Originally Posted by Yoda (Post 82888)

Glad to hear that, Jeff, but . . .

At least in the mid-'70s -- you were less than ten years old at the time :smile: -- Jimmy Ballard taught a sway.

Big time.

(If you want to see it done in person, look at Air's Post #14 above at 1:36-1:40.)

How do I know?

Because, for one full day, that's what he and one of his assistants taught me -- indeed, insisted that I do -- at his teaching range in Pell City, Alabama. I was not a "reverse-pivot-er" and have tons of pre-Jimmy photos to prove it.

The mantra: Move the weight and head to the right, then "fire" the right arm. "Nobody keeps their head still", right? The swing has "two pivot points", right? Move to the right and turn on the right leg. Then, move to the left and turn on the left leg. Let the head go with the motion. :rolleyes:

All s-o-o-o logical and all so wrong. And all filtered down from three-time 1930s PGA Tour Money Winner Bill Mehlhorn to baseball great Sam Byrd and, finally, through Jimmy's own prism.

"Many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip."

I never heard a word about "tracing an outside rail" or "springing" the clubshaft. Of course, the Left Side Chorus of the 1970s Golf Digest Schools left the door wide open for Jimmy's liberating message to "fire the right side". Mac McLendon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_McLendon and Jim Colbert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Colbert performed on Tour and the world came calling.

I was there.

At Jimmy's and his assistant's direction, I swayed my head off the ball and my weight laterally "into [my] right hip" on the backswing, and then I "fired" my right side, by the hour for six hours. I did all I could do to do exactly what they were asking me to do. I have never felt more out of control swinging a golf club.

At the lunch break, they took me into a little motel room at the complex. Over a sandwich and chips, they flashed some Hogan 1948 Power Golf slides on the wall. They all showed the "head back" and big back lean away from the target. (Thirty-five years later, I was to learn about parallax and how it can affect photographs).

"See?" said they.

"Yes." said I.

Then back into Hell's Kitchen.

I had arrived a halfway decent, low-handicap ball striker and had paid my $100+ bucks in 1970s-type money (regular gas was at 40 cents a gallon; do the math). I had no game: Club championship stuff (but in a top-flight club!) and a former USAF Tactical Air Command Championship team player. Still . . .

I left -- seven hours later -- shanking every shot. Unbeknownst to me, I had been transformed from a Centered Swinger to a Swaying Hitter (with none of the latter alignments supplied).

At day's end, I asked Jimmy simply, "Why am I shanking everything? And, why should I move to the right like this?'

To which he replied, in words indelibly imprinted on my memory:

"Don't pick it apart, son."

I had come to him, a now renowned "expert", and paid a lot of money (at least for a young insurance agent with a non-working wife and three kids) to "pick it apart".

But he couldn't do it. At least not to my satisfaction. Not then. Not now.

I'm okay with not being able to do some athletic something. (That said, I'm reasonably coordinated: I made straight A's in six quarters of Physical Education at Georgia Tech).

I'm not okay with not knowing what it is I can't do.

Insult to Injury Category:

Jimmy pointed to newly-minted LPGA Tour player Joan Joyce 'swaying and firing' beside us. Impressive! Joan Joyce, former softball fast-pitch champion, the fastest in the world. A magnificent, gifted athlete. She pitched 150 no-hit, no-run games and 50 perfect games.Further, her career batting average is .324. Somewhere along the way, she was inducted into the Connecticut's Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. :shock:

She never made it in pro golf.

But later, Hal Sutton and Curtis Strange did.

Fortunately, my continued journey led me to Homer Kelley.

Until tonight, courtesy of Google http://www.fausports.com/sports/w-go...ce_joan00.html, I had no idea what happened to Joan.

:salut:

Originally Posted by drewitgolf (Post 82923)

The advice to Flatten the Right Wrist is the worst instruction that could be given.

Originally Posted by david sandridge (Post 82933)

I was also taught the Ballard sway. Loading the right side and then firing it. Just as described above. My club pro played on the tour for 7 years and went to jimmy ballard for help. Ruined him. Became my club pro and then ruined many of the members including me. 7 years going down the wrong track. As Clampett said "I shouldn't have listened to other voices.

Originally Posted by KevCarter (Post 82938)

Rabbit ears, man, I can relate! I've followed some very bumpy roads, learning a lot of different stuff, it's all right HERE in front of us. I wish I had known Lynn 30 years ago, and wish I had closed my ears to others as soon as I finally met him.

Pivot, Homer maybe didn't have enough there to make everybody happy, but Lynn found and shared MacDonald and Boomer to us to take care of the rest. IMHO, the MacDonald drills, at first glance look very silly, but in reality, they are very powerful, and beautiful in it's simplicity. I can't believe how much more confident and effective I have become as a teacher trying to use YODA's model to the best of my ability and understanding...

Kevin

Originally Posted by innercityteacher (Post 82939)

Kevin, if TGM is the Coolaid mix, you are the pitcher of ice and water...

If TGM is the pitcher of brewed tea bags, you are the sun....


A BIG Fan....

That would make LBG the manufacturing company of cold lemonade and Yoda as president.

....I had a moment so I'd thought I'd chime in.

JerryG-chief of HR

Daryl.....Chief Research scientist

OB Left....VP of something great

Bambam and everyone else Vp's of Science and Tech...


Anyway.... I would rather be a door keeper in the kingdom...than a prince of Hades.


ICT