Originally Posted: June 4, 2018
Hardly anyone beyond regular PGA Tour viewers would know the name Bryson DeChambeau in spite of his stellar résumé. Since turning pro in 2016, he has won two events, including Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament this past weekend against a very strong field. Before that, he became only the 5th player to win both both the NCAA Championship and the U.S. Amateur.
What makes him one of the most interesting players to come along on the PGA Tour is that he has chucked a homogenized element of golf — the use of different length clubs (for irons) — in favor of using a single-length shaft for all of his irons (here are details on his clubs).
While it may seem like minor thing, playing with one-length irons is the golfing equivalent of pitching an MLB game underhanded or shooting 3-pointers with hook shots. It just isn’t done, at least among professionals or top amateurs.
With a background in physics from SMU, DeChambeau possesses the mental capacity to deconstruct a golf swing, but he’s also a little different personality wise. He has to be in order to chart his own course and withstand the implicit pressure that goes along with uniformity. From the outset on the Tour, in spite of his amateur success, there have been a lot of snickers. Sure, publicly, players and announcers may say things like his approach is “interesting” or “intriguing,” but the message always coming through is that they really think it is crazy and doomed to fail. READ MORE