Texas Children’s Houston Open: Ryan Fox goes back to comfort zone with change in equipment

Ryan Fox will be putting a harder golf ball in play for the Texas Children's Houston Open this week. Photo / Getty Images

Ryan Fox is returning to his comfort zone.

At the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February, he made the decision to put a softer golf ball in play.

It was a decision based on what he learned from playing the PGA Tour last year, but in the five events since it hasn’t impacted his game as he had hoped, as he has struggled with his feel on the greens and missed the cut three times in that stretch.

For the Texas Children’s Houston Open this week, he’ll go back to what worked in the past.

“There were some good signs, but I’ve struggled with it around the greens. It’s got a different feel and that’s certainly hurt my scoring the last little while,” Fox explained.

“I did feel like last year I couldn’t hit a few shots that other guys could hit, and I know on the PGA Tour a lot of the Srixon guys use the [Z-Star] Diamond ball, whereas in Europe the guys usually use the [Z-Star] XV ball which is a harder one.

“I was using the XV ball but tried the Diamond and I did really like it, but the feel was just slightly different and I struggled to adapt to that a little bit. I may have made the decision a little hastily, but I made it for the right reasons. Obviously, it’s been a bit of a struggle over the last few weeks, so go back to something that feels a bit more familiar.”

Among the key differences, a softer ball offers better spin control, which can be a key factor in a golfer’s short game. A harder ball is designed to better harness the power of a high-speed swing.

Fox said he had always been a low-spin golfer anyway, but he found it tricky playing a harder ball on the firm, fast greens on the PGA Tour last year.

But after missing the cut at last week’s Valspar Championship, Fox put the harder ball back in play in preparation for this week’s tournament in Texas with great results in practice rounds.

“It felt really nice around the greens and started hitting it how I wanted to hit, so I figured I’d go back to what I’m used to,” Fox said.

“I played pretty well with that ball last year and the previous years, so rather than trying to change a whole bunch of other things to try and find it, I figured I’d backtrack a little, go back to what was working and the ball was the obvious thing there.

“Hopefully with that little change, it helps the scoring clubs a little bit and I can put together the four rounds.”

Coming into this week’s tournament in Texas, Fox had missed the cut in four of the six tournaments he has played on the PGA Tour so far. In the 12 tournaments he played on the tour last year, he only missed the cut twice.

While it hasn’t been the ideal start to the year, Fox said it wasn’t make-or-break time yet, and that more than anything else, it had been a frustrating mix of good and bad.

“I’ve shown some signs of the game being there; I had a really nice first round at the Players [Championship], I played nicely on Friday last week at the Valspar. I’ve put some nice scores together, I just haven’t done it for a week yet,” Fox said.

“I think it’s just a case, at the moment, of getting out of my own way and letting it happen rather than trying to force it. I’ve done all the work. I changed ball earlier in the year, but I’ve gone back to the old ball I was using for the last couple of years, so hopefully that will kickstart things.

“Other than that, just keep doing what I’m doing and the form will turn eventually. It always does.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.