Justin Thomas pitched his ball onto the green during the Payne’s Valley Cup earlier this week. It took three bounces forward and then came to a near-complete stop. His ball finished about 2 feet from the hole.
“Skirrrrrttt,” Thomas worded, mimicking a skidding sound.
“Nice shot, pards,” Tiger Woods said to his playing partner in the event.
Thomas had hit the brakes.
Titleist recently hit the brakes on hitting the brakes.
The equipment manufacturer recorded a backspinning golf ball in slow motion. They showed what ssskkkiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttt looks like.
The ball hits the ground and bounces forward while spinning backward.
It takes 13 backward revolutions in the air before it hits the ground for its second bounce.
The ball begins to move backward. It takes another three backward revolutions in the air before it takes its third bounce.
The ball is fully moving backward. It takes two more backward revolutions in the air before it lands and begins to roll.
In the 17-second video, the ball took 18 backward revolutions in the air after it bounced for the first time.
Or 18 skirrrrrttts.
(Editor’s note: If you’re interested in tips to help you spin the ball more with your wedges, click here!)
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.