How Bryson DeChambeau Will Attack Augusta National

The length that Bryson DeChambeau can hit a golf ball should frighten owners of golf courses used for professional tournaments because he’s about to make them obsolete.

You may not believe that now, but wait until you see what he can do at Augusta National.

Long gone Masters champions will roll over in their graves when they hear about Bryson DeChambeau’s club selection for his practice rounds at Augusta National in preparation for the Masters. The only thing similar to it, maybe, is Tiger Woods in 1997.

“No. 1, if I hit it in the fairway, I can have a 70‑yard, 60‑yard shot,” he explained in his pre-tournament interview. He said that would work even if the fairways are wet.

On the second hole, a downhill par five, he has hit a 7-iron second shot to the green in practice. So, he’s making that hole a par four.

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He has no problem reaching the putting surface on the third. For him, it becomes a par three instead of a par four.

“No. 5, I had 9‑iron in, 8‑iron. Yeah, it was in the wind, so it was 8‑iron that day,” he noted. That means downwind, it would be 9-iron or wedge.

The seventh, he indicated, is definitely a wedge second shot. And that was into the wind, which is how it has played for him every time so far.

For the eighth, an uphill par five, he said he’s hit a 6-iron to the green.

“No.9, it’s a 53 to 48‑degree for me,” he recalled.

On the 10th, he’ll be hitting 9‑iron to the green, and that would be the longest club. It might be wedge.

During a practice round with Tiger Woods and Fred Couples, De Chambeau hit pitching wedge as his second shot on the 11th.

He asked Woods what he hit in 1997. Woods said pitching wedge.

“I’m like, ‘That’s cool, all right,’” he quipped.

At the par five 13th, DeChambeau again had a pitching wedge.

“I cut the corner drastically,” DeChambeau added. “You can hit it high enough and draw enough, you can gain a pretty big advantage there.”

At the 15th, his second shot was an 8-iron. It’s a par five for some people, but now a par four for DeChambeau.

The 17th was into the wind, and he hit an 8-iron for his second.

And the final hole will make the Augusta National members gulp. Bryson DeChambeau hit his drive over the bunkers, leaving him just 110 yards to the green.

But even with these changes, he admits that length, while helpful, isn’t everything.

“If I don’t putt it well at The ( U.S. ) Open, if I don’t wedge it well, if I don’t hit my irons close, I don’t win that tournament,” he said. “It always comes down to making the putts.”

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As far as the length of his driver shaft, he’s made several different modifications from the original 48-inch one that he planned to use this week. He’s still not certain whether he will put it in the bag for the Masters. He does not expect to throttle back to a 45-inch club.

Whether DeChambeau wins this year’s Masters or not, he will certainly present some interesting challenges to Augusta National for the future.

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