The Desert Swing has for some time heralded the European Tour season kicking off in earnest and this year has been no different! The Abu Dhabi Golf Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club has attracted a strong field, including four of the top five players in the Official World Golf Rankings - with the top three all being Titleist golf ball players!

Team Titleist was on the ground at the event earlier this week and the course has been set up very tough - particularly the rough, which is very dense! A par 72, the course is 7,600 yards long - meaning that not only is long driving key, but straight driving is even more important! Add to this several changes to the course since last year's Championship and you can see why low scoring will be at a premium.

Lots of players were working extremely hard on the range, none moreso than Titleist staffer Jbe Kruger - arriving at the practice ground almost at any time during the three days preceding the tournament starting and you would have seen the amiable South African hard at work! At the time of writing the top of the leaderboard is littered with Titleist staffers and Pro V1x loyalists including Rory McIlroy, Matteo Manassero, Padraig Harrington, Robert Karlsson, Robert Rock, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet and Paul Lawrie.

Titleist is the overwhelming ball of choice at the event with 73 players placing their trust in either Pro V1 or Pro V1x, compared to 20 for the nearest competitor.

It's sure to be a very competitive finish, so keep your eyes peeled for Titleist ambassadors and Titleist golf ball loyalists battling it out for a fast start to the season!

The slide show is a bit longer this week - hope you enjoy! Simply click on the image below to start:

"Which way to the course?" asks tour tech Phil "Lucky" Dimmock! Could be a long week!

"Which way to the course?" asks tour tech Phil "Lucky" Dimmock! Could be a long week!

Pro V1x loyalist Mark Wilson captured the inaugural Humana Challenge by two shots at the weekend to give Titleist a third consecutive win at the start of the 2012 PGA Tour season. Mark posted a 24-under 264 to secure victory from fellow Pro V1x loyalist Johnson Wagner and John Mallinger, as well as Pro V1 loyalist Robert Garrigus.

Mark Wilson raises his Pro V1x after victory at the 2012 Humana Challenge

Wilson topped a leaderboard that included ten Titleist ball players from the 11 players occupying the top ten and ties. The win is Wilson's fifth of his PGA Tour career and the third in the last 12 months.

Titleist was the overwhelming ball of choice at the Humana Challenge with 99 players, more than seven times the nearest competitor with 14.

Elsewhere, on the Champions Tour, Pro V1x loyalist Dan Forsman captured the season opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship by two shots over fellow Pro V1x player Jay Don Blake. Forsman closed with a 3-under 69 en route to a 15-under 201 victory total, the third victory of his Champions Tour career.

Pro V1x loyalist Dan Forsman celebrates his third career Champions Tour title

When Rory McIlroy reaches into the ball pocket on his golf bag, he knows exactly what he's getting: A Titleist Pro V1x golf ball. Every time.

For Adam Scott, it's always a Titleist Pro V1. Same for K.J. Choi. For Steve Stricker? Pro V1x, every time.

Top amateur golfers subscribe to the same philosophy, choosing to play the same brand and model golf ball every time they play or practice, whether it's on the course, a practice green or in a short-game area.

The reason is simple: Changing the golf ball changes every shot.

And if you want to shoot lower scores and consistently play your best golf, one of the first steps is knowing what to expect out of your golf ball on each and every swing.

What does your golf ball pocket look like?

"Consistency starts with knowing how the golf ball is going to perform," says Bill Morgan, Senior Vice President of Titleist Golf Ball R&D.

"We play with the same driver, the same irons, the same putter during the course of the round, but a lot of golfers think nothing of pulling out a different golf ball than what they started with and playing their next shot with it. .... Unless you're prepared for that and skilled enough to change your swing, you're going to get a different result."

Through extensive player and robot testing, Morgan says, the R&D team has found "dramatic differences in golf ball performance on shots into the green from brand to brand to brand."

For example, say you're hitting a short iron into a green. What's the goal? Hitting it as close to the pin as possible, if not in the hole. The closer you hit it to the pin, the better your chances of making the putt and lowering your score.

Executing that shot consistently not only requires a good swing, but knowing how your golf ball is going to react when it hits the putting surface.

"Does it hit and stop? Does it bounce a couple times before checking up? That sort of reliance and that confidence in your golf ball can really start to alter the rest of your game," says Titleist Golf Ball Fitter Michael Collins.

Accordingly, here are a couple easy New Year's resolutions you can add to your list, courtesy of Mike Gibson, Manager of Titleist Golf Ball Fitting.

"First, make sure you have been properly fit for the best golf for your game," he says. "Second, stick to that golf ball for the season. For casual rounds and tournament rounds. On the practice green before a round. Even if you're just hitting pitches in your back garden."

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

"As you learn how your golf ball performs in various situations, you also gain the confidence necessary to hit more greens and get the ball closer to the pin," Gibson says. "Whether you're a tour pro or a 15-handicap, you're going to make shorter putts more often. Who doesn't want to make more putts?"

Step one: Taking a look in your golf ball pocket.

To begin the Titleist Performance Golf Ball Fitting process yourself, click here.