Phillip E. "Skipper" Young, a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, founded Titleist in 1932.
When playing a round of golf with his dentist, Young missed a sure putt that seemed to be caused by the weight of the ball.He then asked his dentist friend to X-ray the ball and the film showed that the rubber core was off center.[/font][/size]
After this initial discovery, Young took X-rays of more golf balls and found that most were poorly constructed with off center cores and prone to erratic shots.[/b]
This inspired Young to produce his own line of golf balls, which would become known as Titleist.[/b]
1930: Young developed a machine that could uniformly wind rubber string around a rubber core, making a "dead center" golf ball. He named the ball "Titleist," noting it was the "winner" of the quest to create the best for the game.[/b]
1935: The golf division of the Acushnet Process Company produced the[/b]r]Titleist golf ball which had consistently been the company's most[/b]successful product.[/b]
1948: Introduced "Dynamite Thread" to increase the yardage of their balls.[/b]
1949: Titleist became the most used ball at the U.S. Open Tournament.[/b]
1976: Titleist was purchased by American Brands (now known as Fortune Brands).[/b]
1985: Fortune Brands sold off the Acushnet Company's Acushnet Rubber[/b]division, which was Acushnet's original business (circa early 1900s).[/b]
2002: Titleist reached the $1 billion mark in annual revenues[/b]
December 8, 2010: Fortune Brands announced that it would soon sell or spin off Titleist and some other brands.[/b]
May 20, 2011: It was then announced that a Korean group associated[/b]with Fila Korea, Ltd. and Mirae Asset Private Equity would purchase[/b] [/b]Acushnet for $1.23 billion in cash.[/b]
Acushnet employs roughly 3000 people in Massachusetts, making it one[/b]of the largest employers in the region. It is headquartered in Fairhaven, Massachusetts alongside its Packing and Distribution Center about three miles south of its original location.[/b]
They also have two golf ball manufacturing plants and an R&D Technology Center located in the New Bedford Industrial Park, as well as a Custom Golf Ball plant located in New Bedford[/b]
And all of this due to a missed putt.. and a lot of blood sweat and tears, persistence, & dedication to making things happen![/b][/b]