NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
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Each fall, the newest generation of the Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf ball officially makes its PGA Tour debut. This has traditionally taken place in Las Vegas at the Shriners Children’s Open – the same tournament where the original Pro V1 debuted back in 2000. That was the week in which 47 players immediately made the jump, including tournament winner Billy Andrade. The instant distance and control gains were recognized as revolutionary at the time, a key moment in the evolution of modern golf balls.
The 2023 Pro V1 and Pro V1x balls added to the ritual last week at TPC Summerlin, although the debut came a week earlier than expected. Before the Sanderson Farms Championship, three players involved in the prototype testing were so impressed that they were clamoring to put the new ball in play a week early. Titleist obliged, giving Garrick Higgo, Gary Woodland and M.J. Daffue early access to the shiny new pearls. They were delivered overnight, arriving Tuesday of tournament week in the iconic white box packaging.
It was worth the request. Higgo (Pro V1) had a tremendous week in Mississippi, leading the field in birdies while finishing one stroke out of a playoff. Not to be outdone, Daffue (Pro V1x) recorded a hole-in-one on the fourth hole in his first round, and Woodland (Pro V1x) managed 318 yards per tee shot, up eight yards from his 2022 season average.
Titleist has a structured process in place for bringing new equipment to the game’s highest level. Professionals and elite amateurs offer feedback through each stage of the R&D process before earning their validation by seeing the ball played in competition. This past week in Vegas, Titleist reps Fordie Pitts and Jeff Beyers were working with players as they went through the testing process. That seeding and evaluation will continue throughout the rest of the year as players see how the ball performs in various scenarios.
“First thing I’ll always do is take them to the short-game area,” Scottie Scheffler said. “For me, that’s always the most important. From there, I’ll go to the range and just look at numbers – carry, stuff like that. From there, I’ll go out on the course and just start hitting shots.
“So it’s the same thing I do in the short-game area. Have a few of my balls, have a few of the new balls and just try and hit the same shot and see how the ball reacts, see what it does in the wind and just go from there.”
The Pro V1 and Pro V1x have been dominant across all levels of competition. More than 72 percent of players from the PGA Tour and other major worldwide tours trust the golf ball, and the percentage is even higher for elite amateurs.
All four of the men’s major championships were won by a user of Titleist golf balls: Scheffler (Pro V1) at the Masters, before Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship, Matt Fitzpatrick at the U.S. Open and Cameron Smith at the Open Championship all played Pro V1x.
Sean Fairholm