Pros ponder the Titleist ball debate

GEOFF OGILVY is one of the most articulate players on the PGA Tour but even he was verbally challenged when talking about changes to the Titleist golf ball.

Titleist is involved in a dispute with Callaway over patents applied to the popular Pro V1 ball. Two courts have ruled in favour of Callaway, and Titleist is appealing. Before the latest court ruling, Titleist converted the Pro V1 to be outside the patents in question.

So what does that mean for tour players, the majority of whom use Titleist? Some are using the modified ball. Others are using the new Pro V1, which carries two small dots in the side stamp. Steve Stricker used a similar ball at the Chevron World Challenge last month with a “plus” in the stamping, but that was for testing (although approved by the USGA). The name of the ball is still Pro V1.