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Rory McIlroy's equipment change helped him get a hole-in-one at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Rory McIlroy jarred his tee shot on the 15th hole at Spyglass Hill Golf Club on Thursday en route to shooting a 66 that left the Northern Irishman two shots off the lead after the first round of the PGA Tour's 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The ace was McIlroy's second on the PGA Tour — he also had one on the eighth hole at the 2023 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands — but golf fans may not have been aware that Rory made a meaningful equipment change in the days leading up to this week's tournament that might deserve some credit for the "1" on McIlroy's scorecard.
Having played TaylorMade's TP5x ball since early in the 2024 season, McIlroy switched into the TP5 this week.
"I was messing around at The Grove (Michael Jordan's golf course in Hobe Sound, Florida) the other day, this has got to be like Thursday last week, and I just started to hit some chips with the TP5 instead of the TP5x and I really loved how I felt," McIlroy said Thursday. "And "I hadn't really tested the 2024 TP5, and I loved how it was reacting around the greens. And then I started hitting some like 60, 70-yard shots with it, and it was coming off much lower launch, but spinner."
The short game session provoked McIlory to do more testing and compare how the 2024 TP5 to other balls he had played in the past.
"I just did some testing with [the 2024 TP5] and compared it to the TP5x. 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 [2024 TP5] seems to launch probably a degree lower for me, but the spin rate's very, very similar, which I really like."
The TP5 has a lower overall compression than the TP5x, which would be a reason why McIlroy felt it was softer around the green, but being one of the game's best drivers, he was pleased that the ball also performed well off the tee.
On Thursday, playing in damp, cool conditions at Spyglass Hill, McIlroy was second in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (+1.50) and led the field with a Driving Distance at 345.7 yards while ranking fifth in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (+2.44) and hitting 14 of 18 greens in regulation.
"I thought, I've got four rounds this week, no cut, may as well give it a go and see how it goes," McIlroy said of his decision to put the ball in play at a Signature event. "I played 18 at Pebble on Tuesday, played 18 at Cypress yesterday with it and obviously played here today. It's been really, really good."
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Rory McIlroy makes equipment change, then hits hole-in-one at Pebble
