Thursday at the Open Championship was one to forget for Bryson DeChambeau. Wayward tee shots. Bogey trains. Multiple whacks from the fescue. There wasn’t much in the way of positives, but the reigning U.S. Open winner remained upbeat as he stood before the assembled media following an opening-round 76.
Asked to pinpoint where things went wrong, DeChambeau zeroed in on the golf ball and its performance on a day where the wind and chilly temperatures forced even the most aggressive pros in the field — the 30-year-old included — to throttle back and go on the defensive.
“Yeah. I’m going to go figure it out,” DeChambeau said. “It’s something equipment-related. The golf ball is — look, I’m not at 190 ball speed, so particularly when I’m hitting driver or 3-wood, those clubs are built for around that speed, that 190 ball speed, and my 3-wood around 180, so colder, firmer conditions, the golf ball is not compressing as much. So it’s probably something along those lines.
“But felt like I was swinging it somewhat OK, just the ball wasn’t coming off in that window that I normally see, so it was a weird day.”
Even if DeChambeau fails to right the ship at Royal Troon, the 2024 season will go down as a massive win for his unique equipment setup. Armed with a driver designed for the long drive circuit and custom 3D-printed irons featuring bulge and roll on the face, DeChambeau bullied his way into the mix at the Masters and PGA Championship — never finishing worse than T6 — before breaking through at the U.S. Open.
At ball speeds in excess of 190 mph, DeChambeau admitted his driver setup, in particular, was “fantastic for anyone that’s over 175 [miles per hour] ball speed.” In gear-speak, a select few on the planet. Weekend golfers need not apply.
However, that could be changing if DeChambeau has his way.
During his pre-tournament press conference, the two-time major winner hinted something was coming down the pipeline for the “public golfer.”
“Certainly we’re working on some things,” DeChambeau said. “Would I like to see it more in play around the world and across different amateurs, different levels? Absolutely. That’s the main goal. It’s not just going to be unique to me. It needs to be built for the individual.
“Everybody’s game, everybody’s swing is different. That’s what makes this game so amazing. You can have somebody that looks completely awful with their golf swing just absolutely pure it. And then you have somebody that has a perfect golf swing just can’t hit the face at all.
“So really building a golf piece of equipment that works for that individual is incredibly important, and that’s what I’ve personally realized, and I hope to transition over to the public golfer. We’re working on that. It should be soon, should be sometime soon.”
Shortly after the comments, LA Golf announced DeChambeau and chief design officer Jeff Meyer were co-designing a retail driver “where the face and shaft fit your swing.” The club is slated to be released in 2025, but that’s about all we know at the moment. Even the company’s website offered little in the way of information or images — outside of four drivers on the homepage concealed by heavy shadows.
