What is so interesting about the way Bryson DeChambeau plays the game is that he does not appear to have prompted many other professionals to alter the clubs they use or the way they swing the golf club.
Bryson DeChambeau is arguably the most unique player in the current game. He has never been afraid to do things differently. He was immediately known for being the player whose iron shafts were all the same length.
Meanwhile, to the untrained eye, it does not appear that you will see anything like DeChambeau’s swing anywhere else on the PGA Tour or LIV Golf.
But there has been one change DeChambeau made to his game which seemed to completely catch many of his peers off guard.
The change Bryson DeChambeau made which really surprised Justin Thomas
In late 2019, DeChambeau started to undergo a dramatic body transformation in which he added a significant amount of weight in the hope of adding considerable speed to his swing.
The most iconic moment arguably came at Bay Hill in 2021 when DeChambeau attempted to drive the par five sixth green, and hit his tee shot 370 yards. But there was also a drive in that year’s Ryder Cup which went well over 400 yards.
But the biggest vindication for his work came at the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot, with DeChambeau winning his first major title after finishing six shots clear of Matthew Wolff. DeChambeau was the only player to finish under par that week.
And it turns out that some were forced to hold their hands up having never expected DeChambeau’s methods to work. Speaking to CNN the month after that year’s US Open, Justin Thomas suggested that he had been proven completely wrong.
“I’m the first to admit that I didn’t think it was going to work that well and I didn’t necessarily agree with what he was doing,” he said.
“But he’s proven it. He’s just won a major at one of the hardest golf courses in the world.
“As far as he hits it, as strong as he’s gotten, as much weight as he’s put on, he putts the c–p out of it to be perfectly honest.
“He’s getting some of us out here to try to find that extra gear. He’s going to continue to work hard and try to get stronger.”
How DeChambeau reflected on his body transformation in 2022
In some ways, Thomas’ doubts would prove to be justified in time. DeChambeau experienced health issues as the experiment continued, and he noted to 5 Clubs in 2022 that he felt that he needed to make swift changes.
“I had such huge mood swings from it,” he said, “I look like I’m 20 again, not 35.
“I ate things that were not great for my system that I was very sensitive to and ultimately it got to the point where it was a little bit too much.
“I ate improperly for almost a year and a half and I was starting to feel weird, my gut was all messed up and so I went completely healthy and went on a Whole-30 diet, got a nutritionist. I was super-inflamed.”
It does appear that DeChambeau has found a way in the last couple of years to make his lifestyle much more sustainable. And while he has not won a LIV event since 2023, he did of course win that second major at last year’s US Open at Pinehurst.
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