The subtle equipment switch that had a huge impact on Rory McIlroy's history-making 2025

PGA Tour-level golfers are loathe to change out of their choice of golf ball at the best of times, often sticking with the same model for years on end.

So when it was announced earlier this year that Rory McIlroy, one of the game's most stable players from an equipment stand point, was switching out of his golf ball, it raised a few eyebrows in the industry to say the least.

The move, of course, was a fairly subtle one, Rory switching out his TaylorMade TP5x for the softer, higher-launching and higher-spinning TP5 standard model. However it made all the difference, unlocking a level of short game control that would pay dividends almost immediately. Shortly after switching model, he won the Masters in historic fashion.

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Speaking to the Fore Play Pod, TaylorMade senior tour manager Adrian Rietveld called the move the unheralded 'story of the year' from an equipment standpoint, citing the newer TP5's ability to maintain performance in the long game as the motivating factor behind Rory's decision to finally switch into it.

'Every time in the past when Rory has tested both balls, he's wanted to play the TP5,' Rietveld said. 'It lets him launch his wedges a little lower and holds its spin on softer shots. But as you move into the top of his bag, he would often have to give up performance.'

'How do you make the TP5 better? You keep everything it does with the short irons and the wedges and you improve what it does with the woods and the driver. And that's what Rory found out. As we tested it at Pebble Beach and he got into his 4-iron and 3-iron, 3-wood and driver he was like "I'm not giving up anything!"'

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Given McIlroy's familiarity with both TP5 models, he was also able to smoothly work his way back into using the TP5x alongside Tommy Fleetwood for the 2025 Ryder Cup foursomes, giving Europe a truly potent weapon in its successful bid to retain the cup at Bethpage Black.

Interestingly, McIlroy is the only TaylorMade staffer on the PGA Tour to play the TP5 standard model, with the brand's five other TP5 players opting for the TP5x/TP5x Pix. Given McIlroy's success with the softer model even with his out of this world swing speeds, one can't help but wonder if other players might start trying the standard out sooner rather than later.