How to get backspin: 6 things you can do

July 7, 2017 6:50 am

By World of Golf London Master Professional, Jon Woodroffe

I am often asked: “how do I get backspin on the ball when I am chipping onto the green?” My answer is always the same – hit the ball properly!! Every single shot you hit, that gets airborne, has got backspin on it. Even with a driver. When chipping, most people are looking to stop the ball quickly. It’s a difficult skill to master, but by no means impossible.

One of the ways to increase the amount of backspin on a golf ball is to hit the ball harder. The harder the ball is hit, the more spin will be created. If you are only going 10 yards, you are not going to hit the ball hard enough to generate a whole lot of spin. You have to be realistic and accept that the ball will not stop dead, but will roll on a little when it lands. Just allow for that in where you aim to land the golf ball.

The 6 things required to get backspin on a golf ball are as follows:

      • Create a descending blow on the golf ball and hit the back of the ball first, before you hit the turf. To achieve this, play the ball slightly further back in your stance and lean your weight slightly onto your front leg. Pick the club up steeply on your back swing.
      • Use the correct golf ball. Many golf balls like Pinnacles, Top Flite etc are hard core golf balls, designed not to spin much, so they travel a long way. Conversely they are not made to back up on the green. A a wound construction soft core golf ball is more likely to spin.
      • The green that the ball is landing on has an effect. If the greens are slow, with long uneven grass, the ball will not roll forward or backward as much. Spin is much more evident on fast, close cut surfaces.
      • A lofted club. The more lofted the club, the greater the elevation the ball will  have coming into the green and thus the quicker it will stop.
      • The quality and cleanliness of the grooves of the club. The grooves are there to help impart the backspin on a well struck golf shot. But if they are filled with grass or mud, their effect will be drastically reduced.
      • Speed of swing. As I mentioned earlier in this piece, the faster the club is travelling at impact, the more spin will be applied to the golf ball and thus more effect on landing on the green. This is why the tournament professionals get the most action on the ball, with a full wedge shot to the green.

To help get better at controlling the spin on your golf shots, have a golf lesson with one of our World of Golf London teaching professionals.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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