How 2 generate Backspin.

[vkurup]

My golf swing can be classified as a 'sweeper' rather than a digger.. I hardly ever take a divot and am a greenkeepers delight. The question is can you generate backswing with a sweeper action? As most of our greens are rock hard, I see my ball run past the flag. Hence my approach shots are rarely aggressive - I aim to land the ball about 10ft or so below the flag and expect it to come to stop above it. This is alright if I am using a longer club, but is equally true for wedge - though I am likely to finish under the flag with a wedge.

Is it possible to generate backspin?

 

[stevelev]

https://youtu.be/HttXJN0u5E8

 

[drdel]

I you played on courses treated as the PGA and European tour visit you'd be prepared to take a divot with little risk to your wrists - you'd then generate the sort of backspin you see on the TV.

Most of us play in the real world on normal courses and are conscious of the ground conditions before going down into the back of the ball hard.

 

[Smiffy]

I was chatting to Ian Woosnam about this exact subject when he opened a driving range down this way some years ago.
I explained that I could sometimes generate backspin and "stop" the ball with a wedge, maybe a 9 iron if I caught it properly, but commented that the pro's can manage to do it, even with a 4 iron.
He asked me how far I usually hit my 4 iron, and when I told him "about 170 yards" he replied "Why do you want to stop it?"

 

[Foxholer]

I was chatting to Ian Woosnam about this exact subject when he opened a driving range down this way some years ago.
I explained that I could sometimes generate backspin and "stop" the ball with a wedge, maybe a 9 iron if I caught it properly, but commented that the pro's can manage to do it, even with a 4 iron.
He asked me how far I usually hit my 4 iron, and when I told him "about 170 yards" he replied "Why do you want to stop it?"

That one goes with the one about the Pro showing the student how best to swing a 1-iron!!

 

[Robobum]

Play a shot with the intention of landing it on the front of the green and release it back to the pin........guaranteed to spin then!

 

[Foxholer]

Play a shot with the intention of landing it on the front of the green and release it back to the pin........guaranteed to spin then!

Yep! I get nice 'drop and stop' backspin when I'm short! But never the same amount when I'm pin-high or long!

 

[srixon 1]

If you watch the top pro's in super slow motion you will see that their divot usually happens in front of where the ball was on the ground. For the majority of us hackers our divots usually start at the place where the back of the ball was. That is the difference, they hit the ball just before the bottom of the swing arc, whereas we generally make contact at the very bottom of the swing arc.

To practice hitting down on the ball put an old broken tee about a half inch in front of the ball and make sure that you hit the tee after you have hit the ball. This should encourage a more downward hit on the ball.

You can also try moving the ball back in your stance by a quarter/half a ball width.

 

[garyinderry]

When's the greens are baked hard forget about it. try again in Sept or November.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

As an 18 HC the last you should be worrying about is creating backspin - being honest about it - it's really only the pro's and top Am's that are able to create consistent backspin that they can control - it is done by have a clean consistent strike on the ball

Think your main aim should be dropping it short and letting it role our

 

[Craigg]

Four things:
Decent greens.
Good ball.
Decent wedges/grooves.
GOOD TECHNIQUE

 

[duncan mackie]

My golf swing can be classified as a 'sweeper' rather than a digger.. I hardly ever take a divot and am a greenkeepers delight. The question is can you generate backswing with a sweeper action? As most of our greens are rock hard, I see my ball run past the flag. Hence my approach shots are rarely aggressive - I aim to land the ball about 10ft or so below the flag and expect it to come to stop above it. This is alright if I am using a longer club, but is equally true for wedge - though I am likely to finish under the flag with a wedge.

Is it possible to generate backspin?

The simple answer to your question is a yes.

Angle of attack is a red herring - spin loft is a function of more that just AOA so you can generate it fine; whether you do or not will depend on a clean strike with good club head speed. Think of the difference between sweeping a 52 and digging an 9 iron purely in the context of spin.

Having put a lot of spin on the shot what happens when it lands will depend on the nature of the greens surface - tight with a very little give and fast will both enable the ball to grip on the surface and for the spin to equate to movement (if that's the objective). By the time they get to 'soft' most of the spin energy gets absorbed on impact and they normally just jump/pop back out a little.

 

[Region3]

Most of us play in the real world on normal courses and are conscious of the ground conditions before going down into the back of the ball hard.

Really? I often take huge divots and have twig-like wrists, and I can honestly say I've never hurt them playing a shot or even thought about the possibility of it.

 

[Crow]

I thought that this was going to be a thread about how two Pros generate backspin.

I now realise that you swing with the kids.

 

[Khamelion]

Play a shot with the intention of landing it on the front of the green and release it back to the pin........guaranteed to spin then!

Yep! I get nice 'drop and stop' backspin when I'm short! But never the same amount when I'm pin-high or long!

I've come to the conclusion there's an invisible dome over the cup, round about 4 - 6 feet in diameter. Anything just long of the pin requiring backspin, hits the dome and the ball runs on and way past, anything short requiring the ball to run on, hits the dome and the ball spins back away from the hole. Same effect if you're left or right, anything within that 4- 6 feet diameter causes the ball to move away from the hole.

Damn you dome.

 

[vkurup]

I've come to the conclusion there's an invisible dome over the cup, round about 4 - 6 feet in diameter. Anything just long of the pin requiring backspin, hits the dome and the ball runs on and way past, anything short requiring the ball to run on, hits the dome and the ball spins back away from the hole. Same effect if you're left or right, anything within that 4- 6 feet diameter causes the ball to move away from the hole.

Damn you dome.

I think that is a very good explaination..

 

[garyinderry]

Really? I often take huge divots and have twig-like wrists, and I can honestly say I've never hurt them playing a shot or even thought about the possibility of it.

I can take bubba divots any time of the year. girly wrists here too.