Why Does Scottie Scheffler Only Use High Numbered Golf Balls?

Scottie Scheffler looks at his golf ball — (Image credit: Getty Images)

A golf ball is not just an important part of a professional's set-up, but it's also a very personal aspect.

Whether it be how it's marked up, or what logo it features, professionals will often have personal touches on their golf ball, with one of those being Scottie Scheffler, who is one of only a few players who uses high numbers.

A close-up of Scottie Scheffler's golf ball — Scheffler's golf ball during the 2024 Tour Championship

Usually, if you were to look at the numbers on golf balls, they would be one, two, three and four but, in the case of the World No.1, he opts for the numbers five, six, seven and eight.

The reason? Well, it stems from Scheffler hitting the wrong golf ball in college, twice, with the American previously using the low numbers. By switching to the high numbers, it made the golf ball easier to identify.

One of the incidents occurred at a college tournament in Texas, where Scheffler actually hit fellow competitor, Beau Hossler's golf ball. The second, meanwhile, happened at a tournament in Arizona.

Scottie Scheffler hits a bunker shot — During college, Scheffler had been using low numbered golf balls

In an article by Fox Sports, Scheffler stated: "I hit it (ball) in the desert. I looked at the ball in the bush. I said, ‘Hey guys, I’m going to mark and identify it.’ I marked it, picked it up, looked at it and said, ‘Oh, cool, Titleist 4.’ I put it back down in the bush."

Hitting his shot out of the bush and on to the green, Scheffler went to mark the ball and it soon turned out it was the wrong one, with the 20-time PGA Tour winner adding "my ball is sitting clean in the desert, I told my coach, ‘I’m sorry. I marked it and identified it and it’s not my ball.’ There’s not much to say."

Following the incident, and when he earned his spot on Tour, Scheffler explained that "when I got on Tour, I saw somebody only using higher numbers, and I said, ‘let’s do that.'"

Using the Titleist Pro V1, it has been in-play for Scheffler since his junior golf days and, although it's just a number, that hasn't stopped his fellow pros from ribbing him.

At the 2024 RBC Heritage, Scheffler's Ryder Cup teammate, Justin Thomas, appeared on the broadcast and, speaking about his fellow countryman, he stated: "Does anyone else think it’s weird that Scottie uses high numbers? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an elite player use high golf balls."

Certainly, given that Scheffler has four Majors to his name using the high numbered golf balls, we can't see it changing anytime soon...

Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover news and social media.

Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round is a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine.

Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?

Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°

Fairway Wood: Ping G430 LST 15°, 19°

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB

Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°

Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.