December 17, 2012

 

Titleist is the #1 ball for more players and more champions across the worldwide professional tours. In fact, to date in 2012, Titleist golf ball players have recorded 190 victories around the world, compared to 25 for the nearest competitor. Since the introduction of the Pro V1 in 2000, the golf ball franchise has been the golf ball of choice for more than 1,900 champions worldwide. Below is a listing of tournaments won by Titleist golf ball players on the major worldwide professional tours in 2012.

TOUR (wins)		TOURNAMENT		PLAYER		BALL MODEL

 

PGA TOUR (29)		Hyundai Tournament of Champions		Steve Stricker		Pro V1x
		Sony Open in Hawaii		Johnson Wagner		Pro V1x
		Humana Challenge		Mark Wilson		Pro V1x
		Waste Management Phoenix Open		Winner		Pro V1x
		Northern Trust Open		Bill Haas		Pro V1x
		WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship		Hunter Mahan		Pro V1x
		Mayakoba Classic		John Huh		Pro V1
		Honda Classic		Winner		Pro V1x
		Transitions Championship		Luke Donald		Pro V1x
		Shell Houston Open		Hunter Mahan		Pro V1x
		THE MASTERS		Bubba Watson		Pro V1x
		Valero Texas Open		Ben Curtis		Pro V1x
		Zurich Classic of New Orleans		Jason Dufner		Pro V1
		Wells Fargo Championship		Rickie Fowler		Pro V1x
		HP Byron Nelson Championship		Jason Dufner		Pro V1
		Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial		Zach Johnson		Pro V1x
		THE U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP		Webb Simpson		Pro V1x
		The Travelers Championship		Marc Leishman		Pro V1x
		Greenbrier Classic		Ted Potter, Jr.		Pro V1x
		John Deere Classic		Zach Johnson		Pro V1x
		True South Classic		Scott Stallings		Pro V1x
		RBC Canadian Open		Scott Piercy		Pro V1x
		Reno-Tahoe Open		J.J. Henry		Pro V1x
		THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP		Winner		Pro V1x
		The Barclays		Winner		Pro V1x
		Deutsche Bank Championship		Winner		Pro V1x
		BMW Championship		Winner		Pro V1x
		Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open		Ryan Moore		Pro V1
		Frys.com Open		Jonas Blixt		Pro V1x

EUROPEAN (23)		Africa Open		Louis Oosthuizen		Pro V1x
		Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship		Robert Rock		Pro V1x
		Commercialbank Qatar Masters		Paul Lawrie		Pro V1x
		Omega Dubai Desert Classic		Rafael Cabrera-Bello		Pro V1x
		Avantha Masters		Jbe’ Kruger		Pro V1x
		Open de Andalucia		Julien Quesne		Pro V1x
		Trophée Hassan II		Michael Hoey		Pro V1x
		Maybank Malaysian Open		Louis Oosthuizen		Pro V1x
		Ballantine’s Championship		Bernd Wiesberger		Pro V1x
		Madeira Islands Open		Ricardo Santos		Pro V1x
		Volvo World Match Play Championship		Nicolas Colsaerts		Pro V1x
		BMW PGA Championship		Luke Donald		Pro V1x
		Nordea Masters		Lee Westwood		Pro V1x
		Saint-Omer Open		Darren Fichardt		Pro V1x
		The Irish Open		Jamie Donaldson		Pro V1
		Alstom Open de France		Marcel Siem		Pro V1x
		Lyoness Open		Bernd Wiesberger		Pro V1x
		Johnny Walker Championship		Paul Lawrie		Pro V1x
		ISPS HANDA Perth International		Bo Van Pelt		Pro V1
		WGC HSBC Championship		Ian Poulter		Pro V1x
		Barclays Singapore Open		Matteo Manassero		Pro V1x
		South African Open Championship		Henrik Stenson		Pro V1x
		DP World Tour Championship		Winner		Pro V1x

LPGA (19)		Honda LPGA Thailand		Yani Tseng		Pro V1x
		HSBC Women’s Champions		Angela Stanford		Pro V1
		RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup		Yani Tseng		Pro V1x
		Kia Classic		Yani Tseng		Pro V1x
		KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP		Sun Young Yoo		Pro V1
		Mobile Bay LPGA Classic		Stacy Lewis		Pro V1x
		Sybase Match Play Championship		Azahara Munoz		Pro V1
		ShopRite LPGA Classic		Stacy Lewis		Pro V1x
		Wegman’s LPGA Championship		Shanshan Feng		Pro V1x
		Manulife Financial LPGA		Brittany Lang		Pro V1x
		U.S. WOMENS OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP		Na Yeon Choi		Pro V1x
		Jamie Farr Toledo Open		So Yeon Ryu		Pro V1
		CN Canadian Womens Open		Champion (amateur)		Pro V1
		Kingsmill Championship		Jiyai Shin		Pro V1
		RICOH Women’s British Open		Jiyai Shin		Pro V1
		Navistar LPGA Classic		Stacy Lewis		Pro V1x
		miz Classic		Stacy Lewis		Pro V1x
		Lorena Ochoa Invitational		Cristie Kerr		Pro V1
		CME Group Titleholders		Na Yeon Choi		Pro V1x

CHAMPIONS (17)		Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai		Dan Forsman		Pro V1x
		Allianz Championship		Corey Pavin		Pro V1
		ACE Group Classic		Kenny Perry		Pro V1x
		Encompass Insurance Pro-Am of Tampa Bay		Michael Allen		Pro V1x
		SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP		Roger Chapman		Pro V1
		Principal Charity Classic		Jay Haas		Pro V1
		Regions Tradition		Tom Lehman		Pro V1
		Montreal Championship		Mark Calcavecchia		Pro V1x
		Constellation Senior Players Championship		Joe Daley		Pro V1
		U.S. SENIOR OPEN		Roger Chapman		Pro V1
		3M Championship		Bernhard Langer		Pro V1
		Dick’s Sporting Good Open		Willie Wood		Pro V1x
		Boeing Classic		Jay Don Blake		Pro V1x
		Pacific Links Hawaii		Willie Wood		Pro V1x
		SAS Championship		Bernhard Langer		Pro V1
		AT&T Championship		David Frost		Pro V1
		Charles Schwab Cup Championship		Tom Lehman		Pro V1

WEB.COM (18)		Panama Claro Championship		Edward Loar		Pro V1x
		Chile Classic		Paul Haley II		Pro V1x
		Soboba Classic		Andres Gonzales		Pro V1x
		TPC Stonebrae Championship		Alex Aragon		Pro V1x
		The Rex Hospital Open		James Hahn		Pro V1x
		Mexico Open		Lee Williams		Pro V1x
		United Leasing Championship		Peter Tomasullo		Pro V1x
		Utah Championship		Doug LaBelle II		Pro V1x
		Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational		Ben Kohles		Pro V1x
		Cox Classic		Ben Kohles		Pro V1x
		Midwest Classic		Shawn Stefani		Pro V1x
		News Sentinel Open		Darron Stiles		Pro V1
		Mylan Classic		Robert Streb		Pro V1
		Albertson’s Boise Open		Luke Guthrie		Pro V1x
		WNB Golf Classic		Luke Guthrie		Pro V1x
		Neediest Kids Championship		David Lingmerth		Pro V1x
		Miccosukee Championship		Shawn Stefani		Pro V1x
		Web.com Championship		Justin Bolli		Pro V1

SOUTH AFRICAN (15)		Data Dimension Pro-Am		Oliver Bekker		Pro V1x
		Telkom PGA Championship		Keith Horne		Pro V1x
		Platinum Classic		Jake Roos		Pro V1x
		Golden Pilsner Zimbabwe Open		Chris Swanepoel		Pro V1x
		Investec Royal Swazi Open		Christiaan Basson		Pro V1x
		Vodacom Origins of Golf – Simola Event		Ryan Cairns		Pro V1x
		Lombard Insurance Classic		Jake Roos		Pro V1x
		Indio Zambia Bank Zambia Open		Justin Harding		Pro V1x
		Vodacom Origins of Golf _ Western Cape Event		Allan Versfeld		Pro V1x
		Wild Waves Challenge		Trevor Fisher, Jr.		Pro V1x
		Vodacom Origins of Golf – Northern Cape Event		Trevor Fisher, Jr.		Pro V1x
		BMG Classic		Teboho Sefatsa		Pro V1x
		ISPS Handa Matchplay Championship		Doug McGuigan		Pro V1x
		Nedbank Affinity Cup		Trevor Fisher, Jr.		Pro V1x
		Cape Town Open		Jake Roos		Pro V1x

ASIAN (16)		Zaykabar Myanmar Open		Kieran Pratt		Pro V1x
		ISPS Philippine Open		Mardan Mamat		Pro V1x
		Handa Faldo Cambodian Classic		David Lipsky		Pro V1x
		Panasonic Indonesia Open		Digvijay Singh		Pro V1x
		ISPS Handa Singapore Open		Scott Hend		Pro V1x
		CIMB NIAGA Indonesian Masters		Lee Westwood		Pro V1x
		Queen’s Cup		Thaworn Wiratchant		Pro V1x
		Volvik Hildesheim Open		Lee In Woo		Pro V1x
		Worldwide Holdings Selagor Masters		Thaworn Wiratchant		Pro V1x
		Yeangder Tournament Players Championship		Gaganjeet Bhullar		Pro V1x
		Mercuries Taiwan Masters		Chi Huang Tsai		Pro V1x
		CS K.J. Choi Invitational		K.J. Choi		Pro V1x
		Venetian Macau Open		Gaganjeet Bhullar		Pro V1x
		Hero Indian Open		Thaworn Wiratchant		Pro V1x
		CIMB Classic		Nick Watney		Pro V1x
		King’s Cup		Arnond Vongvanij		Pro V1x

ONEASIA (7)		Indonesia Open		Nick Cullen		Pro V1x
		Thailand Open		Chris Wood		Pro V1x
		High1 Resort Open		Matthew Griffin		Pro V1x
		Nanshan Masters		Liang Wen-chong		Pro V1x
		55th Kolon Korea Open		Dae-Sub Kim		Pro V1x
		Emirates Australian Open		Peter Senior		Pro V1
		Australian PGA Championship		Daniel Popovic		Pro V1

JAPAN (15)		Tsuruya Open		Hiroyuki Fujita		Pro V1
		The Crowns		I. J. Jang		Pro V1x
		JPGA Championship Nissin Cupnoodles Cup		Toru Taniguchi		Pro V1x
		Totoumi Hamamatsu Open		Jay Choi		Pro V1x
		Diamond Cup Golf 2012		Hiroyuki Fujita		Pro V1
		Gateway to the Open miz Open		Brad Kennedy		Pro V1x
		Nagashima Shigeo Invitational Sega Sammy Cup		Kyoong-Hoon Lee		Pro V1x
		Kansai Open		Toshinori Muto		Pro V1
		Fujisankei Classic		Kyung-tae Kim		Pro V1x
		ANA Open		Hiroyuki Fujita		Pro V1
		Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open		Champion		Pro V1x
		Japan Open		Kenichi Kuboya		Pro V1x
		bstone Open		Toru Taniguchi		Pro V1x
		Dunlop Phoenix		Luke Donald		Pro V1x
		Golf Nippon Series JT Cup		Hiroyuki Fujita		Pro V1

AUSTRALASIAN (7)		Victorian Open		Scott Arnold		Pro V1
		Adroit Insurance Group Victorian PGA Championship		Garreth Paddison		Pro V1
		New Zealand Pro-Am Championship		Mike Hendry		Pro V1x
		South Pacific Open		Brad Shilton		Pro V1x
		WA Goldfields PGA Championship		Peter Wilson		Pro V1x
		Australian Masters		Adam Scott		Pro V1
		New Zealand Open		Champion		Pro V1x

KOREAN (5)		The 7th Meritz Solmoro Open		Jin-Ho Choi		Pro V1x
		Dongbu Promi Open		Dae-Sub Kim		Pro V1
		Munsingwear Match Play Championship		Dae-Hyun Kim		Pro V1x
		28th Shinhan Donghae Open		Meen-Whee Kim		Pro V1x
		Windsor Classic		Joo-Yeob Baek		Pro V1x

CANADIAN (6)		Times Colonist Island Savings Open		Andrew Roque		Pro V1x
		Syncrude Boreal Open		Corey Renfrew		Pro V1x
		Canadian Tour Players Cup		Chris Kilmer		Pro V1x
		Jamieson WFCU Windsor Roseland Charity Classic		Alan McLean		Pro V1
		Canadian Tour Championship		Champion		Pro V1x
		The Great Waterway Classic		Champion		Pro V1x

CHINA (3)		China PGA Champions Tour Shandong Event		Xin Jun Zhang		Pro V1x
		China PGA Champions Tour Tour Ordos Event		Fan Zhi Peng		Pro V1x
		China PGA Champions Tour Chong Qing Event		Wang Jeung hun		Pro V1x

LATINOAMERICA (10)		Mundo Maya Open		Champion		Pro V1x
		Trans American Power Products Open		Champion		Pro V1x
		65 Arturo Calle Colombian Open		Champion		Pro V1
		Brasil Open		Champion		Pro V1x
		Roberto De Vincenzo Invitational		Champion		Pro V1x
		Dominican Republic Open		Champion		Pro V1x
		Puerto Rico Classic		Champion		Pro V1x
		Colombian Coffee Classic		Champion		Pro V1x
		Olivos Golf Classic Personal		Ariel Cañete		Pro V1x
		107 Visa Open de Argentina		Angel Cabrera		Pro V1x

May 31, 2012

You Don’t Even Have To Change Your Swing!

by Neil Economy, SunRiver Golf Course PGA Pro

The great Bobby Jones once said, “The secret of golf is to turn three shots into two.” The easiest way for most golfers to accomplish that is to make more putts. We’re supposed to make the two- and three-footers. We’re embarrassed when they lip out or slide by the edge.

Our expectations aren’t as high when it comes to putts between four and ten feet. According to pgatour.com, PGA Tour pros made about 86% of their four-foot putts in 2010. But they only made about 49% when putting from eight feet and just 38% from ten feet. If that range isn’t a gimme for a Tour pro, we wouldn’t expect to make a high percentage either.

With practice we can all become much better putters. But who has time to put in the practice Tour pros do? Here’s a way to help you make more putts up to ten feet that should only take you minutes. As you get better, the less time it takes you, the better off you’ll be.

Drop a couple of balls six to eight feet from the hole and putt. Then do it again. You’ll quickly find that making putts from six to eight feet requires a good stroke. You can make two- and three-foot putts with a bad stroke. But at longer distances, stroke flaws show up and send putts off line. At first, it’s really important to practice only straight putts. You can concentrate just on your stroke.  You don’t have to think about break. Miss a straight putt and you know your stroke is to blame.

See how many putts you can make in a row up to ten. If you miss one, start over. You’ll start to get a feel for how to putt under pressure. You’ll bear down and make a good stroke because you won’t want to start over. If you can’t get to the course, this works great at home on the carpet.

Pretty soon you’ll find you’re done in minutes because you sank them all in the first round or by starting over only once or twice. Say you hit seven in a row, then miss one and have to start over. You make it all the way through the second time and realize, “I just made 17 out of 18 putts from six to ten feet. That’s 94%.” Think that will give you some confidence?

When you get on the practice green at the course, try finding a hole on or near a hill. Putt from six to eight feet in a circle around the hole. You may have seen Phil Mickelson practice this way. You’ll putt uphill and downhill with breaks both ways. Then, when you get the confidence to sink six-, eight-, even ten footers regularly your scores are bound to fall by two, three, maybe even five strokes.

The rest of your short game will also benefit. Suddenly you’re not pressuring yourself to hit the perfect chip, pitch or bunker shot “inside the magic two-foot circle”. When you know you can make anything up to ten feet, if the ball runs a few feet too far or comes up a little short, you won’t get upset. Instead you’ll think, “I can make that.”

To illustrate how much putts inside ten feet can impact scoring, look at Ricky Fowler’s recent success. Had Fowler won The Players Championship, he would have been the first golfer since 1997 to get his first two career PGA Tour wins in consecutive weeks. Fowler collected his first PGA Tour title the previous week at Charlotte.

At The Players Championship, Fowler finished tied for second, two shots behind winner Matt Kuchar. On Saturday at Sawgrass, Fowler fired a 66 to rocket up the leaderboard. In that round he had zero three-putts and was 16-for-17 on putts inside ten feet. For the week, Fowler missed 11 putts inside ten feet. If he had made just two of those putts, he’s in a playoff. If he makes three more he wins.

You may not be putting with The Players Championship on the line. But when you start making more putts inside ten feet you’ll save shots, shoot lower scores and have more fun. You just may feel you’ve discovered your own secret of golf.