Backspin or roll it to the hole-Pipeline Moe

[Tintin]

Moe Norman was an advocate of rolling the ball to the hole. He said he hated backspin as he could not control it. Keep in mind that in his days a pitching wedge had 50* of loft.
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Nowadays most pros use backspin. From watching the video below I am thinking that he certainly had a valid point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHmq4xhS_bI

[veryold]

He was pitching to a pin position with some green to work with AND THE GREEN SLOPING BACK TO FRONT after the pin, so YES in that instance, "ROLLING" is an option.
But not applicable AT ALL if the conditions are reversed.

[Tintin]

He was pitching to a pin position with some green to work with AND THE GREEN SLOPING BACK TO FRONT after the pin, so YES in that instance, "ROLLING" is an option.
But not applicable AT ALL if the conditions are reversed.

He could hit it low or high on command depending on the situation. But he did not rely on backspin to get it close.

https://youtu.be/fchhp7QeoKs?t=3m17s

[bcampb00]

Can’t believe he didn’t sink one, it looked like he had a small bucket! Crazy performance. For me, I don’t make consistent enough contact to prefer one method to another, some spin madly, others have little spin. Maybe I should buy an old wedge with worn grooves so no shots spin and are more predictable?

[Tintin]

. Maybe I should buy an old wedge with worn grooves so no shots spin and are more predictable?

Apparently he shaved the bounces of his wedges to 0 degree. I never get tired of watching him. And one more thing of note: He sure didn't waste any time. Just like a piston.

[Ignatius Reilly]

It's amazing to see how quickly he hits it. No time wasted. Just ground the club and start your backswing.

Anyways, there's not a lot we can take from this IMO, as only Moe could hit it like Moe.

I have utterly unpredictable spin. The only constant is that the most spin shows up on shots that land short, and the least is on the ones that landed past the pin.

[Fore Warned]

I would think most pros could call up the shot they wanted. Yes, perhaps spin most of the time, but if roll was needed, I would think they could do that too. If Moe preferred roll, that's his go to shot, but I bet he could spin it too.

The only time I can generate spin is if I press hard enough on the gas pedal and make my tires squeal. When it comes to golf, I can't call up a spin if I tried to, and usually roll stuff onto to the green. This usually works unless I somehow put a spin on the ball and check up short.

[bcampb00]

Apparently he shaved the bounces of his wedges to 0 degree. I never get tired of watching him. And one more thing of note: He sure didn't waste any time. Just like a piston.

And not one divot, despite hitting - what - 30 balls? Greens superintendents dream!

[rgk5]

Apparently he shaved the bounces of his wedges to 0 degree. I never get tired of watching him. And one more thing of note: He sure didn't waste any time. Just like a piston.

I had the occasion to hold two of Moe's wedges, an Accuform and a Wilson R-90. They both had plenty of bounce. He may have had others with zero bounce.

[Ignatius Reilly]

]I would think most pros could call up the shot they wanted. [/B]Yes, perhaps spin most of the time, but if roll was needed, I would think they could do that too. If Moe preferred roll, that's his go to shot, but I bet he could spin it too.

The only time I can generate spin is if I press hard enough on the gas pedal and make my tires squeal. When it comes to golf, I can't call up a spin if I tried to, and usually roll stuff onto to the green. This usually works unless I somehow put a spin on the ball and check up short.

Good points, with everything else Moe could do with a golf ball, it seems likely he could spin it at will.

One thing that always bugs me watching the pros is how many times the announcers say "he's going to have a lot of trouble controlling the spin from that lie" - usually from the rough. I've always wondered why they don't hit it shorter and account for some roll?

[Tintin]

I had the occasion to hold two of Moe's wedges, an Accuform and a Wilson R-90. They both had plenty of bounce. He may have had others with zero bounce.

Could be. Anyway that's what this guy says:https://youtu.be/XPnRW4Pdnk8?t=6m13s

[ARL67]

I have gamed older Nike VR Pro Forged wedges ( G,S,L ) for the last 8-9 years, but switched out the Gap to a JPX-900 Forged 3 years ago. I never was much of a spin generator, and relied on high launch / steep-descent to keep my shots from running out. These Nike wedges ( S, L ) are now quite worn, even though I replaced them with the same NOS Nikes about 4 years ago.

For this season I have new RTX4 54 & 58 mid-bounce.
I will be curious if these start generating me backspin, and if I find that unpredictability to be annoying / detrimental.

[par345]

Good points, with everything else Moe could do with a golf ball, it seems likely he could spin it at will.

One thing that always bugs me watching the pros is how many times the announcers say "he's going to have a lot of trouble controlling the spin from that lie" - usually from the rough. I've always wondered why they don't hit it shorter and account for some roll?

The only time I have ever had visible verifiable spin on a ball is from a sand trap...no club face ball contact....but a fast open face creating spin.

[ace in the hazard]

Good points, with everything else Moe could do with a golf ball, it seems likely he could spin it at will.

One thing that always bugs me watching the pros is how many times the announcers say "he's going to have a lot of trouble controlling the spin from that lie" - usually from the rough. I've always wondered why they don't hit it shorter and account for some roll?

I think they're referring to the unpredictability vs a lack of control. The spin they generate is dependent on how much grass they get between the grooves and the ball and there is no real way of knowing that. This is what they mean when they talk about a flyer lie.

[rgk5]

Ping Glide 3.0 wedges are the best for maintaining spin out of the rough and wet grass. Check TXG for the test run.