After a less-than-satisfying opening-round 76, Bryson DeChambeau was asked if he could turn it around for round two of the British Open at Royal Troon. His answer came with some interesting comments. “I'm going to go figure it out,” he said. “It's something equipment related. The golf ball is … look, I'm not at 190 ball speed, so particularly when I'm hitting driver or 3-wood, those clubs are built for around that speed, that 190 ball speed, and my 3-wood around 180, so colder, firmer conditions the golf ball is not compressing as much. … I felt like I was swinging it somewhat OK, just the ball wasn't coming off in that window that I normally see, so it was a weird day.”
Before folks get in a tizzy that Bryson is going down the “this driver sucks!” path again, there is merit to what he is saying and it’s not a knock on his clubs. Fact is, his Krank Formula Fire Pro driver has just 5 degrees of loft and his “3-wood” just 9 degrees. You need some serious speed to get those clubs to launch the ball correctly and there were many reasons why conditions were not conducive at Troon.
Temperatures were in the 50s and 60s and cold weather directly affects golf balls due to what is known as the coefficient of thermal expansion. Although it may take a Ph.D. to fully understand this, the short version is that some materials expand or contract depending on the temperature, thus affecting their properties. Golf balls are generally optimized for performance in the 70s, and DeChambeau has been playing the Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash, one of the lower-spinning balls out there. Theoretically, a higher-spinning ball might help him with some of the workability he was looking for on Thursday, but its softer compression might not optimize his potential ball speed
A chill in the air not only impacts the playing characteristics of a ball, but it affects the ball after it is struck. Cold air is denser than warm air and creates additional drag on a golf ball. The late USGA technical director Frank Thomas has said the difference is about two yards of carry for every 10 degrees change in temperature. Research by Trackman, makers of the launch monitor used for PGA Tour events, indicates that going from 100 degrees to 40 degrees will reduce driving distance typically by 9 yards on the driver, largely the result of the change in air pressure. Generally, that works out to about one yard per 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
Of course, DeChambeau's numbers from Thursday suggested he wasn't necessarily lagging in driving distance compared to the field. He was 16th in strokes gained/off the tee, where he's gaining 1.56 strokes on the field. But he was fourth in driving distance at 294.1 yards, a monumental difference compared to his 328.3-yard driving distance average on the PGA Tour and his 322.5-yard driving distance average on LIV.
DeChambeau's big problem may have been that he was approaching the greens with different clubs than he expected and ones he's obviously less accurate with than the wedges he often is hitting into greens. Plus, he was going at those targets often not from the fairway. He was 55th in driving accuracy, hitting eight fairways, and 122nd in strokes gained/approach, losing 2.19 strokes to the field.
Cold temperatures also have an effect on other elements of the game. Players usually wear bulkier clothing and their bodies are not as flexible, further reducing swing speed and therefore ball speed.Several years ago, Phil Mickelson told Golf Digest he would change balls when it got colder. “In the past I’ve changed to softer, lower compression balls when it is cold,” said Mickelson. “A softer ball compresses more easily and goes a little straighter in the cold.”
Which might be a change DeChambeau might consider given he was concerned about the amount of compression at impact. Upping the loft on his long clubs could be another option. One thing is nearly certain, however, come Round 2 DeChambeau is likely to not have the same setup he went into battle with in round one.