Bryson DeChambeau is not your average golfer. The American does things his own way with a swing unique to him and hits the ball a country mile.
He embarked on a mission to gain distance at the backend of 2019, promising to look “like a different person” on his return to action and he was true to his word.
The much bulkier DeChambeau was a far cry from the skinny 22-year-old who turned pro in 2016 and it appeared an astute move when he lifted the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot by six shots.
Ingesting that much protein and whatever else eventually caught up with him, though. Injuries began to mount up and his form when he was fit enough to play fell off a cliff.
Worse still, he realised what he was putting into his system to pack the pounds on was causing inflammation.
That sparked a change of course and a return to a leaner and healthier version of himself, but he didn’t appear to lose any of the distance he worked so hard to add to his game.
In fact, DeChambeau’s 2024 stock yardages remain eye-watering. According to Arccos data, the average male driving distance in 2022 was 225.9 yards, only a fraction further than DeChambeau hits his 7-iron.
But mere mortals can be consoled with the knowledge that the man nicknamed ‘The Golfing Scientist’ uses stronger-lofted clubs to aid his cause. Not that we’d recommend following in his footsteps in this regard.
His Krank Formula Fire driver is 6 degrees and, according to DeChambeau, is the reason he was able to shoot 58 at last year’s LIV Golf Greenbrier event.
The 30-year-old has an 11.5-degree TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver cranked down to 9.5 degrees, which he uses as his 3-wood and a 13-degree Krank Formula Fire 5-wood.
He also grabbed headlines by debuting new 3D-printed irons made by little-known brand Avoda Golf at The Masters. Recently approved by the USGA, DeChambeau has the 5-PW in his bag at Augusta National and used them to great effect on Thursday to vault into the early lead after a seven-under 65.
Discussing the benefits of the new sticks, DeChambeau said: “When I mishit on the toe or the heel it seems to fly a lot straighter for me and that’s what has allowed me to be more comfortable over the ball.”
The lofts of the Avoda irons are still unknown but if they are the same as his old Ping set, the 5-iron will be 17 degrees, which makes it a 2-iron for the rest of us.
"“It’s technically like a 2-iron, but this is the loft I need to retain 4,000 spin," DeChambeau said of his 5-iron in his YouTube video discussing his equipment setup.
As with everything he does, there is method behind the madness, and in this instance the stronger lofts help him hit his desired spin windows given the speed at which he is swinging.
Not a problem the majority of us have to worry about.
