Backspin, How to get freaky!

[Hogan Fan]

I can get a little spin when I need it but how do you really get serious backspin?
Is it more to do with the clubs or your swing? I was watching the AT&T; yesterday and Kenny G hit a shot to the green that had ridiculous freaking backspin. It spun back almost as far as he hit the damn shot.

[popey]

Well its to do with the greens that they are hitting to as they are uber soft so the ball will zipp backwards.

Well there are a few tips:

STEP 1: Stand with your feet closer together than when you normally swing. STEP 2: Position yourself so that the ball is closer to your back foot.
STEP 3: Swing the club on a steeper plan (more upright).
STEP 4: Hit directly underneath the ball before taking a divot. Take a divot that is long and shallow.

You also need to use the softest ball possible as remember that pro's use the softest balls to get maximum control and spin. So using a Pro V or another premium ball would also help the ball to spin and you also need to keep the grooves of the clubs clean as this is what produces the spin.

[Finn07]

I think alot has to do with the ball you are using too. A three piece or four piece ball will spin more then a two piece ball.

[niblick]

urethane ball + good contact with any lofted club = lots of spin.

steep attack helps too.

Here's a decent tutorial: http://www.pga.com/popup/iyg/krause/video/000901.html

[MrBirdie]

make sure, your grooves are clean too. Square grooves or U-grooves create mors spin also. You have to accelerate and trap the ball.

[BritBoy]

Start with firm fairways and soft greens and then good luck trying not to spin the ball. Spring and fall golf for me is a problem when it comes to spin. I have to switch to a low spin ball, because although its fun to watch your ball back up 20ft, unless your land 20ft behind the pin you are just making your putts harder.

To make it spin play the ball a little more toward to back of your stance and try to put your divot an inch or so in front of the ball. Also remember to accelerate through the ball, to me it feels like the swing explodes at contact. My swing thought for max spin is “Tiger it”, which to me means hit down on it, or pinch the ball between the fairway and the club face.

To have the ball release don’t change to much but move the ball forward. And trust me there isn’t a great deal of difference between ball position for back spin or release, it’s a fine tuning type thing.

[Fourputt]

Why would you want to, other than to impress your friends? Some pros (Greg Norman comes to mind) have fought forever to try and minimize the spin they get. 4 or 5 feet of rollback is more than enough... even that can be hard to control at times. You don't see Tiger zipping the ball back more than a few feet at most... and not usually at all.... it's just not a productive type of ball action. Better off to just have it land, skip once and stop. That's the control type of shot that I strive for.

[Hogan Fan]

I don't want freaky backspin. I have just the right amount of spin now.
I just wanted to know how in the hell Kenny G has backspin like a circus clown.

[BritBoy]

But there are times when it comes in handy. Lets say you playing to a pin that is only 3 paces behind a bunker. Its nice to be able to take the bunker out of play, go for the back of the green and have the ball back up toward the pin. No pair that shot with yells of "get back here", "good ball", and you have something to talk about after the round.

I agree that it isnt the shot to play all day long, but there are times when its called for.

[golfgolfer]

I dont usually back spin the ball and is very hard to control the amount of back spin.

You may realise that to produce backspin on the ball, it depends on more than the technique. It depends on the ball used, the grooves, the lie you are in, the grass condition the ball lies on and of course the green condition.

It is tough, but it is good have when situation arises...

[Fourputt]

But there are times when it comes in handy. Lets say you playing to a pin that is only 3 paces behind a bunker. Its nice to be able to take the bunker out of play, go for the back of the green and have the ball back up toward the pin. No pair that shot with yells of "get back here", "good ball", and you have something to talk about after the round.

In the long run, turning it on and off isn't going to be that easy for most amateurs. I imagine that Kenny G probably plays a ball and club combo that promotes it, but I'd also bet that if he doesn't control it, it costs him more than it saves. I've been known to spin the ball back, even with Callaway blues, but I don't try for it.

I will temper that though by saying that my first Ace came as a result of the ball spinning back and slightly right about 8 feet into the hole... but that was with a Titleist Tour Balata back in 1989.

[alexlax12]

With my normal swing I can put some pretty good spin from about the 8iron down. However I played in the rain on several occasions and I was able to throw the ball up on the back of a green and spin it a good 10-20ft and the divots I took were massive. So I would say the the more you are hitting down on the ball obviously the more spin you will put on the ball. Softer conditions help!

[Sharkgolf]

Two things which weren't covered here so far - grooves and green conditions......if you have a spin-milled clubface with U grooves on your wedges, like Vokey and others are producing, you will increase the spin rate enormously: so much so, that some players don't use Pro V1 balls with these because of ball wear, the balls are wrecked after two holes. Similarly, if you pitch in to a really well prepped green, mown to abrasive lengths with a softish base, the spin will bite much more than a non-prepped green....

[tiger woods]

I use a tour edge pitcher a buddy built me for under twenty bucks and nothing but intek balls. put ball at the back of your stance take one normal pratice swing and then step up and swink down on that bad boy is hard as you can grab some sod on the way through and work it. you can do it but it takes practice. rember you need lots of sod if you want spin and spin will always win. good luck my friend. practice practice now.

[kfraser91]

for wedges i open the face a lil more and swing steep

[Ziophils]

Kenny G is a very low handicapper if Im not mistaken, so he obviously strikes the ball well, hence lots of backspin

[Mulligan26]

0/+1 according to golf digest

[Naruto]

WELL.... better players usually dont want to do what kenny g did... with a wedge and my regular full swing i can get the kenny g effect.... sure it looks super cool but it usually costs me more than it helps me.... this weekend for example i had one 70 yard shot to a back pin so i thought i would hit a dead arm 58* and throw it in there try to get it to one hop to the hole.. got a little handsy at the bottom and it went 10 feet past but spun back to a foot...so good spin helped. then on three other holes i hit it hole high and they came back 10+ feet all of them... I should have made at least one of those putts but i didnt.... had i taken one extra club and less swing i might have been able to get them to within 5 feet and converted all three... so it gave me one birdie but took away three.

You look at all the good tour guys and none of them are trying to hit shots that spin that much... a few feet is one thing but 10+ is another.... especially when you have a wedge in your hand, i am definitely expecting to be within 10 feet..... i am going to really focus on the dead arm wedge shot that tiger likes so much... its just better to throw darts that stick as to spinners that run all over the place, BUT THEY DO LOOK COOL. One of my spinners this weekend came on the 4th with some older guys who from 135 hit bump and run 8 irons all to about 6 feet... so from 90 yards i was really feeling like i had to stick it .... i hit it about 2-3 feet over the flag but the spin left me with about a 12 footer to convert... i didnt but 2 of the old guys did....damn i need that dead arm wedge