This piece of equipment could create short game chaos at the Presidents Cup

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. 

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

All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy a linked product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. Pricing may vary.

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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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Golf.com Editor

Ryan Barath is GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com’s senior editor for equipment. He has an extensive club-fitting and -building background with more than 20 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. Before joining the staff, he was the lead content strategist for Tour Experience Golf, in Toronto, Canada.