19th Hole

‘My first-hand experience with Bryson DeChambeau’

Published

3 years ago

Aug 31, 2021

In our forums, our members have been responding to a fascinating post from GolfWRXer ‘Soloman1’, who has recounted his first-hand experience with Bryson DeChambeau. The post details his short time with Bryson during his second year on Tour in a thread that has gripped our readers.

From Soloman1:

“Oh no, not another Bryson thread!? Yes, another Bryson thread. But this one’s a little different.

I want to talk from a first-hand experience with him and not third, fourth, or no-hand experiences or random feelings that I do or don’t like the guy because of (fill in the blank).

Quick background: He was an earlier adopter of my 3D motion system because it was portable and gives objective data, not myths of feelings about the swing. Why guess when you can measure tilts, rotations, body angles, wrist angles, swing planes, etc.?

Bryson had won one tournament and was struggling a little at the beginning of his second year on tour. Plenty of tour pros used it in the office or around the country – lot’s of names that you’d know and others you may not know. They all get the same time and energy.

I was asked to go to Dallas to spend a couple of days with Bryson in the summer. I had just gotten back from an extended trip to Asia and was worn out. My wife had died six weeks before; I had to empty a house full of memories in Tokyo, where we lived for decades. Bryson and others didn’t know this, so it had no influence on how he treated me.

First of all, Bryson was unfailingly polite. Some of you may be disappointed by that. He was polite the several other times we met at tournament sites. The golf course is his world, like all professionals, so on course and off course can be very different. You may not be the same person in your work environment either.

Is he driven? Of course, as all tour pros are, but I would say more than the average pro. He had spent time playing some practice rounds with Tiger, the ultimate driven professional, so he knew first hand what being driven looks and sounds like from the best in the world. There are plenty of guys (and women pros) who can be unpleasant to be around because of their ego, but Bryson wasn’t anywhere near some of them. Now, on the other hand, I’ll tell you who is really a… Just kidding. I’m not going to tell.

In most all cases, the player doesn’t want to know or need to know the gory details of the mechanics that are being looked at carefully. Their coach will translate it into a feeling and a few words that the player needs to hear, based on their experience with the player. Bryson wants the details and drives the ship.

OK, so Bryson started being interested in wrist movements. He was hitting irons on the range and not very well. He was frustrated and had been that way for half of the year. He couldn’t cure the lefts he had, and that is trouble city. I have to give him credit. He listened to what I said after only 2 minutes after I showed up. He had been there for hours. I moved one part of his body, and that one thought for him. The next ball and the rest after were perfect, and he was like a kid with a grin who just hit a ball flush for the first time. He just needed to hear a different voice, and I give him credit for listening.

One of my favorite ideas in engineering, business and golf is that you can’t hear a good idea if you aren’t listening.

The next day was raining, so we were indoors. He was still asking a lot about wrist angles, and he was working on driver and woods. Now, this was before bulking up and speed-distance quest. Even early on tour, Bryson was one of the longest guys out there, and that is a fact. He had a “Fairway Finder” driver swing that he used a lot. His distance stats were affected by that, but trust me, he could flat bomb it even then when he chose to. Of course, today is a different beast. He’s just trying to find the way for him to be as good as he can be.

He was getting frustrated again because his launch monitor numbers for his 3-wood didn’t match the ball flight. He was +4 path and -2 face to path, but the ball was starting a little right and dropping right from the top instead of a little push draw. Well, he decided that the balls were wet because they were brought in from the range, and this was the cause of his angst and shot shape going awry.

Again, I have to give him credit. He did listen, but he didn’t believe me.

The reason was obvious, but I had to prove it. He had to be hitting it a little on the heel, but he wasn’t having any of that. We put a sticker on the face, and sure enough, there it was. Now he accepted it. But I told him that I didn’t think it was a good idea to change anything in his setup or make him try to manipulate the swing until I saw what his pressure trace from my other product.

He resisted again but got him to do it, and Voila, he had a move that was a little too much toward his toes near impact. I asked him not to change anything but try to make more of a lateral move with pressure.

His next ball was not only that little push draw on target; he gained 20 yards (yes, 20 yards) of carry. Boom, mic drop. I was done. I’m kidding.

He’s an athlete. Sure, he works hard and is intense when things don’t go perfectly. Is that a fault? It can be if you start to think you know everything and you did it all by yourself.

He won The Memorial two weeks later. He won three tournaments within three months.

The only negative thing I have to say is that I think it was ungracious to not reply to my simple text of congratulations after The Memorial. Maybe the politeness only applies in person? I think a better man would have said thanks, that maybe I’d helped him a little since he’d been hitting it poorly for six months, but I’ve never heard a word from him.

Don’t worry; I don’t need counseling… haha. I’m old fashioned, so I still think expressing a little gratitude is something people of substance do. He didn’t figure it out all by himself, and everything going wrong is not always something else or someone else.

I just thought I’d give a first-person account of my short experience.”

Here are a few posts from our members reacting to the thread, but make sure to have your say at the link below.

Roejye: “Thank you for the story. I guess I’m weird in that I don’t really have an opinion on him. I really liked hearing about how polite he was and how he was willing to take input from others. I think it would have been nice of him to send a response after he won the memorial, but his phone could very well have been blowing up after it.”
straightshot7: “Good story and well written. Thanks for sharing. I wouldn’t worry about the lack of text back. I have some close friends who can’t respond to a text to save their lives. I don’t understand it, but I don’t think it’s malicious. Maybe he’ll get back to you later. Either way, you got a cool experience, right?”
TexasTurf: “I understand the negative feelings that people have towards him from watching on TV. I felt the same way before I met him. I can’t get into details, but as I have said before, he is the nicest professional golfer I have ever met. I’m an introvert, he is definitely an extrovert. But he goes way out of his way to show his appreciation for the people who are involved in his success.”

Entire Thread: “My first-hand experience with Bryson DeChambeau“

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19th Hole

‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage

Published

1 day ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

Over the past year or so, PGA Tour star Patrick Cantlay has taken a great deal of criticism for his pace of play.

Now, Cantlay is once again under fire for a questionable decision he made on Sunday at the RBC Heritage.

After the horn sounded to suspend play due to darkness, Cantlay, whose ball was in the fairway on the 18th hole, had a decision to make. With over 200 yards into the green and extreme winds working against the shot, conventional wisdom would be to wait until Monday morning to hit the shot.

Related: Patrick Cantlay WITB

On the other hand, if he could finish the hole, he may just want to get the event over with so he could get out of Hilton Head.

Curiously, Cantlay chose neither of those options. After hitting 3-wood into the green, and still coming up short, the former FedEx Cup champion chose to mark his ball and return to chip and putt on Monday morning.

Ian Woosnam, who was watching from home, took to X to give his thoughts on Cantlay’s decision-making.

Can’t believe my eyes watching Patrick Cantlay why on earth would you hit your second shot then mark your ball absolutely crazy, maybe says a lot ?

— Ian Woosnam (@IWoosnam) April 22, 2024

Cantlay would end up getting up and down for par when play resumed at 8:00 Monday morning.

Following his round, Cantlay explained his decision to wait to hit his third shot the next morning:

“I really did want to finish last night, so I felt like if I could get the ball up there maybe in an easier spot, maybe I would have finished, but as I got the ball up near the green, I realized it would be easier to finish this morning. That’s what I decided to do.”

GolfWRX has reached out to Patrick Cantlay’s management team for a response to Woosnam’s comments.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

Published

1 day ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.

TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.

Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.

However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.

Past Winners at TPC Louisiana

2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)

2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks

Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)

Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.

This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.

McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.

Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)

Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.

Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.

Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)

Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.

NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 LIV Adelaide betting preview: Cam Smith ready for big week down under

Published

1 day ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After having four of the top twelve players on the leaderboard at The Masters, LIV Golf is set for their fifth event of the season: LIV Adelaide.

For both LIV fans and golf fans in Australia, LIV Adelaide is one of the most anticipated events of the year. With 35,000 people expected to attend each day of the tournament, the Grange Golf Club will be crawling with fans who are passionate about the sport of golf. The 12th hole, better known as “the watering hole”, is sure to have the rowdiest of the fans cheering after a long day of drinking some Leishman Lager.

The Grange Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 6,946 yards. The course features minimal resistance, as golfers went extremely low last season. In 2023, Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 on Thursday and Friday, giving himself a gigantic cushion heading into championship Sunday. Things got tight for a while, but in the end, the Oklahoma State product was able to hold off The Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri for a three-shot victory.

The Four Aces won the team competition with the Range Goats finishing second.

*All Images Courtesy of LIV Golf*

Past Winners at LIV Adelaide

2023: Talor Gooch (-19)

Stat Leaders Through LIV Miami

Green in Regulation

Richard Bland
Jon Rahm
Paul Casey

Fairways Hit

Abraham Ancer
Graeme McDowell
Henrik Stenson

Driving Distance

Bryson DeChambeau
Joaquin Niemann
Dean Burmester

Putting

Cameron Smith
Louis Oosthuizen
Matt Jones

2024 LIV Adelaide Picks

Cameron Smith +1400 (DraftKings)

When I pulled up the odds for LIV Adelaide, I was more than a little surprised to see multiple golfers listed ahead of Cameron Smith on the betting board. A few starts ago, Cam finished runner-up at LIV Hong Kong, which is a golf course that absolutely suits his eye. Augusta National in another course that Smith could roll out of bed and finish in the top-ten at, and he did so two weeks ago at The Masters, finishing T6.

At Augusta, he gained strokes on the field on approach, off the tee (slightly), and of course, around the green and putting. Smith able to get in the mix at a major championship despite coming into the week feeling under the weather tells me that his game is once again rounding into form.

The Grange Golf Club is another course that undoubtedly suits the Australian. Smith is obviously incredibly comfortable playing in front of the Aussie faithful and has won three Australian PGA Championship’s. The course is very short and will allow Smith to play conservative off the tee, mitigating his most glaring weakness. With birdies available all over the golf course, there’s a chance the event turns into a putting contest, and there’s no one on the planet I’d rather have in one of those than Cam Smith.

Louis Oosthuizen +2200 (DraftKings)

Louis Oosthuizen has simply been one of the best players on LIV in the 2024 seas0n. The South African has finished in the top-10 on the LIV leaderboard in three of his five starts, with his best coming in Jeddah, where he finished T2. Perhaps more impressively, Oosthuizen finished T7 at LIV Miami, which took place at Doral’s “Blue Monster”, an absolutely massive golf course. Given that Louis is on the shorter side in terms of distance off the tee, his ability to play well in Miami shows how dialed he is with the irons this season.

In addition to the LIV finishes, Oosthuizen won back-to-back starts on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritus Open. He also finished runner-up at the end of February in the International Series Oman. The 41-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers of 2024, regardless of tour.

For the season, Louis ranks 4th on LIV in birdies made, T9 in fairways hit and first in putting. He ranks 32nd in driving distance, but that won’t be an issue at this short course. Last season, he finished T11 at the event, but was in decent position going into the final round but fell back after shooting 70 while the rest of the field went low. This season, Oosthuizen comes into the event in peak form, and the course should be a perfect fit for his smooth swing and hot putter this week.