How Bomb & Gouge Broke Golf | The Game Plan | Golf Digest 

he's scary accurate AND outdrives everybody. His game around the greens is phenomenal too. He's not just a one trick pony. The man has skills to go with his muscles!

Bryson has distance and accuracy. And if you watch his youtube, he is one of the best people in golf. he is advancing the game tremendously.

The illustration also shows what happened at Winged Foot - course setup strongly favored bombing. When a fairway is uniformly narrow, which they were at Winged Foot, there is no advantage to not whaling away. The shorter shot is about as likely to end up in the rough. Once in the rough, the player who can use a more lofted club has a serious advantage, especially with "US Open" rough.. Setting up with wider fairways that get progressively narrower closer to the green would even up some of the advantage of distance.

The strategy of "bombing and gouging" all by itself has been around forever. You can go over 100 years ago and hear names like Ted Ray and how he utterly dominated others with his distance (but the rest of his game didn't always follow). The difference now is that modern technology has brought the bombing and gouging technique to a broader base of golfers. I can't believe that the majority of guys on tour today would be able to swing it as hard with a tinier sweet spot that ALSO penalizes you so dramatically when you miss it. It's not a coincidence that Jack, Tiger, Sam Snead, Palmer, etc. dominated in their eras while others couldn't match them in the distance department. They obviously had powerful repeatable swings. I would absolutely LOVE to see what the tour would look like if they brought back persimmon woods, and made them a traditional size. You'd still have some guys hitting it further than most of the others (and that would be your Tiger/ Jack types, and they would be superstars because of it), but probably half the field would be eliminated because they couldn't keep a ball on the planet. And likely others would be elevated due to their precision, even though they're a little short in the tee ball department.

Summary: trading a few shots in the rough for more distance is a good deal (this is the decision the pros face). But trading a few shots out of play for more distance, is a bad deal (this is the decision recreational golfers face).

Maybe something else to think about too is how (professional) golf courses have become more and more maintained over the years. Hazards have become better managed. Bunkers are kept to pretty tight regulations now and even the rough grass still has to be cut to an exacting length. Twenty or thirty years ago, this wasn't as prevalent and you were penalized a lot more if you didn't make the fairway. Another thing is that golf club and ball technology have advanced so much even in the past 10 years. For example clubs have gotten so much more forgiving; even if you make bad contact, the ball is still going to go a significant distance down the fairway. Then even in the event the ball lands in some rough terrain, there is a plethora of hybrid golf clubs and wedges you can use to get yourself out of a jam. With all this, players don't need to be as pin-point accurate off the tee box and can really focus on getting the ball as close to the hole as possible.

I’ll give the speaker credit in actually acknowledging strokes gained approach, many golf publications will push speed but fail to mention the great importance of approach play which separates the higher level players.

I’m not the biggest fan of Bryson but I certainly appreciate him trying new things in a world where folks are fairly risk averse.

In Disc golf, it is very similar. Everybody who wins has crazy distance. Putting is huge, but one of the 10 bombers will have a good putting day. Therefore, only people with power can win except in crazy circumstances where people putt unreasonably well

I love that Bryson's approach to any problem is to try doing something differently to everyone else. That's incredibly beneficial for golf as a whole. Perhaps not everyone wants to play like Bryson every single shot, but being able to play like that, and discerningly play that style when the course favours it, that's great for your game. And practising a wider variety of shots and using different types and styles of club gets you better prepared to face unknown situations.

Well done!

Bryson just has found a way to enjoy the game. Even if he is not at his best for every round and every tournament.

I think it’s misleading to use the phrase “less accurate” when comparing longer/shorter hitters. Sure, longer hitters miss more fairways. But that’s not because they’re “less accurate” (indeed, their launch conditions and dispersion are just as tight as, if not tighter than, shorter hitters’). It’s because their ball simply runs out of room and/or travels farther on an off line.

I’ve always been a longer hitter, and as such I’ve always been confident with a driver in hand. Since I had pretty good distance I’d hit it more often because it was fun, and I became pretty good at a driver in a hand. Now as a golfer I notice I almost always score better when I’m hitting my driver on tee shots. I’ve always found (for me at least) is that although my errant tee shots with a driver go farther off line, whenever I try to ply it safe and take a 4 iron instead, I have errant shots more often, just because I’m more confident with a driver in hand.

People dislike Bryson because they are told to dislike Bryson, the general public is like the regular golfer...afraid to go against the norm. Most people will criticize different unt it proves to be successful. One reason Bryson is one of my favorites, he is willing to do it differently and still be a top player. Disappointed he wasnt on PGA longer to see how he would have faired in years to come.

5:57 😂😂😂 you should start with this

My favorite golfer

If you’re actively working for distance over time (for the average person who doesn’t take care of their body), you’re more likely to have injuries over that time. I think everyone should strength train and try to hit longer, but stretching and myofascial release is so important to longevity in any sport.

Bryson is one of the most consistent golfers out there. Face to path dictates curve. Same face to path but with more speed make the ball curve more

its so cold in here

I got the distance but man the short game is the hardest!

It’s only better to be longer, if you can find it.

Love the video but the camera shutter noise drove me crazy

Mr. Bomb and Gouge T1 D1 of the Masters seems to be working

The game changed forever when he tried (and could have both times) to drive a par 5 at Bay Hill. You can debate between whether to call them a double-eagle or albatross, but there is no term in golf for a hole in one on a par 5. And he can do it.

Happy Gilmore knew this way back in 1996

Im of the mind that just crushing the ball as far as humanly possible, accuracy be damned, should be punished more by course conditions/setup.

Correct me if I'm wrong, I often am. I haven't watched the whole video but I'm already thinking about the the usga and them relentlessly wanting to attack distance. Roll back the ball distance, move tees back, lower moi limit, etc. This may be a stupid question, but wouldn't a better solution be to just let the rough grow even longer to more effectively penalize players that are there more often? It seems to me that this would be pretty effective. Thoughts?

I’m curious why should you if they are gonna have the roll back rule? Idk if they change it yet

Obviously it does in certain situations on certain courses

It's not fair to point out certain legends like Nicklaus and Hogan as examples of distance > accuracy. Nicklaus had top 3 fairways hit pretty much every year he competed, even breaking your mythical 80% if I remember correctly.

Wasn't tiger the OG bomb and gouge player?

It’s just about the golf now which is longer drives more flip wedges because a wedge is easier than a long iron

He was 91% on 10' and closer putts.. that's what won

Why would the shorter golfer hit 6/10 fairways and the longer golfer 5/10 if they're opposite ends of the spectrum. Wouldn't the longer golfer be hitting 4/10 fairways?

Missing the fact that a longer hitter likely uses a PW to the same distance as a 9i. Naturally more accurate...So one cannot look only at driver distance.

Make the rough a little longer to penalise missed shots more. Don’t roll the Tees back.

Iff golf doesnt like this trend, just add more OB

So after everything is said and done, it seems putting is still the king.

In short: Yes and no. It depends on the hole.

You can’t outsmart a golf course if you’re always fighting for a good lie. And Bryson is an incredible putter to say he doesn’t care about that is incredibly disrespectful

Fairways in regulation is a flawed stat. Strokes Gained considers much more.

Bryson DeChambeau - Forbes net worth - $69 million...I think he might be on to something here.

Wait until the USGA finds that they will have only made it worse with the roll back. Distance isn't a problem, it's a biproduct of good players. Nobody complained when Nicklaus, Palmer, and Hogan were bombing it. Palmer drove the first green at the 1960 Cherry Hills US Open. Nobody at last years US Amateur was able to do this, and the hole is almost the exact same yardage.

No disrespect but Cameron champ is the best example of bomb and gouge, but bryson is strong throughout the bag his short game during that us open win was brilliant and he wasn't in the top 5 for distance

Distance ain’t king, speed is.

Realty is said to be all about Location, Location, Location. I guess golf is now all about Distance, Distance, Distance.

If Tiger was 23 years old now, with today's technology, he'd average 320 easy

John Daly started this trend by being the first human to ever average over 300yds. Courses were redesigned...

Moneygolf

This is why Happy Gilmore is the GOAT.

Lifting the left heel isn't exactly a new thing. Harry Vardon did it.

Author: Distance is the only thing that matters Also Author: Distance is not the only thing that matters.

7:10 You think that‘s the one ultimate truth in golf? That’s exemplary nonsense for amateurs.

Here we go with the analytics again. God almight is there a single sport these people cant ruin?

Commentators voice makes you fall asleep

Tell me then why doesn’t he win every tournament, or at least a lot of them?

Distance is more important than accuracy because of the courses not because of the strategic benefits. The courses are old and their layouts move slowly while tech moves fast. If courses could re-map as fast as TaylorMade and Callaway and Ping etc. the club makers would go out of business because their constant chase for distance would fail - the drive average goes to 300 yards and the most common bunker & large tree placements changes to 300 yards and the long driver is dead. Distance is king because it is easier than accuracy for both the player and the club maker. What we forget about the pros is they generally have plenty of both attributes and they putt soooo much better than amateurs. For an amateur the effort to get longer does not match the effort to become a good putter.

I'll stick take accuracy over ultimate distance, thank you very much.

Lol, yes all the greats hit the long ball, duh

bryson is an unfortunate product of the novelty golf industry created by the pga to shill novelty drivers. not sure his swing holds up with real golf equipment designed to test the players game, not just his 'club head speed', as the modern game has deteriorated into.

It didn’t break it, dechambeau disappeared. There has always been muscle heads that think hitting it long is the only skill needed Courses need to become tighter and smaller greens and set a cap with balls.

Also people don't forget that Bryson totally customized his equipment in a way no other tour pro did. He uses different tech, and I'm afraid, for as much as I enjoy and respect Bryson, that they should put some limits on how you can customize your equipment.

Why is Golf Digest so stuffy sounding?

Bryson only averaged 12 greens in the 2020-2021 season. His proximity was 38 feet or so, way worse than tour average. His scrambling was only around 59%. His distance didn't really matter, as there were other players hitting more greens and hitting the ball way closer. This analysis is way off base, and plain stupid.

Anyway how can you break golf by playing golf. Yet another dumb golf video trying to rack up views by being contentious.

This video is a load of rubbish, no offense. Yes, distance helps and is an improvement. But that has only happened because players are better and equipment is better, and these players are hitting it longer withou losing accuracy. That being said, the, by far, not even close, biggest factor in the average strokes dropped over the years has been how much better players have been at making putts. Putting has improved drastically in the past 30 years, even as greens have gotten faster and more complicated. Distance isn't "more important" than accuracy, but pros are so good that they aren't losing the accuracy even as they gain distance. Edit: hadn't finished watching the video, but in the last 30 seconds they kind of walk back their main thesis, which is a bit weird.

Modern equipment and balls are ruining golf.

BS......That little cartoon between A and B is 100% copium. Hit in the fairway as long as you can but stay out of the bushes. Have an outstanding ball-striking game. Make you irons precision instruments. NEVER 3 putt EVER and you will win. The difference between 330 yds and 350 isnt enough to bring the bushes in play....

Bryson is exactly where he belongs, obscurity on the dumpster fire LIV golf. The saudis have destroyed a generation of golf.