiting nearby. The best golf advice every? GET THIS BOOK, READ IT, LEARN IT, LOVE IT...I DID.

I'm an older golfer (70+) and I found this the best golf swing instruction book I've ever read. The illustrations were of players I remember idolizing when I was a younger player, the concepts logically defined & metaphores easy to remember when practising, the drills constructive & productive. His use of concepts like "connections" and "swinging from the ground up" have stayed with me throughout the season. In some instances he told me things about the act of swinging the club that had never occurred to me before. In short he must have been a great teacher as my golf instructor told me when he recommended it.

As a former caddie at Augusta National, as well as other golf clubs in the U.S., I have seen a lot of golf swings. And yet, even after seeing so many, I have to say that there are basically only two types: good and bad. You can see the athleticism in a good swing, and it is beautiful to watch. Ballard's book is graceful like that; he can tell you what gives a swing "grace." As he explains and I can vouch for, a good swing results from economy of movement. That is why the book is so powerful: it focuses on a few keys to the swing. This reductionism has a psychological benefit as well: if you are not thinking about so many different ways in which the swing can go wrong, it's a lot easier to get it right. Not only that, but the book's style is equally as spare-but-powerfully-athletic as what Ballard has to say. Aside from the specifics of what he teaches, that is a rare thing to see in a golf book. Bob Jones might be impressed.

JIM TEACHES YOU THE TRUE WAY TO SWING A GOLF CLUB, NOT A PULLING SWING.HE TEACHES YOU TO SQUARE UP THE CLUB USING YOUR LEGS AND BODY,NOT YOUR HANDS.HIS METHOD REALLY WORKS. I USE TO PUSH MY SHOTS TO THE RIGHT AND NEVER FOUND THE CAUSE,BUT JIM EXPLAINED EXACTLY WHY IT HAPPINED. NOW I'M CURED I USED TO BE A 13 HANDICAP NOW I'M A 4 THANK YOU JIMMY

Until I read this book, I did not understand the difference between small muscle and large muscle swings. I had started reading small muscle books, but they made no sense to me and I could not figure out why. (My natural swing it turns out is large muscle.) This book helped me figure out what I am doing when I am striking the ball well. (Which will hopefully be more frequently. :-) )

A nice "companion" book is "David Leadbetter's Faults and Fixes : How to Correct the 80 Most Common Problems in Golf", because I found his fixes fit nicely with the large muscle swing method.

From taking up golf at age 10 until I was 18 I was a hacker - and I so desperately wanted to be good that practiced every day on the range. I took lessons from many local Club pros but never improved. My swing felt ungainly and awkward and I found golf so frustrating and depressing. Then by accident I bought Jimmy's first video - 'The Jimmy Ballard Golf Connection'. Soon after I bought this book. I was completely amazed. He was telling me exactly the OPPOSITE of what I had always been taught by all these different pros, as well as many well meaning amateurs at my club. It was almost an evangelical experience. I felt as if a huge cloud had been lifted. I read and re-read his book and immediately began to practice, disgard all the classical 'sacred' swing rules I had ever learnt that had prevented me from making any natural, athletic moves and ignore all the teaching I had ever had. What a transformation. Within 12 months my handicap had reduced from 18 to 6 and then shortly after to 3. I was picked for my University first team for 3 straight years and won the vast majority of my matches. I hit the ball so consitently and straight whilst my opponents were in the trees/rough/undergrowth. Best of all, my golf swing FELT so perfect, natural, effortless, balanced and perectly repetitive. Everyone commented about it enviously. I had so many comments that my swing looked exactly like Curtis Strange. (He should have known better than to listen to any other teacher and fiddle with a perfect swing). Now several years later, my busy career has meant that I only played golf once last year. But I stood on the first tee having not hit a ball for many months and after I few practice swings, my swing felt perfect, natural and easy. Perfect contact and the ball went straight down the middle as if I had never been off the golf course. That is the proof that Jimmy Ballard is right and everyone else is wrong. Before if I didn't hit a ball for 2 days I just couldn't make contact.
What more can I say? This man has given me a perfect golf swing for a lifetime. He is God when it comes to golf. He may not be anywhere near as good at promoting himself and using the media as David Leadbeader (who stole a few of Jimmy's ideas when he came to prominence - and then added some flawed ideas of his own) but listen to no one else and read nothing else unless it's by Jimmy Ballard. This book is the Bible.

I've studied Jimmy's book and worked hard at understanding every small detail within. I've discovered the swing feel and swing keys I need to adhere to the swing principles outlined in the book. I purchased multiple copies on Ebay years ago before the prices went sky-high, and gave copies to friends who were serious about improving. I'm a 6-foot, 175 lb., 56 year old man, and I still hit my driver 270-280 yards on the fly. Honestly, I can't say enough about how good this book is if you follow it very carefully, and have the time and patience to work at it a few years until the moves are habitual. I only play about a dozen times a year now, but still maintain an eight handicap thanks, in a large part, to the big muscle swing.

Jimmy's key downswing starting move of kicking the right knee at the ball is the same swing secret that Ben Hogan revealed to Jody Vasquez, the kid who shagged practice balls for Hogan, and wrote a book about it - "Afternoons with Mr. Hogan". I've read most of the highly rated books on the golf swing and think this is the best!