I'm rooting for Bryon Chambeau

[cary lichtenstein]

Wow,  like a super hero, Bryson is doing what no player has done before, TIger, Arnie, Jack...I'M 100% rooting for him, anyone want to take a bet with me??

[mike_malone]

Yes. Blow it up.

[Rob Marshall]

Nope

[Tom Bacsanyi]

One could argue, in a circuitous fashion, that Bryson blitzkreiging AGNC and shooting -27 while hitting short irons/wedges into all the Par 5s would force the USGA/R&A into action and thus be good for the game.


GO BRYSON!

[Bill Brightly]

One could argue, in a circuitous fashion, that Bryson blitzkreiging AGNC and shooting -27 while hitting short irons/wedges into all the Par 5s would force the USGA/R&A into action and thus be good for the game.
GO BRYSON!

Yes! I used to root against Bryson, hoping every 380 yard drive came to rest behind a tree. Now I hope he sets a Masters scoring record and forces the USGA/R&A to reign in the ball. Even if these bodies continue to sit on their hands, it might make Augusta try a tournament ball.

[archie_struthers]

 


Some really interesting replies that agree that until someone burns the house down no changes are coming! I'm thinking they might be right!


Saw some of the anticipated lines for Bryson's tee shots and they are theorizing he may drive the 1st green....now that would get their attention.




p.s.   just a little craziness here but I think the 1st at Pine Valley is certainly reachable , just a little more penal

[Ronald Montesano]

What sport does Bryon Chambeau play?

[A.G._Crockett]

I don't like him.  I don't trust him.  I won't be rooting for him.

None of which matters a bit in the greater scheme of the universe.  And if he's in contention on Sunday afternoon and cool stuff is happening on the back 9, I'll enjoy watching him in the mix just like I have others that I don't like and don't trust and don't root for. 

[Peter Pallotta]

Justin Leonard made a funny point today (accompanied by footage of Bryson playing a practice round with Phil Mickelson). He said that every tour pro is being influenced by Bryson, including the many who will never be able to add 40 lbs of muscle and/or try to hit it as far as he does, ie, they are all now using ‘science’ as it applies to ‘how to play the golf course’. [And the few who are not, Justin said, will soon be left behind.] And as evidence of this, he referenced the footage and asked us to notice one thing, ie that Phil wasn’t *talking*! Instead, the Phil ‘who knows everything’ was actually *listening* — he was all ears when it came to what Bryson was saying.
And that got me to realize an obvious and simple fact, ie that after years of having drivers so ‘hot’ and ‘forgiving’ that they’d become for many pros the straightest club in the bag, Bryson was the first tour pro to understand that *now* is the first time that a 48 inch shaft is truly viable for tournament play.
So obvious, that is, but apparently only in retrospect.

[Matthew Rose]

Will that happen though?

Or will Augusta National just open the chequebook and purchase the entire Augusta CC property?

"Hole 13 is now 700 yards"

[Mike_Young]

Let's see what happens.  He has to tee it up and putt it out.  IMHO short grass is not his friend as much as rough is.  I don't see him being by himself with some big lead...

[Mark Pearce]

Let's see what happens.  He has to tee it up and putt it out.  IMHO short grass is not his friend as much as rough is.  I don't see him being by himself with some big lead...

Agreed.  It's not as if he's unique in being long.  Arguably his greatest advantage over others is the sheer strength that allows him to gouge wedges out of thick rough.  Not a lot of that at ANGC.

[Don Mahaffey]

During the Houston Open there were these PGA Tour digital scoreboards all over the place and when a player would have an 8 foot putt it would show what his make percentage was, how he ranked on tour, and who was best on Tour from that range. I don't remember the exact range but I believe it was from 5' to 10', the PGA tour leader, Bryson.  I think his putting might have something to do with his recent success.


On another note, how he is playing and what he has done to his body has made the press even worse. As I was driving yesterday I listened to some interviews from ANGC...when they asked JT if he ever considered putting on 50 lbs, lifting weights and swinging harder, I switched to a classic rock station.

[A.G._Crockett]

Let's see what happens.  He has to tee it up and putt it out.  IMHO short grass is not his friend as much as rough is.  I don't see him being by himself with some big lead...

I think this is the key point.  The separator for DeChambeau at the Open, discussed here in great detail, was more about approach shots and shots around the green than off the tee.  Erik B. pointed out that if you had removed ALL of BDC's strokes gained advantage from the tee, he still wins; not so with his approach or around the green SG numbers. 


What remains to be seen is whether or not he is precise enough at the distance he is hitting the driver to be in the right places at ANGC, and then able to hit the right spots on the greens.  "Tigerproofing" didn't matter to Tiger because he was the best iron player on the planet; if BDC wins, it won't be because he's able to bench press a car, which might have been the case out of the Winged Foot rough.

In any case, it'll be interesting.

[Jason Topp]

I am a big proponent of rolling back the golf ball but will never begrudge a player doing everything he can to gain an advantage on the field.  Tournament golf is a competition and someone doing everything they can to perform as well as possible is the heart of competing. 




I look forward to seeing how Bryson plays and I am interested in how his approach affects the rest of the field.  I suspect we will have many more Brysons over the next ten years unless his approach is so difficult to accomplish that others cannot match it. 

[John Kavanaugh]

I can't quite decide which I would have enjoyed more. Watching Icarus take flight or come crashing down. BDC has already indicated that the 48" driver is deteriorating his body.

[Peter Pallotta]

“What remains to be seen is whether or not he is precise enough at the distance he is hitting the driver to be in the right places at ANGC, and then able to hit the right spots on the greens.”

AG - that’s the same question I have and it’s phrased in the same way & with same words that I would use. But this may only indicate how out of touch we both are!

Apparently (according to the experts, who have plotted/charter his likely game plan), BDC’s dispersion rate with his driver is narrow enough such that, coupled with his distance, there are no ‘right places’ for him at ANGC — or, to put it better, there’ll be no ‘wrong places’ there that he’s likely to find.

I don’t know if he’ll win; as you and others have noted, there are other parts of his game that’ll need to be working very well too.

But I find myself more interested this week in his ‘game plan’ than in his possible victory, ie the differences between the traditional strategies and ‘lines’ and ‘architectural IQs’ of past champions at Augusta and BCD’s approach.

[Lou_Duran]

It is interesting how people develop such strong feelings about others based mostly on rather superficial information.  If nothing else, Bryson has brought great interest to the game and reinforced what was once common sense orthodoxy, that strong effort thoughtfully focused produces superior results.  Golf is about as merit-based as anything that comes to mind.  It is a good thing which speaks highly of our game that a variety of approaches can succeed.  The slight Carlos Ortiz at 6' is nearly 90 pounds lighter than BC while only an inch shorter.  Horses for courses, perhaps, but it is not a foregone conclusion that BC will dominate and a player like Carlos can't win this week.  I look forward to seeing how BC plays the course.  Me, I am rooting for Patrick Reed, Charles Howell, and Lee Westwood. 

[John Kavanaugh]

What is interesting is why Cary has a long documented hatred of Tiger and is now rooting for who may be the whitest man to ever play the game.

[Mike Bodo]

Yes! I used to root against Bryson, hoping every 380 yard drive came to rest behind a tree. Now I hope he sets a Masters scoring record and forces the USGA/R&A to reign in the ball. Even if these bodies continue to sit on their hands, it might make Augusta try a tournament ball.

Not to pick on you specifically, but to those here at large who want to see a ball rollback, how does this stand to benefit the pro game? The reason I say this is that the longer hitters on the tour will still have a distinct advantage over their shorter hitting counterparts. Thus, while guys like Bryson, Brooks, Rory and D.J. are driving the ball 280 - 300 yds., as opposed to 310 - 325, players like Jordan Spieth and Zack Johnson will be going from an average distance of 270 - 280 down to 250 - 260. The longer hitters will still have a comparative advantage and arguably an even greater one over the average to below average distance hitters on the Tour in that they'll still be able to reach the majority of par 5's in two whereas it will become increasingly difficult for the shorter hitters to achieve that.

[Lou_Duran]

I think that the theory is that a rollback would have assymetrical impacts- the DJs of the world would lose a lot more distance than the ZJs, thus the differences would be less pronounced.  It could very well result in fewer par 5s reachable in two for the latter, but the former would be hitting longer clubs into the greens, perhaps narrowing the advantage.  The ZJs typically have a sharper wedge and short game.  One thing for sure, whatever gets implemented, the players, coaches and manufacturers would seek ways to maximize their advantage within the letter of the rules.   

[Mike Bodo]

Lou, I hear you, but both sets of players will lose the same percentage of distance, thus I'm not sure how that improves things at the end of the day? In addition, the clubs that host these tournaments will need an entire inventory of range balls different from what the members and guests use if the golf balls currently on the market are allowed to exist. If there are new universally accepted regulations for the golf ball then I would think all balls on the market will need to be in compliance so there aren't two sets of balls out there - one for the masses and a dialed down version for the touring pros.

That said, I'm not looking to lose yardage if there's a one-size fits all standard adopted either. I'm enjoying the game now more than ever in large part due to the advances in equipment and ball technology. I have no interest in going backwards. By the same token, I know ball makers don't want to produce golf balls that no one else will play besides the touring pros. There's no cost benefit to them. It'll become pointless to have touring pros promoting balls from Titleist, Taylor Made, Callaway, etc. that they themselves don't even play in tournaments. I can see this being more of a mess than its worth and there being lengthy battles between the players and various governing bodies.

[John Kavanaugh]

Lou, I hear you, but both sets of players will lose the same percentage of distance, thus I'm not sure how that improves things at the end of the day? In addition, the clubs that host these tournaments will need an entire inventory of range balls different from what the members and guests use if the golf balls currently on the market are allowed to exist. If there are new universally accepted regulations for the golf ball then I would think all balls on the market will need to be in compliance so there aren'ttwo sets of balls out there - one for the masses and a dialed down version for the touring pros.

That said, I'm not looking to lose yardage if there's a one-size fits all standard adopted either. I'm enjoying the game now more than ever in large part due to the advances in equipment and ball technology. I have no interest in going backwards. By the same token, I know ball makers don't want to produce golf balls that no one else will play besides the touring pros. There's no cost benefit to them. It'll become pointless to have touring pros promoting balls from Titleist, Taylor Made, Callaway, etc. that they themselves don't even play in tournaments. I can see this being more of a mess than its worth and there being lengthy battles between the players and various governing bodies.

A golfer with a 100 mph swing speed will not loose the same percentage of distance as a guy with 140 mph. That's not how the world works. To put it even more simply a guy with a 10 mph swing speed would probably loose nothing.

[Mike Bodo]

A golfer with a 100 mph swing speed will not loose the same percentage of distance as a guy with 140 mph. That's not how the world works. To put it even more simply a guy with a 10 mph swing speed would probably loose nothing.

Do you have evidence of this? Has the so-called ball being proposed been tested and shown to achieve this? To further dispute your claim, I present the chart below taken from an article in Swingman golf (https://swingmangolf.com/average-golf-swing-speed-chart-2/). If you do the math, the percentage decrease of driver distance for every 10 mph less clubhead speed is between 8 - 15%. The percentage difference actually increases at the slower end of the spectrum.



Thus, all things being as they are on the PGA Tour, how does a regulated ball benefit players with average to lower clubhead speed? As Gary McCord puts it in an article from Golf magazine this past June.

“If I’m the longest at 340 yards, like Bryson, then I’m going to be the longest at 290. I’m still going to be the longest…all that’s going to do is bring back these old golf courses… instead, Bryson’s going to be out there with a driver and 6-iron, and everyone else is going to be hitting a 4-iron."

[Thomas Dai]

Given distance developments an impolite version of the word 'rooting' may well be an appropriate word to use to describe whats happened to golf over the last couple of decades.
atb