Sucking a Shot Back

[bm303]

Alright thanks for the replys. I will take all of this into consideration, and practice next time im out on the range. I will give my fathers Cleveland wedges a try along with mine, and see which works better. Thanks!

[Prodigy]

Alright thanks for the replys. I will take all of this into consideration, and practice next time im out on the range. I will give my fathers Cleveland wedges a try along with mine, and see which works better. Thanks!

good luck

[Left Is Right]

Two words: spin milled

The grooves play a big part(considering u hit down on the ball) a spin milled is extra grooves which give extra spin

[804golfer]

yea i want to get a titleist spin milled wedge - i think these are the best for spin

[tm22721]

Yeah, nobody else seems to be reading his shot. He's not describing a flop shot - he's asking how to suck the ball back with a full wedge or something.

Got sucked in by the title.

[Prodigy]

Two words: spin milled

YES! i want one so bad i have a Cg12 those "Zip" Groves are bull

[JKilgore44]

I didn't read all 3 pages on replies, but I do believe I can help you.

I am able to generate a lot of spin on my approach shots by simply "pinching" the ball between the turf. Although it sounds like an easy concept, it's much harder than it seems. To be able to this, position the ball farther back in your stance, almost off your back heel, and come down steeper on the ball. Don't think about sweeping as you would your driver, think about taking a good divot and coming down steep. Be sure to contact the ball first and allow the divot to come after contact. Ideally, the divot should start right in front of your balls position in your stance.

Although this sounds easy, it isn't. It takes a lot of time and experience to be able to make the ball dance on the green. I've been playing for a long time and I still can't control my spin very well. I can make a ball stop on a dime and even come back a few feet, but I can't quite spin it like a pro.

Equipment is also a big factor. I use a 56 degree cleveland and a 60 degree vokey. Both are excellent clubs. I usually use a Pro V1 or NXT tour with softer covers and that helps to get the ball more revolutions. I'm not sure many people, even on tour, would be able to bring a Top-flite back with a boot-leg wedge. Find a ball that fits your needs, and really focus on pinching the ball and you'll be able to spin the ball in no time!

[bm303]

Thanks a lot Jkilgore44, that is exactly what I have been looking for. I am going to see how my dads Cleveland 588 RTG wedges work, and consider putting them in my bag. Only thing is, I don't think they have the forgiveness of my Cobra FP's.

[JKilgore44]

The cleveland's probably wont be as forgiving, but I can ssure you they will be much more rewarding when hit well. It's a risk-reward type of scenario. Best of luck to you

[packerfan1]

Spinning the ball back is way overrated, in my opinion.

There is a story (attributed to Ben Hogan) where an amateur golfer asked Hogan how to spin a golf ball backwards on the green. Hogan, in his very direct and curt answer, asked the amateur golfer “Do you hit the ball onto the green and past the flag stick on most of your approach shots?” The golfer answered that “No, he typically didn’t”. Hogan then answered “Well then why do you need to know how to spin the golf ball backwards.”

The best wedge shot is stil the accurate shot that stops cold or that is hit a bit short and rolls towards the hole. You can count on a bit of forward roll every wedge shot, but not on backwards roll ever wedge shot.

[JKilgore44]

There are many different situations where the ability to spin the ball can be very helpful. If the pin was in the middle of the green, free of all hazards, nobody would ever need to spin the ball back. However, if the pin is tucked front-right behind a deep bunker, the only way to get close to flag is to go deep and bring it back. You can always try to play a cut shot into or something along those lines, but it's much safer IMO to hit it a little deep and try to bring it back.

[bm303]

Both of you are correct, and I do not plan on using this shot frequently, but in situations where I am going over a bunker with a close pin, I might use it. Even my golf pro says that he doesn't play a "spin back" shot because even he finds the rewards not as good as the risks. I would however, like to limit the roll on some super fast greens I play, that are extremely hard with a low rolling shot.

[packerfan1]

Ya, that is where I was going, the risk v. reward angle. The amount of times you can actually get the shot to spin back when you want it to (probably 50% or less when desired) vs. the number of times it doesn't spin back and gets you in maybe worse trouble. This is a shot that for most of us probably isn't too reliable.

[iWALK18]

You need a really strong shop vac.

[Bradenator]

Lots of good suggestions on technique. I managed to learn to put a bit of extra spin on the ball using my beloved Karsten II's, but I can vouch that the club and ball can also play a huge part in ball action on landing. Switched to Vokey Spin Milled wedges (and play V1/V1x), and it is challenging to prevent the ball from backing up on any 3/4+ shot, if the green has any bite at all. I am still adjusting to having to compensate for the increased spin. Not sure if it will ultimately pay off in terms of scoring, but have to admit that it does just look sharp, perhaps even sexy, to see a ball stick, and then back on up... though my first time out with the the Vokey "ball shredders", I dropped two shots right on the flag, and watched them back right on off the green. A good reminder that an ugly/boring shot that leaves me with a makeable putt often beats a high flying wedge with 10 kajillion RPM's of backsspin...

If you want "off the shelf" spin, grab a spin milled Vokey and some V1's (or similar)....but as you can read all over the web, as well as here, the milling on the face will tear the snot out of a soft cover ball.

[HotBite]

Lots of good suggestions on technique. I managed to learn to put a bit of extra spin on the ball using my beloved Karsten II's, but I can vouch that the club and ball can also play a huge part in ball action on landing. Switched to Vokey Spin Milled wedges (and play V1/V1x), and it is challenging to prevent the ball from backing up on any 3/4+ shot, if the green has any bite at all. I am still adjusting to having to compensate for the increased spin. Not sure if it will ultimately pay off in terms of scoring, but have to admit that it does just look sharp, perhaps even sexy, to see a ball stick, and then back on up... though my first time out with the the Vokey "ball shredders", I dropped two shots right on the flag, and watched them back right on off the green.

I just picked up a 54.14 Vokey...and I can't even spin the ball back...and I was tearing feathers off my ball from GREENSIDE. Just chipping around was eating the ball up. Hahaha...can't wait to try them in a real round scenario where i have 90-100 yards to really let it rip. Hope the ball lands in 1-Piece.

On a different note, to get the ball to hop, hop, check, like you see so many of the pros do, should I be using a 56-60 instead of my 54? Also, is the swing the same as if you were trying to put backspin? I just want to be able to target the pin and have it stop, not draw it back a few feet. I use the callaway hotbites, should i switch to a pro-v? Thanks.

[Bradenator]

I just picked up a 54.14 Vokey...and I can't even spin the ball back...and I was tearing feathers off my ball from GREENSIDE. Just chipping around was eating the ball up. Hahaha...can't wait to try them in a real round scenario where i have 90-100 yards to really let it rip. Hope the ball lands in 1-Piece.

Feathers....that's funny!

I don't care how you hit it, a ball won't check and back up on concrete (though it will look similar to how it looks after a spin milled wedge gets a hold of it). See how the 54 does on a full wedge shot, though keep in mind, the green itslef is a huge factor, and some greens just won't give you the hop-hop-check no matter what you do. I tend to change my target distance, rather than my swing/contact to compensate for different greens, and let the ball do what it wants to do. Personally, I don't intentionally try to alter the spin much on different shots, though I probably do this subconciously to some degree, and do tend to be sure I catch the ball "crisp" when I want to put some extra zip on it....I think some call this pinching, or ball first, then divot, etc....

[HotBite]

Yea I kind of figured it depends on the green as well. I do need to practice, that's for sure, I am a decent chipper right now, but it's always nice to have the ability to stick it within a couple feet to a tight pin.

I was just wondering if 54 is too low of a loft for green-side (Off the fringe and from within 10-15 yards). I needed a 54 to fill in a gap between my 56 and my PW anyway, maybe should have gone with a 52. Would I want to pick up a higher loft for greenside to have the ability to check up?