HISTORY

The Nike Mojo has been w/us now for three generations. Sadly, this lovable little 2-piece, w/add campaigns borrowed from Austin Powers and Dharma and Greg, (Complete w/Kharma Ball), is on it's last incarnation. The latest third generation MOJO w/pearlescent cover remains a good LO-CO 2 piece Distance Ball, but doesn't seem to outperform the Power Distance Super Soft enough to justify paying 33% more for it. Consequently its sales have suffered. The saga of MOJO IV was definitely a non-starter as the NIKE Super Soft sales continued to cannibalize those of the MOJO III. Worse still for the MOJO---The Super Soft went to the head of the class when Consumer Reports rated it a BEST BUY. Poor lost MOJO, a victim of friendly fire.

THE NEED FOR SPEED and WINTER BALLS

Nike, notorious for saturating markets of the mid-priced variety, knew that there was still a market out there for the cheesy add campaigns and a good two piece LO-CO ball that could be psychologically elevated to the levels of high tech performance w/kitschy cache. Worried that Bridgestone had beat them to the punch w/Dr. Waza and the E5/E6 commercials, Nike knew they had to act fast.Witness--The Juice 312.

I actually like this as my new 2-piece winter ball. I've played the Super Soft now for a couple of years, and as my swing speed picks up, the poofiness of the SS is proving too vague for me to be able to judge my distance accurately. No need to waste money on 3-piece balls here in the winter time. The 2 piece distance is sorely needed in these conditions when fighting 3 club winds, and wet fairways that provide little (if any) roll. The extra spin for the greens that 3 pieces provide is wasted on these winter greens that provide all the soft landing characteristics of a concrete runway. It's better to find a soft 2 piece distance ball w/high trajectory and count on the softness of the ball and the higher more mortar like / vs howitzer like trajectory to get the ball to drop and stop. Backspin just isn't enough in the current conditions.

WHAT IS IT?

Dimples/Flight---
Well in true NIKE fashion, they've ripped off someone else's idea, but made it even better. (Adams Idea / Nike CPR) (Kitschy Maxfli Noodle/Kitschy Nike MOJO) If any of you have ever shot the latest "Wilson Staff" line of golf balls, you know exactly what I am talking about. The DX2, (distance 2-piece), PX3 (player's 3-piece), and TX4 (Tour level 4-piece) have to be The World's most under-rated golf balls. If they weren't so hard to find, and I didn't have a back log of PRO V's, Bridgestones, and A-10's, the TX 4 would be the only ball in my bag-----It really is that good. --The feature that all three of these Wilson balls have in common is a revolutionary (NO KIDDING) computer designed, wind tunnel tested, 312 Pan Head dimple pattern. To this day I believe it is the truest flying dimple pattern I have ever seen.....better than the Callaway Hex Dimple, and even better than the Hogan Tour Deep. Let's just say it was so good----Nike decided to steal it! In order to dodge the lawsuits, the dimples were quickly converted to the regular vs. pan head shape.

Core Compression/Feel----
Along with the truest flying dimple pattern, the Juice 312 features a nice low compression core. As Nike would rather feed us Kitsch than stats I'm forced to go by feel on this one. Since the impact is soooo close to that of The Hogan Hawk golf Ball, I'm going to guesstimate that it runs on a 78 compression. Definitely softer than a Nike One's 90 or a Pro V 1's 85, but much firmer than the Poofy 63 Compression of the Nike Super Soft. It is at just the right compression for the intermediate player who is building swing speed but wants that (oh here's that worn out mantra again) SOFT FEEL W/LOTS OF DISTANCE. This ball does provide both, and the feel is definitely there. Soft not mushy...Almost firm, but definitely not harsh.

Cover/ Durability & Impact--
Wisely Nike went w/a surlyn cover on this one. It helps provide great durability. One of these made nine holes w/out a scuff before I sent her to play w/the fishes in that large interactive aquarium we oft times refer to as a water hazard! This was a wise choice for another reason as well. Surlyn definitely helps keep production costs down--and Nike was very close to creating a major marketing blunder here. This ball---an absolute steal at the current $19.99 dzn. was initially positioned to come out at $28.99 MSRP.....That would have been an absolutely flaming frickin, rip off when the Bridgestones are $24.00 and the Super Softs are able to be found for $15.99....Who knows what those brilliant young marketing minds were thinking at the time? None-the-less, this could be the marketing coup of the year at these prices, and Consumer Reports may have a new winner from the same company.

Why I Play It

This is my new two piece winter ball. It meets all the aforementioned criteria such as distance, price, performance, and durability. Let me give you the low down on the test run here. Keep in mind that one ball, that's right --one ball, managed to do the front 9 all on its lonesome. Only Rock Flite and Pinochle Distance rocks have shown this kind of durability. (With exception made for the, never gets enough attention, Volvik Crystal Wonder Ball).

Driver

Most Low Compression Balls fly straighter by nature. That's part of the secret of their distance gains for the Average Joe. If your not wasting distance spraying it left and right because of the natural sidespin of higher compression balls, you're actually gaining distance as you go straight. Add that fabulous 312 dimple pattern that Wilson, er uh, Nike put on this ball and you're talking dead on straight to where you aim it performance.

Its feel off the driver's face is soft, but not mushy, and you will gain well above average feedback from this one as compared to most 2 piece balls. Distance is quite good. It flies further than most 3-piece balls, but that's its job. I find it to be at the head of the class for 2-piece distance, and the fact that you are rewarded so richly for distance, w/out having to suffer the normal rock like sting of such distance balls is a great big plus. Trajectory (which plays a rather large part in distance)is nice and high, w/out the balloon factor--once again this is the 312 Dimple pattern working its magic as compared to the usual 432 dimple pattern for distance balls. 432 is a standard issue distance dimple pattern which, unfortunately, often leads to balloon shots w/hybrids and mid-irons. The 312 flies off of most clubs w/a mid/high flight pattern, and tends to arc higher as you move up in loft, without any distortion of arc pattern in the middle clubs.

Fairway Metals/Hybrids/Long Irons

This ball is superior off of these clubs. It flies high enough to forgive chunked shots, but doesn't balloon, which can spell disaster in the face of a 3/4 club wind. The feedback is also soft, w/out being mushy like a first generation Noodle, or poofy like its sibling Nike Super Soft. It also does a good job of making you feel like you hit a 5 dollar ball by providing a nice pronounced audible "click" when you hit the sweet spot. The dimple pattern allows for truer ball flight thus making this one as much of a pin-seeker as a 2-piece can be. Don't count on it checking up on a hard winter green, but use the higher trajectory to pass the fringe and she won't go skidding across the dance floor either. One and two hop stops are the rule of the day here. Because of the feel, I believe that the Spring and Summer Greens may help improve people's perceptions of this ball's performance even more so.

Mid Irons

This ball shines off of the mid irons. As with the fairway metals and hybrids you get very good feedback and true ball flight. The core on this ball is nowhere near as cheesy as the add campaign, so prepare to gain distance as well as accuracy. Your 5-7 will really like this ball a lot. For a 2-piece ball, it's pretty easy to work.

Short Irons/Wedges

The trajectory of this ball is perfect for these clubs. I used to love the Wilson TX4 for these shots because I could count on the ball going just high enough for each and every club. It helped set real parameters for every wedge. The 312 pattern is a pretty amazing thing that Wilson came up with, and it works well on this ball too.

In the lower clubs it makes for a truer ball flight which in turn helps make distance judgement a lot easier. On these clubs it ALSO helps make LOFT JUDGEMENT a whole lot easier. Combine the two of these and it does amazing things like remove that dreaded cusp of "Do I ease up on my Sand Wedge, or use a full swing on my Lob Wedge?" I cannot over -emphasize the importance this plays in your short game----especially in Winter Conditions. Watch closely at the next British Open when the wind is playing havoc. You will see the best golfers in the world struggle with this decision.


Flatstick

Nice true roll, with every putt. Not as clingy as a 3-piece, but top of the class for a two piece. Nice muted click for those audible cues too. I like this ball a lot.

In conclusion, this ball is my winter ball for cold/bad weather...no doubt about it. It will probably be my spring time ball as well when I go hit some of those really strange courses that I've not shot yet (New cow pastures are being plowed up every day), or haven't shot in a while (like The Emu Ranch -www.pecantrailsgolf.com). Hey if I miscue--$19.99 dzn sure beats $39.99. This may very well be the best two piece cheapie on the market right now. I literally await Consumer Reports Next Golf Ball Issue w/bated breath. The MOJO has been succesfully replaced w/this new ball by Wike, or is it Nilson?

Last but not least--for those who will miss the cheesed up pseudo-psychedelic Mojo add campaign you need to see this one to believe it. Go to Nike Golf's website and check out the videos on this ball. They've got guys shooting these from a ball cannon through Lava Lamps, Birthday Cakes, Jello Molds, etc...You can even vote on the next thing they shoot it through. Of course the box, true to the old MOJO tradition, is full of pseudo warnings and disclaimers such as "Not available in chewable form"--"Ginormous Hugantic Distance.." etc...This campaign lacks none of that long lost cheese.


Recommended: Yes