How To Put Serious Spin On Your Golf Ball
A lot of golfers can struggle to make the ball do what they want on the golf course, it’s often hard enough for beginners to get the ball to go straight never mind thinking about back spin and controlling the roll of the ball. This is why seeing professionals like Phil Mickleson, particularly lauded for his short game, clear their ball out of the rough or even the bunker to land the ball on the green and get it to roll almost magnetically towards the flag seems inhuman.
Applying backspin to your shots needn’t be the impossible dream that beginner golfers build it up as, with practice you too can stop your ball on a dime or even get it to track backwards. First of all you need to practice with a wedge, preferably 60° wedges with maximum loft. As you get the feel for adding backspin you can cycle through your irons up to an 8 iron but for starters choose the club with the greatest loft.
You won’t need to worry about power initially as these kinds of shots are typically made close to the green and so it becomes less about power and distance, and more a case of accuracy and precision. Firstly the stance and position of the ball can be important for making a backspin heavy shot. You should stand with your feet slightly closer together for a back spin shot, with the ball slightly behind your usually position (to the right if you’re right handed).
The swing should be more vertical and your backswing should be shorter than your follow through. This promotes your club head to make contact with the ball before creating a divot, adding back spin to the ball as it takes off. This spin should stay with the ball through to touch down where the back spin can stop the ball from rolling further away from you or even back on itself, depending on the amount of spin you have applied.
As you make contact with the ball as you look down your hands and your club handle should be leading, the club head should remain behind you so make sure your wrists don’t break (keep your wrists tense and don’t allow them to flick the club forward). This helps to produce a short and high shot trajectory, ideal for landing the ball from the steepest possible angle allowing the backspin to take effect.
It is recommended that you use softer golf balls to apply the most spin. Golf balls do come in different hardness and whilst harder balls can go further distances softer balls are more controllable. If you’re comfortable with the distance of your shots then using a softer ball can give you an advantage in your short game.
Take care of your golf clubs with golf equipment insurance to help prevent any expensive replacements for lost or stolen golf clubs. Make sure you take care of other expensive equipment such as golf buggies with specialist golf buggy insurance too.
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