OT: Bryson DeChambeau will change the physics of golf

[cary lichtenstein]

Just as Tiger Woods got everyone into the gym, Bryson is going to get everyone into the weight room and put on MUSCLE, MAY not weight gain, but the future of dominant players are going to follow the Bryson Model.


What an exciting 4 days of golf and to see this match up of 2 young studs is going to change golf and golf course architecture. I can see enormous deep bunkers, ala Scotland & Ireland being added in the future to bring back stragety into the game, but this is the future unless they ban the current driver size and ball, and make a tournament ball, but it will always favor the longer hitter no matter what you do. Distance Matters

[Ian Mackenzie]

It remains to be seen if these young guys, and their back-torquing swings, can have the same staying power on tour that Nicklaus, Palmer, Player and others had.


Tiger...?...he crapped out in 2008 and took 10+ YEARS to get back into playing shape.His knee, his back...heck, the mental toll that lead to substance abuse...all combined to limit his ability to overcome Jack as the GOAT.


A complementary question may be: Will this new breed of new swingers create shorter, more concentrated careers on tour?


You really think Bryson the "Meat stick" can sustain that lash competitively for another 20 years?
I'll take the under on that.

[Ben Sims]

It remains to be seen if these young guys, and their back-torquing swings, can have the same staying power on tour that Nicklaus, Palmer, Player and others had.

Respectfully, I think your question is being answered every week by old and young. Phil is as long as he’s ever been, and at a lower weight than he’s been in perhaps a couple decades too. Rory has, in my opinion, one of the most flexible swings on tour, generates tremendous lower back torque, and seems to be doing quite well after double digit years as a pro.


There have been many gradual moments of obvious change with regard to golf physics. This weekend at Winged Foot was something else entirely. The combined effects of excruciatingly slow play and unchecked technology have put some players in a category that we’ve never seen before. Majors have a way of laying bare golf’s issues.

[Wayne_Kozun]

Dustin Johnson is 36 and has managed to win consistently on tour over a dozen years (so far), although only one major.

[David Federman]

Time will tell if Bryson can maintain this level of play and conditioning. He is a top player for sure, and his record as an amateur and professional thus far attest to that. But, I doubt that his technique, skill and strategy can hold up over time. We'll see what happens at the Masters, where there is no rough and plenty of guys bombing it.


By the way, Ian, Tiger has nearly had a hall of fame career since 2008. He has won 17 times, with the 2019 Masters, the 2018 Tour Championship, 6 victories in 2009, 2 in 2012, 5 in 2013 with player of the year.

[David_Tepper]

Will one-length sets of irons become more commonplace?

[Jeff Schley]

Will one-length sets of irons become more commonplace?

IMO it can only increase. It is interesting concept and will gain steam, if he signs a endorsement deal with the Bryson length sets perhaps.

[Kalen Braley]

I have to wonder if the Tour has been vigilant in testing over the last year with all the breaks and such due to Covid.  Not often you see guys turn into beef cakes over night.  Barry bonds was skinny most of his career, McGuire went from tall and lanky to just plain massive.  Even knew a guy in high school who got massively big between his junior and senior year in high school.  They were all on the juice...

Anecdotally at least, it fits with his ruling blowups/temper tantrums like he had at the Memorial this year...

[Buck Wolter]

I don't think anyone can change them but he is definitely utilizing the physics for his benefit. I've been surprised in the trackman era how many pros still hit down on the ball with their driver when they know it costs them distance and a rudimentary knowledge of 'strokes gained' will tell you that length is more important than accuracy.

[Wayne_Kozun]

Can we assume that Bryson has optimized the loft of his driver?  Probably.


Apparently it only has 5.5* of loft, but he hits the driver very high and has a long carry, but he gets less roll than others - like Wolff.  Whe would he hit is so high with a low-lofted driver?  Hitting it while the clubhead is on an upward path?


Does Bryson consider changing the loft on his driver depending on the firmness of the ground?  I would think that there may be times when he may prefer less carry but more roll, so more horizontal force when his ball lands.

[Pete_Pittock]

Will one-length sets of irons become more commonplace?

Haven't dwelled into the details of BDC's clubs. While the shafts are the same length, are the other properties  identical as well?

If they are, and the USGA/R&A changes the Rules accordingly, we could be carrying two shafts (in case one breaks, 13 clubheads, and one putter.

The manufacturers might not like it but it would certainly make the game affordable for more people.

[Matt_Cohn]

You really think Bryson the "Meat stick" can sustain that lash competitively for another 20 years?

No, but I doubt he would care. Baseball pitchers could throw softer and not wear out their arms, but they would be less effective. Same here. Unless he thinks he’s risking very near term injury, I doubt he would agree to play a little worse in exchange for longevity.

[David Ober]

You really think Bryson the "Meat stick" can sustain that lash competitively for another 20 years?

No, but I doubt he would care. Baseball pitchers could throw softer and not wear out their arms, but they would be less effective. Same here. Unless he thinks he’s risking very near term injury, I doubt he would agree to play a little worse in exchange for longevity.

Nailed it.

[Jim Sherma]

I don’t think the question is about Bryson per se. Rather, it’s when you have 30-50 Brysons in 5-8 years and weekly one or three are likely hitting it straight enough and putting well enough to dominate. At this point all other types of players risk obsolescence if they are not willing to play that style. Obviously this mono-cultural dystopia assumes no change in equipment specs.

[John Crowley]

You really think Bryson the "Meat stick" can sustain that lash competitively for another 20 years?

No, but I doubt he would care. Baseball pitchers could throw softer and not wear out their arms, but they would be less effective. Same here. Unless he thinks he’s risking very near term injury, I doubt he would agree to play a little worse in exchange for longevity.

He has already made that exchange - bulked up body for long term health.

[John Crowley]

Time will tell if Bryson can maintain this level of play and conditioning. He is a top player for sure, and his record as an amateur and professional thus far attest to that. But, I doubt that his technique, skill and strategy can hold up over time. We'll see what happens at the Masters, where there is no rough and plenty of guys bombing it.


By the way, Ian, Tiger has nearly had a hall of fame career since 2008. He has won 17 times, with the 2019 Masters, the 2018 Tour Championship, 6 victories in 2009, 2 in 2012, 5 in 2013 with player of the year.

Yup, let’s start getting excited after BDC gets within a mile of Tiger’s records.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

It's amazing... science and golf! One does have to be strong to get the ball out the rough at Winged Foot.


The next  2 Majors are The Masters- November and April. Let's see how he does there.  Now he may use a new driver. Stay tuned:


https://sports.yahoo.com/bryson-dechambeaus-next-trick-48-133313925.html

[Buck Wolter]

Wait until Finau or Champ max things out

[Mark Mammel]

Will one-length sets of irons become more commonplace?

David- Just my own experience but I have a set of the Cobra single-length irons I bought when they first came out. I was dealing with the aftermath of 2 back surgeries and trying out the single-plane swing. Overall I discovered I am neither Moe Norman nor Bryson, but I find the single length makes the most difference in the short irons, 7-SW. Really helped me. So there's an n of 1.

[Kalen Braley]

I'm not so sure being a beef cake like BDC is necessary to get the ball out the rough.  Matt Wolff was outdriving him on several holes, and did better from the rough, especially in round 3 where he only hit 2 fairways and had 12 GIRs, and he's not roided out.

[Carl Rogers]

Long term problem might be the left knee for the super long hitters.  No bulk up possibility for that part of the anatomy.

[David_Tepper]

Excellent analysis by Mike Clayton here:

https://www.golf.org.au/clayton-power-1-trickery-0/

[Pete Lavallee]

Brysons ability to swing so hard seems to stem from his use of the Moe Norman style single lever swing where the arm and club are parallel to each other. It didn’t turn Jerry Fultz into a US Open champion, but I believe Sandy Lyle turned to it latter in his career. Hey at least he can claim the World Hickory Open Title!


Will others try this unique way of swinging a golf club?

[John Crowley]

Excellent analysis by Mike Clayton here:

https://www.golf.org.au/clayton-power-1-trickery-0/

Agreed, good insight by Mike.


Buy the way, you all, was there a great hew and cry to Nicklaus-proof or Tiger-proof courses and equipment back then. (Ok there was some Tiger-proofing, but did that ever really prevent him from being the best way more than his contemporaries?)


My recollection is that it was just generally understood that they were the best players of their time and so be it.


THEN, AS NOW (AND FOREVER), LOWEST SCORE WINS.


Who should care if it is 6 under or 20 under or 35 under that wins a 72 hole tournament.


Why didn’t track and field try to suppress future excellence after Roger Bannister broke 4 minutes?


As the PGA Tour says itself these guys are good.

[Peter Flory]

You could say the same thing about men's tennis or bowling.  There will always be a winner no matter how much the dynamics change.  A sport is capable of losing popularity if it becomes more one dimensional and power oriented though- like those have and like golf is doing.  Ratings for Sunday at the US Open weren't good (3rd lowest on record) and it was the biggest power hitter in the world's first major victory.  What could be more exciting than that?