I find Bryson DeChambeau’s approach to the game of golf endlessly fascinating, not just because it’s different but because, by any objective measure, it works.
Though the specific things he does change over time — “as soon as you solve one problem another one comes up,” he told me once — a singular theme that guides his approach is his quest to “reduce variables.” His single-length irons, his prioritization of “end ranges of motion” in the golf swing, his putting; all of it’s done with the goal of reducing variables. Making golf simpler, easier and more repeatable. It all makes sense in broad terms, but how does he put it into practice during his off weeks?
That was a question that came up on this week’s Drop Zone during Bryson’s first sit-down interview following his 2020 U.S. Open win. Host Dylan Dethier asked Bryson what his off-weeks look like, Bryson explains that he almost never plays on the golf course — his time is spent almost exclusively on the driving range.
“I may go out to the golf course to play a few holes and test something out, but that’s it,” he said.
It’s one of those rather hilarious Bryson moments that actually, makes a lot of sense when you take a step back and consider it. Bryson attitude is that if he plays a four-hour round on the golf course, he’ll end up about 68 shots — something he can do about 30 minutes on the driving range. His goal is getting as many reps as possible as a way of honing his technique, which is why he prefers spending his time on the range. There’s only two times he’ll make an exception:
At sunset:
“I’ll play a few holes at the end of the day and not think about golf swing.”
And if he gets a fancy invite somewhere:
“If I’m lucky enough to get an invite to a place like Cypress Point or Augusta, I’ll of course go play there.”
Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees the brand’s game improvement content spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.
An alumni of the International Junior Golf Academy and the University of South Carolina–Beaufort golf team, where he helped them to No. 1 in the national NAIA rankings, Luke moved to New York in 2012 to pursue his Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University. His work has also appeared in USA Today, Golf Digest, Newsweek and The Daily Beast.
