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Re: How much does spin influence distance control?

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Wed, Mar 6 2013 5:49 PM (4 replies)
  • ACSPedrosa
    17 Posts
    Wed, Mar 6 2013 1:53 PM

    Does using varying degrees of backspin influence ball flight distance w/out wind an also with wind?  With a moderateto strong head wind does ball with backspin travel less than it would if with no spin adjustment?

    Also, I typically go full top spin when I want to boom a drive.  Are there pros / cons to this?  Does full topspin affect a shot negatively if not dinged?

    What is your experience and what is the WGT standard?

     

  • WGTicon
    12,511 Posts
    Wed, Mar 6 2013 4:31 PM

    backspin influences distance on every shot. in  in some cases, the change could be as much as 30 yards... all depends on club, wind, elevation, spin, etc.

    there is no right/wrong answer to what spin to use. I say it depends on wind and hole and where you land... on a downslope or not. Not hitting in the perf spot, will influence distance of every shot.

    -wgticon

  • Tightrope
    1,072 Posts
    Wed, Mar 6 2013 4:36 PM

    In headwind spin affects the distance a lot, tailwind less. Exact parameters are tricky to judge and often a drive will be longer with backspin regardless of wind, depending if the fairway is "roll friendly" or not. St A, for instance, has a lot of roll and "front spin" (which is really just "less backspin" since there is always backspin to a certain amount) can give you longer drives. A drive with backspin will almost always land further out but roll less.

    Clubs with a lot of spin tend to become very sensitive, a 175 club might go 25 yds shorter with full bs than without spin if the wind is in your face. If the wind is in your neck, the difference is a lot smaller.What you need to do is to make a practice round,  drive it out on the fairway and if the wind is aligned right, hit the ball forward and backward with the same spin so that you see what tail/head actually does. If you are ambitious, repeat the process for each club you have and remember that only dinged or almost dinged shots counts as reference. A big miss will affect both spin and distance.

  • SHRUDE
    5,835 Posts
    Wed, Mar 6 2013 4:39 PM

    If you are driving and have a nice full tail wind (from behind), it is usually best to add bottom spin. Depending on how I want to land, i add either full bottom or half.

    This will lift the trajectory of the ball high and the wind will carry it further. It will drop and there will be little roll on depending on the lie you land on.

    The opposite is true for head wind, top spin will lower the trajectory and the ball will fly low 'under the wind' land earlier and roll on further.

     

  • SamanthaWho
    3,403 Posts
    Wed, Mar 6 2013 5:49 PM

    ACSPedrosa:

    Does using varying degrees of backspin influence ball flight distance w/out wind an also with wind?  With a moderateto strong head wind does ball with backspin travel less than it would if with no spin adjustment?

    Also, I typically go full top spin when I want to boom a drive.  Are there pros / cons to this?  Does full topspin affect a shot negatively if not dinged?

    What is your experience and what is the WGT standard?

     

    As far as full BS control goes, my rule of thumb with no wind is it takes off 5 yards. Thats just general, and seems to work for me mostly. 

     

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