Typically, dumptrucks and golf are two things that do not go together at all, but the one time they came together, it led to the reveal of one of the world’s most remarkable machines and a watershed moment for heavy equipment.
The year was 1977, long before the acrimonious split between the Professional Golf Association and LIV Golf, and four years after the one and only prototype of a wholly remarkable dumptruck had been created.
The Terex 33-19, better known simply as the Titan, was intended to be the backbone of open pit mines, which transported vast quantities of mineral ore, coal and tar shale.
First prototyped in 1973, it was intended to enter full production in 1976, but by this point, the chaotic energy market of the 1970s had hit the coal market devastatingly hard, and the sole Titan hauled iron ore for Kaiser Steel and later Westar Mining before being retired in 1991.
Perhaps its most notable accomplishment besides its sheer size was appearing in an advert alongside Jack Nicklaus, the world’s most successful golfer as of 2026, with a record of 18 major tournament victories that may prove to be unbreakable.
Filmed on 22nd September 1977 and aired during several major American sporting events that season, it shows the legendary golfer playing out of a sand trap in the back of the Titan dumptruck that makes him and everything around him look tiny, before showcasing a range of Terex products.
Jack Nicklaus had a long-running sponsorship deal with Terex, and he would tee off from several of their products in between winning golf major tournaments before looking in awe at just how much iron these giant pieces of earthmoving equipment had.
The Titan would remain the world’s largest truck for 25 years, until the Caterpillar 797 was created in 1997. The current record holder is the BelAZ 75710, created in 2013.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/articles/cm2rpk19...
https://en.terex-club.com/model/terex-33-19-titan-...
