Bryson DeChambeau – A Modern Day Master?

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of interviewing Sam Vickers, a golf performance specialist attached to The National Performance Centre at Woodhall Spa Golf Club, Lincolnshire, England.

The ink had hardly dried on the published article when we tentatively agreed to meet up again later in the year, with our initial thinking being to explore a specific facet of ‘Performance Coaching’ which would hopefully be of interest for a subsequent Golfing Herald article.

On rare occasions, well certainly rare for me, I have too many ideas with the resultant outcome being a feeling of overwhelment…in this case as a consequence of butterflying between ideas aligned to the various facets of coaching. So by the time I jumped into the car to drive the seventy miles or so to Woodhall Spa to meet up once again with Sam I was really struggling to select the primus inter pares.

Salvation came from a source that I have successfully used previously, namely listening to a BBC dramatisation of a Sherlock Holmes short story written by Bert Coules, inspired by the original stories of Arthur Conan Doyle…this time ‘The Shameful Betrayal of Miss Emily Smith’!! By immersing myself in this sublime drama all of the overwhelming feelings dissipated so upon arrival at a rather wet and windy Woodhall Spa I only had one idea remaining in the topological shape of:

‘let’s just chat about golf and simply go with the interactive conversational flow’

Hope you enjoy what follows.

All About Bryson

(Paul): Sam, the Masters starts on Thursday and I naively thought that the build-up in the media might be about the different challenges that would face the players with the tournament being played in November rather than April…or whether Tiger could perform a further miracle and defend his title…or whether Rory could finally achieve the career grand slam…but no, everything but everything appears to be about Bryson DeChambeau…I don’t know if you are also forming that opinion?

(Sam): Certainly, from what I am reading it seems that Bryson is at the centre of the general conversation over everything else.

Continuous Improvement

(Paul): If the reports are to be believed he was not satisfied following his performance in winning the U.S. Open at Winged Foot and that he still believes he can hit the ball much further. In a recent quote, he said that he was modifying his swing as well as improving his strength and conditioning in real-time throughout the season…changes that would typically be conducted during the offseason. So is his approach now setting a new norm?

(Sam): Yeah, I think it is a good topic for conversation. I think the misunderstanding around Bryson with his approach is that it has not been reported very well. A few people have jumped on some of the things he has kind of suggested over the last 6 to 8 months. In a nutshell, the information his coaches have said, but probably not in the same media forms as most of the ‘headlines’, is that this is actually a process which Bryson has been doing for near on 2 years. A process where his training and the identification of how distance and more speed will basically give him an advantage on the course, is part of his strategy. Most people are looking at him thinking he has come out after the (COVID-19) lockdown, watched all of the videos of him speed training during the lockdown and then he has come out and all of a sudden he is ‘blitzing it’!! People are thinking he has done all of that in 6 months which is a bit misleading. Traditionally, from a strength and conditioning perspective, players will not train during the season…those that did train would not train with the right intensity. So anything they developed in the offseason (strength, speed, power, etc.) would slowly diminish over the course of a season. Now what Bryson is essentially showing and putting it out there in the media, is that he is maintaining that intensity throughout the season whereas other golfers would be fearful of trying to train with maximum effort and maximum speed and lots of strength training…probably through the fear of being either sore or injured or fatigued. Those principles are a little bit unfounded and Bryson is kind of proving that point to the masses.

(Paul): But by attempting to prove his point that there is a different and potentially a much better way to training throughout the regular golf season he could effectively ‘burn out’ and cause himself lasting damage and health issues. He has already gained about 45lbs and associated increased muscle/conditioning in a perceived short period of time…may be too early to say but is there the possibility of ‘short term gain for long term pain’?

(Sam): I think again that highlights why some of the information about Bryson is misleading. He has even come out to say that he has put on this amount of muscle in this amount of time. I am hoping he is kind of ‘suggesting that’ based upon probably toying with people a little bit!! I think he is smarter than that…though I could be totally wrong!! But it is literally physically impossible to put that amount of muscle on in that short space of time. I think he has probably put a lot more muscle on but over a longer period of time than is being reported. Also, a lot of the body mass you see that he is carrying is going to be a lot of body fat and water retention, probably from his diet. He is probably not significantly bigger or as big as he looks…at the same time that has been developed over a longer period of time which is obviously a safer and more effective way of doing it.

The Media

(Paul): I certainly agree that there appears to be an element of him ‘playing to the media’, which might explain recent reports outlining his plans to add even more weight and muscle in readiness for the Masters!! Could well be part of a ‘tongue in cheek’ strategy with the media.

(Sam): The question has to be if you believe you have gained a massive advantage over the rest of the field at that level in any sport…in Bryon’s case that was put into evidence through his win at the recent U.S. Open. If you are at that level, would you ever really openly give your secrets away? That is where there is a bit of ‘tongue and cheek’ about was he is doing…though I could be wrong!!

(Paul): I don’t think you are wrong as a couple of weeks ago his coach posted a short video on social media of Bryson launching the ball about 400 yards in front of what looked like an ‘invited audience’…but he was hitting against a backdrop of a public address system blasting out Thunderstruck by AC/DC at full volume!! Looked and sounded more like a Long Drive Championship rather than a serious demonstration and practice. I was baffled trying to work out the thinking of Bryson and his coach on why they would promote this type of ‘performance’ so soon after clinching his first major at the U.S. Open and so close to the Masters.

(Sam): I agree though in some respects I find that kind of stuff quite refreshing with modern-day golf because for so long there have been so many commonly held beliefs amongst players, coaches and fans of how golfers should approach training, or preparation just before a tournament. A lot of that comes from the Tiger Woods generation and how he did things. I think it is always really important to remember in all sports and especially in golf that even though Tiger Woods might be the greatest player of all time that doesn’t mean that everything he did was the most effective and smartest way. When you are that good the principle of you succeeding in spite of whatever you do is true. I joke with certain people in that if Tiger Woods came to me in his prime and hired me as his swing coach, even though I am not a swing coach in any shape or form, I could probably have kept him at World #1 as well as win multiple majors!! Because how much can someone teach Tiger…he hasn’t had a coach for a number of years now and still won a major in his 40s…he is that good if you know what I mean. At times people don’t like Bryson because sometimes he can be a little bit vulgar but he is testing the boundaries, though he is probably testing them in a way where the success at the end of it is winning majors which I think can only be good for the game. Not necessarily because it is about Bryson but what his principles are showing.

Weight Divisions

(Paul): I am from that golfing generation (as indicated by my receding grey hair!!) where you have 14 clubs in your bag and each club has got a purpose. Some have multiple purposes where different shots can be manufactured from the same club. But in today’s world, again using Bryson as an example, golf at that rarefied level is all about hitting the ball as far as you can from the tee then worry about the next shot after locating your ball. My perception is that golf is now all about athletes with immense power and strength…which got me thinking whilst driving to Woodhall Spa that may be in 5, 10 or 15 years or so that professional golf could radically change with the introduction of weight divisions similar to that in professional boxing!! Floyd Mayweather was possibly the best pound-for-pound boxer of all time but you would not put him in the ring with say a Mike Tyson at his best!!

(Sam): That is certainly an interesting way of looking at it for sure. I would be very surprised if that ever happened but I certainly get what you are saying.

Genetically Powerful Athletes

(Paul): Only a couple of years ago Brooks Koepka was seen as an athlete very much defining the changing physique of the modern golfer and yet now he is metaphorically dwarfed by Bryson. I am not saying that ‘weight/power is king’ but…

(Sam): I was recently having a conversation with someone who is doing a study in this area. Golf has always been looked at as a skill-based sport and there is no question that it is but as a result of that the physical side has always been essentially put to one side and overlooked aligned to the principle of ‘drive for show and putt for dough’. I think because of that belief system amongst golfers they have left a massive performance potential on the table. That is slowly changing and there is now a lot of evidence through strokes gained statistics backing it up that I think you will now see golfers spending way more time on the physical side because of the advantages. As a result, it will almost be like ‘natural selection’ over a long period of time. I liken it to the NBA in that it is pretty much impossible or unlikely that you will be successful in the NBA if you are below a certain height…not because someone under 6ft 5in couldn’t have the skill but physiologically or genetically could not compete. I think all sports to a certain degree do that…you will always have your outliers and that is the beauty of sport but I think fundamentally, golf is really heavily power-based. You can’t deny that…as even back in the day when Jack Nicklaus was destroying the field he was a power athlete who hit the ball longer and straighter. It wasn’t looked at because at that time there probably wasn’t the evidence or the statistics to highlight how important power was. Now you are seeing these athletes who are genetically very powerful and fast, someone like a Cameron Champ…then you get someone like Bryson DeChambeau who is possibly not quite so genetically gifted but is doing the stuff physically and technically. Then I think eventually you are going to get a combination of these two golfers (Cameron and Bryson). What does that look like…I think that golfer would look closer to a long drive individual such as Joe Miller, 6ft 5in plus, weighs 100+ kilos, muscular, mobile, stable with incredible explosiveness…then on top of that, they will have the skills and qualities needed to compete at the highest level.

(Paul): You could easily make a case that Bryson is effectively the first generation of the futuristic composite golfer you have outlined, in that he combines the qualities required to be a long drive champion with the finesse required for the short game…pitching, chipping, putting, etc. As we have sort of already highlighted, he very much polarises views but you have to applaud and admire his self-motivation, self-belief, determination and unique approach to be the best.

(Sam): You have to admire him and his work ethic though he does polarise opinions more through his personality than anything else. He gets unfairly criticised at times and I think the biggest disrespect to him is that he is just a ‘bomb-and-gouge’ player…there is so much more to his game than ‘bomb-and-gouge’…I think he is ranked in the Top 10 putters in the world!! May be his short game isn’t as good as some of the other players on tour but it is still extremely world-class. His mental ability is arguably better than anyone out there…also, he works harder. All things being equal with two players, the golfer who hits it the furthest will always come out on top. You can’t get away from that principle.

All Things Being Equal

(Paul): That in essence, is what Matt Fitzpatrick said in a recent interview…all things being equal it doesn’t matter if he plays to his absolute best, players such as Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Wolff and Viktor Hovland will be 50 yards longer off the tee meaning the only facet of golf where he can possibly compete is putting, which in his words is ‘ridiculous’. Matt Fitzpatrick is rightly viewed as a very skilful golfer, possibly more in the perceived traditional sense…so linked to something I touched upon earlier when talking about 14 clubs in the bag, is Bryson taking skill in the traditional sense out of the game or should we be really acknowledging how skilful he is in a ‘millennial generation’ sort of way?

(Sam): I think what he does is very skilful…it’s just that over the years the general perception of elite golf has been a little bit skewed. The questions in all elite sports are…How do players evolve? How does coaching evolve? How does performance evolve? You are looking for the most effective way to be successful. There has always been that thought process that to be successful you have to be a great putter, be able to shape the ball, have a repetitive controllable swing and so on. More than ever those points are not as strong as they were once believed to be…again there is a lot of statistics that support that driving is probably more important to your overall score gauged over multiple rounds of golf than any other area of skill. For example, if we went onto a putting green and had one hundred putting contests against a tour player, in all probability I could win a few times, you could win a few times but neither of us would win a driving contest against a tour player as we can’t hit the ball 340 yards plus.

Impossible To Visualise

(Paul): You have obviously not seen my putting lately!! But I fully understand the valid point you are illustrating. On the specific point about the prodigious distances…as a high handicap golfer I really struggle to relate to how far the Bryson’s and Rory’s of this world hit the ball. As you know I am a member at Beverley and East Riding Golf Club where the longest par 4 is very straight and measures just over 460 yards from the tips…so with a slight following wind, these guys would possibly drive the green on a hole I can’t even reach in two shots even on a good day!! Really hard to visualise.

(Sam): I think this is where probably the argument is in golf at the moment. I think it is based more on emotion than on objective analysis which is probably why from a general golfing perspective and the rulemaking perspective we are not really getting to a solution about distance. Whatever they eventually decide in the rules I think they will mess it up. When we play a hole out on any golf course we see bunkers, trees and hazards…in amateur golf a 400 yards par 4 will require two shots to get there, navigating the hole as required. Then you take some elite golfer who can get there in one shot and you just go ‘well that’s not really golf’ because they have missed out all of the design that is in play on the hole. So (in professional tournaments) do we make holes have standard yardage of say 600 yards so they are hitting the equivalent to what the amateur golfer is hitting on a 400-yard par 4. I think that is the argument which doesn’t make any sense when you look at it like that!! But what is the solution? It’s certainly not rolling back the technology with the ball.

Mindset

(Paul): The debate will no doubt continue to rumble in the months and years ahead. As you say what is the solution? Returning to the 2020 Masters, several esteemed commentators believe Bryson only has to turn up to win as he will have no more than an 8 or 9 iron for his second shot on most of the par 4’s and par 5’s!! But nothing is ever as straightforward as that because if it was then golf would be really boring, lacking any real excitement or drama…but surely other factors must come into the equation such as the atmospheric and weather conditions at Augusta in November as opposed to playing the event in April. For me, it has to be a case of ‘wait and see’.

(Sam): Definitely…I think it’s just the fact that all of the stuff that Bryson can do is being highlighted which other players on the tour (currently) can’t do. He can turn a tough, world-class challenging golf course into something that all of a sudden is not playing how it was designed to be played. I think that is where some people struggle to accept it as it’s almost like he is cheating…but he is not. About 20 or 30 years ago Gary Player said players would eventually hit the ball about 400 yards. It’s just taken time for the top players and the top coaches to use all of the technology, maximise the equipment, maximize the thought process and the strategies to achieve that. This is all about a well-rounded approach and not just hitting the ball harder and faster. This is why a lot of players may be looking to adapt their style of play more and more…I think over the next year you will see those players who are currently long but potentially have more in the tank but possibly don’t use that strength as much as they could, possibly surpassing Bryson…maybe not for out-and-out distance but from the changing approach and way of thinking. There have already been videos of Rory and of DJ essentially posting some 190mph ball speed. Evidence that those guys who are almost genetic freaks and complete athletes already have that in the tank. They don’t use that at the moment whilst Bryson has it in the tank but utilises it which is a completely different mindset.

(Paul): Certainly, a mindset which does not place any obstacles in his way to establish an approach where there are no limits.

(Sam): He is braver than everyone…and smarter.

Strength And Conditioning

(Paul): In the same interview with Matt Fitzpatrick that I referenced earlier, he outlined in a matter of fact sort of way that he could put on 40lbs, work with a bio-mechanist, put an extra couple of inches on his driver and gain 40 yards off the tee…as easy as that!! Apologies in advance for this potentially unfair, albeit hypothetical question, but if a client approached you with the ‘specification and requirements’ described by Matt Fitzpatrick what would you say/do?

(Sam): The reality is this is something I have done with players for a number of years, certainly at the higher levels. It is a different process for them in many respects. What Bryson is doing is nothing new in the world of ‘Strength and Conditioning’…people like myself and others have been doing it for a number of years…getting significant developments in speed, performance and distance but those players haven’t (as yet) had all of the other skill qualities that Bryson possesses to make it to the top tours. One thing from my experience is in the next five years and probably less than that you are going to have a lot of players who are either turning pro or currently on their way up through the lower tours who are going to be hitting it comfortably as far as Bryson. They are not going to look like Bryson in terms of adding lots of muscle mass to hit it further. Muscle is certainly a contributor and is important but it is not the only factor. At the speeds that Bryson is showing, I have two or three players who are achieving those speed numbers if not a little bit higher. I also know of other players around the country who are hitting those speed numbers. To answer your question, if you are going to do it then it must be part of a well-rounded approach. You can’t just go to the gym, train, have loads of protein shakes and just try to get big…then expect to be hitting the ball miles and getting a huge advantage from that.

(Paul): Why do you think speed has almost gone off the scale in recent years?

(Sam): The reason why speed has become so much more achievable for most in golf is again the perception has changed. The perception of golf has always been you are on the golf course and you hit a driver for example off the tee, trying to swing it smooth with control and balance. That might feel like an 80% swing. So if you take someone who swings at 80% with the theory that their clubhead speed at 100% is 100mph, then on the golf course swinging at 80% they are losing 20mph which at best is up to 30 to 40 yards. That obviously doesn’t happen but it does in peoples minds. So when coaches have learnt that players are already limiting their speed because of how they are attempting to hit the ball from a tempo perspective or what they are thinking is important to hit the ball well…then they let you take the shackles off a little bit and noticeable additional mph is achieved. Proving it is not just a physical thing but more a mental or psychological thing. So there is that area to tap into. Then there is the area of the equipment. Then there is the area of working with your golf coach and whether you are efficient through impact and your launch conditions. Then you add in the physical components such as are you getting stronger and can you create more force to generate more speed to express those physical qualities. That is a very basic theory in that everyone can get stronger, everyone can move faster, everyone can create more energy in that respect which you then you put it all into a strategy.

Cohesion

(Paul): All of the components you have just listed have to be optimised/balanced to achieve maximum output…I suppose in many ways very similar to maximising the efficiency of compound pulleys and the block-and-tackle system where power gains are very noticeable when you improve the overall configuration.

(Sam): Exactly that…it is a cohesive approach which I don’t think is complex, but obviously, it is more complex than if you just went for a half-hour lesson with your coach who told you something to create a small improvement. But looking at it from the perspective of ‘if I do a little bit of everything in the right way and I know which areas are more important than others’ then it doesn’t matter what level you play at you can add distance, irrespective of age or physical background. Yes, it might take a bit of hard work and yes you might be lucky enough to gain more distance from one area than another but anyone can add distance. Put that into a professional sport where they possibly have the best people, can afford every single one of those experts, can put in all the time and energy in the world and already have the talent and the skill…that is when you see someone like a Bryson who just re-writes how people see golf. I think it is great but unfortunately, there is a problem in golf in general and I think Bryson is essentially being made a little bit of a scapegoat. This has been coming for a long long time.

Physicality

(Paul): The comparison I would draw is with the men’s high jump at the 1968 Mexico Olympics when Dick Fosbury from the United States totally revolutionised the sport with his ‘Fosbury Flop’…almost overnight all high jumpers had to change from the straddle technique to the Fosbury Flop, which is still used to this day. In many ways Dick Fosbury was the Bryson DeChambeau of his day, having the ability and self-belief of finding a different but better way within the rules of the sport.

(Sam): Again, it comes down to this physical component of performance that has been completely brushed to one side pretty much from the beginning of time with golf for the most part…though there have always been people that have done it. But now it has come into effect where every golfer who improves physically will achieve more stability, more range of motion, more speed and more control. Name me a golfer on this planet who doesn’t want that? But that is not groundbreaking but it is in golf which is a bit bizarre!!

Time At The Top

(Paul): I still can’t shake off what I said earlier that Bryson is possibly going to suffer later in life from health issues from what he has done, albeit done in a very controlled and structured environment, over the past two years or so.

(Sam): To be fair, it is a really good point that you make and it is another conversation that is being had. One of the world’s best coaches actually reported it the other day and when it is coming from someone who is on the tour and is seeing it day in day out and visualising this is how the players on tour are going to go. It backs up my thought process that I think professional golf, certainly in the men’s game will only end up being more like other sports where you will have a small window of opportunity at the very elite level to be in peak physical condition, skill, mental, recovery, etc. But as you get older when the body does not recover as quickly and you can’t keep making and sustaining those gains you are going to fall off slowly. If golf becomes a fifteen to a twenty-year window between the ages of say 20 to 40, then that is just the same as all the other elite sports out there. If it means in that timeframe I can win 10 majors or I can play for another 20 years but I can only win 1 major in that time, then every single one of those players will rip your hand off for 10 majors. That is where maybe again that goes against the principle of golf being about longevity and playing in later years at a high level…I am kind in the middle of that thinking. You could argue that is all Tiger Woods did.

2020 Masters

(Paul): Mentioning Tiger brings us neatly back to where our conversation started. Will Tiger repeat his success of 2019…will Rory achieve a career grand slam to join golfing greats such as Player and Nicklaus…will Bryson blitz the field as he did back in September at Winged Foot…or will one of the many other players be wearing the Green Jacket come Masters Sunday…I can’t wait!!

(Sam): In all honesty with the Masters…of course, Bryson could win by absolutely blitzing the field but I think there are probably a handful of players who could do that. I think whatever he does, even if he missed the cut, he will hit certain shots where people will just go ‘we have never seen anyone there before or I didn’t know that was possible or you shouldn’t play the hole like that!!’. But I can genuinely see a big name player come through to win by almost adopting Bryson’s approach. I could see a McIlroy hitting some different lines, sending it in a different way, being a bit more aggressive and winning it…you know what I mean? Everyone would go ‘that is amazing’ because it is not Bryson, even though he will have played Augusta with the same approach!! That could be interesting to see but it wouldn’t surprise me.

(Paul): Sam, a great way to finish. Let’s just watch and see what happens, not only at the Masters but also how golf continues to evolve over the years and generations ahead. It would also be brilliant to hear the thoughts and views of the Golfing Herald readers about the Masters, Bryson and any of the topics that we have talked about within this article.

Acknowledgement

This article would not have been possible without the unconditional input and support of Sam Vickers. His ability and willingness to blindly throw himself into our chat when I unexpectedly teed off at the US Masters was something else…thanks so much Sam, much appreciated…until the next time!!

To find out more about Sam and the various golf performance services he offers then please visit SV Golf Performance