It's not just the ProV's.   The new NXT's have gone up a couple of bucks and AP1 and AP2 irons are up $100 a set.

 I know I am not going to buy the irons this spring as planned, and will probably reexamine my preference in balls as well.

1. Hmmm.  Titleist as company has a different responsibility in the marketplace than to encourage the sport.  I'm not saying that I agree with the rising prices, but the marketplace needs to decide a fair price.  Even dropping prices 10% won't guarantee a 10% increase in volume for Titleist.  Which even if it did would essentially decrease their margins.  Cadillac found that competing on volume with Lincoln didn't make them more profitable and went in the direction that they currently have challenging Lexus and Mercedes and not cannibalizing sales from Buick anymore. 
2. If enough us decide to try brand X based on price, it may make a difference.   Unfortunately being left-handed, I don't have as many choices.  I had a set of irons from a company formerly affiliated with Titleist.  I'm certain I'm happier with my AP1s but if money was an object I could have kept them.  When I had higher ball losses, I had great experience with recycled balls.  They always looked good all the way up to the edge of the forest within 6-12 shots.
3. We that play have a responsibility to bring buddies out with the right expectation.  We let them come out with ill-fitting equipment (used or off the rack from a large retailer) with no lessons, and then make fun of them if they play the forward tees.  We encourage them to play back, shoot at forced carries when they fat/thin more than half their shots, and then wonder why they quit when they can't break 130.
4. Many courses are encouraging more of the shorter tees.  That will help, but few advertise only how they are set up at shorter tees, only how far you can go.  Do I need to pay extra to play the premier course that goes out to 8100 yards?  I enjoy the 6000 yard tees - I can use a mid-iron on a lot of the par 4s and a short iron on a par 5 approach.  At 6600+, I spend more time playing mostly woods from the fairway.  Sort of like the comments Lefty has made about Reece Jones designs. Looks great on a PGA tournament, a monster to the members.
5. Back to the original topic - will the price increases work against Titleist market share?  Equipment is bumping up around a 20-25% premium.  Titleist's job is to create value with their brand and value is not price. Part of that is convincing folks like us on the blog that they're worth it.  They didn't get to being #1 in tournament play on price.
6. I rarely generate enough spin to see a difference between an NXT and a ProV on the green, but I might have to try a couple of sleeves of something else with the NXT Tour-S at the new price.  It might be better and worth it, but it will definitely be different.  I'll have to decide if it worth it.  Maybe I would have just bought a dozen without thinking had it been the same price....

All golfers have to decide whether the cost of premium products are worth the benefit.  How many actually have the skill to benefit from the premium cost features?  Can you consistently square up the club, strike ball/turf , or have the clubhead speed?  Very few amateurs do.  There is a point where a player has to ask themselves if a lower priced product will match their game and budget.  Titleist is not alone in chasing the premium player and those that aspire to that level.  But at raising ball prices to $4 apiece, they run the risk of forcing the budget minded (and aren't we all nowadays) player to think twice about it--especially if it is going to eventually end up in the pond or in the woods.  Most people, if they are truly honest, would decide that a mid tier ball is sufficient.  Maybe you might have to sacrifice that extra layer in construction, but there are a lot of good, cheaper alternatives out there.

Finding the right price point is a very delicate and challenging part of retail.  I'm sure that it is disappointing to the Titleist folks to hear that people will change their brand loyalty because of a price increase.  Of course, we do not now the actual materials cost to make the product, nor do we know the R&D and marketing costs.  While we all like to think that we should get everything for less, there economic reality is such that it is not possible - Titleist is not a non-profit.  The economists and sales staff that set the MSRP for the balls is comfortable with the overall price point, for all the different models.  When they review the sales figures they will see if their price point was accurate or not. 

The Acushnet companies are businesses and provide us with the best golf equipment in the world.  Their products are going to increase in price along with the market.  I'm sure they are not raising prices for no reason.

I support the Titleist/FJ Brands and will continue to do so.  Idle threats to not use their products are not the way to express on this board in my opinion.

Tim

Where in the world, have they been 39 bucks? Never ever seen them under 40 unless there xouts.

Inflation is killing us!

50 has been the running price for prov's for years now. the holiday sale. is just that its a sale. titleist is doing fine by the balls. clubs I could see dropping the price but with so many counterfeiters its hard to do.

Are you playing ProV's just to play ProV's? I want to be loyal to Titleist, but sometimes that price does force me to play similar balls from other brands.

Early season when the course isn't in peak shape and my swing is still a bit rusty, I'll experiment with different brands. I'll buy a couple dozen ProV's throughout the season when I've got my A game and I'm playing some nice courses. But if I find a better price for a ball that's similar, I'll spend a few minutes debating the decision in my head. Sometimes the ProV's win, sometimes they lose.