Augusta: It may not seem apparent, but there is a method to each of Bryson DeChambeau’s madness – even the way he has embraced social media and content creation.
The reigning US Open champion and Captain of Crushers GC on LIV Golf, recently said he has spent hundreds of hours and over a million dollars to create engaging and innovative content on YouTube.
That has struck a chord, especially with young golfers. He has amassed a huge following over the last two years — it has crossed 1.8 million subscribers, surpassing even the PGA Tour number (1.6mn).
‘Strategy’ and ‘optimising’ are two favourite words in DeChambeau’s lexicon and he is applying them to his content too. He is making sure the time he spends in front of the camera supplements the countless hours at the driving range and helps him become a better golfer. Asked on the eve of the 89th Masters how he strikes a balance between the two, DeChambeau said: “There are times when I’ve gotten a little overzealous and been like, “wow, I need to focus on my game a little bit”. But I will also tell you I have built my YouTube channel around how I get better, become more efficient.
“Sometimes, the content that I create actually helps me focus for the next week. For example, a course record series. It gets me in that mindset, more focused on how to absolutely play my best golf if I’m going to break the course record. So, it gets me in that mentality.
“Early on, it was difficult…I didn’t know what to do. I was like, what am I doing to create, how does it relate to golf? As time has gone on, I’ve become a little more efficient with my team and how to prioritise and focus where I can do weird, quirky challenges, like playing with an Amazon set or whatever, to now where I’m focusing a week before a tournament, on Fridays, and try to break the course record to get in that mentality.
“I’m really strategising and planning out what’s going to work best for me. But I certainly love it. I won’t stop. I will continue to do it because I think it’s inspiring for people. That’s all I care about.”
It has taken DeChambeau a few years to get used to Augusta National, but he is getting better. Last year, he had his best finish in eight starts – T6 that included his lowest round of seven-under-par 65 on day one.
“I haven’t learned enough. Each year, I learn a little bit more about winds and how it affects the golf ball on a certain hole or a certain slope around a pin location, just little things that continue to improve my knowledge around the golf course,” said the two-time major champion. DeChambeau feels his game is ready for this course and the tricky wind conditions that enhance the challenge of an already demanding golf course.
The 29-year-old Texan played the LIV Golf event last week, and though he didn’t win, he was leading after two rounds at Doral’s Blue Monster, which was baring its fangs aided by blustering winds of more than 35 kilometres per hour.
“Considering I felt pretty good last week in the wind, I hope it blows a little bit this week, and hopefully I can take what I learned from last week into this week,” said DeChambeau. “Last week was a bit of Bermuda rough, and this week is a different test. And that’s the cool part about golf. Who adapts the best, who can change quickly to those conditions?
“Scottie (Scheffler, the world No.1) has done a great job of that the past couple years, and Jon (Rahm) has played really well at the courses we’ve played at. I’m aspiring to be more like that.
A field of 90 professionals and five amateurs are set for the Masters this year, from Thursday.
