The effect backspin has on ball flight

[ronbo25]

As I have posted in the equipment section, I just recently learned that my x-22 tour irons have some bad shafts.  They are marked PX 5.5, but Golftec did a frequency check and the 6 iron is estimated at about 7.2.  Essentially,  I have been playing Callaways affixed to the end of a 2x4 for over a year.  After my initial shock, then anger, I started thinking there may be a positive side to all this.

My current backspin with my 6 iron is around 2000 rpm, about 3000 less than what it should be.  If backspin helps fight against side spin, which is why it is more difficult to hook / slice the higher lofted clubs, it is safe to assume that my dispersion should get a lot tighter?  I would think that increasing my backspin by over 150% will only help with the unwanted curvature of the ball.

Thoughts?

[B-Con]

As for the short vs long irons being more or less manipulable: Shorter clubs have shorter shafts, which probably makes changes in your swing plane less dramatic. Short irons carry shorter, the longer the ball is in the air the more it will curve. Note that when you hit a straight shot that slices, most of the slice comes at the end. My guess would be that if you could hit your 8i as far as your 6i, you'd get about the same amount of draw/fade as you do with your 6i (minus a little due to the shaft length difference, maybe). Also, note that it's best to think of the ball's movement left/right in the air as degrees from the starting point. Your short irons may draw/fade as much as your long irons in terms of degrees from the launch angle, but that won't translate into as many actual yards left or right and thus may feel like a difference. If your 8i draws 5* to the left, it will be quite a few fewer yards than if your 5i draws 5* to the left. As far as backspin reducing sidespin, I don't know if there's anything to support that. If you have more backspin then you probably have less sidespin just due to having a good angle of attack on the ball, but I don't know of a reason why backspin would actually physically negate sidespin. If it actually does, my guess would be that it's due to the air pocket of turbulence that builds up around the ball due to the backspin (Google that for more info) that "protects" the ball, somewhat, from the rest of the atmosphere while in flight. More backspin may create a stronger layer and thus reduce more of the atmosphere that sidespin contacts and thus limits the damage that it can do. But that's just a guess.

[WUTiger]

With all our discussion of clubheads and shafts and spin, we may sometimes forget the effect of the golf ball we select.

Take a look at this "Srixon University" clip: Srxon's research manager describes all the ins and outs of golf ball design, and what design choices do to ball flight. http://www.srixon.com/srixonuniversity.html

Some of our lower HDCP posters apparently have gone the "straight ball" route, and try to avoid curving the ball on full shots.