The Nike One Platinum is a ball that doesn’t need any introductions. After all, it does its own television promos.

Nike says that the ball:

features a Progressive Density Core with a soft center and a progressively harder outer shell. This provides lower spin off the tee even with its soft outer cover.

The Nike One Platinum is comprised of three layers or covers beyond the core. Each cover of the One Platinum has its own job to do:

  * the inner cover, closest to the core, is designed to reduce spin off the driver
  * the middle cover provides superior mid-iron control
  * the outer cover, softer than the Nike One Gold, promotes incredible feel around the green.

The outer cover also features Nike Golf’s proprietary 408 dimple pattern, the same one used on the Nike One Black. This particular dimple pattern promotes a higher trajectory and more penetrating ball flight through the apex of the ball’s trajectory - it descends at a less steep angle promoting more distance and roll.

The One Platinum is not designed exclusively for drivers over 400cc; its distance off the tee, wind-boring control from the fairway, and responsiveness around the green will match any combination of clubs. However, golfers who have made the move to a larger driver will experience the greatest potential of the One Platinum.

You can get it at Golfsmith:

I found a very interesting looking ball on Saturday while playing at my club. From the hex pattern on the surface, at first I thought it was some sort of mutant Callaway. Pink, it was. And semi-transparent, too.

So, having no shame, I hit it as a second ball for the next three holes (until I put it in the pond on 15).

It wasn’t a bad ball. It flew long enough, and straight. And it had a nice soft feel. It both chipped and putted well.

Of course, when I got home, I couldn’t remember what it said on the ball. So it took me a while to find one on the ‘net.

Turns out it was a Volvik Crystal Rainbow ball And—no surprise here—it’s designed for women.

The ball has a 70 compression and a semi transparent surlyn cover.

I didn’t play it long enought to do a real review. But I can say that I had a generally positive reaction to it (in spite of the girly pink motif).

You can get them at Austads.

Over the winter, I received a surprise package from Maxfli. Inside was a box of their new Black Max Golf Ball with the words “Prototype” on the box (see the photo).

It was then that I knew that The Golf Blogger had arrived. 

I’m sure that the intention was that I try the balls early in the season and then report to you before their official release.

Unfortunately, I live in Michigan. It’s only been in the last couple of weeks that I’ve been able to get out on the course. And now, the ball is out in a regular box:

So I’ve lost my exclusive. But I’ve played the Black Max golfball for five of the seven rounds I’ve gotten in.

And I like it. I get decent distance with it (although I don’t think as much as with my DT SoLos) and it flies straight (I had a round where I hit every fairway). The distance issue is, no doubt due to my slower swing speed. It’s a high end ball for higher swing speeds.

I’ve also been able to get a lot of spin for those wedge shots (ok, except on the nightmare round of last week). It stops on a dime, and I actually backed it up twice.

And—to me—most important of all, I like the way it rolls with my putter.

This last is always the key for me. To be frank, it really doesn’t matter if a ball gives me five or six more yards off the tee; I’m going to be hitting a longer club than most to the green. (No driver-wedge holes for me. Its more driver-seven wood.)

But when I get near the green, my game gets going. And once I get it on the green, my putting will save my round more often than not.

So, for me, a ball’s behavior when putting is critical.

The Black Max has a good feel and it rolls true. I’ve heard that it makes a “different” sound when struck, but being quite deaf, this makes no difference to me at all.

I think that this ball compares very favorably to other high end balls like Titleist’s Pro V. But in the end, I think that you’ve got to have a higher swing speed to take advantage of it.

You can buy the Black Max here.

  I’m interested in what you have to say. Add your own review by clicking on the comments link below.

Apparently, Acushnet is suing Academy Sports of Texas for selling counterfeit ProV1 golf balls.

That explains my terrible play. I have unknowingly been buying poor quality, counterfeit balls.

Fed up with new technology reducing the fabled Augusta National to a pitch and putt, Augusta Chairman Hootie Johnson apparently is ready to impose a standardized “Masters’ Ball” in future tournaments.

The Telegraph even reports that the thing already has been designed.

I say bring it on. In fact, maybe the PGA Tour ought to take a look at it. I don’t want to see a future PGA Tour that ends up like Formula One Racing, where the technology used by the team is more important than the human factor.

The next great innovation in golf balls apparently is going to be the hollow metal core. A company called Nanodynamics Innovations says that their hollow ball has less spin, and thus will help the average hacker keep the ball in the fairway, and moving in a straight line toward the hole.

I seem to remember reading about a hollow metal ball that was experimented with back in the 1970s. Perhaps someone can remember the name.

In the under $20 category comes the Loco Dart Golf Balls. It’s another of those low compression golf balls that are all the rage among us higher handicap golfers. I’ve played the last season or so with the Titleist SoLo, so I’m a believer in the concept. I really think that, at my swing speed, I get more distance with a low compression ball than with a higher compression one.

Aside from that, I think that you have to try out the different balls to see which one fits your game best.

Here’s Dunlop’s take on the ball:

With the introduction of the LoCo® Dart, which stands for Distance-Accuracy-Response- Technology, Dunlop builds on its reputation for providing sophisticated ball technology at a price that can’t be beat. The Dart, a three-piece ball with Surlyn cover, HPF mantle and 442- dimple pattern, offers improved driving performance for the lower swing-speed player and better feel around the green. With an MSRP of $20, the Dart sets itself apart from a plethora of two-piece balls at this price point.

I’m interested in what you have to say! Add your own review by clicking on the comments link below.