Golf Ball Spin Chart (Video) - by Pete Styles
Golf Ball Spin Chart (Video) - by Pete Styles

Now playing golf is a lot about spin. Playing a lot of sports is a lot about spin. Most ball sports involve the ball spinning in some way, but golf probably more than most. And using the correct golf ball to create the correct amount or type of spin is quite an important part of the decision making process when you choose the correct ball. So a golf ball, it’s important to understand how it spins. Basically it can spin in two directions and the combination of those. It can backspin, so spinning backwards during its flight. And it can sidespin. Now I'll never do those necessarily independently.

It's a combination off, so it's back spinning or it’s spinning on an axis or it’s side spinning. Now for a golf ball to get up in the air, it will be back spinning. Anything that's hit with any degree of loft will get the ball rolling up its face and it will be back spinning through the air. But very rarely do we hit a ball with pure backspin. You know one of those balls that just flies dead straight and never moves. Most of the time it’s back spin on a slightly tilted axis and it just tilt its axis and that creates that curving nature in the ball flight. Now if you ask any good golfer what they want the ball to do, most people say I want the bowl to backspin. I want the ball to land on the green and backspin. And then what do you want the ball not to do? Well I don’t want it to sidespin. I don't want it to curve around corners. So you want backspin, but you don't want side spin. Well that's difficult because you can't get. Because for a golf ball to spin backwards more, it will also inherently have more curving spin, more tilted spin. Because it's the same thing, it's back spinning but it's spinning on an axis. So the holy grail for any golfer is a ball that backspins loads, but doesn’t side spin, but it doesn't exist. Your options with a golf ball basically put are more or less spin. Now generally when you read the [Indiscernible] [0:01:59] on the side of the box of golf balls, it talks about hard balls going a long way and soft balls going slightly shorter, but spinning more giving you more feel and more control. And that's basically your choices. Am I focused on hitting the ball as far as possible, a distance ball, a harder ball, a less spinning ball. And I think about less back spinning, so it goes a bit further. It doesn't stop on the green quite as much. But it might fly straighter. It won’t curve so much because that backspin doesn't turn into the tilted back spin into sidespin effectively. So we’ve got the options, a hard ball will go will further, will go slightly straighter, won't stop on the green so much and might feel a bit cliquey when you hit it with a putter. Or a slightly softer golf ball will backspin a bit more, potentially fly a little bit shorter, but might feel like it has a bit more touch and a bit more control with your chip shots, and when you're putting because it's going to stop on the green better. Now manufacturers particularly the top end manufacturers work as hard as they can on trying to get a golf ball that goes a long way off the tee, as straight as possibly and then spins on the green. And they are getting closer to that with balls like the Titleist Pro V1 and things like that. They have a really soft outer cover that gives you that soft touch and feel around the green, and they have a really hard in a core that really propels the ball a long way. But if you break it up into the two basic camps, you've got a hard ball that goes a long way and goes straighter and a softer ball that feels good around the green and spins a little bit more, but doesn't quite go as far. Now spend a bit of time having a look at the chart below and having a look and see which ball you're currently playing with, which ball you think you should be playing with. Maybe go and try a pack of those, try some a sample three or sample six balls and see where they are changing the hardness of the golf ball, if it’s harder or softer can make a difference to your game. 2015-07-23

Now playing golf is a lot about spin. Playing a lot of sports is a lot about spin. Most ball sports involve the ball spinning in some way, but golf probably more than most. And using the correct golf ball to create the correct amount or type of spin is quite an important part of the decision making process when you choose the correct ball. So a golf ball, it’s important to understand how it spins. Basically it can spin in two directions and the combination of those. It can backspin, so spinning backwards during its flight. And it can sidespin. Now I'll never do those necessarily independently.

It's a combination off, so it's back spinning or it’s spinning on an axis or it’s side spinning. Now for a golf ball to get up in the air, it will be back spinning. Anything that's hit with any degree of loft will get the ball rolling up its face and it will be back spinning through the air. But very rarely do we hit a ball with pure backspin. You know one of those balls that just flies dead straight and never moves. Most of the time it’s back spin on a slightly tilted axis and it just tilt its axis and that creates that curving nature in the ball flight. Now if you ask any good golfer what they want the ball to do, most people say I want the bowl to backspin.

I want the ball to land on the green and backspin. And then what do you want the ball not to do? Well I don’t want it to sidespin. I don't want it to curve around corners. So you want backspin, but you don't want side spin. Well that's difficult because you can't get. Because for a golf ball to spin backwards more, it will also inherently have more curving spin, more tilted spin. Because it's the same thing, it's back spinning but it's spinning on an axis. So the holy grail for any golfer is a ball that backspins loads, but doesn’t side spin, but it doesn't exist.

Your options with a golf ball basically put are more or less spin. Now generally when you read the [Indiscernible] [0:01:59] on the side of the box of golf balls, it talks about hard balls going a long way and soft balls going slightly shorter, but spinning more giving you more feel and more control. And that's basically your choices. Am I focused on hitting the ball as far as possible, a distance ball, a harder ball, a less spinning ball. And I think about less back spinning, so it goes a bit further. It doesn't stop on the green quite as much. But it might fly straighter. It won’t curve so much because that backspin doesn't turn into the tilted back spin into sidespin effectively.

So we’ve got the options, a hard ball will go will further, will go slightly straighter, won't stop on the green so much and might feel a bit cliquey when you hit it with a putter. Or a slightly softer golf ball will backspin a bit more, potentially fly a little bit shorter, but might feel like it has a bit more touch and a bit more control with your chip shots, and when you're putting because it's going to stop on the green better. Now manufacturers particularly the top end manufacturers work as hard as they can on trying to get a golf ball that goes a long way off the tee, as straight as possibly and then spins on the green.

And they are getting closer to that with balls like the Titleist Pro V1 and things like that. They have a really soft outer cover that gives you that soft touch and feel around the green, and they have a really hard in a core that really propels the ball a long way. But if you break it up into the two basic camps, you've got a hard ball that goes a long way and goes straighter and a softer ball that feels good around the green and spins a little bit more, but doesn't quite go as far. Now spend a bit of time having a look at the chart below and having a look and see which ball you're currently playing with, which ball you think you should be playing with.

Maybe go and try a pack of those, try some a sample three or sample six balls and see where they are changing the hardness of the golf ball, if it’s harder or softer can make a difference to your game.