Spinning the Ball

[Fairway_CY]

My last round, I figured out that I had been sweeping the ball off the turf rather than hitting down on it. This caused a lot of thin shots that would tail off to the right at the end. For the last ten days, I've been focusing on slowing down my backswing, taking it more along the line than to the inside, and then hitting DOWN on the ball with my irons.

I spent about twenty five minutes two nights ago chipping the ball and trying to produce enough spin to slow the ball down before the hole. There was a lot of 'pinching' the ball... and it seemed to work a bit. Today, I spent about an hour at the range and hit about ninety balls. Of those, I hit about fourty five of them with my sand wedge.

I don't know what I was doing differently, but I've been visiting this particular range since the middle of January. There is a green at about seventy yards out, perfect distance for my sand wedge. I'd never been able to hold that green without landing the ball short and having it hop on. Today, I hit that green on the fly with about thirty of my fourty five shots... and a good majority of them actually hit and backed up.

The green is one of those indoor/outdoor carpets on top of what I'm assuming is a mound of dirt. It's hard and doesn't usually hold anything. For me to be backing balls up on that green, I must have been imparting a major amount of spin. To top it off... that was with range ball off of a mat. It was one of those softer mats, but still.

Is it just something that has come as a result of forcing myself to strike down on the ball, or... dumb luck? I'd really like to continue doing it because KNOWING that I have that ability when I'm at seventy yards and have to carry a bunker to get to a pin would be awesome... otherwise, I'll play away from the hole and typically end up with a two putt, giving me a bogey or worse (if I've got seventy yards to a pin, it's because I topped a shot or two - most of my approaches are from 115 - 165).

CY

[Teklabz]

This is exactly what I need to work on myself, hitting down on the ball rather than scooping it. My divots, when I even make one, are behind the ball, not in front.

[Fairway_CY]

This is exactly what I need to work on myself, hitting down on the ball rather than scooping it. My divots, when I even make one, are behind the ball, not in front.

A couple people here have said in other posts to make sure that when I'm at impact, my weight has shifted to my front foot. The MAJORITY of my shots... my weight WAS on my front foot, but almost ALL of the fat shots I hit... I was hanging back. That thought has helped me tremendously. To work on it... I've spent a lot of time hitting 1/2 and 3/4 shots just focusing on being sure of where my weight was. Others have posted that looking at a spot in front of the ball may help... but when I did that, I topped a bunch of shots. I still have to focus on the back-inside quarter of the ball... but shifting my weight has helped tremendously.

I've only hit a few shots off a grass range (maybe seventy five or so)... but I did use a tee to the right of my ball... and the vast majority of my shots produced divots that started at or in front of where the ball was positioned. So... it's working. Good luck! CY

[slabm7]

I found a couple things that really helped with ball striking and spin were starting my downswing with a hip "bump" forward to start my weight transfer to my front foot and also keeping my right elbow tight to my body on my down swing.

[iacas]

Fat shots and thin shots are almost always the same thing. The difference is that when you feel yourself about to hit the ball fat you lift up so you hit it thin. In both cases, the low point of the swing is behind the ball.

[DIGITAL DONUT]

Fat shots and thin shots are almost always the same thing. The difference is that when you feel yourself about to hit the ball fat you lift up so you hit it thin. In both cases, the low point of the swing is behind the ball.

Now that's an interesting concept! Never looked at it that way. I did realise I would occasionally jump out of a chip but I never linked that the the fact I could feel I was going to hit it fat!

I like it! Will think about this more when I'm chipping from now on.

[Fairway_CY]

I also never thought of it that way. For the last few years now, I've felt uncomfortable standing over a ball in the fairway. Oddly... I feel MORE comfortable standing over a ball in the rough. In recent months, a lot of the stuff I have read here haas helped to get my swing to feel better, and when I stand over the ball... whether it be the fairway, tee, rough or range... I'm confident I can make a good swing. Every once in awhile, I will have one that I top or hit fat... but better than 90% of my swings are solid now.

Still, I'm nowhere near the level of many here. My handicap will drop into the teens (hopefully) for the first time in my career by June if I continue to strike the ball as I have been. I also intend to (finally) take some lessons this year. Still undecided as to where I will be taking them and when... but it'll likely be during the fall and at the range closest to my house. Hopefully by this point next season, I can be working my way into single digits.

Truthfully... I owe a lot of it to people here. A lot of GOOD advice, even when it isn't intended for me. Between the threads I read here and some of the stuff I see on The Golf Fix... I'm starting to garner a better understanding of what I SHOULD be doing and what I actually AM doing.

CY

[GolfTools]

OK, let's see if someone can explain the spin on this one?

Years ago when I was first learning, I drove a ball off of the tee and into the ground about a foot in front of the tee. By the time my club had reached the top of my follow through, the ball had plowed a 4 inch long furrow about an inch deep into the tee box and then jumped backwards about 8 to 10 feet behind the tee giving me a second shot with some added distance.

[iacas]

OK, let's see if someone can explain the spin on this one?

That has nothing to do with spin. You topped the ball, drove it into the ground, and it rebounded backwards.

[sean_miller]

You've reminded me of a shot I inadvertantly taught my wife - but I don't want to hijack and I needed some fodder for my blog anyway.

OK, let's see if someone can explain the spin on this one?.

[Randy4h]

OK, let's see if someone can explain the spin on this one?

Maybe it ricocheted off a gopher?