Titleist had yet another big year on Tour, including wins at the US Open (McIlroy), Tour Championship (Haas).  But while they may dwarf everybody else on tour, other brands picked up some big wins as well.  In particular I hadn’t realized that Taylormade  snagged 5 wins with the Penta this year.  Can anybody make a dent in Titleist’s numbers for 2012?

1. Titleist Pro V1x – 21 wins

2. Titleist Pro v1 – 6 wins

3. Tayormade Penta – 5 wins

4. Nike One Tour D – 3 wins

5.  Callaway Tour i(z) – 2 wins

6. Srixon Z-Star XV – 2 wins

7. Bridgestone B330s – 1 win

 Golf Digest

Bidding began on Friday to purchase Acushnet, the maker of Titleist and Footjoy, from Fortune Brands.  Over 2 dozen potential buyers examined the business, which is being auctioned off by Morgan Stanley.  Among the expected bidders are Nike, Adidas, and Cleveland Golf.

Nike and Adidas certainly have deep enough pockets to purchase Acushnet.  I’m sure that Titleist’s golf ball business is the key driver behind their interest.  But I’d be surprised to see either of these guys actually end up as the buyer (although stranger things have happened).  They’re probably making sure that the actual buyer doesn’t get it too cheap.

Although they’re not mentioned in the article above, I’d be very surprised if Sumitomo (Srixon) and Bridgestone don’t make bids as well.  They both seem like good fits for the Titleist and Footjoy brands.

Fortune had revenues of $1.25B in 2010 with $25m in operating profit.

[Image: Flickr/ikelee]

Bridgestone has finally announced the long-rumored signing of DLIII.  This hasn’t exactly been the best kept secret in golf but now we finally know the specifics of what the deal entails.

Davis will be sporting the Bridgestone logo on his hat, bag and glove.  He will also be putting the TOUR B-330S ball in play and swinging a set of prototype Bridgestone irons (3-PW).  No word yet on what he’ll be doing for driver/wedges/putter.

This is a big deal for Bridgestone.  Titleist wasn’t prepared to re-up Davis’s contract at his current rate and honestly probably won’t be too impacted by his departure given their large stable of tour players.  Bridgestone on the other hand will be able to really utilize this endorsement deal to raise the status of their brand.

Davis may not be one of the of the top ranked players in the world anymore (although he is #6 on the all-time money list), but he certainly has the name recognition to make an impact.  And that’s exactly what Bridgestone is counting on.  Check out the full press release [update: and Love's first Bridgestone commercial] after the jump.

[Update] Here’s Davis Love’s first Bridgestone Commercial:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4NjU-9XwOk

January 11, 2011

New Love on Bridgestone Tour Team in 2011

Bridgestone Signs Renowned 20-Time PGA Tour Champion Davis Love III

COVINGTON, GA – One of the most accomplished golfers of the modern era,Davis Love III has joined the Bridgestone Golf PGA Tour Team, complementing a stellar group that includes Fred Couples, Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker and Lee Trevino. With 20 victories on the PGA Tour over a 22 year period, Love is one of only four players under the age of 50 to earn the coveted lifetime Tour exemption. His career is highlighted by a major championship win at the 1997 PGA Championship and two Players Championship victories in 1992 and 2003. He currently ranks sixth on the all-time career money list, with over 40 million dollars in tournament winnings.

Beginning his PGA Tour season this week at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Love will play thenew Bridgestone TOUR B330-S golf ball and Bridgestone Golf prototype irons (3-PW). In addition to his new Bridgestone equipment, Love will showcase the Bridgestone brand on his Tour bag, hat and glove.

“Freddie and I go way back, we’ve played a lot of golf together and I consider him one of my best friends on TOUR. He’s been telling me for years about how great Bridgestone is, so I finally decided to look into them for myself and I liked what I found,” said Love. “I learned that they have industry-leading products and really creative marketing, two things that really peaked my interest. With the B330-S, I’m getting more distance out of my driver and long irons and I feel very ready to compete in 2011.”

“I’m really excited to be part of a brand that has the momentum of Bridgestone,” Love continued. “To rise from a virtual unknown to the #2 golf ball in the industry in just six years is amazing. I’ve been paying attention to what they’ve been doing over the past few years and I really respect their efforts to educate consumers on how to find the proper ball for their game, and their ads are some of the most fun I’ve seen. I look forward to showing the world a bit more of my personality in the 2011 ads. There is even one spot where I get to ride my bike. Motorcycle riding is right up there with hunting and fishing as my favorite things to do off the course, so that’s pretty cool. I couldn’t be more pumped about being on the Bridgestone team.”

Dan Murphy, Bridgestone Golf’s Vice President of Marketing, expressed clear delight in the company’s Tour line-up for 2011: “What a coup for Bridgestone, to start the new year with an icon such as Davis Love III on our Tour Team. His enthusiasm for our new B330-S balland our entire brand momentum has infused us with tremendous energy as we enter the 2011 season.”

DLIII and Ball-Fitting Was Love at First Sight

As the #1 ball-fitter in golf, Bridgestone launched its relationship with Davis Love III by first exploring his swing speed and other launch conditions, ensuring that Davis would be fitted with the perfect ball. After extensive testing at Bridgestone’s state-of-the-art R&D Center in Covington, GA, Davis selected Bridgestone’s new TOUR B330-S golf ball.

Designed for swing speeds greater than 105 mph, the TOUR B330-S features Bridgestone’sproprietary new RD¹⁰ resin mantle layers for higher initial velocity and an overall softening of the mantle. Like the TOUR B330, the B330-S features a SOFT Urethane 330-dimple design seamless cover for the ultimate in piercing consistent flight, and tour-level spin and control on the greens. However, for 2011, the TOUR B330-S dimple pattern was redesigned to compensate for its softer cover and compression, and slightly higher driver spin that comes as a result. Bridgestone engineers have created a new shallower 330-dimple pattern with modified dimple spacing, designed to reduce up-shoot spin, creating a flatter trajectory and wind performance consistent with that of the B330. Because of his preference for a more penetrating ball flight, the new dimple pattern of the B330-S fit him perfectly.

“I have been playing golf a long time,” Love stated, “yet, even after all these years, I found the Bridgestone ball-fitting process to be tremendously revealing for me. I am confident that the new B330-S matches my swing properties as I picked up more distance off the tee just by switching to it.”

To date, Bridgestone has also fit nearly 100,000 consumers through its launch monitor based ball-fitting initiative. For those that are not able to attend an in-person ball-fitting, Bridgestone now offers several convenient options to help find the right ball for your game. Bridgestone’s multiple convenient options include: Click (go.bridgestonegolf.com), Call (877.411.BFIT), or Text (BFIT to 55678).” More information is available atwww.bridgestonegolf.com/bfit.

# # #

Editors Note: High-Res images of all Tour Staff and new Bridgestone equipment are available upon request.

Bridgestone Golf, Inc., based in Covington, GA, manufactures and markets premium golf balls, clubs and accessories under the Bridgestone and Precept brand names. Bridgestone is represented on a world stage by a number of internationally famed golfers including
Fred Couples, Matt Kuchar, Davis Love III, Paula Creamer, and Brandt Snedeker. Bridgestone Golf, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bridgestone Sports Co. Ltd., whose headquarters are in Tokyo.

Tim Rosaforte let it slip that Davis Love III is indeed leaving Titleist for Bridgestone on Saturday evening’s Golf Central broadcast.  This move has been rumored for over 2 months, but this is the first semi-official confirmation.

DLIII has apparently already shot his first commercial for Bridgestone.  No word on the specifics of the deal, but hat/bag/ball (and possibly irons) is a safe bet.

One has to wonder how much of this was DLIII looking for something new/Bridgestone making a great offer vs Titleist trying to clean up their books in anticipation of being sold (or trying to prevent it).  Could we be about to see other big name players leaving Titleist in the near future?

Bridgestone issued a press release at the end of August stating that they would be bringing their popular yellow and orange golf balls from Japan to the US starting Nov 1.   This afternoon The Hackers Paradise posted hands on pictures of Bridgestone’s upcoming E6 Yellow Golf Ball.   If you want a ball that is bright enough to blind somebody, this is your answer.

Apparently colored golf balls represent about 40% of the golf ball market in Japan and Bridgestone accounts for over half that number alone.  I have no idea if neon yellow golf balls will catch on here like they have in Japan.  Japanese culture is obviously very (and I mean very) different from US culture, but I think this trend at least has a chance.

Many golfers will appreciate a ball that looks a bit different from what you’re used to seeing.  The other benefit is that your ball should be quite a bit easier to see, especially in these late fall overcast conditions, where you can easily lose your ball in the sky.  I suspect that the orange version will be even easier to spot than the yellow version.

Obviously Bridgestone isn’t the first company to try this in the US.  Nike first released a black colored Nike One Black in 2004.  The probably was that nobody could find the damn things on the course.  They followed up with some psychedelic colored Mojo balls, but those were discontinued in 2007.

Srixon currently offers their Z-stars in a “Tour Yellow” color.  But personally, I’ve seen very few Srixons Z-Stars on the course, yellow or not.  The E6 is an extremely popular ball (#4 at off course retailers according to Bridgestone), so I think the chances of this catching on are higher than in the past.  I’ll probably be picking up a sleeve of the orange version to try out this winter.

You can buy the new Bridgestone e6 Yellow golf balls here.  If you do, you help keep this site up and running.  Thanks.

The rumor mill has it that long-time Titleist golfer, Davis Love III, will be jumping ship to Bridgestone for the 2011 season.  If true, this would be a huge signing for Bridgestone, who’s roster of players currently include Fred Couples, Matt Kuchar, and Will Mackenzie.

The Fred Couples signing in 2005 put Bridgestone on the map, but it’s the quality of their products that has fueled their success.  Their E6 Ball is currently the #4 selling ball in golf and they’re about to release a new and improved B-330 line for 2011 on Nov 1.