The Open Championship, staged this year on the impressive links of Royal Portrush, is revered as golf’s purest test. It demands precision, adaptability, and an unwavering commitment to some of the more traditional nuances of the game. Yet, amidst the serious preparations for golf’s oldest major, a curious and highly unconventional story emerged from the practice rounds: Bryson DeChambeau, the game’s most analytical and often eccentric figure, was spotted testing a non-conforming golf ball.
The revelation came via Smylie Kaufman’s popular Instagram account, “The Smylie Show,” which captured DeChambeau on the Portrush links with a Polara Ultimate Straight golf ball. Kaufman, alongside DeChambeau’s playing partner Laurie Canter, could be heard giggling in the background, seemingly amused by DeChambeau’s playful experimentation.
The balls that Bryson was seen ‘testing’ in practice at Portrush.
(Image credit: Polara Golf)
The ball in question, the Polara Ultimate Straight, is non-comforming under the rules of golf, having been designed with “self-correcting technology” that claims to “reduce hooks and slices by up to 75%.” Its unique dimple pattern is engineered to minimize aerodynamic side spin, supposedly making it fly remarkably straight, regardless of a golfer’s swing flaws.
For a player like DeChambeau, who has been vocally struggling to find a ball he’s happy with this year, feeling that most standard balls create too much curvature at his extremely high swing speeds, the allure of such a concept is perhaps understandable. He’s a player who is constantly pushing boundaries in equipment to eliminate variables, and excessive side spin is clearly one of the variables on his hit list.
Back in early March, the American revealed he had changed his golf ball from the Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash to the normal Pro V1x. Explaining his move to the Pro V1x, DeChambeau stated: “It seems to be flying the most consistent for me. A little bit lower flighting, a little bit more control with my half shots.
Bryson has been thinking deeply about his golf ball choice all year.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“That was a big thing. Left Dash is a great golf ball in firm conditions, but when it got soft, it just super spun, and then when I tried to take half shots off of the Left Dash, it would just knuckle, so I wouldn’t get enough spin.
“I (now) have a little bit more spin throughout the bag, but on the half shots, I have a little more spin to control the golf ball…
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