Golf is a sport that has been around for centuries in which players hit a ball with various types of clubs into holes on acres of land. Golf takes patience and skill to be a great player. However, sometimes some things will sabotage the game, such as ball spin.
What To Do if your golf ball spin too much?
There are several things that you can do to help control the spin of your golf ball:
- Teeing the ball higher
- Never side the driver at address
- Aim at center
- Eliminate downward action
- Stay behind the ball
Golf is said to be relaxing for some while stressful for others. It would be important to be able to play the game and enjoy it, so why not learn how to stop your golf ball from spinning too much.
How To Stop the Out of Control Spin
There are many strategies that golfers can use to make their golf game better.
One of the many strategies is making sure the golfer can control the spin of their golf ball.
If the golf ball is out of control, it is more likely that the golf ball will end up in the woods or too short of the hole.
1) Teeing The Ball Higher
In the past, golfers have teed their ball a little bit above the grass of the golf course.
This was sufficient enough to get the ball into the air after hitting it with a club.
However, over the years, the golfers have determined that sometimes just getting it off the ground is not enough to get a good hit.
Now, golfers use tees that are a little higher off the ground around 23-24 inches.
The height of the tees allows for the ball to be higher off the ground, which is better for the golfer’s game. The height of the tee will allow the golfer to swing the club upwards onto the ball instead of straight across.
The higher tee will make an ideal angle for the ball to be hit in an upward motion.
The upward motion will determine the amount of spin rate that the ball will get. If the ball is hit on a higher tee, the spin rate will be decreased to 3,000 RPM or less. That is ideal for a good shot on the golf course.
2) Never Sole Driver at Address
When the driver is rested on the ground or not in the right area, the golfer could shoot the ball more unevenly, which would allow for more spin to the golf ball. The suggestion is to never sole the driver at the address.
Simple terms would be to never put the golf club down on the ground completely or relax your stance.
The golfer wants to make sure the ball doesn’t move when he is going to hit it.
If the golf club is soled at the address, this allows for movement from the ball (if it is not on a tee). Not soling the driver at address will also ensure that the upward strike to the ball is achieved.
Pro Golfer, Jack Nicklaus, has stated that when his driver or golf club is rested on the ground that his arms and grip are too relaxed.
That would make for a poor drive from the golfer’s swing. A poor drive from the swing will guarantee that the ball spin will be out of control.
3) Aim for the Center
Another way to correct the uncontrollable spin from the golf ball would be to make sure your aim is on the right part of the golf ball.
The goal is to aim for the ball right in the center or a little bit above, which seems like it would make complete sense. The golfer should be aiming in the center of the clubface as well.
To hit the center of the ball, your stance must be in the position to hit the ball down the target line.
The target line is where you want the ball to travel and land near your target. The golf club or driver should be lined up in the right area of the ball before you start the swing.
The golfer does not want to strike the ball on one or two of the grooves below the center of the club.
If this happens, the ball will have too much spin, and the trajectory of the ball will start low then climb. However, the climb will not be enough to get the ball to go as far as the golfer would like.
4) Eliminate Downward Action
Downward actions or topping is something that golfers do not want to do on the golf course. This action usually happens with the golfer releases the club early on the downswing instead of starting down from the ground up.
The downward action or topping can make the ball have a low arc behind the ball, which can cause the golf ball to go a shorter distance and have too much spin. If the golfer hits the ball with a “flat swing” or straight trajectory, the ball will have a similar issue.
If the golfer can eliminate that downward action on the golf ball, the spin on the ball will be more in control and what the golfer wanted to achieve. Knowing what the downward action or topping means is the first step. The second is eliminating it.
To eliminate the downward action is to make sure that when the golfer is standing in front of the ball, the driver or golf club should be lined up in the target line correctly. The stance of the golfer must be facing that target line, and the swing needs to have an upwards motion. There needs to be a follow-through.
5) Stay Behind the Ball
As well as with the downward action, staying behind the ball is an easy fix that the golfer can do when swinging at the golf ball.
It sounds simple, just make sure you and the driver are behind the ball. However, it does happen that when the golfer completes his swing, the driver or golfer’s stance is too far forward.
The golfer wants to get what is called a “clean hit.” This means that the golfer stayed through the shot at impact.
The golf club or driver should swing up and away from the body. Again, the golfer does not want to hit the ball down or across, but rather in an upwards motion.
If there are issues in the golfer’s swing, especially ahead of the ball, the impact will lower the angle of the launch of the ball. If that happens, the ball will be spinning out of control and not land where the golfer wanted the ball to go.
Other Corrections of the Spin
There are a couple of other ways that the golfer can change to help with their game and the control of the spin of the golf ball. These are not things that are always going to be the reason for the golf ball spinning out of control but can be factors for poor gameplay.
1) Quality of Golf Ball
When it comes to golfing, the golfers are usually pretty picky when it comes to their golf clubs, golf balls, and golf courses that they frequent. There are great reasons for that, but mostly it is because of how the golfer wants to play.
To have a better chance at controlling the spin of the golf ball, the golfer should pick out a good quality of golf ball. This does not mean that the golfer is going to pick the golf ball based on what the pros use, or what the most popular brand is.
The golfer should choose a ball that is the best golf ball for their game. The golfer should know their strengths and weaknesses on the golf course. Then the golfer can find a golf ball that will help the golfer do better on the golf course.
It is also suggested that if the golfer finds a good golf ball for their game, they should keep using that ball for a while. It is smart to practice with a good golf ball to ensure that you know what angle to hit it as well as what clubs to use.
2) Golf Clubs
Golfers should be aware of what type of golf club that the golfer should be using on the golf course during their play. That doesn’t mean that sometimes the golf clubs are not the right ones for the level of golf course or hole that the player is on.
Another thing to keep in mind with golf clubs is that golfers should know how to use their golf clubs correctly.
Let’s say that a golfer gets a new set of golf clubs. It is going to be understandable that the golfer is going to have to practice the upward swing on those clubs.
To be successful and help control the spin of the golf ball, the golfer should understand their golf clubs as much as they can.
The golfer should practice types of swings with different types of clubs to understand how to adjust their swing and stance. This will give the golfer a better chance of controlling the spin of the golf ball.
3) Wind and Weather
Like with other outdoor sports, wind and weather can be horrible factors that will make your game uncontrollable or unpredictable.
Depending on where the golfer is playing, the wind and weather might always be an issue or might only be an issue once in a while.
The variable winds that happen during the day will affect the golfer’s swing, follow-through, and golf ball spin. If the wind is coming from the left or right, the ball will go where the wind is taking it.
If the wind is coming at the golfer, they are going to have a harder time swinging the ball far enough.
If the wind is coming from behind the golfer, it could make the swing too much, and the golf ball could end up behind where the golfer wanted it.
Using the wind to the golfer’s advantage is possible. The golfer can determine where the wind is blowing and how hard.
Once the golfer figures that out, the golfer can then adjust their stance, target line, and swinging/follow through. This will allow for more success at stopping the uncontrollable spin.
4) Golf Course Greens
The last thing to keep in mind when trying to fix the spin of the golf ball is the course in which the golfer is playing on.
Golf courses are unique from one another, but most have the same type of set up. The most basic golf course will have 9-18 holes with shorter grass on the teeing area and more grass on the fairway.
Some golf courses are going to have things that can interfere with the way that the golfer hits the ball.
The golf course can determine how the golfer hits the ball, what tees are used, and how to compensate for any lack of structure.
For instance, the golfer could put the tee in another area if the course has rocks or roughage that doesn’t allow the tee to go in as well.
The golfer should be prepared for the golf course of their choosing. The golfer should know what things need to happen on the course to ensure the ball is hit in the right way. This will help eliminate the issue of the ball having too much spin when hit.
The spin of the Ball
There are two different types of spins that the golf balls are going to have, no matter how good the golfer plays.
There is nothing wrong with having some spin to your golf ball. The concern is when the spin is not able to be controlled. It is nearly impossible to hit a ball completely straight.
Golf spin can be good and bad. When the golfer intentionally spins the golf ball, it can be a great thing on the course.
When the spin is deployed by accident, the spin could ruin a good game of golf. Learning how to control the spin is important.
1) Sidespin
No matter what the shot looks like from the golf swing, there is going to be some degree of sidespin.
Sidespins are the spins to golf balls that happen due to the ball rotating sideways and horizontally. The sidespin could be to the left or right, depending on the hit, wind, and environment.
The sidespin is going to happen regardless of what happens with the golf ball. However, the golfer can still control how much sidespin goes into the swing.
When the club hits the ball at any angle, that angle continues in the air. So, if the golfer wants the ball to curve or spin more to the right, they should hit the clubface more to the right.
A way to stop the uncontrollable sidespin is to hit the ball down the target line with a proper stance and swing. Excessive follow through or hitting the ball in the wrong spot/angle will make uncontrollable sidespin.
2) Backspin
Just like with sidespin with the golf balls, backspins do happen with the golf ball after the golfer swings the clubs. The backspin is when the golf ball moves up and down in the air. Every ball hit will have a degree of backspin.
Backspins are dependent on how hard the golfer hits the golf ball with the golf club. High backspin rates will have a higher shot trajectory while a low backspin rate will have a lower ground shot.
When the golfer hits the ball too hard, there’s a chance that the backspin will have a higher uncontrollable spin.
To fix the uncontrollable backspin is to make sure that your stance, swing, and target line all match up.
Make sure that the follow through on the swing is matching the target line. Also, make sure that when the golf ball is hit, the club is hitting in the right area both on the club and ball.
The golfer can also keep in mind the above suggestions to help with the uncontrollable backspins.
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