How Do I create Back Spin On the Golf Ball? (Video) - by Pete Styles
How Do I create Back Spin On the Golf Ball? (Video) - by Pete Styles

How can you create more backspin on your golf shots? This is a question I get asked an awful lot particularly after someone has been watching the professionals on the TV and they see the ball landing on the green and back spinning. Now, in reality the professionals don’t have any extra ability to create more backspin than you or I do when we are playing golf. And golfers often think that pros have this magical wedge or magical ball enables them to do it. That’s not really the case; it’s just a product of a decent ball and decent club, granted, yes but then also really good technique. And if you’re using a relatively soft golf ball with a relatively new wedge and lets say, two or three years old, with decent dry and clean grooves and the lie is good, then you have a good ability to create backspin. When we are playing the shot it’s important that we use plenty of club head speed and a decent downward striking angle. Now, the plenty of club and speed element, don’t expect to be spinning the ball when you are only 30 yard from the green, it doesn’t really happen the ball will land and release, you’re not hitting it hard enough. You’ll get more spin at between 70 to 100 yards, that’s when you’re making a relatively smooth swing with a bit of zip at the bottom, that’s you’ll start to create more spin.

Now, the last element of creating spin is this good angle of attack and a good strike. If you’re hitting the ground before the ball and scooping the ball into the air potentially catching the ball flat, you’re not going to be getting but enough spin on the ball, you’re not going to be getting any spin at all. We really need to be striking down on the ball. So we take our body weight more to the left, hit down and actually take a divot after the ball. Now, I’ve set this little drill, this little exercise, just to make sure I’m striking the ball correctly. I’ve taken the towel off my bag; I’ve laid it on the ground four inches behind the ball. Now, if I make my stroke and I leave the towel where it is, I know I’ve actually hit down, taken a clean contact and given myself the best chance of creating some backspin. So, I’ll play the ball from the center of my stance, grip down, lean left and strike down on the back of the ball. And as I do that nicely, I feel there was a really good contact on the ball, I hit down on it cleanly and the towel was left where it was. Now, if I make a swing this time, I’m going to try and get it wrong, I’m going to try and get it wrong deliberately. A lot of golfers believe they’ve got to lean back and scoop to get the ball up into the air and generate spin by hitting it higher. I’m sure that was the wind that did that but not me, but I’ll set that up again – that was good timing there, if I sweep this one away but try and scoop it up, you can see how that time I ruffled the towel, I leaned back on it, scooped the towel as I hit it and it shot up in the air. That ball went up plenty high enough but it really wouldn’t have had a great deal of spin. And if the lie down here wasn’t very good, it would have been a really poor contact and I might not have even got the ball on the green at all. So, to spin the ball, it’s a good club and a decent ball. Move the body weight left in the down swing, ball and turf for the contact, hit down on the ball. That will create plenty of backspin next time you’re on the golf course. 2014-05-12

How can you create more backspin on your golf shots? This is a question I get asked an awful lot particularly after someone has been watching the professionals on the TV and they see the ball landing on the green and back spinning. Now, in reality the professionals don’t have any extra ability to create more backspin than you or I do when we are playing golf. And golfers often think that pros have this magical wedge or magical ball enables them to do it. That’s not really the case; it’s just a product of a decent ball and decent club, granted, yes but then also really good technique. And if you’re using a relatively soft golf ball with a relatively new wedge and lets say, two or three years old, with decent dry and clean grooves and the lie is good, then you have a good ability to create backspin. When we are playing the shot it’s important that we use plenty of club head speed and a decent downward striking angle. Now, the plenty of club and speed element, don’t expect to be spinning the ball when you are only 30 yard from the green, it doesn’t really happen the ball will land and release, you’re not hitting it hard enough. You’ll get more spin at between 70 to 100 yards, that’s when you’re making a relatively smooth swing with a bit of zip at the bottom, that’s you’ll start to create more spin.

Now, the last element of creating spin is this good angle of attack and a good strike. If you’re hitting the ground before the ball and scooping the ball into the air potentially catching the ball flat, you’re not going to be getting but enough spin on the ball, you’re not going to be getting any spin at all. We really need to be striking down on the ball. So we take our body weight more to the left, hit down and actually take a divot after the ball. Now, I’ve set this little drill, this little exercise, just to make sure I’m striking the ball correctly. I’ve taken the towel off my bag; I’ve laid it on the ground four inches behind the ball. Now, if I make my stroke and I leave the towel where it is, I know I’ve actually hit down, taken a clean contact and given myself the best chance of creating some backspin. So, I’ll play the ball from the center of my stance, grip down, lean left and strike down on the back of the ball. And as I do that nicely, I feel there was a really good contact on the ball, I hit down on it cleanly and the towel was left where it was.

Now, if I make a swing this time, I’m going to try and get it wrong, I’m going to try and get it wrong deliberately. A lot of golfers believe they’ve got to lean back and scoop to get the ball up into the air and generate spin by hitting it higher. I’m sure that was the wind that did that but not me, but I’ll set that up again – that was good timing there, if I sweep this one away but try and scoop it up, you can see how that time I ruffled the towel, I leaned back on it, scooped the towel as I hit it and it shot up in the air. That ball went up plenty high enough but it really wouldn’t have had a great deal of spin. And if the lie down here wasn’t very good, it would have been a really poor contact and I might not have even got the ball on the green at all. So, to spin the ball, it’s a good club and a decent ball. Move the body weight left in the down swing, ball and turf for the contact, hit down on the ball. That will create plenty of backspin next time you’re on the golf course.