Welcome to Teachable Moments, GOLF’s weekly instruction column that will help you improve your game through the excellence and expertise of the Tour stars of the week. Class is now in session.
Spieth and Greller’s process
The theatrics of Jordan Spieth’s on-course conversations with caddie Michael Greller have become appointment television throughout his career. The two share a unique relationship on the course that allows Spieth’s personality to shine through while Greller steers his man through the emotions of it all.
On Thursday at last week’s Byron Nelson, fans watched another chapter in their entertaining saga. Facing a 250-yard shot into the 12th green from the deep rough right of the fairway on the par-5, Spieth and Greller weighed their options. Spieth wanted to try the hero shot. Greller pleaded to play it safe. In the end, Spieth won.
“It’s on me,” Spieth said.
Ultimately, Spieth pulled off the shot and set up an easy birdie. After the round, he went into detail on the decision-making process he and Greller use on the course.
“You’ve got a chance to either gain strokes or lose strokes with a decision,” Spieth said. “I think for Michael, it helped him when I said, ‘This one is on me. I hear you. I know the risk. I’m going to take it and it’s on me.’ I think both of us really like when we are committed and in saying that.”
Bryson’s turning point
Bryson DeChambeau’s physical transformation has been one of the biggest stories in golf over the last two years. From the moment he declared he was going to “look like a different person” in Las Vegas in 2019, the stories of DeChambeau’s body evolution have made up countless headlines.
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But when exactly did DeChambeau make the decision to get big? He addressed that question during his pre-tournament presser at the Byron Nelson.
“Seeing [long-drive competitors] in 2019, I watched the championships and saw Kyle [Berkshire] do what he did. Just obliterated the field and hit it with swing speeds that I was baffled by,” DeChambeau said. “If I could get 10 more percent, just 10 percent of that, extra gains, what would that mean for me in my performance on the golf course?”
DeChambeau then consulted with his muscle specialists, Greg Roskopf, in the fall of 2019 to concoct a plan. From there, the bulk-up process began.
And although he’s had immense success with the new, brutish approach to the game, DeChambeau admitted that he is looking at ways to taper off to an extent. Going all out at the ball each and every day takes a toll in the long run. Now the focus is learning how to keep up his speed without putting his body through the rigors of daily speed training.
“I’m trying to figure out ways to move it faster while being easier on my body,” he said. “I don’t want to do this forever and do these huge speed training sessions. … I want to just inherently have a faster motion, so [I’m] working on different ways to move it faster.”
Day’s work with Como
Jason Day has begun work with GOLF Top 100 Teacher Chris Como over the last several months, and this week, the Aussie revealed some of the work he’s put in with his new instructor.
The biggest point of emphasis is allowing Day to swing in a way that is easy on his body so the toll of injuries does not compromise the longevity of his career.
“I feel like the body is in a great position right now,” Day said. “So been working great with my trainer and obviously great with Como.”
Beyond the macro elements of a less violent swing, Day and Como have been focusing on fine-tuning smaller parts of the swing.
“We’re looking at certain other things like release patterns and all that other stuff now,” he said. “We’re past the stage of like kind of just gently get into it so I can swing in a certain way it doesn’t hurt my body. We’re past that and getting into the nitty-gritty stuff, the really small, finite stuff that put the whole swing together.”
