Backspin with Driver

magic_murph

I am getting what seems to be back spin with the driver.
Ball flight seems a bit high but nothing massively different to other lads that I play with.
When I get up to the ball there is always a pitch mark right in front of the ball so rather than getting a bit of extra yardage on the drive the ball basically stops dead.

Any ideas what would cause this - swing, driver, shaft etc or just a combination of a number of things.
General question I know but just looking for a starting place to try and fix this.

yipsnomore

magic_murph wrote: »

I am getting what seems to be back spin with the driver.
Ball flight seems a bit high but nothing massively different to other lads that I play with.
When I get up to the ball there is always a pitch mark right in front of the ball so rather than getting a bit of extra yardage on the drive the ball basically stops dead.

Any ideas what would cause this - swing, driver, shaft etc or just a combination of a number of things.
General question I know but just looking for a starting place to try and fix this.

All shots backspin, even with driver. Amount of spin imparted is a combination of driver head, loft, shaft, attack angle. The only way you can know for sure what your spin is, is a launch monitor.

magic_murph

WAs thinking the same myself but just wanted to double check. I'll head to a fitting centre some evening ad see whats up.

First Up

magic_murph wrote:

WAs thinking the same myself but just wanted to double check. I'll head to a fitting centre some evening ad see whats up.

Definitely something they can analyse.

Montgolfier

The ground is very soft also so if you get any height on the ball it will stop dead more or less.
Ok say you don't want spend a fortune on trak man.
There are ways to check on the course if your

Just keep an eye on ball flight especially into the wind. If the ball is balooning you will see a noticeable rise in ball flight near the end of its flight. That may indicate too much spin.

Do you tee the ball high or low? Teeing the ball low can cause a steep angle of attack and more spin.
Where teeing the ball high can promote a positive angle of attack and less spin.

Just a few little checks you can do yourself during a round.

First Up

Montgolfier wrote:

Just a few little checks you can do yourself during a round.

None of that is going to tell him what he can do about it. Proper analysis will.

Montgolfier

First Up wrote: »

None of that is going to tell him what he can do about it. Proper analysis will.

Well you can't play golf on a trakman. It's easy to get bogged down in analysis of the swing. But let's face it if you score well it doesn't matter how pretty your swing is.

yipsnomore

Montgolfier wrote: »

Well you can't play golf on a trakman. It's easy to get bogged down in analysis of the swing. But let's face it if you score well it doesn't matter how pretty your swing is.

Agreed! Change your swing at your peril 😊. But he may squeeze another 10 yds out of his drives if he can match up a better driver combo to his swing

First Up

Montgolfier wrote:

Well you can't play golf on a trakman. It's easy to get bogged down in analysis of the swing. But let's face it if you score well it doesn't matter how pretty your swing is.

You do recall the subject of the thread I assume.

Montgolfier

magic_murph wrote: »

I am getting what seems to be back spin with the driver.
Ball flight seems a bit high but nothing massively different to other lads that I play with.
When I get up to the ball there is always a pitch mark right in front of the ball so rather than getting a bit of extra yardage on the drive the ball basically stops dead.

Any ideas what would cause this - swing, driver, shaft etc or just a combination of a number of things.
General question I know but just looking for a starting place to try and fix this.

First Up wrote: »

You do recall the subject of the thread I assume.

Do you recall the post?:)


You know if someone asks for advice; and the advice is get a lesson or go see your pro, it makes for a very boring thread.

Not saying he shouldn't get a lesson but no harm getting a few tips along the way.

First Up

Montgolfier wrote:

Not saying he shouldn't get a lesson but no harm getting a few tips along the way.

You didn't give him any tips. You just gave examples of how to recognise backspin. He was asking for ideas about what might be causing it.

Montgolfier

First Up wrote: »

You didn't give him any tips. You just gave examples of how to recognise backspin. He was asking for ideas about what might be causing it.

Teeing it high was a tip no?
But good job I didn't give anymore I'm sure you'd be down on me like a ton of bricks.

First Up

Montgolfier wrote:

Teeing it high was a tip no? But good job I didn't give anymore I'm sure you'd be down on me like a ton of bricks.

Meaningless unless you also factor in stance, gdriver loft, ball position and swing plane. All things that ten minutes in a fitting centre will sort.

But by all means offer advice to someone you know nothing about.

Montgolfier

First Up wrote: »

Meaningless unless you also factor in stance, gdriver loft, ball position and swing plane. All things that ten minutes in a fitting centre will sort.

But by all means offer advice to someone you know nothing about.

Did you not get to play golf today? If you have a problem best look internally rather than externally. This is an online fourm where people discuss ideas if you don't like it don't respond.

First Up

Montgolfier wrote: »

Did you not get to play golf today? If you have a problem best look internally rather than externally. This is an online fourm where people discuss ideas if you don't like it don't respond.

How about you offer your advice, I offer mine and we let the advisee decide which they prefer?

Montgolfier

First Up wrote: »

How about you offer your advice, I offer mine and we let the advisee decide which they prefer?

Sounds like that's what you should have done in the first place. No harm done.

dan_ep82

I'd look at strike first. Easiest thing to check and change.

DuckSlice

dan_ep82 wrote: »

I'd look at strike first. Easiest thing to check and change.

Agreed, strike is the main factor. and very easy to check yourself.

bmay529

magic_murph wrote: »

I am getting what seems to be back spin with the driver.
Ball flight seems a bit high but nothing massively different to other lads that I play with.
When I get up to the ball there is always a pitch mark right in front of the ball so rather than getting a bit of extra yardage on the drive the ball basically stops dead.

Any ideas what would cause this - swing, driver, shaft etc or just a combination of a number of things.
General question I know but just looking for a starting place to try and fix this.

I wonder if you have tried any of your mates drivers and what has been the result. High spin is likely the cause if the ball is not going too high but there are so many factors that can influence this as stated earlier and the soft ground at the moment will exaggerate it. Some driver head/shaft combinations produce very low spin. I would suggest your best move is to go for a lesson with a reputable pro that works out of a driving range who has a trackman or similar golf radar/launch monitor so you can hit real balls to a real target.

CMOTDibbler

Might I tentatively suggest that it's a high ball flight and soft ground? I get the same thing at the moment even with a lower trajectory 3 wood and I'm diagnosing it as ball hits soft ground, digs in and gets a small bounce back of maybe six inches to a foot. On drier fairways it bounces along like a happy puppy.

Montgolfier

CMOTDibbler wrote: »

Might I tentativiley suggest that it's a high ball flight and soft ground? I get the same thing at the moment even with a lower trajectory 3 wood and I'm diagnosing it as ball hits soft ground, digs in and gets a small bounce back of maybe six inches to a foot. On drier fairways it bounces along like a happy puppy.

Brave I like it!:)

alxmorgan

Soft ground could be an issue.

But spin can be caused by many factors as outlined above

Strike - lower on face has higher spin, higher has less
Shaft
Head
Angle of attack
Spin loft

Someone with a launch monitor would be able to tell you in no time
I dropped my spin by 1000rpms with a shaft change.

ShivasIrons

The factors behind spin are speed, spin loft, impact point and friction. Spin loft is approximately the difference between angle of attack and dynamic loft.

To decrease spin you have to change one or all of those factors. You don't want to decrease speed. Changing equipment can change those factors too. So ball, head and shaft have an influence too.

Ball is the easiest to change. Then head then shaft.

Head and shaft can have an impact on spin loft, particularly dynamic loft. Length of shaft can help with impact point. Other wise changing spin loft and impact point require technical changes.

Of course it's impossible to diagnose what's happening to the OP without seeing swing, ball flight and impact point.

First Up

Montgolfier wrote: »

Sounds like that's what you should have done in the first place. No harm done.

No harm done if the OP takes my advice (and that of others) and gets properly analysed.

magic_murph

Thanks guys - all good advice and I have a lesson booked in for next week to check out driver set up etc.

The issue issue isn't related to the soft ground, although that doesn't help, I have this problem all year round even whey playing links golf although to a lesser effect.

Ronney

I throw in the following,

Do you hit your irons high as well and take little divots?

If so you might be "flicking" at the ball and getting your club head ahead of your hands at impact.

Concentrate at getting the back of your left hand pushing towards your target at impact (your right side could possibly be dominating things)

magic_murph

Iron ball flight is generally high with no divot take - either on fairways or tee box.

Not sure if I am 'flicking' at the ball - thats something that I will have to pay a bit more attention too next time Im at the range / on the course.

Ronney

magic_murph wrote: »

Iron ball flight is generally high with no divot take - either on fairways or tee box.

Not sure if I am 'flicking' at the ball - thats something that I will have to pay a bit more attention too next time Im at the range / on the course.

Try hitting a few left handed (might find this very difficult put gives you the feel of keeping the left hand ahead at impact) only or even up the range grip tightly with left and loosely with right letting your left dictate everything.

Montgolfier

Interesting video by Mark Crossfield.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=LosyxcuxcoU

The more consistently you strike the center the less variation you will have on spin numbers. Makes sense to me, so practicing strike on your driver will help you. The better you get the more you will recognise off center strikes and where they are on the face.

bmay529

magic_murph wrote: »

Thanks guys - all good advice and I have a lesson booked in for next week to check out driver set up etc.

The issue issue isn't related to the soft ground, although that doesn't help, I have this problem all year round even whey playing links golf although to a lesser effect.

Let us know how you get on with the lesson and what conclusion is reached if any