Bryson Wins. Is That Bad?

[Skydiver Scott]

Bryson wins the US open and most commentary I see along the lines of “How did this happen”,” He did it in a way that doesn’t make sense “, “ Does the game need change”.  I don’t understand how anyone can do anything but say congratulations.  He approached the game in a different way. He doesn’t win all the time. Why All the knee jerk reactions?  

Edited September 21, 2020 by Skydiver Scott

[boogielicious]

Welcome to The Sand Trap.

I don’t think it’s bad. I thinks it helps the game get publicity, but I don’t think everyone will be running out to get same length clubs and bulk up to play. He finally won a major at 27. Morikawa won the PGA on his first try this year and is a different kind of golfer.

My issue is the announcers more than BD. They were talking Nobel prize for a guy with 3 years of college physics at an average school for the sciences. Does he like to tinker? Absolutely. Should he be asked to replace Hawking as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge? No.

They talk about his power with the driver, but he wasn’t even the longest hitter this week. So they are building a myth about him that I feel is unwarranted to this point. His final round opponent was hitting it farther. Wolff was really impressive because he is just 21. 
 

I hope BD settles down and becomes an ambassador for the game. But with his temperament, he may go the García route.

[krupa]

@boogielicious summed it up pretty well. 

It's also worth noting that they've been asking if the game "needs to change" for a while now. Commentators can't just report on the tournaments and then move on, they're paid to talk about golf. If they didn't ask unnecessary questions, they wouldn't have anything to talk about.

[imsys0042]

He can be abrasive and has been caught a few times where some people think he acts like an ass.  Having someone win a major where a percentage of people have issues with him is going to bring out negativity.  Unlike someone you might just go “meh” to.

I don’t think it’s bad for the game, but unfortunately he’s someone I would root against.   Not the only thing, but someone who lashes out at a cameraman about hurting his brand is not someone I’m going to enjoy winning.  Ricky Fowler is uber  conscious of his “brand” but doesn’t act like that.  BD acts like the game has to bend to him.  Not a fan, but hey he did it in the least number of strokes, so it’s a good thing for him and people who like him. 

Edited September 21, 2020 by imsys0042

[ncates00]

  On 9/21/2020 at 11:16 AM, boogielicious said:

They talk about his power with the driver, but he wasn’t even the longest hitter this week. So they are building a myth about him that I feel is unwarranted to this point. His final round opponent was hitting it farther. Wolff was really impressive because he is just 21. 

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Maybe on average he was a bit shorter, but he has more ball speed.  Wolff, as talented as he is, is no where near Bryson's ball speed when Bryson goes after one.  Remember, Bryson hits it really high and it sort of sits quickly when he hits it.  He also hit very few fairways, so there won't be much roll.  In my view, they're not creating a myth at all.  

[boogielicious]

  On 9/21/2020 at 11:42 AM, ncates00 said:

Maybe on average he was a bit shorter, but he has more ball speed.  Wolff, as talented as he is, is no where near Bryson's ball speed when Bryson goes after one.  Remember, Bryson hits it really high and it sort of sits quickly when he hits it.  He also hit very few fairways, so there won't be much roll.  In my view, they're not creating a myth at all.  

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He was 18th in driving distance average. What am I missing?

Driving Distance | PGA TOUR Stats

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Strokes Gained | Distance (All Drives) | Distance (Measured Drives) | Accuracy | Scoring | Other | Radar

He was first last year by 0.1 yards over Champ. 
 

Driving Distance | PGA TOUR Stats

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Strokes Gained | Distance (All Drives) | Distance (Measured Drives) | Accuracy | Scoring | Other | Radar

His driving is impressive, but that was not what won him the US Open.

[ncates00]

  On 9/21/2020 at 11:48 AM, boogielicious said:

He was 18th in driving distance average. What am I missing?

Driving Distance | PGA TOUR Stats

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Strokes Gained | Distance (All Drives) | Distance (Measured Drives) | Accuracy | Scoring | Other | Radar

He was first last year by 0.1 yards over Champ. 
 

Driving Distance | PGA TOUR Stats

---

Strokes Gained | Distance (All Drives) | Distance (Measured Drives) | Accuracy | Scoring | Other | Radar

His driving is impressive, but that was not what won him the US Open.

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Again, I pointed to BALL SPEED.  That is potential for distance.  Wolff is a good 4 mph slower on average.  BDC gets into the 190's regularly when he goes after one.  His fastest in tournament play is 197 and has hit over 200 in practice.  Wolff's fastest is 187.  

  On 9/21/2020 at 11:48 AM, boogielicious said:

but that was not what won him the US Open.

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I didn't argue this point, but it certainly helped.  

[CarlSpackler]

He played better than everyone else this week. Love him, hate him, or care less (like me), he has been putting in some hard work and it paid off. No, the game does not need to be changed.

[cipher]

Rory McIlroy: Bryson DeChambeau 'taking advantage' of current rules landscape

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Rory McIlroy believes that U.S. Open champ Bryson DeChambeau has "taken advantage" of the...

Any thoughts as to why Rory would want to add a stain to Bryson’s win? Especially considering his average distance off the tee was actually longer.  Admittedly I don’t know much about each guy the past 3-4 years.

[campbellj21]

  On 9/21/2020 at 11:16 AM, boogielicious said:

Welcome to The Sand Trap.

I don’t think it’s bad. I thinks it helps the game get publicity, but I don’t think everyone will be running out to get same length clubs and bulk up to play. He finally won a major at 27. Morikawa won the PGA on his first try this year and is a different kind of golfer.

My issue is the announcers more than BD. They were talking Nobel prize for a guy with 3 years of college physics at an average school for the sciences. Does he like to tinker? Absolutely. Should he be asked to replace Hawking as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge? No.

They talk about his power with the driver, but he wasn’t even the longest hitter this week. So they are building a myth about him that I feel is unwarranted to this point. His final round opponent was hitting it farther. Wolff was really impressive because he is just 21. 
 

I hope BD settles down and becomes an ambassador for the game. But with his temperament, he may go the García route.

Expand  

This right here ^^^

I don't really care to watch Bryson because his attitude rubs me the wrong way, it has nothing to do with the fact that he has a "unique" swing and has one length clubs.  I also agree that the announcers don't do him any favors by over playing him being a "scientist", like you said, his credentials in the world of science are less than stellar, yet the announcers treat him as if he has multiple PhDs...it's nauseating.  If he wasn't quite so whiny I think I would enjoy watching him more often, the "ant" situation, the "Karen Moment" with the rules official, and the complaining to the camera man this year really soured me on him.  With all that said though, I do really respect what he has done, winning the U.S. Open is a great achievement, even though I was rooting pretty hard for Wolff; gotta tip your cap to Bryson, he got it done.  

[krupa]

  On 9/21/2020 at 12:31 PM, cipher said:

Rory McIlroy: Bryson DeChambeau 'taking advantage' of current rules landscape

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Rory McIlroy believes that U.S. Open champ Bryson DeChambeau has "taken advantage" of the...

Any thoughts as to why Rory would want to add a stain to Bryson’s win? Especially considering his average distance off the tee was actually longer.  Admittedly I don’t know much about each guy the past 3-4 years.

Expand  

 

  Quote

"I think it's brilliant, but I think he's taken advantage of where the game is at the minute," McIlroy said. "Look, again, whether that's good or bad, but it's just the way it is. With the way he approaches it, with the arm-lock putting, with everything, it's just where the game's at right now. I'm not saying that's right or wrong. He's just taking advantage of what we have right now."

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I don't think that's much of a "stain" and everyone knows BDC has some history with pushing the limits of what he can get away with: that funky putter, using a compass to determine "the true position of the pin", taking 6 minutes to hit a putt.

[cipher]

  On 9/21/2020 at 12:51 PM, krupa said:

 

I don't think that's much of a "stain" and everyone knows BDC has some history with pushing the limits of what he can get away with: that funky putter, using a compass to determine "the true position of the pin", taking 6 minutes to hit a putt.

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I don't think so either, it's just obvious that he's casting a bit of a shadow on his win. I don't really care about either guy.  The only couple things I know about Bryson is the single club length, and he takes the 6 minutes over a 3 foot put sometimes. 😂  I am not aware of the other things.  If he is breaking rules then there is a problem.  

[Bucki1968]

I thought it was pretty interesting listening to Rory's comments on the Golf Channel. He kinda threw some jabs at Bryson and the way the game is changing. 

[billchao]

  On 9/21/2020 at 12:00 PM, ncates00 said:

Again, I pointed to BALL SPEED.  That is potential for distance.  Wolff is a good 4 mph slower on average.  BDC gets into the 190's regularly when he goes after one.  His fastest in tournament play is 197 and has hit over 200 in practice.  Wolff's fastest is 187.

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Wolff has more in the tank. Finau has more in the tank. Champ has more in the tank. When you watch DeChambeau swing, you can tell he’s pretty much giving it all he’s got.

The most impressive thing Bryson is doing is swinging all out and getting the ball speeds while hitting it fairly accurately. He won’t be the longest hitter if other pros follow his example, IMO.

[Bonvivant]

  On 9/21/2020 at 1:30 PM, Bucki1968 said:

I thought it was pretty interesting listening to Rory's comments on the Golf Channel. He kinda threw some jabs at Bryson and the way the game is changing. 

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People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Rory is one of the longest players and has been for a while. Pretty shocked and sad to hear his comments. The one that I find most curious is "I played with him at Colonial the first week back out, but I sort of said, OK, wait until he gets to a proper golf course, he'll have to rein it back in."......which is exactly what he did. He wasn't close to being longest of the week, especially since we know he can be at will.

[Bucki1968]

I wonder how many fellow PGA tour members are "friends" with Bryson. Is it just me or does he strike you as kind of a loner? I don't think Bryson has "taken advantage" of anything. I think he has worked hard to maximize the equipment he is using. I agree with above, "just tip your hat and say congratulations". 

[mcanadiens]

For a spectator sport to be truly compelling, you got to have a villain. 

If DeChambeau can be that for pro golf, I think it helps.

[DeadMan]

The only thing it's bad for is media having more shitty takes about how the ball goes too far.

Edited September 21, 2020 by DeadMan