The one-ball rule will not be in effect at this year’s Ryder Cup, after a significant change in 2006, and this will impact how Team Europe and Rory McIlroy play their foursomes against Team USA
Rory McIlroy and his European peers will be impacted by the ball rule at the Ryder Cup(Image: Getty)
The Ryder Cup will not implement the one-ball rule for 2025. This rule, which meant pairings during foursomes had to pick one ball to use throughout the round, had been in place for previous tournaments, but was changed in 2006.
Team USA captain Zach Johnson confirmed last time out that there would be no one-ball rule for 2023. As Friday morning foursomes at Bethpage Black swiftly approach, golfers on either side in 2025 will also not need to use equipment they’re not used to for longer than a hole.
Most pros on tour have specific balls they wish to use during competition play, especially on approaches. The one-ball rule at the Ryder Cup and other tournaments has caused issues in the past. While it is no longer in place for the entire round, balls can only be swapped after each hole.
For example, at the 2004 Ryder Cup, staged at Oakland Hills Country Club, Team USA, led by an all-powerful Tiger Woods, was demolished by Team Europe 18½ to 9½.
USA captain Hal Sutton put forward his premier pairing of Woods and Phil Mickelson to open Friday morning’s four-ball session, but fell behind early on. During the foursomes, Mickelson and Woods faced Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood, and while they were expected to win, they did not.
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An issue arose between Woods and Mickelson regarding which ball they’d use for the foursomes, and the one-ball rule had not yet been changed.
Woods and Mickelson failed to be successful using each other’s preferences(Image: Getty)
Woods couldn’t get on with Mickelson’s Callaway ball, so the former’s Nike ball was used. However, Mickelson simply couldn’t understand Woods’ preference, and they failed to muster a point on day one.
Although the one-ball rule has been abolished, and balls can be changed by a pair after every hole, once a ball is teed off with, it must be used for the entirety of that hole. This could cause problems when approach shots are concerned.
Team USA captain Johnson said on the matter two years ago: “If we are playing together, I’m probably going to tee off with your golf ball more times than not so that we can have more control with your iron play or your wedge play or whatever it may be with your own golf ball.
“That’s kind of the unwritten rule,” he added. “These guys know what they are doing. I don’t need to coach them on how to go about doing that.”
McIlroy and Fleetwood were a pairing in Rome(Image: Getty)
In Italy, both Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood were paired together and claimed two brilliant wins. They will likely be a foursomes partnership again, thanks to them both using TaylorMade balls. McIlroy switched to the TaylorMade TP5 at the beginning of the year, but has previously used the TaylorMade TP5x, which is Fleetwood’s preferred model.
Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland were formidable during the foursomes in Rome, beating Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka by a record score. They use Titliest ProV1s, though Hovland prefers the slightly different ProV1x.
Team Europe captain Luke Donald explained: “Certain players are very particular about what ball they play. Some people are quite good at adjusting. Certainly, you can get to a stage where you feel like you have a great personality match.
“You have a great statistical match, they fit the golf course, odds and evens, and then suddenly the golf ball doesn’t work. It’s certainly one of the factors we have to look at, and it can make a difference.”
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