DeChambeau's Short Game

[Michaeljo]

his wedge game is woefully short in relation to his world ranking. Plus Bryson is tied in sand saves for 201st on the tour, why do you think that is?

 

One reason I can think of is his jumbo grips are taking the feel out of his pitch & chip shots 

[MattyO1984]

Too many variables regarding the consistency of sand for him to compute at this moment in time?

 

In all seriousness, I do wonder if his short irons not actually being short makes it more difficult when it comes to finesse shots? That said he still seems to be doing pretty good with it all.

[mgoblue83]

Combination of his equipment and swing not being as compatible with short shots that require feel. I'd say his focus on the long game has paid off though. 

[MattM97]

Bryson has always struggled with his wedge game going back to college before his use of the JumboMax grips. I'd also say his single length wedges may also have some play with the swing speed created with the longer shafts. 

 

But he still seems to be doing just fine. 

[m d g]

The short game includes putting, and I would trade my putting for his any day : )

[adamnbomb]

It's incredibly difficult to play touch shots with a longer and more upright than standard SW. Add the Jumbo Max grip on top of that and you lose a whole lot of feel.  

[toc]

23 minutes ago, m d g said:

The short game includes putting, and I would trade my putting for his any day : )

Ditto, I’d hate to look like he does while putting but he rolls it exactly where he’s looking every time 

[m d g]

6 minutes ago, toc said:

Ditto, I’d hate to look like he does while putting but he rolls it exactly where he’s looking every time 

I'm past caring about how it looks...I broke out some cross-handed chipping yesterday (chip yips) and got up and down 4 times for a tidy 79. Whatever works : )

[cardoustie]

His wedges should be chopped down and flattened a little, YMMV

 

He should experiment and hunt down a grind that works great for sand ... like the old Ping Eye 2 or Vokey P .... 

[Christosterone]

Firstly, you’re ruining his brand…

 

secondly, who cares?

 

he’s the 5th ranked player on the entire planet…

He’s a phenom…hate to break it to you but he is an awesome golfer…absolutely awesome

 

best sand player I’ve seen in the last 10-15 years is Luke Donald…

Nothing against luke, who is terrific, but Bryson’s trajectory is on another level at this point In his career and bunker play is not a deciding factor…

 

plus hes 27….27!

He’s insanely good for a 27 year old…

 

-chris

[ebrasmus21]

Wonder if it’s possible to gap a bag effectively with three-lengths.  Set length for wedges, set length for mid/short irons and set length for long irons.  Maybe that’s something Bryson is already working on. 

[smturner1203]

I think Colt Knost said they gave Bryson a normal 60 degree at SMU and he chipped great with it for a couple of weeks before going back to the one length. Something something trust the process. 

 

I'd have to agree that it doesn't make a huge difference considering his world ranking and recent success. Plus he truly believes in his method which is undoubtedly a strength of his.  

[smashdn]

Is the goal to win golf tournaments or make money playing golf?  He makes money playing golf.  You can make plenty of money playing golf and not winning [often enough to satisfy golfwrx}.

 

I am sure someone can dig and find the average proximity from 100 yard and compare BDC's.  He does seem to not make the most of his drives imo.  He'll be in a significantly better position off the tee but end up in a not much better (or worse) position on the green compared to who is playing with/against.

 

(I broke down and looked on the stats page on pgatour.com.  Average proximity to hole from 100-125 yards is 20'2".  When you look at the leaders on that list it is not exactly a who's who of winners until you get down to 9 and Rory.  BDC is 104 but still better than average at 19'11".  Moral of that story, for me anyway, is that approach proximity is not a harbinger of winning on Tour.)

Edited June 11, 2021 by smashdn

[Gsea]

On 6/9/2021 at 10:43 AM, cardoustie said:

His wedges should be chopped down and flattened a little, YMMV

 

He should experiment and hunt down a grind that works great for sand ... like the old Ping Eye 2 or Vokey P .... 

Everyone should have wedges with flat lofts and yes the eye2 sw. I could give the eye2 to someone who hasn't ever seen a golf club tell them to hit the sand behind the ball and the they will get out np.

U are going to have to pry mine out of my cold dead hands.

[80sFredriksson]

3 hours ago, smashdn said:

Is the goal to win golf tournaments or make money playing golf?  He makes money playing golf.  You can make plenty of money playing golf and not winning [often enough to satisfy golfwrx}.

 

I am sure someone can dig and find the average proximity from 100 yard and compare BDC's.  He does seem to not make the most of his drives imo.  He'll be in a significantly better position off the tee but end up in a not much better (or worse) position on the green compared to who is playing with/against.

 

(I broke down and looked on the stats page on pgatour.com.  Average proximity to hole from 100-125 yards is 20'2".  When you look at the leaders on that list it is not exactly a who's who of winners until you get down to 9 and Rory.  BDC is 104 but still better than average at 19'11".  Moral of that story, for me anyway, is that approach proximity is not a harbinger of winning on Tour.)

Look at strokes gained approach instead

[smashdn]

2 hours ago, 80sFredriksson said:

Look at strokes gained approach instead

 

Being a big SG guy I did.  It had more "bigger names" but was also not the "top heavy" list the way the SG-Driving list is.

[iBanesto]

On 6/9/2021 at 7:35 PM, Michaeljo said:

his wedge game is woefully short in relation to his world ranking. Plus Bryson is tied in sand saves for 201st on the tour, why do you think that is?

 

One reason I can think of is his jumbo grips are taking the feel out of his pitch & chip shots 

 

If his wedge game is woefully short, he should just hit the ball harder.

 

*I'll see myself out*

 

[Barfolomew]

Recently heard Deshambles talkin bout how long he he hits those short clubs........ my gapdar was a buzzin

[mallrat]

On 6/9/2021 at 7:43 AM, Christosterone said:

Firstly, you’re ruining his brand…

 

secondly, who cares?

 

he’s the 5th ranked player on the entire planet…

He’s a phenom…hate to break it to you but he is an awesome golfer…absolutely awesome

 

best sand player I’ve seen in the last 10-15 years is Luke Donald…

Nothing against luke, who is terrific, but Bryson’s trajectory is on another level at this point In his career and bunker play is not a deciding factor…

 

plus hes 27….27!

He’s insanely good for a 27 year old…

 

-chris

to be fair Luke made it to No. 1 in the world, as of now Bryson has not. 

[hack and slash]

Maybe he’s just not a good short game player because he lacks touch and creativity? 
 

Imagine how hard it is to improve your relative short game ranking when the 200 most talented golfers on the planet are practicing just as hard and as long as you are. 

[Christosterone]

10 hours ago, mallrat said:

to be fair Luke made it to No. 1 in the world, as of now Bryson has not. 

luke was an amazing player…while I only discussed his sand game, it could’ve been argued that his iron play was unmatched as well for a time…

 

he was fantastic..

-chris

[KRAMER1997]

I think Bryson overcomplicates everything and that's why his short game is below average.  Just hit the dang shot and see what happens. Ever since he did his transformation people have stopped talking about his slow play, but my god he's painful to watch.

[smashdn]

Maybe because short game is more feel and less technical that it is hard for him to want to perfect or analyze to death to improve?