Welcome to Wall-to-Wall Equipment, the weekly gear wrap-up in which GOLF equipment editor Jonathan Wall takes you through the latest trends, rumors and breaking news.
Secret weapon
Everything about Bryson DeChambeau’s equipment setup is unique — all the way down to the massive JumboMax grips affixed to the end of his clubs. It’s important to point this out because when you proclaim Bryson has a “one-off” piece of gear in the bag, it’s natural for golfers to shrug and roll their eyes. Literally every club in his bag is completely custom.
But if there’s one custom club that stands out from the pack, it’s a recent addition to the bag that DeChambeau raved about last week — even if he wouldn’t divulge the secret sauce behind the design.
“It’s a great driver,” DeChambeau said. “It’s won a bunch of World Long Drive championships, and it’s performed the best — it’s performed — how do I say this? It’s probably performed the best I’ve ever had in the past five years in professional golf for me, ever since 2018 when I was striping it early in the year.”
The driver in question is a 6-degree Krank Formula Fire LD that’s equipped with a Project X HZRDUS T1100 shaft (measuring almost 46 inches) that went in play — along with a Krank fairway wood — ahead of DeChambeau’s final-round 58 at the Greenbrier. The “LD” designation stands for “long drive,” meaning DeChambeau used a club typically reserved for the long drive circuit to win a LIV event.
“It’s fantastic for anyone that’s over 175 [miles per hour] ball speed,” he continued.
Indeed, DeChambeau’s driver is designed for the fastest of the fast with an ultra-low loft (6 degrees) to manage spin rate, and a handmade forged face cup that’s constructed from durable hardened beta titanium. The face material is meant to withstand repeated blows at 175 mph and above — DeChambeau has routinely cracked the driver face in the past — which is something only a handful of players at the top level of professional golf need to worry about.
Of all the clubs in DeChambeau’s bag, the driver has been the one he’s struggled to figure out in recent years. In 2021, he told the assembled media at the Open Championship that the driver he was using at the time “sucks” — an assessment he later walked back. At his incredible speeds, trying to consistently find the center of the face and minimize misses is incredibly difficult.
This clever tee-it-forward trick taught Bryson DeChambeau how to go low
But with Krank’s driver in his hands, DeChambeau believes he’s found a way to harness the biggest weapon in his bag.
“Ever since I put this driver into play, it’s not been really my golf swing,” DeChambeau said. “It’s just hit on the toe, hit on the heel, everything comes back down the middle of the fairway, and I’m like, all right, pick up the tee and let’s go. The driver has been really nice. It’s allowed me to have some time to myself after rounds instead of going and working my butt off all the time.”
When pressed after his win to explain in more detail what makes the driver go, DeChambeau stopped short of pulling back the curtain.
“I don’t want to say too much,” he said.
DeChambeau didn’t call it out by name, but it’s safe to assume Krank’s bulge and roll face construction is what he was alluding to during the interview. At his high speeds, DeChambeau struggled to turn the ball and bring it back to center on mishits before putting the Krank in play. For the moment, it appears his problem miss is no longer an issue.
Before you go out and consider testing one for yourself, take DeChambeau’s advice and opt for something else — unless, of course, you have a lot of gas in the tank. Most weekend golfers wouldn’t even come close to keeping it on the map with DeChambeau’s build. But for Mr. 58? It’s the perfect build.
Want to overhaul your bag for 2023? Find a fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.