Grooves

Question
Hello, how are you doing? Today I was playing golf and I hit a few shots with my wedges and I can never to get them to back up but I can hit them so that they will bounce and then maybe catch a little to keep them on the green. Today I hit a few good shots but when it hit the green it would not hold. I think it might be because the grass was cut so low on the greens. You could barely putt the ball and it would take off. Another thing I noticed was that the groves on my wedges were filled with dirt. Before I cleaned them the face of the club was almost smooth. Now that I have cleaned the groves should I get more bite on the ball? Will I get less or distance on the ball now? For some reason the ball would fly low most of the times with my wedges, now that the groves are cleaned will the ball fly higher?

Thank you


Answer
Hi Cameron,

Keeping the clubface clean won't give the ball much more backspin, unless the face was coated with some kind of lubricant. Having a little dirt on the clubface might even increase backspin a little, but it won't be significant.

You might find a difference between new clubs and old worn clubs, but again it wouldn't be huge.

If you want more backspin, you must use a high spin ball (like the Titleist Pro V1, look at my golf ball review at http://www.probablegolfinstruction.com/longest-golf-ball.htm )

You also need to hit down on the golf ball. To learn how, take a look at this great DVD, http://probablegolfinstruction.com/HitDown/hitdowndammit.html

And of course, the greater your clubhead speed, the greater the backspin you can generate.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Ken Tannar
www.probablegolfinstruction.com