How Dustin Johnson Is Using Trackman To Become Better

If you saw Dustin Johnson on Golf Channel warming up for his WGC Bridgestone final round, you know he was hitting balls with a Trackman on Firestone's range tee.

Doug Ferguson explains how the device has helped Johnson break out of an early season slump and improve the biggest (statistic) weakness in his game.

Johnson wanted it only for his wedges.

"All I look at it is carry numbers, just so I have more of a feel when I'm on the course and playing," Johnson said. "I felt like that was one area I needed to improve on. I felt like I was good with it, but I was too streaky. One day I'd be perfect, the next day ... not that I hit them bad, I just didn't hit them good enough."

Now it's perhaps the most underrated part of his game.

Three years ago, Johnson was tied for 113th on the PGA Tour in approach shots from 50 to 125 yards.

Now he is No. 1 on tour.

Regarding DJ's latest win, the SI/golf.com roundtable kicked the WGC Bridgestone around and noted this:

Alan Shipnuck, senior writer, Sports Illustrated (@AlanShipnuck): It’s the grittiness. We’ve all known for a long time DJ had the talent to overwhelm the golf world. Suddenly he is playing with a different hunger, and focus. If he keeps imposing his will like this, look out!

Cameron Morfit, senior writer, GOLF Magazine (@CameronMorfit): I remember once interviewing DJ and he made mention of his long limbs, but not in the context of that being an advantage. He was saying that because of his physique, when things got out of synch, they really got out of synch. Well, now he’s really, really in synch, and to do it on two vastly different tracks, one choked with trees and one with none, is impressive.

Heading to The Open, the Daily Mail's Derek Lawrenson looks at Dustin's "late bloomer" evolution given his age and the way players are evolving at a young age, and reminds us of this:

You have to go all the way back to 1950 and seven Opens at Troon to find the last non-American champion and Johnson will now be favoured by plenty to continue that winning streak.

How has the game’s best athlete gone from something of an underachiever to serial winner at the age of 32?