At Bethpage Black, Ben Griffin will make his debut in the team event, with the American enjoying an excellent season on the PGA Tour.
Claiming two titles, Griffin has made headlines for being the only player on the circuit to use a Maxfli golf ball, with his victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans the first PGA Tour win for the brand in 22 years.
Going on to win the Charles Schwab Challenge just a few months later, the Maxfli Tour X golf ball has helped change Griffin's game, with the 29-year-old now featuring among the 12 man US side at the Ryder Cup.
For certain, Griffin will be playing the Sunday singles in New York but, between now and then, he will see himself certainly featuring in either the fourballs or foursomes sessions.
The latter is known for its alternate shot format and, since 2006, players participating have been allowed to change their golf balls at the start of the hole, which allows them to mix up the models.
If Griffin were to feature in foursomes, it draws up the question of what golf ball will be used, or at least, what golf ball is most similar to the Maxfli Tour X he uses?
Well, to begin with, the Tour X features a four-piece construction and, from our testing, it provided very quick ball speeds and plenty of greenside spin. Feel-wise, it was on the firmer side and also had a clickier acoustic.
Moving to what golf ball it compares to, our gear experts claim the TaylorMade TP5x is the most similar in terms of performance and feel, with the Titleist Pro V1x also a notable contender.
TaylorMade's TP5x is constructed from five layers and has a urethane cover. The brand has created a new ‘Speed Wrapped Core,' which has, in relation, made the golf ball harder and faster throughout the bag.
Like the Tour X, the TP5x also produces ample short game spin when chipping around the greens. Not as much as the standard TP5, but enough to ensure it's still controllable with a wedge in hand.
The only slight difference is that the TP5x has a softer feel than the Tour X at impact, as well as slightly more muted acoustics. Aside from that, the performance and numbers are very similar.
In terms of players who use the TaylorMade TP5x on Team USA, that would be Collin Morikawa, while three players use the Titleist Pro V1x - Russell Henley, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay.
Earlier in the week, Griffin played with Thomas in all three practice rounds so if we had to bet who his foursomes partner could be, if he does indeed play in one of the two sessions, then we’d go with Thomas.
Like the TP5x and Tour X, the Titleist Pro V1x performs similarly within the data numbers, while the feel is similar to the Maxfli in the sense of it being notably firmer. The Pro V1x also has a four-layer construction, the same as the Tour X.
