This piece of equipment could create short-game chaos at the Presidents Cup
Ball types can play a key role in determining alternate-shot pairings.
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After a three-year wait, the Presidents Cup is officially back, and with it comes the exciting atmosphere of team golf: the Americans vs. the Internationals.
One of the most compelling elements of this event is watching the captains — in this case, Davis Love III and Trevor Immelman, pair their players for various formats. Although advanced stats have become a huge part of the equation, as both sides attempt to pair players to create super duos, there still is one piece of gear that should be accounted for in the alternate-shot format: the golf ball.
Who’s playing in the Presidents Cup? Meet the U.S. and International teams
The ball is the only piece of equipment used on every shot, from driver off the tee to high spinning pitches around the green — it’s a constant, and something many players are resistant to change.
Just like at the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup has opted to not put the PGA Tour local “one ball” rule into effect, so players can choose a model of ball to use for each hole.
With modern launch-monitor technology, it’s not too difficult to spend time fine-tuning on the range to nail down driver numbers, but it’s around the greens where a change in feel can mean everything.
When you consider just how dialed-in players are for their carry distances and the trajectory with their irons, most pairings will elect to use the preferred ball of the player hitting the approach shot rather than the drive off the tee, but this will still leave some players not using their normal ball for any shots that miss the green, and that’s where it could get interesting.
Here’s a look at the balls used by each member of the Internationals and Team USA.
Team USA
Sam Burns – Callaway Chrome Soft X
Patrick Cantaly – Titleist ProV1X
Tony Finau – Titleist ProV1 Left Dot
Max Homa – Titleist ProV1
Billy Horschel – Titleist ProV1
Kevin Kisner – Titleist ProV1X
Collin Morikawa – TaylorMade TP5
Xander Schauffele – Callaway Chrome Soft X
Scottie Scheffler – Titleist ProV1
Jordan Spieth – Titleist ProV1X
Justin Thomas – Titleist ProV1X
Cameron Young – Titleist ProV1 Left Dot
Titleist Pro V1
International Team
Christiaan Bezuidenhout – Callaway Chrome Soft X
Corey Conners – Titleist ProV1
Cameron Davis – Titleist ProV1
Sunjae Im – Titleist Prov1X
Si Woo Kim – Callaway Chrome Soft X
Tom Kim – Titleist ProV1X
K.H Lee – Titleist ProV1X
Hideki Matsuyama – Srixon Z Star XV
Sebastian Munoz – Titleist ProV1
Taylor Pendrith – Srixon Z Star XV
Mito Periera – Titleist ProV1
Adam Scott – Titleist ProV1
Can you spot any potential pairings we might see during the alternate-shot matches?
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