THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — While most of the top players are preparing for the Masters by playing in this weekend’s Zozo Championship, Bryson DeChambeau is at home in his Dallas laboratory, concocting ways to tackle Augusta National Golf Club.
On Friday, DeChambeau, known as “the golf scientist,” unveiled a little bit of his methodology, disclosing via Instagram story that he had achieved 401.3 yards of carry with the driver he is working with and “not even the 48-inch driver.”
The device he showed to monitor his progress also showed a ball speed of 211 mph and a hang time of 8.2 seconds.
Count to eight and consider how long his golf ball stayed in the air.
DeChambeau, who won the U.S. Open last month by 6 strokes, said two weeks ago at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open that he planned to spend the month prior to the Masters hitting “2,000 drivers” and experimenting with a 48-inch shaft, the longest allowed by the Rules of Golf.
Most players use a driver length of 44 to 45 inches.
There are a lot of variables, including elevation changes and wind, and a driver might not be the proper play off every tee for DeChambeau, while some shots require a draw or a fade.
DeChambeau led the PGA Tour in 2020 with a driving distance of 322.1 yards. The tour average for the season was 296.4 yards.
