I've been asked many times about Jimmy Ballard's methods and how it played a roll in my career. This will take some time for me to explain.. :-) First, let me say that Jimmy came along when something different was needed.

"Use your right side" he said. My college coach wanted to take me to see JB so my coach could see what JB thought about my swing but also to learn what JB was saying for his students. JB taught me to load the right side with "coil" and get on top of the ball in the downswing.

Teachers back in those days didn't have the luxury of having data (radars, force plates, 3D, great cameras) to teach with at the time. They had poor cameras and a bunch of he said/she said about what the greats like Hogan/Snead/Nelson 'felt like' they did.

Jimmy taught with passion and conviction and helped many people, including me. He did the best he could with me and I took from him what I could apply and use under pressure. As a good player, I was always looking for the secret, which I guess we could call 'perfection.'

The SECRET, or PERFECTION doesn't exist, it may last for a round, a tournament, or even a couple of seasons (Tiger's run in the early 2000's) but it will always be fleeting. Teaching has evolved many times over. Swings are much better now as a whole than ever before.

We have technology to thank. We don't have to 'guess' as much. Because of teaching, I can see all of this clearly now, but I couldn't as a player. Not long ago, I said to my 88 year old dad, "I wish I had all of this stuff when I was young and getting serious about golf.'

He said, "You did Hal. You had the best that was available to you at the time." There is genius in that statement. I said earlier that gratitude and appreciation should rule the world and those that come before us did the best they could with what they had available to them.

Thinking as a teacher, instead of a player, my goal now is to use everything available to help our students not only improve but sustain. With the technology we have today, we have the luxury of knowing what we are doing when we are at our best, so we can find it when we aren't.