2008 nike one platinum

[golfernut78]

played a round with it today

i know there have been some posts about the new nike one platinum, and some about the results from the golf magazone ball test. well, i end up playing 18 today with it and wanted to let you guys know what i thought.

first off, i'm a 12.6 handicap (although i'm playing more like an 18, and my putting is embarrassingly horrible). i've got a 100-105 swing speed with the driver. i typically average 260-270 with the driver (carry + roll). for the last year i've been playing the 2006 nike one platinum, which for those of you who don't know or don't remember, it was the lowest spinning of all the generations of one platinum balls.

okay, so was in tyler, texas for lunch and on the way back to dfw i stopped at garden valley (known as the augusta of east texas, fun course, little pricey - especially since all the bunkers were in bad shape). i played the first 10 holes as a single. on some of the holes i hit both the 2008 one platinum and 2006 one platinum to see how things compared.

distance
i don't know if its the new power transfer layer, or maybe i need more spin or what, but the ball is long. the ball was 5-10 yards longer off the driver than the 2006. on one hole where i felt i hit both drivers perfect, the 2008 one was 10 yards further. with the irons they were close in distance, or maybe 1/2 club longer not as noticable as the driver.

spin
off the driver i didn't see more spin. hitting into the wind the ball did not balloon, so the spin was fine with me. irons did not balloon either with. however this ball dances on the greens. the greens had been sanded recently and where firm. they rolled very true, but they weren't the greatest at receiving balls. on #8, i managed to spin a 8 iron back 10'. while i can put some spin on the ball, i've never spun a ball back on a green that wasn't bent grass, and these were not bent grass. on a couple other holes i got my 52* and 58* vokeys (not spin milled) to 1 hop and stop. very good stuff.

control
this is where this ball shinned for me, it was very controllable. with the irons and wedges you could control the spin and trajectory easily. while i was able to hit some 1 hop and stop with the wedges, i also was able to hit some long runners with them. same with the irons. it made it easy to go after pins, with front pins trying to put the breaks on and back pins shoting for the middle of the green and let it roll out. also, when i wanted to hit a high, towering shot, it was easy, but when i wanted to hit a low punch shot (big time save on 18 after a pulled drive) it was easy to do and i didn't have to worry about the ball popping up.

durability
this ball is durable. i actually did not lose a single ball the whole round and played just 1 2008 one platinum and 1 2006 one platinum the whole round. the 2008 one platinum played the whole round, every shot, where the 2006 one platinum only played a few holes. side by side, they both looked like they had been played the same amount, and neither one looked that bad. the wedges didn't shread them. there was a scuff on the 2008, but i know i hit one tree and one cart path so it could be either one of those.

overall
this ball is a great ball, and the golf magazine test (as well as taylormade's advertising because of said test) is very misleading. this to date, is the longest ball i've ever hit (its also the only 2008 model ball i've hit to date), but with that said, i know this isn't a distance ball, and i can't see anyone else being much longer with sacrificing the control you get with this ball. i would totally play this ball, if not for the fact i'm still sitting on 10 dozen 2006 nike one platinums (picked them up at about $22.50/dozen a year ago). maybe later this year/early next year when nike does there typical price drop on them i will pick up some. for those that have no problem spending the $40/dozen, this ball is the real deal and you should give it a shot. i really like this ball.

[NicholasP]

If you think the Platinum is long, give the black a try. I found it to be extremely long off the driver. As a long time user of the ProV1, I have been very impressed with the new Nike ball.

[Metalhead]

great review! I agree completely and I also made the switch this year to the 08 NOP!

[golfernut78]

If you think the Platinum is long, give the black a try. I found it to be extremely long off the driver. As a long time user of the ProV1, I have been very impressed with the new Nike ball.

 

probably not a good ball for me, as my current driver setup is set perfectly spin wise for the 2006 one platinum. i'm not sure how the 2008 black spins off the driver, but i lose yardage (well, carry at least) when i use the 2006 black, which is why i save them for windy days only.

[crew_138]

Great review... I love this ball! Very durable... I can play the same ball for a couple of rounds.

[nemo]

I was given a two pack of the '08 NOPs from a scramble tournament I played in. My driver swing speed is only 90, so given the golf magazine article I figured I would lose a lot of distance with it but I decided to give them a try. I have been playing the TM Burners and the E6. I was amazed that I lost no noticable distance. I didn't measure the drives, but I was ending up in the same place that I always do relative to the guys I play with. Maybe I just never get the most out of any ball I hit so it doesn't matter!

 

But the spin is amazing. The first test of it was a chip over a bunker to a short pin on a downhill slope. Somehow I was able to stop the ball 2 feet past the hole. I thought for sure it was going to end up at the opposite fringe. Playing since the high spin with the wedges just keeps happening. I normally don't get a lot of spin on the ball, but these are spinning. Very cool.

 

I'm not going to spend this kind of money on balls, but at least for me the Golf Magazine distances are BS in this instance and I'll play a NOP anytime I find one!