[Golf]How do pros get SO MUCH backspin?

[ClaytonN]

They have better equipment, and they make better contact with the ball.

And amateurs should have little fascination with how to make the ball spin back anyways, because most amateurs leave approach shots short of the green.

[Sponger15SB]

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How do pros get SO MUCH backspin?

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[touchfaith]

Equipment, particularly the ball, aids in the amount of spin produced, but no ball in the world produces back spin.

This can only be accomplished by pinching the ball at impact.

Don't get caught up in the equipment, work on your swing, and more importantly, the consistancy of your swing.

[pokerdirty]

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PureSpin Diamond Faced Scoring Wedge

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these suck. but the guy made a [censored] load of money.

[MoreWineII]

They are playing off hard insanely-manicured fairways that are probably nothing like what you are playing on. The more grass you get in between the club and the ball, the less backspin you get.

They probably use much softer balls than you do. And the grooves on their clubs are probably much cleaner and sharper than yours.

And they have swings designed to pinch the ball and produce backspin whereas you probably do not.

[pokerdirty]

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faster swing speed, and hit down on the ball.

spinning the ball backwards is actually a giant pain in the ass most of the time.

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this is correct.

imagine you are chipping in the rough just off the fringe with a sand wedge. if the ball is in the center of your stance, after you hit the ball and the ball hits the green, it will move forward. You are sweeping through the ball. Now do the same shot with the ball back in your stance. You now have to pinch down on the ball to hit it. when you do, the ball will hit the green, check up, and then move a little bit more forward because you put spin on the ball.

Do you see why? [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[RacersEdge]

You need soft balls and a stiff shaft.

[1C5]

Well I use Pro V1 balls and have Tour X-Stiff shafts.

What do you mean, you have to pinch the ball?

[touchfaith]

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Well I use Pro V1 balls and have Tour X-Stiff shafts.

What do you mean, you have to pinch the ball?

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good read on the subject

[TripleH68]

How do you control the amount of backspin on your wedge shots?

PGA/LPGA TEACHING PROFESSIONAL RESPONSES:
California
"If you are not a scratch or plus handicap, you should not be concerned with this. If you are trying to spin your wedges excessively, you need to put a lot of extra practice time into this to be consistent. Instead you should focus on less spin as those shots are much easier to control under pressure. Your question is somewhat general. Do you have too much or not enough? As stated, go for less - the simpler, the better. Good Golfing!" - Kati Biszantz, Teaching Professional
Florida
"Backspin is controlled by the angle of approach and the kind of ball you are playing. Play a high spin ball and hit down on it and the ball will spin more." - Doug Temple, Teaching Professional
Florida
"Tony, depends on where you put the club in your stance, how fast you swing and a lot of practice."
- Pat Kimball, Teaching Professional
Hawaii
"Aloha Tony! First of all, do you hit the ball past the flag every time? If you don't, then you shouldn't try to spin it. Spin is created by how fast the club is traveling under the ball so if you want to spin it more you need to finish your swing . If you want less spin shorten your follow thru into more of a knock down shot with your body doing more work and the arms and hands doing less. Hope this helps."
- Mark Jackson, Teaching Professional
Indiana
"You can control spin by having dead hands and slower arm speed. Trying working on swinging at 50 MPH versus 100 MPH." - Bruce Cohen, Teaching Professional
Missouri
"Many factors dictate the amount of spin a ball has when it lands on the green; the type of ball you have, your angle of attack, and your club head speed. The easiest way to control your spin is to control your club head speed. To control the amount of spin you produce on the ball, control your club head speed. Try hitting an 8 - iron when you would normally hit a 9 - iron, etc... Shortening your back swing distance, with a normal follow - through will reduce your club head speed slightly and spin the ball less. You can also try choking down about and inch on the club. This will tend to reduce the spin and keep the ball on a lower ball flight which will also help keep your ball from spinning back too much. Thanks for the question!" - Dave Garren, Teaching Professional
North Carolina
"Without getting too technical, a great way is to find the right golf ball to fit your game."
- James Piercy, Teaching Professional
Pennsylvania
"Back spin is a curse to a good player, because you never know when it will appear and how much it will affect your shot. You should work on shots that slow the ball down. You are able to control the forward motion of the ball, and you should work to develop that type of shot."
- Bob Sheppard, Teaching Professional
South Carolina
"Tony: Would you like more, or less, backspin? Backspin is caused by compression leakage that occurs with impact. The degree is based upon the loft at hand and the solidness of contact. There are two immediate factors. Most golfers never reap the benefit of backspin because the degree of solidness is less than the expert, i.e. more of a glancing blow. If you do not get much backspin see you PGA/LPGA pro for your basic motion is at fault and it would take a book to bring you home. The other factor is the golf ball you play. If you strike it well try a softer balata ball for more or a harder ball for less." - Michael Lucas, Teaching Professional
Texas
"Control the amount of backspin with the loft of the club and the length of your swing. On half shots with wedges the ball will fly a bit lower and roll a little. A 3/4 swing will travel a bit higher and not roll as far. A full swing will fly high and sit. Be careful about worrying about so much spin and concentrate on hitting solid, high percentage shots." - Dave Baron, Teaching Professional
Utah
"People think that backspin is some magic thing happening! In reality the ball is always back spinning at impact, it's when the ball hits the ground that it changes or can change spin direction or roll. Next time when you watch the PGA professionals on TV look at how steep the club is coming in on the ball on their short chips. This technique is coming steep into the ball hitting down on it instead of picking it up. The ball design is very important too! The softer the cover the more spin. Most of all the new balls on tour ie; ProV1, A10, Tour Ultimate, Tour Accuracy have high spin rates. Talk to your local PGA professional to teach you the hop and stop technique or stop by Utahgolf.net next time. Thanks!"
- Brent Wootton, Teaching Professional