Leading Edge

Walker Cup hero Rickie Fowler, the world’s top-ranked amateur, will be playing Titleist golf balls and clubs when he makes his professional debut this week at the Nationwide Tour’s Albertsons Boise Open.

Fowler, a two-time Ping All-America First Team selection at Oklahoma State University, where he became the first freshman to win the Ben Hogan Award as the nation’s top men’s golfer, will wear the Titleist Pro V1 script on his headwear at Albertsons. Terms of the multi-year deal were not disclosed, but Fowler currently plays the Titleist Pro V1x ball, Titleist 909D2 driver (7.5 degrees), King Cobra S9-1 fairway metal (15 degrees), Titleist 585H hybrid (17 degrees), 680 irons (4-9), AP2 2-iron, Vokey Design pitching (47 degrees), sand (53 degrees) and lob (59 degrees) wedges, and Scotty Cameron Newport putter.

“I have played Titleist golf balls and equipment for as long as I can remember,” said Fowler, 20. “I am ecstatic and appreciative to be able to expand that relationship with Titleist as a professional.”

Fowler helped lead the 2009 U.S. Walker Cup team to a 16.5 to 9.5 win over Great Britain & Ireland last weekend, posting a perfect 4-0 record. As the youngest Walker Cup team member in 2007, he was 3-1.

Fowler has played in each of the last two U.S. Opens; he missed the cut at Bethpage Black but finished in a tie for 60th at Torrey Pines in 2008.

What you see is what you get – and what you don’t see is what you don’t, which can be important for golf club design. Witness the Adams Golf Idea Pro Black hybrids. They’re made with a black, nickel-plated finish that doesn’t glare, a feature that always seems attractive among the better-player set. As more players of all ability levels begin to notice the comfort of not squinting over the ball, it’s likely the trend will spread.

Skilled players will like the iron-like workability of compact clubhead, which as has 25 grams of low-and-back weight plus a forward weight for ease of fitting and customization. Adams hopes the hybrids, which will retail for about $250 each, will compliment their Idea Pro Black muscle-back iron line.

Er, pardon the pun…but look how far distance balls have come. Pellets that were once derided as rocks are getting more fairway cred every year. Pinnacle, the long-time distance brand from Titleist maker Acushnet (and the leader in the distance market) succeeded a few years back in repositioning itself with the tagline, “Distance doesn’t have to be hard.” Its Exception and Platinum balls did well in the market.

Now Pinnacle is charting its next step. Starting October 1, the Platinum product will give way to the Dimension line. The dimensions are in the cover, Pinnacle says: distance, durability and dispersion. An icosahedral pattern of 332 dimples optimizes flight, Pinnacle says. As expected, the core is large and responsive. Look for a price of between $15 and $18 per dozen.

In the established Pinnacle Gold family, the company will offer an improved Gold Precision ball and a new Gold Distance product. There will also be a new women’s model, the Ribbon, in white and lavender pearl finishes. Both the Golds and the Ribbons will also be $15-$18, but that’s for a 15-ball package, not a dozen.