Equipment
Bryson DeChambeau claims drivers from 2009 are ‘relatively the same’ as modern day models
Bryson DeChambeau is no stranger to making bold comments, and his latest take on drivers has raised plenty of eyebrows.
Speaking ahead of this week’s LIV South Africa, Bryson was asked the following:
“There’s been a lot of conversations in the last few years about equipment getting out of hand, guys striking the ball just longer, more straight than they ever have in any other golf tournaments. Does that really make such a big impact, or is physical conditioning, looking after yourself, doing weight training, getting in the gym, do you think that’s progressed the sport more than equipment has?”
In response, DeChambeau claimed that not much has changed between drivers from 2009 to now, and it’s due to athletic ability as to why we are seeing players now hit the ball farther than ever:
“I think there’s a legal limit set for everything. There’s really not a way to go around it. If you want to say that a driver back in 2009 is worse than now, I would actually disagree with you on that. I think they’re relatively the same and not much has changed. You can’t change it that much with the rules being the way they are.
So I think it’s a lot more the athletic ability, and not being as afraid to go after shots or swing harder or be more aggressive. I caution anybody that tries to change the rules in the game because they’ve already been established. Let the athletes be the athletes and let’s go have some fun.”
Bryson also added that when it comes to the incoming rollback that the governing bodies have serious questions to ask regarding what they want to accomplish, saying:
“I think it’s very important to set the baseline, from a question standpoint. What are the bodies of golf trying to accomplish? Are they trying to preserve the traditions and history of the game, or are they trying to grow the game, because those are two different things. They can cross over in some facets, in some regard, but when you’re trying to preserve the traditions and history of the game, yeah, you’re going to want to go back to a golf ball that’s going shorter because players are more athletic. Yeah, you’re going to want to shrink the heads. You’re going to want to do this or that.
But if you want to grow the game, that’s not how you get kids to hit the golf ball farther and enjoy it and want to be a part of this game. They’re at a bit of crossroads right now and they have to answer those questions. What do these governing bodies really want? If they can answer that, then we can start moving in that direction, but right now, they have to answer that question before us players can get involved because if they want something different, well, us players may want to make it easier for others like I do. I like showing how much fun it is to play the game of golf, not how difficult it is. Yeah, there’s difficult moments but I want people to enjoy it, get out in nature.
My goals are as such that I want people to experience this more. So answering that question is, I think, the first step to knowing where the game of golf needs to move.”
As is often the case, interesting comments from Bryson, especially considering his chase for more innovative and revolutionary technology throughout his career.
Do you agree or disagree with his latest take, WRXers?
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4 3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4 5-wood: Ping G440...
Eric Cole WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: PXG Lightning Tour Max (9 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees) Shaft:...
Si Woo Kim WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X Mini driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Mini...
Wyndham Clark’s winning WITB: 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
will
Mar 22, 2026 at 12:20 pm
I hate that this is a problem, but it is. I wonder how much advantage they gain from customizations? I don’t know that it’d effect much, but I’m always more interested in seeing how pros do with off the shelf equipment.
kumat63
Mar 19, 2026 at 7:36 pm
Agree. Rory has said he’d still be playing his 2015 driver if Taylor Made would let him, that it was better than what he has now. The COR hasn’t changed and shafts haven’t really changed either. Ali Taylor did a test with a 2021 Pro V1x and the original 2000 Pro V1 392 and the older Pro V1 was slightly better spin, carry and total distance with 7 iron and driver both. I personally care more about the traditions of the game and would like to see far fewer golfers crowding my favorite courses and to make private clubs affordable for an average income again, so I would like to see a rollback ball to ’80s spin rates and carry and COR limit at whatever a 1975 MacGregor persimmon had max shaft length of 44″ and max head size of 200cc. But I realize that is unrealistic because all the golf companies make money by more people playing and that only happens by making the game easier and the old courses obsolete. Hey Jack Nicklaus doesn’t want people to stop demanding he build new courses!
gordy3279
Mar 19, 2026 at 10:39 am
What nobody talks about is the fact that shafts are far better than they were 20 years ago. You can have lighter shafts that have a stiffer profile than 20 years ago. Long story short, if you wanted a shaft that allowed you to swing harder with low and stable kick points you had to go heavy and most likely into a steal shaft. Those shafts were at least double to weight than today’s shaft and less stable kick points. That is why Tiger took so long to move from a steel shaft in his woods than anyone else.
Jason
Mar 18, 2026 at 8:59 pm
shocking! did he come up with that all on his own?
HomeyD
Mar 18, 2026 at 4:41 pm
You can do both. Have a “Pro” ball for the pros, and leave everything the same for the amateurs.
O
Mar 18, 2026 at 11:02 am
They are the same.
Except for the new ones off the shelf are now about 4 grams lighter since about 2015 when most drivers got extended ½ inch
Joey5Picks
Mar 18, 2026 at 1:11 pm
And with today’s drivers you can miss the sweet spot and the lose very little distance. And there’s less penalty for missing the sweet spot. Swing hard and go find it.