But no one expected what would happen next.
DeChambeau was the in-form player, and although he performed exceptionally as he did at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit in early July where he claimed a sixth circuit victory, it was his conduct that week. - where he became the first average PGA Tour winner over 350 yards off the tee - which sparked the debate.
Jack Nicklaus, whose Muirfield, Ohio course hosted back-to-back events later in July, was wary of those distances.
"The USGA and the R&A have to wake up sooner or later," said the 18-time major champion, who first visited sports governing bodies 43 years ago to discuss the matter.
"They can't keep hiding their heads on this."
"Keeping the feel in his short game and putting, when he's piled on all the pounds and bloated, is a phenomenal effort," the Englishman told CNN's Amanda Davies.
In the February Distance Insights report co-published by the USGA and R&A, the idea of the bifurcation was re-launched, whereby professional golfers adhere to the various amateur rules and regulations.
"Longer distances, longer courses, playing with longer tees and longer playing times are all all taking golf in the wrong direction. We believe it is time to break the cycle," the report concludes.
"We recognize that the governing bodies could have done more [...] and we believe it's never too late to do the right thing for the future. "
Bomb and ax
Think of the golf course designers, however, only the technological advances since the 1990s that have radically altered driving distances.
Although in 2019 the average distance was 294 yards on the PGA Tour and European Tour combined, in 1995 it was around 30 yards shorter.
The first real peak was between 1992 and 2000, when the introduction of oversized, titanium riders skyrocketed distances, before bullet technology from 2000 to 2004 resulted in another dramatic leap as the coiled golf balls were phased out to be replaced by the multilayer touring ball. .
Growing athleticism has also caused a huge change in the physique of elite golfers.
Quadruple major champion Ernie Els has played throughout these changes. He said technological developments should be forgotten and more could be done to make the courses more difficult.
But what do golf course designers and architects think?
Perry Dye, son of the late Pete and Alice Dye whose most famous designs include TPC Sawgrass, Whistling Straits and Kiawah Island, told CNN Sport his parents left a letter from designer Donald Ross complaining in 1923 about the bullet from golf "destroying" its courses.
"My dad would tell you we have to go double-barreled. And Jack Nicklaus would say the same. But when you go out in the market, they won't take the distance away from you.
"My kids are 37 and 40 and I listen to them talk about how they like to play and it's bombing and chopping, but they don't even know how to chop. I mean, they don't even know how to bomb either, but they think it's worth playing. Bomb and chop is here to stay.
"Here's the dilemma in the design world - are we changing all of our average players into driver-wedge. If you think about it, that's how the pros play. Why can't we play like this?"
Dye pointed out the week-to-week scoring difference on Nicklaus' famous Muirfield course, which proved that a setup difference could stop all the big hitters in their tracks: DeChambeau missed the cut at Memorial by hitting a par 10 -five 15th hole.
Bigger ball
European Golf Design General Manager Jeremy Slessor sees fast, firm greens and fairways as a solution while advocating ball changes.
"When I started in the design and construction industry in the mid-1980s, we were setting up fairway bunkers at around 230-240 yards. We now put them at 300-350 yards," Slessor said. , whose company was behind Ryder. Cutting lessons at Celtic Manor (2010), Le Golf National (2018) and Marco Simone (2023).
Slessor praised the Hong Kong Open, where the 6,700-yard course and small greens are always a test for the best in the game.
"The challenge for elite golfers is now firm and quick. There is no longer a long enough route. Erin Hills (US Open 2017) was nearly 8,000 yards tall and that just wasn't the challenge everyone thought it was going to be.
"The easiest way is to make the ball bigger. The pros should play that ball, and manufacturers can use all of their research and development to make the big ball that flies the longest."
The "small" ball (1.62 inches in diameter) was banned from competition in 1990, replaced by the standard ball (1.68 inches in diameter).
"At some point, someone will have to do something. Why not now? What's holding everyone back?" Adds Slessor.
LOBB + PARTNERS Director Tim Lobb, Vice President of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects who has worked for over a decade with the five-time Open champion and fellow Australian Peter Thomson, has a lot worked to make natural contours a serious hazard rather than adding bunkers.
"I think from a sustainability challenge there are different options," he said, fully aware of the effects of the coronavirus on sport.
"The ground contour and the interesting pin positions are good quality. As the greens get faster and faster, the mowing doesn't care about the edges, so some of the best pin positions are lost.
"What we've seen in design over the past five to ten years is a big push for sustainability, and it's even higher than ever, which is a good thing because everything is being called into question.
"I'm just scared for the game because we're so zoned in the bunkers and after the greens, it's the second most maintenance-intensive feature on a golf course, which is crazy.
"I'm not saying we have to go back to the 1800s, but since Covid-19, with no bunker rakes in the bunkers, people have been forced into a different way of thinking."
Limit the loft
"Phil Mickelson has a 65 degree, a 60 and a 50 something. Bryson a 50 degree, a 55 degree and a 60 degree. A sand wedge is usually 54-56 but if you limit yourself to that, if you hit 420 yards on a 480 yard hole, you don't have the club for the next shot.
"So, is there any advantage in hitting it this far? It might be a Tour trick, not for all golfers. But I think it's time to deal with the ball and the faster they will, the better. "
Haworth saw the effects of driving distances firsthand many years ago when he rode the course with Woods at the WGC-HSBC Champions host course in Sheshan that he designed.
"In the mid-2000s we were going down the fairway with Tiger, and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, maybe we should have put a back tee there.'"
Dye concluded that the design world was confused.
"If you hit the 18-hole driver-wedge, you'd say it was a short golf course. So how do we convert, mix or integrate the design today between the average player and the pro? can see, more often than not, we groom golf courses to handle their pros, and it's on both sides of the ocean.
"I tell you we are confused."