Spinning the ball.

[R.J. MacReady]

It's practically a bucket list item to see me one day spin the ball on the green. Not that I'm ever really trying.
I have distance and aim to worry about and I'm happy to get just 1 right.

All that said, I caught a video that said something I want to confirm.

You open the club face to spin the ball so you have to aim left of the pin? or left of you target area of the green? I would love to see a photo of a wedge showing the angel of the groves in relation to where the pin or target area of the green is.

Because now i'm thinking my club face is way to closed on these approach shots.

 

[packerzrule]

No idea brother. I occasionally get some spin on my wedge shots but have no idea on how to replicate it

 

[Wazmankg]

Unless you top or blade the ball all of your shots have back spin. What are you trying to do ? Get it to do the moonwalk like the pros ? Opening the face is not how they do it. It's a result of making optimal contact, hitting the ball first and the ground 2nd with a sharp descending blow and usually results in a making a divot that begins in front of the ball. Using a high end soft cover ball helps too and keeping your grooves clean. But unless you're already a very good player (scratch to low single digits) there are probably better things to work on... like aim and distance as you've mentioned.

 

[Rex Racer]

It's practically a bucket list item to see me one day spin the ball on the green. Not that I'm ever really trying.
I have distance and aim to worry about and I'm happy to get just 1 right.

All that said, I caught a video that said something I want to confirm.

You open the club face to spin the ball so you have to aim left of the pin? or left of you target area of the green? I would love to see a photo of a wedge showing the angel of the groves in relation to where the pin or target area of the green is.

Because now i'm thinking my club face is way to closed on these approach shots.

Waz is correct. Spin is generated with a downward blow to the ball.

I look at it this way, if you hit the ball very high in the air with all your clubs (like a low handicap friend of mine) you are a good candidate to tweak your swing a bit to achieve the spin you seek. You already have a pretty steep swing and half the battle has been won.

If you have a fairly low ball flight (like me) with most or all of your clubs you likely have a rather flat swing, forget about it and work on your chipping and putting.

 

[gohusk]

I never really had a problem with that. Not that I pull the thing back like a cue ball like a scratch golver can but I usually stick all of my iron shots and pull them back a little from the ball mark. If you're striking the ball well then the spin should be there for you. Low compression balls help a lot. I don't buy pro v1's because there too expensive, but I'll occasionally get a set of refurbished ones and when you get a good one you can really hear it sizzle off the club face with a good strike. Ball literally hisses at you.

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

I've done it a few times, accidentally, of course.

I put the ball back in my stance and try to strike down on the ball. The problem for me is that I'm still usually short of the pin, and the backspin has put me further away from the cup. So, most times I'm just trying to get close to the pin and leave it at that, but occasionally I strike it just right.

Nothing cooler than seeing that ball change directions, though. Makes you feel like a big shot.

 

[SJ76]

It's practically a bucket list item to see me one day spin the ball on the green. Not that I'm ever really trying.
I have distance and aim to worry about and I'm happy to get just 1 right.

All that said, I caught a video that said something I want to confirm.

You open the club face to spin the ball so you have to aim left of the pin? or left of you target area of the green? I would love to see a photo of a wedge showing the angel of the groves in relation to where the pin or target area of the green is.

Because now i'm thinking my club face is way to closed on these approach shots.

Club face should always be square unless you're trying to hit a flop shot or something around the green, then when you open it up, you need to aim a bit left.

As far as spin..? it's one of those things that's hard to teach. Impact causes backspin. Hitting down through the ball.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Unless you top or blade the ball all of your shots have back spin. What are you trying to do ? Get it to do the moonwalk like the pros ? Opening the face is not how they do it. It's a result of making optimal contact, hitting the ball first and the ground 2nd with a sharp descending blow and usually results in a making a divot that begins in front of the ball. Using a high end soft cover ball helps too and keeping your grooves clean. But unless you're already a very good player (scratch to low single digits) there are probably better things to work on... like aim and distance as you've mentioned.

Yep...the two primary things are ball first contact and clubhead speed...my buddy can make Pinnacles spin back on full short iron shots...I play softer 3 pc balls and will get those to spin back...I play them for the short game spin though.

 

[Jack_John_Mark]

There is a lot of confusion for us amateurs on how ball striking in general works.

There are three main components that go into putting backwards spin on the ball. 1) What type of ball are you using? 2) How good are your grooves? Pros sharpen their grooves constantly. 3) are you compressing the ball or trying to pick it up with the club?

Even with dull grooves and a Top Flite golf ball you can still spin the ball some if you compress the golf ball. This is where the confusion comes in. The majority of golfers think that the club hits the ball straight on and the ball flys off the angle of the iron. What actually should happen is the iron should compress the ball into the ground and the ball then has no choice but to roll up the face of the club, catching the bottom 5 grooves or so, and then shooting off.

This is how the grooves really grab the cover of the ball and ultimately put spin on the ball. The hands need to stay in front of the club so that the ball is being compressed at impact. It should almost be a feeling of hitting down on the ball.

 

[Jack_John_Mark]

Now, if you can get the bal striking thing down......buy some Pro V's and go out and have some fun. They'll spin for you, guaranteed. You'll also notice that you'll ruin those balls fairly quickly because the cover is soft.

 

[Jack_John_Mark]

Notice in this image of Tiger how his hands are out in front of the club. This is almost overdone here, but it's a good example of how to compress the ball rather than just trying lift it off the ground.

 

[mrwallace2ku]

Didn't the golf ruling body out law square grooves in club faces for being easier to control ball spin?

 

[SJ76]

There is a lot of confusion for us amateurs on how ball striking in general works.

There are three main components that go into putting backwards spin on the ball. 1) What type of ball are you using? 2) How good are your grooves? Pros sharpen their grooves constantly. 3) are you compressing the ball or trying to pick it up with the club?

Even with dull grooves and a Top Flite golf ball you can still spin the ball some if you compress the golf ball. This is where the confusion comes in. The majority of golfers think that the club hits the ball straight on and the ball flys off the angle of the iron. What actually should happen is the iron should compress the ball into the ground and the ball then has no choice but to roll up the face of the club, catching the bottom 5 grooves or so, and then shooting off.

This is how the grooves really grab the cover of the ball and ultimately put spin on the ball. The hands need to stay in front of the club so that the ball is being compressed at impact. It should almost be a feeling of hitting down on the ball.

You can still pick the ball clean and have it dance on the green. Good example is a fairway bunker shot. You hit a 8-9 iron and the ball stops on a dime.

Man.. Teaching to spin is so hard. I like that pic above - tho. See how his hands are leading thru the ball? Always try to keep the hands in front of (leading) the clubhead. Best way to do this is make sure that left arm is straight through-out the swing. All the left arm should do is stay straight and the forearm rotates around your body.. The longer your left arm is straight and doesn't breakdown, the more arc you create.. The more arc you create, the more distance you get. PLUS that will help the spin. When you get that right arm/hand involved and you hinged to early or release the club from the top of the backswing too early, that breaks down the golf swing.

Another key thing for spin is finishing the backswing. Whether it's a chip or full swing. You will get better results if your backswing comes to a pause at the top (finishing backswing) - basically your momentum comes to an almost stop.

 

[SJ76]

Here is your cash money breakdown for a RH golfer.

always focus on what you need to do, DO NOT focus on what NOT to do. & Fundamentals!!



Ok so lets say your grip, aim, and set-up (posture) are all good. If not, go on amazon and get a Lamkin training grip tool to put on an old club and train with it for a FEW WEEKS. AIM? lay a club down as your target line and make sure your shoulders, hips, feet are all parallel to the target line. POSTURE? Feel like you are playing SS on defense - bend from hips, knees slightly flexed, chest up, chin up. This all takes time.

#1 is one=piece take-away. Slow, low for a full swing. For a flop shot - you want to hinge that right wrist almost immediately. But for a full swing, regular shot - take the away from the ball SLOW.

#2 is where is your club & clubface are at hip level. If you were in a big clock, how does the club look at 9am? This is hard to describe on the computer. The club should be parallel to your target line with the tow of the club pointed up or slight close clubface.

#3 from there the club comes up and around your body, with the right elbow tucked against your right side to and on to the top of your backswing. Left arm is striahgt, while left forearm is rotating. NOW.. while this happens most of your weight should be on your right side. To check this, while the club is at the top.. Lift your left foot off the ground. This will teach you proper weight transfer. Do it a few times and you will get the correct feel.

#4 club is at the top. This is where SO many higher handicappers lose their shit. DO NOT try to swing at the ball when the club is at the top. While still on that right side and club is at the top, FEEL like you are letting the handle drop naturally straight down to the ground. As if gravity is letting the club fall down to ground. THIS IS A 1/4 to 1/2 second move and now the CLUB IS IN THE SLOT!! SO the club handle falls straight down from the top for a brief moment, wile the lower body barely moves and your weight is still on the right side.

#5 this is when you release the club through the ball - at the bottom of the arm. Naturally, you will make a move thru the ball and finish over to the left side.


Remember, the shorter the backswing, the better your results. TEMPO is everything. Go watch Ernie Els swing if you need help on TEMPO. I can try to video myself doing this and post it. gimme some time

This is the best I can do on a computer without seeing your golf swing. Here is the link for the grip training tool.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Notice in this image of Tiger how his hands are out in front of the club. This is almost overdone here, but it's a good example of how to compress the ball rather than just trying lift it off the ground.

I'm thinking this is a knockdown shot...low spinner.