Golf Discourse Community

“Ooh-hoo,” we said when a new sleeve of Titleist golf balls arrived in our hands, packaged in a lovely little Santa gift bag.


“Titleist Pro SIX,” we continued, knowing mostly that many big shot golfers will hit Titleist golf balls and nothing else.

“Vicki,” said our colleague Mike from down the hall, (Mike who happens to be a gentleman, a scholar, and an actual golfer), “those are Titleist Pro V 1 balls. You’re supposed to say ‘Titleist ProVee One.’”

Oh—and so our initiation into yet another part of the golf world continues. On a day when the temps are flirting with freezing, the wind is blowing cold, and there may still be patches of snow out there on the course, we are working on language lessons.

In the more academic side of our brain, we call this entering a new discourse community.

Thanks to our friend Margaret, we have a new sleeve of fancy golf balls that we know to call “Titleist Pro V 1.” Thanks to our friend Mike, we know how to say it right.

The next challenge will be to hit these balls and not lose them to the rocks, hill, lake, bush, and trees--the forces that eat golf balls and probably don't care at all about how to pronounce their names.