Discover the Superior Quality of Titleist Golf Balls

Discover the Superior Quality of Titleist Golf Balls

Pro's Corner

During the summer of 2023, I received an email from Mike Rowan, Director of Acushnet Canada. The email was an invitation to a VIP Titleist Staff Event, hosted at the Titleist Worldwide Headquarters, in Fairhaven, MA leaving KC on Tuesday, September 20th and returning on Friday, September 23rd. In all, eight Titleist Staff Members were invited from across Canada.    

The event was a two- and one-half-day experience that showcased the people and products behind the scenes while sharing the vision for the future. I also learned some incredible history that I thought might be of interest below.

History of the Titleist Brand
The Titleist brand started with a vision – and an x-ray. The Titleist success story began on Sunday in 1932, when Phil Young, a dedicated amateur golfer and owner of a precision molded rubber company, missed a well-stroked putt in a match with his friend, who was head of the x-ray department at a local hospital.
Convinced that the ball itself was at fault, Young and his opponent went to the hospital, x-rayed the golf ball in question and found that its core was, in fact, off-center.
With his discovery, Phil Young persuaded Fred Bommer, a fellow MIT graduate, rubber specialist and avid golfer, to head up the Acushnet Golf Division. They set out to develop the highest quality and best performing golf ball in the world; one that would be uniform and consistent in quality, ball after ball.
It took Young and Bommer three years to perfect the first Titleist golf ball, but when it was ready in 1935, it could truthfully be introduced to the club professionals and golfers as the best ball ever made. Applying a lesson well learned, young implemented a process check that is still in practice today: every Titleist golf ball is x-rayed.
The Story of the Titleist Script
The Titleist script originated when the first Titleist-branded golf balls were being produced in 1935. Executives were looking for a logo and an executive suggested the handwriting of office secretary Helen Robinson who was considered to have beautiful penmanship.
Helen was given a sheet of paper and asked to write the word ‘Titleist’. The way she wrote the word on the page that day was used for the original logo and the Titleist script, one of the world’s most recognized marks, is still based on the initial lettering today – gracing every piece of Titleist equipment throughout the world.

The first day was a trip to Acushnet Headquarters in Fairhaven, MA. We first toured the Golf Ball R&D and later traveled to Ball Plant III, in New Bedford, MA.  During this tour I learned so much about what makes the Titleist Golf the #1 in golf. First of all, the golf ball is made completely from start to finish in house, which means they have complete control of the processes to build the #1 ball in golf.  No other golf ball company does this. Titleist also employs their own engineering team, and they work on sight to test the different materials always searching for ways to improve on what already seems like perfection. When a Titleist Golf Ball is constructed, it takes two weeks from start to finish. The processes are unbelievable and from the core construction all the way to the cover and the painting process. Just from Ball Plant III, over 1,000,000 golf balls are produced every day. Ball Plant III runs 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Later that day we traveled to 181 Facility. This is where all the equipment used to manufacture the golf balls is produced. Titleist is so particular on how their ball is made that they also do their own milling and manufacturing of equipment used on their lines. It was quite the experience to see the care and precision that is used in the production of this equipment and to talk to the Physicists who work directly with the millwrights during this process. Every model of golf ball has its own distinctive dimple pattern requiring it’s own mold. Each mold is produced multiple times and inspected before it is used on the line. It is then cleaned and checked regularly during the manufacturing process to ensure the highest quality golf balls are produced daily.

Day one wrapped up with a visit to the Custom Ball Plant in New Bedford, which is where all the custom golf balls are printed or logoed. This was the original home of Acushnet Golf and where the first golf ball was produced. Now it is home to where all the customizing of golf balls takes place. Again, the process is so detailed with the best quality paint with the tightest tolerances and checks, that every logo and every imprint is perfection.

Our final day (morning) was spent traveling back to HQ in Fairhaven, MA for a roundtable discussion with the Titleist Ball Fitting Team, the Titleist Sales team and finally with the FootJoy design and sales team. Topics such as fitting our members into the correct golf ball, design of FootJoy Shoes, Gloves and Apparel were all discussed.

The afternoon was reserved for a round of golf with Titleist Executives at the Bay Club in Mattapoisett, MA. A wonderful golf course designed by Brad Faxon.

I am so glad Titleist provided me this opportunity! The biggest takeaway for me from this trip was just how much Titleist really does care about producing the best quality products and they will spare no expense to do this. This makes me feel proud to be associated with such a great company!

Thank you, Titleist!

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