Full and partial swing wedge spin

[Titleist Man]

OK i can suck the ball bak 10 ft with my 58 and 52* and sometimes my PW. My question is how do i control this( make it spin when i want and stop dead when i want). I am very tired of seeing my ball land 5 ft away and having a 20 ft putt.

[wolfridge]

Ah, my problem to a T. I saw many Pro v1's roll backwards past the hole and into a pond in front of the green at my home course.

Well, I figured out it was my swing angle. If I swung really steep and cut into it hard, I could draw it back 20+ feet with my X-tour lob wedge. But if I swung a bit flatter, almost a draw sing for an iron, that the ball would check, and not roll back. That cut 3-5 shots off my score immediately, mainly because I'm terrible at long puts.

[bcp]

I have experienced similar issues. My spin was just totally inconsistent, and it seemed more often than not, the backspin would occur at the least opportune times (hurt rather than helped). I switched to the Pro V1x and have found that the spin is more consistent. When I hit it well with my SW and LW it takes a big hop then spins back to near the original mark. That is perfect for me, however my bigger problem is striking it consistently and hitting my target :(

[billm408]

A lot of factors to consider; square vs. V grooves, lie, slope/angle of the green you're hitting to, etc...but from a purely swing aspect, backspin is affected by the angle of attack and acceleration through impact. The steeper the angle and more you're accelerating, the more spin you'll get.

Other than the "coolness" factor (which I get), I never understood why you'd want to spin a ball back more than a foot or two. You're just making the ball move away from the hole.

[bjw181]

A lot of factors to consider; square vs. V grooves, lie, slope/angle of the green you're hitting to, etc...but from a purely swing aspect, backspin is affected by the angle of attack and acceleration through impact. The steeper the angle and more you're accelerating, the more spin you'll get.

Grooves are kind of a misnomer. From a clean lie the type of grooves doesn't influence the shot at all. But when in the rough, the square groves with more volume act to channel more moisture and grass away from the club face. This allows for better contact on the ball. And for your spin. For less spin, take more club and swing 3/4. For more spin take one more club and swing more aggressively.

[SubPar]

You'll sometimes hear the commentators mention how Tiger, or others, hit a "dead hands" wedge to reduce spin. You have to reduce the compression of the ball against the turf to make it spin less.

I quit playing high spin balls because on average I come out ahead with a ball that spins less. If you can't control how you strike the ball to get a variety of results then the spin rate becomes unpredictable and hurts more than it helps.

SubPar

[goblue107501]

You might want to play around with different balls. Certain courses I play have really good zoysia fairways and I will spin the ball more at those courses so I use a different ball. Courses that use bermuda I will use my regular ball. I have found that sometimes it is just about the conditions of the course.

[iacas]

Other than the "coolness" factor (which I get), I never understood why you'd want to spin a ball back more than a foot or two. You're just making the ball move away from the hole.

There are a lot of times when I want to juice a ball. Here's one: hole on the front of the green. Throw it past the flag. If it spins, it's close. If not, I'm still putting.

You have to reduce the compression of the ball against the turf to make it spin less.

Though a good visual image, nobody actually "compresses the ball against the turf."

How you - anyone - can change the spin depends on a lot. The simplest is of course more club and a 3/4 swing. You can change your follow through too, that works for some people.

[DavidFehertysBike]

You guys must be he-men..ive never spun back a ball more than 2 or 3 inches on a half swing...

[billm408]

There are a lot of times when I want to juice a ball. Here's one: hole on the front of the green. Throw it past the flag. If it spins, it's close. If not, I'm still putting.

I agree in some circumstances, but not 10 feet or more as the OP indicated. You're more likely to back it up off the green in that situation. Particularly with 1/2, 3/4 and full wedges. The point I was trying to make is to control your distance before trying to control how much jizz you can put on a ball.

[SubPar]

Though a good visual image, nobody actually "compresses the ball against the turf."

So when they talk about trapping the ball to spin it more, what are they trapping it against? Can you spin the ball just as much out of the rough as off a firm fairway, as long as there is no grass behind the ball?

I guess my mental image was imperfect. I had always assumed the act of hitting down on ball would pinch it against the ground compressing it more against the clubface... Sort of like spinning a ping-pong ball by pinching it. I know when I hit off a rubber mat I can spin a ball back 15-20 feet sometimes. SubPar

[TigerCent]

Try taking more club. Instead of hitting a full 60 degree from say 100 yards hit a 3/4 56. Or take a 3/4 9 iron instead of hitting a pitching wedge. Choke up and inch or 2 and swing smooth. This will take off spin and also give you more control.

[anthonykim3]

the ball compresses against the club face not the ground because after the first millisecond of impact the ball rolls up the face and doesn't touch the ground.
and i never have this problem the greens at my course are hard even a nice vokey sm 56 shot doesn't spin back 10 feet

[iacas]

So when they talk about trapping the ball to spin it more, what are they trapping it against?

They're talking about a mental image. It doesn't actually move downward.

What he says:

the ball compresses against the club face not the ground because after the first millisecond of impact the ball rolls up the face and doesn't touch the ground.