Ryder Cup Rules Explained: Who Uses Whose Golf Ball In Foursomes?

Foursomes is, arguably, the toughest discipline to play in golf, with the alternate shot format meaning both players need to perform.

It's not just tough because of the format, but also due to the fact that some players will be using golf balls that are slightly alien to them...

Players use certain manufacturers and, when it comes to the golf ball, some players prefer a soft feeling model, while others will prefer a firmer option.

Obviously, when it comes to players' games, some will match up well together but, if the golf ball doesn't meet their requirements, it renders the pairing useless.

Thankfully, in 2006, a crucial rule was changed for that year's Ryder Cup, as the one ball rule was scrapped, meaning that foursomes partners were allowed to change to a different model and, crucially, a different compression, on each hole.

Additionally, it means that, in foursomes, the player striking the ball off the tee will, usually, use their partner's golf ball due to the fact that it will allow him to hit into the greens with his own golf ball.

Prior to the change in 2006, there had been several times where players had to adapt to their playing partner's golf ball, the most notable of which came at the 2004 Ryder Cup.

Famously, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were paired together in foursomes, with one key issue being that Woods played a spinnier model, while Mickelson opted for a ball with a less spinny construction.

Because they weren't able to switch golf balls on each hole, they used Woods', which resulted in a 1-down loss to Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood.

Speaking at the time, Mickelson stated: "I grabbed a couple dozen of his balls, I went off to the side and tried to learn his golf ball in a four-or five hour session on one of the other holes, trying to find out how far the ball goes.

"It forced me to stop my preparation for the tournament, to stop chipping and putting and sharpening my game in an effort to crash-course learn a whole different golf ball that we were going to be playing.

"In the history of my career, I have never ball-tested two days prior to a Major. I’ve never done it. Had we known a month in advance, we might have been able to make it work. I think we probably would have made it work. But we didn’t know until two days prior."

At the 2025 Ryder Cup, the foursomes pairings have been announced for Friday morning, with the stand-out match being the opening one of Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas against Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton.

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley face off against Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick, while Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood will hope to keep their undefeated streak going against USA's Collin Morikawa and Harris English.

The final match of the morning session will be the experienced duo of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay against Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland.