Bryson DeChambeau promises to make an impact in India
“I am here to educate, entertain and inspire,” declared the 2-time Major winner ahead of the International Series golf event in Gurugram
Gurugram: From the time he got off his chartered flight after a quick trip to Taj Mahal and checked into the DLF Golf and Country Club late on Tuesday to the moment he wowed all and sundry at a golf clinic as dusk descended on Wednesday, the biggest draw of the star-studded field that has gathered for India’s maiden International Series held the attention of all.
Bryson DeChambeau is the man of the moment, and the buzz around the course ought to be experienced to be truly understood. They mention him with reverence in hospitality boxes and in the player lounges, his peers liken him to Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. And such is DeChambeau’s pull that the club has thrown open its gates for fans to come and watch the reigning US Open champion in action.
By conservative estimates, a crowd of at least 10,000 is expected to throng the course on all four days of the competition – numbers almost unheard of in Indian golf. The last time such a turnout was witnessed on an Indian course was 11 years back when Woods visited the Delhi Golf Club. The last time a reigning major winner visited India was six decades ago when Peter Thompson competed in – and won – the 1966 Indian Open.
The magnitude of his visit was not lost on DeChambeau, 31.
“I am here to educate, entertain and inspire. These are the reasons I play golf. I think this is an amazing opportunity for all to see what India can truly produce. It’s a growing economy, it’s a growing population that needs golf. There’s a lot more to come, so that’s why I’m here,” the American said.
A YouTube star with 1.7 million subscribers, a golfer who has turned the sport on its head, a ‘Mad Scientist’ – DeChambeau is pride of all of them. Success sits lightly on his huge shoulders that have given distance off the tee a fresh meaning. He’d playfully distract his Crushers’ teammate Paul Casey in the middle of an interview, wouldn’t touch the trophy before he has won it, and when the mood seizes him, would unfurl a monster of a second shot on par-5 18th that would land within 10 feet of the flag and leave those watching wonderstruck.
Behind all those quirks is the athlete who loves the good old grind. “My approach is to practice as hard as I can, and that creates this repeatable motion in my game. If I can continue to produce the same motion over and over again, that’ll breed confidence. If I’m struggling, that means I haven’t worked hard enough or something’s not aligning in my swing to make it as repeatable as it can be. My mental game is directly related to how repeatable I am,” he said.
His Crushers teammates Anirban Lahiri and Casey swear by DeChambeau’s obssession and work ethic. “He is just wired differently. He has a very, very analytical mindset. He exhausts all information, all opportunities, any kind of edge that he can get, whether it’s the physics, whether it’s his body, whether it’s the mechanics of the golf swing. Whatever he does, he does at 150% which can be exhausting for those around him,” said Lahiri.
Casey agreed. “Watching him prepare hurts my brain,” the Englishman joked. “He has got great physical attributes and he hits with such ferocity that there’s a different sound when the club meets the ball. He always has a very different, scientific temperament.”
Among DeChambeau’s non-negotiables are his practice of floating the golf balls to ascertain their centre of gravity, measuring the slopes and recording the speeds. “If he feels the surface is too fast, he finds a way to draw the putter back a certain precise distance that he feels is optimum. Everything has to be quantifiable for him. he isn’t a feel player,” Casey explained.
Asked to shed light on his preparations, DeChambeau sank back in his chair and smiled. “Do you have an hour?”
“I make sure my putting, chipping, wedges, irons and driver are all in a place where I’m incredibly comfortable with how I am swinging it, how I am feeling, how hard I am hitting. I check if my technique looks good. From a putting perspective, I practice speed control and line control. I read putts before I prepare. And then wedges, I make sure I hit distances based on how far I’m going back. I make sure my full swing is feeling good. And the same thing with the driver,” he reeled off.
On a course that he called “diabolical”, all those preparations and checklists will come in handy.
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