Should You Buy A New Golf Wedge Before It’s Illegal? And What Is Golf Spin Anyway?

Cleveland Golf just sent me a link to their new promo video: The Year of the Wedge. (There’s a link to their video at the bottom of this post.) They are letting all of us know that new rules from the USGA (United States Golf Association) prevents them from continuing to manufacture their ultimate wedge. Apparently the ZIP grooves on the face of their wedges are too Golf Ironseffective in keeping grass and other debris from getting between the club face and the ball, thus improving contact and spin. (Here’s more information if you are interested.) As of December of this year (2010) they will no longer make clubs with the “ZIP” groove. But don’t worry if you have already purchased a “Zip” Groove Wedge, the clubs will be legal for most players to use until 2024! (That’s fourteen years from now… where will you be playing golf? If you buy one of their wedges today, and use it for fourteen years, will it still have grooves on it’s face? Maybe you should buy three of them, just in case! -only kidding…)

Still, their promo got me thinking… what is spin anyway, and does it really count in my game?  And at my level of golf, do I even know how to spin the ball? I did a little research and decided to share it with you.

Putting spin on a golf ball allows you to have the ball stop quickly or even spin backward and roll towards the pin. Let’s suppose you are playing a hole where the green is just in front of a water hazard or bunker. You want your ball to hit the green and stop or roll back towards the hole. You don’t want it to hit the green and keep rolling off into the hazard. You want to put a backspin on the ball. It is not easy to master this difficult shot but here are six steps you can practice:

  1. Stand with your feet a little closer together than normal
  2. Put the ball further back in your stance
  3. Select a “flop” wedge of 60 degrees… (you can use a sandwedge if you have to)
  4. Make a steep backswing
  5. Hit down on the ball first then the ground, taking a long and shallow divot
  6. Follow through is normal

A few hints that help:

  • Be sure your club is clean… those grooves really work when they are not clogged with dirt
  • It’s easier to hit a “soft” ball made of a two or three layer construction. Balls that spin well often are labeled “extra spin” on the box.
  • This shot is best accomplished from a tight fairway. If you are in long grass or the rough, the grass will interfere with the grooves of the clubface and prevent your ball from spinning.
  • Backspin works best on softer greens. If you are playing on a hard-rock green or in the cold backspin is difficult to achieve.
  • Don’t be disappointed if you can’t get the spin to work at first. All my reading indicates that this is one of the most difficult shots in golf and takes a lot of practice at range to get it right.

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