The Evolution of Bryson DeChambeau
The Evolution of Bryson DeChambeau
By: Shivane Anand
Coming out of Southern Methodist University, Bryson DeChambeau, also known as the Mad-Scientist, was one of the most decorated college golfers of all time. His sterling resume included an NCAA Division I Championship, alongside the US Amateur Championship, a feat only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus had achieved before him. His scientific approach to golf and his coveted Hogan cap only made him more noticeable in his emergence onto the PGA Tour.
If someone were to describe DeChambeau in 2016, they would most likely classify him as a golf-genius with an obsession for perfection. If you asked someone the same question today, the only change DeChambeau has made his now burly, built upper body. He has always maintained the same drive and love for golf but wanted to see different results. Many of his critics asked, “What does his being built have anything to do with golf?” DeChambeau answered the question in a way only Tiger Woods could, through his outpouring of successes in the last year.
Although content with his successes in his first years on the PGA Tour, the scientist in him always had something else to say. His golf swing was untraditional to the rest, being a single motion takeaway instead of 2 or 3. Tiger Woods, who some may say is the greatest golfer of all time, broke the golf barriers when he first took on the idea of bulking. However, Bryson wanted more. He had thought about it for years. “What if I put on 40-50 pounds of muscle Greg?” he asked his trainer Greg Roskopf, “Would I still be able to maintain my body and play at a high level?” Roskopf responded with, “Let’s find out.” Bryson wanted to change the game; he wanted to beat the field in his way; power and finesse. Many of DeChambeau’s critics had a field day with his processes, but DeChambeau, with his head down, took it upon himself to be the best he could.
To fully understand how his transition from plotting the course to power and finesse would work, it must be known that the technology shift in present-day golf played a pivotal role in his end goal. The roots of the sport travel back to wooden clubs and straw balls. However, in 2020, revolutionary twist-face technology on the drivers, soft-core 3 level golf balls, and distance maximization have made DeChambeau’s feat fathomable. The average driving distance on the PGA Tour in 1990 was a mere 262.75 yards. In 2005 it increased 288.88 yards. And finally, in 2020, it skyrocketed to 298.02 yards. But compared to all these numbers, the one that matters is DeChambeau’s. His average driving in the year 2020 was 344.5 yards, almost 46 yards longer than the average. And compared to 2019, where he averaged 302 yards, the transformation played a role. The question is, how? How has Bryson DeChambeau been able to pummel the field and reinvent the traditional game of golf?
On numerous occasions, reporters asked DeChambeau, “What is your personal record for bench press?” And he would always respond with, “I have no idea. I’ve never benched in my life.” This comes as a surprise to many people, seeing his frame and bulk, but DeChambeau follows a different set of beliefs. In an interview with ProTips, he was asked what exercises he likes to do, and he answered that “isolated exercises are the best for my progress. I don’t personally like doing bench press because I could hurt myself. But I like isolating every single muscle, so it all comes together.” His workout routines, just like his entire golf game, are catered to him, but his diet is another exciting part of his journey. At the beginning of his quest to bulk, DeChambeau partnered with Orgain, a clean nutrition company with healthy options for all people. In an interview with the Golf Channel, he listed his average day’s food consumption as the following. Breakfast: four eggs, five strips of bacon, toast, and two Orgain protein shake. Throughout the day: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, GoMacro bars, snacks, two to three Orgain shakes. Dinner: Steak, potatoes, and two Orgain shakes.
What has all this hard work come to? It paid off big time. Bryson DeChambeau won by six shots, as the only player under par at the US Open, played at Winged Foot Golf Club. This tournament was won from start to finish by his reinventing of the game. He would pump the ball 350-400 yards down every fairway, but what was more impressive was the accuracy at which he hit his irons and wedges. However, all golfers know strokes are picked up on the green, and DeChambeau crushed the field in strokes gained putting.
It’s one thing to talk about creating a fundamental change, and it’s another to do it. Although this past week at The Masters didn’t go as planned for DeChambeau, he proved the haters wrong and inspired another generation of golfers to approach the game at any angle and follow through. At just 27-years-old, he has shaken up the PGA Tour and expects to see the burly mad scientist lifting trophies left and right as the years go by and as he continues to get bigger and bigger.