With one foot in a lake, two hands on his Vokey Design Spin Milled wedge and the game's richest prize on the line, Titleist Brand Ambassador Bill Haas stood over his Titleist Pro V1x golf ball and hit one of the PGA Tour's all-time clutch shots Sunday afternoon at East Lake, propelling him to victories in both the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup Playoffs.

On the second hole of an all-Titleist playoff with Pro V1x loyalist Hunter Mahan, Haas' approach shot hit the left side of the 17th green and dribbled to the edge of the lake, leaving about one-third of his ball sitting below the water line.

Haas never hesitated, trusting his Titleist golf ball and equipment would reward him for a great swing.

"We get up there and that's when I see the ball, and I say in my head, 'I have a shot,' " said Haas, who immediately pulled his Vokey Design Spin Milled 60•E (bent to 59º) wedge from his bag, hopped down the four-foot embankment, stuck one foot in the water and waggled his wedge over his Pro V1x.

"You play it like a bunker shot, for those of you that want to know, if there's a little bit of water, if you don't mind getting your feet dirty, and then blast it out of there," he said. "It came out perfect."

Haas' Pro V1x golf ball floated out of the lake, landed 3 feet past the hole, spun and stopped. (You can watch a replay in the video below.) He tapped in for par to halve the hole and extend the playoff.

"I won't forget it," said Haas, who also made a remarkable up-and-down from the right side of the 18th green to have the first playoff hole, sinking a downhill, bending 12-footer for par. "That's for sure."

About 15 minutes later, Haas executed another perfect stroke with his Scotty Cameron Kombi Mid putter, rolling in his Pro V1x from 5 feet for a two-putt par to win the Tour Championship, the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and all the perks and prizes (including $11.4 million) that go along with them.

Titleist golf ball players have now won over 70 percent (28 of 39) of events played this season on the PGA Tour, with 13 Titleist Brand Ambassadors combining for 16 of those victories.

Haas' victory was also one of six on the week for Titleist Pro V1x players, bringing the 2011 win total across the worldwide professional tours to 129, 108 more than the nearest competitor with 21 and more than all competitors combined.

At the Tour Championship, eight of the top 10 players on the final leader board trusted a Titleist golf ball for their success, with Haas and Mahan each finishing regulation at 8-under 272. Haas, who moved to No. 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking, was the only player to shoot four rounds in the 60s (68-67-69-68), leading the field with 22 birdies and 1.58 putts per green in regulation.

Luke Donald (Pro V1x), K.J. Choi (Pro V1,) and Aaron Baddeley (Pro V1x) shared third place at 7-under 273. Titleist Brand Ambassador Adam Scott (Pro V1) and Charles Howell III (Pro V1x) tied for sixth at 6-under 274, and Titleist Brand Ambassador Bo Van Pelt tied for ninth another shot back.

Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice at the Tour Championship with 20 players, five times the nearest competitor with four and more than all competitors combined.

Titleist also was first in fairway metals (11); iron sets (9);  sand, lob and approach wedges (24); and putters (12).

Here's a closer look at Bill Haas' Titleist equipment:

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: Titleist 910D2 8.5º (Fujikura Speeder 757)
3-wood: Titleist 910F 13.5º (Fujikura Motore VC 8.1)
Irons: Titleist CB 2-P (True Temper Dynamic Gold)
Wedges: Vokey Design Spin Milled 54•10º, 60º•E (True Temper Dynamic Gold)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi Mid

From Bill Haas' Tour Championship-FedEx Cup double to Kenneth Ferrie's playoff success at the Austrian Open, Titleist Pro V1x players dominated golf headlines over the weekend, combining for six wins around the world.

Titleist golf ball players have now won 129 times across the worldwide pro tours in 2011, 108 more than the nearest competitor with 21 and more than all competitors combined.

Like Haas' heroics Sunday on the PGA Tour, Ferrie's victory came down to the wire. He won the first hole of a sudden-death playoff, sticking his approach to 6 feet and rolling his Pro V1x in the bottom of the cup to capture his third European Tour title.

“I feel amazing right now...,” said Ferrie, who trusted a Titleist Pro V1x golf ball and a bag full of Titleist equipment – including new Prototype CB (712 Series) irons, which he used to hit 79.2 percent of his greens in regulation.

“It means the world to me. I have been working very hard and doing all the right things but I just haven’t had the results to back it up. So to win here, under the pressure of a play-off, is amazing and it makes all the hard work worthwhile.”

Ferrie topped a leader board that included eight Titleist golf ball players in the top 10.

Titleist was the most played golf ball at the event  with 94 players, more than five times the nearest competitor with 18 and more than all competitors combined.

Here's a closer look at Kenneth Ferrie's Titleist equipment:

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: Titleist 910D2 9.5º, C•1 SureFit Tour Setting (Mitsubishi Fubuki 63)
3-wood: Titleist 910F 13.5º, A•3 Setting (Project X 7B3)
Hybrids: Titleist 910H 19º, A•1 Setting (Aldila NV 85 Hybrid)
Irons: Titleist CB (712 Series) 3-9 (Project X Rifle)
Wedges: Vokey Design Spin Milled 248•06º, 255•10º, 60•P (Project X Rifle)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport

• NATIONWIDE TOUR: In an all-Titleist playoff at the Soboba Golf Classic, Pro V1x loyalist Ted Potter Jr. birdied the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to outlast Pro V1 loyalist Andres Gonzales and Pro V1x loyalist Miguel Angel Carballo for his second victory of the season.

The victory moved Potter to No. 3 on the Nationwide Tour money list with only five events remaining in 2011, guaranteeing him a PGA Tour card for the 2012 season.

 Potter fired a final-round 5-under 66, including a birdie on the 72nd hole to equal Gonzales and Carballo at 14-under 270.  He then birdied both playoff holes, topping Carballo on the first and Gonzales on the second.

Titleist was the overwhelming golf ball of choice with 110 players, more than six times the nearest competitor with 16.   Of the ten players who finished in the Top 10, eight relied on a Titleist golf ball for their success.  Titleist also was first in iron sets (43);  sand, lob and approach wedges (138); and putters (60).

• SOUTH AFRICA: Titleist Brand Ambassador Jean Hugo claimed his third title of the year by winning the Vodacom Origins of Golf Final at Legend Golf & Safari Estate.

Hugo fired a final round 6-under 66 en route to an 8-under par 208 victory total, two clear of two players, including fellow Titleist Brand Ambassador Louis de Jager (Pro V1x).

It's the second consecutive year Hugo has won three times on the South African Sunshine Tour.

I want to do better this year than I did last year,” Hugo said. “And it’s nice for me that I have won three of the Vodacom Origins series – the courses they are played on just seem to suit me.
   
• CHINA TOUR: Pro V1x loyalist Hsu Mong captured the China PGA Champions Tour Xiamen event, marking his first-ever win on the China Tour.

Hsu posted a 2-under par 286 victory total, five clear of Titleist Brand Ambassador Wu Wei Huang (Pro V1x) and Pro V1x loyalist Tsai Chi Huang.

In fact, nine of the top 10 finishers relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success.

Titleist was the top choice in golf balls at the event with 103 players, more than seven times the nearest competitor with 13 and more than all competitors combined. Titleist also was first in fairway metals (51), hybrids (56), iron sets (40), sand, lob and approach wedges (146), and putters (44).

• KOREAN TOUR: Titleist Brand Ambassador Soon Sang Hong (Pro V1x) relied on solid iron shots and formidable putting to top Titleist Brand Ambassador DoGyu Park (Pro V1xr), 4 and 3, in the final of the Munsingwear Championship.

With the victory, his first match-play title, Hong climbs from No. 3 to No. 1 in the KPGA money Ranking.

Titleist golf ball loyalists accounted for 20 of the 32 players in the event, five times more than the nearest competitor with four and more than all other golf balls combined.

• LPGA: Europe regained control of The Solheim Cup for the first time since 2003 with 15-13 victory over USA at Killeen Castle in Ireland.

Fourteen of the 24 players who competed for this year's United States and European Solheim Cup teams are Titleist golf ball players, nearly five times the nearest competitor with three.

The winning European side features six Titleist golf ball players: Christel Boeljon, Caroline Hedwall, Maria Hjorth and Azahara Muñoz play Pro V1, while Catriona Matthew and Karen Stupples play Pro V1x.  For the United States, eight of the 12 team members rely on Titleist golf balls, including Pro V1 loyalists Cristie Kerr, Angela Stanford, Juli Inkster and Ryann O'Toole.  Christina Kim, Brittany Lang, Stacy Lewis and Brittany Lincicome play Pro V1x.

• JAPAN TOUR: Titleist was the golf ball of choice at the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open with 70 players, more than three times the nearest competitor with 23. Titleist also was first in hybrids (40); irons sets (32); and wedges (111).  

Team Titleist hit the ground at East Lake in Atlanta earlier this week, excited to catch up with all of the Titleist players that qualified for this week's Tour Championship, including Titleist Brand Ambassador Webb Simpson (pictured below).

Twenty of the 30 players in this week's field are relying on Titleist golf balls for their success, five times the nearest competitor with four and more than all competitors combined. Titleist is also first this week in iron sets (9); sand, lob and approach wedges (24); and putters (12).

In total, Titleist golf ball players have won 27 times this season on the PGA Tour, more than six times the nearest competitor and more than all other golf balls combined. Of the six players who have notched two wins in 2011, five trust Titleist Pro V1x golf balls, including Simpson, Nick Watney, Steve Stricker, Mark Wilson and Bubba Watson.

Simpson, the current leader in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, is also one of six players making their debut this week in the FedEx Cup finale.

"You know, my goal starting the FedExCup Playoffs was to be in the top 5 coming in here...," said Simpson. "And to come in here being No. 1 is great. It's what we worked for all year, and it's just exciting."

Check out all of Team Titleist's pictures from the Tour Championship by clicking on the image below.

We're very excited to present this week's special Solheim Cup edition of Team Titleist Trivia!

Today's prizes have been shipped to Team Titleist directly from the locker rooms at Killeen Castle in Ireland: Limited Edition Titleist Pro V1 golf balls made especially for the participants in this week's Solheim Cup (pictured below).

The United States' golf balls display the American flag on one side with "2011" stamped the other. Europe's feature the European Union flag as well as a shamrock.

Six lucky winners will each receive two sleeves of these Limited Edition Titleist golf balls, one from Team USA and one from Team Europe.

Here's the question: How many Titleist golf ball players are competing in this week's Solheim Cup? (Need a hint? Might want to check out the Titleist Tour Blog.)

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: To enter the contest, log in to your Team Titleist account and then reply to this blog post with the correct answer to the above question by Monday, Sept. 26, at 10 a.m. EST.

 Note: You must be a Team Titleist member to enter. Only one entry per person. We will randomly draw the winners from all approved entries with the correct answer.

(Sorry U.S. only. Here's some more info: Why are Titleist sweepstakes U.S. only?)

**UPDATE: Thanks everyone for playing! The correct answer is: 14 Titleist golf ball players.

Congratulations to our six winners:
• Marc S
• Sherri B
• Larry E
• Quinn D
• RobStretch
• Dallas S

To our winners: Please make sure the address in your Team Titleist profile is up to date, as we will be shipping your prize to that address. Thanks!

Sweepstakes Rules and Community Policy

"Why don't I make consistent contact with the ball?"

That's a question often heard by PGA Professional Mark Blackburn, Director of Golf for Blackburn Golf and one of Team Titleist's newest contributors. Mark is also a TPI Certified Golf Fitness Instructor as well as the swing coach for several PGA Tour players including Titleist Brand Ambassador Robert Karlsson and Pro V1x loyalist Heath Slocum.

In the above video, Mark offers a couple quick tips for improving your pivot and making consistent contact from both the tee and the turf.

You can expect more video tips from Mark over the next weeks and months right here on Team Titleist.

For more on Mark and his teaching philosophy, please visit his website at www.blackburngolf.com.