In the classic baseball flick, Bull Durham, there is a scene with the amusingly wild in every way pitching phenom Nuke Laloosh whereby everything clicks. The coaching and his application of it produce a beautiful strikeout to which he exclaims ‘that was awesome, what did I do?’
Golf for many of us is a lot like that. We’ll hit this great shot…the proverbial ‘one you’ll remember that night’. But do it consistently? That’s the rub…and so we settle for the one that will bring us out the next round as we position good golf, high level golf as a lightning strike of chance.
Golf for many of us is a lot like that. We’ll hit this great shot…the proverbial ‘one you’ll remember that night’. But do it consistently? That’s the rub…and so we settle for the one that will bring us out the next round as we position good golf, high level golf as a lightning strike of chance. We’ve seen analytics take over sports for the better part of the last 20 years. Golf is no different. The wealth of information we have at our disposal to inform us and give us insight as to how we can improve has exploded. But data is one thing – knowing what to do with it. That’s another.
Over the next few issues, we’ll try and demystify the information overload you can now leverage to your advantage in improving your golf game. Be your Crash Davis of sorts. This month, we’re going to take a look at backspin.
Backspin, particularly with driver, is the enemy of distance. Drive for show…but backspin levels of 3000+ rpm provide for a nice pillowy landing, gently and soft. High backspin can still provide for a straight shot which is ultimately more important. Get down below 1500 rpms? Watch out worms.
But not all backspin is created equal and we all marvel when we watch the Scheffler’s & McIlroy’s of the world use backspin to manipulate the ball with their wedges. A 3000 rpm shot with a 54 degree though – skull city.
The charts below provide you a guide to understanding what are the ideal ranges of backspin you should be striving for with each club. What’s essential in flighting the ball and what are the dials you need to be paying attention to increase or decrease where you are today so that you can use data to improve your game.
