There’s no denying that Bryson DeChambeau is a mad scientist when it comes to golf experimentation.
Whether it’s using 3D printed golf clubs or soaking his golf balls in Epsom salt to make sure they properly spin (among plenty of other ideas), the recent U.S. Open champ has brought the fun back to a sport that desperately needs it.
What I most admire about DeChambeau is that he’s unapologetic when it comes to improving his game, and he’ll go to great lengths to test something out — no matter how out of the box it may appear to others.
The two-time major champ recently talked to GOLF’s Dylan Dethier about a number of topics on GOLF’s Warming Up. One of those things was the bizarre (yet practical) reason why he actually mishits shots during practice — and how it makes him a better ball-striker.
Bryson DeChambeau explains the reason he purposely mishits shots
While amateur golfers like you and I accidentally mishit shots off the heel or the toe, DeChambeau says he’s prone to do it on purpose during his practice sessions — all with the intent of helping understand the parameters of the miss.
When asked by Dethier how often he’ll screw around in practice with different types of shots or mishits, DeChambeau was quite candid.
“I’ll do it every single day. It’s a couple shots, and then I go back to what I’m doing good,” he says. “I want to know the parameters. If I know what the toe is, a little bit of heel, [and the] center, then my brain gets calibrated to what it needs to do.”
DeChambeau then goes onto demonstrate a purposeful mishit — with the image below showing how far on the toe he sets up to the ball.
GOLF.COM
“For example, if I super-toe this, I know that, even if I miss the golf ball, that ball’s still going straight,” he adds. “All I care about is where that ball’s going, I don’t necessarily care about the strike.”
DeChambeau then shows how a heel ball looks before hitting a normal, center-face shot — which helps him understand his dispersion depending on what type of ball contact he makes with the club. Put simply: he’s calibrating the center of the clubface by testing the parts around it.
“It just helps me know [for me],” he says. “But everybody’s got to experience it on their own.”
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Article originally appeared on: Golf.com
Re “soaking his golf balls in Epsom salt” Please don’t say this. He is not soaking his golf balls in a solution of Epsom salts. The word soaking makes it sound as if the balls are absorbing some of that solution and by stipulating Epsom salts it makes it sound as if that is important. What he is doing is floating those balls in a solution of a density that allows them to float on the surface. Any number of substances can be used to dissolve in water to make such a solution. When floating, the balls will orient themselves “heaviest side down.” We would hope that they wouldn’t have a heavier side, but would you rather hope or know?
I don’t do mis-hits but I do awkward stances. feet together. rt foot very far back, or behind the front ft. If on a mat at the range, one ft on, one ft off. And a wedge with 2 inch shaft extension, to 7 iron length, giving it a swing weight in the deep E range.
Another reason to mishit a shot is when hitting to the green into the wind. Using one more club and purposely hitting the ball thin will keep it low with less spin. That prevents the ball from ballooning up and losing lots of distance and flaring offline.