Bryson DeChambeau has opened up on how his practice would be structured when he was working on adding speed to his swing back in 2019.

DeChambeau has been one of the game’s most recognisable figures throughout his career. Many would have known him in the early stages for using a set of irons that were all the same length.

By 2019, he was established as one of the best players on the PGA Tour. However, after going through the entire season Stateside without winning, DeChambeau decided to transform his physique in the hope of hitting the ball considerably further.

DeChambeau looked like a different man when golf returned in 2020. He was quickly vindicated by winning the US Open by six shots at Winged Foot. He ended the week as the only player under-par.

How Bryson DeChambeau added significant speed to his swing from 2019

It was not entirely sustainable. However, there is absolutely no question that it was an incredible accomplishment from DeChambeau to change his game. Unsurprisingly, many attempted to copy his strategy.

DeChambeau remains one of the longest hitters in the game. And speaking on the Figuring Out Podcast, the 33-year-old revealed what he would do on the practice ground to hit the ball further.

“I started speed training. Speed training is where you take your driver and you go to the driving range, you have a launch monitor unit that tells you how fast the ball’s going, something to use a guideline off of. And pretty much, you just hit it as hard as you can for about however long. You swing it as hard as you can, you hit 120 balls,” he said.

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“There’s times when your body physically starts to dip, and your ball speed goes incredibly low, and then you push yourself back up and you go over that neurological barrier. Because your body neurologically is saying okay, I’m done, I’m exhausted after the first 10, 15 minutes. I can’t do it anymore. And you go, no, I’m going to push you. It goes down for a little bit, and all of a sudden your body goes okay, this is fight or flight, I’ve got to run away from the lion. 

“You kind of dip, and then all of a sudden your body goes, okay, I’ve got to keep going. I’m pushing it and pushing it, and you start rising and rising and rising. You keep going up and up for 120 balls until you physically start convulsing and almost throwing up, because it’s so much of a toll on your body. Your body physically responds in a negative way. That’s when you can injure yourself, but you’ve got to be really careful doing it. 

“The speed training would be anywhere from two to three times a week, an hour session, and then I’d go work out after to make sure my body was able to tolerate forces. If I worked out beforehand, there was no way I could have the neurological output of speed training. Your body was just done.”

Why Bryson DeChambeau decided to transform his game and focus on distance

Given how impactful DeChambeau’s decision was on his career, and how quickly it reaped rewards, the only surprise was that no one had tried similar sooner.

With the advancements in technology, hitting fairways is no longer vital. And DeChambeau also explained what prompted him to commit to the changes.

“Late in 2019, I said okay, I’m just going to hit the ball farther because I read something online from Mark Broadie, it was a strokes gained thing. It’s a way to evaluate how good our games are relative to each other. In that book, he talked about you could hit it three yards farther and be six more yards offline and have the same strokes gained potential to every other competitor, meaning I could hit it three yards further and be six more yards offline and still be the same level as everybody else, which meant that if I could get it to five yards offline hitting it three yards farther, I’d gain strokes on them. I’d actually get better than them. That was a distinct advantage. Well, what if I went 10 yards farther, could it be then, however much, 18 yards offline? And it worked that way up until a certain point,” he said.

“I made that decision because I couldn’t figure out my golf game as well. I wasn’t hitting it as well. So it’s not only a strokes gained opportunity that was there where I could get better from hitting it farther, it was also that I might learn something about the mechanics of my golf swing and how to be more repeatable. 

“I wanted to learn how to hit it as far as possible, and as straight as possible at the same time. I said screw it, I’m just going to go down this journey. I don’t care what it does to my game. I’m risk averse to this. I know I can always go back and play good golf the way I was playing and be just fine and stay on tour, but most people are afraid of that.”

While DeChambeau is an incredibly divisive character, it is undeniable that he has been one of the most influential players the game has had in recent decades.

Many casual golfers would not have even realised that one-length irons were a thing before DeChambeau came along. He has never been afraid to take a risk in the hope of uncovering something that will give him a serious advantage.

At times, it comes across as a desperation to be considered the smartest person in the room. But he clearly does not care a great deal about how it looks to the outside world.