Tiger Woods lays claim to the title ‘greatest golfer of the past 50 years’. There’s no disputing that. Woods’ game rivals or eclipses all of the greats from Hogan to Nicklaus. The most unorthodox swings probably go to Furyk and Palmer (with plenty of others in between). Bryson DeChambeau is proving himself to be the most innovative golfer of the last 50 years. DeChambeau has re/reinvented the golf swing (Hogan reinvented the original swing), and in the past 18 months, he took it one step further. He determined that by placing much of his training focus on length off the tee, that he could take smaller clubs in to the greens, thereby allowing for greater accuracy to the pins, resulting in lower scores.
The results have been staggering. His 340+ yard drives at this past weekend’s Rocket Mortgage Classic (DeChambeau was victorious in this event) were his average to below average drives! His physique backs up his jawdropping length; I think Brooks Koepka may even be jealous! But Koepka, myself, and others should not be jealous of an occurrence that took place on Saturday.
After a botched sand play, DeChambeau swore aloud, took an angry swing in the sand with the club, then stormed off. This was caught on camera, and smartly, the cameraman continued to follow DeChambeau to capture his continued reaction. DeChambeau berated the cameraman and later decried “… I think we need to start protecting our players out here compared to showing a potential vulnerability and hurting someone’s image.” Spoiled brat alert… Later in the tournament (the end), DeChambeau walked off the course $1,350,000 richer. How’s a cool 1.35 mil for protecting a player…
DeChambeau is working to grow his image, I get it. With the brand comes more endorsements, and more money. However, the PGA, and cameramen in every sport owe the viewer the chance to see the good, the bad, and the ugly. When we saw the bad in Tiger Woods, we saw that even the best in the world have vulnerable moments. With DeChambeau, had he not berated the cameraman, he actually would have become more relatable, and maybe even MORE endorse-able! In my golfing days many moons ago, I certainly hacked up my share of shots, and cursed afterward. (My father always told me, the only place it would be ok to swear would be on a golf course! I think that was his license to swear in front of me after his poor swings though) The lesson was coupled with something like – its ok to swear, but remember that when you do it, you are on display. Bryson clearly missed this message.
The media doesn’t owe it to any athlete to protect their brand, in fact the media is why athletes like DeChambeau are playing for so much money. Bryson, if you cannot stand the heat of the media, then get out of the endorsement kitchen. With a sturdy $1,350,000 paycheck from the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic, you should be able to pay for groceries without the endorsement bucks.
Paul MacDonald - Sports Broadcaster 