Backspin

[jdchelsea]

This is a question about wedge shots and backspin. I dont think I have ever got so much backspin on the ball that it has backed up. It might have landed on the green and moved back an inch or two but that is probably more down to soft greens and large pitch marks.

This isn't really an issue for me because stopping the ball within a foot of it's own pitch mark is easier for me to control but I've always wondered why mine don't spin back?

I feel I am a fairly good ball striker, have a moderate to fast swing speed, take divots with my wedges and use a Titleist Nxt Tour ball. Am I simply not striking the ball correctly to get enough spin or could it be the ball?

As i said I'm happy that it lands and stops but I'm just curious why it doesn't check back.

Cheers

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

This is a question about wedge shots and backspin. I dont think I have ever got so much backspin on the ball that it has backed up. It might have landed on the green and moved back an inch or two but that is probably more down to soft greens and large pitch marks.

This isn't really an issue for me because stopping the ball within a foot of it's own pitch mark is easier for me to control but I've always wondered why mine don't spin back?

I feel I am a fairly good ball striker, have a moderate to fast swing speed, take divots with my wedges and use a Titleist Nxt Tour ball. Am I simply not striking the ball correctly to get enough spin or could it be the ball?

As i said I'm happy that it lands and stops but I'm just curious why it doesn't check back.

Cheers

I'm totally with you on this. You reflect my feelings and experience as well. We MUST be getting backspin else the ball wouldn't go up in the air very much - maybe we are just like 95% of h'cap golfers and get pretty much the spin we should expect - we just ain't pros. But like you, though 'I ain't bovvered' I too do wonder when I hear other players go on about the amount of spin they get (maybe we should take such claims with a pinch of salt)

 

[chrisd]

i wouldn't expect to get any spin with a ball as hard as an NXT

 

[One Planer]

i wouldn't expect to get any spin with a ball as hard as an NXT

My reply was going to be along these lines.

I get some spin with wedges, especially on full shots, unsing a Pro V ball. Not a massive amount, but on firm greens I get 2 bounces at it checks up.

 

[Monty_Brown]

The nautre of the green you play on would have a big effect on the ability to get backspin. My club's greens are pretty firm and don't back up much. I play the odd game at Hanbury Manor and the ball does silly amounts, even with Ad333s etc. Don't worry too much about it.

 

[jdchelsea]

i wouldn't expect to get any spin with a ball as hard as an NXT

You may be on to something found this link online which may interest some

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-equipment/hot-list/2010-06/hotlist2010_golfballs_spinchart

 

[duncan mackie]

Am I simply not striking the ball correctly to get enough spin .........

Cheers

yes

the ball is a factor but this is the real issue (well it's not an issue but it's the cause)

played last night with a +2 on a particular par 3. I, and another 8 h'capper, hit 6 irons into the slight breeze against with ProV1s - both stopped almost immediately with a sort of land, hop forwards and stop type action. the +2 hit a wedge past the stick and backed it up 15ft (with the group in front he pitched on the fringe at the back and ended up in the middle of the green, and with the group behind he actually missed the green left (by 1' and it spun back about 8ft on the fringe!)

the ball will have an impact but it's very small compared to the impact - give these guys a pinacle and it will still be coming back 8ft on such full shots.

the green will also have an impact, although the tighter, faster the green the more it can be spun back - being soft doesn't really matter it's the grip the ball has on the grass and the speed of the green to translate the spin to distance rolled.

in one sense this is really easy to prove - just watch 20 golfers of average ability through a short par 3 -

1. how many are hitting premium 'tour' balls such as ProV1s etc?
2. how many will spin the ball back 10ft from where it lands?

the answer will be that there is little correlation between 1 and 2 with huge numbers hitting their ProVs into the green and it behaving exactly as your NXT Tour (which will 'dance' in the right hands)

 

[JustOne]

There's a lot of things to take into account, some greens will take a ball and some won't, you'll even see pros spinning a lot of shots on some greens whilst playing for a release on others. Since the change in grooves even the pros spin the ball back less than they used to be capable of. If you can get a ball to STOP then that should be more than sufficient.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

If you can get a ball to STOP then that should be more than sufficient.

And even better - if you can get it to stop where you want it to (but that's another story). As suspected I shall just have to try and improve my ball striking if I want to get more backspin - but I'm happy with that. I'd also hazard a guess that much of the stuff I hear from others (not low single figure or better players) about the marvellous backspin that they get is based upon the very occasional - and is - in truth - more to do with a lucky strike than anything else. But some of us do like to 'big up' our ability. Human nature.

 

[duncan mackie]

And even better - if you can get it to stop where you want it to (but that's another story). As suspected I shall just have to try and improve my ball striking if I want to get more backspin - but I'm happy with that. I'd also hazard a guess that much of the stuff I hear from others (not low single figure or better players) about the marvellous backspin that they get is based upon the very occasional - and is - in truth - more to do with a lucky strike than anything else. But some of us do like to 'big up' our ability. Human nature.

indeed

nirvanha moment for Scr golfer playing with tour pro came when the TP, fed up with the 'youngster' complaining he kept coming up short after landing next to the flag and spinning back 12-20 ft, suggested he decide if he wanted to play for spin and carry beyond the hole, or play to stop and carry to the hole - you choose he suggested!

Scr moved to +2 shortly afterwards

for the rest of us - reality bites

 

[Neddy]

And even better - if you can get it to stop where you want it to (but that's another story). As suspected I shall just have to try and improve my ball striking if I want to get more backspin - but I'm happy with that. I'd also hazard a guess that much of the stuff I hear from others (not low single figure or better players) about the marvellous backspin that they get is based upon the very occasional - and is - in truth - more to do with a lucky strike than anything else. But some of us do like to 'big up' our ability. Human nature.

Agree. No different to the bloke to averages 300 yards off the tee because he did it once hitting it 50 yards downhill with a 40mph tailwind.

My first thought when i read the OP was "Why would you want backspin". Half the time when i see the pros get backspin on tv they end up further from the target than they would have been without it.

 

[jdchelsea]

Agree. No different to the bloke to averages 300 yards off the tee because he did it once hitting it 50 yards downhill with a 40mph tailwind.

My first thought when i read the OP was "Why would you want backspin". Half the time when i see the pros get backspin on tv they end up further from the target than they would have been without it.

Did you read the op?!

 

[BoadieBroadus]

in my experience, the ball makes a massive difference. playing with nxt tours i wondered why i never got any spin as i had on occasions in the past, playing with a srixon z star or a pro v i found and the ball definitely behaves very differently on the green.

not that i can control it, but the softness of the premium balls definitely gave huge amounts more spin that the nxt tour

 

[Khamelion]

From what I was told, to get backspin, you need to compress the ball into the turf, so that it bites into the grooves and creates the spin.

Okay that will no doubt get the purists gnashing their teeth, so let me try to explain.

The pro who told me, basically said you need to take a divot and to do so the divot should be infront of the ball, not behind it, you take a divot behind the ball, you've hit it fat.

By taking a divot in front of the ball, you shot has come down on the ball, compressed it in to the turf and as you've continued through the ball has been squeezed between turf and club face, it's grabbed the grooves as its rolled up the club face and generated a load of spin.

The divot then appears to be in front of the ball.

If you hit the ball cleanly with little of no divot, or the divot starting behind the ball then you are relying on the club grooves to generate the spin.

I'm like most high handicappers where by I try to get backspin and just end up digging a small trench, where if I hit the ball clean the ball sometimes stops and sometimes it doesn't.

 

[GreiginFife]

From what I was told, to get backspin, you need to compress the ball into the turf, so that it bites into the grooves and creates the spin.

Okay that will no doubt get the purists gnashing their teeth, so let me try to explain.

The pro who told me, basically said you need to take a divot and to do so the divot should be infront of the ball, not behind it, you take a divot behind the ball, you've hit it fat.

By taking a divot in front of the ball, you shot has come down on the ball, compressed it in to the turf and as you've continued through the ball has been squeezed between turf and club face, it's grabbed the grooves as its rolled up the club face and generated a load of spin.

The divot then appears to be in front of the ball.

If you hit the ball cleanly with little of no divot, or the divot starting behind the ball then you are relying on the club grooves to generate the spin.

I'm like most high handicappers where by I try to get backspin and just end up digging a small trench, where if I hit the ball clean the ball sometimes stops and sometimes it doesn't.

Not necessarily to do with divots. My father in law is a pro, he plays some seniors tour events and also teaches across Europe. When he is home we have lots of bojnce games and I always end up amazed by something. Last time was a 40 yard approach with a 58° wedge which he just clipped off the top of the grass, 15ft past the hole and then loked on as it hopped once, bit and then spun back 12ft to leave him a tap in.
For these guys its knowing how to strike the ball not just ball and turf.
He wont use snything other than a pro v1x but I suppose when someone else is paying, wouldnt you?

 

[duncan mackie]

Not necessarily to do with divots. My father in law is a pro, he plays some seniors tour events and also teaches across Europe. When he is home we have lots of bojnce games and I always end up amazed by something. Last time was a 40 yard approach with a 58° wedge which he just clipped off the top of the grass, 15ft past the hole and then loked on as it hopped once, bit and then spun back 12ft to leave him a tap in.
For these guys its knowing how to strike the ball not just ball and turf.
He wont use snything other than a pro v1x but I suppose when someone else is paying, wouldnt you?

indeed - another thread with most of the myths getting in somewhere!

make it dry conditions and a tight fairway and groves won't make a whole lot of difference either...

 

[garyinderry]

works best when greens are soft and receptive. tried practicing this last week with my 54 wedge. full shots and releasing the club head fully. using pro v1's i got the ball to spin back up to four paces. even got one to spin into the hole and one spun back and hit the flag. its a serious buzz!

on the downside, since i dont know exactly how far my wedge will go and the fact i wont hit it perfect every time then its a bit useless to me in reality.

 

[Ethan]

Senior pro FILs apart, green design and conditions have a lot to do with it. When I play in the US, it is pretty common to get backspin but much less common in the UK, although this (so-called) summer has been better. A good clean strike on a suitable ball helps, of course.

But as Jack Nicklaus famously said when asked by a high handicapper how to get backspin "Why would YOU want to?". Most players need the ball to go forward more than back.