Louis is showing no signs of an Open Championship hangover and has continued his Open form in Stockholm with rounds of 67 and 70 putting him in a share of second place at the time of writing. The newly crowned Open Champion is just one of a number of big names in the field in Sweden this week. Among them is Titleist Ambassador Robert Karlsson who will have the home crowd firmly on his side as he tees it up in Stockholm. The crowd will also be looking forward to catching a glimpse of American starlet Rickie Fowler as he makes a rare European Tour start. The Titleist Ambassador has made a significant impact on the PGA Tour since turning professional in 2009 and the 21 year old from Oklahoma State University is now firmly established within the upper echelons of the game. Rickie is an exciting talent with a refreshing, care free approach to the game which makes him a great player to watch during the course of a tournament.

Click here to view the slideshow

The event itself comes from the delightfully named Bro Hoff Slott Golf Club just on the outskirts of Stockholm. It’s a new destination for a Championship that has typically changed venues every few years since its inception in 1991, and the players will be looking to add their name to an illustrious list of winners which includes the likes of Faldo, Montgomerie, Westwood, Scott and Donald. The first thing that you notice about the Bro Hoff Slott Golf Club is the clubhouse which is both stunning and obscure in equal measure. The clubhouse is actually a converted castle that dates all the way back to 1888 and its character really adds something special to the Golf Club. Out on the course there is no shortage of character either. The Par 72 parkland layout measures a mighty 7365 yards and water plays a big part throughout with hazards in play on 12 of the 18 holes. Nowhere is the water more prevalent than at the Sawgrass-inspired par-3 17th hole which, like the famous 17th at Ponte Vedra Beach, features an island green surrounded by the dreaded H20. At 150 yards in length the 17th maybe the shortest hole on the golf course but, for any player protecting a lead on Sunday, the hole will represent a significant obstacle to overcome.

Despite the Titleist Tour Support Vehicle (TTSV) not being at this week’s event, due to the logistics of getting the truck from Scotland to Stockholm, the buzz surrounding the new Titleist 910 driver continued and a number of players arrived fully intent on putting the 910 in play for the first time. Adding to the list of players already ‘gaming’ the 910 were Titleist Ambassadors Michael Hoey, Pablo Larrazabal, Andrew Dodt and George Coetzee. The 910 certainly seems to be working well for George as he currently sits in a tie for fourth place at four under par, well in contention for the weekend and nicely placed to record his best finish of the season so far.

Of the 23 Titleist Ambassadors in the field for the Scandinavian Masters, 17 have already made the switch into the new 910 driver. This is an overwhelming acceptance for the new product and it’s exciting to see the 910 getting such a positive response from some of the best players in the world. The buzz is growing with each passing week with more players inquiring about the 910 and making their booking for a driver fitting. The Team will continue the seeding of this stunning new product at the 3 Irish Open next week where we expect yet more players to make the transition. Don’t forget that you can stay in touch with the Titleist Tour Team through the Titleist Europe Twitter Page and, as always, the Blog will be back next week with a full report from the 3 Irish Open.

Ninety of the world’s best players trusted a Titleist golf ball in their quest to win The Open Championship, more than three times the nearest competitor with 20.

In the end, the name at the top of St. Andrews’ large, yellow leaderboard belonged to Pro V1x loyalist Louis Oosthuizen, who closed in 1-under 71 to capture his first major championship at the Home of Golf.

Oosthuizen’s walk over the Swilcan Bridge and up the 18th fairway was as historic as it was carefree, as the 27-year-old from South Africa walked away with a seven-shot victory to become the Champion Golfer of the Year.

It is impossible to give Oosthuizen anything but a 10 for his final-round performance, which included a 50-foot eagle putt on No. 9 after driving the green, and ended with his 10-letter surname etched into the Claret Jug.

“Oosty,” who jumped from 54th to 15th in the world rankings, rolled in his Pro V1x for par on the 18th hole to finish at 16-under 272 (65-67-69-71).

“It’s like I said yesterday, to win an Open Championship is special, but to win it here at St. Andrews is just – it’s something you dream about,” Oosthuizen said.

Pro Vx loyalist Lee Westwood finished runner-up, shooting a final-round 70 to finish at 9-under 279.

Titleist Brand Ambassador Rory McIlroy (Pro V1x, 909D2 driver, 909F3 and 906F2 fairway metals, MB irons, Vokey Design wedges, Scotty Cameron Newport Fastback putter) finished tied for third at 8-under 280 after opening with a 9-under 63, along with Pro V1x loyalist Henrik Stenson.

The comeback (and perhaps shot) of the week came from Titleist Brand Ambassador and Pro V1x loyalist Rickie Fowler, who followed an opening-round 79 with rounds of 67-71-67 to finish tied for 14th at 4-under 284. Fowler’s bogey-free final round included a 43-yard birdie putt from off the green at the famous par-4 17th Road Hole that grew enormous cheers from the St. Andrew gallery.

“(It was) 129 feet, but I’m just going to round up to 130,” Fowler told Team Titleist via text message.

With the third major of the year in full swing, Titleist continues to outperform all other golf balls on the 2010 PGA Tour with 15 wins, more than all other golf balls combined. The momentum also continues to grow across all the worldwide professional tours, where Titleist has been the choice of 69 champions, more than four times the nearest competitor.

The Open Championship marks the latest of the major professional and amateur championships this year where the trust and confidence in the superior performance and consistency of Titleist golf balls has never been stronger. From the Masters and U.S. Open, to the NCAA Division I and U.S. Amateur Public Links championships, Titleist continues to be the overwhelming favorite of more competitive players than all other golf balls combined:

Since the very first Open Championship was held with just eight participants in 1860 the event has become established as one of golf’s four major championships and the list of past winners reads like a who’s who of golfing greats. Among others, names like Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson and Seve Ballesteros are all indelibly engraved on the famous Claret Jug. As this year’s Championship gets underway at St Andrews the field has increased somewhat since the first event in 1860 and 156 competitors will take to the links for their shot at golf’s oldest prize. The beauty of the Open Championship is the cosmopolitan nature of the field; proven major champions and tour winners play alongside qualifiers from all over the world, for whom this may be their one any only Open Championship experience. In addition, the field is also sprinkled with a number of amateur talents who have gained entry to the championship courtesy of their succes in the amateur game and will be hungry to write their name into The Open history books by claiming the coveted silver medal.

Click here to view the slideshow

A truly great championship deserves a truly great course and there can be no doubt that The Old Course at St Andrews provides just that. As always, the course is in immaculate condition for the event with the vast putting surfaces, undulating fairways and all 112 bunkers all prepared to absolute perfection. Since the championship last visited St Andrews in 2005 the course has seen some subtle changes; but there is certainly nothing subtle about the change made at the famous Road Hole which has been lengthened by some 40 yards and now measures a fearsome 495 yards from the championship tee. A player stepping onto the 17th tee must hit an accurate drive to set-up the second shot but, with the carry over the replica railway sheds now a minimum of 265 yards, accuracy must also be married to distance for the perfect tee shot. Should the player safely dispatch their tee shot down the fairway at the 17th they must still execute an approach to one of the most infamous greens in golf, where they face the wrath of the treacherous Road Hole Bunker and also contend with the road that gives this hole its name. Four pars on the 17th hole will be a valuable commodity and the Road Hole promises to serve up more than its fair share of agony and ecstasy moments throughout the week.

From a Titleist perspective Open Championship week is always exciting and this year it is no different. The Titleist Tour Team arrived at St Andrews knowing that 31 Titleist Ambassadors were in the field and a busy week aboard the Titleist Tour Support Vehicle (TTSV) was assured.

Here is a full list of the Titleist Ambassadors in Open Championship action this week:

Jason Bohn
Ben Crane
Ben Curtis
Jason Dufner
Ross Fisher
Rickie Fowler
Tano Goya
Bill Haas
Mark Haastrup
Sören Hansen
Jean Hugo
Zach Johnson
Robert Karlsson
Kyung-Tae Kim
Marc Leishman
Rory McIlroy
Kevin Na
Seung-Yul Noh
Geoff Ogilvy
Mark O’Meara
Tom Pernice Jr
Adam Scott
Peter Senior
Michael Sim
Steve Stricker
Bo Van Pelt
Nick Watney
Davis Love III

The Titleist Team are continuing with the seeding of the new Titleist 910 drivers and, following on from a successful first week at Loch Lomond where 10 Titleist Ambassadors put a 910 in tournament play, the buzz surrounding the new product continues to grow with more and more players wanting to test the 910. As you would imagine, with such an important championship on the line, most of the players are sticking with their current set-ups for Open week, but there was still plenty of 910 testing happening on the range and two further Titleist Ambassadors, Mark O’Meara and Ross Fisher, have made the transition to 910 for The Open Championship – quite a testimant to the performance of 910.

Ross Fisher had taken away a 910 from last week’s Barclays Scottish Open and came back to the Team in St Andrews to do some more work on his set-up. By changing the set-up of the 910 to 7.5°, Titleist Tour Technician Phil Dimmock was able to provide Ross the high launch, low spin flight he was looking for and the reigning Accenture World Match Play champion just couldn’t wait to see how the driver performed in tournament conditions. Ross and the 910 seemed to be a perfect synergy on day one as the Englishman carded a four under par 68, hitting 75% of his fairways with an average driving distance of 316 yards. Ross is in good position going into day two and will have realistic designs on claiming a first major championship crown.

One player to get his first look at the new 910 at The Old Course was Titleist Ambassador Rory McIlroy. Rory stepped aboard the TTSV during Wednesday practice and was immediately taken by the overall look of the product, paying particular compliment to the darkened club face. Understandably, Rory preferred to stick with his current 909 product for The Open Championship itself but a 910 is currently en route to Rory’s residence and the Team have scheduled in some driver work at the upcoming 3 Irish Open.

We couldn’t mention Rory McIlroy without offering our congratulations on a stunning opening round of 63 (-9). His opening round performance was the lowest first round score in the 150 year history of The Open Championship but, to anyone who has studied Rory’s competitive record at St Andrews, the performance should come as no surprise. In his previous eight competitive rounds at The Old Course Rory has never carded a score higher than 69 (-3) and, with yesterday’s round included, has an Old Course stroke average of 67.2 – simply flabbergasting!!! The Team asked him about his record at St Andrews prior to yesterdays round to which Rory, in typically modest fashion, responded “The course just suits my eye.” One thing is for sure, if Rory can maintain his record over the next three days he will be a very hard man to beat.

Away from 910 a number of the players were also taking the opportunity to consult “The Voke” as Bob Vokey made his usual appearance at The Open Championship. Links golf is played on turf conditions that are very different to your typical week on the PGA or European Tour and this requires a variety of shot types to be played from tight, often hard pan lies. To cope with the unusual conditions the players come to “The Voke” for guidance. And with good reason; the master of the wedge has something up his sleeve in the form of a special grind which he uses for Open Championships. A number of players took new wedges away from the TTSV which matched their current specification in every way with the exception of this special grind. Essentially the trick is to create a 45° angle grind on the leading edge. The sharper edge makes is easier to pick the ball from the tight lies that the players will face around the old course. All hail the “The Voke”!!!

We’re all set-up for an enthralling and dramatic Open Championship weekend. The leaderboard is packed with a number of golf’s biggest names and, with so many players in red figures and playing well, the oldest and arguably most prestigious prize in golf will be hotly contested. Don’t forget that you can post comments on the Blog directly using the space below and you can also interact with the Titleist Tour Team directly via the TitleistEurope Twitter page. Until next week, enjoy watching history in the making as the 139th Open Championship reaches its conclusion.

The natural splendour of Loch Lomond is hard to beat but for many of the players at this week’s event the scenery was not the main attraction. This week, the natural wonder has been usurped by a man-made wonder as the Titleist 910 drivers landed on the European Tour. Messrs Scott and Ogilvy had brought their 910 drivers across from the U.S. to last week’s Alstom Open de France and it’s fair to say that the sighting of the new driver created quite a buzz among the other Titleist Ambassadors in the field. This week, the Titleist Tour Support Vehicle (TTSV) headed to Loch Lomond packed to the rafters with 910 driver product for the players to test. As soon as the TTSV opened up during the practice days a host of Titleist players were beating a path to our door asking to hit the new 910. Fortunately, the Titleist Team had anticipated such a reaction and had taken the step to assemble 910 drivers to the player’s current ‘gamer’ specifications – they’re a savvy bunch!!!

Click here to view the slideshow

The reaction to the new 910 driver product has been unanimously positive and the initial response is almost always relating to how good the product looks. Before the players have even hit a ball in anger they are seemingly taken by the way the product sits and the overall aesthetics of the 910. There is no doubt that it’s a good looking beast; take a look at this week’s slideshow and we’re sure you’ll concur. But the 910 also has the substance to match the style with a number of Titleist players seeing immediate results with the new product.

Here is a selection of 910 related stories from some of the Titleist players at this week’s event:

Soren Hansen

As mentioned in last week’s Blog, Soren had a sneak peak at the 910 in California earlier in the year and has been buzzing about the driver ever since. He’s been asking the team week-on-week if the driver has arrived and rumour has it that Soren is only in the field this week at Loch Lomond because he knew the driver would be ready for him. As you can imagine Soren was suitably delighted to get his hands on his new 910D3 and, after a short range session on Wednesday, Soren’s faithful Titleist 905R was ejected from the bag in favour of the new 910.

Jose-Filipe Lima

Following on from a recent driver fitting with the 909 product the Titleist Team were quietly confident about assembling a specification that would suit Filipe. This confidence was justified on Tuesday morning as Filipe hit three shots down range with the new 910 and turned to Titleist Fitting Technician Phil Dimmock to proclaim “That’s in the bag!!!” Filipe’s weapon of choice is the 910D2 9.5° fitted with an Oban Revenge 60 X-flex shaft.

Seung-yul Noh

Malaysian Open winner Seung-yul Noh was another Titleist Ambassador keen to get started with the 910. Noh had previously paid a visit to the Titleist Performance Institute in California where he was fitted for a 910 driver, so all that was required was for the team to build the 910 to his specification and sit back and watch. Noh’s 7.5° 910D3 was flying 277 yards through the air down range with a 174mph ball speed. On any given drive Noh was looking at a distance gain of between 7-10 yards with the new 910.

Andrew Dodt

Another man who didn’t take long to make a decision on 910 was Australian Andrew Dodt. Andrew claimed his maiden European Tour victory at the Avantha Masters in India earlier this year using his current 909 driver but, with Trackman on the range to record his data, was quick put the 910 in the bag. With a ball speed up in the 173-176mph region it’s not hard to see why. It was an impressive display of hitting with the 910.

Ross Fisher

Accenture World Matchplay champion Ross Fisher is noted for his power hitting and clearly enjoys driving the golf ball. With that said, he was very keen to get his hands on the new 910 and put it through its paces. The team assembled a 910 to match his existing 909 specifications and Ross immediately took a 910D3 8.5° fitted with the True Temper Project X 7A3 X-Stiff shaft out for the tournament Pro-Am. Ross’ early reaction to the product was very positive and he will test the club further over the coming weeks.

It’s fair to say that the first week of European Tour seeding for the 910 driver has been hugely successful and, although the official equipment counts have yet to be announced, we are expecting to see a number of 910 drivers in play at Loch Lomond among the Titleist staffers in the field. 910 seeding will continue at pace over the coming weeks so watch this space for more reaction and information on this exciting new product.

As if the excitement of 910 wasn’t enough, this week saw another natural wonder appear at Loch Lomond as ‘The Voke’ himself, Bob Vokey, made the trip across the pond to spend time with the players at the Scottish Open. Bob tends to make an annual trip to our shores prior to The Open Championship and will also spend Open week on site. This gives him ample opportunity to work with the players and this is certainly something that they appreciate. Bob’s knowledge of wedge design and performance is second to none and, in the run-up to a major championship that will be played on a traditional links course, Bob’s help is invaluable to the preparation of the players. The Voke spent time this week working with Titleist Ambassadors Soren Hansen and Brett Rumford looking at all the different grind options available on Vokey Design wedges and the different types of shots that be executed with those grinds. It’s an absolute science which nobody understands quite like Bob and, as you’ll see from the broad grin on the face of Soren Hansen, having the opportunity to tap into Bob’s vast knowledge is of huge benefit.

With 910 driver seeding now underway, master craftsman Bob Vokey part of the team and The Open Championship starting very soon, it promises to be an intriguing few weeks on the European Tour. We will of course bring you regular updates on the Blog from each event but be sure to keep in regular contact with the Titleist Team through the Titleist Europe Twitter page.

Click here to view the slideshow

Before moving on to discuss the activity at the Open de France we must first reflect on the result at last week’s BMW International Open in Munich where Englishman David Horsey claimed his maiden European Tour title. David is in his third full year as a professional following a successful amateur career and only his second season of European Tour golf having previously graduated as the Challenge Tour’s #1 player in 2008. David has placed his trust in a Titleist golf ball throughout his career to date and his first European Tour success comes with the Titleist Pro V1x in play. Congratulations to David from all at Titleist, we hope this will be the first of many.

The story of the week from the Titleist Tour Team is the arrival of the new Titleist 910 drivers on the European Tour. Titleist will begin seeding this stunning new driver product around the globe over the coming weeks. USPGA Tour seeding has started in earnest at this week’s AT&T National with 15 players ‘gaming’ one of the new 910 drivers on it’s first week out, including the likes of Rickie Fowler and Davis Love III. New 910 drivers have also made an appearance at this week’s Open de France in the bags of players who made the trip from the United States for the event. There are a couple of sneak peak images of a new 910D3 driver in this weeks slide show and rest assured that there will be plenty more news regarding this exciting new product in the coming weeks. Next week at the Barclays Scottish Open the Titleist Tour Team will begin seeding on the European Tour. Stock of 910 driver heads has already arrived at the European Tour workshop at Titleist HQ in England and the Titleist Tour Support Vehicle (TTSV) will be fully equipped for a week of seeding at Loch Lomond. The players who saw the 910 drivers this week were clambering to test out the new product and are queuing up to get their hands on it next week in Scotland. Exciting times ahead!!!

Aside from the buzz surrounding the new 910, a couple of the players were keen to place orders for new Vokey wedges ahead of The Open Championship later this month. First through the door of the TTSV was Titleist Ambassador Tano Goya. Since qualifying for his first ever Open Championship, Tano has been struggling to contain his anticipation and is clearly excited about the prospect of fulfilling a life long dream. Tano placed his order for a new set of Vokey Spin Milled C-C wedges to ensure that his grooves are fresh for the challenge of St Andrews’ famous Old Course.

Tano Goya

Model: Tour Chrome Vokey Spin Milled C-C
Loft: 52.08, 56.10 & 60 (T-Grind)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S200
Length: Standard
Lie: Standard (64°)
Grips: Golf Pride Multi-Compound Black/Aqua .600 Round (+1/64”)
Swingweights: 52.08 @ D3, 56.10 and 60-T @ D5
Stamping: TANO (Light Blue and White Paint Fill)

Soren Hansen was the next player to order a new Vokey wedge although his visit to the TTSV also had an ulterior motive. Soren stepped aboard to enquire about the availability of the 910 driver having had the opportunity to hit the product earlier in the year at Titleist’s Oceanside test facility in California. He was so impressed with the performance that he was actually trying to persuade the Titleist Technicians at Oceanside to let him take away the 910 prototype!!! Ever since that moment Soren has been eagerly anticipating the arrival of 910 on the European Tour and will be one of the first Titleist Ambassadors to receive the new driver in Scotland next week. We can’t wait to see the smile on his face when he gets his hands on the 910 once again but, for this week at least, Soren had to settle for a new Vokey wedge and a loft and lie check for his irons. Good things come to those who wait Soren…..we promise!!! 

Soren Hansen

Model: Vokey Spin Milled C-C (Raw Finish)
Loft: 60 (T-Grind)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
Length: +1/4” (35.25”)
Lie: Standard (64°)
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet .580 Ribbed (Std)
Swingweight: D5

As mentioned, next week takes us to the tranquil and serene Loch Lomond for the Barclays Scottish Open. It’s the final event on the European Tour before the players head to St Andrews for the 139th Open Championship and excitement will no doubt be building for the trip to the home of golf. The sight of the new 910 drivers at this week’s Open de France also has the players excited and has really wetted their appetite to test the new drivers. The Titleist team are going to have one of the busiest weeks on record as these players get their first opportunity to test Titleist 910. Be sure to follow the Titleist Tour Team at Loch Lomond via the Titleist Twitter page and the Blog will be back with more from the Barclays Scottish Open at the same time next week.

After over 30 consecutive days of rain the heavens finally relented on Monday at the Golfclub Munchen Eichenried, so once again the course will play very soft and scoring will be extremely low. Don’t be surprised to see something approaching 20 under par winning this week. At just over 7000 yards and par 72, it’s a relatively short course for the modern day bombers.

Click here to view the slideshow

After a few weeks in the U.S.A, including last weeks U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, a number of the European Tour’s top stars returned to Europe for this week’s event. One such star was Titleist Ambassador Robert Karlsson. Robert jumped on a plane from the west coast of the U.S.A late on Sunday night and was at work early Tuesday in Munich to fulfil a sponsor’s clinic on the range. Robert also took some time out during his practice schedule to work on a new 909 fairway. He felt that over the past few weeks he has been turning the ball over a little too much and that this had cost him a few dollars last week when his 2nd shot to the 18th at Pebble Beach found the Pacific. Following some work on Trackman the Team put together a couple of new options to try in Wednesdays Pro Am and Robert finally settled on a slightly stronger tipped version of his current shaft. Tipping his existing shaft maintained the feel that he is used to whilst giving Robert the additional stability he needed. Robert could really attack the ball with the stronger shaft without the fear of it going left. Robert was clearly happy with the new fairway metal and was kind enough to express his thanks to the Team on the TitleistEurope Twitter page.

Robert Karlsson

Model: 909 F3
Loft: 13°
Shaft: Grafalloy Prolaunch Red Fairway X-Flex (Tipped 1″)
Length: 43″
Grip: Golf Pride Multi-Compound Red/Black .580 Round (+1/32″)
Swingweight: D4

Also in Munich after a long distance commute from Pebble was Titleist Ambassador Ross Fisher. Ross has not had a vintage first half of the season but looked to been in fine form on the range in Munich. Ross was also keen to spend some time working with his 909 fairways. The reigning Accenture World Matchplay Champion has been switching between two different 909 fairways depending on the course conditions. He has a strong 909F2 13.5° adjusted to 12° which is perfect from the tee but a little more difficult to flight into a green if required. The second option has a little more loft and a different shaft and this looked favourite for this week’s course set up. It is slightly shorter off the tee due to the higher loft but offers a much better flight for those long second shots into par 5’s. With either option Ross delivers a mighty hit with and consistently carries the ball over 265 yards with either.

Ross Fisher

Strong Option
Model: 909 F2
Loft: 13.5° @ 12°
Shaft: Oban Devotion 8 X-Flex (Tipped 2″)
Length: 43″
Grip: Lamkin Tour Black Full Cord (+1/64″ & Reversed)

Weaker Option
Model: 909 F2
Loft: 13.5°
Shaft: Project X 8A4 X-Flex (Tipped 2″)
Length: 43″
Grip: Lamkin Tour Black Fullcord (+1/64″ & Reversed)

With access to the Trackman launch monitor Ross also wanted to take a look at his short iron composition. Titleist master craftsman Bob Vokey had put together a new 248.06 Spin Milled C-C wedge (adjusted to 47°) at the U.S Open last week as Ross wanted another 5 yards from his lowest lofted wedge to prevent him having to hit so many ‘soft’ 9 iron shots. Ross’ standard 48° wedge goes 130 yards and the new 47° fitted the bill perfectly, 135 yards on the button!! Great work as always Bob!!

With the World Cup in full flow, talk on the range was all about football but, when French Titleist Ambassador Gregory Bourdy checked in for a Trackman session the Team understandably steered well clear of the subject and stuck to the golf. Gregory wanted to use Trackman to analyse his irons and see how they were performing. His feeling was that he could get more from his current irons and felt that he was struggling a little with control into the wind. Gregory is a good solid ball striker and is quite aggressive down through the ball. This angle of attack was producing a lot of spin with Gregory’s 8 Iron, for example, producing some 800rpm more than we would ideally like to see. The team set about tweaking the lofts on his set of Titleist MB irons 1.5° strong which brought the spin down to a much more controllable level. Flight and dispersion were improved and Gregory gained 6-7 yards with all clubs. A great advert for custom fitting if ever there was one!!! Gregory also saw some very good figures with the True Temper Dynamic Gold SL shaft that he tried on the range and decided that he would like another set of the MB irons to his specifiction with these shafts fitted. The Team obliged and Gregory will take these away for further testing.

Irish Titleist Ambassador Simon Thornton also touched base with the Team to work on his 909 driver set-up. Having been brought up on blustery Irish links courses Simon is happy flighting the ball low but this is not ideal for gaining some yardage with the driver. Working with Trackman the team encouraged Simon to try and hit the ball higher and, by launching the ball a few degrees more, he managed to find 10-12 yards through the air. A change in technique coupled with a switch to the Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Kai Li shaft also helped tighten the dispersion on Simon’s drives and provide a much more controllable ball flight. An all around winner!!!

Simon Thornton

Model: 909 DComp
Loft: 9.5°
Shaft: Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Kai Li 70 X-Flex (Tipped 1.5″)
Length: 45″
Grip: Golf Pride Multi-Compound Blue/Black .600 Round (+1/32″)
Swingweight: D3

The final note on this week’s Blog is to congratulate Titleist golf ball loyalist Martin Wiegele on his second win of the year at last week’s St Omer Open. The win promotes Martin to the European Tour from the Challenge Tour until the end of 2011. It’s the second win in a matter of weeks for Martin who also claimed Challenge Tour victory in his native Austria earlier this month.

The next few weeks will have a huge impact on the Race to Dubai and Ryder Cup rankings with the winner’s cheques getting bigger and bigger, so good luck to all our Titleist Ambassadors in the coming weeks. It promises to be a great few weeks on the European Tour both on the course and in the TTSV. Keep your eye on the TitleistEurope Twitter page over the next couple of weeks for some really, really exciting stuff!!! Titleist 910 is coming to the European Tour!!

Next week the European Tour moves to Paris for the Open de France. Paris is a wonderful venue to visit but the big question is whether the French cuisine can top that experienced by the Titleist Tour Team in Munich this week. As you will see from this week’s slideshow the boys certainly enjoyed the gastronomic delights on offer.

Click the photo below to view some images from Tuesday’s action at Pebble Beach:

 Titleist commemorative custom golf balls are on full display in the Pebble Beach Golf Shop.

Team Titleist is on-site at this year’s second major and we’ll keep you posted with daily information from inside the ropes.

Click the photo below to view some images from Monday morning at Pebble Beach:

The par 72 layout borders the famous Estoril race circuit which, up until 1997, played host to the F1 Portugese Grand Prix. As the players move into the back nine holes there is a clear view of the circuit and the sound of race tuned engines can be heard thundering around the track throughout the day. The players assembled for the Estoril Open de Portugal were all looking to get themselves “race tuned” for the start of the event and the practice ground at Penha Longa was the usual hive of activity in the lead-up to the opening round, particularly on the Wednesday as players arrived from having played 36-holes of Open Championship qualifying at Sunningdale on the Monday. With just 10 spots available for the trip to the home of golf in July the competition at Sunningdale was fierce and many that flew onto Portugal took a well earned rest on the Tuesday before the event to recharge their batteries.

Click here to view the slideshow

One of the players to fly into Penha Longa having claimed one of the 10 spots available at the Open Championship was Titleist Ambassador Tano Goya. In doing so Tano has fulfilled a childhood dream of playing in the Open Championship and was understandably excited by the prospect. The young Argentinean is blessed with a truly great golf swing and, having played just 40 European Tour events to date, has already claimed a maiden victory. We’d like to congratulate Tano on realising his Open Championship dream and wish him good luck as he heads to the famous Old Course at St Andrews.

Tano qualified for the 139th Open Championship using a full bag of Titleist Equipment:

Tano Goya

Titleist Pro V1x
Titleist 909D2 8.5°
Titleist 909F2 13.5°
Titleist 909H 19°
Titleist CB #4 & #5 Iron
Titleist MB #6-PW
Titleist Vokey Spin Milled 52°
Titleist Vokey Spin Milled 56°
Titleist Vokey Spin Milled 60°
Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport (Tour Black Finish)

One of the players working hard on his game prior to the event in Lisbon was Titleist Ambassador Mark Haastrup. The Dane was working on all parts of his game but there was a noticeable emphasis on his short game this week. Aside from working on his short game Mark was keen to try out some new short game tools and, as you’ll see from this week’s slideshow, had a variety of Scotty Cameron putter options to try out on the putting green. In addition, Mark was also in need of some new wedges as the grooves on his existing set are beginning to look worn. Scoring at all levels of the game is founded on short game success so it’s essential for Tour players to keep their wedge grooves in pristine condition. With that said, most players replace their wedges every three to six months. A trio of wedges were assembled for Mark to the following specification:

Mark Haastrup

Model: Tour Chrome Spin Milled C-C
Loft / Bounce: 248.06, 254.10 & 258.08
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (248.06), Dynamic Gold S400 (254.10 & 258.08)
Length: 248.06 @ Standard, 254.10 @ +1/2”, 258.08 @ Standard.
Lie: 3° Upright
Grips: Lamkin Crossline .580 Round (+1/32”)
Swingweight: 248.06 @ D3, 254.10 & 258.08 @ D5

The new short-game tools seem to be working well for Mark. At the time of writing, midway through his second round, he is well positioned as he races for the Open de Portugal title currently lying in ninth place at eight under par.

The European Tour heads to France next week for the AA Saint-Omer Open but the eyes of the golfing world will be firmly fixed on the majesty of Pebble Beach Golf Links for the U.S Open Championship. Pebble Beach is set-up to offer the sternest of challenges to the world’s best players and it promises to test their talent and mental fortitude to the absolute limit. I’m sure we’ll all take great enjoyment from watching the trials and tribulations of the players as they compete for one of the biggest prizes in golf.