DeChambeau’s salty golf balls: Why does Bryson put his Pro V1s in salt water?

Bryson DeChambeau, whose analytical approach to the game has earned him the nickname ‘the Scientist’, has explained why he places his golf balls in Epsom salted-water before using them.

Why does DeChambeau salt his balls?

DeChambeau, who heads into the final round of the 2024 US Open in the lead, told reporters this weekend that he does this to each ball to ensure it “flies as straight as it can possibly fly”. According to the 30-year-old, the process is designed to identify balls whose centre of gravity is not in the middle, and to determine how much this issue will affect their flight when he takes a shot.

“I’m lucky enough that Connor [Olson], my manager, does that now,” said the American, who uses the Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash ball. “I don’t have to do it. But essentially we float golf balls in a solution to make sure that the golf ball’s not out of balance […]. What I’m doing is pretty much finding the ‘out-of-balance-ness’ of it, how much out of balance it is. The heavy side floats to the bottom, and then we mark the top with a dot to make sure it’s always rolling over itself.”

DeChambeau added: “For most golf balls we get it’s not that really that big of a deal. I just try to be as precise as possible. It’s just one more step I take to make sure my golf ball flies as straight as it can possibly fly because I’m not that great at hitting it that straight.”

Can DeChambeau double majors haul?

Ahead of his fourth round at the US Open today, DeChambeau holds a three-stroke lead over Matthieu Pavon, Rory McIlory and Patrick Cantlay. He is due to tee off at Pinehurst Resort 2:21pm ET/11:21am PT. The California native, who has been competing on the breakaway LIV Golf tour since 2022, previously won the US Open in 2020 - the only major title of his career so far.

Pavon also tees off at 2:21pm ET, while McIlroy and Cantlay - a pair who haven’t exactly seen eye to eye in recent years - begin their final rounds at 2:10pm ET/11:10am PT.

2024 US Open Championship: how to watch

Viewers in the United States will be able to watch the final round on NBC and Peacock between 12 noon and 7pm ET/9am and 4pm PT, and on the Golf Channel and Peacock from 7pm to 9pm ET/4pm to 7pm PT.