Titleist Brand Ambassador and reigning PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Cameron Young teed up the NEW Pro V1x golf ball for the first time two weeks ago at the Genesis Invitational, adding to the long and ever-growing list of players across the worldwide professional tours who have made the move to the next generation of the #1 ball in golf.
Young arrived at Riviera having gamed Pro V1 Left Dot since the start of 2022. The 25-year-old, Scarborough, N.Y. native was one of just two rookies to qualify for the Tour Championship last season, finishing runner-up five times including the Open Championship at St. Andrews.
Pro V1 Left Dot is the lowest-spinning and lowest-flying Pro V1 model. At the start of the week at Riviera, Young asked Fordie Pitts of Titleist Golf R&D if they could test some options that would provide him additional height and spin.
“Obviously Left Dot, the lower flight did work very well for him,” Pitts said. “But he was just starting to notice there were certain instances where it could get a little bit flat, could come in a little hot, take a little bigger first bounce than he would like to see. So there was a desire on his part for something with a touch more spin, maybe even a little bit more trajectory.”
Young’s interest in the 2023 Pro V1 and Pro V1x models was initially piqued at the CJ Cup in October, while playing a practice round with then-fellow Left Dot player Keith Mitchell. Mitchell was testing the 2023 Pro V1 on the course when the group arrived at a par 5 that required a demanding second shot over water. After Young sent his Left Dot safely over the penalty area and onto the green with a 5-iron, Mitchell wanted to put the new model to the test. Mitchell dropped a ‘23 Pro V1 and elected to hit 6-iron, a club selection that he was sure would find the water.
He was wrong. The shot not only cleared the water but landed just feet from the pin. Mitchell put 2023 Pro V1 in play that week.
“I think that was a moment when Cameron was like ‘What was that?’” said Pitts. “That might have been the start of it all.”
While Young wanted to finish out the season out with his tried-and-true Left Dot, his interest in the new models didn’t go away. Playing a few weeks ago at the WM Phoenix Open, the week prior to the Genesis, Young said he saw some shots during Sunday’s final round where he would have benefited from a little more height and spin.
“I think [Waste Management] was just a little telling,” said Young. “I think the greens are pretty firm. At altitude, the ball doesn’t climb really. It’s just kind of wherever you launch it is where it stays. So I had a little trouble stopping it and controlling distance in places... Obviously I’ve played [Left Dot] for about a year, so I’m really familiar and very confident in that ball. But if I can have the same feeling and have a little bit higher launch, I think it’s just going to give me some more shots, which could be really helpful.”
With performance goals in place, Young and Pitts went to work on the range at Riv Tuesday afternoon, testing different shots from wedges to driver to evaluate the flight, feel, and spin properties of NEW Pro V1 and Pro V1x. From the jump, it was 2023 Pro V1x that stood out to Young.
“I think for me just that little higher launch with that ‘23X is really important,” said Young. “And I never have been someone that launched it really high, and I take some big divots, and I have a lot of [shaft] lean. So a little help just getting it to launch a little higher, especially middle irons, 6, 7 and some of the longer irons, that’s going to be big for me, especially in some of those weeks where it’s really firm.”
Following the range session, Young’s next stop was Riviera’s 10th tee for an afternoon nine. Before teeing up a new ball in competition, the best players in the world need to know that the performance on the golf course mirrors the performance and numbers seen on the practice tee. According to Pitts, it didn’t take long for NEW Pro V1x to pass the on-course test as well.
“So for instance on the 11th hole [at Riviera], par 5, downwind, where the ball can get kind of pushed down a little bit, he had a gorgeous drive right in the middle of the fairway,” Pitts said. “He had 230 to the flag. He just hit this gorgeous 4-iron. The thing just flew right up in the air, and as soon as he hit it, he just reacted to it, because it was the flight that he’s been looking for.”
Two days later, Young stepped to the first tee with a NEW Pro V1x in hand. Over the four rounds at Riviera he was 3rd in Driving Distance (320.6 yards), 5th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (+3.481), and 13th in SG: Approach (+3.654), each of which marked an improvement from his season averages to date. He finished the week T20.
Next up for Young and his 2023 Pro V1x: The Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship – and the firm and fast setups at Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass.