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NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOLF PRIDE, THE #1 GRIP ON TOUR
If anyone thinks winning a major championship will keep Bryson DeChambeau from tinkering with his equipment, they are sorely mistaken.
Just moments into his winner’s news conference at Winged Foot, the new U.S. Open champion confirmed that he plans to start testing 48-inch Cobra drivers this week with the intention of trying to hit 370-yard drives “or maybe even farther.” That’s a scary thought for everyone having to go up against the bomber moving forward.
DeChambeau’s current Cobra King SpeedZone driver – notable for having only 5.5 degrees of loft, which is less than his putter – is built at 45.75 inches. Most PGA Tour players use drivers around 45 inches because anything longer becomes difficult to control, but DeChambeau’s willingness to be different certainly has paid off before.
His driver head is equipped with a pair of 2-gram weights and is light by tour standards, meaning extra weight from a longer shaft will not be much of a burden. He also employs a custom LA Golf prototype shaft that is 40-50 percent stiffer than a typical tour shaft in the middle but soft near the grip and clubhead ends. In testing the shaft had optimal performance, even with clubhead speeds faster than 210 mph.
Adding length to that shaft could enable DeChambeau to maximize speed beyond what has been seen in professional golf. He said he has taken note of long-drive specialists and hopes to replicate some of their ability to hit massive drives.
“They all inspired me to try to go harder at it,” DeChambeau said. “They are the ones breaking the barriers. I can see what is possible.”
DeChambeau is unique in that he uses a rotation of drivers. He has two shafted drivers at the ready and two to four additional heads waiting for him. That setup came in handy at the U.S. Open because DeChambeau switched drivers between the third and fourth rounds.
After the third round was complete, DeChambeau noticed that the grip on the driver he had been gaming that week was wearing down. He could have replaced the grip easily and continued using that same club, but he switched to his other driver that features a 5.25-degree head and a slightly stickier grip. This gave him a lower launch with less spin for the final day.
Sean Fairholm