Backspin on Wedges: How to Get It and Maximize It for Better Shots

Britt Olizarowicz

Jun 26, 2024 . 7 mins read

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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 get backspin because of improper wrist position, poor setup, and a misunderstanding of what causes a golf ball to spin.

If you are ready to start getting backspin on your wedges and control what the ball does, we have you covered.

Getting Backspin 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 essential when trying to create backspin, being aggressive and making contact at 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.

How to Get Backspin on Wedges

Each of these steps for getting backspin on wedges should be looked at if you are struggling with shots that run out or leave you with very little control.

Take a close look at these steps and find out where one may be missing in your game.

Choose the Right Equipment

Before we dive into the fundamentals of wedge shots that help you get backspin, you do have to check 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 scoring on the face to help increase the traction and interaction of the clubface and the golf ball. This is a positive thing.

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. 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.

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.

This slightly steeper angle of attack should maximize spin and help you stop the ball.

Optimal 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 length 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.

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. Try taking short backswings and 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.

Open the Face, Then Grip the Club

Another great trick to get backspin that you will see the professionals do is to open the clubface.

Adding more loft like this will help you get the ball higher and add some additional spin.

However, many golfers grip the club and then turn the clubface open.

This is a mistake.

Instead, take the club in your hands, open the face, and then grip the club. This gripping of the club after the face is open makes all the difference in your ability to benefit from that open clubface.

This video shows how Billy Horschel does that to gain control around the greens.

Clean Clubface

Now that you have the right wedges in play and your setup and wrist position are correct, make sure your clubface is clean before you try to hit. Debris like sand and dirt on the face of the club makes it much harder to get clean contact.

You’ll notice professionals have perfectly clean wedges when they make contact with the golf ball.

Additional Drills to Add More Backspin

Getting more backspin takes some practice and some time spent working on the procedures above.

If you need a few more drills to practice, here are some you can try.

Match the Loft Drill

This video from Alex Elliott will help you understand how loft plays into getting backspin on your shots.

He will show you how to get that forward press and proper wrist action without delofting the club.

Speed Drill

As you have just learned, increasing speed in the clubhead through impact will help you increase the backspin on the wedge shots.

However, many golfers are afraid of speed because of the potential for a miss hit.

Try practicing on the range by taking some smaller swings that you swing through with noticeably more speed.

Feel that strong finish, and see if you can learn to be more aggressive with the wedges.

Tee Drill

Place a tee after the golf ball and try to make contact with the ball and the tee. Look back down at the ground and ensure you have not made contact with the ground before the golf ball.

The more interaction your clubface has with the ball, the easier it is to create a spin on the wedges.

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, work on getting the setup, wrist action, and swing speed down.

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