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Topspin or backspin for long drives?

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Sun, Jul 2 2017 8:45 PM (50 replies)
  • gerryniswonger
    1,890 Posts
    Mon, Nov 26 2012 4:27 AM

    "Taking a poll...what works the best?"

    I use Ping G20 (L-81) and Calloway iz balls and just did a test of 5 drives each (No Wind) and here's the averages...

    No spin - 268 and 25 yds roll

    B/S - 280 and 18 roll

    F/S - 260 and 31 roll

    Looks like B/S is longest but only slightly, I hope this helps everyone.

  • chris5214
    1,937 Posts
    Mon, Nov 26 2012 5:09 AM

    Tonto0206:

    Ha Ha, so says 2 guys with longest drives of 380 and 364 yards respectively.

     

    Very funny.

    Just did this one today on #7 St Andrews

    longest drive is the wrong stat to look at .. you should look at avg driving distance ..

    ur avg driving distance is 278yds .. u're welcome to look at mine ..

    depending on wind strength .. various degrees of backspin for cross- & tailwinds .. & regular or little topspin in headwind .. if the headwind is very low, then a smidge of backspin will do ..

    on average, guys who use no spin on drives gets out driven by avg of approx 10 yds ..

  • Choppography
    2,166 Posts
    Mon, Nov 26 2012 6:16 AM

    First, you need to know how far your driver will carry with all three types of spin applied.  Second, you need to know where it's most advantageous to land the ball.  Third, you simply need to be in the fairway above most else.

    The reason I mention this is because you should be using spin to control the trajectory of your drives to KEEP you in the fairways........not max your distance.  There is so much more to the game of golf than hitting it hard.  Bubba Watson, and John Daly to some extent, are one-trick ponies.  I won't get off track on defending my statement here.

    On courses like Olympic, I will use topspin more than about any other application from the Master tees because it keeps things under trees, under winds, and gives me better angles into angled fairways....even downwind.  It's simply too important to avoid the rough there.  Using topspin also increases your margin for error when missing the ding because the ball gets down and rolling sooner.

    But, it's knowing where your ball is going before you hit it that will allow you to truly maximize your driver.  It's the different spins that will get you there.  They should all be used in different situations to give you the best approach into the greens.

  • barbarella24
    513 Posts
    Mon, Nov 26 2012 6:57 AM

    chris5214:
    longest drive is the wrong stat to look at .. you should look at avg driving distance

    But isn't the average taken from all rounds? Example: if I use the starter driver until level 81 (?) then use the G20 until level 90 my average would depend on how many rounds I've played etc. and if you play the same amount of rounds but continually upgrade your driver when a longer hitter becomes available your average will be greater then mine. Doesn't mean you are better at getting more distance then me. Does this make sense? Confused myself lol...

  • Lizard69
    2,006 Posts
    Mon, Nov 26 2012 7:37 AM

    Makes perfect sense..

    It's the same with all our stats, trying to bring any averages down or ave driving dist up, you have to outweigh all the "bad" stats from the earlier days with starter clubs etc etc

    In my last number of rounds (too many to think of) I have driven 290-350 yds, yet my driving ave goes up half a yard a week lol

    Would be nice if stats re-set when you tier up like you're ave does, that would be a truer reflection of your abilities imo

  • alcaucin
    9,041 Posts
    Mon, Nov 26 2012 7:42 AM

    Lizard69:
    Would be nice if stats re-set when you tier up like you're ave does, that would be a truer reflection of your abilities imo

    ^^^ There's an idea

    But still have seperate categories, Hack-P-TP-Master etc etc

  • chris5214
    1,937 Posts
    Mon, Nov 26 2012 7:46 AM

    barbarella24:

    chris5214:
    longest drive is the wrong stat to look at .. you should look at avg driving distance

    But isn't the average taken from all rounds? Example: if I use the starter driver until level 81 (?) then use the G20 until level 90 my average would depend on how many rounds I've played etc. and if you play the same amount of rounds but continually upgrade your driver when a longer hitter becomes available your average will be greater then mine. Doesn't mean you are better at getting more distance then me. Does this make sense? Confused myself lol...

    yeah thats right of course .. depending on how often one has clubbed up over time ..

    but as an example, i once played another legend on St A .. i just turned legend and was still using the Rballz driver at the time .. this guy was using the R11s .. i out drove him on all but one hole .. our drives were mostly downwind & i thought that he would be miles ahead of me on drives .. he shoulda been .. i guess he wasn't using spin while i was .. who knows ..

    but playin' some random guys they would ask me how i was out driving them all the time even though we were using the same tees & drivers .. answer is spin

  • borntobesting
    9,751 Posts
    Mon, Nov 26 2012 8:41 AM

    If you need Carry distance to clear a bunker or trees then full B/S it best, Into heavy winds it's T/S. 

  • MontegoMag
    1,764 Posts
    Mon, Nov 26 2012 10:36 AM

    Thanks for all the great info folks. I had actually settled on a lot of it through my own journey of discovery but you have given me much food for thought and experimentation. As was stated, I do try and hit the short grass...no matter what. I was just wondering why most everyone I play has recorded much longer "longest drives" than I have and what I was doing that was holding me back.

    Again...Thanks and have fun!

  • Choppography
    2,166 Posts
    Mon, Nov 26 2012 5:02 PM

    MontegoMag:

    Thanks for all the great info folks. I had actually settled on a lot of it through my own journey of discovery but you have given me much food for thought and experimentation. As was stated, I do try and hit the short grass...no matter what. I was just wondering why most everyone I play has recorded much longer "longest drives" than I have and what I was doing that was holding me back.

    Again...Thanks and have fun!

    We've all been there.  We've all likely asked.  That's why we've arrived at the conclusions we have.  Kid tested, Mother approved.

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