He added 40 pounds of muscle. Now, he hits a golf ball further than anyone
Earlier this month, former world No. 1 champion Lee Westwood described DeChambeau as "incredible" for CNN's Amanda Davies in an Instagram Live.
"What Bryson has done is incredible," he said. "He should be applauded. He has clearly seen where he can improve and the distance is clearly a tremendous force and he has certainly maximized it.
" His body transformation is incredible and it has paid off. For the past few weeks, he and Webb Simpson have been the two most consistent players – Bryson clearly won [in Detroit] last week – and to keep the feel in his short game and his pits when you've stacked on all the pounds and it's clear that it is an enormous effort. "
Nowadays, golfers at golf media conferences are invariably asked about DeChambeau.
" He hits it further, but let's look at the fact that he does it so right. as is, "said Tiger Woods.
" That's the hardest thing to do. The further you hit it, the more the tangent goes more crooked, the more along this line. Charley Hoffman recently told GOLF's Subpar podcast that DeChambeau's development shows that "the best athletes in the world are now starting to play golf." That's why it goes further. "
Meanwhile, fellow Tour pro Tony Finau says he was" inspired "by DeChambeau and had got" [him] thinking. "
DeChambeau himself had this to say about his swing and how straight he hits the ball:" I found some methods in the golf swing that allowed me to hit it a bit straighter than I thought I could. That's why I just feel like I'm swinging harder, sometimes straighter, which is a huge benefit.
"When I feel a little uncomfortable, I just swing it harder, and luckily the way my golf swing is, the forces were a lot better for me. But no, I didn't think it would come that fast. "
Bifurcation
While Westwood praised DeChambeau for" physically improving himself ", the British golfer said he thought equipment played an important role:" Drivers and golf balls have gone further in recent years and judge, this has not only happened in recent months. "
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"We've had this conversation for years. I don't know what the answer is. As long as you hit it a long way, you should have the benefit of getting it right. long way and it goes offline and you will not be penalized, then golf has a problem. "
Others are not so happy with how DeChambeau and huge drives may change
After the Charles Schwab Challenge told in early June former BBC Tour pro Colin Montgomerie that the "time has come" for officials to introduce a "tournament ball for professionals" to stop DeChambeau and others from teeing off.
"Bryson had 10 holes where he was within 100 yards of the green for his approach. And if you take the four par threes, it means that there were only four holes where Bryson was more than 100 yards away for his approach
"The game has changed drastically. It is now brute force and a sand wedge. "
The USGA and R&A released a report in February stating that the greater distances players hit" was detrimental to the long-term future of the game. "
Montgomerie said he also supported Jack Nicklaus' idea for a tournament ball. It only goes" 80-85% that far. "
People may not like it, but DeChambeau doesn't break any rules, and it is certainly not the first time an athlete has done something others disagree with in order to gain an advantage.
That's just the nature of competitive sport.
Not Bulletproof Yet
The February report also said that "greater firing distance can undermine the basic principle that the challenge of golf is that it is necessary to demonstrate a wide range of skills to be successful. to be. "
But DeChambeau has also shown that the long-term approach is not infallible.
Two weeks after that Detroit win, the 26-year-old missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament after recording a 10-stroke quintuple bogey in his second round.
The incident also raised questions about DeChambeau's temperament.
A wandering drive forced a fall, and the California native then chose a 3-wood from the rough and skewed the shot to the right out of bounds The next stroke produced a similar result, but even further to the right
The ball was found to be resting against a metal barrier and before it could take its eighth strike, the ball was two referees also ruled to stay out of bounds. The second official was needed after DeChambeau dismissed the first ruling as "garbage."
He added, "In my opinion, that would still be technically ds exist. "
Rejecting the officials and favoring his own opinion are a few reasons why some call the eight-time tournament winner arrogant. During his win in Detroit, DeChambeau also convicted a cameraman for following him too closely, which he said was "damaging the image of [his]". Two weeks later during the Memorial Tournament, DeChambeau's caddy Tim Tucker rushed to prevent a cameraman from filming his boss's meltdown on the 15th hole. He later turned down two media interview requests for not making the cut. & # 39;); $ VidEndSlate.removeClass (& # 39; video__end-slate – inactive & # 39;). 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It remains to be seen whether Dechambeau's new powerful game, which will join the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational next week, will force golf to fundamentally change or force its fellow competitors to fundamentally change their game as well.