Rory McIlroy's new golf ball: What you need to know

Rory McIlroy’s new golf ball: What you need to know

Posted by author February 3, 2025 Golf

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Rory McIlroy switched to a TaylorMade TP5 before winning at Pebble Beach, but how is his new ball different than the ball he used to play?

Rory McIlroy switched from the TaylorMade TP5x golf ball to the softer TaylorMade TP5 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
McIlroy felt the TP5 offered him better control and spin around the greens, which are crucial aspects of his game.
Although it’s still early in the season, McIlroy’s approach play with the new ball showed improvement, particularly at Pebble Beach’s small greens.
The upcoming Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines, a course demanding precision, will be a good test for McIlroy’s new ball and his overall game.

During the CBS broadcast of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, commentators and analysts repeatedly mentioned over the weekend that Rory McIlroy had changed golf balls before the tournament. However, they did not provide details about the ball he switched to or how it differed from his previous one. Here’s what you need to know.

Rory McIlroy’s New Ball: TaylorMade TP5

Last season, Rory McIlroy used TaylorMade’s TP5x ball, a five-piece ball that has a large rubber core, three mantle layers and a soft urethane cover. It’s TaylorMade’s firmest ball and should produce the highest flight off the tee. The TP5x should also produce more spin than TayllorMade’s other premium offerings.

While at home and playing at The Grove, Michael Jordan’s exclusive golf club in Hobe Sound, Fla., McIlroy randomly decided to hit some chips and pitch shots with the 2024 version of the TP5. The TP5 has the same five-piece construction as the TP5x McIlroy had been playing, but it has a lower compression, softer feel and, according to TaylorMade, should generate slightly less spin. The TP5 should also produce a slightly lower flight than the TP5x.

Shop Rory McIlroy’s TP5 golf ball

“I really loved how I felt. And I hadn’t really tested the 2024 TP5 and I loved how it was reacting around the greens,” McIlroy said on Thursday. “Then I started hitting some like 60, 70-yard shots with it, and it was coming off much lower launch, but spinner.”

Pros tend to notice the most significant difference between golf balls around the green, not off the tee. Golfers like McIlroy demand a high level of spin so they can control the trajectory on pitch shots and chip shots, and they want to control whether the ball stops quickly or releases toward the flag. Once they are satisfied that a ball will behave the way they like around the green, then they head into the fairway and back to the tee.

“I used a 2019 TP5, and the difference between a 2019 TP5 and a 2019 TP5x was a lot in terms of the spin rates and the launch angles. This seems to launch probably a degree lower for me, but the spin rate is very, very similar, which I really like,” McIlroy said. “It doesn’t seem to lose any speed with the driver either, even though it’s a lower-compression golf ball. I thought I’ve got four rounds this week, no cut, may as well give it a go and see how it goes. I played 18 at Pebble on Tuesday, played 18 at Cypress yesterday with it and obviously played here today and it’s been really, really good.”

Comparing Pebble Beach to previous seasons

So, Rory McIlroy decided to go with a softer-feel, lower-spinning, lower-flying TP5 at Pebble Beach instead of his old TP5x. What difference did the ball make?

The 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was Rory McIlroy’s first PGA Tour event of the season, and comparing the stats of a golfer who has only played four ShotLink-measured rounds to his previous two full seasons is not really comparing apples-to-apples, but the numbers are interesting to see all the same.

As you can see, McIlroy has long been one of the most dominant drivers of the golf ball, consistently ranking among the very best in that category over the past few seasons. However, while his tee shots have always been a strength, his approach play last week into the notoriously small greens at Pebble Beach showed significant improvement compared to his stats from last season, suggesting that he was able to control the trajectory and distance of his iron shots well. And, as the chart illustrates, his putting was particularly sharp throughout the week, as he managed to roll in three birdie putts from beyond 12 feet, including a dramatic 27-foot eagle putt on the 14th hole, which effectively sealed his victory.

While McIlroy is teeing it up at the WM Phoenix Open, he will likely be in the field for next week’s relocated Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines, a venue where he has not competed since the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open, where he finished in a tie for 16th. Given the course’s demanding setup and historically strong fields, it will undoubtedly serve as an early-season litmus test not only for Rory’s game as a whole but also for his new golf ball. If he manages to perform well at Torrey, where ball-striking and precision on approach shots are often paramount, it could offer an early indication that his recent equipment switch is yielding positive results, potentially setting the stage for him to be a serious contender not just at Augusta National in April but also throughout the remainder of this season’s major championships.

Shop Rory McIlroy’s TP5 golf ball