Lee Trevino explains why your golf ball won’t spin – and how to change it

If there is someone who know how to bounce a golf ball in green, it’s Lee Trevino.

The “Merry Mex” was the premier ball-striker of his day and could pull the string on almost any approach shot to any green, landing it past the hole and ripping it back toward the hole.

In today’s match, amateurs struggle to do the same. As advances in golf equipment have recreational players hitting it farther thannever beforehas come at the expense of control.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday before a PGA Tour Champions event, the soon-to-be 85-year-old Trevino showed off a piece of equipment that has made it so difficult for amateur golfers to swing it: the golf ball.

“Golf balls today are made a little bit differently,” Trevino said. “They’re harder, they don’t spin as much, they don’t go as crooked as the ballata. Therefore, the amateur finds it difficult to stop the ball on the green field. They don’t have enough speed to turn it around.”

Trevino pointed out that the pros have no problem creating spin because speed is not an issue for them. That’s why the kinds of shots in a PGA Tour event that get the biggest reactions sometimes are the ones that fly past the pin, only to check and return to the hole.

“That’s why you see the pros still pulling the ball back,” Trevino continued. “When they hit the green, even though the green is hard, they still — well, it’s because of their speed. They’ve got so much speed that even though the ball is hard, they’re still able to spin it, when a regular golfer drives that golf ball, they’re not going to be able to stop it on the green.”

GOLF’s Head of ClubTest and Gear Data, Kris McCormack, says this is where ball fit can become so important. McCormack advises players to test golf balls from the back of the green to the tip.

“Lee is 100 percent correct; The modern golf ball is much harder and doesn’t spin as much as anything in the old ballata family,” McCormack, who recently came to GOLF full-time from sister company True Spec. “Green-to-tee testing gives the player the opportunity to see how the ball reacts on wedges and off the tee.

“Independent tests have been done that show that the longest golf ball and the shortest golf ball are only 10 to 12 yards at full speed. However, you can get several hundred RPM of spin for the spin delta and some rate of release, between balls.”

If golfers with velocities of 90 mph or less want to find more spin on the green, McCormack said looking for lower compression golf balls — such as TaylorMade’s tour answer, Bridgestone Tour B RX and RXSOR Callaway Chrome Soft — could be the answer to more control AND distance.

“The golf ball is definitely the most important piece of equipment in your bag,” McCormack said. “Optimizing that part of your game can lead to improved control and consistency in the scoring area.”

Want to overhaul your bag for 2024? Find a convenient location near you at True Spec Golf.

Jack Hirsch

Editor of Golf.com

Jack Hirsh is the equipment editor at GOLF. A native of Pennsylvania, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also *tries* to remain competitive in the local amateurs. Prior to joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a television station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a multimedia journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.