Platinum is used in the world of commerce to indicate premium quality. From credit cards to frequent flyer miles the silvery metal branding positions an offering at the top of the tree.
Mizuno is tapping into this by introducing its premium ball, the JPX Platinum from Japan to the European market this summer.
The high-tech JPX Platinum adds to Mizuno's existing range of JPX, MP-S and MP-X balls as the Japanese brand looks to extend its quality reputation in golf clubs to the ball market.
The ball is primarily aimed at players with slower swing speeds who demand a soft feel without losing distance from the tee as Alex Thorne, Tour & Product Manager, Mizuno Golf EMEA explains:
A traditional tour ball plays much shorter for the average player as they don't generate the energy required to fully activate the core. The JPX Platinum represents a new generation of balls that deliver the feel and responsiveness of a tour ball, but with a high energy core that's optimised to their swing speed.
The five-piece construction incorporates what Mizuno call a revolutionary Cross Core that converts more energy to ball speed without the harder feel of a distance ball. It is this layer that gives the JPX Platinum its incredibly soft feel and it encases the Centre Core of the ball which has high-COR properties for distance.
These two cores, together with the third outer core are all made from soft butadiene rubber and together they optimise flight characteristics on full shots, while working with the two covers to deliver soft feel and control on and around the greens.
The Inner Cover is made from a high-COR soft ionomer compound, while the Outer Cover is made from a multi-blend polymer featuring 512 dimples, more than any other golf ball on the market.
Those dimples include the micro-dimple cluster design first seen on the JPX ball that enables the ball to maintain its flight during descent for more distance.
The Outer Cover also features an anti-glare satin finish to eliminate distracting reflections on sunny days.