Do We Really Want Young Golfers To "Pull A Bryson"?

In wrapping up Bryson DeChambeau’s revolutionary U.S. Open win, we long time technistas have seen new dimensions added to the distance debate.

From how the game is played, to the relentless “athlete” marketing push, the debate includes fresh dimensions courtesy of Bryson’s brusque style. Just look at Cameron Champ. He is probably capable of longer drives and has a pair of nice wins along with a run at the PGA Championship to beef up his credentials. But there is something more revealing about the sight of Bryson’s weight gain in a matter of months and the violent nature of his swing.

The aesthetic of it is cringe worthy. But golf has always had aggressive lashers. There’s more to this than style.

Seeing someone combine an excessive diet with a Happy Gilmore swing is one thing, but it becomes a bit less fun when you sense injury is inevitable. But he’s a grown man and he’s entitled to do what he likes with his body. At least, within reason and under rules meant to maintain the integrity of the competition.

So about the children.

At certain ages we are able to observe and absorb tiny details that are sometimes channeled into golf swings. Or into mannerisms. Or how we practice, prepare and dress. With kids getting serious at younger ages able to access more information than ever, this is a careful way of asking: do we want kids seeing what Bryson’s doing and copying the methods to his madness?

Today’s equipment and launch monitor technology allows a talented golfer to maximize their implements to absurd driving-distance effect. All credit to Bryson, he outsmarted the system. But the rules are supposed to consider whether it is a good thing on many levels, including preventing young people from taking extreme measures to gain distance.

With that in mind, here are a few final reads regarding Bryson and the U.S. Open, starting with a reminder that any talk about rules changes must start with praise for DeChambeau. An adjustment to the rules was already in mind before he made his changes thanks to the Statement of Principles, so the next discussions should never feel like a rebuke or de-legitimization of his win.

His instructor in this transformation, Chris Como, was quoted by Doug Ferguson in this AP analysis of DeChambeau’s overhaul:

“How many people have changed their body, changed their golf swing and lost their career?” said Chris Como, who works with DeChambeau as a swing coach and speaks his language with his background in biomechanics.

True. That said, there should be a place in the rules to modify equipment to allow a player to swing hard, but return some sanity to the player-club symbiosis. Again, hats off to Bryson and you can keep your new body, but in the interest of the sport and future generations, we also need to draw a line in the sand. Or, gasp, go backwards.

In The Met Golfer magazine, Bill Fields tackled this notion with DeChambeau in mind, then reminded us of past distance talk—100 yards ago off the tee—and explained why golf has to stop fussing so much over a minor move backwards.

The circus will still be the circus, whether the high wire is fifty or five hundred feet above the floor.

Now to the headline of this post: the children. They are our future!

And in golf, our immediate present, with some undoubtedly throwing another package of bacon in the shopping cart and pricing Creatine options online.

To this point, an Eric Sondheimer Los Angeles Times story appeared in August and I asked a few folks about the ethics of posting it in this context. I ultimately chose not to because I don’t want to pick on a 16-year-old aspiring player for simply doing what you’re supposed to do: see what a leading player is doing and copying.

The lad in question is a former child star and now a good player for a legendary southern California high school. He has aspirations to get better and longer off the tee. This being 2020, you know where this is going.

When on-campus classes stopped in March, golf courses also closed, leaving the then-sophomore scrambling. His mother bought him a target to practice his chipping in the backyard. He tried hitting off a mat, but that doesn’t help for real golf. He went for runs, rode a bike and worked on building his strength while trying to keep his slender 6-foot-1, 145-pound body in shape. He can drive a ball 280 yards but says he’s been “eating a lot.”

He and his golf friends have been talking nonstop this summer about PGA sensation Bryson DeChambeau, who gained 40 pounds and has been hitting balls beyond 400 yards.

“That’s who we’re chasing in the fitness world,” he said.

Long drives with friends this summer produced, “You pulled a Bryson.”

Today’s equipment and fitting allows for players to grow-up swinging more efficiently than past generations. But at what point does skill become diminished by technology or worse, do training regimens and expensive protein diets turn golf into a pursuit of unhealthy behaviors and gluttony?

Is anyone at the highest levels concerned about the idea of encouraging teenagers to push their bodies before they’re ready? In a sport that has always been about more than just getting stronger?

To date there has been little urgency to act for any reason, including child safety. But maybe the sight of Bryson’s transformation and his promise to pursuing more weight gain will convince the regulators to better regulate. For the children.