“What I really think needs to happen, being pretty transparent here, is just get a golf ball that flies a little straighter,” he said. “Everybody talks about how straight the golf ball flies. Well, upwards of 190 [mph ball speed] like Rory and myself, it’s actually quite difficult to control the golf ball.
“The ball sidespins quite a bit and it gets hit by the wind quite a bit because our golf balls are just in the air longer. So I’m looking at ways of how to rectify that so that my wedges can be even tighter so it can fly straighter.”
Sure, everyone would like a golf ball that goes straighter, but on this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, co-host Johnny Wunder and guest Kellen Watson, one of Callaway’s tour reps, gave their thoughts on what DeChambeau needs.
“I’m of the opinion that he needs a ChromeSoft that goes low, essentially,” Wunder, who said he has been part of conversations with DeChambeau about his golf ball. “He’s looking more consumer-based golf balls that are forgiving left to right, right to left, because he’s going to spend every golf ball out there a ton.”
Watson offered his own take.
“He’s looking for something that will launch much lower and spin the same, pretty much at the bottom end of his bag,” Watson said. “And then also he can take advantage of every course with his length and his speed and still get the same apex height.”
This issue DeChambeau has is that he swings so fast that his golf ball will spin up into the air too high, and then it becomes harder to control. What’s interesting is that DeChambeau switched this year from the low-launching and low-spinning Pro V1x Left Dash to the high-spin Pro V1x.
“He is asking for kind of like the Goldilocks of golf balls,” Watson said. “And I’m not, in my professional opinion, I don’t know if there is one that would be suitable for him right now.”
For more from Watson, Wunder and fellow co-host Kris McCormack, listen to the full episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped here or watch it below.
Jack Hirsh is the Associate Equipment Editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.