Jerry West spent a week taking lessons from Jimmy Ballard at Pine Harbor in Pell City. When he got back to the LA Country Club, 23 of his next 24 rounds were in the 60s. The 24th was a 59 that set the course record.
In Part 2, Jimmy picks up right where we left off. Curtis Strange showed up with a back so bad he had to sit down after five shots. Jimmy put his swing side by side with Ben Hogan’s and told him the rebuild would take five years, because that’s how long it took Hogan. It did, and it was followed by a run that included back to back U.S. Opens. Jimmy also warned a young Jerry Pate that his swing would tear up his shoulder. Pate didn’t want to hear it while he was winning everything, but after the surgeries he called Jimmy for help.
Along the way there’s a dinner with Joe DiMaggio that ended with the best compliment of Jimmy’s career. There’s Arthur Ashe breaking 100 once golf was explained to him in tennis terms, and Peter Jacobsen skipping back surgery after one adjustment on the range. Coach Bryant tells Jimmy that fundamentals were all he ever taught. And Jimmy doesn’t hold back on where he thinks today’s speed chasing swings are headed for players’ backs.
If you missed Part 1, go back and start there.
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