Rickie Fowler on changing and testing golf balls

USA Today

13-02-2025

Rickie Fowler on changing and testing golf balls After becoming a golf ball "free agent," Rickie Fowler tested several models and opted for the Titleist Pro V1.
Six-time PGA Tour winner Rickie Fowler signed a golf ball and glove deal with TaylorMade in 2019 and started using the brand's TP5 ball that season. His feedback and desire to use a ball that had visual technologies while still allowing him to draw a line on his ball helped TaylorMade develop the Pix franchise.
But at the end of 2024, Fowler's partnership with TaylorMade came to an end. He is still the face of Cobra-Puma Golf, but Fowler became a golf ball "free agent" because Cobra-Puma Golf does not manufacture or sell balls.
At a Cobra event before the start of last week's WM Phoenix Open (which Fowler was forced to withdraw from due to illness), Golfweek talked with the five-time Ryder Cup team member about what he did to find his new ball, the 2023 version of Titleist's Pro V1.
"I did a lot of testing at home and had a great time with the team at TaylorMade, tested stuff with them, tested with Bridgestone, with Titleist ... kinda seeing everything," Fowler said. "At the same time, I didn't want to make any adjustments on equipment. It was more: I know my stuff works, moreso, seeing and feeling how the ball, or which ball, would fit with that."
Most recreational golfers underappreciate how changing golf balls can change the performance of your clubs. Premium golf balls are more similar off the tee than they are from the fairway and around the green, which is why in alternate-shot portions of team events, golfers nearly always tee off with the ball used by the player who will hit the second shot on par 4s and par 5s.
In this case, Fowler was open to changing golf balls but did not want to make changes to his Cobra woods, irons and wedges, so he needed to find a ball that fit his existing setup.
"Honestly, I probably could have went and played just about any of those balls from those manufacturers. I just felt like the '23 Pro V1 was the one that fit me the best."
Titleist released the updated 2025 Pro V1 and Pro V1x in January, but like many brands, Titleist keeps a large number of previously offered balls available to PGA and LPGA pros. You can still find the 2023 Pro V1 in stores and online retail sites, but they will become more scarce in the weeks and months ahead as inventories are sold and replaced by the 2025 models.
While Fowler did not go into detail about the subtle differences he saw in testing from one ball to another, he clearly noticed how different balls reacted and performed.
"There's small little differences with all the companies," he said. "Titleist has a bunch of different options on the tour level, and there's probably five different golf balls in that I could have played, but again, you're talking a couple hundred RPMs or launch conditions, little by little, and so very small differences. Until you're at a very high level, you don't get to see the difference."