Spin on Wedges

[slackhouse]

How do you get spin when hitting a wedge? I can't get backspin for anything. I've made a few balls hit and stop within a few inches, but I can't get a good spin. Any tips?

[flash]

Spin is generated from the ball sliding up the grooves.you don't need to feel you have to drive the club steeply in the ball to do so. A smooth swing in which the clubface strikes the ball and ground at the same time will allow you to spin the golfball.Cheers Flash...ps. I'm no teacher by any means but I was told this many years ago and made sense so I tried it and continue to do so. bottom line here..... let it happen, don't force it thinking brute stength is needed!

[Fried Egg]

To expand on what flash said, although you don't need to be steep, you still need to feel the club swinging down and through the ball, taking a divot that starts on the target side of the golf ball. The faster the club is moving, the more spin you will generate. The type of ball you are playing will have a large effect also. You can't spin a range ball as much as you can spin a ball with a soft cover like a tour balata...I mean a Pro V.

[flash]

sounds like you hit high compression rangers.all that's used here are 70-80comp. so range doesn't have to be 400yds. long.anyone here that says they are flying it over a 40foot high fence at the end of range 300yds. away well.............. sure they are.lol Cheers flash

[JaY_B]

I have been working on two different wedge shots one which uses spin to stop, and one which uses height and angle of descent to stop, to hit the spinner you have to hit it in a bit lower than normal and really *trap* the ball at impact and you must, must achieve perfect contact, this should produce a low shot that bounces a couple of times and checks, this is not a consistent or safe shot to play.
Through practise i found the high shot a lot more consistent and reliable, mainly because you don't rely on spin for the ball to stop, simply put the ball a bit further in your stance make sure you extend your arms after impact and that your hips don't slide towards the target (which can happen if the ball if too far forward in your stance), once you get a bit of distance control you will prefer to hit shots without spin

[slackhouse]

once you get a bit of distance control you will prefer to hit shots without spin

i don't understand this at all. especially considering that almost all professional golfers use backspin on nearly every shot to the green.

[iacas]

i don't understand this at all. especially considering that almost all professional golfers use backspin on nearly every shot to the green.

I think what he means is shots without enough backspin to cause the ball to move from where it lands. "Drop and stop" spin as opposed to "ball on a string" spin.

Obviously nobody hits a golf shot "without spin," but even Phil Mickelson has learned to "take spin off" his wedges to control them better.

[crazy_horst]

i don't understand this at all. especially considering that almost all professional golfers use backspin on nearly every shot to the green.

That's why they're professionals.

I think all of us handicap golfers would do well to realize that there are things touring pros do that we won't ever be able to.

[JaY_B]

i don't understand this at all. especially considering that almost all professional golfers use backspin on nearly every shot to the green.

But how many times do you hear the commentators saying "he has to be careful not to get too much spin" or coming out of the rough will help him control the ball more"

what you have to remember is that while us amateurs struggle to get enough spin the pro's struggle to take spin off the shot, this is largely due to strike quality and club head speed. Hitting the ball on a trajectory that allows the ball to come down steeply you will not have to worry about spin to stop the ball, think about it a ball that comes down vertically is going to stop on a dime a lot more consistently that a shot coming in low which relies on spin to stop. Does that make any more sense?

[JaY_B]

Free bump as im intrested in peoples views on the importance of spin in approach play??

[ser182]

i have been working on this and am ok right now. i dont alot of back spin. my will hit and roll about a foot or two. i use a 56 and 60 degree wedge.

[Matsui]

Also, you need very tight fairways and very tight greens to allow the ball to spin. It isn't all club and ball. The greens the pros play on are very easy to spin a ball on because they are so thin and fast.