How is it possible that a 22-year-old amateur can make the world’s first, third, fifth and sixth-ranked players bite the dust in one of the year’s top tournaments? Ask the phenomenon himself, American Bryson DeChambeau, who beat Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Rickie Fowler on the first day of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship (at the end of February) with an unbeatable round of 64 that gave him the opening lead – although he ended up finishing 54th in the tournament.

An intrigued McIlroy had a peak inside Bryson’s bag and was amazed when he saw the set of clubs it contained. The “gems” seemed like they had been created in a clandestine workshop, such was their artisanal appearance.

DeChembau is by no means an unknown in the world of golf. On the contrary. He is the reigning US Amateur champion and only the fifth player in history to win that title and the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) in the same year, adding his name to a roll-call of champions that also includes Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Ryan Moore.

He also shone last year when, competing against the professionals in the Australian Masters, he finished second behind Peter Senior.

The son of one of California’s finest former amateur stars, Bryson’s says he is doing a kind of internship before turning professional, scheduled to be after he competes in the US Masters in April, as an invitee thanks to his US Amateur victory. He will undoubtedly be one of the players who attract most attention at Augusta National.

DeChambeau describes himself as a “golf scientist”. He is completing his final year of a physics degree at the Southern Methodist University and, apart from his excellent sporting results, he has become famous for developing a set of unique irons – the same ones that fascinated McIlroy when they played together in the third round in Abu Dhabi.

The young Californian has made several revolutionary changes to his clubs. For example, each of the irons – be it a 3-iron or wedge – measures the same, 37.5 inches, as a 6-iron. And then there’s the grip, notably thick, which he holds using the palms of his hands more than his fingers. It seems more like a racquet handle than a golf club. Something else: all the irons have the same angle in respect of the club head, very closed, so that the shaft emerges at a fairly vertical angle from the club head. This uniformity also influences his swing, which is extremely vertical.

“They work very well,” says Bryson, in reference to his “strange creatures”. “They help me maintain the same stance, the same position, everything the same, and give me quite a good result.”

Bryson obtained the idea behind these strange clubs from a book, “The Golfing Machine”, which Seattle aircraft mechanic Homer Kelly published in 1969 using his own funds.

A Californian golf pro, Mike Schy, read the book and was intrigued by Kelly’s theory about “geometrically oriented linear force” and the impact this could have on a golf ball.

Bryson worked with his coach to refine the clubs and adapt them to his game. “It’s a long story but, to summarise, I chose a variation in the golf machine to enable me to swing with the same plane.

“And then I realised I couldn’t do this with a wedge or 3-iron because this meant changing my body movement. It didn’t make sense so I said, ‘Why don’t we make them all with the same angle and length?’”

And that’s how the revolution came about. Bryson mentioned this to his father when he was still at school: “I think I can change the game of golf.” Something he is now doing.

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