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GolfWRX Forum Thread of the Day: “Why is Bryson DeChambeau so polarizing?”
Today’s GolfWRX Forum Thread of the day comes from our members commenting on Bryson Dechambeau, and why he is so polarizing. From his swing to his attire, our members hit it all.
Here are a few comments from the forum, but make sure to check the whole thing out in the link below:
- PZero: “The media constantly harping on “The Scientist” aspect of his game over and over turns people off.”
- Jagpilotohio: “I’m fine with his success. Gives me another player on my fairly short list to root against. Gotta have a few of those guys to make watching golf more interesting.”
- ezpz: “I like him, but his demeanor after a bad shot is kind of ridiculous at times.”
In our forums, our members have been reacting to a cheap iron experiment that is working wonders for one WRXer. ‘Golfpractictioner5’ explained his experiment in our forums, saying:
“So, I bought a cheap set of Orlimar Single Length irons for $175 off of Amazon in December because I’d always liked the idea but never actually tested it. I played with them for a month on my simulator and course and absolutely hated them. I could not hit them consistently for some reason. Flights and distances were all over the place. I was gonna sell them but decided to change them up instead. I cut off an inch in length down to 36 inches on every club from 5-GW and put on some cheap Amazon Champkey regular sized grips.
The last 4 months have been ridiculous. I only lost about 5 yards per club on the 5-7 and everything else stayed the same. Distances march down perfectly 10 yards ever club starting with 5 iron being 170 yards down to GW being 110 yards. The crazy part is the flight patterns on all the clubs. I’m hitting 5-GW in perfect flight windows and spin actually improved most likely due to strike consistency. The dispersion has been the biggest change with my distances tightening up to the +/- of 5 yards with every club and them landing dead center or at most 5 yards to the right of target.
The reason I tried this out is because 9 iron has always been my go to iron and it is 36 inches on my other sets or irons. I always played to that club distance when laying up because it has always been automatic for me. I plan on carrying out this experiment the rest of the year and looking at my numbers at the end of season. So far, scores are staying in low 80s whereas I have mostly been mid to high 80s the last couple of years. I do not keep an official handicap at this time due to no need for it as I have limited time to actually get on the course and no time for tournaments. Maybe, I’ll start keeping one again once my kids are older.
I am mostly interested in seeing what people think about this and if other people have done this as well.”
And our members have been weighing in with their thoughts in response.
Here are a couple of posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- JAM01: “I tinkered with a sub $200 Snake eyes set from Bock Rottom. They actually were ok at that price.”
- Ghostwedge: “This just shows how individual golf is for each of us, I couldn’t jettison my Cobra Forged Tec OL 4\5 irons fast enough for Ping regular length Crossover’s and my 7-gw one lengths drop dimes all day. Somebody playing well with a $175 set of Orlimar One lengths doesn’t surprise me because the shaft probably fits them really well and the swing will get consistent with the same set up all round long.”
Entire Thread: “Cheap iron experiment working out well – GolfWRXers discuss”
In our forums, our members have been pitting a Srixon ZXi combo against a TaylorMade P7CB/770 combo. WRXer ‘edutch22’ is on the hunt for a new set of irons and kicks off the thread saying:
“Looking at picking up a new set of irons and think I’ve narrowed it down to Srixon ZXi combo or Taylormade P7CB/770 combo. I am currently a 5 cap and allbeit I feel irons are my weakness. My miss is a little to the toe side. I am decently steep at 4-5 down. Always thought I am high spin but recently on trackman my 7 was spinning at 5800 roughly.
My question or looking for thoughts on which one would benefit me more from a forgiveness standpoint? Or is there another iron is should be looking at entirely? I only get to play about once or twice a week, if I am not playing a 2-3 day event. Thanks in advance.”
And our members have been sharing their thoughts and suggestions in response.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- manima1: “You just can’t go wrong with Srixon ZXi7.”
- MattM97: “You have to hit them to know, the V-Sole on the Srixon can be make or break for many.”
- dmeeksDC: “P7CB is more forgiving for me than ZXi7 because my main miss is low middle and the P7CB still flies and spins great on that miss. These are both really nice irons but I like the P7CB more than the Zxi7 and the P770 (or P790) more than the Zxi5. The Srixons are larger so if that gives you confidence that is the way to go. I don’t feel like I get any benefit from the V-sole and the P7CBs live up to their high Maltby forgiveness rating so the TaylorMades have been great for me.”
Entire Thread: “Srixon ZXi combo or TaylorMade P7CB/770 combo? – GolfWRXers discuss”
In our forums, our members have been reacting to a fitting session involving Mizuno’s Pro M13 and Callaway’s X Forged irons. WRXer ‘careergolfer’ recently went through a full fitting session and shared his numbers and commentary, saying:
“After playing Callaway Apex Pros for the pats 5 years, just went through a full iron fitting and thought the data was interesting enough to share. I’ve seen a lot of posts talking about fittings but not many with actual numbers, so here’s mine.
All 7-iron, same ball, same session. Final two were the ones I was choosing between:
| Club | Ball Speed | Launch | Spin | Side Angle | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current irons | 121.1 mph | 18.3° | 6,691 rpm | 0.7L | 170 | 178 |
| Callaway X Forged | 125.8 mph | 15.9° | 6,144 rpm | 2.2L | 180 | 185 |
| Mizuno M-13 | 125.8 mph | 17.9° | 6,638 rpm | 2.2L | 177 | 182 |
The consistency numbers are what actually made the decision:
| Club | Ball Speed SD | Spin SD | Total Yards SD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current irons | 3.3 | 294 | 5 |
| Callaway X Forged | 2.0 | 211 | 3 |
| Mizuno M-13 | 1.1 | 150 | 2 |
Callaway won on distance by 3 yards but got there with a much lower ball flight (15.9° launch, 6,144 spin). The Mizuno matched my existing flight profile with nearly 3x tighter ball speed consistency.
Fitter also noted I’ve been setting up with a closed face at address to compensate for a heel-heavy dynamic lie. Ordered the M-13s 1° flat to bring impact back to neutral: the theory being if I can set up square, I can actually commit to the release. I’m not sure if this was the right call TBH but took the fitter’s guidance. I’ll see what happens.
Went with the Mizuno. Clubs aren’t in hand yet. Happy to share follow-up data once I’ve played them!”
And our members have been sharing their thoughts in response.
Here are a couple of posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- PowerCobra98: “M13 certainly performed well. Enjoy the new irons once you get them!”
- dmeeksDC: “Two completely different irons. The X Forged is a tour-type iron and would match up with the S3 in the Mizuno lineup. Not going to see a lot of M-13 on pro tours. It’s a crossover iron, three different types of construction in the same set. The M-13 would be more like the AI 150 as the M-13 7 iron is a half-hollow club versus X Forged, which is a straight up forged iron. M-13 middle irons have very thin faces, not holding up well for some buyers if you read through the M-13 thread. Hopefully Mizuno has corrected it. Given the differences in construction, that is surprising ball speed with the X Forged. To me the numbers are quite an endorsement of the X Forged considering it has no ‘tech.'”
Entire Thread: “Mizuno Pro M13 vs Callaway X Forged: My actual fitting numbers – GolfWRXers discuss”
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Richard Douglas
Sep 6, 2018 at 1:29 am
I laugh at the BD haters. First, they went after him for is nontraditional ideas. But when he won, he became a “fluke.” Then he kept winning, so now they resort to personal attacks.
You see these guys in the threads, talking about their muscle-backed Mizunos and pining for the days of balata balls and blade putters. But they’re full of it. Bryson hasn’t just kept up with the times, he’s now setting the pace.
Get used to it.
Johnny Penso
Sep 5, 2018 at 5:14 pm
The media loves to apply catch all labels to people and for the weak minded, those people are often judged, consciously or otherwise, based on that label. The “Scientist” label makes him appear robot like, unemotional, calculating, not necessarily endearing qualities in a human being or a professional athlete.
Big P
Sep 5, 2018 at 10:30 am
Because he’s a caaack?
Allan
Sep 5, 2018 at 12:58 am
Perhaps it’s his magnetic personality… ya think 😛
ZekeOMS
Sep 4, 2018 at 7:01 pm
Bryson was the nicest player I encountered at TPC Boston. He spent over an hour signing autographs and taking pictures. My 7 and 4 year are huge BAD fans because of it. I am now as well.
Joe
Sep 4, 2018 at 4:37 pm
The reason why DeChambeau is so polarizing is because of the appearance (and honestly the media over-hype this too much) that he is trying to make the game look as if it can be mastered from a scientific point of view. That if you have a consistent level of variability and know how to correctly adjust for other potential factors, that you can play top-tier golf.
Now let’s apply this same methodology to the current way that people thing golf works best. Let’s toss in Trackman, Club-Fitting, consistent practice habits as well as someone whom you can work out a strong mental game with…then you too should be capable of hitting the shots the Pro’s do.
Now riddle me this. What’s the difference between the two methodologies?
The answer is nothing. One just uses more scientific terms to explain what most people understand in a different set of words.
So the question of why is DeChambeau so polarizing is really kind of a half-hearted attempt to continue to polarize him in the face of a total lack of polarization on his part. Do PGA Tour Pro’s use devices to help them master mechanics of the golf swing and putting stroke? Yes. DeChambeau just uses different devices. It’s not polarizing, it’s just a different way of thinking that most folks don’t feel they need. That’s like saying all golfers who hit the ball the opposite way that I do are polarizing.
In a medium that craves to have click-bait, DeChambeau is just the latest tool in the Golf Journalist’s arsenal.
kinster
Sep 4, 2018 at 5:49 pm
Joe,
You are spot on and, perhaps, too smart for these forums. Nonetheless, your points are well-stated and correct. We need both heroes and anti-heroes, and to some he is an anti-hero simply because of “The Golfing Machine”, vector putting, and Jim Nantz calling him “The Scientist”
Allan
Sep 5, 2018 at 1:01 am
How can you put “TGM” and “Scientist” in the same sentence. TGM is a proven scientific fraud perpetrated on gullible golfers by exploitative instructors.
A. Commoner
Sep 5, 2018 at 7:50 pm
Do you dream up such prattle?