In-hand photos of Bryson DeChambeau’s 3D-printed Avoda irons and his explanation of their “bulge and roll” (2024)

At the 2024 Masters, Bryson DeChambeau spoke publicly about his custom, 3D-printed Avoda irons, saying, “they have just got a different curvature on the face than other equipment. Most equipment is flat. These have a different curvature on the face that allows me to have my mis-hits to go a little straighter sometimes….when I mish*t on the toe or the heel, it seems to fly a lot straighter for me, and that’s what has allowed me to be more comfortable over the ball.”

Most equipment aficionados assumed DeChambeau meant that the irons had “bulge and roll” on the face, just like a driver, 3-wood, or hybrid does. On Tuesday at the U.S. Open, however, DeChambeau seemed to have cleared up the confusion.

Bryson DeChambeau shows off his custom five iron as he prepares to take on Pinehurst No. 2. ? #USOpen pic.twitter.com/ydDrpZXjGS

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 11, 2024

While speaking with Golf Channel’s Johnson Wagner, DeChambeau spoke on the designs, and gave a demonstration of what’s really going on with the face curvature.

“[It’s got] roll on the face – well, bulge. Well, whatever term you want to use. But essentially it doesn’t roll this way (from the top to the bottom, a.k.a. “roll”), it rolls this way (from heel to toe, a.k.a. “bulge”). Can you guys see the curvature on the face? It’s kind of like a driver, or a hybrid, or whatnot…but it does cave in on the heel, and it caves in on the toe, as well, which creates that curvature. So for the speeds that I have, when I hit it on the toe or the heel, it doesn’t overcorrect. So, most people think that irons, MOI (moment of inertia) there doesn’t really effect the curvature, but it actually does at my speeds, at [lower lofts and higher speeds]. So essentially when I hit it on the toe, I was hooking it like crazy. Heel – I was missing it right like crazy. So I created curvature on the toe and the heel to get it to start it a little farther right on the toe, and on the heel, start it a little farther left, to make sure it doesn’t go too far offline.”

Essentially, DeChambeau is saying that his irons are made with “bulge” on the face, which means they curve from heel to toe,but they do not have “roll,” which would mean they would curve from top to bottom. For DeChambeau, this custom face design helps his toe strikes start farther to the right, and then hook back, while his heel strikes start farther to the left, and then slice/cut back. Therefore, when his toe-hits hook to the left, and his heel-hits slice to the right, they are working back toward the target line, rather than starting on the target line and curving away from it.

DeChambeau also implies the curvature is greater on his lower-lofted irons, where he’s creating higher ball speeds. This would mean the “bulge” is progressive throughout the set, with more curve on the longer irons, and less bulge on the shorter irons.

On Monday, GolfWRX.com got in-hand photos of DeChambeau’s Avoda irons, for a better look at the face curvature and design of the irons.

Bryson DeChambeau’s Avoda 5-iron

Bryson DeChambeau’s Avoda 9-iron

Learn more about DeChambeau’s Avoda irons here, and check out DeChambeau’s full 2024 U.S. Open WITB here.

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