Inspired by World Long Drive champion, DeChambeau targets 211 mph ball speed
Bryson DeChambeau tees off on the second hole during the final round at the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course) in Mamaroneck, N.Y. on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020. (Darren Carroll/USGA)
Bryson DeChambeau has no plans to stop any time soon in his bid for more distance - even if it means blacking out in practice.
The US Open champion, who opened with a four-under 69 in the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii last night to lie just four shots behind Harris English and Justin Thomas, has been working with World Long Drive champion Kyle Berkshire since late last year.
Needless to say, the details are suitably wild and include revelations of ‘seeing a tunnel’ and ‘blacking out’ as you push your body to the limit.
— Well, I'm not going to give away what he told me to the utmost. He gave me some nice little secrets that allowed him to get from in college he was 118, 119, to where he is today, around 150 [swing speed]. So I implemented some of his techniques. A lot of it has to do with pushing the limits of your body and going for long hours of swinging your golf club with a golf ball and trying to help up the ball speed.
— There are points where, I don't know if you've ever experienced a runner's high or something like that where you get these extra endorphins and that's kind of what breaks your neurological CNS, I guess, is what breaks your nervous system down, which is a great thing. And over time as you keep building it and you keep pushing it and pushing it just keeps going up and up.
— So that's kind of a basic principle of what he's done. He's just overworked his CNS like a madman and he's shown me some really cool techniques that have allowed me to sustain speed on the golf course. So I feel like I was a little faster out there today, which was awesome to have I just got to hone it in.
With an average ball speed of 198 mph last year, DeChambeau now believes he can add 10 mph to that this year and continue to get longer.
But that means taking it to the limit in practice.
Asked what was his best question for Berkshire:
— How hard did you push it? And he said, Until I blackout.
— So did you get there?
—Yes. Numerous times. There was times where I was seeing a tunnel and I had to stop. I mean, you just have to stop. That's about when you stop. There's a lot to it.
The goal is to reach “205 to 210 [mph]”, he said.
— Once I achieve those speeds and I’m comfortable with that, not trying to swing my butt off, it just happens naturally, that’s when I’ll probably stop and go down the chipping rabbit hole and try and understand my chipping and wedging a lot better.
He reckons the extra speed he’s gained over the winter means the equivalent of 20 yards extra distance.
— What does it add up to? Well I know I'm about five to six miles an hour faster with the driver, at least. And that equates to, I mean I was about -- at my top speed was around 134, 135, now I'm around 140, and that creates ball speeds around 200 to over 200 and, I mean, shoot, depending upon the right situation it could be 40, 50 yards if it's firm and downwind and all that. But in a, in normal conditions it's probably going to fly about 20 yards farther. And my irons are even farther. I'm hitting my 8-iron 205 right now. So it's kind of nice to have that in the bag, right? I mean, I'm chipping, hitting little half shot chip on 8 with my 8-iron. So it's just a different ball game for me, I got to learn how to manage it still.
