By John Ortega
To understand reigning U.S. Amateur and NCAA Individual champion Bryson DeChambeau’s golf swing, it’s necessary to consider his personality and mind. He’s very bright and calculating. He and his coach, Mike Schy, have devised a system of swinging and training that is based on a concept in Homer Kelly’s book, “The Golfing Machine.”
The concept is known as a zero shift motion. Essentially, a “zero shift” is a stroke whereby the plane angle of the stroke path travels on a single plane “without variation”.
Swinging on a single plane is no easy task. Achieving a single plane swing requires contemplation and ingenuity.
Regarding the zero shifting motion, DeChambeau said, “(The zero shift) allowed me to understand I couldn’t swing 14 different ways. I realized ‘look, (the club shaft lengths) are all different.’ I’d have to change my body posture for each length of stroke –very difficult.
“I’d always sort of shift and change like most people do, and I said ‘why can’t (the shafts) all be the same length?’ Mike came back to me and said, ‘that’s any easy question to ask and a tough one to answer.’”
That was the start of the plan to reduce variables and to devise a swing that is, as DeChambeau calls it, “body efficient”. A large piece of the zero shift puzzle was solved when Bryson and Schy decided to equalize all of his iron lengths and lies (to a uniform 37.5″ and 10 degrees upright). A large part of DeChambeau’s training involves hitting countless shots on and near a plane training device engineered and built by Schy, called the “Schy Circle.” DeChambeau “Block Practices” probably more than any golfer in the game today.
In describing his interpretation and execution of this zero shift motion, DeChambeau said, “I’m trying to keep it on that same exact plane all the way through the golf shot.”
In the pictures that follow, take note of DeChambeau’s upright posture and the arrangement of his arms and hands, and the upright angle he sets the club shaft at address. From that point on, as shown by the parallel red lines in each image, his swing is simply played out on plane.
DeChambeau’s clubs are custom made. Do not attempt to shorten your existing irons to make them all the same length.
