Warning. This article gets a little scientific in places – but do stay with us. It’s a fascinating read, and we must thank Golf Monthly reader/Kick Point subscriber, Nick Fields, for asking the following question, which made for a great discussion in the episode below.
Even if you find yourself baffled a little by the science, it’ll at least get you thinking about whether you’re using the right golf ball for your game – and, if you’re not, what your options are.
So, Nick asked: “Given the data available to us regarding golf balls, I was wondering how we can interpret driver backspin and, in particular, how it links to lateral dispersion?
“I realise spin axis tilt is a variable within this but surely a high spin ball will lead to greater dispersion. Does the choice of ball even influence spin axis tilt?”
“I have a couple of schools of thought on this,” he says. “I’ve always said that spin is your friend. The more backspin you get on your golf ball, the straighter it’s likely to fly.”
Basically, the more time the ball spends spinning backwards, the less likely you are to tilt that spin axis. As Joe says, “it’s why your pitching wedge goes straighter than your 3-iron.”
Let’s quickly talk about spin, and clear up a myth. There’s no such thing as sidespin in golf. The ball is always spinning backwards. “Never sidespin,” stresses Joe, “just a tilted spin axis with the ball spinning backwards.”
It’s this that will cause your ball to go left or right. Of course, it will vary. A 20-something spin axis might be fairly extreme, but the ball is still going more or less end over end, backwards.
“The conventional thinking has always been that the more it’s spinning, the less likely it is to go off line,” explains Joe, former Head Professional at The Celtic Manor Resort.
“However, in theory, once that spin axis is tilted, if you do tilt that off, then the more revolutions you have on that golf ball and the more that will enhance that curvature.”
(Image credit: Howard Boylan)
So, here’s a question, one a lot of slicers out there may be asking. If you’re trying to straighten out that left-to-right shot shape (for a right-hander), do you want a golf ball that spins more?
“If you’re someone who does tilt…
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