Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.
One of the coolest shots to watch pros hit is wedge shot that stops on a dime. It always elicits oohs and aahs from the crowd, and it’s one that weekend warriors try to emulate every time they tee it up.
This shot is possible because of spin. When you clip a shot just right under the correct conditions, the ball will come out with tons of backspin and check up to perfection.
But the one-hop-and-stop shot is not the only reason spin is important in golf. In fact, spin is crucial on nearly every shot you hit — and in ways you might not’ve even realized.
Why spin matters
The amount of spin you put on the ball is contingent upon a couple of key factors: 1. what type of club you’re hitting, and 2. how you’re delivering the club to the ball.
For example, a high-lofted wedge will produce more spin than a lower-lofted long iron. This means that the wedge will have an easier time getting higher in the air and will stop faster when it comes down on the green.
Controlling the amount of spin you put on the ball is one of the keys for knowing where your ball is going to end up. Once you can add or take off spin at will, hitting shots close to the pin becomes a heck of a lot easier.
Your goal should not always be to put as much spin as possible on the ball, though. You need to produce spin in an acceptable range for any given shot in order to have the most success. Below, we outline the risks when having too little spin or not enough.
Not enough spin
When you don’t have enough spin, your ball will likely come out a little bit lower and fly further than you expect. The ball will also have a tougher time stopping on the green once it comes down.
Too much spin
When you’ve got too much spin, the opposite effect will occur. Your ball will come out a lot higher than normal (ballooning) and won’t fly as far as you may expect — especially if you’re hitting into the wind.
Top 100 Teacher’s drill for more consistency with irons
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GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jason Birnbaum shows Nick Dimengo a helpful low point drill to be more consistent with irons.
Zephyr Melton is an assistant editor for GOLF.com where he spends his days blogging, producing and editing. Prior to joining the team at GOLF, he attended the University of Texas followed by stops with the Texas Golf Association, Team USA, the Green Bay Packers and the PGA Tour. He assists on all things instruction and covers amateur and women’s golf. He can be reached at zephyr_melton@golf.com.
Isn’t it funny how the anticipation of an event (and a little anxiety) can change the way you structure your golf practice?
Over the past few months, I’ve really been working on basic things like hitting more fairways (which has been successful), compressing my iron shots (still a work in progress), and dialing in my short game (needs lots of work). But as I get ready to play in my first-ever Member-Guest next weekend at Chambers Bay — host of the 2015 U.S. Open — my practice routine has shifted into more elevated parts of the game.
If you’re unfamiliar with Chambers, the course is a links-style layout that offers a little forgiveness of the tee, really difficult iron shots, and then fear-inducing short game shots that require some creativity. For instance, instead of flighting an attack wedge from 90 yards out, it’s not uncommon to choke down on an 8-iron, put the ball position in the back of your stance, give it a 50 percent swing, and let your ball use the undulation to roll up and onto the putting surface.
Given its difficultly, shot-shaping and distance control are crucial at Chambers — so prior to the upcoming event next weekend, I’m working on dialing in these more elevated aspects of my game.
To help, I tapped GOLF Teacher to Watch Ryan Young, the Head Golf Pro at Chambers Bay, who gave me some tips on how to execute these types of shots — which should help when I’m playing in the Member-Guest event (which you can register for here, if you’re interested, using the code “BEATNICK”).
Take a look below to see how you can learn these tricky, more difficult shots, and why it’s time to add them to your golf practice routine.
Add these difficult shot types into your golf practice
Dialing in distance control
Personally speaking, this remains one of the hardest things for me to consistently accomplish, as I often try to maximize distance as much as possible with every club in my bag. Of course, that’s not the name of the game, as different shots require different types of touch and speed.
During my lesson, Young had me use a 7-iron, then gave me a simple formula to use in order to shorten my backswing and become better at controlling my distances.
“Distance control is done in two parts, swing speed and the width of your stroke. So assuming your tempo is the same, because we want to keep it consistent, we only have to look at the width of your stroke,” he tells me. “Instead of thinking about a clock system [where you treat your club like a hand on a clock], keep it simple and use a full swing, a half swing, and somewhere in-between — and if your 7-iron can’t take care of those distances, switch to the 6-iron.”
With that concept in place, Young presented me with a challenge: Take enough off my 7-iron to only hit it 145 yards (which I usually hit 165 yards).
“The key tip for all of this is to finish your swing on all three shot types,” he says. “Don’t go half-to-half, otherwise this thing is going 100 yards. You want to make sure you go half-swing to full-swing.”
With the help of a launch monitor, we tracked my shot and, boom, I hit it 147 yards — just two yards off the number. I’d say I won that bet.
Knockdown shots
Very few amateur players spend time on knockdown shots during golf practice. But on a course like Chambers Bay — which is nestled up against the Puget Sound and can experience windy conditions — having this type of shot in your arsenal is paramount.
Having the ability to decrease spin and control the ball-flight is a more advanced skill, but Young talked me through how to hit this with success.
“It all starts with your setup, so put the ball back in your stance and focus on your attack angle — you can’t be steep, so you’ve got to be wide,” Young tells me. “Think about having less hinge and, instead, reaching out like you would with a driver, keeping the club shallow to the ground and then abbreviating the follow through so your hands never release. If they do, you add spin, which you don’t want on this type of shot.”
After talking to me about the setup, Young explained what the stroke should look like.
“It should almost look like a hockey slap shot,” he said. “At address, lean onto your lead leg to cover the ball and deloft the clubface, and then your swing should be wide-to-wide.”
Hitting a 3-wood from the fairway
Maybe it’s just me, but hitting my 3-wood is a struggle — so I usually avoid it and oftentimes just lay up during a round. But during a competition like a Member-Guest, I’ve got to be more aggressive to save myself some strokes, so Young came to my rescue to help perfect my 3-wood.
“A lot of people can’t hit the 3-wood off the ground, so you’re not alone,” he told me.
As Young talked me through this shot, he reminded me to focus on my angle of attack — which is going to help avoid any thin or fat shots, as well as any chunked or skulled ones.
“Thinking about the angle of attack, you either top your 3-wood because you’re swinging too far up on the ball, or you’re getting stuck into the ground,” Young explained.
Unsurprisingly, I chunked my first shot (which I wish I had on video to show, because this has become my M.O. when hitting a damn 3-wood). Luckily, Young came to my rescue.
“You’re chunking because you’re too up on it, so you need to treat this type of shot like you’re using a 7-iron,” he told me. “You need to make sure you get to your lead side and hit down and across on this.”
Too many mid-handicappers often lean back to try and help the ball get airborne when using a 3-wood — which throws off the angle of attack and leads to the club digging. But using the tips above will help you make better contact and avoid those unnecessary strokes.
Pearl Lam is a gallerist and entrepreneur and is founder of Pearl Lam Galleries. She is host of The Pearl Lam Podcast and an expert speaker.
getty
The changing tides of the global art market have been laid bare in the UBS Art Market Report 2024 by Arts Economics. According to the report, globally, art sales have slowed, save for China where they have increased by 9% to a staggering $12.2 billion. Online sales increased worldwide too, but the highest-priced art deals still tend to happen offline.
Here are some of the most interesting trends identified in the report that I believe can help provide an outlook on the current global art market:
1. Sales In The Global Art Market Slowed In 2023
With rising inflation and rising interest rates, 2023 saw a slowdown in art market sales. The report shows that, globally, sales fell by 4% year-on-year to about $65 billion but remain higher than the pre-pandemic level of $64.4 billion. When interest rates are high, there are typically more favorable diversification opportunities for investors within the financial markets, and so I think it follows that those buying art as investments are allocating less of their portfolio to art.
2. China Is Rising
One of the biggest findings in Arts Economics' report is that the United Kingdom has been ousted from its status as the world’s second-largest art market by China. China now accounts for 19% of global art sales, with the U.K. falling back to 17% of global sales.
The Chinese are gradually becoming more interested in collecting due to various factors, including more frequent art fairs, such as Art Basel Hong Kong and new museums, like the new Centre Pompidou Museum in Shanghai, generating wider interest in art and art collecting.
However, I don't think the methodology used in collecting the data is sufficiently accurate to make the statement that, while undoubtedly larger, China has become a more "important" market than the U.K. In my view, I would estimate that China and the U.K. are probably more or less equal in size—for now.
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3. The United States Remains On Top
According to the report, the U.S. remains the largest art market, accounting for 42% of global art market sales, even with an overall reduction in sales value of 10%. The difference can likely be accounted for by a reduction in higher-priced artworks sold at the very top of the market. This is in juxtaposition to the records broken in 2022 like Christie’s $1.6 billion auction of Paul Allen’s collection.
I also believe the data likely understates the U.S. market size by not including Americans buying in other markets such as the U.K. and Hong Kong. In my view, with this included, the U.S. probably accounts for something more like 50% of art sales globally. China may be rising, but in 2024, you cannot understand the art market if you do not follow the U.S. market.
4. The Highest Priced Art Remained Offline
While online sales did increase, Arts Economics showed that 95% of those sales were for artworks valued under $50,000. The report finds that the online market has yet to make any significant impact on the high-end of the art market. For the most part, the most valuable artworks can still only be found in galleries, auction houses and art fairs.
Furthermore, 30% of dealers said that art fairs were their greatest source of new buyers. And in my experience, buyers like seeing the art that they buy in person. Even those who do buy online tend to acquire what they have already seen in real life.
5. But Online Art Sales Are Growing
Despite an overall slowdown of sales in the global market, online sales increased by 7%, reaching $11.8 billion, which is double what they were in 2019. Online art sales now account for 18% of the art sector’s profits worldwide. Covid accelerated the process of artists and galleries adopting online tools, but with much of the adoption complete, I predict that online art sales will hold around their current level going forward.
6. Dealer Sales Slowed
Another finding is that sales by galleries and art dealers slowed globally by 3% after two years of consistent growth. Again, I think the fact disguises an underlying trend: Smaller galleries and dealers actually saw growth, while those at the higher end of the market saw some decline in sales.
In my view, the middle market will continue to have difficulty. High levels of wealth amongst the 1% and high financial markets will always support high-end sales, while the lower end of the market tends to consistently generate interest from speculators and as an entry point for investors.
7. Dealers Reported Higher Profits
Despite high-end sales slowing, 49% of dealers report that their sales were higher in 2023 than their pre-pandemic level in 2019. Out of these dealers, those with the highest turnover saw the largest increase in sales, with 72% of high-end dealers reporting a rise in sales. Continued rises in the financial markets during this period saw high-end collectors continue to buy art with the liquidity amassed from the increase in their financial portfolios.
8. Public Auction Sales Fell In 2023
Although 2022 was a record-breaking year for public auction sales, 2023 saw sales fall by 7%. I see this as attributable to there being a lack of high-end art coming to the market in 2023, combined with generally lower interest in art as an alternative asset class for investment purposes when high interest rates continued to offer more liquid investments elsewhere.
Summary
The outlook for the global art market in 2024 is a tale of two halves. Political and economic volatility means that the large U.S. and British markets may face further headwinds in 2024, while China will likely continue to deliver outsized growth in sales.
Yet, I have hope and continue to see the art sector as a place of extraordinary creativity and reinvention. Away from the year-on-year headlines, I believe that the long-term trendline in the art market is a positive one.
