Bryson DeChambeau spent more time in the hay than the fairway Thursday at Royal St. George’s, and his frustration was apparent after the round.

“With the driver right now, the driver sucks,” he said afterward. “It’s not a good face for me, and we’re still trying to figure out how to make it good on the mis-hits. I’m living on the razor’s edge, like I’ve told people for a long time.”

That much is true: Since the beginning of the year DeChambeau has been trying to find a driver face that’s more compatible to the high speeds he’s now swinging. Earlier this spring he teased a new Cobra driver that would be more accepting of mis-hits, but apparently that project is still a work in progress.  

DeChambeau hit only four of 14 fairways in the first round of The Open, oftentimes needing to blast his way out of the thick hay that lines the holes at Royal St. George’s. After battling back from an uneven start, he bogeyed two of the last four holes for a 1-over 71 that left him seven shots off the early lead.

His issues, he said, are all related to his driver.

“It’s not the right design, unfortunately,” he said, “and we’ve been trying to fix it.”

After the round, DeChambeau headed to the practice area for another round of driver testing with new caddie Brian Zeigler.