How far would Bryson DeChambeau hit a persimmon? At Vula he found

On the links ground is where golf began, and as the story goes, it started with players using crooked clubs to hit the rocks in their target – we’ve certainly come a long way since then. Golf is now played with clubs designed using 3D modeling and artificial intelligence, but somewhere between living steel shafts and persimmon woods, and it was during this era that golf really came into being.

This week at Royal Troon during Tuesday practice for the Open Championship, several players including Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau were given the opportunity to hit the classic persimmon driver, and thanks to a video produced by the R&A, we got an inside look. on Bryson’s numbers and the conversation between him and Rickie.

One of the more interesting comments made during Bryson’s exchange with Rickie comes early on (3:20 mark) when Bryson first sees Rickie putting together a persimmon driver and mockingly asks, “Oh oh, persimmon… are you playing with persimmon today?”

Rickie quickly replied, “I would, I wish we could play everybody,” to which Bryson quickly replied, “I was feeling low, going into that.”

Even with the discussions about the equipment and rules of golf, I would like to hope that as golf fans we can agree that it would be a great idea to watch an event where some of the best players in the world use old clubs including persimmon. wood, right? Or am I the only one sick here?

Still, while the video didn’t get Rickie to delve into his numbers, before handing the driver over to Bryson he said he got his speed up to 170 mph, which based on current PGA Tour statistics would put him 2.22 mph behind his 2024 average and and 3.64 mph behind the PGA Tour average of 173.64 mph.

To put those numbers in perspective, at last year’s Genesis Scottish Open, Rory McIlroy hit what is believed to be the same club from the 15th of the Renaissance Club and, without another shot, hit one at 168.6 mph carrying ball speed. 255 yards with 4400 rpm of spin. McIlroy’s current ball speed on the PGA Tour in 2024 is 185.7 mph – which ranks him 3rd in the rankings.

Then it was Bryson’s turn.

After a warmup swing that came out with a 148 mph fastball, he quickly settled down and said he could hit some 175 fastball speed numbers for a while. The next shot shows Bryon telling those around him, including Rickie Fowler, that he hit a previous shot that hit 168 mph. After a quick curtsy where Rickie added “I mean I got to 170,” Bryson jokingly replied, “You want me to hit one? All right, I’ll hit one!”

On the next shot registered, Bryson’s numbers were 170 mph ball speed, 4000 rpm backspin, and 276 yards per carry according to his Foresight launch monitor. Although we don’t have exact launch numbers, based on handling and assuming strong strikes, the ball has an estimated launch angle between 9-12 degrees.

After a few more shots with mixed results, including one with a ball speed of 178 mph, Bryson ended his persimmon session with one final shot that earned him a ball speed of 182 mph for what he called a “long drive conversion.” Now without launch and swing data, it is difficult to calculate the exact results, but if we think that his launch and spin were close to the previous shot – using a ball flight calculator optimized for local weather conditions and set to 11 degrees of launch and 4000 rpm. of spin would put his carry distance at over 288.3 yards and total distance at 292 yards.

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That 292-yard total is a far cry from the 338 yards he averaged over four days at Pinehurst during the 2024 US Open with his modern Krank driver, but it’s still a long way for the over-60 club. the old one.

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Golf.com Editor

Ryan Barath is GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com’s senior editor of equipment. He has an extensive fitness and club building background with over 20 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. Prior to joining the staff, he was the lead content strategist for Tour Experience Golf, Toronto, Canada.