| Type | Subsidiary of Fila |
|---|---|
| Industry | Golf |
| Founded | 1932 |
| Founder(s) | Philip E. Young, Fred Bommer |
| Headquarters | Fairhaven, Massachusetts, USA |
| Website | www.titleist.com |
Titleist is a brand name owned by Fila for golf equipment and apparel products produced by its subsidiary called the Acushnet Company, which is headquartered in Fairhaven, Massachusetts.[1][2][3]
Acushnet is best known for its Titleist golf balls. It also produces clubs and other equipment, apparel and accessories under the brands FootJoy, and Pinnacle in addition to Titleist. On December 8, 2010, Fortune Brands announced that it would soon sell or spin off Titleist and some other brands.[1][2][3] It was then announced on May 20th, 2011 that a Korean group associated with Fila Korea, Ltd. and Mirae Asset Private Equity would purchase Acushnet for $1.23 billion in cash.[4][5][6][7]
The name Titleist is derived from the word "titlist", which means title holder.[8] Several marketing mottos have been promoted for the Titleist brand, including "The #1 ball in golf", "Serious clubs for serious golfers", "It's not how you mark your golf ball, it's how you mark your Titleist".
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Titleist, a member of the Acushnet family currently produces the following golf balls:
The Pro V1 made its debut on the PGA Tour at Las Vegas on October 11, 2000, the first week it was available to the pros. A longtime Titleist user, Billy Andrade, won that first tournament with the new ball. The Pro V1 was available to the public by December. The Pro V1 was a dramatic departure for the brand, which had traditionally used a wound-ball construction (with a liquid-filled core center) for its top-of-the-line golf balls.
Shortly after its introduction the Titleist Pro V1 became the most played ball on the PGA Tour[9][10][11], and three years after Titleist's initial breakthrough with the Pro V1 came the Pro V1x, a ball with 60 fewer dimples. The combination of a larger firmer core a thinner cover and 60 fewer dimples resulted in a ball that retained the same soft feel of the Pro V1 while reducing spin and increasing distance. [12]
In December 2007, Acushnet lost a patent infringement suit brought by Callaway.[13] The following November, Callaway won an injunction in a Delaware court, ruling that sales of the Pro V1 golf balls must be stopped from January 1, 2009, with professionals being able to continue with their use until the end of the year. Acushnet immediately announced that they would be appealing against the decision.[14] Acushnet somewhat redesigned the Pro-V1 during the dispute. On August 14, 2009, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated the judgment against Acushnet and ordered a new trial. On March 29, 2010; a federal jury ruled in favor of Acushnet (Titleist), and found that the Callaway patents were invalid [15]
Titleist manufactures a range of woods, irons, wedges (under the Vokey Design brand) and putters (under the Scotty Cameron brand). Current models include:
Drivers: 910D2, 910D3
Fairways and Utilities: 910F, 910F-d, 910H
Irons: AP1 712, AP2 712, CB, MB
Vokey Design Wedges: Spin Milled, Spin Milled C-C, Spin Milled SM4
Scotty Cameron Putters: Studio Select, California, Studio Select Kombi
Titleist is a respected and popular golf brand, with such players as Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy, Steve Stricker, Bill Haas, Nick Watney, Geoff Ogilvy, and Matteo Manassero under contract. Tiger Woods was also contracted to use Titleist before moving to Nike. When the Nike contract began Woods refused to use the Nike drivers for a long time and continued to use his Titleist one. Up until the 2010 British Open, Woods carried a Titleist putter, but has since switched to a Nike Method putter. However, after the third round, Tiger switched back to his Titleist putter (Scotty Cameron).
The Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x are the most used golf balls on the PGA Tour, European Tour, Japanese Tour, LPGA Tour, Asian Tour, and Nationwide Tour.
First played in the U.S. Open in 1949, Titleist golf balls are the top-selling golf balls in the United States.[16]
Titleist products have been referenced in the film Caddyshack, Tin Cup, as well as episodes of Beavis and Butt-head (where it is mispronounced "Tit-lee-ist") and Seinfeld (episode The Marine Biologist).
Many tour professional have endorsement deals for Titleist and are contracted to use their equipment, including the following.
Titleist also has a very extensive list of players who endorse their golf ball only, including the following