The Masters is less than two days away and Bryson DeChambeau doesn’t know which driver head he’s going to use in the opening round.
The two-time major champion is still tinkering with his equipment, which he personally designs, testing out multiple driver heads on the Augusta National Golf Course range as he tries to find the perfect specifications for his game and this course.
While he hasn’t made a final decision yet, he said he’s getting close and feels confident, and that he can win at Augusta no matter which head he chooses.
“I'm testing some drivers right now to find the best thing that I can use for me this week,” DeChambeau said during his pre-Masters press conference Tuesday.
“Knock on wood, I feel like I’m in a great place. I don’t know what else to say. I’m not going to say something to get an article or something. I just feel really good headed into this year.”
DeChambeau provided more details about what he was testing after he was spotted on the ANGC range marking different drivers with a Sharpie marker as he tested the different options.
“It’s just trying to get that dialed-in head, that perfect head,” DeChambeau said. “It’s one of those where for speeds of my caliber, it has to be super precise. So I’m testing different heads to see how it reacts, how I feel, how it feels in my hands. I’m swinging it really good right now, so I’m just trying to get the most precise thing in my hand for this week.”
Shades of bravado long associated with DeChambeau are evident in that “speeds of my caliber” line. Yet, he enters this Masters seemingly a more humble person than the one who famously called Augusta a par-67 course.
DeChambeau apologized for the 67 remark this week and praised Augusta National’s history today, even referring to ANGC co-founders Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones as Mr. Roberts and Mr. Jones.
These changes may seem minor, certainly more so than deciding what driver one will use in a major championship. Yet DeChambeau’s transformation began last year when arrived with a modest persona after missing the cut the previous two years. That led to his best finish at Augusta, a tie for sixth.
“I think as an amateur, I felt like I knew the golf course pretty well, but I didn’t know how to control a lot of the nerves that flowed through my body, and that was something that I still work on today,” DeChambeau said. “That’s what's changed the most is getting more comfortable with shots around this golf course.”
DeChambeau certainly seems more comfortable with himself since his social media presence blossomed. He’s become one of the biggest golf influencers on YouTube and produced his biggest smiles during the press conference discussing that element of his life.
He was even asked about creating content for social media at Augusta National. He admitted that would be a dream, but never veered from the respectful tone he struck all day.
“Oh, man, if I got the opportunity, it would be great to just film something that—I don’t even know. I’d love to talk about the history of this golf course,” DeChambeau said. “I think it would be really cool to showcase all the past champions and what Mr. Jones had done for this community and this place and Mr. Roberts, and just the history of it would be really cool to showcase.”
Now if he could just settle on a driver head.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bryson DeChambeau Still Looking for Right Driver on Eve of the Masters.
