29-04-2025
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Last week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans is the only team event on the PGA Tour schedule and features two rounds of four-ball and two rounds of foursomes, which is commonly referred to as alternate shot. In four-ball, each player uses their own ball to complete the hole, but when both golfers are going to be playing the hole using one ball, teams have to decide which ball to play.
The defending champions, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, opted to use the same strategy this year that they used last year and have used in previous Ryder Cups.
"If Shane is hitting the approach into the green, I'll probably hit his golf ball off the tee, and then vice versa, he'll hit my golf ball off the tee if I'm hitting the approach," McIlroy said last week before the tournament started.
They could do this because the Zurich Classic is one of the very few PGA Tour events where Model Local Rule G-4, commonly referred to as the "One Ball Rule," is not utilized. The rule requires players to use the same make and model of golf ball throughout a round, but at the Zurich Classic, players and teams simply need to complete the hole using the same ball they used off the tee.
"We did some testing (on Tuesday) morning back home when we delayed our trip," Lowry said. "I went down to therange, and we both practice at the same place, so both our golf balls are there, and we did some testing and they'repretty similar. We could either use either."
Where Lowry and McIlroy's balls play most differently is on approach shots and shots around the green, because even among premium, urethane-covered balls, there are subtle differences in performance.
With the season underway across the United States, and with several new golf balls now available in your local shops -- including the Bridgestone e12, Callaway Chrome Tour Triple Diamond, Srixon Q-Star UltiSpeed, TaylorMade Tour Response and Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x -- now is the ideal time to test new models for yourself and find out which gives you the best performance around the green, from the fairway and off the tee.
