Inside Bryson DeChambeau’s prototype TaylorMade driver at the US Open

Welcome to the weekly Fully Equipped Tour equipment report. Every Friday of PGA Tour week (and other times, when news warrants), GOLF content editor Jack Hirsh runs some of the biggest news surrounding golf clubs on Tour, including changes, renovations and launches. This week, you’re joined by Director of Equipment Johnny Wunder.

Bryson DeChambeau arrived at the US Open with a long-time TaylorMade driver.

The company and two-time US Open winner stole the gear story of the week at Shinnecock early Monday when two new Qi4D Prototype 200+ drivers appeared on the USGA-compliant roster.

Those prototypes were owned by none other than DeChambeau himself, who had worked with the TaylorMade team for six months on the design. The next chapter in DeChambeau’s long quest to create the perfect equipment to prepare for his extremely high ball speed.

But this wasn’t something TaylorMade started working on just because DeChambeau talked to them earlier this year. Developing a product for extreme ball speeds of 200+ mph was something TaylorMade was already working on, said Brian Bazzel, TaylorMade’s VP of product development.

“Besides the discussions we’ve had with Bryson, we’ve been going this way of driving prototyping drivers, you know, as we always try to stay ahead of the high speed players we see coming out of golf,” Bazzel told GOLF. “The stars aligned a little bit as we walked this way to test the type of concept car, then he started to ask, he became very serious.”

As more golfers hit the professional game at a faster pace than DeChambeau, TaylorMade jumped at the chance to work with the two-time major winner on a solution.

“How often does one have the opportunity to test such equipment of the best player in the world, the most successful, the most detailed of what they think they need?” said TaylorMade Tour Rep Adrian Rietveld, who worked with DeChambeau to get him into the picture. “As an equipment company, we have been talking to Bryson for years about things, ideas. We talked or met him. He was talking about a product that he feels will work for high speed players as there is a wave to come.”

DeChambeau’s prototype uses the same basic construction as standard Qi4D models, including a carbon face, carbon sole plate, titanium front piece and column.

But where things start to differ is on the single plate which is almost smooth, making the driver more aerodynamic. The driver also has a “toe-shaped” profile, Bazzel said, which also improves the driver’s aerodynamic performance. And the CG is more forward to help reduce spin at high speeds. Unlike the standard Qi4D, which has four adjustable weights, the two prototype models have only three or two. DeChambeau uses “Version 2” without the rear weight hole.

View Product

ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA TOUR Superstore, TaylorMade

The biggest adjustment was to TaylorMade’s Twist Face bulge-and-roll profile, which has exaggerated features to help players with 130+ mph swing speeds, like DeChambeau, keep the ball in play. Extreme bulge-and-roll profiles are nothing new for DeChambeau. That was the essence of the design of his previous player, the Krank Formula Fire Pro, and the driver he designed for LA Golf. Since the 2024 Masters, he has also played irons with curved faces to reduce misses.

“When a shot is hit down the middle, especially with the power and speed at which it is hit – this happens to every golfer, but obviously it has become more common,” said Bazzel.

The CG DeChambeau forward needs to keep the spin down and enable the driver to open and close on the miss, which is why the face bend is so important.

TaylorMade is uniquely positioned to create faces with those profiles thanks to their carbonwood technology. Not only is the material lighter than titanium surfaces, but it can be created with tighter tolerances and more precise molding.

“You design zero tolerance, and you get the benefit of face consistency,” says Rietveld. “Bryson hits a lot of drivers. Bryson hits a lot of balls at a lot of speed. That driver is going to hold his shape and hold everything for thousands of shots.”

The carbon face also allows TaylorMade to create new iterations faster than they can with titanium.

The shape is critical to helping it fly, and it’s a shape Bazzel said the average consumer won’t take.

“If you look at the shape of the product, you’ll notice that it’s shaped like a toe, which probably a lot of regular golfers wouldn’t want,” he said. “But from an aerodynamic point of view, there is an advantage.”

It is truly a driver optimized for the extreme end of the steel curve. But DeChambeau, along with TaylorMade, think extreme swing speed players are coming.

The two drivers that made it to the lineup this week are actually second iterations of the prototype heads that DeChambeau built, Rietveld said. Initial testing was done with DeChambeau using standard Qi4D heads to see how the platform would hold up at his speed.

A key round of testing took place during Masters week in Dallas, where Rietveld gathered data and feedback from DeChambeau before TaylorMade made this week’s current prototypes.

So far, DeChambeau seems to like what he sees. At the level this week at Shinnecock, he was deliberately hitting balls from the heel and toe that were still flying towards him.

The driver has a specified height of 7 degrees, and to help manage DeChambeau’s rotation, it is actually set one click down from the vertical setting to help him produce his desired ball flight. That’s key because, as Rietveld points out, they can take a 9-degree head and make it 7 degrees using a loft sleeve, but starting at 7 degrees lets them get the face and lie angles where DeChambeau wants.

Playing with the new Project X Titan Black 70TX shaft after playing the Project X prototype for most of the year. The build he uses at Shinnecock puts his launch at about 13 degrees with 2100 rpm spin.

Johnny Wunder contributed to this report.

check this out

This section is dedicated to the great photos we recently took on Tour, but didn’t have a reason to share until now. This week, check out how custom oil can outlast the X Forged and Apex MB irons designed for testing by Min Woo Lee.

Odds and ends

Some gear changes and notes we’re tracking this week.

Adam Scott was one of many pros, including Scottie Scheffler, to choose to use steel this week instead of high-rise wood because of the high winds. This is after several pros using utility irons last year at Oakmont… Patrick Cantlay switches to Spider Tour X DBL Bend … We’ll update with more notes from Shinnecock as we get them!

3 things you should read/watch

A selection of GOLF content from the past week that you may be interested in.

Min Woo Lee is not afraid to use model clubs on the big stage | Bag spy – Focus on Min Woo Lee’s gear setup and see how it evolved with his latest swing changes.

How does Titleist install the GTS driveers of the US Open – Johnny Wunder talks with Titleist Nick Geyer at the release of Titleist’s new GTS drivers at the US Open.

Wyndham Clark signed Ping’s first putter-only endorsement deal – The day before the US Open, Wyndham Clark and Ping announced a first-of-its-kind brand endorsement deal.