The Amazing Numbers And Thorny Questions Prompted By Bryson's Distance-Fueled Rocket Mortgage Win

/
One of several CBS graphics highlighting DeChambeau’s dominant driving

One of several CBS graphics highlighting DeChambeau’s dominant driving

The numbers are eye-popping and impressive. So is the dedication and precision displayed by Bryson DeChambeau in winning the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Not so great: his mood on Saturday and the resulting brand hit in whining about protecting his privacy.

He finishes a four-week run 67 under par and will leave the golf world debating about what we just saw.

A few stats of note:

  • First player in the 16 years of ShotLink and “Strokes Gained” to lead a field in both driving and putting.

  • Averaged 350.6 on the eight measuring holes, compared to a field average of 301.5.

  • He averaged 329.8 on all drives at tree-lined Detroit Golf Club, compared to the field’s 297.6 average.

  • DeChambeau reached 23-under-par to win by three strokes over Matthew Wolff, who started the day three ahead. Wolff hit five more fairways for the week, if that means anything (38/56 to Bryson’s 33/56).

  • According to CBS’s Jim Nantz, DeChambeau’s drives Sunday ended up 423 yards longer than playing partner Troy Merritt’s. And 143 yards longer than Wolff’s tee shots on the non-par-3s.

There are, of course, issues that come with all of this madness. In no particular order:

  • I get more questions asking if there is drug testing instead of equipment or COVID-19 testing.

  • Half of most social media posts regarding DeChambeau descend into unfair character assassination about the naturalness of the weight and strength gain without any evidence this is something other than just hard work and an excessive diet.

  • There are undoubtedly kids and parents watching and sending junior to the gym instead of our to play or practice golf. This has always been a risk of allowing golf to become a long drive contest, and now we have an extreme example to inspire a movement.

  • Even with CBS having their best production yet, highlighted by some excellent storytelling around the DeChambeau dominance, the sight of driver-wedge golf and 8-irons into par-5s lacks any significant give-and-take between player and course. I’m not saying it’s boring, but there is less satisfaction in watching a course unable to call on a variety of skills.

The obvious question of such a dominant and shocking performance: where do we go from here on the distance debate?

Focusing on one player will only backfire for the governing bodies who have, for the moment, suspended the next steps of their Distance Insights Study and follow-up stages. The USGA and R&A will only take heat for singling him out, no matter how many unattractive episodes he has with people just doing their job.

So after rightfully praising DeChambeau for his work ethic and execution, it is not out of line to ask if this is the way golf should be played at the highest level?

Besides the well-documented issues of outdating classic courses and eliminating once-essential skills needed to succeed, DeChambeau’s success highlights a notion long mocked as a non-issue: is a weight-gain focused push for speed a good thing?

Do the leaders of golf believe it is sustainable, wise and merely human progress playing out before our eyes? Or, might a tweak to the aerodynamics of the ball retain the essential characteristics that helped golf thrive and survive for centuries?

If he stays healthy, DeChambeau will succeed in the sport no matter what actions are taken because he will adapt. His template for success should only serve as a reminder that there needs to be more than one way to get the ball in the hole, and more than one type of physique that can excel at golf.