Q&A: Brandon Stone on Putting the New Pro V1 Prototype into Play

By Mike D., Titleist Staff On 8 December 2016 Balls Tour

This past week, Titleist golf ball loyalist Brandon Stone fired four rounds in the 60's, secured a 7-shot victory at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, claimed his second career European Tour title, and became the first player across the worldwide professional tours to win with the new 2017 Pro V1 prototype golf ball.

Sounds like a good week to us!

So, after this impressive performance, we caught up with Stone for a quick Q&A to get some more insight around how he tested the new Pro V1 prototype before he put it into play. Here is what he had to say...

Q: You put the new Pro V1 prototype in play for the first time just two weeks ago, but when did the testing process start for you?
During the Race to Dubai final, Ryan Hunt [Titleist European Tour Rep.] told me about the new prototype balls that were coming. I'm always open to try new product made by Titleist as I know they improve on every model. I played the weekend in Dubai with the new Pro V1 prototype and really enjoyed the performance around the greens. My next event was the Lion of Africa Cape Town Open and decided to defend my title using the new prototype. Finishing second, it validated the performance which gave me the confidence I needed heading into Leopard Creek. 

Q: How did you test the new Pro V1 prototype and is there an area of your game you focus on when testing? 
I started out around the greens and did a lot of short game testing in Jumeirah. Once I selected the new Pro V1 prototype as the best option around the green, I worked my way back to the tee and saw that there wasn't any compromise for distance. My up and down scrambling percentage improved substantially by just changing to the prototype Pro V1.

Q: How important is it to have confidence in your golf ball?
I always trust the new Titleist product and I have full faith in the R&D department to develop product that will assist my game. At Leopard Creek my stats around the greens were the best they had been in months without compromising on distance and ball flight control with the long game. 

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