Are you a golfer?

The Origin of Titleist.

Phillip E. "Skipper" Young, a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, founded Titleist in 1932.  When playing a round of golf with his dentist, Young missed a sure putt that seemed to be caused by the weight of the ball. He then asked his dentist friend to X-ray the ball and the film showed that the rubber core was off-center.

After this initial discovery, Young took X-rays of more golf balls and found that most were poorly constructed with off-center cores and prone to erratic shots. 

This inspired Young to produce his own line of golf balls, which would become known as Titleist. 

1930: Young developed a machine that could uniformly wind rubber string around a rubber core, making a "dead center" golf ball. He named the ball "Titleist," noting it was the "winner" of the quest to create the best for the game.

1935: The golf division of the Acushnet Process Company produced the Titleist golf ball which had consistently been the company's most successful product.

1948: Introduced "Dynamite Thread" to increase the yardage of their balls.

1949: Titleist became the most used ball at the U.S. Open Tournament.

1976: Titleist was purchased by American Brands (now known as Fortune Brands).

1985: Fortune Brands sold off the Acushnet Company's Acushnet Rubber division, which was Acushnet's original business (circa early 1900s).

2002: Titleist reached the $1 billion mark in annual revenues

On December 8, 2010, Fortune Brands announced that it would soon sell or spin off Titleist and some other brands. It was then announced on May 20, 2011 that a Korean group associated with Fila Korea, Ltd. and Mirae Asset Private Equity would purchase Acushnet for $1.23 billion in cash.

Acushnet employs roughly 3000 people in Massachusetts, making it one of the largest employers in the region. It is headquartered in Fairhaven, Massachusetts alongside its Packing and Distribution Center about three miles south of its original location.

They also have two golf ball manufacturing plants and an R&D Technology Center located in the New Bedford Industrial Park, as well as a Custom Golf Ball plant located in New Bedford.

And all of this due to a missed putt... and a lot of blood sweat and tears, persistence, & dedication to making things happen!

Golf Trivia & Wisdom

-Golf balls are like eggs - they're white, they're sold by the dozen, and a week later you have to buy more.

-The pro-shop gets its name from the fact that you must have the income of a professional golfer to buy anything in there.

-It's amazing how a golfer who never helps with house or yard work will replace his divots, repair his ball marks, and rake his sand traps.

-Did you ever notice that it's a lot easier to get up at 6:00 a.m. to play golf than at 10:00 to go to church?

-It takes longer to become good at golf than it does brain surgery. On the other hand, you seldom get to ride around in a cart, drink beer and eat hot dogs while performing brain surgery.

-A good drive on the 18th hole has stopped many a golfer from giving up the game.

-A good golf partner is one who's slightly worse than you.

-The rake is always in the other trap.

-If there's a storm rolling in, you'll be having the game of your life.

-If your opponent has trouble remembering whether he shot a six or a seven, he probably shot an eight.

-Golf appeals to the child in all of us. This is proven by our frequent inability to count past the number 5.

-It's easy to keep your ball in the fairway, if you don't care which fairway.

-If profanity had any influence on the flight of a ball, most everyone would play better.

-The greatest sound in golf is the "Whoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh" of your opponent's club as he hurls it across the fairway.

-A recent survey shows that of all jobs, caddies live the longest. They get plenty of fresh air and exercise, and if there's ever a medical emergency, a doctor is always nearby.

-It's difficult to decide which is more stressful - hitting 3 off the tee or lining up your 4th putt.

-With practice and strength training you can easily get more distance off the shank.

-The only sure way to get a par is to leave a 4 foot birdie putt 2 inches from the hole.

-Nothing straightens out a nasty slice like a sharp dogleg to the right.

No matter how badly you are playing, it's always possible to get worse.

I will say, I loved being a caddie. I would do it again in a heartbeat if I could. 

Since 2003 I have owned two houses.  The first one 8 years, the second one 10 years.  Both have been located right on private golf courses.  

Though I played golf in my younger years.  In all the while I have owned these houses, I have not played.  Heck, I don't even own a set of clubs.  

John Welsh said:

Since 2003 I have owned two houses.  The first one 8 years, the second one 10 years.  Both have been located right on private golf courses.  

Though I played golf in my younger years.  In all the while I have owned these houses, I have not played.  Heck, I don't even own a set of clubs.  

I have a problem. I play only about 5-10 times a year. I own 4 sets of clubs.

I own clubs, but we get a bagel, coffee and whack balls; don't even keep score.  That's golfing.

Not a golfer.  There used to be a public par 3 course near me so I bought a $5 set of irons at a yard sale and my idea of golfing was once a year carrying a few clubs in my hand and filled my bag with ice and beer.

I got a birdie once.  By that I mean I sliced a ball off a 5 iron into a gaggle of Canada Geese on the fairway.

I quite enjoy it if someone else is paying. 

Hey, my name is finally applicable to a thread.  I'm still admittedly pretty heinous at the game, but it's my stress relief/detune/Vitamin D escape every summer.  It's the most frustrating and rewarding sport I've ever played.  I've been playing since high school, back when my good ole buddy Bluej and I used to be hell-raisers...  

https://youtu.be/YLzwxh8yanQ
 

Best golf skit. 
Robin Williams

Caution : Language may not be suitable for everyone

A lot of people make fun of it, but there are a lot of parallels to racing - or anything competitive, for that matter. Mechanics of the swing, equipment, endurance, being able to see the the line (racing or the putt)... They're not that different. 

I personally enjoy being out on the course, it is 1-4 hours of me being outside, maybe drinking some beer, and getting some exercise. If I could, I would walk 18 holes every day, carrying my bag. I also nerd out over the equipment, and how cheap can I get a good set of clubs, finding forgotten clubs, looking at the classics...

Does disc golf count?

93EXCivic said:

Does disc golf count?

In what I interpret as the direct meaning of this thread? No.  About like comparing handball to soccer. Same concept. Wildly different execution of propelling the object to the target. 

As an awesome outdoor activity? Yes.

So... Sure?

With The Masters on last weekend I can't watch much without this in my head.  
 

Goofing around I talk out of the side of my mouth only to totally puss off my wife.  

I'm not a golfer but I remember cutting a Titleist apart when I was a kid - it was fascinating to see how it was made.

I enjoy playing golf- I hate watching golf.

I was a caddy at a local club when I lived in NY. It was demanding work, but we could golf for free on Monday mornings and after 7:00 PM- which was good for a couple of holes. Once I started having to pay to golf, I golf much less frequently. It's been at least 5 years since I've gone.

One thing that irks me about golf is apparent need to keep it upscale. If I want to golf in cargo shorts and a GRM T-Shirt, let me.
 

Brett_Murphy said:

I enjoy playing golf- I hate watching golf.
 

Interestingly, I hated golf on TV until I started playing and realized the skill it takes to do what they do.
I took a class in college as one of my athletic requirements and ended up liking it.  The nearby women's college's green fees were like $3 for students if you walked, so I played a lot of golf just to be outside and getting some exercise.  Still didn't improve my game much.  Consistent, yes, better, not so much.  Sadly, I haven't played in 20+ years, and would probably be on a stretcher by the 3rd hole.

I agree 100% with the parellel to racing.  Especially the tendency to blame poor results on equipment as opposed to the person using it..... 

-Rob

I have played and enjoyed it, though I was never any good. Now my back hates me for weeks if I play.

Still have my knock-off brand Ti clubs a couple nice Mizuno fairway woods (I know them as ginties) and a Ping putter I got as a door prize for going to a charity tournament.

Ima hit this ball as hard as I can, then walk up to it and Ima repeat until I try to get it into a little hole. So great.

Datsun310Guy said:

With The Masters on last weekend I can't watch much without this in my head.  
 

Goofing around I talk out of the side of my mouth only to totally puss off my wife.  

https://www.youtube.com/embed/zbQTXFJL8lo?rel=0

 

That bit was almost 100% improvised by Bill Murray after Harold Ramis gave him the gist of what he was going for.

I don't play golf but I imagine it's one of things that doesn't get fun until after you're reasonably good at it.

I prefer Sporting Clays.  Sort of like golf with a shotgun.  

 But yes, its better to  have a partner that is slightly worse than you for this as well.

There's a bar near me that is also a driving range. Genius.

$2 beers, $16 bucket of balls. They know where their profit is.

I love playing golf but I suck at it.

And cool story on titleist, I'm going to repeat it whether it's true or not!

I played golf a little in high school and sort of enjoyed it.  Went to college & golf was an option for the PE requirement.  I thought "Great, I'll get taught how to do better do something I sort of enjoy".  It didn't work out that way.  The golf teacher was also a football trainer & taught golf like I'd imagine he trained football players. The experience left me with absolutely no interest in every playing golf again.

However, Greg Norman gave me a new Range Rover a few years ago, so, yeah I love golf.

I've pretended to be a golfer for 40 years, breaking 100 is a decent day for me . Years ago, I was watching PBS and a golf pro and his pro daughter asked "How would you like to play bogey golf?" "Hell, YES!!" They said to play holes with your 150 yard club and a putter for practice. Then they proceed to play a par-3, par-4 and  par-5 holes with only two clubs. I had a membership at the local course and would routinely tee off at 6:00 AM and play nine before going to work, so I tried their suggestion. I have shot 39 or 40 six times now by using only a seven iron and a putter. My best ever round with a full set of clubs is 88. You would think I would have learned by now, but noooo.....

Edit: Walking nine holes with only two clubs is a really relaxing jaunt, too.