What’s it like to practice with Bryson DeChambeau? There’s a good chance that none of us will ever get the opportunity to hit balls with the one-time major champ, but thanks to his YouTube channel, we at least get some intel into what life is like for the current LIV star.
Although most amateurs will never have the ability to crush it like DeChambeau off the tee or shape shots like he does, his YouTube channel does an awesome job of sharing some of his favorite golf tips, which can at least help average Joes like you and me improve.
One of my favorite videos was the one below where he worked with a junior golfer named Aidan Gorospe, who’s a rising star in his age group.
As the video shows, DeChambeau shows Gorospe the importance of practice, but also the steps it takes to build repeatable golf practice.
So take a look below to get some pointers from one of the best golfers in the world, who explains his four tips to build more structure at the range — which, hopefully, then translates to the course.
Bryson DeChambeau teaches a junior golfer about repeatable golf practice
Like anything in life, building a routine that’s repeatable can be the difference between success and failure.
For instance, Kobe Bryant was known for being an absolute maniac when it came to practicing, with legendary stories floating around about how he’d wake up at 4 a.m. to practice before recovering and then going to his team’s actual practice later that morning. While golfers don’t need to go to that level of commitment to improve, part of what made Bryant so successful was his repeatable patterns each day.
In the video above, DeChambeau stresses something similar.
“I practiced my butt off as a junior golfer,” DeChambeau stresses to Gorospe. “For eight hours a day, I practice all day long, and most days it was really difficult. But I never really knew how to practice to get to the next level.”
DeChambeau then goes into his tips for Gorospe to build a repeatable routine that can elevate his game to a different level.
“My goal in repeatability is [having you] hit one stock cut shot,” DeChambeau tells Gorospe. “I want to see how many times you can do it in a row the exact same way.
“Be as nitpicky as possible. If it doesn’t curve the same amount; you start over. You have to get your mind to a place where it’s going to happen every single time no matter the situation.”
1. Hit 5 shots
DeChambeau first challenges Gorospe to hit five shots the exact same way, which will help him grow his confidence and work on a very specific type of result.
“I want to see if you can get five shots in a row the exact same; the way you envision,” DeChambeau says.
2. Focus on precise landing boundaries
As the two chat more about how Gorospe’s shot shape will look, DeChambeau steps in to instruct him on being as precise as possible with his intention, rather than loosely describing the ball flight.
“Let’s make it easier,” DeChambeau says. “I want you to start at the last [marker] on the range [on the right], and end it up on the yellow flag [on the left].”
After Gorospe’s shot doesn’t follow the goal, DeChambeau talks about the immediate pressure this type of practice brings.
“Do you see how it immediately put pressure on you? If you don’t give yourself specific targets to test yourself on, you’re really lying to yourself in practice,” he adds. “If you’re super focused on the target and can’t do it in practice, how are you going to do it on the golf course?”
3. Focus on feel
After a few good results, Gorospe chunks one that falls short of his target area — making him start the drill over. This leads DeChambeau to remind him to trust his feels to execute the task.
“Don’t focus on the shot to hit, because you know internally what makes you hit that shot,” he says. “Focus on what you feel to make that happen every time.”
4. Handle the pressure
Gorospe starts to feel a flow and hits two-straight shots between his desired targets — and then mishits one left, resetting himself back to zero (since the goal is hitting five in a row).
DeChambeau interjects, and gives some tips on how to handle the pressure in moments like this.
“When the pressure comes about, go internal. Go into your head,” he says. “What do I need to feel to hit that exact shot? Even though there’s so much pressure — and I’m nervous and my hands are shaking — what do I need to do in my head to make that shot happen again and again and again?
“Find that feel, and go off of that feel.”
