Brittany Lincicome has played a Titleist golf ball for as long as she can remember, including each of her eight LPGA Tour wins, two major championships (2009 Kraft Nabisco Championship, 2015 ANA Inspiration) and six consecutive Solheim Cup appearances. She qualified for the LPGA Tour in her first attempt and has never looked back, playing the Pro V1x golf ball since joining the tour in 2005. This year she is excited about being able to play it in yellow for the first time since the Pro V1 franchise was introduced in 2000.
"When [Titleist Tour Rep] Ann Cain told me that the Pro V1x was coming out in yellow, I let her know that I was interested in trying them," said Lincicome at the recent filming of a Titleist golf ball commercial. "When I practiced, it performed exactly the way the white Pro V1x did and it was visually more easy to see for me. I put it in play the first chance I got and continue to play it."
Lincicome, along with Hee Young Park, were the first LPGA players to play the new Pro V1x Yellow in competition the first week it was available at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup in March.
More than 20 players across the worldwide professional tours are teeing up a yellow Titleist golf ball, including Bubba Watson (Pro V1x) and Rory Sabbatini (Pro V1x) on the PGA TOUR, Zac Blair (Pro V1x) on the Web.com Tour and Kirk Triplett on the PGA TOUR Champions, where he was the first tour player to post a victory with the Pro V1 Yellow at the Hoag Classic. Rob Labritz finished low PGA Club Professional at last week's PGA Championship playing Pro V1 Yellow.
And most recently, Ken Tanigawa became the first player to win a major title with the yellow Titleist Pro V1 golf ball, after he claimed a dramatic one-stroke victory at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Oak Hill Golf Club.
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It was a combination of the shifting golfer demand for a yellow Pro V1 and 'getting it right' that precipitated the new offering nearly 20 years after the original.
"We have studied the colored golf ball category for years and continued to ask golfers for their input," said Michael Mahoney, Vice President, Titleist Golf Ball Marketing. "It wasn't until recently that it was clear to us that there was an opportunity. Once we made the decision to move forward, we needed to 'get it right.' If we were going to make the Pro V1 and Pro V1x in yellow, it had to perform exactly like it does in white."
While it sounds easy, it was a complex chemistry process. It's not a matter of slapping yellow paint on a white golf ball.
"In general, from core to cover, we had to change virtually everything in the golf ball," said Mahoney. "We had to tailor the specific weight of the core; the casing layer had to be tinted a specific shade because it contributes to the finished color; and then we have to make sure the amount of color in the urethane formulation is exact. And because the yellow cover has to be light stable we put on a coating that helps with the reflectivity and helps give the bright finish, particularly in daylight."
"I can tell you from experience Titleist definitely got it right," said Lincicome. "I've never really thought about the process of how it comes about, but I can vouch for the consistent performance of the new Pro V1x and love the fact that it now comes in yellow. I think you'll eventually see more players out here teeing up yellow in the future once they give it a try."
To see first-hand how Titleist manufactures its Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls, golfers can take complimentary tours of its Ball Plant 3 facility in New Bedford, Mass. Groups are welcome.
Call 1-888-TOUR-BP3 or click here to view the tour schedule on Titleist.com and to register in advance.
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