Golf Tips by Jamieson’s Custom Clubs

The Golf Ball

• The ball’s backspin is far less when the ball hits the ground than when it is launched off the face at impact. An average golfer hitting a sand wedge (56°) with a 70mph swing speed generates backspin at impact of about 10,200 rpm. By the time that ball hits the green, it is spinning at a rate of 9,000 rpm. For a less than full shot with the same sand wedge, as with a three-quarter length pitch shot that generates a 50mph swing speed, the ball takes off with a 7,300 rpm backspin, but lands with a little less of a drop in spin at 6800 rpm. This also happens because of the friction between the ball and the air — the faster the ball spins off the face at impact, the more friction is created and the more the spin decreases when the ball hits the green. However, the greater the swing speed, the more the actual spin will be when the ball lands.

• Different golf balls can produce a measurable difference in backspin, but will NOT significantly affect distance with a driver. Different types of golf balls can measurably change the amount of backspin, but it does not alter it enough to gain or lose much distance when using a driver. For a golfer with an 80 mph swing speed (using an 11° driver head), a change in ball type can generate up to a 500 rpm increase in backspin which would result in ±3 yards of additional carry distance with a driver, while a 100mph golfer (using the same driver and generating an additional 500 rpm backspin), the distance increase would only be about one yard. In contrast, a golfer with 120mph swing speed (using the same driver) can change their ball type to REDUCE spin by 500rpm and that would cause an increase in distance of about two yards. But it is still true that most golfers with a swing speed of less than 105mph need more spin with the ball off the driver face, while most golfers with swing speeds of more than 105mph would be advised to be using lower spin balls, simply to cover all possible bases for maximizing every yard of potential distance.