After purchasing a dozen Titleist Pro V1 golf balls from Manor of Groves Golf Club and entering his unique Poker Chip code into our sweepstakes page, Richard Knight was stunned to learn he had won the golfing trip of a lifetime to our headquarters in New Bedford, USA.

Richard decided to take his wife Beth along on the trip. Along with winners from Canada, South Africa and USA, this is what they got up to…

Day One: Sunday
After meeting a Titleist representative for breakfast in Heathrow’s Terminal 5, it was off to the US on an Airbus A380. After arrival at Boston’s Logan International airport, it was a short drive to the City of Providence in Rhode Island. The iconic Providence Biltmore hotel would be home for the week. Designed in 1922 it still retains it’s Art Deco décor and feel and was the perfect base for our lucky winners.

Day Two: Monday
After breakfast and the morning exploring Providence, it was off to the Titleist test facility at Manchester Lane for the afternoon. This facility plays host to numerous Tour Professionals throughout the year as well as our R&D team. This is the proving ground for all new Titleist Golf Ball products.

Richard was greeted by Patrick, his fitter for the experience. Patrick’s aim for the day was to fit Richard into a full bag of Titleist clubs, including the the NEW 718 irons, 818 Hybrids, 917 metals, Vokey Design Wedges and a Scotty Cameron putter. The whole process took over 3 hours with Patrick continuosly tweeking the specs of the clubs in Richards hand to get the exact right specification. After hitting 100 plus golf balls this was Richard’s final set comp:

DRIVER Model: 917 D2 Loft: 10.5° Setting: C-1 Shaft: Diamana Limited Blue 60 Flex: Stiff

FAIRWAY Model: 917 F2 Loft: 16.5° Setting: A-1 Shaft: Diamana Blue 60 Flex: Stiff

HYBRID Model: 818 H1 Loft: 19° Setting: C-4 Shaft: Tensei Blue 80 Flex: Stiff

IRONS Model: 718 AP3 Set: 4-GW 48 Shaft: Nippon Modus 105 Flex: Stiff  

WEDGES Model: Vokey SM6 Steel Grey Set: 54.10 S grind, 60.08 M grind Shaft: Dynamic Gold Dynamicold Flex: Wedge

PUTTER Model: Scotty Cameron Select Newport 2.5 Length: 35”

Day Three: Tuesday
The morning was spent back at Manchester Lane. This time it was shoe fitting followed by golf ball fitting. 

As part of his prize Richard would receive 6 dozen Titleist golf balls of his choice, but which model was right for him? Our Head of Golf Ball Fitting Michael took Richard through the whole family then set about determining which ball was best suited to Richards game. The winner - Pro V1.

The afternoon was spent in the R&D offices at Titleist headquarters, New Bedford, where over 70 associates work. This is where all new Titleist golf balls are born. Matt Hogge, Director of Product Development, gave a fascinating insight into the lengths we go to improve the #1 ball in golf for each generation. 

Day Four: Wednesday
Ball Plant III. The home of the Pro V1. From raw materials to finished product, it’s all done here. Our winners were shown every process needed to make both the Pro V1 and Pro V1x. One thing that amazed all of our winners was the length of service the employees had amassed between them. They were also lucky enough to meet Norm who has been working for Titleist since 1965!

The afternoon was spent at the stunning Rhode Island Country Club. The Donald Ross designed course weaves it’s way through Barrington with the final four holes overlooking the beautiful Narrangansett Bay.

Their clubs were built in California the previous day and shipped overnight directly to the course. Playing on a lovely sunny day with their new bags full of Titleist clubs meant it was always going to be a special round of golf. The perfect way to finish off the golfing trip of a lifetime.

Day Five: Thursday
The final morning was spent shopping in Providence using some of the $500 spending money that was also part of the prize. After he’d landed back at Heathrow, we sat down with Richard and asked him a few questions about his trip…

Richard, what are your thoughts on the overall experience?
It really was the trip of a lifetime... way better than we could have ever imagined!! From meeting at the airport to playing my new AP3's at Rhode Island the entire trip was faultless and above expectations. 

What was your favourite part of the trip?
hmmmm....... a tough one as it was all so amazing. I loved the fitting session at Manchester Lane though but the R&D centre was also very cool!

What differences did you see between Pro V1 and Pro V1x during your Ball Fitting?
I got a better spin rate with Pro V1’s…and longer straighter flight.

Would you recommend Club and Ball fitting to your friends?
Yes for sure...! Seeing and feeling the difference in the clubs was more than I'd expected to achieve. I'm an extra 10 - 15 yards longer through the bag. The computer read outs from Trackman were really interesting to see and help me understand where Patrick was going with different shaft and club combinations.

What else have you learnt?
Never to play any other ball except Titleist and to tell all my golfing friends just what goes into making the #1 ball in golf.

What do you plan to do with your lucky poker chip?
I’m going to get framed and put it on the wall in my office. A reminder of the golfing trip of a lifetime.