If you’re like most golfers, I’m sure you’ve wondered how to get tons of spin around the greens? It’s fun to watch the best players in the world do it on TV, but is it possible for the everyday golfer?
Controlling spin in the short game is possible but not as often you might see on TV. Today, I’ll teach you how to control spin on short game shots, what clubs produce the most spin, and understanding the science behind backspin. Plus, some equipment issues that might be holding you back from getting the right amount of spin.
Why You Aren’t Getting Backspin
Before getting into how to control on short game shots, it’s important to understand what backspin is and how it is created. Otherwise, the rest of the article might not help you as much as it could.
Start by reading our full guide about creating backspin here. Then, keep reading to learn more about creating spin and controlling it for an effective short game.
Key Takeaways
- Backspin around the greens is determined by multiple factors including wedge grooves, fairway vs. rough lie, green conditions, and more.
- Controlling spin around the greens comes down to determining the lie, how much green you have to work with, and what the shot calls for.
- Different wedges and lies create different amounts of spin, which is why it’s crucial to do your homework before attempting the shot. You need to identify various factors so you can hit a good short game shot and hopefully get up/down.
As mentioned above, the pros seem to generate a ton of spin around the greens. But why don’t more amateur golfers?
Is it a swing issue? Setup mistake? Or something else?
Let’s start with why you most likely aren’t getting backspin.
Using Old Wedges
The first reason you aren’t getting enough (or any) backspin around the greens might be outdated equipment. Wedge grooves wear down over time which makes it harder to create enough friction between the ball and face of the club. Without friction – as you’ll learn in the next section – you won’t get much, if any, backspin.
This is why the best golfers in the world replace their wedges so often. They need as much greenside spin as possible to deal with the tucked pin positions.
Obviously, you can’t replace wedges every few weeks like these guys. However, you should replace your sand or lob wedge (whichever one you use the most) more often than the rest of your wedges.
You don’t need to replace the PW or GW nearly as often. But since a lob wedge is used a ton inside 100 yards and around the green, it’s crucial to replace them more often.
Having the right wedges is the first step to getting spin.
Not Having A “Spin Friendly Environment”
The second reason you aren’t getting enough spin around the greens is because you don’t have a friction environment.
As noted in Golf Digest, “The best players in the world do hit slightly down on the ball, but that downward hit isn’t what’s producing all that backspin. They’re doing it with clubhead speed and friction from clean contact.”
While clean contact is important, the grass itself is key to getting the most amount of spin. Both the grass you’re hitting from and the green firmness.
Here’s a good example.
The week after the WM Open, I played TPC Scottsdale Stadium course with the stands up. As you can imagine, it was in immaculate condition, but I noticed how much more spin I got around the greens.
First, the grass around the greens was firm and very tightly mowed for the event. The greens themselves were also in perfect condition which allowed me to have the ball hit, check, and stop quickly.
However, this is not how the course plays year round or most public golf courses. So if you’re not getting spin, despite perfect contact, the conditions might be to blame.
If you’re hitting from the rough or even a thicker cut of the fairway (during winter golf), you won’t get much spin. The same goes for different green conditions too.
Not Making Clean Contact
You need fresh wedges and proper conditions to create spin… but you also need to make clean contact. The key is to make ball first contact, not hitting the grass behind the ball first.
As noted in the same Golf Digest article, “Pros are hitting the ball first—cleanly—then taking the divot, and its size is usually because they have a lot more speed than average players do.”
Later noting that it is so important to have speed and ball first contact with a slight downward blow.
If you’re not making clean contact, look at your fundamentals like grip, setup, and weight distribution. You also need to have the right short game tempo so you accelerate and create spin like the pros do around the greens.
Using the Wrong Golf Ball
The final reason you might not get much spin around the greens (or too much) is from your golf ball. As you know, there are hundreds of different types of golf balls and each one is designed differently.
Some golf balls are distance balls with a 2-piece core that don’t allow much spin. Others are built to have some spin with a good mix of distance. While others are built for spin above all else.
This is why you won’t get much spin with range balls. These 1-2 piece golf balls aren’t made for spin to begin with and have less defined dimples from tons of use.
How to Control Spin
Needless to say, there are a lot of reasons why you might not be getting enough spin right now. But to recap, to generate spin you need clean grooves, a good lie, clean contact, the right ball, and proper green conditions.
If you have these basics, you can create spin and then learn to control it around the greens.
1. Identify the Lie
To control spin, you need to first identify the type of lie.
Is it sitting up in a perfect position on the fringe? In the rough, but sitting up? Or, buried in the rough?
Each type of lie will dictate the total spin:
- Fringe or tight fairway cut = most amount of backspin.
- Light rough (depending on grain) = less spin, but still might get a good amount.
- Deep rough (sitting down) = hardly any backspin, plan for a lot more roll out.
If you’re in tightly mown grass, you can plan to get a lot more backspin. While the rough is a little more tricky and will need to plan for the ball to release more than hit the green and check.
Read the Chip Like a Putt
Once you have identified the type of lie and friction environment, next up is reading the chip like a putt. Too many golfers neglect this step and might hit a great shot but still end up 5 or 6 feet away because they didn’t read the putt.
Without slowing up the pace of play, walk the shot off like you would when reading a putt. This will help you with step three and also note if the chip will break left or right. Or, if the chip is uphill or downhill.
2. Identify the Ideal Trajectory and Shot
Once you’ve analyzed the lie and read the chip, it’s time to commit to a club and trajectory.
More loft (lob or sand wedges) will create more backspin and are better suited if you’re short sided. Less loft wedges (pitching or gap) will hit the green and then roll out like a putt.
Depending on the amount of green you have to work with will ultimately determine the club of choice. If you’re short sided and only have a little space, you’ll typically need a lob or sand wedge. If you have a lot of room between you and the hole, you can use less loft and hit more of a bump and run type of shot.
When you’re short sided, you’ll need to hit a flop or high pitch shot. If you have more green to work with, you can putt from the fringe or hit a chip shot as well. Or, even putt with a hybrid or 3-wood, as it’s also very useful when playing in grainy conditions.
You can also learn more about the difference between chipping vs. pitching here.
3. Pick Your Landing Zone
Now that you’ve identified the right club, analyzed the lie, and got clear about how the ball will react, you can’t forget to pick a landing zone. This is an area on the green (or maybe fringe) where you want the golf ball to land.
You want this to be a smaller area – the size of a washcloth – to give your mind a clear target. Try to find something identifiable, like an old cup or discolored part of the green. This way you can focus on that as you’re making practice swings.
4. Hit the Chip or Pitch
At this point, you have everything you need to hit an effective chip and hopefully end up close to the pin for a short putt. Commit to your shot, don’t overthink it, and have confidence in your short game.
If you don’t have enough confidence yet, make sure to hit the short game area at your local golf course. The chipping and putting green are largely neglected compared to the driving range and why so many amateur golfers struggle with the short game.
My Experience
The first step in your short game journey is learning how to create backspin with the right swing and golf ball. The next step is to learn to control spin so you can hit more shots close to increase the chances of making putts.
I play and practice a lot, so I replace my Titleist Vokey lob wedge a lot (2-3X per year). But I don’t do this with other wedges, as I like to have a mix of spin for each club.
If I need a high shot or one with tons of spin, I’ll use a lob wedge. If I need moderate spin and mid-high trajectory, I’ll use a sand wedge. And if I need the ball to hit and roll, I’ll use my gap wedge.
Experiment with different shots, trajectories, and hitting from challenging lies on the chipping green. The more you can experiment and learn how to hit wedges better, the sooner you can hit your golf goals.
Final Thoughts on Spin Control
To recap, the lie, wedges, and contact all play a pivotal role in the amount of spin you can create. To control spin, play more of a lower shot so it hits the green and then rolls like a putt. This is best to do with a pitching wedge or gap wedge.
If you need more spin because you’re short sided and don’t have much green to work with, use a higher loft (lob or sand wedge). These wedges have deeper and different cut grooves that will help generate more backspin.
Higher shots will have more spin and stop faster. While lower shots will hit and release with more forward spin.
With any shot around the green, make sure to always read the lie and pick a good landing spot.
To keep improving your short game, make sure to read these articles next:
