The man called Bryson DeChambeau threatens to upend golf as we know it

With Woods, they talked about "Tiger proofing" golf courses. What will they do for someone who can drive 500 yards at will?

Every generation produces a “great” golfer who develops an advantage over the rest of the field on account of his length of the tees. Bobby Jones in the 1920s-30s, followed by Slammin’ Sammy Snead (who won professionally for six decades and whose record of 82 PGA wins was only just overtaken by Tiger Woods a year back), Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Woods, a whole lot of chaps such as Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka in their time, all developed this edge. Suddenly, surprisingly, a transformed Bryson DeChambeau arrives laden with an additional 40 pounds of sheer muscle as the new 800-pound gorilla. When Woods started winning nearly every tournament he entered, they talked about “Tiger proofing” golf courses, and some were indeed lengthened. What will they do for someone who can drive 500 yards at will? At the Masters, DeChambeau could drive a couple of Par 4 holes, says Nicklaus.

Equipment suppliers earn profits from sales to casual golfers as they buy stuff that their golfing heroes win with. TaylorMade Tiger Woods signature club sales zoomed 2,000 times of normal after his 2019 Masters win. Thus, design of balls that will spin more, fly truer and further and drivers with giant metallic heads with variable launch angles (DeChambeau’s is at 5.5°) and iron heads with different types of grooves, weight, inserts, materials, shapes, angles and flanges attached to shafts made from stainless steel and graphite with flex from ultra-stiff for the strong to ultra-whippy for the weaker are basic offerings. Together with related accessories such as shoes, gloves, hats, shirts, trousers of every description from conservative to weird add up to a $40 billion industry. The application of significant science and technology and funding has added an extra apocryphal six inches of length to the average drive of a male, but has not been able to fulfil Akio Morita’s (SONY fame) dictum of developing a putter that will always sink a putt from anywhere on the green!

The US Golf Association and the R&A, the regulators of golf, have a problem of cosmic proportions trying to balance the needs of professional golf and amateurs who need golf to be fun and only a reasonable challenge. It would be no fun to have Par 4s of over 500 meters and par 5s of over 600 metres.  Some of us would never finish. And what of the course designers? How to meet the challenge posed by increasing pro player fitness, strength and skill, continuously improving quality of equipment and the quotidian needs of the club golfer? The acme of excellent course design as a challenge for champions, while still being a fun albeit challenging course for club players, has been achieved at the Delhi Golf Club in India designed by Gary Player and Jeff Lawrence. Come and try it folks! 

Now, of course, we must come to the Masters and see whether DeChambeau can demolish the Augusta National Club with his prodigious drives and recoveries from ultra-thick rough as he demolished the Winged Foot West Course where the US Open was  played. At -6, he was the only one under par. Dustin Johnson, the world No 1 was +5 and Tiger, along with several notables, missed the cut and were probably thankful at being spared two days of further torture (+25 was the worst score for those who qualified) over the weekend.

DeChambeau simply does not care what anyone thinks of him. It has always been so for those who differed with the received wisdom. In earlier days, those who used science to prove that flat earthers and those who believed that planet earth was at the centre of the universe were wrong, were burnt at the stake. His basic thesis is that if the club head has to be brought back with force to the same position at impact as at address, the required movement has to be repeatable and, therefore, metronomic. For that, one required the same segment length (shaft length), the same swing plane (hence the straight, stiff armed approach with all clubs, including with the putter), and, finally, an edge over all other players in terms of coordinated terrific strength in all the muscles that matter (shoulders, arms, hands, glutes, back, thighs and core; he already has the muscles in his head substantially under control). This he achieved over the winter months until tournament play was finally allowed. He has an algorithm in his head into which he feeds in dozens of dimensions and variables before every shot such as wind speed and direction, footage (not yardage), weather, spectator chatter, lay of the land etc, to churn out the decision for the shot.

His seven victories are the fruit of his self-belief, determination and dedication. For him, it’s almost that winning is less important than proving to the rest of the world that for 150 years the game has been taught and played incorrectly.  Before bulking up with 40 pounds of muscle, at one time he even threatened the ramparts at the Masters, so he can certainly play. If it was just drive, chip/pitch and putt, then maybe he’s won already, and everyone can go home. But the Masters is a championship that competitors want to win so badly that sometimes, in their eagerness to win, they visualise one hand already on the trophy and forget how to play (Norman in 1996, McIlroy in 2015, Jordan Spieth in 2017 when they were well in the lead). Some forget how to putt (Ernie Els with a six putt on the first green and Woods from above the hole on 13, putting for an eagle, missing and seeing the putt slither and slink past the hole and into the water). On 15, in a good position on Day 2, Sergio Garcia, the defending champion, hit a near perfect pitch with his third shot. He missed the precise chosen landing spot, which would have placed him next to the pin for an easy birdie by just a couple of inches to see his ball spin back into the water. He repeated that twice more to tragically miss the cut. By the way, those lovely Loblolly pines are beautiful to behold but are difficult to fly no matter how hard one hits it. Their droppings of pine straw settle so lightly that one requires luck to strike the ball perfectly. Let us also not forget the terrors of Amen Corner where the dreaded Jezebel (the resident witch of the treacherous Par 3 twelfth) sings her siren songs to invite even well-hit balls into Rae’s Creek. Many a tournament has been lost here. Players can suffer permanent loss of confidence (Spieth) and the record high score in tournament is a 13 (Tom Weiskopf).

These all add up to the mystique of Augusta National, which will not give up its virtue that easily.

And finally, aside from several other likely contenders, the Big Cat (Woods) is still around. It’s advisable not to tread on his tail; he might not take it kindly. Despite innumerable problems, and apparent present lack of form, he is the defending champion. Arguably he knows the course better than anyone else and knows when to be patient and when to push. Wait for the pleasant surprise of Woods being in the winning circle again on November 15. Everyone will love that denouement to this fantastic theatre.

Tomorrow: Day 1 and analysis