Bryson's Driver

[Templet0n]

So today.. are the rollbackers saying “ let’s just see how this plays out”..

 

[Flipit]

My question, is Puma/Cobra the same group?

 

[JB]

That was the comment that makes me think it’s done! They really need to get a face of the company though. I love LPGA but I don’t think Lexi is selling a lot of clubs. Rickie? Only if he can find the winners circle.

I don’t have an opinion on the situation, but just for clarity, before Bryson was Bryson, Cobra was outselling Titleist in drivers.

 

[The Milk Man]

Somehow, Golfweek got someone from Cobra to bite..




As DeChambeau uttered those words, Ben Schomin was getting ready for breakfast in Michigan. Schomin is Cobra’s tour operations manager and the man who caddied for DeChambeau two weeks ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic after DeChambeau and his longtime caddie, Tim Tucker, parted ways. Schomin is also one of the people who designs and builds DeChambeau’s drivers and irons to very unique specifications.

“Everybody is bending over backwards. We’ve got multiple guys in R&D who are CAD’ing (computer-aided design) this and CAD-ing that, trying to get this and that into the pipeline faster. (Bryson) knows it,” Schomin said. “It’s just really, really painful when he says something that stupid.”

DeChambeau is currently using a Cobra Radspeed driver that is 46 inches long and has 5 degrees of loft. You won’t find a club like that in your local pro shop. They are all made specifically for DeChambeau.

“He has never really been happy, ever. Like, it’s very rare where he’s happy,” Schomin said. “Now he’s in a place where he’s swinging a 5-degree driver with 200 mph of ball speed. Everybody is looking for a magic bullet. Well, the magic bullet becomes harder and harder to find the faster you swing and the lower your loft gets.”

That was his caddie from last week

 

[Flipit]

I don’t have an opinion on the situation, but just for clarity, before Bryson was Bryson, Cobra was outselling Titleist in drivers.

Impressive, I never would have thought that. So where are they in that list? Just curious about the order.

 

[Canadan]

Very true, but what if they can meet his expectations?

if they can meet his expectations, it will be the only driver sold anywhere because it will solve mis-hits.

 

[Parrot]

The rest of the Golfweek article. If it was posted in this thread, I missed it.

Cobra and other manufacturers have data and detailed information about how driver heads behave under normal conditions because they have captured thousands of shots hit by recreational golfers and Tour players. However, there is almost no information on how drivers react when you get to DeChambeau’s speeds. Only a handful of people on the planet swing as fast as DeChambeau, and Cobra is in the business of selling clubs to the masses. It simply does not have a database to draw upon when creating DeChambeau’s gear. Schomin and Cobra’s R&D team are learning what works and what doesn’t in real time.

“So when he’s talking about the razor’s edge, we’re not going to be able to help that,” Schomin said. At DeChambeau’s speeds, every shortcoming in his swing or mis-hit is exponentially magnified.

In addition, manufacturing prototype driver heads for DeChambeau can take months.

“We’re trying to stay ahead of it, so we’ll place an order for 10 prototype heads and then, literally as soon as that order is placed, usually within a week or two, we might be ordering more of something else,” Schomin said.

The idea is to always have a few driver heads for Bryson that can act as a starting point when he wants to experiment or try something new. So far in 2021, Cobra has made seven prototype driver heads for DeChambeau, a number that might exceed what other star players have made for them in a decade.

“You know, it’s the longest club, with the least amount of loft that is swung the fastest,” Schomin said. “Every ingredient has been added to the difficult salad. Literally, it can’t be
any more of a challenge. So it’s this constant work in progress.”

At best, a frustrated DeChambeau saying his driver sucks is unprofessional. At worst, it shows a lack of appreciation for the work and time Schomin and others at Cobra invest in making his gear.

Still, Schomin knows DeChambeau doesn’t mean it exactly the way he said it.

“It’s like an 8-year-old that gets mad at you,” he said. “They might fly off the handle and say, ‘I hate you.’ But then you go. ‘Whoa, no you don’t.’
“We know as adults that they really don’t mean that and I know that if I got him cornered right now and said, ‘What the hell did you say that for,’ he would say that he was mad.

He didn’t really mean to say it that harshly. He knows how much everyone bends over backwards for him, but it’s still not cool.”

UPDATE (4:27 p.m.): Cobra’s Schomin texted Golfweek and asked that one point be clarified. “With regards to Bryson never being happy, that was directed solely at his driver. Between the two brands, Cobra and PUMA, he’s usually very happy. With regards to driver; he’s looking for perfection. As we all know, the driver may be the toughest club to achieve that with, especially at his high speeds.”

 

[Flipit]

if they can meet his expectations, it will be the only driver sold anywhere because it will solve mis-hits.

So for a company maybe struggling it would be worth the risk.

 

[Bernoulli]

The rest of the Golfweek article. If it was posted in this thread, I missed it.

Looking for perfection when all that he probably should hope for is progress.

 

[smgoldstein]

Surprised by his comments. He is usually the first to speak glowingly about his sponsors. Guess his true colors came out.

 

[USAF Retired]

Maybe if Douchambeau used a controlled swing versus an all out/off balance swing, his driver wouldn't suck

 

[Templet0n]

This is getting play everywhere thats for sure. His comment is social media and sports news catnip.

 

[links_slayer]

lolllllllll

 

[aljaklaw]

we want transparency! real thoughts!

wait no not like that

 

[Afizzle2100]

You have to wonder how marketable Bryson made himself after that comment today, even when (not if) he apologizes or recants.

Any company watching that knows what they already knew, but even more so... Bryson is a double edged sword and an absolute handful to deal with.

A lot of the same convos with the caddy debacle. Some people wont understand how you couldn’t want the most polarizing golfer on your staff with all the cash he has brought in. Some people (like me) tend to think when you make as much money as some of these OEMS do why waste the hassle and energy appeasing this guy’s worst impluses.

 

[Templet0n]

we want transparency! real thoughts!

wait no not like that

We want transparency but I am not sure anyone wants or need a player through one of his largest sponsors under a bus in a tizzy..

That does not himself, the sponsor or the sport any good.

 

[dacatalyst41]

This brings the notion that the split with his caddie was amicable back into question. “Hes never really been happy” is telling.

 

[Flipit]

After watching the round my opinion may have changed. Wonder why he didn’t throw his putter under the bus. Bryson, you just didn’t have it going today. Welcome to my world.

 

[Afizzle2100]

Don’t want to derail this convo but golf as a whole has become much more inclusive and has began to drop some of the “snobby” “country club” vibes, competitive junior golf has not. Top level junior golf is full of silver spoon, entitled young people. Generally not their faults, it’s usually a helicopter parent that treats them like a prized horse instead of a child and instills these “no mistakes” mentalities. Bryson loves to mention that he didn’t have the resources others had but I don’t buy that BS. Bryson, JT, and many others that have been involved in high level golf from ages 10 and up have the I can’t do anything wrong, blow up and tear up the course, etc. Hoping the next generation is more likable.

 

[BoilerCLE]

Hope he comes out with some damage control for his and Cobra's sake. Can only imagine what dinner would have been like if the Morgan Cup was this weekend!!

 

[Flipit]

Don’t want to derail this convo but golf as a whole has become much more inclusive and has began to drop some of the “snobby” “country club” vibes, competitive junior golf has not. Top level junior golf is full of silver spoon, entitled young people. Generally not their faults, it’s usually a helicopter parent that treats them like a prized horse instead of a child and instills these “no mistakes” mentality. Bryson loves to mention that he didn’t have the resources others had but I don’t buy that BS. Bryson, JT, and many others that have been involved in high level golf from ages 10 and up have the I can’t do nothing wrong, blow up and tear up the course, etc. Hoping the next generation is more likable.

Are you bunching JT and Bryson together?

 

[WLG1952]

If I were the Cobra CEO, I'd seriously think about suspending de Chambeau's endorsement for a while.

That, or make him write "it's the indian, not the arrow" a couple million times.

 

[cjroman]

Searching for the "Face of Cobra Golf" thread from a couple months ago...

 

[Afizzle2100]

Are you bunching JT and Bryson together?

In terms of entitled behavior? Yes. I personally like JT but thinks he acts like a brat sometimes.

 

[mikeg_74]

lolllllllll

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I saw this online and it’s amazing. OEM suicide on Bryson’s part. If cobra gets to the point to drop him, he’ll be down to Wilson and Tour Edge for sponsor options, lol. Although I suspect PXG would back up the truck for him.