More longevity than Palmer. More major championships than Tiger. More wins than Jack.

For seventy years Titleist has starred at the U.S. Open as the ball of choice for a majority of the field.

“While I think most people recognize Titleist’s success, there’s a generation who grew up with the Pro V1—like Justin Thomas or Jordan Spieth—who don’t know anything else,” says Frederick Waddell, senior manager of golf ball product management at Titleist. “But there are others, who are maybe a little bit older like me, who recognize we’ve had the best-performing product at the U.S. Open for decades and the best players in the world validate that position every year.”

The numbers are startling. Starting in 1949, when it had 32 players using its ball, through to last year, where 102 teed it up with a Titleist, the company has dominated the U.S. Open unlike any rival. In recent years, upwards of 60% of the field is using a Titleist golf ball.

The company’s dominance at the U.S. Open started soon after World War II when it began focusing its attention on professional golf, which would eventually evolve into the PGA Tour. The goal was to make the company’s golf balls the most played on tour, with the notion that if the top golfers in the world trusted their livelihood to Titleist, the avid amateur would as well. In 1949, that position became solidified at the U.S. Open, held at Medinah Country Club in Chicago, a trend that continues to this day. Last year, 65% of the field played a Pro V1.

“Every week is a validation for Titleist,” says Waddell. “But the visibility at the U.S. Open is just that more noticeable. But every week on the PGA Tour, the best players use Titleist and that really proves the product in the minds of the consumer.”

To celebrate 70 years of success at the U.S. Open, we teamed up with Titleist to giveaway a year’s supply of Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf balls to five lucky golfers and a dozen golf balls to twenty others. Congratulations to our winners.

A Year’s Supply

Darwyn Calloway, Grande Prairie, AB
Mark Hazell, ON
Art Kelly, Kitchener, ON
Eugene Mokry, St. Albert, AB
Patricia Bingham, Wembley, AB

One Dozen

Gary Michaels, Ottawa, ON
Dan Kurtz, Oakville, ON
Cameron Dimond, AB
Gaetan Coderre, Drummondville, QC
Leslie Gifford, Pickering, ON
Jason Lays, Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Rocco Luprano, Laval, QC
Carolynn Irvin, Rockland, ON
Jason Steele, Edmonton, AB
Brian Schimpf, Edmonton, AB
Denise McCrea, Calgary, AB
Wayne Tascona, Barrie, ON
Harold Bonenfant, La Tuque, QC
Chris Bowering, Nepean, ON
Grace Chen, Calgary, AB
Heather Good, Cole Harbour, NS
Trevor Kennedy, ON
Ed Wiebe, Winkler, MB
Kevin Wattie, Cornwall, ON
Matt Brown, Victoria, BC