Bryson DeChambeau made headlines in 2022 when he jumped from the PGA Tour to the upstart LIV circuit. He also switched instructors during roughly the same time period, teaming up with fellow GOLF Top 100 Teacher Dana Dahlquist early in 2023. Their work together included matching the eye-popping power in his swing with more compatible body positions and a new release. The result? A second U.S. Open victory in 2024, his ninth official PGA Tour win. That week in Pinehurst showed just how remarkable Bryson’s combination of control and speed can be, while, simultaneously, he became perhaps golf ’s most popular player.
We saw it coming a long time ago: DeChambeau has been a huge blip on the national golf radar since winning both the NCAA individual championship and U.S. Amateur in 2015, the fifth player to win both in the same year. Credit his original coach, Mike Schy, and both his and Bryson’s adherence to the concepts and patterns outlined in Homer Kelley’s The Golfing Machine, for creating what’s arguably the most “one-plane” swing ever.
Additional work with GOLF Top 100 Teacher Chris Como beginning in 2018 fueled Bryson’s passionate pursuit of speed and distance, inclusive of morphing into the bulkiest and strongest player in professional golf. He’s one of a kind, for sure, but anyone can add a few extra yards by trying a few moves outlined in the sequence below.
1. Address
Bryson’s setup is dominated by his famously high hands and oversize grips. This creates a Moe Norman–like small left wrist hinge that eventually dominates the rest of his swing and allows him to return the shaft to nearly the same angle at impact.
2. Takeaway
DeChambeau turns his torso, arms and club away together with very little change in shape but with a little more clubface rotation than is currently in vogue. The result: a toe-up, small wrist hinge and a massively wide swing arc.
3. Top
Bryson’s overall clubhead path on the way to the top “curves” more than it used to, when he strictly adhered to a one-plane action. Now, he gets to a powerful acrossthe-line position, which you see in most power hitters in today’s game.
4. Downswing
Bryson’s clubhead is inside his hands — the perfect spot to hit a powerful draw. He’s flexing his lead wrist a ton to help him square up the face, and his weak leadhand grip keeps him from overdoing it.
5. Impact
You see how bent DeChambeau’s trail arm is at impact? That’s because his trail shoulder is much closer to his trail hand than it was at address. His overall body rotation aids in this action, creating a perfect draw position.
6. Release
Instead of using a bending lead wrist to limit clubface rotation, Bryson’s weak lead-hand grip permits him to roll his lead arm and wrist more than most, allowing for consistent ball flight even at very high speed. Can you say pow?
