Bryson DeChambeau had been in possession of the U.S. Open Championship trophy for less than an hour after his dominant six-stroke victory in September at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., when his mind turned to the next major test in front of him — the Masters.
As much as DeChambeau dominated play at Winged Foot with his enormous length off the tee that caused the USGA's attempts to put a premium on accuracy seem feeble, it begged the question of what the game's greatest long-ball hitter might do this coming week at Augusta National, where the fairways are wide and inviting and what little rough exists is manageable.
"Length is going to be a big advantage there," DeChambeau said. "I know that for a fact. It's always an advantage pretty much anywhere, but given that fact, I'm going to try and prepare by testing a couple things with the driver.
"I mean, by that, it's 48 inches, and I'll also do something with the face to account for the new speed I'm going at. Then, I've got to get better with my iron play a little bit. Definitely, the driver needs to go straighter. That's really my main focus still."
Without a doubt, DeChambeau will be the favorite when he tees it up for the first round Thursday at Augusta. He only has played once since the U.S. Open, tying for eighth at the Shriners Hospitals event in Las Vegas a month ago. "The Scientist," as DeChambeau is known, undoubtedly has been ensconced in his driving range laboratory working to see if he really can add 2 1/2 inches to the length of his driver and have it in game shape for the Masters.
DeChambeau has been an innovator in golf, starting with his switch at the age of 15 to a set of irons that all are the same length to his dramatic improvement as a putter on the PGA Tour, utilizing an arm-lock technique, and finally, to his dramatic power surge over the past year that resulted from the combination of a technique used by long-drive contest winners plus his work to transform his body into a stronger, heavier weapon.
"I'm not going to stop," DeChambeau said. "I'm going to be trying a 48-inch driver. We're going to be messing with some head designs and do amazing things with Cobra to make it feasible to hit these drives maybe 360 yards, 370, maybe even farther. I don't know."
DeChambeau will have plenty of competition from other long hitters, such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele, all of whom tied for second, a stroke behind legend Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters played 19 months ago. DeChambeau finished 29th, but that was before he built himself up by 20 pounds to 235 while the PGA Tour shut down for three months last spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He suggested he would like to reach 245 pounds by the time of the Masters but was uncertain if that was possible. A recent Sports Illustrated profile of DeChambeau noted he repeatedly has been tested by the PGA Tour with no evidence he ever has used steroids. But his driving distance average has risen 22.3 yards to 344.4 this year.
Improvements in the equipment have allowed all professional golfers to increase their distance, but DeChambeau has worked overtime to maximize his advantage by increasing his swing speed with a style that mimics that of such long-drive contestants as Kyle Berkshire and Justin James.
"They all inspired me to try and go harder at it," DeChambeau said. "They are the ones breaking the barriers. I can see what is possible. So, that inspires me to keep pushing the limits."
When he won the U.S. Open, DeChambeau described the achievement as "validation through science." But at the same time, he said his improved athleticism goes hand-in-hand with his applied science.
"I was hitting it a normal, average Tour player a year ago, and then, I all of a sudden got a lot stronger and worked out every day. All of a sudden — not because of clubs, but because of me — I was able to gain 20, 25 yards.
"I've become a great putter, and my ball striking has improved consistently. Now, I've got an advantage with this length, and that's all she wrote."
