Before anyone is even tempted to say in response to this posting, “He’s a world-class player,” or “U.S. Open Champion” or “he’d knock it past YOU, DJ,” let me just respond.
I. Don’t. Care.
This blog is not nor has it ever been a how-to-play-golf site – it is a swing mechanics site and that’s all care about.
What one does with their given talent with their swing mechanics matters not one whit to me, just the mechanics.
Bryson DeChambeau has returned to give me heartburn yet again, and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw this 9 iron swing of his on Instagram:
Here is a 4-still sequence of the relevant positions from address to finish below:
And my response in one picture:
Let me expand, but where to begin?
Do I start with the nearly square leading foot position which, for the fastest-swinging pro golfer on the planet is absolutely playing with fire having it that square with his swing speed through the bottom?
Let’s Look Again…
Or do I perhaps go with the why-on-earth reverse pivot, because why on earth is Bryson reverse-pivoting (keeping all or most of his weight over his leading foot on the back pivot) when he has a Classic Golf Swing action complete with the free and full hip turn and lifting leading heel?
Do we talk about his lunge toward the target to begin the down swing?
Let’s discuss the spinning on the leading heel post-impact to avoid rupturing every ligament in the same knee.
No – I’ve got it – the hyper-extended leading leg on the finish, because that’s sure to extend his already-jeopardized longevity in the game swinging this way.
So help me, could all of this mish-mash of a swing model be going on solely so that dear Bryson can swing and finish with a right (trailing) foot that doesn’t move from its position?
Looking at BDC’s impact position:
… and watching his follow-through and finish, this is the swing of a man who is very familiar with the impact bag, because from beginning to impact, that’s exactly what he appears to be doing – swinging at an impact bag.
The problem with a swing like this is that all of the focus and attention are on impact while neglecting that fact that the swing does not finish at impact.
The ball must be addressed and the swing performed in a manner mindful of the fact that impact is only halfway through the down swing.
Some of you will remember my having said that you swing as if into a brick wall with a hammer, only that you also have to swing as if the wall isn’t actually there…
I mean, there was lots to discuss about Arnie Palmer’s swing back in the day:
… but AP at least got his weight into the trailing leg on the back pivot and he didn’t finish with his weight past his leading foot and with a hyper-extended leg, for Pete’s sake.
Not to mention, AP was at his peak 70 years ago and still managed to do better with that day’s swing mechanics and analysis than a guy who has the entire technical world and modern sports science at his back.
If you all wonder why I stopped watching tournament golf on television years ago and why I can barely stand to scroll through golf clips on Instagram, I enter this post as Exhibit A.
We have all the technology and analytic machines that have ever existed, not to mention as I just have, sport science – and this is the stuff that the world’s best golfers are presenting to the world.
If you see me barking at trees on my daily walk, don’t ask. You should already know why.
Swing mechanics are regressing, and not in a good way.
WAX Golf 
Almost looks like stack & tilt. This is a greate way to get back pain. Tested for you…
Correct, it looks like S&T except for the lifting heel – S&T was an attempt to solve the problem of the planted leading heel restricting the hip turn.
Why on earth BDC is both lifting the leading heel (proper) yet staying over that leading foot (improper) is a mystery to me. 🤔
The only reason I see for omitting the weight shift is for a controlled partial shot, like a short pitch or knockdown iron, when you really try to control the low point instead of producing maximum power. For Bryson that probably means a 180 yard 7 iron…
But that is a wild guess from me, no idea if that is really the case.
He is also tinkering around a lot, so maybe he is just trying stuff?
I literally have no clue what’s going on in his head, Droggelbecher – only that he and most of the other pros seem to be trying everything except sound biomechanics in building a golf swing.
There is no law of physics that says one has to have one’s trailing foot anchored in place and not move from start to finish. In fact, it’s insane how the pros insist on this one feature while their leading feet are flopping, twisting and flying all over the place in order to accomplish this one thing, all the while wreaking incremental damage on their backs and joints with virtually every swing.
Allow the leading heel to rise for an unrestricted hip turn, get the weight back into the leading foot on the down swing and release the trailing foot as needed to accommodate increased hip turn through impact to the finish.
These three components of the swing I’ve just iterated would go a long way to eliminating most if not all of the insane compensations found in the modern golf swingers.
But that apparently is too complicated for them to contemplate.
I am with you. Using common sense, it should be fairly easy to swing in a way that does not wreck your body.
However, I have a pretty strong core and had some very unhealthy swing faults. Having the muscular power, it is really easy to compensate and just ignore movement patterns that are not good for you.
Even worse, if you compensate for something and use a lot of muscle, it feels powerful. So I was embracing it. But physics and physiology always win, so eventually, I got back pain.
As for the reverse pivot: it can feel like you are turning more. So if you are trying to create a “full turn”, it might end in a reverse pivot. That also activates a lot of muscles which, again, feels powerful, so one might actually go for it.
Seems obvious now, but at that time it was not…
I guess someone with the physiology of Bryson, it will take many years until detrimental swing effects will get the awareness it requires. Hopefully, it is not too late then.
All good points, Droggelbecher. DeChambeau has one thing going for him in that he does let his hips turn freely in the back pivot, thereby eliminating twisting strain on the lower back getting to the top and starting down.
However, some of the things he does on the downswing are ticking time bombs. He’s already broken a bone in his left hand and incurred some other injuries due to these un-optimal moves.
Tiger Woods being the prime example, being good at golf and hitting the ball insane distances at the cost of physical well-being is more likely than not to end in tears.
I don’t wish any of these players ill – I’m just trying to point others away from trying the same things, and I’ll keep doing it 🙂