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Bryson DeChambeau has all the time considered golf tools in a different way than everybody else.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Photos
Bryson DeChambeau has all the time been enigmatic, particularly relating to his golf gear. And after securing the 54-hole lead within the 2024 U.S. Open, he revealed the key to his success: salty balls.
First, get your thoughts out of the gutter. Regardless of the stifling warmth this week at Pinehurst No. 2, DeChambeau was referring to salty golf balls.
Second, some context. DeChambeau is infamous for attempting progressive, typically eyebrow-raising ways to get a bonus in golf. He makes use of single-length irons, in contrast to just about each different golfer ever. He maps out golf programs and photographs with a mathematical fanaticism, contemplating environmental components others don’t even perceive. His ever-changing health and consuming routines are legendary.
The U.S. Open isn’t over, but Bryson DeChambeau has already won it
Which brings us to the “salty balls.”
“Thanks for the salty balls query,” DeChambeau mentioned jokingly after fielding a query about his secret methodology following his third-round 67 at Pinehurst No. 2.
The salt in query is “Epsom salt,” and as DeChambeau defined in express element Saturday night time, he floats all of his golf balls in a bucket of water blended with Epsom salt.
He says he does so to check the “out-of-balanceness” of every ball. Basically, it’s a take a look at to uncover manufacturing errors that forestall particular person balls from performing their finest.
However you possibly can learn DeChambeau’s clarification in full under to get a peek contained in the distinctive thoughts of the 2020 U.S. Open champ.
“I put my golf balls in Epsom salt. I’m fortunate sufficient that Connor, my supervisor, does that now. I don’t should do it. However primarily we float golf balls in an answer to guarantee that the golf ball shouldn’t be out of steadiness. There was a giant factor again within the day the place golf balls are out of steadiness, and it’s simply due to the manufacturing course of. There’s all the time going to be an error, particularly when it’s a sphere and there’s dimples on the sides. You’ll be able to’t completely get it within the heart.
“So what I’m doing is discovering just about the out-of-balanceness of it, how a lot out of steadiness it’s. Heavy slide floats to the underside, after which we mark the highest with a dot to verify it’s all the time rolling over itself. It form of acts like mud. If there’s an excessive amount of weight on one facet, you possibly can put it 90 levels to the place the mud is on the right-hand facet or the mud is on the left-hand facet. I’m utilizing mud as a reference for the load over there. It’ll fly in a different way and fly inconsistently.
“For many golf balls that we get, it’s probably not that massive of a deal. I simply attempt to be as exact as doable, and it’s yet one more step that I do to verify my golf ball flies as straight because it probably can fly as a result of I’m not that nice at hitting it that straight.”
Regardless of the deserves of his secret “salty balls” take a look at, it’s clear that up to now no matter DeChambeau is doing is working. His balls have been flying and rolling straight all week, straighter than anybody else actually. Consequently, he heads into Sunday’s remaining spherical with a three-shot lead and one hand on the trophy and his second U.S. Open title.
