Collin Morikawa switches golf balls for BMW Championship in Colorado

At more than 6,200 feet of elevation, Castle Pines Golf Club – site of the 2024 BMW Championship – adds another layer of challenge for PGA TOUR players this week. Due to the thin air at this altitude, golf balls fly extra far, leaving players searching for distance control.

Hitting the ball farther can certainly be fun, but on the PGA TOUR, with a field full of the top 50 players in the FedExCup Playoffs rankings, precision is paramount.

Aside from simply adjusting yardages compared to a sea level baseline, Collin Morikawa is taking things a step further by switching into a completely different golf ball model.

Throughout 2024, Morikawa has opted for the low-spinning TaylorMade TP5x golf ball, but this week in Colorado, he’s switching to the higher-spinning TP5 model.

The TP5 isn’t completely foreign territory for Morikawa, who used the model for about four years earlier in his career. He since switched into the lower-spinning TP5x, but he’s no TP5 rookie.

While playing a practice round on Monday at Castle Pines, Morikawa noticed that his typical ball flight was lacking a bit in control. Not only was the ball going significantly farther, due to the altitude, but he wasn’t satisfied with the flight itself, either.

In general, more spin can lead to greater control for golfers, and since there’s no need to maximum distance this week, why not switch to a slightly higher-spinning ball in order to create a more reliable ball flight?

With the golf ball flying farther, stopping power on the greens can become an issue if the ball isn’t spinning quite enough. Creating more spin is a viable solution.

"(I’m) thinking about going to the TP5,” Morikawa said on the range earlier in the week (the switch has now been confirmed). “Look, my first three and half to four years, I played the TP5, and I’ve played the spinnier ball. I noticed the (TP5x) just fit the perfect windows for me a lot. (With the TP5x) I lived in the lower end of spin, but I’ve just noticed with my swing, it’s teetering on the low end. We’re at 6,000 feet, a lot of elevation changes. If I hit some of these balls with low spin, it’s not going to look like a pretty flight. I’m debating going back to the spinnier ball. It’s something I’ve played for awhile, so it’d be a change, but it’s something I think I’d be comfortable with.”

Since the TP5 is a bit higher spinning than the TP5x, Morikawa was asked if that will have any negative effect on his performance around the greens. Morikawa expressed little concern.

“I think the balls are so similar around the greens that it’s not even a factor,” Morikawa said. “They both spin around the greens really well, you get spin with wedges, they come out nice. The only thing with the X ball compared to the TP5 would be a little bit different launch. The X launches a tick higher, which could be good, but if I don’t have spin, it’s that balance trying to figure out where that is.”

Morikawa is hoping the golf ball switch will help him find more control in Colorado, as he looks to improve upon his fourth-place ranking on the FedExCup Playoffs standings ahead of the TOUR Championship next week in Atlanta.