Inside Bryson DeChambeau’s prototype TaylorMade driver at the U.S. Open

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

Bryson DeChambeau arrived at the U.S. Open with a prototype TaylorMade driver that was a long time coming.

The company and the two-time U.S. Open winner stole the gear story of the week at Shinnecock early Monday morning when two new Qi4D Prototype 200+ drivers showed up on the USGA conforming list.

Those prototypes turned out to be for none other than DeChambeau himself, who had been working with TaylorMade’s team for six months on the design. It’s the next chapter in DeChambeau’s long quest to create the perfect equipment to optimize for his extremely high ball speeds.

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

“Independent of the conversations we were having with Bryson, we were going down this path of prototyping drivers to, you know, as we always try to stay ahead of things for players of that immense speed that we’re seeing emerge in golf,” Bazzel told GOLF. “The stars aligned a bit as we were going down this path of exploration on sort of a concept car prototype, and then he started inquiring, getting a little bit more serious.”

As more and more golfers hit the professional game with extreme speeds like DeChambeau, TaylorMade jumped at the opportunity to work with the two-time major winner on a solution.

“How often would somebody have the opportunity to test such an asset of one of the best players in the world, major winner, who is very, very detailed in terms of what he thinks he needs?” said TaylorMade Tour Rep Adrian Rietveld, who worked with DeChambeau to fit him into the prototype. “As an equipment company, we’ve been speaking to Bryson for years about stuff, ideas. We’d be in conversations or we’d meet with him. He’s been talking about a product that he feels would work for high-speed players as there is a wave of this coming.”

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

But where things start to differ is in the nearly completely smooth sole plate, which makes the driver more aerodynamic. The driver also has a more “toe-shaped” profile, Bazzel said, which again improves the driver’s aerodynamic performance. And the CG is extremely forward to help mitigate spin at extreme speeds. Unlike the standard Qi4D, which has four adjustable weights, the two prototype versions have only three or two. DeChambeau is using “Version 2” without a rear weight port.

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The biggest adjustment was to TaylorMade’s Twist Face bulge-and-roll profile, which has exaggerated characteristics 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 core to the design of his previous gamer, the Krank Formula Fire Pro, and the driver he designed with LA Golf. Since the 2024 Masters, he’s also played irons with curved faces to mitigate misses.

“When a shot is hit off-center, especially at the force and speed that he’s hitting it at — this happens for every golfer, but obviously it’s amplified in his case,” Bazzel said.

The forward CG DeChambeau requires to keep his spin down also makes the driver more susceptible to opening and closing on a miss, which is why the face curvature becomes 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 faces, but it can be created with tighter tolerances and with more accurate shaping.

“You’re designing to zero tolerance, and then you also have the benefit of the consistency of the face,” Rietveld said. “Bryson hits a lot of drivers. Bryson hits a lot of balls at high speed. That driver will hold its shape and hold everything for thousands of shots.”

Carbon faces also allow TaylorMade to create new iterations faster than they could with titanium.

The shape is very particular to help it move through the air, and it’s a shape Bazzel said the average consumer wouldn’t go for.

“When you look at the shape of the product, you’ll notice it’s a little bit more toe-shaped, which a lot of average golfers probably would not want that,” he said. “But from an aerodynamic standpoint, it’s advantageous.”

It’s truly a driver optimized for the extreme end of the bell curve. But DeChambeau, along with TaylorMade, thinks more extreme swing speed players are coming.

The two drivers that landed on the conforming list this week are actually the second iteration of prototype heads developed with DeChambeau, Rietveld said. The first testing was done with DeChambeau using the standard Qi4D heads just to see how the platform would hold up with his speeds.

A significant round of testing took place around Masters week in Dallas, where Rietveld gathered data and feedback from DeChambeau before TaylorMade created the current prototypes for this week.

So far, DeChambeau seems to like what he sees. On the range this week at Shinnecock, he was intentionally hitting balls off the heel and toe that were still flying on target.

The driver has a stated loft of 7 degrees, again to help manage DeChambeau’s spin, and is actually set one click lower from the upright setting to help him produce his desired draw ball flight. That’s key because, as Rietveld points out, they could 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 exactly where DeChambeau wants them.

He’s also playing the new Project X Titan Black 70TX shaft after playing a Project X prototype for much of the year. The build he’s using at Shinnecock puts his launch around 13 degrees with 2100 rpm spin.

Johnny Wunder contributed to this report.

Check this out

This section is dedicated to cool photos we’ve snapped recently on Tour, but haven’t had a reason to share yet. This week, check out the custom oil can finished X Forged and Apex MB prototype irons built for Min Woo Lee to test.

Odds and Ends

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

Adam Scott was one of many pros opting for a utility iron this week in place of a high-lofted fairway wood because of the high winds. This is after just a few pros used utility irons last year at Oakmont … Patrick Cantlay is switching to a 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 may interest you.

Min Woo Lee isn’t afraid to use prototype clubs on the big stage | Bag Spy – Take a deep dive into Min Woo Lee’s gear setup and see how its evolved with his recent swing changes.

How Titleist is fitting GTS drivers for the U.S. Open – Johnny Wunder chats with Titleist’s Nick Geyer on the rollout of Titleist’s new GTS drivers at the U.S. Open.

Wyndham Clark signs Ping’s first putter-only endorsement contract – On the eve of the U.S. Open, Wyndham Clark and Ping announced a first-of-its-kind endorsement contract for the brand.