In this article, I’m going to discuss how to spin the golf ball. In golf, spin can play a significant role in the flight and landing of the ball, and can have a big impact on a player’s ability to hit precise shots and score well.
There are two main types of spin in golf: backspin and sidespin.. Backspin is a type of spin that causes the ball to rotate backwards, away from the direction of travel. This can result in a ball that stops more quickly on the green, or that bounces and rolls less when it lands. Sidespin is a type of spin that causes the ball to curve in the air, either left or right.
Having the ability to add backspin will improve your game around the greens, while sidespin will allow to to shape your ball with a draw or fade.
Factors That Affect Spin Rate
Several factors can impact spin rates, these include loft angle, impact location, and ball type to name a few of the more important factors.
Clubs & Impact Location
A lower lofted club will naturally produce less spin compared to a higher lofted club. This is because with a higher lofted club, the face can “slide under” the ball more. It’s important to keep your club face clean and your grooves free of mud if you expect to maximize spin with your wedges.
Club impact location will also affect spin on the golf ball. If you hit the ball thin, it will generate less spin. Hitting the ball fat will also reduce spin since you’re catching grass between the ball and your club. A toe or heel strike can result in sidespin, sidespin is also impacted greatly by club path.
Golf Balls
The golf ball you use will have perhaps the most significant impact on spin rates. 2-piece golf balls often do a great job of getting low spin off the tee, which is desirable for added distance. But they also do a terrible job of providing spin around the greens, which is necessary if you want to get the most out of your short game. Conversely, 3 and 4 piece golf balls do a much better job of providing low spin off the tee, and higher spin around the greens.
Techniques for Creating Spin
There are two main areas where a golfer may want to create spin, with your wedges, and during shot shaping.
Spin During Shot Shaping
The ability to hit a Draw or a Fade on the course is good skill to have in your arsenal. Think of being left with 150 yards into the hole, but you have a tree top in your way. You can’t go over it, and its too far away to reasonably go under. You are left with testing the old “trees are 90% air”, which is totally misleading, or hitting offline to layup. The ability to execute a fade, and shape the ball right around the edge and still end up on the green would be a significant advantage.
Understanding golf ball flight laws can be helpful when learning or executing fades or draws.
How to put Sidespin on the Golf Ball – Hitting a Fade
- Tee your golf ball slightly lower than normal
- Aim your feet and shoulders left of the target
- Aim your club face left of the target, but to the right of your body alignment
- Re-grip your club with the face properly aligned as described in step 3
- Try to swing a bit more out-to-in
For more details on how to hit a fade, including some video and graphics, check this post out.
How to put Sidespin on the Golf Ball – Hitting a Draw
- Tee your golf ball slightly higher than normal
- Aim your feet and shoulders right of the target
- Aim your club face right of the target, but left of your body alignment
- Re-grip your club with the face properly aligned as described in step 3
- Try to swing a bit more in-to-out
- Rotate the toe of your club over on follow-through
For more details on how to hit a draw, including some videos and graphics, check this post out.
Spin With Your Wedges
A few things need to happen to maximize spin in the short game. Having clean grooves is a must! Additionally, it’s necessary to have a good lie and things cannot be wet. Water on a golf ball, or the club is a killer. If the grass is wet, or you’re in the rough you will not be able to get much spin on it.
As mentioned earlier, you are going to need a premium golf ball as well. Lower-end golf balls will not get as much spin, no matter how well you execute a shot.
Check here for a list of the best golf balls for distance, the list contains performance golf balls that will perform around the greens and off the tee!
How to Spin the golf ball with your wedges
- Position the ball slightly back in your stance and put most of your weight on the front foot
- Wrist hinge is critical to generate club head speed and to effectively slide the club under the ball
- Forward shaft lean at impact
- Swing through it, don’t decelerate, you’ll need more club head speed than a regular shot
- Watch your ball check immediately, or even spin backwards
Here is a great video from the guys at Me and My Golf showing how to execute it. They do a great job of describing these steps and provide a great visual on the overall approach here.
Final Thoughts
In this article, we discussed the importance of spin in golf and how it can affect the flight and landing of the ball. We covered the different types of spin, including backspin and sidespin, and discussed the factors that can impact spin rate, including club loft, impact location, and ball type.
We also provided tips and techniques for creating spin, both during shot shaping and with your wedges, and provided some additional resources. Ultimately, the ability to add and control spin can give a golfer more options and precision on the course, and is a valuable skill to develop.
Good luck on the golf course!