If you were to ask almost any golfer “how to spin a ball”, they would almost certainly suppose you were discussing backspin. Understanding how to put enough Backspin on your Ball can minimally control your golf ball as it strikes the golf green, and if you’re extremely talented at it you’ll be able to make the golf ball reverse its direction and come back to you. This ability will certainly turn out to be useful for a tight pin position, since you will probably be in a position to get the golf ball closer even as your shot will have more margin for error.
But more frequently we ought to visualize spin to shape the ball in the route we want it to go. This of course came in handy for Bubba Watson at the 2012 Masters, when on their sudden death hole he had to hit the golf ball from trees, then quickly hook it so it had a chance to get to the golf green. Like we know he made a great shot under pressure, putting the ball to the green and then winning the competition on that hole.
Lacking being able to shape the golf ball left-to-right (Watson is left-handed) and hook the ball only the correct amount, he likely would’ve lost the play-off on that hole. The reason why he and any golfer can shape the golf ball in any direction will be, of course, being able to spin the golf ball. And much like putting backspin to a golf ball, it generally requires practice and technique. However whenever we observe our ball hook or slice out of bounds, we have either put too much spin with the golf ball or spun the ball inadvertently. Then we have to figure on how to Fix the Golf Slice.
A handful of golfers can hit the golf ball a decent distance and hit it absolutely straight with consisency, but very few. With the majority of golfers the normal golf swing is likely to be slightly inside-out, creating a draw, or outside-in, generating a fade. Let’s say you are trying to become too exact and attempt striking the golf ball in a straight line, most of the time you’ll not accomplish perfection and it will shape, or spin come what may. One of your greatest disconcerting things which will transpire to a golfer is never knowing which direction the golf ball will spin. This provides him little margin for error when lining the shot up.
So on the practice range; make a decision if you want your golf ball to draw or to fade. Then proceed through the subsequent checklist:
1. Grip. Provided you wish to spin the golf ball to create a draw, use a powerful grip to help you keep the clubface somewhat closed through impact.
2. Alignment of the feet. To produce a draw for your ball, shut the stance slightly. This will likely maintain a swing path which will go from inside the golf ball to outer through impact.
3. Shoulder position. For generating a draw, keep the lead shoulder from opening, keeping the clubface progressing through the golf ball longer through impact.
Obviously, to generate spin that will cause the golf ball to fade, do the exact opposite of the above. Shaping the ball left or right simply means spinning the ball clockwise or counterclockwise and just a small amount of spin will be required to effectively shape the golf ball left or right.
