Compression versus Spin Rate
 

To Whom it may concern.......

Assuming good TGM Alignments, Flying Wedges.

Does Clubhead Speed (MPH) have a greater affect on the compression of the golf ball or the spin rate when hitting pitch shots???

Sorting through the Duffer's Bible.

B-Ray

Vertical Hinging and Clubhead Speed
 

So RWH are you saying the faster my pitching motion is with vertical hinging the more spin I'm going to get????

Sorting Through the Duffer's Bible.

B-Ray

You can create more spin from a "soft impact" shot than full compression with ANY hinge.

There's actually more spin with full compression than a "soft impact", but it doesn't nearly hold the green as well because the greater momentum of the ball going forwards offsets the increased amount of spin.

Hence we have what Mr Manzella calls "The Tour Pitch".

butterfly with sore feet
 

One of my buddies, to whom I've referred before, won the GA Amateur, won an Australian Tour event, the Georgia Open (15 under), the Atlanta Open, and played very well in the Buick Southern Open. I think, he was also an All-American at the University of Georgia. He came to take a lesson a few months ago, then he went and broke the course record (64 or 65, I think) at Wade Hampton, in Cashiers, NC. I can't say the lesson had anything to do with the record, because it's hard to make perfect any better. He's amazing. He's a financial advisor now and plays very infrequently.

The reason I give you his credentials is to validate the conversation about "soft impact". Louis could perform the shot off of hardpan or asphalt. It was truly a butterfly with sore feet when landing. (Compression leakage at it's finest.) He was explaining to me how to hit the shot. He said he didn't want the ball to compress, but he wanted it to roll up the face. He used vertical hinging, and would regulate the power in two ways. Firstly in 2-M-2 #1, he would vary his acceleration rate. He could go to top and carry the ball no more than 5 yards. It looked like the swing took five seconds. He felt like it was a "single speed" swing, but I think he was feeling constant lag pressure. The club was accelerating, but looked oppressively slow. And secondly in 2-M-2 #3, he would vary the length of the stroke.

I've SEEN this done
 

Our club champ from last year can put juice on a ball like you've never seen with soft pitch shots. It's really amazing. He was showing me a few weeks ago and he used the words: "I like to feel the ball rolling up the clubface". He was a PGA teaching pro years ago but went back to the real world and amatuer status some time ago. He also has our course record of 64, for what it's worth.

I like to think of taking a shaving off the ball.

Throwaway through impact on certain pitch/chip shots will help create more "bite" because there is less compression as leo pointed out and there is added loft through impact (which will impart more spin) due to the throwaway.

This is why you will see so many pro's with bent left wrists through the ball on their chips/pitches because they need it on their harder/faster greens

I've been working on this shot for a while. I have a
buddy who spins the heck out of the ball. He is smooth
but I can't seem to figure out.

Can you explain it even more. Thanks