Equipment: Nike's "Hugantic" Ball, New Mizuno Irons

Nike Golf has big hopes for its new ball, the Juice 312. How big? Try "ginormous" and "hugantic." Those are the playful adjectives in a playful marketing campaign for Nike's newest distance ball. Nike goes farther on the product packaging, with several warnings to golfers, among them, "As always, Nike Golf recommends that golf be played responsibly. The Juice is not available in chewable form."

What is the Nike Juice 312 golf ball? It's a distance ball aimed a golfers with low to mid swing speeds. A 2-piece ball, the Juice 312 pairs a low-count dimple pattern (312 of them, natch) with a high-velocity core, a pairing designed to increase hang time and carry while minimizing drag.

Nike claims its Shore D 65 cover provides extra energy while maintaining "adequate" spin on iron shots; while the low compression core increases ball speed while reducing spin off the driver.

The Nike Juice 312 golf ball will be available at retail outlets on Nov. 1 with an MSRP of $28 per dozen.

Below the fold is news of Mizuno's MP-67 irons and more new stuff.

Mizuno MP-67 Irons: The latest forged irons from Mizuno are aimed at "the player who is seeking complete trajectory and distance control, and ... soft, solid, consistent feel," according to Dick Lyons, Vice President and General Manager, Mizuno USA Golf Division, as quoted in a company news release.

The MP-67 long irons are engineered to achieve a mid-high trajectory, while the short irons are engineered to achieve a mid-trajectory. All come with Mizuno's Cut Muscle Design, in this case a "slender" variant. The MP-67 irons are Grain Flow Forged from 1025E Pure Select Mild Carbon Steel, with modified U-grooves, cambered mid-sole, and rolled leading and trailing edges.

Mizuno MP-67 irons come standard with True Temper Dynamic Gold R300 and S300 steel shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 58 Round Grips. MSRP for a set (3-PW) is $1,000. Customized shafts, grips and lie angles are also available. More information is available on the Mizuno Web site.

Sun Mountain Superlight 3.5 Stand Bag: The Superlight 3.5 model continues to be one of the best-selling stand bags offered by Sun Mountain. Now, the company is releasing a "new and improved" version for 2007. The "3.5" in the name derives from the bag's ultra-lightweight construction, a full-featured bag at only 3.5 pounds in weight.

Additions include the built-in top handle that provides a convenient spot to grab when removing the bag from the shoulder, top-molded stand attachment, patented Roller-Bottom stand mechanism with recessed Y-Spring, improved X-Strap Dual Strap for added comfort, and a standard water bottle pouch. The 2007 Superlight 3.5 is available now with an MSRP of $159. See the Sun Mountain Web site for more details.

Golf Launchpad: The Golf Launchpad is from a company called Electric~Spin. It's a golf simulator for PC, Mac and PS2. It works with your own clubs - even the putter - measuring clubhead speed, swing path and angle into impact. The Golf Launchpad then translates these measurements into information that can be read by EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour software, which renders your shots on-screen.

The Golf Launchpad program includes more than 800 golf courses you can play, and golfers can also play against one another online. The Golf Launchpad is available at Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, Golfsmith, and Costco for a MSRP of $199.00 for PS2 and $249.00 for PC/Mac versions. See the Electric~Spin Web site for more info.

(Photo courtesy of Nike Golf)