Having too much backspin on your drive can end up costing you accuracy and distance. Learning how to reduce the backspin on your drive will help you to optimize your driver spin, however, it’s worth noting that making contact on the face can have a huge bearing on how much spin is imparted, with the spin decreasing or increasing significantly depending on the point of impact. This article will go over some great drills that you can try to help reduce backspin and gain more control.
Too much backspin is a major complaint that many players have. Fortunately, correcting this problem is pretty simple, with the right club and the proper setup and body mechanics. But what causes too much backspin exactly? Let’s find out.
The Result of Off-Center Contact
Off-center contact can lead to too little or too much spin. If you’re creating too much spin with a driver off the tee, whether low or high, left or right, then you may need to change your golf swing to help you find the center. As you practice, make sure that you check where you’re mostly making contact then seek the advice of experienced golfing buddies or an instructor if you notice that it’s consistently away from the center. If you don’t have an instructor, then using the best launch monitor can go a long way toward improving your shot accuracy and spin reduction. In fact, you can use a launch monitor in place of hitting the range, which can save you both time and money during the week. Of course, some golfers will prefer to practice at the range in order to get feedback from fellow golfers.
The Ideal Launch
If you want to launch the ball with the minimum amount of spin, high into the air, then you’ll need to groove your swing in a manner that puts the ball out, over the target line using an upward angle of attack. The goal is to get the ball coming in from the inside to the outside, then hit up on the ball for the best chance of a low spin and high launch combo. This will be the key to hitting longer drives.
Drill One
The first practice drill you can try involves setting up a large pile of sand, then pushing it down through the middle and placing a ball on top. The goal of this drill is to get the club moving from the inside and hit up on the ball, clipping it off the top in a manner that prevents you from disturbing any of the sand. If execute this move incorrectly, you’ll definitely know, since you’ll make too much contact with the sand creating quite a mess. Practice this drill for ten minutes two to three times a week in order to see some serious reduction in backspin.
Drill Two
This next drill is much simpler and involves alignment sticks or a couple of clubs that will work as visual reminders of the correct swing path. The club or lineman stick that is closest to you will indicate the inside-outside pass and how it relates to the target. The other alignment stick or club should be placed just outside the ball and propped up on the tee, and will highlight the target line. This drill should be practiced as much as possible since you’ll notice some major improvement in a matter of weeks. This is a very simple drill and it can go a long way toward improving the overall quality of your shots, not to mention boosting your confidence.
The Best Tips to Reduce Spin
As you know by now, spinning will rob a drive of its maximum distance. A player who can master spin reduction on their tee shots can add several yards to their drive. Below, you’ll find some other great tips that will help you master speed reduction.
- The first tip involves teeing the ball higher so you can acquire some longer than average tees, to peg the ball as high as you can. This will promote swinging up on the ball instead of swinging downward or flat. Doing so can help to create launch angles that are 10 degrees or more with a spin rate of over 3,000 RPMs or lower. Many golfers agree that these are ideal launch conditions.
- Next, avoid soling the driver at address. This will help to promote the upward strike you need on the ball, while also increasing your chance of making contact with the clubface dead center. A drive that strikes a couple of grooves below the center of a clubface can have too much spin, with a trajectory that begins low and climbs.
- You should also eliminate any downward action in your swing. In order to maximize distance and reduce swing, a player will need to practice the upper cut swing, not a flat swing.
- Always stay behind the ball. Fighting ahead of the ball at impact can lower the launch angle which will create more spin. Instead, at impact, you’ll want to stay down and through, swinging your club up and out not down and across your body.
Going the Distance with Your Club
Surprisingly, many golfers will fail to get the max distance using their drivers. The beginner will usually hit down with their driver, just like with an iron shot. Of course, this can cause the ball to come off the driver with way too much backspin when you hit a driver using too much backspin it causes the ball to balloon up into the air, landing with no roll. Obviously, this will result in a loss of distance. Ideally, you want the ball to come off the driver with a low amount of backspin which will allow it to roll forward once it hits the fairway. Using the proper setup, the right driving fundamentals, swing, and weight shift can help you hit your driver and successfully reduce backspin.
- Grab your driver and tee the ball high enough causing a small portion of the ball that sits above the top of the club. Gripping your club, use a shoulder-width stance positioning the ball off the inside of your left heel. Your head should be set up a few inches behind the ball, with your right shoulder slightly tilted below the left. Equally distribute your weight, or you can place most of it on your right foot. This type of setup will allow your weight too easily shift, helping you sweep the ball off the tee.
- Rotate your hips as you swing the club back with your shoulders. Most of your weight should shift to the inside of your right foot as the club is swinging back. When your left shoulder is under your chin stop the backswing.
- Begin the downswing by rotating your hips toward the target. Your head should be kept behind the ball as your swing down. Allow the toe of the club to rotate over the heel as it sweeps a ball off the tee. You should finish with most of your weight on your left foot and your hips turned to the target.
Sweeping Your Drive
The angle the ball comes off a clubface is referred to as the launch angle. Many players will lose distance with their club simply because they hit the ball using too high of a launch angle. This will cause the ball to hang in the air, landing with minimal roll. Swinging down on the ball and of course, the correct setup will cause a player to hit the drive with a higher angle. Once you learn how to set up correctly and sweep the ball properly off tee using your driver you can lower the launch angle and maximize your distance.
To do, you’ll start off by placing the ball so that it sits slightly above the clubface. Take a shoulder-width stance as you grip
the club. You should finish with most of your weight on your left foot in order to properly sweep the ball off the tee and gain control of your shot.
Final Thoughts
Learning how to reduce the backspin on your drive can take some work. The bottom line is that the right amount of spin is dependent on the golfer. Once you know the proper technique, what to do, and what not to do, you’ll increase your chances of automatically minimizing backspin. In terms of gear, opt for a higher spinning driver. This can be a smart choice if improving your shot accuracy is more important than adding some distance to your shot. The best way you can determine whether a low spin driver is the best choice is to try out different shafts and clubs. With the right tools, practice, and the proper setup, you should have no trouble mastering spin reduction.
