The eccentric Bryson DeChambeau is now putting side saddle

Bryson DeChambeau takes pride in standing out, doing things a little different, and approaching the game of golf in a unique way. But this? This borders on madness.

DeChambeau became a phenomenon this year at the Masters, his first big intro to a wider audience after winning the U.S. Amateur and NCAA championship the preceding year. At Augusta, he left most of our heads spinning with his physics-major backed explanations for everything he does — calculating angles of friction and slope for each putt, etc. His was a press conference unlike any other.

At Augusta, the curiosity around DeChambeau hit its peak and the biggest area of interest was probably his one-length set of irons. Unlike everyone else in the pro game, DeChambeau uses irons that are all the same length (each club also has a name). It’s something he started as an amateur while working to perfect that “one-plane swing” he talks about often.

Now “the artist,” (or was it “the mad scientist” or “DeChangelo” or “Leonardo DeChambeau”) as he became known over the summer, will putt using the side saddle method. For those who follow golf, and for those don’t follow it at all or know little about the game, it’s startling to see such a different style.

It may be jarring to see someone trying this at the highest levels of the game but then you remember this is Bryson DeChambeau and it all makes sense. He told Golf Channel’s Tim Rosaforte back in October that it was “in development” and thought that it was an easier way to putt.

Sam Snead messed around with side saddle at the end of his career after a change to the rules outlawed his between-the-legs croquet style. Snead is the one people always reference when side saddle comes up, but perhaps DeChambeau will now be the flag bearer for this unique approach. It will, at the very least, attract plenty of attention if he keeps it through the upcoming 2017 season. For now, he’ll put it in real, live play this week at the Franklin Templeton Shootout, a silly season event that he’ll play with Lexi Thompson.

DeChambeau may be a little odd, and he’s authored plenty of quotes that make you roll your eyes (comparing his contrarian approaches to George Washington and Einstein?), but he had one of the most decorated amateur careers ever and showed at times this year that he can hang at the biggest events in the game.

It’s likely he’s going to be around for awhile and if he succeeds, maybe side saddle and one-length irons will become the trend. New methods, changes in approach, amazing quotes, eccentric characters — these are all good and a nice switch-up for golf so we will never get enough of Bryson.