Will Zalatoris has 2 keys for generating backspin

By: Nick Dimengo

November 24, 2024

Putting backspin on the golf ball is a fun skill, but it's tough. So PGA pro Will Zalatoris gives his tips on executing it to perfection

Take these tips from Will Zalatoris to elevate your ball-striking skills.

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Anytime I watch a PGA event, I always marvel at the ball control these guys have. While a mid-handicapper like myself just tries to hit good shots consistently, pros not only have the skill to do so, but they have the ability to flight or spin the ball on command, which helps them get closer to the pin on approach and wedge shots.

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One of the more common skills of great players is putting backspin on the ball, which isn’t something an average golfer can usually do successfully.

We’ve all seen the shot that lands towards the back of the green and spins back toward the pin, almost as if the player yanked a string to get the ball to settle near the cup. It’s just remarkable to watch.

So what’s the key to executing such a shot? In the video below (courtesy of Titleist’s YouTube channel), one-time PGA Tour winner Will Zalatoris reveals his two rules to do so. Check out his tips and see if they help you put backspin on the ball like a pro does.

2 rules for backspin, per Will Zalatoris

While putting backspin (or any spin, for that matter) on the ball is fun to try, it’s important to understand that there’s a time and place to try it.

“This is kind of situational, since everyone’s always asking Tour players how to get spin,” Zalatoris says.

With that in mind, Zalatoris says the two biggest rules to spin it like the pros are simple: Fresh grooves and keeping the ball on the clubface for as long as possible.

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“Rule number one, you’ve got to have fresh grooves,” he says. “Fresh grooves create more spin, clean grooves create even more spin, and then from there, it’s also lie and shot dependent.”

Zalatoris then explains how he would spin the golf ball, providing his adjustments.

“If I’m going to try and spin the ball as much as I possibly can from a fairly basic lie, I get my hands a little bit higher, I stand just a hair closer to [the ball], then I’m trying to keep the ball on the face as long as I possibly can — so I’m actually not going to hit down on it very hard, I’m trying to keep this club as low to the ground as possible.”

So on an approach shot from about 50 yards, Zalatoris would do the following.

“Hands would be just a hair higher, and I’m not trying to feel a lot of wrist hinge,” he says. “If the club stays horizontal to the ground and the ball stays on the face, now we’re creating a bunch of friction, which makes a lot more spin.”