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The ball business ten years after ProV1
Changes with more on the way
By ED TRAVIS
Changes with more on the way
By ED TRAVIS
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March 25, 2011 - A lot has happened in the golf ball
business in the past ten years. In October of 2000
Acushnet introduced the Titleist Pro V1 which for
touring professionals and better amateurs was a
game changer – longer, as much or more spin and
more durable compared to the balata covered balls
then in use.
The ProV1’s construction was different, much different.
Tour level balls had been made with a rubber core
surrounded by windings of rubber bands and then a
cover made from the dried sap of the bully tree, balata.
The ProV1 featured what has come to be called a solid
“high-speed core” encased in a mantle of hard plastic
with a cover of Urethane, another type of plastic and no
rubber bands.
It literally changed golf, particularly for the professionals
and other players with high clubhead speed. The huge
core and hard mantle, the thin layer beneath the cover,
were ideal for generating high ball speeds from faster
swings. Hitting ProV1s gave PGA Tour players
significantly more distance and with the development of
titanium driver clubheads with graphite shafts there was
a huge increase. Within a couple of years the Tour
average driving distance had jumped by about ten
percent to around 290-yards which is where it has
remained.
Yes, the ProV1 had distance. Well it should have since
its construction was similar to the solid core “distance
balls” made by every ball company but typified by Top-
Flite Golf’s balls nicknamed “Top Rocks.” However,
instead of the hard Surlyn plastic cover of Top Rocks
and Acushnet’s own Pinnacle brand, toursters found
ProV1’s with the soft Urethane cover were great around
the greens allowing them to precisely control the
amount of spin and trajectory with their short irons, keys
to hitting it close for low scoring.
Over the past decade Acushnet has not rested. Every
two years a “new and improved” version of the ProV1
has been introduced with the newest this past January
along with an update of its stable-mate, the four-piece
ProV1x. Both have a modified dimple pattern from the
previous model and other tweaks to enhance
performance.
In 2000 Acushnet’s Titleist was the dominant ball brand.
The Titleist Professional was the top ball on the PGA
Tour and in the opinion of many had no equal.
Introduction of the ProV1 pushed the Professional to the
has-been bin and the company’s market share to new
heights.
business in the past ten years. In October of 2000
Acushnet introduced the Titleist Pro V1 which for
touring professionals and better amateurs was a
game changer – longer, as much or more spin and
more durable compared to the balata covered balls
then in use.
The ProV1’s construction was different, much different.
Tour level balls had been made with a rubber core
surrounded by windings of rubber bands and then a
cover made from the dried sap of the bully tree, balata.
The ProV1 featured what has come to be called a solid
“high-speed core” encased in a mantle of hard plastic
with a cover of Urethane, another type of plastic and no
rubber bands.
It literally changed golf, particularly for the professionals
and other players with high clubhead speed. The huge
core and hard mantle, the thin layer beneath the cover,
were ideal for generating high ball speeds from faster
swings. Hitting ProV1s gave PGA Tour players
significantly more distance and with the development of
titanium driver clubheads with graphite shafts there was
a huge increase. Within a couple of years the Tour
average driving distance had jumped by about ten
percent to around 290-yards which is where it has
remained.
Yes, the ProV1 had distance. Well it should have since
its construction was similar to the solid core “distance
balls” made by every ball company but typified by Top-
Flite Golf’s balls nicknamed “Top Rocks.” However,
instead of the hard Surlyn plastic cover of Top Rocks
and Acushnet’s own Pinnacle brand, toursters found
ProV1’s with the soft Urethane cover were great around
the greens allowing them to precisely control the
amount of spin and trajectory with their short irons, keys
to hitting it close for low scoring.
Over the past decade Acushnet has not rested. Every
two years a “new and improved” version of the ProV1
has been introduced with the newest this past January
along with an update of its stable-mate, the four-piece
ProV1x. Both have a modified dimple pattern from the
previous model and other tweaks to enhance
performance.
In 2000 Acushnet’s Titleist was the dominant ball brand.
The Titleist Professional was the top ball on the PGA
Tour and in the opinion of many had no equal.
Introduction of the ProV1 pushed the Professional to the
has-been bin and the company’s market share to new
heights.
The newest version of the Titleist ProV1 and ProV1x
came out in January.
came out in January.
ProV1 quickly became and still is the gold standard of
golf balls. It is the most played on every professional
tour and outsells all other tour quality balls combined.
Ten years ago Spalding was the number two ball
company. They are no longer in business having been
purchased in bankruptcy court by Callaway Golf who has
struggled to compete effectively with Titleist. The second
largest golf equipment company behind Acushnet,
TaylorMade, continues trying to find the right ball to be
successful in the marketplace (and their Penta TP may
just be that ball) while Bridgestone Golf has a line of
high quality balls and done an exemplary job marketing
their products with their ball fitting campaign.
What many do not remember is that in 2000 other multi-
layer balls had been around for a while but in particular
Nike Golf was the first to have a Urethane cover ball.
Their Tour Accuracy hit the market in May of that year and
a version was played by their star endorser Tiger
Woods. Ball sales for Nike took off scarcely dampened
by the revelation after a consumer watchdog law suit in
California state court that summer Woods did not
actually play the Tour Accuracy version available to the
public.
In a recent announcement Nike says they have a
significant development in the construction of their golf
balls and what Rock Ishii, Product Development Director
and one of the most respected people in the ball
business, thinks may be another game changer.
The new Nike 20XI four-layer ball has a core material
created with help of DuPont which replaces the current
rubber-based core with a resin or “highly neutralized
polymer”. Nike claims the core is faster and lighter
giving more distance and better control since weight
from the core could be shifted to the outer layers.
.
golf balls. It is the most played on every professional
tour and outsells all other tour quality balls combined.
Ten years ago Spalding was the number two ball
company. They are no longer in business having been
purchased in bankruptcy court by Callaway Golf who has
struggled to compete effectively with Titleist. The second
largest golf equipment company behind Acushnet,
TaylorMade, continues trying to find the right ball to be
successful in the marketplace (and their Penta TP may
just be that ball) while Bridgestone Golf has a line of
high quality balls and done an exemplary job marketing
their products with their ball fitting campaign.
What many do not remember is that in 2000 other multi-
layer balls had been around for a while but in particular
Nike Golf was the first to have a Urethane cover ball.
Their Tour Accuracy hit the market in May of that year and
a version was played by their star endorser Tiger
Woods. Ball sales for Nike took off scarcely dampened
by the revelation after a consumer watchdog law suit in
California state court that summer Woods did not
actually play the Tour Accuracy version available to the
public.
In a recent announcement Nike says they have a
significant development in the construction of their golf
balls and what Rock Ishii, Product Development Director
and one of the most respected people in the ball
business, thinks may be another game changer.
The new Nike 20XI four-layer ball has a core material
created with help of DuPont which replaces the current
rubber-based core with a resin or “highly neutralized
polymer”. Nike claims the core is faster and lighter
giving more distance and better control since weight
from the core could be shifted to the outer layers.
.
This produced an increase in the moment of inertia or
for us non-technical people, the 20XI goes farther and is
more forgiving.
Ishii said, “I have never been more excited about a new
golf ball innovation than I am now. For many years, golf
ball development has primarily been focused on the
number of layers with a solid rubber core. We believe
that there wasn’t really anywhere else to go as far as
technology advancement in these areas, and felt that the
next window of opportunity was in the exploration of
various materials for the core.” There are two types of
20XI, the S and the X which has a higher compression
and firmer cover.
for us non-technical people, the 20XI goes farther and is
more forgiving.
Ishii said, “I have never been more excited about a new
golf ball innovation than I am now. For many years, golf
ball development has primarily been focused on the
number of layers with a solid rubber core. We believe
that there wasn’t really anywhere else to go as far as
technology advancement in these areas, and felt that the
next window of opportunity was in the exploration of
various materials for the core.” There are two types of
20XI, the S and the X which has a higher compression
and firmer cover.
The 4-piece Nike 20XI comes in two versions, the S and the X
which has a firmer cover and higher compression. Both have
what Nike is touting as a potential game changing resin core.
which has a firmer cover and higher compression. Both have
what Nike is touting as a potential game changing resin core.
Today the 600-pound gorilla is the sale of Acushnet by
parent company Fortune Brands (NYSE:FO) due to a
major investor’s dissatisfaction with performance of the
Fortune Brands stock. Speculation is rampant who will
be the winner of the Acushnet sweepstakes and runs
the gamut from Acushnet CEO Wally Uihlein being the
buyer to TaylorMade-adidas Golf to Nike Golf to
someone not in the industry.
Overlooked by many though are the anti-trust
implications should one of the other major golf
companies purchase Acushnet. Acushnet’s sales of
$1.25 billion, is almost 20 percent of all equipment
sales and the largest in the industry. Therefore adding
Titleist to any of the competing companies list of brands
with its number one position in ball sales, not to
mention their Foot-Joy brand’s similar place in golf
shoes, would presumably trigger howls of restraint of
trade.
The most likely scenario is Fortune Brands will find a
buyer for Acushnet which will probably not be another
golf company and their ProV1 will continue to be the ball
of choice for better players and those who want to be.
parent company Fortune Brands (NYSE:FO) due to a
major investor’s dissatisfaction with performance of the
Fortune Brands stock. Speculation is rampant who will
be the winner of the Acushnet sweepstakes and runs
the gamut from Acushnet CEO Wally Uihlein being the
buyer to TaylorMade-adidas Golf to Nike Golf to
someone not in the industry.
Overlooked by many though are the anti-trust
implications should one of the other major golf
companies purchase Acushnet. Acushnet’s sales of
$1.25 billion, is almost 20 percent of all equipment
sales and the largest in the industry. Therefore adding
Titleist to any of the competing companies list of brands
with its number one position in ball sales, not to
mention their Foot-Joy brand’s similar place in golf
shoes, would presumably trigger howls of restraint of
trade.
The most likely scenario is Fortune Brands will find a
buyer for Acushnet which will probably not be another
golf company and their ProV1 will continue to be the ball
of choice for better players and those who want to be.