Bryson DeChambeau is Newest Stakeholder in PLDA Long Drive
January 13, 2022
What is puzzling is how long it took for DeChambeau to find pro long drive. After all, the sport is perfectly designed for the SMU graduate who played collegiate golf for the Mustangs and earned his degree in Physics. While attending Southern Methodist University, he was nicknamed, “The Scientist”. According to members of the faculty, it was more than just a cute moniker, it accurately defined this world-class athlete who taught himself quantum mechanics to improve his golf game.
Around campus, his teachers and coaches quickly realized the obsessive calculations surrounding his golf game weren’t just for show. Moreover, his pursuit to overpower the game was not limited to what he was doing on the tee box. Until the U.S.G.A. determined it must be illegal, he used a geometric compass to pinpoint the true hole location. Because of the coefficient of restitution of the fiberglass used for flagsticks, he left the pin the hole when hitting from off the green.
One Taste and He Was Hooked…
After competing on the winning Ryder Cup team for the USA last year, DeChambeau decided to honor an invitation from the Pro Long Drivers Association to compete in the 2021 PLDA World Championship. The PGA star joined 138 hitters from 10 countries in eastern Nevada at Mesquite Sports and Events Complex. Not surprisingly, you would have been hard pressed to find anyone having more fun on tournament day.
DeChambeau would finish a very-impressive seventh place overall in the Men’s Open Division. At the end of the day, Kyle Berkshire walked away with $50,000 and his second World Championship in Pro Long Drive. Justin James, the 2017 World Long Drive Champion, watch Berkshire’s winning drive of 422 yards barely out distance his longest drive.
Part of the PLDA Long Drive Team
Who knew after meeting World Champions Justin James and Kyle Berkshire a couple of years ago that Bryson DeChambeau would take such an interest in professional long drive. But, when he won the 2020 U.S. Open DeChambeau said, “Long drive specialists like Kyle Berkshire and Justin James inspired him to try and go harder at it. They are the ones breaking the barriers. Now, I see what is possible.”
According to the PLDA website, Bryson DeChambeau believes in the sport so much that he now shares in the ownership of the PLDA.
But, what’s not to love about long drive. Fans and competitors gathered around a huge tee box with nothing in sight but perfectly groomed grass and a bunch of beastly long ball hitters waiting their turn at taking a 215 mph swing at the ball. Oh, did I mention that hitters use a launch monitor that detects swing speed, ball speed, launch angle, smash factor, and more. With all of the technology, DeChambeau was immediately addicted.