As Sunday night in the United States turns into Monday morning in Japan, Titleist has moved ahead with what is expected to become one of the major equipment stories of the week.
This week’s Baycurrent Classic at Yokohama Country Club will mark the beginning of Tour seeding and validation for the company’s new 2027 Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls.
Titleist is not releasing technical details at this stage. Those specifics are expected to arrive with the retail launch, likely in January or February if the brand follows its usual release schedule.
The new balls first appeared on the USGA Conforming List three weeks ago at the Biltmore Championship, and several PGA Tour professionals have already begun using them. The rollout followed a lengthy Tour feedback process led by Titleist’s R&D team.
PGA and LPGA Tour professionals, including Adam Scott, Ryan Gerard, Jordan Spieth, Harris English, Justin Thomas, Lottie Woad, Matt Fitzpatrick, Yana Wilson, and Viktor Hovland, among others, have been testing final prototypes since March.
“When we’re in the middle of a testing session and a player asks me how soon he can play the new ball, I know we’re onto something,” said Fordie Pitts, Titleist’s Director of Tour Research & Validation. “That’s how it’s been the last couple months.”
It’s already Monday in Japan, and that means Titleist is announcing the beginning of Tour seeding and validation for the new 2027 Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls.
While the new golf balls first hit the USGA Conforming list three weeks ago at the Biltmore Championship, this week’s… pic.twitter.com/UiaPJkIoKb
— Jack Hirsh (@JR_HIRSHey) October 4, 2026
Neal Shipley has already made an early move, switching to the 2027 Pro V1 in Asheville. The change coincided with both his career-best 62 in the second round and a tie for third on the PGA Tour. Three other players, two on the Pro V1 and one on the Pro V1x, also used the new ball in North Carolina.
Additional professionals have since made the switch. Robert MacIntyre, for example, moved to the new Pro V1 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
MacIntyre said he was impressed by what he saw during a prototype test session at Harbour Town in April and worked with Titleist tour representative Liam McDougall to fine-tune the ball before this week’s event.
Doug Ghim, who contended at the Bank of Utah Championship, played the 2027 Pro V1x for the first time this week.
Well, the current generation Pro V1 came out in January 2025. So judging by the the regular retail cadence, we should be seeing a new version in January 2027.
Lo and behold, first week of the PGA Tour’s 2026 fall schedule, and we have new USGA conforming list entry for what is… pic.twitter.com/S0fqyWLjFr
— Jack Hirsh (@JR_HIRSHey) September 14, 2026
As of the Biltmore Championship, Titleist had 26 PGA Tour victories during the 2026 season, 21 more than any other brand.
With numerous Tour stars set to compete at Yokohama Country Club, attention will turn to which additional players move to the 2027 Pro V1 or Pro V1x at the Baycurrent Classic.
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