Bryson DeChambeau stands out from his peers on the golf course for several reasons. His chiselled physique, his use of same length irons to precise effect, his Ben Hogan style flat caps and of course, most notably, the way he gets the ball to fly off his club. It would be interesting to hear an argument against DeChambeau being the most exciting player on Tour.
The winner of the 2020 U.S Open and eight-time winner on the PGA Tour has single-handedly changed the way the course is played over the last year or two.
DeChambeau’s drives averaged 323.7 yards throughout 2021, the longest on the PGA Tour, 4.4 yards clear of Rory McIlroy in second place.
DeChambeau hit a remarkable 428-yard drive in June at the Travelers Championship, his longest recorded drive at a Tour event.
The driving distance that Dechambeau regularly achieves is almost as remarkable as his distance’s improvement. In 2017, DeChambeau’s first year on Tour, his drives averaged 299.4 yards, which increased to 305.7 in 2018 and dropped back slightly in 2019 to 302.5. Every one of those years, DeChambeau drove 5-10 yards longer than the PGA Tour average but then in 2020, things changed, and Bryson DeChambeau consistently became the longest driver on Tour.
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Technical
DeChambeau is incredibly technical and scientific when it comes to analysing his game; when discussing with media why he considered using a 48-inch driver, the maximum shaft length allowed at the Masters, he said, it’s because the 48-inch driver added 4-5 miles per hour in ball speed and got his swing speed up to 143-144 miles per hour.
He also broke this down into an analogy that we can all understand, “From a driving perspective, I just am trying to get up there like I’m in a batter’s box, swinging as hard as I can trying to hit a home run, I don’t know if there’s a better way to say it.”
DeChambeau did a piece with Men’s Health last year and discussed with the publication how he went about adding 20 pounds of muscle.
“Eight months ago, I said, you know what, I want to try and get stronger because I know there’s an advantage to be gained,” DeChambeau said. “If I could be like Happy Gilmore or Kyle Berkshire, hitting over 400 yards and hitting it straight? That is a massive, massive advantage. So I set out to do that, and I’ve been healthier and stronger ever since.”
DeChambeau began working out at Colorado-based Muscle Activation Techniques with Greg Roskopf in early 2020 and still maintains this regularly and gym sessions in his home. DeChambeau says he has no days off when it comes to working out. DeChambeau focuses on building strength through adding mobility and ramped this up in the first eight months of 2020, taking his workouts to the extreme.
Discipline
“I just kept going to the gym, and luckily I have a gym at home, so I just go in there probably for 30 minutes and then I go back out, and then I go back in for another 30 minutes and accumulated like about three-and-a-half hours of working out a day. It was a lot. It was ridiculous. But I said I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it right.”
Despite the disciplined and regimented workout schedule, the 28-year old from Modesto, California, doesn’t do anything crazy with his diet other than keeping a close eye on his carbs to protein ratio.
“There is this overlying principle of a two-to-one carb-to-protein ratio, so that is first and foremost. I try and retain that throughout everything I eat and drink throughout the day.
“I don’t know the endgame for me; I’m going to keep working out every day and keep getting stronger and keep speed training as long as I can tolerate it. As long as everything is growing proportionally, I really don’t know how fast I can go. So I’m going to keep pushing the boundaries.”
DeChambeau is undoubtedly changing the game of golf with his style and distance. His confidence or arrogance in the eyes of many, make DeChambeau must-see, box office material.
“The only reason why I don’t win is because of a bad decision, misjudged the wind, misjudged the read on the greens and wet conditions. Those are the three or four things that will cause me not to win. That’s it.”
How much distance can DeChambeau’s add to his drives, and how many more trophies will he add to the cabinet in 2022? This golf fan here can’t wait to find out.
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