Is Strength for Golf Finally a Real Thing?

Rip I am not a golfer but my brother says this is a big deal in golf. They guy who won the US Open,
Bryson DeChambeau, recently put on 40 pounds of muscle, and no surprise, crushes the ball with an explosive swing. Granted, he was a great player before he added the 40 pounds of muscle, but now he is a beast and makes the other players look scrawny.

His nickname is The Scientist because he methodically breaks down every facet of his game, and he concluded additional strength is a competitive advantage. (Not news to us).

I will be curious to see if SS sees an uptick in novices wanting to improve their golf game as a direct result of this guys very visible success.

I don't know if these people can figure this out. We've tried several times, I swear.

I literally just opened this forum to make the exact post. Bryson's shoulders and arms made the golf club look like a toothpick. I'm sure golf trainers everywhere are praying for his first injury so they can instantly discredit his method of gaining muscle mass. This guy selected a pitching wedge from over 200 if memory serves.

Unfortunately, I don't think so. Mainly because the two-factor model is not understood and there are relatively easy distance increases for most players from improved technique and (especially) driver launch conditions.

The two-factor model separates strength and skill into two components. Many players have changed their swing in search of 'something' and many have got hopelessly lost and confused. A few (Tiger, Faldo, Nicklaus) have done this successfully. This gets confused with simply being stronger/faster and just being able to do the same swing faster (or with more control in the rough). Coach sees a player bulking up, hitting driver longer, but as a result hitting wedges further from the hole because they go too far. Scoring gets worse in the short term so the coach gets the player to stop.

Also, Bryson is not the first. Dustin Johnson and Brooks Keopka were marvelled at for their 'massive' strength (i.e. being able to bench 225 for reps). Tiger gained strength, but used it to be able to tough shots out of the rough etc rather than maximising swing speed. Remember Jason Zuback!

Also, look at what passes for golf fitness and Bryson's workout regime, and the fact that many of the athletic freaks can still hit if further than him if they want too (prime examples Mat Wolff outdrive him pretty often in the final round, Tony Finau can hit it miles when he ever takes a full swing.

Bryson was not the longest driver (he was 7th IIRC), Rory Mcilroy was longer and hit more fairways. The difference was Bryson was also near the top in other major stats too.

He put on 40 pounds alright, at best 10 pounds of muscle...

Still, massive respect for having a plan and following it through when everyone thought he was crazy.

I used to work with a guy who was a former golf pro, he said part of his "training" was to attach a club handle to a cable machine to strengthen his swing. I'd imagine this is what most golfers will think of when they think of getting stronger for golf. Maybe not as bad as attaching a bat to a cable machine for baseball, because timing isn't as critical for golf (ball isn't moving).

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Originally Posted by Mark Le Comte

Unfortunately, I don't think so. Mainly because the two-factor model is not understood and there are relatively easy distance increases for most players from improved technique and (especially) driver launch conditions.

The two-factor model separates strength and skill into two components. Many players have changed their swing in search of 'something' and many have got hopelessly lost and confused. A few (Tiger, Faldo, Nicklaus) have done this successfully. This gets confused with simply being stronger/faster and just being able to do the same swing faster (or with more control in the rough). Coach sees a player bulking up, hitting driver longer, but as a result hitting wedges further from the hole because they go too far. Scoring gets worse in the short term so the coach gets the player to stop.

Also, Bryson is not the first. Dustin Johnson and Brooks Keopka were marvelled at for their 'massive' strength (i.e. being able to bench 225 for reps). Tiger gained strength, but used it to be able to tough shots out of the rough etc rather than maximising swing speed. Remember Jason Zuback!

Also, look at what passes for golf fitness and Bryson's workout regime, and the fact that many of the athletic freaks can still hit if further than him if they want too (prime examples Mat Wolff outdrive him pretty often in the final round, Tony Finau can hit it miles when he ever takes a full swing.

Bryson was not the longest driver (he was 7th IIRC), Rory Mcilroy was longer and hit more fairways. The difference was Bryson was also near the top in other major stats too.

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Damn you for your pessimism. I know nothing about golf and you sound like you do, so I defer to those more knowledgeable than me. But is it enough for a hack weekend golfer to seriously consider strength training based on seeing this guy crush the ball? I mean, when mark McGuire, Barry Bonds, and Jose Canseco got "huge" in the 90s crushing baseballs over the fence, every average MLB player jumped on that bandwagon. In baseball it was a trickle down effect, maybe it could be in golf. But I digress.

Having watched a bit on both Saturday and Sunday, what Bryson really showed, was hitting fairways matter very little simply because hitting out of the rough was not a problem. His strength gains allowed him to hit solid shots from anywhere compared to some of the other golfers who struggled in the longer grass. Just my observation....

Dont get me wrong, everyone should do the novice linear progression. If others golfers dont, happily take their money in your $5 Nassau and enjoy a few extra yards.

Bryson was not that inaccurate compared to field (t26 driving accuracy I think) nor was he the only one able to play out of the rough (Mat Wolff round 3) for example. Pro golf is increasingly attracting freak athletes, more than it did in the past.

Reminds me of a joke about a guy who teaches a gorilla to hit a golf ball. The gorilla could drive it 300 yards down the fairway. The guy takes the gorilla to the club to show off the beast's skill. First shot off the first tee - 300 yards, leaving an easy 50 yard approach to the green. Second shot by the gorilla - 300 yards...

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Originally Posted by Mark Le Comte

Tiger gained strength, but used it to be able to tough shots out of the rough etc rather than maximising swing speed.

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Many years ago, I used to read that Tiger was incredibly strong. He used to live in my little beach town in the L.A. area at the time and he trained at a small neighborhood gym that I went to (pre-SS for me). He did NOT train very hard for strength. He only used the machines and they were always set at low weights for high reps. NO barbell work. I used to smile when I saw articles about his great strength.

His personal trainer was a gorgeous, young cutie who "provided encouragement". I know I too felt encouraged by osmosis.

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Originally Posted by JFord

Many years ago, I used to read that Tiger was incredibly strong. He used to live in my little beach town in the L.A. area at the time and he trained at a small neighborhood gym that I went to (pre-SS for me). He did NOT train very hard for strength. He only used the machines and they were always set at low weights for high reps. NO barbell work. I used to smile when I saw articles about his great strength.

His personal trainer was a gorgeous, young cutie who "provided encouragement". I know I too felt encouraged by osmosis.

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Yes he didnt train strength in the most effective way and did some crazy stuff (which is probably what lead to the injuries). He did get stronger though with a combination of novice effect and going from a skinny teen to an adult.

Strength for golf started with Tiger. There will not be an uptick of barbell training for golfers because of Bryson because he uses machines.

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There are many things about Dechambeau that make me not a fan, and wish it was another player doing this, but he might finally be the one that gets things moving. In the golf forum I post in, this comes up many times, and I always say, as long as you can get the club in the proper positions, you can never be too strong. This gets met with a bit of agreement, and a lot of mental gymnastics to say it is not so.

There are always the posts mentioning Chesson Hadley, who I am not sure could safely stand on a storm drain without sliding in, and "he can hit it just as far". They always talk about the injuries the workout players have, but they never talk about how the skinny whippets stress their joints with their moves, and no muscle to support it. I think it really comes back down to not wanting to do something that is hard. Especially when the training aid industry can produce maybe 10% of the items with actual value, but a whole lot more people can make money from it.

Some people will point to how Matthew Wolff, who is not the same size, hit it past him on some holes, but conveniently ignore the role of launch angle etc.

While I think this can be good in terms of getting recreational golfers to think about this, it will likely have a greater effect in rolling back the golf ball(which needs to happen) than getting some real strength training happening on tour.

I think the other thing that is not mentioned though is that Dechambeau is recognizing that you need to put on weight in order to really get stronger. The rest of these guys that "lift heavy" do workouts but nothing that will wrekc their tight shirt loving physiques. Strength gains lose value once the bro bod is gone.

Didn't Annika Sorenstam put on some weight and strength train to play with the men at some point?

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Originally Posted by Bluefan75

There are always the posts mentioning Chesson Hadley, who I am not sure could safely stand on a storm drain without sliding in, and "he can hit it just as far".

Some people will point to how Matthew Wolff, who is not the same size, hit it past him on some holes, but conveniently ignore the role of launch angle etc.

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The comparisons between individuals people miss the point IMO as some people are naturally faster than others. I squat more than Usain Bolt (at least I think I do) but am so much slower. The real question is whether someone like Chesson would be a better golfer if he was stronger?

In general why to men hit it further than women - surely its being bigger/faster/stronger on average. Why are steroids banned at the olympics and old shot put records unlikely to be beaten for a long time?

Mark McGwire....

My thoughts:

• I love the fact that he has added strength to his list of "ingredients". ..and as mentioned earlier in the thread, he stuck with his weird "get strong" thing. His irons are also all the same length as a 7 iron - another weird-ism. He also does all kinds of mathematical analysis of golf ("the Scientist").
• Bryson has plenty of natural ability.
• His putting within 10 ft is out of this world. He may be the very best currently. This is extremely important - think Tiger in his prime.
• Bryson has hyper-mobility. I think this is good for golf - read flexibility. His joints go beyond straight - watch him walk with his arms swinging. Most golf coaches agree: flexibility is good and he's got plenty of it.
• His sub-maximal effort is much greater than other's SM effort. This is probably true but he looks like he's swinging out of his shoes - are any of his swings off the tee with driver "sub-maximal"? I can't think of another PGA golfer who appears to be swinging so hard. Maybe he has more and we haven't seen it?
• I wonder if he's lying about the way he works out. Why would he give away the "secret sauce"? Maybe somebody will bust him one day with a copy of SS 3rd edition in his golf bag .
• My golf coach told me many years ago that people have tried to be very strong golfers and it just is not "a thing". I didn't believe him then and I don't buy it now.
• My personal experience golfing while stronger is that everything feels easier (including time on the practice green without a sore back) and my drive picked up distance a bunch. I don't understand all of this but my irons remained consistent (in distance). I could guess that I never really had good control over my driver until I got stronger, but again, I'm not sure.
• Most importantly, I think Bryson is enormously committed. I submit his "sticking to" his weird-isms as evidence. I once again draw a parallel with Tiger (enormously committed).

An aside about hyper-mobility: My son was born with HM. Watching him straighten his joints would make you wanna puke. Joints look like they're going backwards ('cause they are). He's been doing SS since 12-ish and I don't see his joints doing that anymore which is fantastic (now 17) - I don't know for certain but I think lifting when young had everything to do with tightening his joints up. One of my football coaches had hyper-mobility and while playing basketball had someone land on his back while bent over and "straight" legged. His knee started beyond zero degrees and with the additional force blew his ACL to kingdom come. I have (probably unnecessary) heart skips sometimes when I watch people lock their knees hard at the top of a heavy single.