How To Put Backspin On A Golf Ball (6 Steps)
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Golf remains one of the most prevalent and played games globally. Yet, golf can be enormously frustrating to play, especially for beginners. However, with some research, practice, and appropriate implementation of backspin, most of the infuriation associated with the game will disappear due to enhanced ball control, shot predictability, and consistency.
Putting backspin on a golf ball requires the player to position it nearer to their back foot. In addition, to obtain sufficient backspin on a golf ball, players must perform their swings with a far steeper angle of attack, which allows them to lift the ball while rotating it backward.
To put enormous amounts of backspin on a golf ball, it is essential for the club to first make contact with the ball, which will compress it into the ground below. It is crucial to maintain a higher-than-usual angle of attack and swing speed during the stroke if you want the golf ball to have backspin.
This article will detail how to consistently put spin on any golf ball.
1. Select The Appropriate Club For The Shot
While it is possible to put backspin on a ball when using a putter or driver, the associated effects are negligible, meaning the best option for backspin will always be a highly lofted club.
It should be noted that the more loft your chosen club has, the easier it should be to obtain appropriate height and backspin on the golf ball. In addition, the higher you can hit the golf ball during your shot, the more backspin you can obtain.
We recommend using any wedge, especially those with a naturally higher loft rating.
However…
Any club higher than a six or seven iron should be appropriate. If you are a beginner golfer or struggle with putting backspin on the ball, start with a lofty wedge before progressing to shorter clubs as your technique improves.
2. Utilize A High-Quality And Appropriate Golf Ball
It is known that most high-quality golf balls produced by famous brands were not originally designed to produce much spin, instead focusing on gaining as much distance off the tee as possible.
Most well-known and frequently utilized golf balls contain a hardened and weighty center, allowing them to travel fast and freely through the air, theoretically obtaining a greater distance off the tee. Selecting the appropriate ball for backspin can be challenging, although you should always attempt to generate as much height as possible while near the green.
Generating sufficient backspin when using traditional golf balls is enormously challenging and can often exclusively be achieved by long-time professional players. However, by purchasing a softer centered golf ball, beginner players can effortlessly generate backspin during practice sessions.
Soft-centered golf balls are not recommended for tournament play or competitive rounds, although it enables amateur players to learn the techniques required for effortlessly generating backspin. Once you understand the basic stroke mechanics required to generate backspin, you can start progressing to harder-centered balls while applying the technique you acquired during practice sessions.
Investing in higher quality and premium golf balls with a soft center is worthwhile. At the same time, you attain the appropriate technique required to consistently generate backspin on a golf ball. The premium golf balls may be costlier, yet the benefit they will induce on your short game is priceless.
3. Correctly Position And Place The Golf Ball
After selecting the appropriate club and premium-quality golf ball, it is essential to position yourself correctly before attempting to strike the ball with as much speed and power as possible.
Usually, the best place to position your golf ball is in the middle of your open-legged stance. However, to generate sufficient backspin during your shot, we recommend positioning the golf ball nearer your back or trailing foot instead of your forward foot.
Maintaining your stance is vital, although the golf ball should be moved backward toward your back foot. Maneuvering the ball from your front to your back foot without changing your stance is crucial. It will immediately and automatically allow you to generate enormous amounts of backspin when striking the golf ball.
4. Swing With A High Angle Of Attack
It would be best if you positioned the ball closer to your foot than usual because it allows you to stoke with an elevated angle of attack.
Hitting a golf ball with a downwards, elevated, and steeper angled stroke will automatically enable you to generate enormous amounts of backspin. It should be noted that if the golf ball is placed in the center of your stance or closer to your front foot, which is the traditional way of hitting, it will be near impossible to generate the required amount of backspin.
While it may be counterintuitive, placing the golf ball closer to your back foot than usual will force you to hit it with a steeper club angle, indirectly resulting in you striking it in a downward position.
Honest Tip: Take a few practice shots before striking the golf ball, as it is undeniably important to hit with as steep an angle as possible. You can effortlessly generate sufficient backspin on a golf ball when striking it with an exceptionally steep angle.
5. Hit The Lower Parts Of The Golf Ball And Club Face
Most golfers accept that they will strike some of the turf below the golf ball while taking their shot; however, if you aim to generate backspin, you should always avoid hitting the grass beneath.
To consistently generate backspin on a golf ball, it is essential to strike the ball before contacting the turf below. The best place to hit a golf ball when aiming to generate backspin is at its very bottom. If you connect with the middle or upper regions of the ball, it will travel a great distance before landing and instantly continuing its forward momentum.
By hitting the golf ball as low as possible, without lifting the turf beneath it, the likelihood of generating the desired amount of backspin is significantly enhanced. It would help if you attempted to strike the lowest part of your golf ball with the lower area of your clubface.
Most golfers attempt to strike the ball in the middle of their clubface as it generally offers them the most distance off the tee, ball control, and shot speed. However, hitting the golf ball lower down on the clubface is essential to generate the required backspin on the shot.
By striking the lower end of the ball with the lower area of the clubface, you can generate more friction, allowing for an increased backspin rate on the golf ball. Unfortunately, striking the golf ball low, without contacting the turf, with the lower area of the club face is incredibly challenging and requires a consistent, dedicated, and unrelenting practice session.
6. Aim For Fast Clubhead Speeds And Height
A higher clubhead speed will directly result in an increased spin on a golf ball, demonstrating the practicality of utilizing long wedges for generating the required amount of backspin.
It should be noted that striking the golf ball with a high clubhead speed is only beneficial when you are more than 150 feet away from the hole; otherwise, the ball will travel too far.
If you are relatively close to the green, HoGo recommends a slightly reduced clubhead speed combined with as much height as possible.
If you can hit the ball high when you are close to the hole, it will allow it to obtain additional spin while in the air. The longer a golf ball is in the air, the more backspin it will likely generate.
In addition, the higher you can hit the ball with sufficient club head speed, the greater the distance it will spin backward upon landing.
Golf Ball Backspin FAQ
Following are the most-asked questions we get regarding putting backspin on that little white golf ball!
How Do I Put Backspin on A Golf Ball?
When striking a golf ball off a tee, on a fairway, in the rough, or on the green, your natural golf swing will usually put various amounts of topspin on the ball.
The main reason topspin is put on the ball during most golf shots is to allow it to travel as far as possible. With topspin, a golf ball will travel further in the air; however, once it bounces or lands, it will continue rolling in a forward trajectory.
A golf ball with sufficient top spin will allow players to make considerable progress toward the green, demonstrating its importance for all players.
While hitting a golf ball with topspin is natural and one of the first things beginners should learn. Yet, as your game improves, it becomes crucial to learn how to put the appropriate amount of backspin on a golf ball.
Doing so can be the deciding factor between missing the cut or winning the tournament.
Is It Difficult To Generate Backspin On A Golf Ball?
Despite topspin on a golf ball being utilized far more frequently, players must know exactly how to backspin a golf ball.
Putting backspin on a golf ball may be rarer, especially during non-professional rounds, although it remains an essential component of any player’s game.
Backspin is most beneficial to players aiming to chip towards a tricky or sloping green, as they do not want the ball to continue rolling after it has landed. Instead, they attempt to have the golf ball stop dead before trickling back toward the hole.
Unfortunately, putting backspin on a golf ball is significantly more challenging than putting topspin on the same ball.
While most players can effortlessly and naturally put endless amounts of topspin on their golf ball when driving, chipping, or putting it, most beginner players struggle to apply an appropriate amount of backspin when required.
The difficulties of learning how to put backspin on a golf ball are indisputable. However, if you dedicate sufficient time during practice while following the non-negotiable steps mentioned in this article, putting backspin on a golf ball will quickly become second nature and immediately improve your general game.
Conclusion: How To Put Backspin on A Golf Ball
Putting backspin on a golf ball is challenging for most non-professional golfers. Generating backspin on a golf ball is unnatural and requires consistent and dedicated practice sessions.
Here are the 6 steps for how to put backspin on a golf ball:
- Select the appropriate club for the shot
- Utilize a high-quality and appropriate golf ball
- Correctly position and place the golf ball
- Swing with a high angle of attack
- Hit the lower parts of the golf ball and club face
- Aim for fast clubhead speeds and height
If you put in the work and learn the art of the backspin and understand when to utilize your newfound abilities, your overall game will benefit enormously.
And permanently!
