Titleist Brand Ambassador Marc Leishman visited the Acushnet Test Facility in Oceanside, California this week as he prepared to compete in the Farmers Insurance Open at nearby Torrey Pines Golf Course. Marc is entering his second full season on the PGA Tour, and he’s looking to improve upon his 2009 Rookie of the Year campaign that included eight top-25 finishes, over $1.7 million in earnings, and a trip to the season-ending TOUR Championship. Qualifying for the TOUR Championship also earned Marc a spot in this year’s Masters Tournament, and he had Augusta National in mind as he worked with the Titleist fitters at Oceanside this week.
First, Marc was fit for a 19° 909H hybrid to replace his Tour-only AP2 2-iron. Marc has been a 2-iron player for a number of years, and it’s a club that performs well in the firm, fast, and windy conditions of his native Australia. On the PGA Tour, however, Marc needs a higher launching and softer landing trajectory for long distance approach shots that the 2-iron was not delivering. After working with both steel and graphite shafts in the 19° 909H, Marc went with the UST Mamiya Axivcore Tour Black Hybrid 100X and put it straight into the bag this week at Torrey Pines.
Marc also spent some time working with different lob wedges. He is currently using a Vokey Design TVD 58, but feels that he catches the ball too high on the face from time-to-time. The fitters had him try a few different wedges with less bounce, and Marc left with a 60-L bent to 58°. Although that wedge isn’t in the bag this week, don’t be surprised if you see it once conditions get a bit firmer on Tour.
Finally, the fitters had Marc try a few driver/shaft options to help him turn the ball over more easily. Marc predominately plays a fade and typically likes to eliminate the left-hand side of the golf course, but mentioned that he wouldn’t mind having the option of moving the ball from right-to-left for a certain tournament in early April. Using the SureFit system, Marc was able to quickly try out a few different shaft options and determined that the Graphite Design Tour AD DI-6X (now available through Titleist Custom Clubs) performed similarly to his current gamer with the added workability he was seeking. Like the new wedge, this new driver set-up didn’t make it in the bag this week, but we’re sure Marc will be working with it in the coming weeks as he gets closer to his first round starting time in Augusta.
What’s in Marc Leishman’s bag this week at the Farmers Insurance Open:
Ball: Pro V1x
Driver: 909D2 (8.5°, Oban Devotion 6X)
Fairway: 909F2 (13.5°, Oban Devotion 8X)
Hybrid: 909H (19°, UST Mamiya Axivcore Tour Black Hybrid 100X)
Irons: AP2 (3-9, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100)
Wedges: Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C 248.10 (bent to 47°), Spin Milled C-C TVD 54 (bent to 53°), Spin Milled C-C TVD 58 (all wedges with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 T10 Select
Titleist Brand Ambassador Marc Leishman testing wedges at the
Acushnet Test Facility in Oceanside, California.
January 29th, 2010
Geoff Ogilvy, the defending champion of the SBS Championship, enters the season-opening, winners-only event as the newest Titleist Brand Ambassador. Geoff agreed to a multi-year deal that includes playing the Titleist golf ball, Titleist golf clubs, wearing Titleist headwear and carrying a Titleist golf bag. He will also wear a FootJoy glove and shoes.
The six-time champion on the PGA Tour enters the 2010 season ranked No. 14 in the World Rankings. He joins Titleist’s full product line stable that features 11 of the Top 50 players in the world, including Steve Stricker, Rory McIlroy, Ross Fisher, Zach Johnson, Robert Karlsson, Nick Watney, Adam Scott, and Michael Sim among others. Ogilvy was a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR last year, also capturing the WGC-Accenture Matchplay Championship.
Titleist Brand Ambassador Geoff Ogilvy’s Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C wedges.
Geoff’s bag for the year’s inaugural event includes:
Titleist Pro V1 golf ball
Titleist 909D3 driver (9.5°)
Cobra S9-1 fairway metal (15.0°)
CobraS9-1 fairway metal (18.0° bent to 20°)
Titleist MB irons (3-9)
Vokey Design Spin Milled pitching (50°), sand (55°) and lob (60°) wedges
Scotty Cameron Prototype putter
For more on Geoff’s new Titleist equipment, be sure to check out David Dusek’s post on the Golf.com Equipment Blog.
Ogilvy isn’t the only new Titleist Brand Ambassador teeing off on Maui this week. Bo Van Pelt joins Team Titleist this year and qualified for the SBS Championship following his victory at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.
Bo’s bag includes:
Titleist Pro V1 golf ball
Titleist 909D2 driver (8.5°)
Titleist 909F3 fairway metal (15.5°)
Titleist 909H hybrid (17°)
Titleist CB irons (4-6)
Titleist MB irons (7-P)
Vokey Design Spin Milled gap (51°), sand (56° bent to 55.5°) and lob (58° bent to 59.5°) wedges
All of the Titleist wedges played on Tour are the new Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C (Condition of Competition) models that adhere to the new USGA and R&A specifications regarding grooves. The new “groove rule” was implemented for Condition of Competition events beginning January 1, 2010. For more information on the new groove rule visit Titleist.com.
January 7th, 2010
Our colleagues at the Titleist European Tour Blog spent the early part of the week in Spain preparing players for the Castelló Masters at Club de Campo del Mediterráneo. The tournament in Valencia is the final regulation event on European soil in 2009. This means it is also the final outing of the season for the Titleist Tour Support Vehicle (TTSV). The TTSV and driver Ian Martin have covered many thousands of miles across the 2009 season, taking in events across 12 countries beginning in Spain at the Open de Andalucia back in March and ending this week.
For more coverage on Team Titleist’s activities at the Castelló Masters, be sure to check out the full post over at the Titleist European Tour Blog.
Titleist Brand Ambassador Paul Waring spent time with Titleist Tour Representative Phil Dimmock working with his 909F3 fairway metals using the Trackman fitting system. Click here to read about the results.
October 23rd, 2009
Nick Watney’s win at the Buick Invitational marks the fifth consecutive victory by a Titleist golf ball loyalist to start the 2009 PGA TOUR season. He follows Kenny Perry (FBR Open), Pat Perez (Bob Hope Classic), fellow Titleist Brand Ambassador Zach Johnson (Sony Open), and Geoff Ogilvy (Mercedes Benz Championship) into this year’s PGA TOUR winners’ circle. Each champion trusted the Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf ball for his winning success.
Titleist was the most played golf ball at the Buick Invitational with 102 players (65%), more than four times the nearest competitor with 25. Of the 102 players who trusted a Titleist golf ball at the Buick Invitational, 32 played the New 2009 Pro V1x and 22 played the New 2009 Pro V1. Among the New 2009 Pro V1 players was Camilo Villegas who tied for 3rd, two shots behind Watney, and Bubba Watson, who finished T-7, playing the New 2009 Pro V1x.
Titleist was also the top choice among all players at the Buick Invitational in the iron (47), wedge (158) and putter (65) categories. Titleist was second in drivers (43) and fairway metals (62). In fact, 4 of the top 10 finishers trusted Titleist equipment from tee-to-green. In addition to Watney, Matt Jones (Pro V1x, 905R driver, 909F3 fairway metal, 695MB irons, Vokey Design pitching, sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Newport 2 SS) finished solo 5th, while Ben Crane (New 2009 Pro V1x, 909D2 driver, 909F2 fairway metals, AP2 irons, Vokey Design approach and sand wedges, Spin Milled lob wedge, Scotty Cameron Fastback putter) and Charley Hoffman (Pro V1, 909D2 driver, 680 irons, Vokey Design pitching, sand and lob wedges, Scotty Cameron Red X putter), were among four players who tied for 7th place.
February 9th, 2009
Led by champion and Pro V1 loyalist Geoff Ogilvy, Titleist golf ball players secured six of the top ten positions on the leaderboard at the PGA Tour season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship. Twenty of the 33 players in the winners-only field relied upon Titleist golf balls, including ten players using the new 2009 Pro V1 or Pro V1x, which will be available in golf shops in February.
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| Zach Johnson (pictured in 2008) put some new Titleist AP2 irons in the bag for the first time at Kapalua. |
Titleist was also the most played brand in every major club equipment category at the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Led by the 909 series of metals, AP irons, Vokey Design wedges, and Scotty Cameron putters, Titleist was first or tied for first in the drivers (T1st – 10 – 30%), fairways & hybrids (1st – 17 – 25%), iron sets (1st – 11 – 33%), wedges (1st – 36 – 49%), and putters (1st – 13 – 39%) categories. In addition to the count wins, Vokey Design wedges (50°, 55°, and Spin Milled 60-T) and a Scotty Cameron prototype putter were trusted by the champion.
Titleist Brand Ambassador Davis Love III tied for second at the Mercedes-Benz Championship with a full bag of Titleist equipment. In addition to playing new 2009 Pro V1x golf balls, Davis put two new 909F3 fairways (13° and 18°) into play for the first time. Davis also had the 909D3 driver (8.5°), Forged 680 irons (3-9), Vokey Design wedges (50°, 55°, and 60-E), and a Scotty Cameron Newport SS putter in play at Kapalua en route to leading the field in eagles (3) and finishing third in greens in regulation (87.5%), fifth in putts per green in regulation (1.698) and sixth in driving distance (287.1).
Titleist Brand Ambassador Zach Johnson also made equipment changes during the off-season to help propel him to a tie for sixth finish at Kapalua. In addition to the 909D2 driver (8.5°) he began using prior to his victory at the 2008 Valero Texas Open, Zach is now also using two 909F2 fairways (13.5° and 18.5°), a 909H hybrid (21°), AP2 irons (4-9), and his trusty Vokey Design wedges (48°, 54°, and Spin Milled 60-V).
Be sure to check back here and on the Golf Club Leaderboard at Titleist.com for more Titleist equipment success updates throughout the season.
January 13th, 2009
