In choosing the best golf ball for your game, consistency should be at the center of attention.

That's one of the most important messages being relayed to golfers by the Titleist Performance Golf Ball Fitting teams as they tour the country educating golfers on Titleist's green-to-tee methodology and helping them identify the Titleist golf ball that will help them shoot lower scores.

Consider the following three common misconceptions heard recently at Titleist Performance Golf Ball Fittings:

1. Distance is the most important aspect in choosing a golf ball.

"Distance is king to most consumers," says John Fizer, a member of the East Coast Titleist Performance Golf Ball Fitting team. "Even after we explain to them that all Titleist golf balls are long at all swing speeds, and land within 3-4 yards of each other, many people still think they will hit one 10 yards longer."

Differences between models off the driver for swing speeds ranging from tour players (near 110 mph) down to lower speed players (in the 80s mph) are less than four yards.

Game-changing distance is potentially obtainable through physical fitness, swing improvements and club fitting – but not the golf ball that you choose to play.

Titleist's green-to-tee methodology is based on the fact that most scoring opportunities are created by shots into the target, and improving your short game will have the most game-changing affects.

Whether you are a professional or an amateur, shorter putts go in more often. Hitting the ball closer to the pin with more consistency will lower your score.

2. If you are not spinning the golf ball back on the green, it is not spinning.

"Most people look at spin as either backspin or sidespin, or as an absolute – either it happens or it doesn’t," says Fizer. "Spin is the real game changer, and explaining to them that there are different levels of spin is very helpful."

All golfers will shoot lower scores with a golf ball that provides optimal scoring spin – the spin that you get with short irons and wedges.

The shorter the shot, the larger the spin difference. Trusting how your golf ball is going to perform from these distances is critical to shooting lower scores and becoming a more consistent player.

3. Playing more than one type of golf ball has no affect on your game.

"One of the most interesting patterns we’ve noticed is the inconsistency in ball choice," Fizer says. "We've met a number of golfers who do not buy the same golf ball each time they purchase golf balls, and play whichever ball gets pulled from the bag.

"This can really impact a golfer's game, since changing the golf ball changes every shot."

There is a reason Titleist golf ball loyalists on the worldwide professional tours go through an extensive fitting process in order to find and trust a single type of Titleist golf ball: In order to shoot your best scores, you need to know what to expect from your golf ball on every shot.

The only way to achieve that is to consistently play with the same golf ball every time you tee it up.

Be sure to be on the lookout for a Performance Golf Ball Fitting van at your club, or start the process yourself by clicking here.

The final event of the Nationwide Tour season kicked off Thursday morning at the Daniel Island Club in Charleston, S.C., where several Titleist Brand Ambassadors and golf ball loyalists are making their final push toward 2011 PGA Tour cards.

At the end of play Sunday, the top 25 on the money list will move on to golf's biggest stage.

There are other storylines to consider at this week's Nationwide Tour Championship, however: Nos. 26-60 on the money list earn full playing privileges on the Nationwide Tour in 2011, while Nos. 26-40 also are exempt into the final stage of this fall's PGA Tour Qualifying School.

Photographer and loyal Team Titleist member Greg Moore was on the scene at Daniel Island's Ralston Creek Course earlier this week and kindly sent along some of his inside-the-ropes photos from the practice rounds for us to enjoy. Thanks Greg!

Many of the world's best golfers have gathered in Malaysia this week for the inaugural CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia, the first PGA Tour-sanctioned event to be played in Southeast Asia.

The elite 40-player field includes Titleist Brand Ambassadors Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Michael Sim, Bill Haas, Kevin Na, D.J. Trahan, Ben Crane, Marc Leishman, Andrew Dodt, and Kiradech Aphibarnra.

Several of those players will also head to Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai next week for the WGC-HSBC Champions event.

"Golf is a global game now. People want to see the U.S. players playing in Malaysia, China or Japan," Pro V1x loyalist Luke Donald told PGATour.com. "New events like this tend to increase fan support for the game and create awareness that there are great places around the world to play golf in."

Our friends at Titleist Southeast Asia were on the scene earlier this week at Mines Resort and Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur and sent along some pictures for Team Titleist. Check them out in the slideshow below.

Pro V1x loyalist Jonathan Byrd may have made the ace of the week – if not the year, decade, or even century – Sunday in Las Vegas as darkness fell on the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. (It marked the first time a PGA Tour event has ever been decided by a hole-in-one.)

But there was another "1" last week at TPC Summerlin that was comparable, at least in terms of obstructed views.

During Thursday's opening round, Titleist Brand Ambassador Webb Simpson stepped to the tee at the 231-yard 8th hole, the longest par-3 on the course, and pulled from his bag a brand new 21-degree Titleist 910H hybrid with the SureFit Tour hosel in the B2 position (+0.75 upright, standard loft) and a Graphite Design Tour AD shaft, which he had been fit for just a day earlier. (He also carries a new 19-degree 910H hybrid in his bag.)

Webb teed up his new Titleist Pro V1x prototype golf ball – which he's used to finish T-12, T-44 and T-4 the last three weeks and help secure his 2011 PGA Tour card – then sent it soaring just a touch right of the flag.

It landed about 7 feet in front of the pin, hopped once and rolled into the cup (check out the video below). Webb knew he'd hit a good shot, but started walking to the green with his putter in hand, a blind angle to the pin delaying the celebration for a minute or two.

"One of the Titleist guys fitted (the 21-degree 910H) for me perfectly," he said after the round. "Just a good (yardage). Looked good... We didn't know it went in until we went to the green."

Three days later, fading sunlight would keep Byrd from watching his Pro V1x's historic journey into the hole at the 220-yard par-3 17th.

When Webb and his caddie finally realized the ball had gone into the hole, they celebrated with a chest-bump in the fairway.

"Yeah, it was a good feeling," he said. "I saw the ball mark couple feet short and I knew it was in."

It's that time of the year again when pillowcases fill up with candy and our in-boxes here at Titleist fill up with pictures of impressive Titleist-inspired jack-o'-lanterns.

This time around, we want to make sure that everyone else gets to see them, too.

If you've carved your own Titleist-o'-lantern this year – or happen to come across one on your trick-or-treating route – please post a picture of it in the Team Titleist forums for everyone to enjoy.

(This goes for any Titleist-inspired costumes as well!)

Thanks to everyone for your support – and Happy Halloween from Team Titleist!

Post your pictures here!

How best to sum up the weekend for Titleist Brand Ambassador Matteo Manassero?

Whoa.

The Italian, at 17 years and 188 days old, won the Castello Masters to become the youngest winner ever on the European Tour, eclipsing the previous record (18 years, 213 days) by over a year, and continue a recent trend of rewriting the record books.

Manasserro tapped his Pro V1x golf ball in for par on the 18th hole Sunday at the Club de Campo Del Mediterraneo for a 4-under 67 and a runaway victory highlighted by three consecutive birdies from Nos. 13-15. Manassero, who started the day two shots back of the lead, was one of 69 players in the field that trusted a Titleist golf ball, more than all other golf balls combined.

He finished at 16-under 201, four shots ahead of Pro V1x loyalist Ignacio Garrido.

"This was my first chance to win a tournament, which I never thought would come so quickly and to do it is unbelievable," said Manassero, who also became the European Tour's youngest full-time member, surpassing Seve Ballesteros' record by 12 days.

Last year, Manassero became the youngest British Amateur Champion at 16 years old and won the silver medal as the low amateur (13th) at the 2009 British Open at Turnberry, where he closed in 1-under 69. In April, he finished tied for 36th at the Masters after becoming the youngest player to ever make the cut.

“My results this year are well above my expectations," said Manassero, who plays a full bag of Titleist equipment.

Manassero became the ninth player across the worldwide profession tours to win using the new Titleist 910 driver since seeding began in July. 
For the week, Manassero finished fifth in driving accuracy, hitting 64.3 percent of fairways.

Manassero also finished second for the week in putts per green in regulation (1.646) after putting a new Scotty Cameron Studio Select Fastback putter into play for the first time.

Here's a closer look at Manassero's Titleist equipment:
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: Titleist 910D2 9.5 (A1 Setting)
3-wood: Titleist 909F2 13.5
Hybrid: Titleist 909H 17.0
Irons: AP2 (3-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled (52, 58)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Select Fastback

• • •

Manassero's victory was one of four last week for Titleist Brand Ambassadors and golf ball loyalists across the worldwide professional tours. In 2010, Titleist golf ball players have recorded 126 total victories, more than 100 more than the nearest competitor with 23:

• PGA TOUR: Pro V1x loyalist Jonathan Byrd hit perhaps the shot of the year Sunday night as darkness fell upon Las Vegas and the fourth playoff hole of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open.

But he didn't see it.

Standing on the tee of TPC Summerlin's 240-yard par-3 17th, Byrd watched as his Pro V1x #2 golf ball disappeared somewhere over the green.

"It started perfect, it turned perfect, and it was coming right down the flag," said Byrd. " I thought I hit it too good. I thought I hit it too far, and I couldn't see anything."

Byrd's Pro V1x dropped about 15 feet in front of the cup, hopped once and rolled into the cup, earning him his fourth PGA Tour victory – the first with a 6-iron in his hands at the end.

"…To hear the reaction as it went in, I was just in shock," he said. What better place than Las Vegas to win with an ace?

Byrd closed in 3-under 68 to finish regulation at 21-under 263, tied with Pro V1 loyalist Cameron Percy (67).

Byrd and Percy were two of 95 players in the field that trusted a Titleist golf ball, more than five times the nearest competitor with 17. Nine of the top 10 finishers trusted a Titleist golf ball for their success, while 22 players in the field had new Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x prototype golf balls in play.

Percy was on one of seven players that used a new Pro V1 prototype golf ball, while Titleist Brand Ambassador Webb Simpson (T-4) was one of 15 players that played the new Pro V1x prototype golf ball.

In the three weeks since Simpson put the new golf ball in play, he has finished T-12, T-44 and T-4. This week, Simpson also led the field in driving accuracy (83.9 percent). 


• LPGA: Pro V1x loyalist Jimin Kang birdied three of her last four holes, including a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole, to capture the inaugural Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia by one stroke over Hall of Famer and Pro V1 loyalist Julie Inkster.


The win was the second LPGA tour victory for Kang, who closed in 6-under 65 for a 9-under 204 total.

"(I'm) speechless. That's not that easy to do for me. I played solid. I hit a lot of putts. As you guys can tell, my score was good enough to win a tournament, and you know, it's been a while. So I'm trying to soak this in," said Kang, whose first LPGA victory came at the 2005 LPGA Corning Classic. "Oh, my... I can't believe I won!"

Kang was one of 44 players in the field that trusted a Titleist golf ball, 11 times the nearest competitor with four.


Pro V1 loyalist Cristie Kerr, who finished eighth, is projected to regain the No. 1 position in this week's Rolex World Rankings.   


• NATIONWIDE TOUR: Pro V1x loyalist David Mathis secured his 2011 PGA Tour card by winning the inaugural Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open Sunday at Dye's Valley at TPC Sawgrass.

Mathis closed in 1-under 69  to finish at 8-under 272 for a one-stroke victory over three players, including Titleist Brand Ambassador Won Joon Lee and Pro V1x loyalist Jeff Curl.

Mathis, who moved from No. 35 to No. 12 on the Nationwide Tour money list with only one event remaining, was one 89 players in the field that trusted a Titleist golf ball, nearly five times the nearest competitor with 16.

Titleist also was first in Sand, Lob and Approach Wedges (126) and Putters (61).