High spin vs Low spin: which is straighter?

[Tblythe]

I keep seeing conflicting info on this topic. Some people say a low spinning ball holds its line better and then other people are saying the opposite. Im a 12 HC with 116ish mph SS. Always looking for more control/consistency.

[cugolf14]

Your best bet is to get on a launch monitor and try them, but generally speaking a ball with less spin should go straighter.

[noodle3872]

This is a tricky question to answer because the golf ball almost always has some amount axis tilt (left or right) thanks to a less than perfect path/face angle/club face contact. If you are seeking control, back spin is your friend.

[Tblythe]

This is what I’m talking about. 2 responses and 2 different answers.

[cwilk]

It’s both/neither. Too little for your speed can cause knuckle balls that dive and turn into trouble. Too much can balloon or turn hard if the spin axis is too far left or right.

There is a sweet spot that will resist some axis tilt. I’ve never found any hard data saying exactly what that number is for a given loft and swing speed, but I’m sure it requires looking at all the pieces - golf ball, loft, club speed, impact location, etc.

[bluedot]

I just deleted my earlier post; I just did a terrible job with that, so now I'll try again 12 hours later.

The difference between spin rates between different golf balls off a driver is just not enough to account for the curvature that we're talking about when we talk about hooks and slices. I think Titleist estimates that it takes 1000 rpms of spin to change 10 yards of curvature, which isn't much curve in the first place, and there isn't a 1000 rpm difference off the driver between the balls that spin the most and the ones that spin the least. So if a golfer is slicing the ball 20 yards and has a spin rate of 3000 rpms, he'd have to cut the spin to 2000 rpms to only slice it 10 yards, and that golf ball doesn't exist.

The reason is obvious; there's a sweet spot where launch angle and spin rate intersect for maximum distance, which pretty much everybody wants, and so all golf balls are within a very tight range of launch angles and spin rates. This is common knowledge, and the reason that pretty much everybody that knows what they're talking about advises golfers to pick their ball by working from the hole backwards, instead of from the tee forward.

In short, while in theory a ball that spins less should curve less, the reality is that there can't be enough difference in spin rates off a driver to make that a thing in the real world because a ball with no spin drops out of the sky. So buying a cheap, two piece golf ball because you think it will be straighter is just a fiction. If the ball is curving a lot, any ball, it's curving because of the swing, and the swing is the only real fix. (Exception: big adjustments to face angle on adjustable clubs, but that's another rabbit hole for another rabbit.)

The ONLY advantage to cheaper, low spin golf balls is that they are cheaper; that's all. We talk about the left dash ProV1x or the AVX as low spin balls, but they really aren't, except by comparison to other premium balls, and then only slightly, and then only off irons. The differences between multi-layer, urethane golf balls that cost more vs. two piece Surlyn balls that cost less don't show up until you get close to the green, where the ball isn't curving that much anyway because of the loft of the club you're using to play those shots.

So again: It's basically cost vs. performance. You can't get better results on dispersion by spending less money.

 

[Jagpilotohio]

If you slice or hook regularly, a higher spin ball will slice or hook more than a lower spin ball.

 

If you tend to hit a very straight ball, a ball with higher spin will hold its line a bit better.

 

My Personal contention is that most higher handicap players should generally use lower spin balls. An exception might be if they are straight hitting, low swing speed, low flight players that need Some help keeping it in the air.

 

 

[Jeff58]

You should get two different answers since you’re asking two different questions.

Q1. Which holds it path, or line more consistently.

A. Higher spin.

Q2. Which is straighter.

A2. It depends on the dimple pattern, not the spin rate.

Golf ball design is a matter of managing trade offs, since it’s three types of devices in one.

First, it’s ballistic, like a bullet. When we see ball speeds quoted, that’s effectively how fast the ball is launched. Ball speed doesn’t describe how speed and spin degrade with distance though, making it misleading..

Next, it’s aerodynamic. A ball with no dimple pattern will fly less than half the distance of one with an appropriate pattern. The dimple structure and pattern both provide lift and reduce drag. If you look at the patterns of an e6 and a Chrome Soft for instance, you’ll see that they’re significantly different. The challenge to ball design is that the pattern needs to match the spin rate for optimal performance. That puts low spin balls at a relative disadvantage. A ball that’s spinning less needs a more aggressive dimple pattern to maintain lift, similar to why a larger airplane needs a bigger wing. If you drive the low spin ball / big wing aircraft beyond its intended spin / speed window, the reaction by the dimple pattern will be excessive. A ball with a more aggressive dimple pattern (which are almost always softer compression models) will by definition have a greater degree of flight curvature to a given spin rate.

Lastly, it’s gyroscopic. Here again, the higher the spin, the more stable the ball, since their mass is the same. Any golf ball that is spinning more than any ball spinning less is more stable in its flight, and will ‘hold its line’ more effectively.

[Tblythe]

These are the kind of answers I was looking for! Thanks so much for the responses!

[jjtour]

On 6/20/2020 at 5:39 PM, Jeff58 said:

You should get two different answers since you’re asking two different questions.

Q1. Which holds it path, or line more consistently.

A. Higher spin.

Q2. Which is straighter.

A2. It depends on the dimple pattern, not the spin rate.

Golf ball design is a matter of managing trade offs, since it’s three types of devices in one.

First, it’s ballistic, like a bullet. When we see ball speeds quoted, that’s effectively how fast the ball is launched. Ball speed doesn’t describe how speed and spin degrade with distance though, making it misleading..

Next, it’s aerodynamic. A ball with no dimple pattern will fly less than half the distance of one with an appropriate pattern. The dimple structure and pattern both provide lift and reduce drag. If you look at the patterns of an e6 and a Chrome Soft for instance, you’ll see that they’re significantly different. The challenge to ball design is that the pattern needs to match the spin rate for optimal performance. That puts low spin balls at a relative disadvantage. A ball that’s spinning less needs a more aggressive dimple pattern to maintain lift, similar to why a larger airplane needs a bigger wing. If you drive the low spin ball / big wing aircraft beyond its intended spin / speed window, the reaction by the dimple pattern will be excessive. A ball with a more aggressive dimple pattern (which are almost always softer compression models) will by definition have a greater degree of flight curvature to a given spin rate.

Lastly, it’s gyroscopic. Here again, the higher the spin, the more stable the ball, since their mass is the same. Any golf ball that is spinning more than any ball spinning less is more stable in its flight, and will ‘hold its line’ more effectively.

 

Really old thread to revive but this is a really good post. I'm just trying to grasp these concepts a little more given the news of the possible limited golf balls coming by 2026. So correct me if I'm wrong but if this is the case is it basically that the lower spin golf balls in play right now, like a Pro V1, would actually be tougher to hit straight compared to an old balata ball? If the governing bodies put more of a limit on the dimple pattern than anything. If that's the case, guys have made the trade off of distance is greater than direction, which seems like the case but older balls would be straighter so more likely to be in play.

 

But when you say hold its line, if a ball is hit at an oblique angle from the club head so sidespin is produced, that would lead to the ball holding that line like a bigger curve? Or do I have that wrong?

 

It's cool stuff either way. Very interesting. Hope to here from @jeff58 or anyone else with some really deep knowledge on phyics.

[teddyironboy]

On 6/20/2020 at 7:21 PM, Jagpilotohio said:

If you slice or hook regularly, a higher spin ball will slice or hook more than a lower spin ball.

 

If you tend to hit a very straight ball, a ball with higher spin will hold its line a bit better.

 

My Personal contention is that most higher handicap players should generally use lower spin balls. An exception might be if they are straight hitting, low swing speed, low flight players that need Some help keeping it in the air.

 

 

 

I'm looking to practice with really soft golf balls indoors (just cause more quiet), so even for a 7 iron the spin is going to be like 4500 rpm. I know I'll be hitting a good 10-15 yards further, but how about the left-right dispersion?

 

Based on what you said, is this true? First off let's say I didn't hit the ball further despite the lower spin. My path is like 1-2 in-out, so fairly neutral. I guess I'll be punished more for decent shots (like a 5 yard draw will turn into a 7 yard draw). But then my bad shots won't be as bad - maybe an 20 yard hook will be 17 yards instead. Hard to know for sure, but would that sound accurate or is the effect even less in reality?

 

But when you factor in the extra distance plus roll, the lower spin ball will probably be more offline for all shots? Which would be good for practice.

 

I guess I'm basically asking this: if I'm trying to keep my dispersion within 10 yards left and 10 yards right with a 7 iron, no matter the distance...will a low or high spin ball win?

Edited March 21 by teddyironboy

[AusGolf22]

12 hours ago, teddyironboy said:

 

I'm looking to practice with really soft golf balls indoors (just cause more quiet), so even for a 7 iron the spin is going to be like 4500 rpm. I know I'll be hitting a good 10-15 yards further, but how about the left-right dispersion?

 

Based on what you said, is this true? First off let's say I didn't hit the ball further despite the lower spin. My path is like 1-2 in-out, so fairly neutral. I guess I'll be punished more for decent shots (like a 5 yard draw will turn into a 7 yard draw). But then my bad shots won't be as bad - maybe an 20 yard hook will be 17 yards instead. Hard to know for sure, but would that sound accurate or is the effect even less in reality?

 

But when you factor in the extra distance plus roll, the lower spin ball will probably be more offline for all shots? Which would be good for practice.

 

I guess I'm basically asking this: if I'm trying to keep my dispersion within 10 yards left and 10 yards right with a 7 iron, no matter the distance...will a low or high spin ball win?

From my own experiences, as a high speed, high spin player, my dispersion has always been tighter/more predictable with lower spin balls. I can't speak to any scientific reasoning for this like others may be able to do, but it's purely what I have seen on course over many years now. 

 

I struggle to play the ProV1X for this reason, for example. Bad swings become really bad results. 

The 2024 TP5X and Chrome Tour, however - a bad swing becomes a playable result. 

 

I'm not skilled enough to "control my spin" so I work with what I have, and this is what I see. Hope it might help in some way 🙂