‘The last piece of the puzzle’: Bryson DeChambeau explains ‘eureka!’ moment at range

As anyone who’s ever shared the range with him knows, Bryson DeChambeau practices as if the world is running out of golf balls.

The big fella has never seen a range ball he didn’t like and never found an hour of the day he couldn’t practice (including, evidently, the dead of night during a major championship). As such, it would seem the “range breakthrough” days of DeChambeau’s career are long gone. After so many hours on the range, there are diminishing returns on improvement. Half a mile-an-hour here, half a degree there — these are the changes DeChambeau chases. Big, sweeping fixes are simply a reality of the past.

But a new video released to DeChambeau’s YouTube page late last week would seem to bring that idea into question. The video, titled “One Of My Biggest Discoveries Yet…” appears to show the former U.S. Open champ in the midst of what his range partner describes as a “Eureka!” moment in the evolution of his golf swing.

The vlog-style video is the latest in a growing catalog of behind-the-scenes footage released through Bryson’s official account. In the newest episode, viewers catch the big man alongside good friend and World Long Driver Martin Borgmeier as the two head to a Dallas driving range for an evening practice session.

In the early portion of the video, Bryson is his typical self: chatty, tinkering and analytical. It soon becomes evident he’s struggling with a consistent right miss — a problem that has frequently plagued DeChambeau in tournament play in 2021.

Then, a quick cut to DeChambeau hitting a drive.

“Yup, was it. Oh my god,” he says. “I just figured something out in my golf swing.”

As Bryson explains, the shift has to do with his wrist position at impact. During the downswing, the force his trail arm generated forced his clubface open, leading to that right miss.

“So what I found was, when this forearm applies force internal, it’s going to make the club open,” he said. “So, I want to feel like I’m going [further out] and stopping and allowing the hands to go through, so I can create this in-to-out path and also close the face.”

After a few more swings, Bryson’s excitement is barely containable. He’s hitting tight draws, and even his misses are keeping a tight dispersion. Suddenly, the range session turns into an all-out grind.

“That was a heel miss, and it still drew,” he says at one point.

A few seconds later, Bryson is calling his swing coach, Chris Como, to share the news.

“Hey I’m sorry to call you so late,” Bryson says. “I got something. If it’s more in the palm, it allows the club to turn over. I’m telling you, I can feel it.”

The early returns were hit-or-miss for Bryson’s swing shift. At this weekend’s Hero World Challenge, he finished T14 in a 20-person field. But if his reaction in the video is any indication, it sure seems golf’s longest hitter believes he’s found another gear to his game.

“That’s something I never, ever, ever thought about. I swear this is opening up a new world for me,” he said. “I think I’ve unlocked the last piece of the puzzle.”

Eureka, indeed.

James Colgan

Golf.com Editor

James Colgan is an assistant editor at GOLF, contributing stories for the website and magazine on a broad range of topics. He writes the Hot Mic, GOLF’s weekly media column, and utilizes his broadcast experience across the brand’s social media and video platforms. A 2019 graduate of Syracuse University, James — and evidently, his golf game — is still defrosting from four years in the snow, during which time he cut his teeth at NFL Films, CBS News and Fox Sports. Prior to joining GOLF, James was a caddie scholarship recipient (and astute looper) on Long Island, where he is from.