Bryson DeChambeau brings new irons to Oakmont for U.S. Open, still looking for ideal ball

USA Today

4 days ago

Bryson DeChambeau brings new irons to Oakmont for U.S. Open, still looking for ideal ball The defending U.S. Open champion has a new set of irons in his bag. Discover what we know about Bryson DeChambeau's new gear.
Bryson DeChambeau put a new set of irons in his bag last week at the LIV Golf event in Virginia, and it sounds like he's excited to use them this week as he tries to win back-to-back U.S. Open championships.
The irons were designed by LA Golf — the brand that also makes DeChambeau's signature line of shafts — with extensive input from the two-time major winner.
Previously, DeChambeau had been using a 3D-printed set of irons from Avoda that featured curvature in the heel and toe areas. While irons are typically made with flat faces, drivers, fairway woods and hybrids are designed with face curvature — referred to as bulge and roll — to reduce gear effect and help straighten off-center shots.
'I've optimized it a little bit more, so hopefully that helps with those overdraws in my irons,' DeChambeau said Tuesday during his press conference at Oakmont. 'You never know, but they seem to have helped this week, and hopefully it aids for me this week.'
DeChambeau did not say what the irons are called or when they might be made available to the public, but when asked how they are different from the previous irons he had been playing, he said, 'The heel is a little bit flatter on the curvature. My face obviously has some curvature on the irons. So we're just optimizing for the gear effect on the heel and on the toe based on the mass properties that are there. Like, the heel doesn't gear effect as much in an iron at my speeds, so hitting it on the heel, I've got to be a little flatter, and then the toe has a little bit more roundness on it to account for that out there, and then I moved the (center of gravity) out towards the toe.'
DeChambeau said because his golf shafts and jumbo grips are so heavy, the combined weight pulls the center of gravity in his irons more to the heel side. That would create a draw bias, which DeChambeau does not want.
'We try to offset that with that tungsten weight on the toe. That's very simply what it is,' he said.
So, it's safe to presume the black piece on the back of his irons that has two screws it it is tungsten, which is heavier than stainless steels used in irons. Adding more weight to the toe would counteract the effect of the heavier shafts and grips and help keep the center of gravity in the center of the hitting area.
DeChambeau has also expressed frustration with the golf balls he has used for the past few months and hinted Tuesday he's working to create a ball that will perform the way he wants.
'The golf ball is a longer discussion. That's going to be a bit of time. I'm still working on it,' he said. 'We think later this year I'll have a golf ball that will be very interesting to test. If it helps, who knows. It's a test.'
LA Golf also makes a golf ball, though DeChambeau has not used it in competition. He said he's looking for a ball that launches lower and has more controllable spin on full-swing shots than his current ball, a Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash, but still has ample spin on half-swing shots.
'I'm excited to keep researching and trying and experimenting and optimizing,' DeChambeau said. 'My goal right now is just to optimize myself to another level, and if I can't, so be it. If I can in some areas, great.'