Tony Jacklin has got me in a spin

[HiltonParker78]

Right, I now accept that a golf ball has no topspin when hit correctly from the tee, only backspin. So could someone help me unscramble a quote from Tony Jacklin in the current GM?
Talking about senior players (yes, I am one) and their inability to maintain distance, he says "Your 3-iron goes as far as a 5-iron and comes down with topspin, so you're fighting a losing battle all the way through".
At what stage of its flight does a ball revert from backspin to topspin, and if this a hindrance to how far it travels, how can I avoid it?

 

[guest100718]

Hes making stuff up... balls dont stop backspining...

 

[Jake O'Reilly]

Right, I now accept that a golf ball has no topspin when hit correctly from the tee, only backspin. So could someone help me unscramble a quote from Tony Jacklin in the current GM?
Talking about senior players (yes, I am one) and their inability to maintain distance, he says "Your 3-iron goes as far as a 5-iron and comes down with topspin, so you're fighting a losing battle all the way through".
At what stage of its flight does a ball revert from backspin to topspin, and if this a hindrance to how far it travels, how can I avoid it?

What he's trying to say is the senior player can't hit down on the ball as explosively, therefore their approach shots carry less backspin than before. In his mind, less backspin equates to topspin!

 

[Deleted member 15344]

No such thing as top spin on a golf ball when hit with a golf club bar a putter - the ball will spin on a axis

 

[guest100718]

No such thing as top spin on a golf ball when hit with a golf club bar a putter - the ball will spin on a axis

Hmmm watching some of the tee shots on a Sunday morning i'd beg to differ..........

 

[One Planer]

Hmmm watching some of the tee shots on a Sunday morning i'd beg to differ..........

I was just going to say something similar.

Hit a ball above the equator on the way up (We've all done it with a driver) and tell me that ball doesn't have any top spin

 

[ManinBlack]

No such thing as top spin on a golf ball when hit with a golf club bar a putter - the ball will spin on a axis

The putter has loft & also imparts backspin and the ball jumps & skids when hit. However this backspin soon dissipates and the ball begins to roll.

 

[ManinBlack]

I was just going to say something similar.

Hit a ball above the equator on the way up (We've all done it with a driver) and tell me that ball doesn't have any top spin

Hit a ball with topspin & it will hardly leave the ground. Yes, it's just possible but, without backspin, the ball won't get airborne.

 

[garyinderry]

what makes the ball spin? when tony yeboah hits a golf ball it neither has back spin or forward spin. IT JUST STAYS HIT! :rofl:

 

[CMAC]

on soft greens my 3 iron 'sucks back', sometimes it just sucks

 

[Foxholer]

Right, I now accept that a golf ball has no topspin when hit correctly from the tee, only backspin. So could someone help me unscramble a quote from Tony Jacklin in the current GM?
Talking about senior players (yes, I am one) and their inability to maintain distance, he says "Your 3-iron goes as far as a 5-iron and comes down with topspin, so you're fighting a losing battle all the way through".
At what stage of its flight does a ball revert from backspin to topspin, and if this a hindrance to how far it travels, how can I avoid it?

It doesn't - he's talking rubbish! But while his explanation is wrong, he's headed in the right direction. Because of the lower loft of the 3-iron, lower swing speeds just do not put enough (back)spin on the ball to keep it airborne long enough to be effective. It's backspin - and the interaction of ball and air caused by the dimples - that keeps a ball in the air, just as per an aircraft's wings create lift!

The only way a ball gets topspin is from either the player actually topping it - so it goes hardly any distance and acts like a topspin tennis shot - or from the reaction with the ground or green once it lands - 'roll-out' or 'suck back' just depending on the softness/hardness of the greens, angle of descent (again somewhat spin related) and the amount of residual spin (friction reduces it through flight) and momentum of the ball.

It all comes down to Physics!