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NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOLF PRIDE, THE #1 GRIP ON TOUR
It wouldn’t be the Masters without a Bryson DeChambeau gear story with plenty of curiosity.
Last fall, DeChambeau contemplated the use of a 48-inch driver but ultimately turned down that option, struggling mightily off the tee with his typical gamer. This year, he did turn to a new driver, this one a 4.5-degree Cobra RadSpeed several years in the making.
The new driver, which has a thicker face for durability and a flatter toe radius to help with mis-hits, landed on the USGA’s conforming list early last week. DeChambeau put lead tape on the sole and crown to add weight to the heads because the removable weights were taken out in this version for aerodynamic reasons. Cobra engineers and DeChambeau had been collaborating on the design the last three years.
“Obviously there's something in the bag this week that's very helpful,” DeChambeau said before the tournament. “I won't go into the specifics of it. But just know this has been a few years in the making, and I'm very excited for it. Whether it helps me perform at a higher level, I'm not sure, because it's golf and you never know what happens.
“Definitely what I've seen on the driving range and what I've seen the last week in practice, there's some tremendous benefits to it.”
Results were mixed. DeChambeau drew attention before the tournament when he spent time recklessly whaling away on the driver, and he missed seven fairways in an opening round 4-over 76. He rallied to make the cut and had some booming tee shots on the par-5 13th — in his third round, he hit one 355 yards and had 149 yards remaining for his second — but it was another frustrating Masters for the player who last November declared that Augusta National is merely a par 67 due to his length. He finished tied for 46th in this edition and has yet to record a top-20 result in five Masters appearances.
Justin Rose arrived at the Masters with only two top-10s to his name in his last 16 appearances, but an equipment change created a spark. The former U.S. Open champion went back to a TaylorMade M1 driver, first released in 2017, and also added 15-degree M4 and 18-degree M6 fairway woods.
Rose parted ways with TaylorMade in 2018 after nearly two decades with the brand, opting for a 10-club deal with little-known Honma. He won in his second start with the new clubs at the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open, but Rose slowly fell down the world rankings and ditched Honma by March of last year. He now has a decidedly mixed bag with Srixon and Mizuno irons, Titleist wedges and an Axis1 Rose Prototype putter. Rose finished in seventh, five strokes behind winner Hideki Matsuyama.
While DeChambeau and Rose added new equipment, others were taking clubs away. Several players commented on how Augusta National rarely asks players to hit full wedge shots.
“Normally I carry four wedges, but this week I’ll only carry three,” Lee Westwood said. “There are very few shots between, say, 90 and 150 yards around here, so there is not really the need for as many wedges.
“I normally put a 5-wood in the bag this week. I tend to find that there are quite a few shots, for me, from say 230 to 240 where you have to flight it high. I’m thinking of the second shots into 2 and 15. The fourth can be as much as a hybrid or a 5-wood in certain conditions, so I set the bag up accordingly.”
Sean Fairholm