Backspin

[J5MBF]

Can you achieve it? And mean it to happen?

If so, how? Is it the club, the ball, the way you hit it? I don't see it as a must learn for me, just interested thats all.

 

[bobmac]

You need good speed, clean grooves, clean contact, downward angle of attack helps and a good quality ball

 

[Mattyboy]

Generally yes I can acheive it, although its not something I strive for. We all know the risks of a shot thats too spinney. It will be shorter and can go seriously off line.

To answer the question, its a combination of all three, and the receptiveness of the green. If the green is hard theres no chance to start with. The ball has to be considered. I.e. a Pro V1 will spin more than a Pinnacle!

The club head has to be clean, grooves should be sharp.

Finally, the strike has to be clean with no grass etc getting trapped in the grooves.

 

[Monty_Brown]

There is backspin on all your shots, unless you top it. I think what you are talking about is getting the ball to spin backwards when it lands... the chances of which are improved by all the factors Bob outlined.

Only factor I would add is decent softish greens, rather than the rock hard things at my club

 

[Oddsocks]

so blading/shanking my 58* from the cabbage at 50 yards wont cut it.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I don't generate loads of backspin. I put this down to not hitting the ball hard enough and not hitting down on the ball enough but I can be certain those are the reasons.

 

[Jonny]

Backspin is over-rated for most players as they come up short on most of their approach shots anyway.

Don't worry about it and just focus on getting up to the flag instead.

 

[fundy]

Spend most of the time with the opposite problem of too much spin. Give me a shot that stops on the spot it lands everytime, dont get the obsession with backspin at all

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

I only ever seem to get serious backspin when I am short of the pin, I did however play an 8 iron tee shot over the stick and it spun back about 2 feet into the hole, unforgettable !!!!! My best hole in one to date.

 

[One Planer]

Could it be argued that backspin is just a by-product of pure/good ball striking?

 

[DaveM]

I dont tend to get much if any backspin. As I sweep the ball more than hit down on it. Can get it to stop on the second bounce more often than not though

 

[NWJocko]

I tend to hit a lot of 3/4 (possibly more, "smooth") shots into greens where possible which is something that clicked in my pea brain this year as giving me more control.

This means I don't generate loads of spin which I'm quite happy about really as you have a better idea of where the ball is actually going to end up.

Question for those who do: Do you play for the spin? i.e. aim at a spot 5/10 yards behind the flag to account for it? Just out of interest.

 

[wull]

you can create a lot of backspin depending on a few factors.

a good strike,connecting with the ball first then turf and with a steeper angle of attack.

if the wedge has good grooves,you can still get backspin with poor grooves but it will be easier with a good condition wedge as it will create much more backspin.

how hard you hit it,if it's a full shot or if you have quick hands and create a lot of club speed.

a big factor i find is what are the greens like?this makes a difference aswell,i play between 2 courses and the differenc eis night and day.i can hit the same shot on both and the difference in spin i get can be significant.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I agree that formost amateurs backspin actually hurts you as they are rarely up to the flag and so the spin just puts them further away. I tend to get spin on my wedges but then I spend a lot of time in winter working on throwing my shots all the way to the flag and trusting the wet greens to hold it there.

I think Bob summed up the factors pretty well but my advice for a lot of players would be to focus on making a good strike especially at this time of year and not get hung up about trying to generate spin

 

[richart]

Our greens are mainly raised and tend to slope more severely at the front, then level off, and then drop off the back. Hence why if you come up short you appear to get more backspin and the ball often rolls back off the green. If you land nearer the back of the green you are landing on the flat or even a downslope and harder to get backspin. Might explain why some are getting more backspin when they come up short of the flag ?

 

[keef]

I had it once - no idea how or why!

 

[znuffzz]

i would be much much more interested in learning to hit a consistent pitch shot that checks dead rather than spinbacks