Take cover: Bryson in Vegas
LAS VEGAS – We’re going to need a bigger range.
Brawny Bryson DeChambeau is shaking up the golf world by knocking the cover off the ball since adding 40 pounds of mass to his already large frame and increasing his ball and clubhead speeds to ridiculous levels. Regularly cranking out drives in excess of 400 yards, DeChambeau has many in golf ’s circles wondering if there’s a golf course that can contain him.
Well, in addition to possibly forcing golf clubs to add hundreds of yards of length to their existing layouts, DeChambeau might move the same clubs to make their driving ranges bigger.
On Tuesday afternoon at TPC Summerlin, home to this week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, DeChambeau was clearing the fence at the back of the range nearly 360 yards away. And he wasn’t swinging full-bore. He put a dent in one car and forced officials to ask him to move back on the range. So he moved 40 yards back – nearly off the range completely – to be safe.
In a city known for its headliners, DeChambeau might be the biggest name on the marquee this week. He’s playing for the first time since he bludgeoned venerable and rugged Winged Foot to win the U.S. Open by six shots. He’s the clear-cut favorite. Won here in 2018. And he thinks he can drive multiple par-4 holes.
“I would say four holes out here that I think I can go for,” he said Wednesday before the pro-am.
With his power, the No. 6 player in the world with seven PGA Tour titles can turn the 7,255-yard course playing to a par of 71 into a putt-putt by hitting it longer than anybody and higher than anybody. He’ll easily reach the three par-5s in two – likely with short irons.
“There will be holes where I’m going to try and drive them, get it up as close to the green as possible,” DeChambeau said. “It’s just fun having a 7-iron go 220. That’s unique. And 4-iron, 265. There will be holes where I had to hit 3wood and now I’m hitting 4-iron off the tees.
“Kind of like I would say Atlanta (for the Tour Championship) a little bit where I was hitting 3-woods in the past and now hitting 4-irons off the tee, and just hitting it as far as everybody else.”
And he’s working as hard as he can to get even longer, inspired by another bomber who shook up the golf world and blasted golf courses into submission.
“I watched ‘Happy Gilmore’ a little while ago and just re-inspired me to try and hit it as far as possible,” DeChambeau said.
That means possibly introducing a 48-inch driver shaft – 2.5 inches longer than standard length. He has been working with the longer clubs since the U.S. Open but said he won’t put it in play until possibly the Masters in November.
“I’m looking forward to trying to put in a 48-inch driver and see what that can do to the golf course and what opportunities it will present for me,” he said. “It’s going well. I think there is a lot of, I don’t know, I guess you could say advantages to having a 48-inch driver
and being able to put it in play and keep it in play. Still need to get some things worked out, but so far it’s been pretty amazing.”
DeChambeau’s eye-opening isn’t the part of the big show.
“People forget how good of a putter he is,” Shriners defending champion Kevin Na said. “People don’t give him enough credit for how good of a putter he is and how good he reads the greens.
“You can’t win golf tournaments without making putts. You got to realize that this guy makes a lot of putts. Not only does he hit bombs, he makes bombs.”
DeChambeau knows this all too well and will keep working on not only getting longer but getting better in every aspect of his game.
“At the same point in time it’s about putting, chipping, wedging,” he said. “You still got to do everything else really well. So if I play well, ball strike it well, and putt well, I think I’ll have a good chance again.
“Love this golf course.” length