How to Get Backspin on Wedges: 5 Simple Tips & Drills to Create More Spin

The number one benefit of getting backspin on wedges is to have control over the golf ball.

When you have backspin, you can pick a landing spot, stop your golf ball almost immediately, and, as a result, leave yourself a short putt.

Many amateur players struggle to generate backspin due to improper wrist position, poor setup, and a lack of understanding of what causes a golf ball to spin.

If you’re ready to start getting backspin on your wedges and control what the ball does, print this guide and bring it with you the next time you visit the practice tee.

Get More Spin on Wedges (Key Takeaways)

If you don’t have time to read our entire article on backspin with wedges, here are a few of the most important things to take away with you.

• The equipment – both ball and club – that you play with significantly impacts how your golf ball flies and whether or not it spins.
• Proper wrist action and avoiding flipping at impact will help maintain a stable clubface and create additional spin.
• Speed through impact is crucial when attempting to generate backspin. Being aggressive and making contact with the ball, not before it, will help increase backspin on wedges.
• A steeper angle of attack provides extra time for the golf ball to run up the face of the club and have more backspin as it lands.

5 Tips to Get Backspin on Your Wedges

The first step to creating more backspin with your wedges is to understand the mechanics behind it. This is key before moving on to the drills below.

Just knowing how spin is applied to the ball by the club will put you ahead of most amateur golfers and help you learn much quicker.

Adjust Your Ball Position

When you need backspin on a golf shot, you want to make sure you catch the golf ball first and then the turf.

If the club strikes the turf first, the ball likely won’t spin as much. To do this, place the ball correctly in your stance.

For most golfers, this is slightly back from the center.

Again, the ideal position will depend on your angle of attack. Start by placing a ball in the middle of the stance and seeing what your backspin results are like. Then, move the ball back about one ball width and see how the spin rate changes.

At some point, you can get the ball so far back that you’ll feel a bit awkward trying to make contact.

Remember, even moving the ball just one ball length back can be all the difference you need to get that crisp downward strike.

Correct Angle of Attack

A steeper attack angle helps compress the ball and create more spin.

If you tend to take your wedges away a little more around you instead of straight back down the line, you may be approaching the ball with a shallow angle of attack.

Instead, feel like you take the club just a little more straight back and think about striking the ball first when you make contact.

Focus on your trailing arm and ensure it collapses and extends at the right time. If your trail arm is too stiff, then you may get too steep, and vice versa if your trail arm folds too much and produces a swing that is too flat.

Proper Wrist Action with Forward Press

A forward press ensures the hands lead the clubhead through impact. This position creates a more descending blow and promotes better contact.

When setting up this forward press, make sure you don’t exaggerate it at setup. When you exaggerate the forward press at setup, you can de-loft the club.

Instead, wear your HackMotion and as you swing through impact, check the angles of your lead wrist action. The lead wrist should be in a more flexed position.

Those who struggle with backspin often have too much extension and therefore miss out on backspin and overall centeredness of strike.

Swing Speed

Higher swing speeds generate more spin and increase the friction between the clubface and the golf ball.

You can work on this by:

• Building a smooth but accelerated swing.
• Taking shorter backswings.
• Really feeling that acceleration through impact.

Golfers who learn to be a bit more aggressive and attack the ball with more confidence and speed can get more spin on their wedges.

Optimize Your Equipment

Although your technique needs to be good, you can make things much harder on yourself when you don’t have the right equipment in play.

Invest in wedges with sharp grooves. You’ll notice that many wedges have milling on the face to help increase the traction and interaction of the clubface and the golf ball. This is a positive thing.

Additionally, opt for a premium golf ball with higher spin rates. The premium golf balls that spin best are typically three- or four-piece golf balls with Urethane covers.

Now that you have the right wedges in play and your setup and wrist position are correct with Hackmotion, make sure your clubface is clean before taking your shot.

Debris like sand and dirt on the face of the club makes it much harder to get crisp contact and produce spin. You’ll notice professionals have perfectly clean wedges when they make contact with the golf ball.

Drills to Maximize Spin with Wedges

Use these simple drills with Hackmotion to solidify your knowledge and create spin on a consistent basis.

Body Towel Drill

Making minor adjustments can shift your focus away from creating a smooth swing.

Use this drill to ensure you’re putting all the changes to get spin together into one fluid motion.

This drill is also a great warm-up for pre-round practice routines. It helps you focus on using your big muscles to subconsciously drive the swing correctly.

• Video Timestamp: 3:38 – 7:15

Hit Hard Stop Quick Drill

Use this drill to train your wrists to be in the correct position at impact. You can use Hackmotion on your trailing wrist to track your exact movements and confirm you’re doing everything right.

This drill is great for creating spin because it also gives you confidence to generate speed, which is necessary for getting your wedges to hit and stick (and possibly even spin backwards).

• Video Timestamp: 10:21 – 13:59

Low Point Drill

This is another great drill to work on your point of contact and create spin. You can optimize your angle of attack and see exactly where you’re making contact.

Use this drill for all your wedges and even your irons to get solid contact all around.

• Video Timestamp: 7:22 – 10:17

Final Thoughts

At this point, you have all the tools you need to get backspin on wedges. The process does not need to be overcomplicated. Instead, focus on refining the setup, wrist action, and swing speed.

The more you practice with Hackmotion and these wedge shots at the practice green or driving range, the easier it is to feel confident in getting backspin.