Beyond being the most watched and talked about golfer in the world, Bryson DeChambeau also holds another crown, the biggest equipment dork in pro golf.
Some may argue that he goes too far in certain directions, but from where I sit, he’s a seeker and a lot of the choices he makes are kind of brilliant.
The big story with Bryson over the years has been around his one-length iron set-up. All 37.5″ long, all super strong lofted, all ridiculously upright and all designed to serve one master…Bryson. I always compare it to the Elder Wand in Harry Potter; some may be able to wield it, but, essentially, it only answers to one true wizard.
This week at LIV Miami, it was the driver set-up that was front and center. Most of the gear nerds were curious to see if LA Golf’s first introduction to the driver market would be in the hands of its premiere ambassador.
Ultimately, it didn’t go in play, but based on the testing I saw this week, it’s only a matter of time. Bryson and LA Golf’s Jeff Meyer are VERY close and I saw a more than a few that eclipsed 195+ ball speed.
I could get into specifics, but I’ll save that for a later time.
What is bulge and roll?
Bulge and roll is the big story here, by definition, bulge and roll is the horizontal (bulge) and vertical (roll) curvature of the face on a metal wood to counteract gear effect, improve accuracy and forgiveness on off-center hits.
OEMs still use a version of this in some cases, but it was much more prominent with persimmon woods. TaylorMade’s “Twist Face” and Callaway’s “Ai Smart Face” would be the modern take on bulge and roll.
For Bryson, it’s a recurring theme throughout most of the set. His driver, fairways, 5-8 all have “bulge” with the faces flattening out at the 9-iron to the LW. The main goal is to mitigate a big miss out of the heel and the toe. At Bryson’s speed and impact conditions, heel strikes will slice and toe strikes will snap.
With the faces now having a bit of outward shape, it turns toe strikes into push cuts and heel strikes into a slight pull that only floats right.
“When Bryson is swinging the driver well his path hovers around 4-5 degrees in/out, and an angle of attack at 4-5 Up with a square face,” his coach Dana Dahlquist told me. “What we are always keeping an eye on is that first number. When the path gets closer to zero, it brings that left ball into the mix that we don’t want. At his speed, everything gets amplified.
“So we have a reference point of what really works for him to always work around. When the driver is dialed, the rest of the bag falls in line, so it’s nice to know that one hand washes the other in that regard.”
In simple terms, they have a north star number that they try to get to and when he’s at or close to it, you get results like you are seeing this week at Doral.
What driver is Bryson using at LIV Miami?
His current driver set-up the Krank Formula Fire LD head, which features prominent bulge and roll was actually designed more to combat caving faces than helping a big miss.
But it was the Krank driver that not only sparked Bryson’s curiosity around bulge and roll, but he also won the 2024 U.S Open with it. Not a bad experiment if you ask me.
Here are the specs of the driver in play this week:
Krank Golf Formula Fire LD
Loft: 5.5˚
Lie: 59˚
Shaft: LA Golf Bryson Series 65/6 TX
Length: 45″ EOG
Swingweight: C2-C4 (Jumbo Max Grip weighs 123g)
LA Golf Bryson Signature Series Wood Shaft
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He’s putting on a show with the big stick at Doral, and I think if it continues, it’s hard not to think he will be well in the conversation next week at Augusta.
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