AUGUSTA, Georgia – It doesn’t have a 48-inch shaft, but Bryson DeChambeau has a new toy in the bag for the Masters.
After flirting with the idea of using a taller driver last November, DeChambeau eventually stuck with his regular model, finishing 34th at Augusta National. This time, with five months to tinker, the world’s number 5 is debuting a new club: a prototype Cobra driver that he believes will help improve consistency in high-speed eccentric strikes.
DeChambeau told GolfChannel.com about the driver at the WGC-Workday Championship last month. “Nobody knows how to play a ball speed of 200 mph and barely hit him wrong; sometimes it doesn’t respond the way you think it should, ”he said at the time. While he didn’t provide many details about his new club, DeChambeau said on Tuesday that the numbers so far are very encouraging.
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“Just know this is a few years in the making, and I’m really excited about it,” he said. “I am not sure if it will help me to perform at a higher level because it is golf and you never know what will happen. Certainly what I have seen on the driving range and what I have seen in practice over the past week has some enormous advantages. “
His swing coach, Chris Como, posted a photo to social media earlier this week showing DeChambeau with a weight capacity of 350 meters and a ball speed of 210 mph. There was also a viral clip showing him maniacally swinging on the tournament’s training ground, much to the delight of former Masters champion Vijay Singh, who watched close by.
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With his new gear and Augusta National playing firmer and faster than the Autumn Masters, DeChambeau said he plans to take some unique lines off the tee:
• Over the trees to the right of No. 1
• Down the hill at 2
• Driving on the green on 3
• Flying with the bunkers, even upwind, at 5
• Over the trees to the left of 9
• Carrying the trees to the right of 11
DeChambeau is already leading the PGA Tour within driving distance, with an average of 320.8 meters, surpassing the strokes achieved: statistic from the tee (1,144). Still, he acknowledges that his success here – he never made it to the top 20 – will ultimately come down to his approach game.
“When I look at odds, it’s not just the par 5s but especially the par 4s for me and how I can attack those par 4s to give myself the best chance to do a lot of birdies,” he said.