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Titleist (pronounced "title-ist") is an American brand of golf equipment produced by the Acushnet Company, headquartered in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1932 by Philip E. Young, it focuses on , such as common dominant model, the ProV1. golf club and golf bags.
The name Titleist is derived from the word "", which means "title holder".
In 1930, Young developed a machine that could uniformly wind rubber string around a rubber core, making a "dead center" golf ball. He named the ball "Titleist," noting it was the "winner" of the quest to create the best for the game. The golf division of the Acushnet Process Company produced the Titleist golf ball in 1935, which became the company's most successful product.
In 1948, Titleist introduced "Dynamite Thread" to increase the yardage of their balls. A year later, Titleist became the most used ball at the U.S. Open Tournament.
Titleist was purchased by American Brands (later renamed to Fortune Brands) in 1976. In 1985, American Brands sold off the Acushnet Company's Acushnet Rubber division, which was Acushnet's original business (circa early 1900s).
On December 8, 2010, Fortune Brands announced that it would soon sell or spin off Titleist and some other brands.Aaron Smith, Jim Beam, neat, is company's new strategy , CNN Money, December 8, 2010. Fortune Brands to split into three companies , Lake Country News-Sun, December 9, 2010. It was then announced on May 20, 2011, that a Korean group associated with Fila Korea, Ltd. and Mirae Asset would purchase Acushnet for $1.23 billion in cash. Fortune Brands to Sell Titleist Golf Unit to Fila Korea for $1.23 Billion , Cotten Timberlake and Lauren Coleman-Lochner, Bloomberg, May 20, 2011. Acushnet to be sold to Korean group led by Fila , Gene Yasuda, Golf Week, May 20, 2011. Fila set to buy Fortune Brands' golf unit for $1.2B , Dow Jones Newswire, May 20, 2011. Fila takes swing at golf biz with Titleist buy, CBS News, May 20, 2011.
Shortly after its introduction the Titleist Pro V1 became the most played ball on the PGA Tour and has been for the past 20 years, picking up the most worldwide wins from both direct brand ambassadors (meaning they play Titleist equipment) and players who are not directly under contract and considered brand ambassadors from Titleist. 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.
In December 2007, Acushnet Company lost a patent infringement suit brought by Callaway. 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 the decision. 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.
In October 2021, Titleist introduced Radar Capture Technology (RCT) golf balls, developed to enhance the capture of launch conditions, spin rates, and full-flight ball data when used with indoor radar-based launch monitors. Recent Pro V1 models also incorporate high-gradient core constructions designed to lower long game spin, softer high-flex casing layers to maintain greenside control, and new spherically-tiled 388 (Pro V1) and 348 (Pro V1x) tetrahedral dimple designs to optimize aerodynamic performance.
Players previously contracted with Titleist include Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, before both moved to Nike and then later TaylorMade, and Phil Mickelson, who switched to Callaway Golf shortly after his 2004 Masters Tournament win.
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