Spinning Wedge Shot

[sebsmash]

Can anyone point me toward a good resource for developing that great spinning wedge shot I see on TV?

I've tried my best to practice off the mats and on the course and the only way I ever get the ball to spin back at all is on a full swing shot.

I'm looking for tips to get the spin inside of 70 yards.

[Pretzel]

Trackman put out a video on the type of shot I think you're talking about a while ago:

EDIT: Make that a couple videos

 

Edited April 10, 2017 by Pretzel

[sebsmash]

Trying to hit a low draw is definitely something new to try. I've never thought of it that way.

[Pretzel]

Personally, for me, when I hit a spinning wedge shot I put the ball back in my stance by about a ball or a little more and just make sure to come down on the ball with a steeper angle of attack and as crisp of contact as I can manage. I, personally, feel like I'm almost dropping the club down onto the back of the golf ball and it tends to work pretty well for me to get one hop and stop or so (depends on the ball and my contact). 

[saevel25]

4 hours ago, Pretzel said:

Personally, for me, when I hit a spinning wedge shot I put the ball back in my stance by about a ball or a little more and just make sure to come down on the ball with a steeper angle of attack and as crisp of contact as I can manage. 

Hitting down doesn't necessarily increase spin rate. A lot of times you might just hit a lower shot with less spin. 

I wouldn't worry about spinning the ball back. Play a shot that is consistent. 

[David in FL]

2 hours ago, saevel25 said:

 

I wouldn't worry about spinning the ball back. Play a shot that is consistent. 

Yep.

I know it looks cool, and no one is going to try to tell you how to play your game, but a high spinning shot can be extremely inconsistent and very difficult to control.  Many pros work hard to be able to reduce spin on their short irons.  Unless there's an unusual, unique circumstance dictating otherwise, I'm happiest when my wedge(s) land where I aim them and simply stop right there.  

Oh yeah, most of us schlubs don't get the majority of our approaches all the way to the hole anyways.  The last thing I need is for it to back up even further!  

[jsgolfer]

8 minutes ago, David in FL said:

Yep.

I know it looks cool, and no one is going to try to tell you how to play your game, but a high spinning shot can be extremely inconsistent and very difficult to control.  Many pros work hard to be able to reduce spin on their short irons.  Unless there's an unusual, unique circumstance dictating otherwise, I'm happiest when my wedge(s) land where I aim them and simply stop right there.  

Oh yeah, most of us schlubs don't get the majority of our approaches all the way to the hole anyways.  The last thing I need is for it to back up even further!  

Yes and Yes.

[sebsmash]

Just want to learn how to hit the shot to develop another tool. Never said it would become a go-to. There's no harm in learning.

[Patch]

Spinning a ball back on the green takes in a lot of factors. One of those factors is the lie of the ball. Clean lies work the best. Another factor is how divot friendley that lie is. I play on some pretty firm faiways. Not like those the pros play on.  Another factor is how receptive the green is to allow a ball to be spun back. You can put all the spin you want, but if the ball lands on a down hill slope on the green, it will be tough to spin it back. Of course the golfer also has to have the correct swing technique, and the right ball contact to spin the ball back. 

I tried for years to spin a ball ball back with some success, but not enough to depend on it. I just could not develope the consistent  swing technique. That's when I started depending on my lob/flop shots, which basically did the same thing for me. Plus, with the lob/flop shots, I did not have to worry about balls sometimes spinning backwards so much,  that they rolled off the green. 

[RayG]

Learning how to hit one and then being able to actually use one when needed is a tricky combo. I wanted so much to do "what I saw on TV", that I ruined the rest of my iron game and figured my swing isn't built that way. The chances of taking a giant beaver pelt and having the divot go further than the ball were too high. I learned instead to hit high, soft landers that will stop.. MAYBE teeter back a few inches or so (unless it is on a slope and roll a bit), or just jump out of the pitch mark and release a foot or so. But I CAN hit that little fizz, bounce, check chip shot for less than full distance shots. I think THAT is a harder shot to learn and to judge distance. 

And remember, these guys have custom wedge lofts, grinds and PERFECT grooves and soft covered balls (stop giggling), to make the best combination possible for making the shot in the first place.

But- nothing WRONG with trying to learn it to get as much knowledge of the possibilities as you can, though

 

[Pretzel]

4 hours ago, saevel25 said:

Hitting down doesn't necessarily increase spin rate. A lot of times you might just hit a lower shot with less spin. 

Spin loft will increase if you have a downwards angle of attack and keep the loft the same at impact (or if you change the angle of attack more than you change the loft). 

With consistent loft and quality of contact, the swing with a steeper angle of attack will always spin more than the shot with a shallower angle of attack. 

As for spinning the ball back, that generally isn't something you should be aiming for. The level of spin that works best in most scenarios is one where the ball stops right about where it landed. I assumed the shot you were looking to learn to play was a half-wedge that would take one hop and stop. 

[DaveP043]

I'm with most of the others, my goal is never that of spinning a ball back.  In fact, I never even think about spin.  My preference is for a cleanly struck shot with a moderately low penetrating trajectory.  I find that when I hit it cleanly, even at "partial" distances, the ball spins enough to stop after a bounce or two.  One good resource is this thread:

 

[saevel25]

15 minutes ago, Pretzel said:

Spin loft will increase if you have a downwards angle of attack and keep the loft the same at impact (or if you change the angle of attack more than you change the loft).  

Trackman has proven this wrong. This is a graphic posted from a Trackman newsletter. 

[Pretzel]

From Trackman's website: http://blog.trackmangolf.com/spin-loft/

Quote

Spin loft is approximately the angle between the dynamic loft and attack angle

Spin loft is actually the three-dimensional angle between the direction the club head is moving (both club path and attack angle) and the direction the club face is pointing (both face angle and dynamic loft).

Quote

The spin rate of a shot is largely influenced by the spin loft. All else equal, a higher spin loft will result in a higher spin rate. 

In your example the dynamic loft is 5 degrees lower when there is a negative angle of attack, meaning the club is delofted relative to the horizon. As I stated before, if you keep your loft the same and only change the angle of attack your spin loft will increase. In your example the spin loft of both clubs is 20 degrees because the dynamic loft has been decreased in the second example. 

The graphic is misleading because there is the change in dynamic loft, not just a change in the angle of attack (hitting down on the ball). Two variables which offset each other are changed in that example, rather than just the angle of attack. The example you provided rotated the entire system by 5 degrees (including the loft on the club), as opposed to changing the angle of attack.

Edited April 10, 2017 by Pretzel

[Mr. Desmond]

4 hours ago, sebsmash said:

Just want to learn how to hit the shot to develop another tool. Never said it would become a go-to. There's no harm in learning.

Speed through ball - even a 1/4 shot or chip, with relatively low speed will check if you speed  up through the ball. Are you looking for control, or just something cool?

1. You need a wedge grind that fits you

2. Properly fitted shaft helps - some shafts are better than others at producing spin

3. Clean contact with ball - keep weight on front foot. 

4. Some speed through ball - as Gary Player says (for a bunker), sort of like you're lighting a match. Tough to describe, but when I stopped the lazy long swing, and converted to a shorter swing, but faster through the ball, spin increased and ball checked better. You also need some loft.

Experiment. Others will have better replies. But the above is what I do

[p1n9183]

I hate backspin with soft balls like prov1. I hate to Hit a wedge rigth to the pin and watch it spin back 10 yards.

Love semi-hard balls that give you the same roll from the wedge to a 4 iron. Always 1 or 2 yards from the landing spot.

Keep it simple ! backspin is overrated !   

 

[sebsmash]

21 hours ago, Mr. Desmond said:

Speed through ball - even a 1/4 shot or chip, with relatively low speed will check if you speed  up through the ball. Are you looking for control, or just something cool?

1. You need a wedge grind that fits you

2. Properly fitted shaft helps - some shafts are better than others at producing spin

3. Clean contact with ball - keep weight on front foot. 

4. Some speed through ball - as Gary Player says (for a bunker), sort of like you're lighting a match. Tough to describe, but when I stopped the lazy long swing, and converted to a shorter swing, but faster through the ball, spin increased and ball checked better. You also need some loft.

Experiment. Others will have better replies. But the above is what I do

Thanks for the tips, I'm looking for control and another fun way to play some tricky shots.

[Jakester23]

On Monday, April 10, 2017 at 2:21 PM, Mr. Desmond said:

Speed through ball - even a 1/4 shot or chip, with relatively low speed will check if you speed  up through the ball. Are you looking for control, or just something cool?

1. You need a wedge grind that fits you

2. Properly fitted shaft helps - some shafts are better than others at producing spin

3. Clean contact with ball - keep weight on front foot. 

4. Some speed through ball - as Gary Player says (for a bunker), sort of like you're lighting a match. Tough to describe, but when I stopped the lazy long swing, and converted to a shorter swing, but faster through the ball, spin increased and ball checked better. You also need some loft.

Experiment. Others will have better replies. But the above is what I do

Also a ball that's going to spin when you execute this shot. Prov1, Snell MTB, Bridgestone 330S, ect.... This won't work with range balls or topflite. If you have a course nearby with a short game practice area that's the best place to experiment with this type of shot.