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DeChambeau is a U.S. Amateur champion – like Jones was once – and the 22-year-old rookie's debut may be the most anticipated since Jordan Spieth's a couple years ago. DeChambeau also won the NCAA title last year, a double accomplished previously by only Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ryan Moore.

What makes his entry more tantalizing still is his unique iron set. Unlike a traditional set, where each club from the 3-iron through the wedges gets shorter and more lofted, all 10 of DeChambeau's irons measure 37 1/2 inches, the length of a typical 6-iron.

DeChambeau became intrigued by the idea of equal-length clubs in 2009, not long after his golf coach, Mike Schy, introduced him to an esoteric swing manual called "The Golfing Machine." The book was written by Homer Kelley, a Seattle aircraft mechanic determined to lay out the engineering specs of the golf swing on a page. It offers students a chance to build their own swings by choosing between 24 different components, each offering between three and 11 variations.

DeChambeau settled on a swing that keeps the club on a single plane from start to finish, and that his interest in physics led him to conclude the easiest way to accomplish that was to use a set of irons all of the same length. That concept was tested and employed by Jones, but it never caught on with golfers or the big equipment companies.


PGA. com