Online Lesson: Mike Ballo PGA- Tightening Up an Excellent Player’s Swing

Mike, assistant pro at Westchester CC in New York, won the New York State Open in 2019, which tells you how good he is because that must be one of the most difficult state opens to win in the entire U.S.  He is good friends with John Lamendola, and since Mike struggled a bit with his ball striking in 2020, John recommended that he send me some swings to have a look.  I try to treat every player I see with the same intent, that is to simplify the body and club movement to create better conditions for solid and consistent contact.  In the video you will see how I use my usual lines to find some areas of Mike’s swing that I think could be better.  When I say “tightened up” as I do in the title of the video, I don’t mean to create more stress and restriction, but rather to make the swing more efficient by removing excess movement that once a good player realizes it’s happening it’s not that difficult to change.  For example, here I find Mike’s hips sliding to the right in the backswing and his right arm pulling behind him at the top of the swing.  I would call this action “loose”, and since Mike has not been at his best these are relatively basic items for him to fix, as would be his heel-oriented posture.  I’d like to see Mike simplify his motion by keeping his hips more in the face on box, and work on width at the top by keeping his upper right arm more in front of him by lessening the amount of pull back with his right shoulder.

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