Bowling this month 2013 8

Vol. 20, #8 $5.00 US August 2013

Coaches: How You Too Can Earn More Money, Coach More Effectively, and Build the Coaching Business of Your Dreams Secrets Revealed: 2-Time Coach of the Year and USBC Gold Coach Susie Minshew Reveals How to Become a “Super-Coach”…

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Susie Helps Coaches Reach the Next Level

An Insider’s Guide to Effective Coaching - 8 lessons I learned the hard way and how YOU can avoid them

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- 5 tips you can use today to make your clinics a BIG success

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August 2013

5

Volume 20, Issue 8

www.bowlingthismonth.com

New pathways for competitive bowling How is the bowling industry separating sport from casual bowling? Read Mark Miller's report on trends to keep an eye

out for.

9

Are you prepared to be at your best?

7DNH -RH 6ORZLQVNL V VHOI HYDOXDWLRQ WR ÂżQG RXW KRZ UHDG\ \RX DUH for tournament competition...whether you're a player or coaching one.

14

Lights, camera, action, Part 2 6XVLH 0LQVKHZ VKRZV \RX KRZ WR ÂżOP IURP WKH IURQW YLHZ GHWHUPLQH ZKDW KDUGZDUH EHVW ÂżWV \RXU VLWXDWLRQ DQG WKH ULJKW VRIWZDUH FKRLFHV IRU your needs.

18

QUICK INFO 8 Ball Company Directory

Magic coaching Magic coaches do something exceptional. They pave the way for real improvement. Dean Hinitz looks at what makes great coaches great.

21-23, 26-27 Ball Tracking Results 24-25 3D Ball Comparisons 28 At-A-Glance Ball Chart

BALL TALK REVIEWS 900 Global Protocol p29

Hammer Absolute Curve p38

900 Global Vixen p30

Hammer Amp p39

AMF Solar Flare p31

Hammer Spike p40

Brunswick Meanstreak Beatdown p32

Radical Reax Pearl p41

Brunswick Mystic Aura p33 Columbia 300 Antics p34 DV8 Endless Nightmare p35 DV8 Marauder Mutiny p36 Ebonite Source p37

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

Radical 7RUULG $̆DLU p42 Storm Hy-Road Pearl p43 Storm Marvel-S p44 Track 505C² p45 Track 910A p46

PAGE 3

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PAGE 4

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST2013 2013 AUGUST

mark miller

guest feature

New pathways for competitive bowling Industry leaders weigh in on trends

W

ith so much emphasis on venues like family entertainment centers and boutiques and non-traditional formats including birthday parties and corporate events, competitive bowlers may very well feel the industry no longer cares about them.

Talk to bowling leaders, however, and quite a different story surfaces. Not only do they still believe high-level bowlers matter, they literally are putting their money where their mouths are to prove it. From new ways to separate the best players to providing a path for casual bowlers to move up to more emphasis on youth, there's plenty of reasons for optimism.

Change of focus Among those placing more focus on the sport is the United States Bowling Congress. After starting in 2005 with emphasis on its national governing body status, it changed to creating lifelong bowlers a few years ago. Then in early May, USBC announced at its 2013 Convention in Reno that it was changing its mission and vision back toward leading the sport.

“We're the NGB [National Governing Body].

That's what we do and what we're good at,” said USBC Managing Director-NGB Neil Stremmel.

“There are a lot of sports I talk and deal with

Mark Miller, a freelance writer from Flower Mound, Texas, is the author of “Bowling: America's Greatest Indoor Pastime.” The public relations/historical consultant to the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame spent more than 24 years in public relations/ publications with the United States Bowling Congress and its predecessor organizations.

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 5

guest feature who would love to have our numbers but with the control of an NGB and focus on the sport.”

One way USBC is re-dedicating itself to the sport is a partnership with the World Tenpin Bowling Association to determine specifications for elite competition. Together, they will be studying if new equipment or condition classifications are required to determine the world's top players.

“We want to help separate the recreational athlete from the elite athlete,” Stremmel said.

“What is an elite athlete in bowling? I'm too close to it but to most, it's athletes who train.

It's more than just bowling in league or a few weekend tournaments.

"Bowling balls, pins, conditions, or a combination of them all are included. That's what we're testing both here at the International Training and Research Center and in Hong Kong.”

USBC and WTBA are conducting separate tests of athletes this summer. Each location will feature 12 hand-selected competitors – the Hong Kong national team and top athletes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Test results will be presented Aug. 31-Sept. 1 to the WTBA Congress in Las Vegas.

“The results of the tests will have some affects on the industry and manufacturers,” Stremmel said. “We should be able to have some recommended specifications which we'll implement and test next year. Then after a full year of testing at WTBA events we’ll talk to the WTBA Executive Board and the Technical committee before the 2015 Congress has a final vote on if we keep the recommendations or not.”

While to some the timetable may seem slow, Stremmel said it's that way for a reason. “Some people think we just pick something and go with it,” he said. “That's not the way it works.

This is the right way to do it and the fastest way we can do it right. In the real world aspect, if we do a test, we want to make sure it's reliable, repeatable, and has scientific basis.”

PAGE 6

Oil and surface USBC also is looking at oil absorption from the lane conditioner perspective after its ball motion study provided enough data to create three new bowling ball specifications. “With the ball manufacturers and lane condition manufacturers it's a constant circle,” Stremmel said. “When one creates something new, the other does their best to create something to match up with it and the other way around.”

USBC worked with the Kegel Company to test two new lane conditioners they hope answer some of the questions. Kegel's ICE conditioner used at the 2013 USBC Open Championships at Reno's National Bowling Stadium was designed for more hold area or high friction lanes. The FIRE conditioner at the USBC Women's Championships at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center was for more hook or slick lane surfaces.

“Some say the Kegel ICE is harder to bowl on but it just takes time to learn the transition,” Stremmel said. “It's a learning process from the bowler standpoint and a learning process from the ball manufacturer standpoint.”

Brunswick Corporation also is spending plenty of time studying the lane side of the scoring equation to help meet its goal of providing a fair competitive environment for all bowlers.

“This means lane surfaces that are appropriate for a variety of bowling styles, lane conditions that are fair for all bowlers, and bowling balls that allow competitors to make the most of their ability,” said Brunswick Bowling President Brent Perrier. “We're really ramping up research and development at Brunswick and will be introducing several new products over the next couple of years that we think will really help the sport of bowling grow.”

Competitive bowling Like USBC, Brunswick is fully involved with bowling at the international level. "The

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

guest feature most exciting trend I see in competitive bowling is that the world is getting smaller,” Perrier said. “By this I mean that competitive bowling is becoming a worldwide sport.

“It's great to see American players winning international tournaments and international players winning tournaments here in the U.S. Brunswick has been a supporter of international bowling for a long time and we're ecstatic to see so many strong international tournaments.

We're also solidly behind the alliance between the WTBA and the PBA.” Qubica/AMF's desire to increase the competitive aspects of bowling is a major feature of its new BES X scoring and management system. One entire section of BES X aims at turning casual bowlers into competitive bowlers through its Bowling Plus section.

“The unique thing of our sport is the competition,” said Kelly Wilbar, Qubica/AMF's senior project manager, scoring and technology solutions. “You can't do that at a movie or an arcade. Even the most casual person plays to win. It's always been there.

“How do you awaken that competitive spirit? We've got the fun but how do I get better at this? How do we enhance the attraction of competitive bowling to the casual bowler?

How do we get them to add to their passion of the sport?”

Wilbar believes the Bowling Plus part of BES X that includes adaptive skill level games, on-lane live statistics, tournament support and much more, will play a major role in answering those questions.

“The system will show what's happening within the game such as what do strikes and spares mean,” Wilbar said. “You'll know that you actually have the chance to win the game.

You'll also know the pin numbers and how to score. To grow a passion for a sport with the competitive aspects you have to know the rules.” Qubica/AMF unveiled its BES X system to the world at Bowl Expo in June and is now making it available to bowling centers.

AUGUST 2013

Though competitive bowling continues to struggle, Lori Mraz, president of Turbo Grips, thinks there's one segment that could possibly change that equation.

“The biggest thing in our industry is youth bowling continues to shine brightly,” she said.

“The events surrounding youth bowling will continue to shine. As an industry, we realize our aging demographics so we have to concentrate on the youth.”

Turbo will again sponsor one of those events, the third-annual Turbo Tech Collegiate Expo set for July 8-10 at Detroit's Sterling Lanes. It will feature about 130 high school players from 16 states demonstrating their abilities before about 20 college coaches.

The Kegel Training Center in Lake Wales, Fla., will host a similar event called the Kegel College Bowling Premiere on July 6-7 and USBC will holds its third-annual Bowling Combine in August in Arlington, Texas.

The Kegel and Turbo events happen just days before the largest youth tournament of them all, the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships, that will take place at six Detroit-area centers with more than 2,000 participants expected.

Mraz and Turbo also have partnered with the Community Bowling Center chain of southeast Michigan on a group coaching program aimed at teaching youth about the sport. And Turbo is expanding its interchangeable thumb and finger insert technology into the casual bowling market in another attempt to help move that audience into the competitive arena.

“If you ask the recreational bowler the downside of open bowling, most will say the nasty shoes and the finger holes of the balls,” Mraz said. “The technology could revolutionize how people buy equipment.”

As national tournaments like the High Roller either fade away or downsize, they are being replaced by a growing number of local and regional events. Hank Boomershine, vice president of sales and marketing for Storm

BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 7

guest feature Products, said that may have to be the way competitive bowling regenerates itself.

“I see it as a start,” said Boomershine, who remembers the days of $10,000 top prizes while traveling around Texas during his days at West Texas A&M University. “These regional and local events need to grow. “If you get a local player who has some success on that platform, they may want to see if they can keep up that success at a higher level. If we have a bigger influx of these, it will build more competition.”

Boomershine said the biggest thing Storm does to stay close to the competitive market is to continue sponsoring major tournaments like the High Roller, True Amateur Tournament, Amateur Bowlers Tour and others.

“We do as much as we can to support the game with the national organizations and B A L L C O M PA N Y D I R E C T O RY 900 Global

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AMF

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amf300.com

ABS

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abs300.com

AZO

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Brunswick

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brunswickbowling.com

Columbia 300

Hopkinsville, KY

columbia300.com

DV8

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dv8bowling.com

Ebonite

Hopkinsville, KY

ebonite.com

Elite

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elitebowling.com

Hammer

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hammerbowling.com

Jet Bowling

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Lane #1

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lane1bowling.com

LoMar Bowling

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QMR

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Radical

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Roto Grip

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Seismic Bowling

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Storm Products

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Motiv

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motivbowling.com/btm

Track

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trackbowling.com

Visionary

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visionarybowling.com

PAGE 8

others,” Boomershine said. “Our mission is to grow the sport of bowling. We try to support as many of the competitive events as we can.”He also sees the growth of live streaming like PBA's Xtra Frame and USBC's BowlTV as a way to grow the sport. Storm was slated to jump into the tactic from its booth at Bowl Expo.

New product and pro shop trends Also introduced at Bowl Expo were new plans for Ebonite International. "We have some very serious initiatives in place to differentiate our brands and the products within those brands,” said Bob Reid, Ebonite's vice president of sales and marketing. “This includes not only marketing-type features, but real technology as well.

I spoke with Bob Reid before Bowl Expo when he said, “We will begin rolling this differentiation out at Bowl Expo first to our distributors, then our pro shops and then to the shop floor. We already launched this in Europe and the trade reception has been fantastic.” Reid's take on the future of the industry is different than the others but no less insightful.

“As the industry continues to constrict (and it is), we see continued pressure on bowling distributors to survive,” he said. “When I joined the company 14 years ago, we had 43 distributors in the U.S. Today we have 14.

“We see this trend continuing. The same can be said for pro shops but with a twist. There are still almost 2,700 pro shop locations in the U.S., about the same as there was ten years ago.

The difference is in the number of pro shop owners there are.

“Multiple shop operators are commonplace today. That was not the case ten years ago. Is that good or bad? It depends on your perspective. In one way it’s very good for the bowler.

The ‘survivors’ are survivors for a reason. They are good ball drillers and good businesspeople.

The marginal players are disappearing fast.”

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

joe slowinski

slowinski at large

Take this self assessment to find out how competition ready you are as a player or coach

A

s a coach who visits different countries, I encounter bowlers from beginners to elite national team players. At all levels, few bowlers are prepared to be their best for competition play. The objective of this month’s article is to raise awareness and provide an opportunity to self-assess your preparations as a player or coach. You must be both aware and actually do the work before the tournament. Greatness is in the details.

Don’t forget to change your inserts periodically as well!

One of the most frequent issues I encounter on the coaching road is a bowler who has not changed their tape. As dirt, residue, and oil builds up on the tape, a player will increase their thumb pressure without awareness. This leads to unnecessary tension not only when the ball moves into the swing but throughout the swing, impacting the fluidity of the physical game and negatively affecting biomechanical efficiency.

Due to this strain, the exit of the thumb will be slowed leading to reduced ball motion.

Recommendation: Change the layer of tape touching your thumb every three games. If you sweat a lot, change it every one to two games.

1. Do you change your tape frequently enough?

0

Points

Never

Never

2

Rarely

Rarely

4

Sometimes

Sometimes

6

Most of the time

Most of the time

8

Always

Always Points

2. Do you deep clean your bowling balls approximately every 75 games?

8

6

4

2

0

Joe Slowinski, a USBC Gold Coach, is currently on assignment in Europe. The Portland Maine native served as the Administrative and Men's Head Coach at Webber International University and served for four years as a Master Teaching Professional at the Kegel Training Center.

6ORZLQVNL LV WKH IRUPHU 'LUHFWRU RI &RDFKLQJ DQG &RDFK &HUWL¿FDWLRQ IRU WKH 1DWLRQDO 6SRUWV Council of Malaysia. Email: joseph_slowinski@yahoo.com or go to www.bowlingknowledge.info

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 9

slowinski at large The age of a synthetic panel will inform you how much friction will be present. A harder lane surface, such as Brunswick Pro Lane, will have less friction when new. As it ages, bowling balls will cause scratches on the panels in high traffic areas leading to increased friction. So, a harder lane surface material that has been bowled on for many years can hook more than a higher friction surface that is newer.

Recommendation: Assume a center will hook more as the panels get older. Find out the age of the panels by asking about the installation dates.

Most of the time

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

4. Do you have an arsenal for short, medium, and long?

Always

The rate of oil absorbency of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cover materials is one of the fundamental reasons bowling balls hook more. This added value becomes a liability when the cover becomes saturated and oil soaked. This is the one of reasons a ball loses reaction. According to a study by Brunswick, after 60 games a ball will lose reaction, requiring a 1/0 or 2/1 adjustment outside. After 90 games, it took as much as a 3/1 move to hit the pocket. Similarly, USBC found the bowling ball lost two boards of back end reaction after 100 games.

Recommendation: Deep clean your bowling ball every 75 games to ensure you have the maximum ball motion from your equipment investment.

8

6

4

2

0

RESOURCES Deep Cleaning Your Balls at Home http://tinyurl.com/pvvhb58 Revivor Oven http://tinyurl.com/o57etzv

Points

Power House Hook Again http://tinyurl.com/prumafv Power House The Wave http://tinyurl.com/o3vth7h

Power House Adrenaline Wipes http://tinyurl.com/ofygmwz

PAGE 10

Most of the time

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

Points

Always

3. Do you investigate the lane surface material and age of the center?

8

6

4

2

0

To compete today, you need to have bowling balls designed for short, medium, and long patterns. I recommend a sequence based on differences in cover material, core, layout, and cover preparation. This ensures variations in the skid phase, flare, and response from hook to roll to best match up on short, medium, and long. Consult your IBPSIA Certified Pro Shop Professional to help you evaluate your current arsenal as well as to build a competition arsenal.

In addition, it is critical to know the order in which you will use bowling balls based on pattern length, age of the synthetic panels, topography, oil viscosity, and anticipated lane transition. Think about the layouts and balls that work well as overlap.

From my experience, the best overlap for equipment is that balls for short and shorter medium patterns as well as long patterns can

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

slowinski at large overlap well with medium and late transition medium equipment. In essence, you will need a ten ball arsenal. This is a minimum of three balls for each pattern and a spare ball. This ten ball arsenal provides at least five balls for each pattern due to overlap options.

Conceptualize having a sequence of equipment for various phases of lane transition: (1) fresh; (2) early transition; (3) middle transition; (4) late transition; (5) burn.

the cover, the faster it will change. It changes faster than most people believe. Specifically, the cover can change in as little as one game.

RESOURCE Jayhawk Ball Surface Scanner-3 Game Surface Analysis http://tinyurl.com/ndwafkf

RESOURCES

Never

4

2

0

Many players change the cover and expect the ball reaction to be retained for a long period of time. The truth is you must change your cover for each new block in order to maintain the same ball reaction. The lower the grit on

AUGUST 2013

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

2

0

Based on all of the information (pattern length, lane surface hardness, lane surface age, oil viscosity, volume, pattern structure, topography, etc), do you develop a lane play plan in advance? The plan should consist of your arsenal and surface preparation.

Recommendation: Set up you arsenal and surfaces in advance. On site you will make adjustments. This ensures you will have advanced information as you practice, which will make your decision making more clear and accurate for onsite adjustments.

7. Do you look at the viscosity of the lane conditioner before bowling?

Points

BOWLING THIS MONTH

Never

Rarely

6

4

Rarely

Sometimes

8

6

Sometimes

Most of the time

Points

Always

5. Do you change your cover after each time you bowl?

8

Most of the time

BTM August 2011 Choose layouts specific to bowler styles: Matching dual angle layouts to short, medium and long patterns

Points

Always

BTM January 2012 Arsenal sequence process: Considerations for matching equipment to the environment

Most of the time

BTM September 2012 Shape shifting: Matching ball motion shapes to maximize margin of error

Always

6. Do you make a lane play plan before you bowl?

BTM April 2013 El Dorado and El Diablo: Understanding good and bad friction

8

6

4

2

0

PAGE 11

slowinski at large Do your homework Ask the bowling center which lane conditioner they use to oil the lanes. From their answer, determine the viscosity of the lane oil. As an exercise, take the temperature in the bowling center in the morning, noon, late afternoon, and evening for each season of the year. Calculate the viscosity difference between the warmest and coldest.

Viscosity of some common oils KEGEL Fire

45.1

KEGEL Ice

40.9

KEGEL Defense-S

39.6

KEGEL Offense HV

39.1

.(*(/ ,QÂżQLW\

35.4

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Winter In the winter, oil is cold in the morning when applied to the lane. As heat increases and more people enter the building, the environment gets warmer. How would this impact lane play in a morning squad versus an evening squad? Which pairs are close to the vents?

Cold and Hot Zones Each center has cold and hot zones based on environmental factors. Think about the impact of windows or doors near lanes and the resultant ball motion.

PAGE 12

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Summer During the summer the building is normally hot in the morning, cooling as the air conditioner drops the temperature throughout the day.

8. Do you pay attention to the humidity?

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Lane conditioner is made from approximately 80 to 94 percent mineral oil. As such, temperature variation will impact the viscosity of the lane oil. Being aware of the oil viscosity can help you determine your strategy on the fresh as well as anticipate how quickly the lane pattern will transition.

In general, a higher viscosity lane conditioner will create more resistance between the bowling ball and the oil. Consequently, the ball will slow down more quickly compared to a lower viscosity oil. But, due to the higher viscosity, the pattern will hold up longer, transitioning more slowly. Conversely, a lower viscosity lane oil will have less resistance between the ball and the oil on the fresh. The ball will skid further on the fresh, yet the pattern will transition more quickly.

As temperature increases, the viscosity of lane conditioners decreases. Conversely, as temperature decreases, the viscosity increases.

According to findings at Kegel, for every 1ÂşF of temperature increase, the viscosity of lane oils can change by as much as 2 cps (centipoises).

8

6

4

2

0

If you bowl on synthetic panels that have been installed on top of wood lanes, the humidity will alter the topography radically over the course of the year. In a more humid time of the year such as summer, the increased moisture will make the wood swell. When a wood lane swells, it will likely lead to a situation where the outsides will have an out of bounds due to crowning. Conversely, when it is winter and there is less humidity, the lane

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

slowinski at large beds will shrink. In this situation, the lanes will hook more as the lane is more likely to have a cross lane depression.

Recommendation: Wherever you bowl, ask if the installation is synthetics over wood.

9. During competition do you use a microfiber towel?

BTM November 2012 To be at your best: do less; the use of tapering to improve performance BTM August 2009 The secret weapon of champions: how sleep maximizes performance

Most of the time

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

BTM January 2008 Periodization: A systematic plan for training success

Always Points

RESOURCES

8

6

4

2

0

A microfiber towel is designed to pick up significantly more oil than cotton towels which smudge oil and move it around rather than take it off. Considering that today’s covers absorb oil and to maintain the highest level of performance in your bowling ball, wipe the cover off immediately with a microfiber towel. The use of a microfiber towel leads to more ball motion.

Calculating Your Scores After completion of your self-evaluation, add your scores together and see where you fit on the continuum of preparation for competition.

Preparation Domains

Points

Change Tape Deep Cleaning Lane Surface Hardness/Age Arsenal - short, medium, long

10. Do you prepare a periodization plan to peak for major events?

Change Cover Lane Play Plan

Most of the time

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

Points

Always

Conditioner Viscosity

8

6

4

2

0

Humidity

Periodization is the process of planning your training. You are specifically altering the frequency, volume, and intensity of your training. I recommend a six week process to peak for a tournament.

This consists of a four week overload period followed by a two week taper plan to peak for your major tournaments. The overload period should include increases in volume and frequency. The taper should include a reduction of the volume and frequency of the training while maintaining the intensity.

AUGUST 2013

0LFUR¿EHU 7RZHO Periodization Total

61–80 Well prepared tournament player

41–60 Prepared but need increased focus in some areas

21–40 Time to take preparations more seriously

0–20 You call yourself a player–liar, liar!

BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 13

nuts & bolts

susie minshew

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s promised, here are my recommendations for filming from the front view, what type of hardware you might need, and the software choices available for you.

Front view For this view, your righthanded player will need to be on the left lane. Go down the channel cap as far as the arrows. You’ll be taking three shots from this location. One will be of the whole approach, the second of the face only, and the third will be a close-up of the release. From this view, you’re checking concentration, focus, targeting, checking to see if he is watching the ball all the way down the lane, footwork, armswing, release and, of course, how he’d look on TV. You won’t always have to do what I am about to describe but just to be sure you get the information you need, do it this way the first few times. Have him assume his finish position at the line without the ball, making sure his balance arm, head, slide, delivery, and

follow through are all within view. (If you want to try to see what his run-it-out form looks like, you’ll have to have a wide-angle lens!) See photo labeled Good Camera Placement.

Once you have him in focus at the foul line, he’ll, of course, look smaller when he gets in his starting position. That’s okay. The foul line position is the priority in this shot. Start the camera as he is getting set.

Front view - face I learned about this shot from Gold Coach Ron Hoppe. It will tell you a lot about how invested your student is, if he keeps his eyes on the target, if he follows the ball all the way down the lane and through the deck, his reaction to whatever he did….lots of good stuff.

Still standing on the channel cap, focus on his upper body from the chest up while he is getting ready to make a delivery. Since this view is about what goes on in the face and neck, having that

Susie Minshew is a USBC Gold Coach, Master Silver Instructor, a regional PWBA champion, and past president of IBPSIA. Visit her online at www.strikeability.com.

PAGE 14

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

nuts susie & bolts minshew

Good Camera Placement

Release Framing

much of the torso in the viewfinder is really more of him than you want. However, if you have just his face fill the viewfinder in the stance, by the time he gets to the foul line, you’ll have an out-of-focus view of his nose!

Keep the camera rolling until he turns back toward the ball return.

From this view you will be able to see if there is any strain in the delivery. Don’t be surprised to see the veins sticking out in the neck or an upper lip curled back at the moment of truth. You can tell if he is keeping his eyes on the target and if he follows the ball all the way down the lane. You’ll also know if and when he closes his eyes. I’ve had some very surprised students who discovered they closed their eyes right before they let go of the ball.

That sure explained why they didn’t know if they hit their target or not!

the thumb exits the ball, in what direction it goes, and how much and in what direction the fingers rotate.

Front view - release Now let’s use that zoom again. Still beside the arrows and on the channel cap, squat down and manually focus the camera on the end of that channel cap at the foul line. This will put the release in focus. Frame the shot so that you'll have from about mid-torso down in the viewfinder. Here's a photo of the framing of this shot.

Start the video when your student is in the stance. You’ll have the lower body from just above the waist in the viewfinder at this point.

When this view is played back in slow motion, you’ll be able to see the footwork, swing plane, slide direction, when the wrist turns, when

AUGUST 2013

Roll the credits Video can be a great tool to help your student blend feel with reality. Be sure there is some indication of the date the video was taken. Film every three months or so whether you’ve changed anything or not - sort of a wellness check-up. This should help catch the “When did I start doing that?” stuff before it becomes a problem.

It also will provide a great reference for both of you when he’s bowling well. He can go back and check what he’s doing now that he wasn’t doing then that could be prompting or prolonging a slump. It becomes his bowling history, like a medical history. The more information available to both of you for any repair work he might need, the quicker and easier the fix. What he feels is often a long way from what he is really doing. The video can help identify and document differences. Accurate information is critical for a proper diagnosis.

A very real benefit of the video is that it will show him how far he has come. He’ll look back on those early videos and wonder, “Did I really look like that?” If you have had a student for a bit of time, you’ll find that as his average increases, what used to be a goal score is now not even a satisfactory score. For example, shooting 213 isn’t nearly good enough but when he was averaging 167 that was a dream score. Now he can really see the payoff.

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nuts & bolts Technology and equipment Using video analysis with your student will require a computer or tablet, a camera, motion analysis software, and a way to connect them all.

Hardware You must either make sure your computer has the proper system attributes for the motion analysis software you have or that your software is compatible with the operating system and video card of your computer. There is nothing worse than buying a computer you think is the answer only to find that the processor isn’t compatible, the screen resolution won’t work with the software you purchased, or the video card is not fast enough to handle the task. For example, if the screen resolution is not proper for the software you are using, it might look like you filmed people using a fun house mirror. Been there, done that.

I had a wonderful lightweight laptop with my software all loaded on it and ready to go.

I was all set to not have to lug around a five pound computer until I found that my cool lightweight laptop had neither a Firewire nor a PCI Express card port, although it had several USB ports. Darn, the camera didn’t have a USB port! So, there was no cabled way to get the film from camera to computer. Aaarrgghh.

Having your growing video library available to you on your desktop at home is important but won’t do you much good in the bowling center when you want to compare what your student is doing to the models you’ve created in your library for what to do and what not to do....or show him what he's doing this month that he wasn't doing last month. So, you need some type of storage - a laptop or an external hard drive.

A laptop with a CD/DVD burner gives you the means to produce a disk detailing the lesson and, if your motion analysis software will allow it, you can include drawings, voiceovers, and comparisons. That’s not the future, but available now. Analysis can be done on the spot and the student leaves with a copy of his memorable lesson in his hot little hand. What a great marketing tool!

PAGE 16

Software There are some technological breakthroughs in video analysis software that will really help you develop your coaching eye and skills in this critical area.

I’m a huge fan of the Instructors version of MotionPro. It comes with a license for two computers, great support, no dongle, and is around $400. It's available at http://www/ motionprosoftware.com. I also like the motion analysis software from http://www.sportscad. com, particularly for those familiar with the BowlersMAP interface. Its Platinum Plus version, currently at about $400, will do everything you require and more. There is also Ebonite BowlersMAP, which is around $1000. Storm Products has a “See Your Game” package available. You can learn about it on their website. At the priciest end of motion analysis software is a product from Dartfish, a Swiss company. Check it out at http://www.dartfish.com.

Camera Bowling centers are notoriously dark. They are typically well lit at the foul line but your bowler looks like an apparition emerging into the light because it is so often dark on the approach. This makes it very difficult to see details of the release or ball roll.

Through a lot of investigation, I determined what I needed was a 3CCD camera. CCD stands for Charged Coupling Device and has to do with the amount of light the camera lets in. Since you need as much light as you can get in a bowling center, this is a good choice.

There are lots of brands and styles of cameras with 3CCD technology. My camera of choice is a Canon GL1. It's not exactly tiny but the video quality is excellent.

Cameras all record on different mediums - SD cards, mini DV tapes, disks. By the time you read this, there may be even other forms of storage.

Take your time and do the research to determine what will work best with your equipment.

Another consideration for whatever medium you choose is how long it will be viable. You don’t want something that will deteriorate and you don’t want to use a method that will become obsolete. That would be like having some great music on an 8-track tape and no way to play it.

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nuts susie & bolts minshew Data Transfer Now that you have all that great film, how will you get it from your camera to the computer? The speed of this transfer is as important as the quality. You don’t want your student to have to stand around while you are transferring the video into the software program. It takes me only about four minutes to get my camera hooked up to the computer, assess, trim, and label all eight views, and get it ready for the student to see. The more practiced you are, the quicker you’ll be able to download, trim, and get the film ready for viewing.

There are several types of ports on the camera and computer that can talk to one another.

USB 2.0 and Firewire400 (IEEE 1394) have pretty close transfer rates of 480Mbps (megabits per second) and 400Mbps respectively.

Firewire800 has a faster transfer rate although not as speedy as Thunderbolt (at 10Gbps (gigabits per second)) but, as of this writing, you won't find many devices capable of using their speeds. In fact, USB 3.0 will have its 5Gbps speed doubled by 2015.

Get the fastest transfer rate available for your computer and camera configuration. Of course, make sure you have the cable that will connect the two devices. In fact, get two. It’s not a good thing to be in the middle of your third lesson of the day with three more to go and your cable goes on the fritz. They are sort of like shoelaces. You don’t need an extra one until you NEED an extra one.

Tablets and Apps Sometimes you neither need nor have the time to take a video and sit down at the computer to upload it from the camera to the computer for analysis. That’s where tablets and/or smartphones come in. They are an incredibly wonderful way to take a quick video and show it to the student right away.

There are both iOs and Android apps for motion analysis, some free, some a few bucks. I use Ubersense and CoachMyVideo. I can capture a shot, draw on the screen, have frame-by-frame control, and lots of other cool features. I also use SloPro, which can use my tablet or phone camera to capture video at

AUGUST 2013

1000 fps. Talk about a great view of the release!

I use iBlackboard and MagicSlate HD (instead of napkins) to draw on. Watch these pages in the near future for a complete review of these products from BTM writer Steve Fuhrman.

Safety first When you are setting up all your gear in the center, be cognizant of the fact that you must protect yourself and the center from any liability. Your computer needs power, particularly if you’re teaching for several hours. That means you’ll need an extension cord.

There are extension cords available that roll up in a caddy like thing and are very easy to carry around. Mine has a 25 foot extension cord and several outlets. I can plug in my computer, the extra battery for the camera, and a couple of other items if I need to do that. You can see it below the chair in the photo.

Not all pairs have outlets available. You’ll need to know which pairs in your center have outlets or are next to outlets and make sure you are assigned to those pairs. Be sure you clearly secure that cord from the outlet to the table. Although gray duct tape will work, a more visible color would be better. Be sure whatever you use does not leave an adhesive residue in the bowler’s area.

It’s a very rare person who cannot be helped with video analysis. I’ve yet to meet one. Using video will not only accelerate your student’s progress, it will improve your coaching eye as well. A win-win for everybody!

BOWLING THIS MONTH

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the mind game

dean hinitz

One-shot coaching

“Science you don't know looks like magic.”

T

—Christopher Moore

his is an article about getting better.

Whether you are coaching or being coached, you are reading this magazine so this probably fits well within your personal agenda. Improving one’s bowling is a tricky process. Effectively helping someone else to do this is beyond tricky…it’s amazing.

There is a technology to the coaching side of change, but few break it down. Every coach wants to help their players to be great, but it is a rare and special thing when both a coach and an athlete are willing to do what it takes to become exceptional.

Rarer still is the existence of a coach/student relationship that allows any athlete to reach maximum potential. Your students want to get better. You, as a coach, want to get them there. Here is an odd question - If everyone wants to get better, how come so few players are willing to change…anything? And if we really look, the same question may be asked of us coaches as well.

In the mythology of coaching and sports psychology, if you just give away enough information, the bowler should get better. If this was in fact true, all one would have to do is read one of the fine coaching books available or any/many of the awesome articles in Bowling This Month.

You could set up some sessions with one of the master coaches in your area. That is a good bet. The up-side of this is that you are quite likely to get some tips, feedback, and teaching that will improve your game. The down-side is that no single tip or piece of coaching help generally lasts for long.

One-shot coaching can help for sure, but true transformation as a bowler takes time, repetition, and often an ongoing coaching relationship. Good coaches know the game.

Great coaches can spot nuances that lead them to suggest improvements in bowlers’ approaches and deliveries.

Dr. Dean Hinitz is a clinical sports psychologist in Reno, Nevada, a bowler, former competitive gymnast, and black belt in Japanese-style Karate. You can email him at deanhinitz@gmail.com

PAGE 18

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the mind game Magic coaches do something exceptional.

They not only know the game and know what they are seeing in a player, they pave the way for real improvement. It is said that everyone wants to get better, but no one really wants to have to change to do it. Magic coaching is a relationship and a set of training practices that produces lasting change.

Usually in these articles we look at what makes the great bowlers great. This month we are going to do the same for coaching.

Why bowlers don’t change “If you want something you’ve never had, then you are going to have to do something you have never done.”

—Anonymous

With decades of refinement in coaching training, levels of coaching advancement, and access to camps and clinics, one would think that bowlers would be getting better…in a big way. If you talk to experts in the field, the general consensus is that scores are going up because of lane conditions and power balls, not because players overall are getting better.

So, there is no shortage of information available about how to change and improve. Why don’t players just learn and do the right things?

Well, let’s examine that. This is not meant to be moralistic, but look at the following: t If you go to any local gym on January 3rd of any year, it looks like a fitness party has been started; the place is packed. If you go two months later, it’s like you own the place. Where’d everybody go? t Almost every person you ever met says they would have gotten better grades in school if he would have studied or tried harder. Most of them knew at the time that that would have worked. They just didn’t do it. t Despite the suffering that comes with marginal results and a cap on bowling execution, many players fall back into their old habitual styles of play and execution, even after investing in camps, coaching, and other instruction.

Do people really change? Sometimes. Can bowlers change with coaching? Yes. Will they?

AUGUST 2013

Believe it or not, this often depends on the coach as much as the player. In order to have maximum effectiveness, a magic coach needs to understand the five pillars of transformation: Players who state clearly that they are motivated to change will actually do what it takes to make effective changes. Simply stated, generally if a player isn’t asking for your help, they are not going to take it.

Passively nodding that coaching would be helpful, even paying you, is not as predictive of long term success as an athlete declaring that they are driven to improve.

The bowler’s changes and adjustments have to be more important to him than they are to you.

Change happens naturally all the time.

Coaches can orient back to the most basic laws of learning. There are only two signals that get through to the brain - comfort and discomfort (pain and pleasure).

You have to work with this law of human behavior. If a player is not integrating your coaching suggestions, there is a reason.

Something else is more comfortable or important than doing what you said to do or something you offered is markedly uncomfortable for the player. Those are the house rules. Bowlers will change and grow when they can feel and see the payoffs.

Change is influenced not just by information, but by the actual relationship with the coach. Players’ human factors come into play more than most coaches ever realize.

When players feel or fear judgment or criticism, especially from one of the persons he is supposed to trust the most, they lock up.

In essence, they choke. When they trust you, you can then coach.

Almost universally, if a player respects his coach, he will want the acceptance and approval of that coach. If there is any thought that there could be ridicule, there is generally no way that the necessary risks will be taken to develop new skills.

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the mind game More to the point, players will go farther, train longer, endure more frustration, and trust the changes they need to make if they are in a connected relationship with their coach. Left to their own devices, most humans will revert to what is familiar, safe, and comfortable as soon as they get tired or don’t have immediate results.

You can coach far more effectively, and players will positively surrender to your coaching, if the bowler feels that you know what he feels like from the inside. This one is a magic bullet.

If a player thinks you get what it feels like to be them—physically, mentally, or emotionally—they will accept your coaching far more easily. The player will also follow you to hell and back because of the power that empathy has. In short, empathy effects change.

The single best predictor of lasting change is confidence…on the part of the player or the coach…that the player will incorporate the needed changes.

“Magic is believing in yourself. If you can do that, you can make anything happen.”

—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

For players confidence comes and goes. For coaches it needs to last far longer and greater than it does for the player.

If a magic coach teaches something, he must really believe that the bowler is capable of incorporating these skills. When the player learns a new skill or way of competing, he will periodically get frustrated, tired, or discouraged. Moreover, they will subconsciously test you to see if you will go along with that discouragement.

Don’t bite. If you want to be magic you have to hold onto the ideal of what the player can do. The word confidence comes from the Latin confidare, which literally means “with faith.” Athletes lose faith in themselves sometimes. It happens.

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.”

—J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

If the coach loses faith, it’s like the captain of the ship putting on a life jacket and jumping

PAGE 20

overboard. Who’s left to get it done? Be magic.

As a magic coach it is your job to keep the faith in your player until he can remember what he is capable of.

Confrontation and humiliation does not work Here is a news flash: making athletes feel bad does not help them learn new skills, keep changes under pressure, or play better. Despite this, coaches often chastise players for failing to integrate new skills fast enough, for forgetting what they have learned, or for making mistakes as they are working on their learning curve.

Even if you think the “old school” approach is the way to go and bowlers should be able to handle a little guff, let’s consider something else that is old school—human behavior. The normal response to confrontation, humiliation, or disrespect is to feel very uncomfortable in a number of ways.

If an athlete feels “dissed” (disrespected), they have to do something inside of themselves to reestablish self-respect. So, what do they do with you, either out loud or in their head? The bowler who feels overly confronted or put-down has to argue, discount, defend, or think of the coach as a jerk.

What follows next is a host of negative results.

The player withdraws from training, withdraws from the coach, stops paying attention, and does not give credibility to what the coach is trying to teach.

The four steps to magic changes “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

—Arthur C. Clarke

Connect. It seems so obvious, yet you need to know the following. Your ability to understand your bowler is one of the best predictors of lasting positive outcomes there is.

Magic starts with understanding what makes bowling so important to your player, what would make the frustration of learning new skills worth it, and what it physically feels like to bowl the old way and the new way.

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AUGUST 2013

Focus on the specific changes to be made, to the exclusion of everything else. This can be surprisingly hard to do. Whether it is hand position, steps, release, targeting, or whatever, “only the thing is the thing.” Non-judgmentally, break it down. Isolate what you are doing. Help to get it learned. Then build it into the bigger picture.

Find out if the bowler can make the distinction between the old way and the new skill. The magic comes when the athlete can feel the changes, identify the benefits of what you are coaching him to do, and when it feels more comfortable than the old way.

Consolidate commitment to work on and execute the skills you are instructing. Many clinics, and much coaching, are based on hit and run attacks. All real change is based on follow up and practice.

“Magic trick: to make people disappear, ask them to complete their promises.”

—Mason Cooley

did not immerse himself in continued practice, he would go back to using English exclusively and most of the Spanish would be lost. The same is true for your bowling instruction. Commitments, plans, and structured follow up practices are vital.

It’s magic “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”

—Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

Everyone wants to get better. Almost no one really wants to have to change. But there are exceptions to this. If you know how to make magic, you can create the space that will allow for real transformation.

The steps needed for the transformation of a bowler are listed above. They are simple keys that work like the laws of nature. Perhaps there are ceilings on what players can learn and do, but most bowlers are far from actually finding theirs. This is no trick. You can create magic! “…But all the magic I have known I've had to make myself.”

—Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends

Think about it. You could give the greatest Spanish lesson in the world. Right afterward your student could speak several phrases. But if that student

Some source material drawn from http://www. motivationalinterview.org

BALL TRacking test results

Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle AUGUST 2013

6.8

4.5

5.23

9 75.74

8 11 40.14 36.47

29 9.4

14 5.35

15 5.97

BOWLING THIS MONTH

Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Stroker

MEDIUM-41’ Tweener

MEDIUM-41’

Cranker

Full Review on Page 30

Stroker

Full Review on Page 29

Tweener

900 global vixen

Cranker

900 Global protocol

7

4.9

4.45

10 8 10 60.31 44.53 33.81 28 9.5

15 5.9

13 5.05

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BALL TRacking test results amf solar flare

brunswick meanstreak beatdown

Full Review on Page 31

Full Review on Page 32

Stroker

4.8

4.5

8 9 58.24 46

10 24.77

22 7.5

12 5.05

15 5.9

Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Stroker

Tweener

5.5

Tweener

Cranker Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Cranker

OILY-44’

MEDIUM-41’

5

5.2

3.65

7 10 56.65 44.3

8 31.23

21 7

12 4.45

18 6.4

brunswick mystic aura

columbia 300 antics

Full Review on Page 33

Full Review on Page 34

Stroker

3.7

3.8

9 59.36

7 31.79

10 24.34

26 8.9

11 4.6

12 4.2

Entry Angle: The angle the ball is traveling just prior to entering the pocket.

Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Stroker

Tweener

6.3

Tweener

Cranker Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Cranker

OILY-44’

OILY-44’

5.7

4.4

4.2

8 9 10 60.43 38.06 35.12 24 5.7

15 4.4

14 4.2

DEFINITIONS

Backend BC (BBC): The total number of boards crossed from the breakpoint to the entry board at the pocket.

Hook Power: This is not about ball speed but rather is an indicator of how strongly the ball moves horizontally toward the pocket from the breakpoint. A higher number indicates a strong move to the pocket while a lower number indicates a smoother movement.

Total BC (TBC): The total number of boards crossed from the time the ball contacts the lane until it enters the pocket.

Alpha Angle: Calculated by using the launch angle and the entry angle to compute a total angle change (the movement of the shot).

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BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

BALL TRacking test results dv8 endless nightmare

dv8 marauder mutiny

Full Review on Page 35

Full Review on Page 36

Stroker

3.3

2.73

8 7 7 50.34 33.47 26.6 23 7

14 4.7

10 3.23

Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Stroker

Tweener

4.8

Tweener

Cranker Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Cranker

MEDIUM-41’

OILY-44’

5.2

4.65

4.6

8 52.76

8 9 44.03 35.11

24 7.5

15 5.7

Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

8.5

4.77

5.38

14 78.55

9 11 39.41 37.86

33 11.2

14 5.73

16 6.12

Entry Angle: The angle the ball is traveling just prior to entering the pocket.

Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Stroker

MEDIUM-41’ Tweener

MEDIUM-41’

Cranker

Full Review on Page 38

Stroker

Full Review on Page 37

Tweener

hammer absolute curve

Cranker

ebonite source

13 5.3

6.5

5.5

4.8

9 10 10 66.49 48.53 42.36 22 8.3

16 6.4

15 5.5

DEFINITIONS

Backend BC (BBC): The total number of boards crossed from the breakpoint to the entry board at the pocket.

Hook Power: This is not about ball speed but rather is an indicator of how strongly the ball moves horizontally toward the pocket from the breakpoint. A higher number indicates a strong move to the pocket while a lower number indicates a smoother movement.

Total BC (TBC): The total number of boards crossed from the time the ball contacts the lane until it enters the pocket.

Alpha Angle: Calculated by using the launch angle and the entry angle to compute a total angle change (the movement of the shot).

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

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BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

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BALL TRacking test results hammer amp

hammer spike

Full Review on Page 39

Full Review on Page 40

Stroker

4.23

4.2

10 8 10 63.23 37.77 35.12 30 9.6

15 5.53

14 5

Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Stroker

Tweener

6.7

Tweener

Cranker Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Cranker

MEDIUM-41’

OILY-44’

7.1

4.8

4.55

11 8 10 66.12 43.32 27.88 26 9.3

14 5.8

12 5.05

radical reax pearl

radical torrid affair

Full Review on Page 41

Full Review on Page 42

Stroker

3.85

3.47

10 60.8

8 31.89

9 24.81

26 8.8

12 4.72

12 4.07

Entry Angle: The angle the ball is traveling just prior to entering the pocket.

Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Stroker

Tweener

6.5

Tweener

Cranker Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Cranker

MEDIUM-41’

OILY-44’

7.03

4.5

4.9

11 9 11 62.59 42.66 30.73 26 9.23

15 5.4

13 5.4

DEFINITIONS

Backend BC (BBC): The total number of boards crossed from the breakpoint to the entry board at the pocket.

Hook Power: This is not about ball speed but rather is an indicator of how strongly the ball moves horizontally toward the pocket from the breakpoint. A higher number indicates a strong move to the pocket while a lower number indicates a smoother movement.

Total BC (TBC): The total number of boards crossed from the time the ball contacts the lane until it enters the pocket.

Alpha Angle: Calculated by using the launch angle and the entry angle to compute a total angle change (the movement of the shot).

PAGE 26

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

BALL TRacking test results storm hy-road pearl

storm marvel s

Full Review on Page 43

Full Review on Page 44

Stroker

4.05

4

10 71.28

8 39.19

9 25.01

27 9.3

14 5.05

11 4.4

Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Stroker

Tweener

6.8

Tweener

Cranker Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Cranker

OILY-44’

MEDIUM-41’

5.9

4.6

5

9 8 12 63.09 40.48 37.24 25 8

14 5.4

Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

5.3

4.3

4.8

7 59.63

7 48.1

10 37.88

23 7.5

14 5.3

15 5.65

Entry Angle: The angle the ball is traveling just prior to entering the pocket.

Entry Angle BBC Hook Power TBC Alpha Angle

Stroker

MEDIUM-41’ Tweener

MEDIUM-41’

Cranker

Full Review on Page 46

Stroker

Full Review on Page 45

Tweener

track 910A

Cranker

track 505c2

16 6

7

4.6

4.27

10 9 11 65.43 43.69 34.01 26 9.4

17 5.9

15 5.17

DEFINITIONS

Backend BC (BBC): The total number of boards crossed from the breakpoint to the entry board at the pocket.

Hook Power: This is not about ball speed but rather is an indicator of how strongly the ball moves horizontally toward the pocket from the breakpoint. A higher number indicates a strong move to the pocket while a lower number indicates a smoother movement.

Total BC (TBC): The total number of boards crossed from the time the ball contacts the lane until it enters the pocket.

Alpha Angle: Calculated by using the launch angle and the entry angle to compute a total angle change (the movement of the shot).

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 27

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BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

BALL TALK REVIEWS

PROTOCOL

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 7/8/9 MEDIUM: 9.5/9.5/9.5 DRY: 7/7/6 SPORT: 7/7/7

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: s70 Type: Reactive Solid Box Finish: 2000 Abralon polished Color: Navy Blue/Sea Foam Core Density: Dual Asymmetrical Enhanced Mass Bias: .023 For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.53

RG: This ball reads the midlane exceptionally well. We would have guessed the RG was

.042

Diff/Flare: :KLOH LW LV QRW WKH ELJJHVW Ă&#x20AC;DUH SRWHQWLDO WKH EDOO KDV SOHQW\ WR JHW WR WKH SRFNHW on nearly any condition. All three testers were right around the four inch mark.

7.5

Torque: If we ever threw a ball that was controllably angular, it would be the Protocol. The shape this ball makes is unique and impressive.

15

Length: The 2000 Abralon polished cover gives this ball easy length through the front, but makes it grab enough to be able to shoot it past the breakpoint. While the NEAT system is XVHIXO PL[LQJ XS WKH FRYHU ÂżQLVKHV UHDOO\ EHQHÂżWWHG WKH 3URWRFRO

17.5

Scale: 1-20

Back End: This ball produces one of the most continuous back end motions 900 Global has ever offered. Our lower rev testers could get the Protocol to recover from places they have not been able to with previous 900 Global products.

53

Total Hook: This ball produces a surprising amount of total motion for a polished ball. It FDQ KDQGOH D JRRG DPRXQW RI RLO GHVSLWH WKH SROLVKHG ÂżQLVK

Scale: 1-10

Scale: 1-25

Scale: 1-100

lower when we threw them, but it might have been an optical illusion due to the colors of the ball.

Comments: The Protocol uses the s70 reactive cover and a brand new core. The manufacturer claims that the new core shape is not altered in any way by drilling holes. They say the starting RG and differential is what you end up with post drilling. We do not have an RG swing or any other way to put these claims to the test, but there is no denying what a great performing bowling ball they have produced. The Protocol was just slightly better on our medium test pattern than it was on the heavy. This ball revved up strongly in the midlane, was strong at the breakpoint, and set up for a big back end motion. All the testers could cheat inside and the Protocol still created enough hook to strike. Shots missed right of target screamed back to the pocket. No matter how dry the front of the lane and the track area got, we never saw the Protocol lose any energy. It just continued to throw the pins in a way that let us kick the corner. Moving to the heavy pattern, we had to straighten up our angles through the front, but the Protocol made an even bigger move when it got out of the pattern. We removed the polish with a 3000 Abralon pad. This gave us more traction in the oil, but still maintained a strong back end PRWLRQ 7KH VSRUW SDWWHUQ ZDV D OLWWOH WULFN\ IRU XV DW ÂżUVW EXW ZH ZHUH DEOH WR PRYH OHIW DQG RSHQ XS WKH ODQH WR compensate for the strong move at the breakpoint. Bowlers who are seeing too much snap from the Protocol on Ă&#x20AC;DWWHU FRQGLWLRQV FDQ UHPRYH WKH SROLVK ZLWK D RU $EUDORQ SDG WR VPRRWK LW RXW 7KH GU\ SDWWHUQ JDYH us the most trouble and it still was not much. We increased our ball speed and added some loft to give us extra hold on shots missed left.

SUMMARY Strengths: We like everything about this ball. We like the quick revving action in the front. We like the strong move at the back end. We like the continuation through the pins. We like the color scheme and that the coverstock logo is a different color. The logo's placement makes reading the reaction easier for righthanded bowlers.

Weakness: There is little to not like about this ball. Extremely short or long patterns are the only thing this ball would not be useful on.

Overall: The Protocol is the best ball we have thrown from 900 Global in the past few seasons. The new core combined with this cover is a real winner.

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 29

BALL TALK REVIEWS

VIXEN

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 3/4/5 MEDIUM: 9/8/8 DRY: 8/7/5 SPORT: 4/4/4

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: s65 Pearl Type: Reactive Pearl Box Finish: Polished Color: Violet/Cherry Red Core Density: Dual Symmetrical For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.56

RG: The RG in the new Vixen is just a pinch higher than the Jewel P/P from last summer.

.045

Diff/Flare: This ball has the same differential as the Jewel P/P. Lower rev players will

6.5

Torque: The Vixen is just as angular as the Jewel P/P. Both of these releases have more angle at the breakpoint than the original Jewel.

15

Length: The polished s65 coverstock easily skids through the front of the lane. This ball got down the lane with no problem on all of our test patterns.

16

Back End: While this ball is not the biggest mover at the back end, the Vixen still has plenty of motion to get to the pocket on medium patterns.

48

Total Hook: The total hook is slightly more than the last ball we can compare it to, the Jewel P/P. We have been told color has no effect ball motion, but we seem to disprove this with our test results quite often.

Scale: 1-10

Scale: 1-25

Scale: 1-20

Scale: 1-100

Most users will not be able to tell the motion difference between the two.

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Comments: 900 Global is looking out for the ladies again, this year with the new Vixen. The core from the Jewel Purple/Pink is back, wrapped with a polished s65 coverstock. This mid-price release was best for us on our medium test pattern. All three testers liked how cleanly the Vixen cleared the front, allowing us to stay in the same part of the lane longer than with other bowling balls. This is a ball you will be able to throw for an entire league session. We never altered the coverstock on this pattern. The dry pattern was also pretty good to the Vixen. The easy length allowed us to play farther right, closer to the track area, on this drier pattern. Once again, we decided to not alter the cover as we felt we had as good a reaction as we were going to get from the box ¿QLVK :H GLG VWDUW WR FKDQJH WKH VXUIDFH ZKHQ ZH JRW WR RXU VSRUW DQG KHDY\ SDWWHUQV :H KDG ZD\ WRR PXFK skid on both of them. Starting with the sport pattern, we used the "A" pad to remove the polish and increase the traction in the oil and, more importantly, smooth out the breakpoint. When we did get the Vixen to turn over, it wanted to hook way too much when it saw the friction. On the heavy pattern, we needed even more surface to get this one to pick up on the juicy stuff. We took an “E” pad and laid into the Vixen, making sure it was rough HQRXJK WR JLYH XV WKH KRRN ZH ODFNHG DW WKH ER[ ¿QLVK %RZOHUV ZKR WU\ WR XVH WKLV EDOO RQ VOLFNHU SDWWHUQV DUH going to need some added surface.

SUMMARY Strengths: The Vixen offers good performance on medium oil patterns. The color scheme and logo on this one compared to the Jewels might get more males to throw it.

Weakness: Heavy volumes of oil will cause some problems for the Vixen. The polished cover needs some help from friction on the lane.

Overall: The Vixen follows in the footsteps of the Jewel in that it is a ball marketed toward the female demographic. Bowlers will see more hook and back end than they saw with either Jewel.

PAGE 30

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

BALL TALK REVIEWS

SOLAR FLARE

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 7/8/8 MEDIUM: 9.5/9.5/9.5 DRY: 8/6/5 SPORT: 6/6/6

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: F62 Pearl Type: Reactive Pearl Box Finish: neaT Color: Sunburst Orange Core Density: Dual Asymmetrical Enhanced Mass Bias: .014 For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.50

RG: The Solar Flare uses an asymmetric weight block with a medium low RG. This core

.040

Diff/Flare: 7KLV EDOO SURYLGHV XS WR IRXU LQFKHV RI ÀDUH SRWHQWLDO $OO WKUHH WHVWHUV H[SHULHQFHG DURXQG WKH VDPH DPRXQW RI ÀDUH

7

Torque: 7KH 6RODU )ODUH PDNHV D QLFH PRYH DW WKH EUHDNSRLQW 7KH ER[ ¿QLVK UHDOO\ DOORZV this ball to pick up the lane in the right place to set it up for a big motion at the breakpoint.

14

Scale: 1-25

Length: 7KH ³7´ SDG ¿QLVK SURYLGHV WKH 6RODU )ODUH WKH OHQJWK QHHGHG WR VWRUH XS HQHUJ\ IRU the breakpoint. Any rougher and the ball would bleed off too much energy before the desired breakpoint.

17

Scale: 1-20

Back End: This ball can cover a lot of area at the back of the lane. The pearl cover saves everything it has for the move it makes the last twenty feet.

52

Total Hook: The Solar Flare gave us plenty of hook on our medium and heavy test pat-

Scale: 1-10

Scale: 1-100

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Comments: The Solar Flare is a new line for AMF. It gave us more hook than the Mamba Hybrid and just less than the Green Mamba. In the current line up, this will be the step down from the Incinerate. The pearl FRYHUVWRFN PDGH WKLV EDOO EHVW RQ RXU PHGLXP WHVW SDWWHUQ 7KH ³7´ ER[ ¿QLVK JDYH XV WKH ULJKW DPRXQW RI traction without giving up anything at the breakpoint. Tweener was just inside the second arrow while Stroker was just outside of it. Cranker had to be a lot farther left than both of these testers to catch enough oil to keep the Solar Flare on line. Bowlers who like to open up the lane by standing left and throwing right and watching LW FRPH EDFN ZLOO HQMR\ WKH PRWLRQ WKH 6RODU )ODUH SURGXFHV :H ZHUH DEOH WR KDYH VXFFHVV RQ WKH KHDY\ WHVW SDWWHUQ ZLWK WKH ER[ ¿QLVK DV ZHOO :H VORZHG RXU EDOO VSHHG GRZQ DQG FRXOG WDNH DGYDQWDJH RI WKH ELJ PRYH down lane. Stroker struggled slightly, but with a quick trip to the ball spinner with the “E” pad, he was just as comfortable as the other testers with the ball reaction. On the dry test pattern, Stroker was the only one able to XVH WKH 6RODU )ODUH DW WKH ER[ ¿QLVK +H PRYHG IDUWKHU LQVLGH DQG ZDV DEOH WR VZLQJ WKH EDOO RXW ZLWKRXW LW ORVLQJ too much energy. Cranker and Tweener needed to polish the cover to get extra length and get them to the pocket.

7KH VSRUW SDWWHUQ RIIHUHG D JRRG UHDFWLRQ IRU RXU WHVWHUV 7KH VWURQJ EDFN HQG PLJKW EH GLI¿FXOW WR FRQWURO RQ DQ\ sport patterns shorter than we use for testing. If the Solar Flare responds too hard to dry boards, hitting the shell with the “A” pad will smooth out the reaction.

SUMMARY Strengths: The Solar Flare provides moderate length with a big back end motion. This is the most back end motion we have seen from AMF in a while.

Weakness: 2QO\ VXSHU KHDY\ RLOV ZLOO NHHS WKH 6RODU )ODUH LQ WKH EDJ DW LWV ER[ ¿QLVK :H UHPRYHG WKH SROLVK DQG LW FRXOG KDQGOH RXU KHDY\ test pattern.

Overall: The Solar Flare is one of the most useful AMF balls we have tested in a while. The core and cover are strong enough to use on almost any THS.

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 31

BALL TALK REVIEWS

RATINGS*

MEANSTREAK BEATDOWN

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 9/9/9.5 MEDIUM: 8/8/7 DRY: 6/4/3 SPORT: 7/7/7

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: Addaptive f(P+S) Solid Type: Reactive Solid Box Finish: 500/4000 SiaAir Color: Dark Blue/Light Blue Core Density: Dual Symmetrical For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.536

RG: The RG is the same as the core used in the Brawler. Surrounding this ball in a stronger

.048

Diff/Flare: 7KH GLIIHUHQWLDO VWD\V WKH VDPH DV WKH SUHYLRXV 0HDQVWUHDNV 7KH %HDWGRZQ

6.5

Torque: 7KH EDOO PDNHV D JRRG PRYH IRU D VDQGHG VROLG FRYHUVWRFN ,W SURGXFHV WUDFWLRQ RQ WKH VOLFNHU FRQGLWLRQV EXW VWLOO KDV HQHUJ\ IRU WKH EDFN HQG

13

Scale: 1-25

Length: 7KH VROLG FRYHUVWRFN LV ¿QLVKHG ZLWK D 6LD$LU FRPELQDWLRQ 7KLV JLYHV WKH EDOO WHHWK IRU KHDY\ YROXPH SDWWHUQV

15

Back End: 7KH EDOO LV WKH ORZHVW RI WKH WKUHH 0HDQVWUHDNV LQ WKH EDFN HQG GHSDUWPHQW

Scale: 1-20

7KLV LV QR VKRFN WR DQ\RQH DV LW LV WKH ¿UVW RQH RI WKHVH EDOOV LQ WKH VHULHV WKDW KDV QR SHDUO DW all in the shell.

54

Total Hook: The strong coverstock makes the Meanstreak Beatdown the strongest in the

Scale: 1-10

Scale: 1-100

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line. While we chose to graph the previous two on the medium pattern, this ball was strong enough to easily handle our heavy pattern.

Comments: The Meanstreak Beatdown is the latest addition to the Meanstreak line. This ball takes the $GGDSWLYH IRUPXOD FRYHUVWRFN WKDW ZDV ¿UVW XWLOL]HG LQ WKH 1H[XV OLQHV DQG FRPELQHV LW ZLWK WKH 0HDQVWUHDN V\PPHWULF FRUH 7KLV FRYHUVWRFN LV HDVLO\ VWURQJHU WKDQ WKH RWKHU 0HDQVWUHDNV DQG ZDV EHVW VXLWHG IRU RXU KHDY\ WHVW SDWWHUQ $OO WKUHH WHVWHUV KDG D JRRG UHDFWLRQ RQ WKLV SDWWHUQ 7KH FRYHU FDXVHG WKH EDOO WR VORZ GRZQ HQRXJK IRU WKH FRUH WR WDNH RYHU GRZQ ODQH 7KLV ¿QLVK SURFHVV DOVR DOORZV WKH %HDWGRZQ WR VWRUH VRPH HQHUJ\ IRU WKH EUHDNSRLQW DQG EDFN HQG :KLOH ZH UHDOO\ OLNHG RXU UHDFWLRQ ZH ORZHUHG WKH ¿QLVK WR D 6LD$LU WR VHH KRZ PXFK PRUH KRRN ZH ZRXOG KDYH $IWHU DGMXVWLQJ WKH FRYHU RQ DOO WKUHH EDOOV ZH HDVLO\ VDZ DQ H[WUD WKUHH ERDUGV RI KRRN ZLWKRXW WKH %HDWGRZQ ORVLQJ HQHUJ\ GRZQ ODQH 0RYLQJ WR WKH PHGLXP WHVW SDWWHUQ RQO\ 6WURNHU FRXOG VWULNH HDVLO\ ZLWK WKH %HDWGRZQ DW WKH ER[ ¿QLVK &UDQNHU DQG 7ZHHQHU VWUXJJOHG WR JHW WKH %HDWGRZQ WR WKH GHVLUHG EUHDNSRLQW ZLWK HQRXJK HQHUJ\ WR FDUU\ WKH FRUQHUV %RWK RI WKHVH WHVWHUV DGGHG 5RXJK %XII WR WKH FRYHUVWRFN 7KH DGGHG OHQJWK PDGH LW HDVLHU IRU WKHVH WHVWHUV WR ¿QG WKH SRFNHW RQ WKLV SDWWHUQ :H DOO VWUXJJOHG RQ WKH GU\ WHVW SDWWHUQ 7KLV EDOO LV QRW GHVLJQHG IRU WKHVH W\SHV RI SDWWHUQV EXW WR PDNH LW ZRUN ZH DGGHG +LJK Gloss polish to all three test balls. We increased our ball speeds but still struggled with the Beatdown wanting to check up too early. We had good success on our sport pattern. The Meanstreak Beatdown gave us traction in the RLO DQG DOORZHG XV WR DWWDFN WKLV SDWWHUQ ZLWK WLJKWHU DQJOHV WKURXJK WKH IURQW $V ZH VWDUWHG WR EUHDN WKLV SDWWHUQ GRZQ ZH ZHUH DEOH WR VWDUW PRYLQJ OHIW DQG FRXOG VWLOO WKURZ LW ULJKW :H GLG QRW KDYH WR PDNH DQ\ VXUIDFH changes to the cover on this pattern.

SUMMARY Strengths: The Beatdown hooks earlier and more than the previous two releases in the Meanstreak line. We got to the pocket easily on our heavy test pattern.

Weakness: 7KLV EDOO ZLOO VWUXJJOH DW WKH ER[ ¿QLVK RQ OLJKWHU SDWWHUQV :H DOVR KDG WR KDYH VRPH RLO LQ WKH IURQW WR NHHS WKH %HDWGRZQ IURP losing energy at the pins.

Overall: The Meanstreak Beatdownâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s solid coverstock gives it a smoother and earlier breakpoint than the Brawler and Meanstreak. This ball is better on heavier volumes and longer patterns than the previous two releases.

PAGE 32

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

BALL TALK REVIEWS

MYSTIC AURA

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 9/9/9 MEDIUM: 8/8/8 DRY: 5/5/5 SPORT: 7/7/7

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: Optimum-Versatility Hybrid Type: Reactive Hybrid %R[ )LQLVK 6LD$LU 5RXJK %XÌ&#x2020; Color: Black Solid/Gold Pearl Core Density: Dual Asymmetrical Enhanced Mass Bias: .015 For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.481

RG: %UXQVZLFN KDV KLW WKH WULIHFWD E\ XVLQJ WKH VDPH $XUD 8OWUD /RZ 5* FRUH LQ DOO WKUHH

.052

Diff/Flare: 7KLV FRUH RIIHUV WKH VDPH ODUJH Ã&#x20AC;DUH SRWHQWLDO DV WKH SUHYLRXV WZR $XUDV $OO

7.5

Torque: 7KH K\EULG FRYHUVWRFN DOORZV WKLV EDOO WR EH PRUH DQJXODU WKDQ WKH SUHYLRXV $XUD UHOHDVHV 7KH DGGLWLRQ RI SHDUO LQ WKH FRYHU DOORZV LW WR VWRUH PRUH HQHUJ\

6FDOH

13

$XUD UHOHDVHV ZLWK QR DOWHUDWLRQV 7KLV FRUH SURGXFHV KHDY\ UHYV RII WKH ERZOHU V KDQG

WKUHH WHVWHUV ZHUH DEOH WR VHH DURXQG ¿YH LQFKHV RI RLO ULQJV

6FDOH

Length: 7KH 0\VWLF $XUD ¿WV EHWZHHQ WKH SUHYLRXV WZR $XUD UHOHDVHV LQ WKH OHQJWK GHSDUW PHQW 7KLV EDOO¶V FRYHUVWRFN DQG ER[ ¿QLVK SURYLGH PRUH VNLG WKDQ WKH 3DUDQRUPDO $XUD DQG OHVV WKDQ WKH SROLVKHG $XUD

17.5

Back End: :H VDZ PRUH EDFN HQG IURP WKH 0\VWLF WKDQ ZH GLG IURP WKH RWKHU WZR $XUD UHOHDVHV :H DWWULEXWH WKLV WR WKH DGGHG SHDUO LQ WKH FRYHUVWRFN

6FDOH

53 6FDOH

Total Hook: /LNH LQ PDQ\ RWKHU RI RXU FDWHJRULHV WKH 0\VWLF LV ULJKW EHWZHHQ WKH $XUD DQG WKH 3DUDQRUPDO LQ WRWDO PRWLRQ ,W PDNHV D JUHDW DGGLWLRQ WR WKLV OLQH XS

Comments: 7KH 0\VWLF $XUD LV WKH WKLUG EDOO WRWLQJ WKH $XUD QDPH ,W XWLOL]HV WKH VDPH $XUD 8OWUD /RZ 5* FRUH DV WKH SUHYLRXV WZR EXW WKH ELJ GLIIHUHQFH LV WKH FRYHUVWRFN ,QVWHDG RI D VROLG FRYHU OLNH WKH $XUD DQG 3DUDQRUPDO WKH 0\VWLF IHDWXUHV D QHZ K\EULG FRYHU WKDW FRPHV DW D ER[ ¿QLVK RI 6LD$LU DQG 5RXJK %XII 7KLV JLYHV WKH 0\VWLF $XUD VRPH WUDFWLRQ LQ WKH RLO SOXV DGGHG PRWLRQ DW WKH EDFN HQG 7KLV W\SH RI UHDFWLRQ ZDV EHVW RQ RXU KHDY\ RLO WHVW SDWWHUQ 7KH 0\VWLF $XUD GLG QRW SLFN XS DV HDUO\ DV WKH 3DUDQRUPDO EXW RIIHUHG D PXFK ELJJHU FKDQJH RI GLUHFWLRQ DV ZHOO DV PRUH PRWLRQ DW WKH EDFN HQG $OO WKUHH WHVWHUV ZHUH VDWLV¿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¿QLVK :H GLG QRW KDYH PXFK UHDFWLRQ RQ RXU GU\ WHVW SDWWHUQ :H WULHG WR UHDOO\ VKLQH XS WKH FRYHU EXW LW MXVW SURGXFHG D PRUH DQJXODU UHDFWLRQ DW WKH EUHDNSRLQW

SUMMARY Strengths: 7KLV LV WKH ¿UVW $XUD WKDW LV QRW D VROLG FRYHUVWRFN 7KH K\EULG FRYHU SURYLGHV PRUH HQHUJ\ DW WKH EUHDNSRLQW DQG EDFN HQG WKDQ WKH SUHYLRXV $XUDV Weakness: 2QO\ OLJKWHU SDWWHUQV ZLOO FDXVH WKH 0\VWLF $XUD WR VWUXJJOH .HHS WKLV RQH RQ PHGLXP WR KHDY\ SDWWHUQV Overall 7KH 0\VWLF $XUD XVHV WKH VDPH $XUD 8OWUD /RZ 5* FRUH DV WKH SUHYLRXV $XUDV WKH FKDQJH LV WKH K\EULG FRYHUVWRFN ZKLFK SURYLGHV D GLIIHUHQW PRWLRQ GRZQ ODQH

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 1 33 PAGE

BALL TALK REVIEWS

ANTICS

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 9/9/9.5 MEDIUM: 8/8/7 DRY: 5/4/3 SPORT: 7/7/6

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: AR (Awesome Reaction) 300 Type: Reactive Hybrid Box Finish: 500 Abranet, 3000 Abralon Color: Forest/Royal/Cherry/Yellow Core Density: Dual Asymmetrical Enhanced Mass Bias: .013 For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.50

RG: The Antics uses a brand new core shape. The lower RG gets it revving up quickly.

.054

Diff/Flare: 7KLV FRUH GHVLJQ RIIHUV DURXQG ÂżYH DQG KDOI LQFKHV RI Ă&#x20AC;DUH SRWHQWLDO &UDQNHU VDZ WKH IXOO ÂżYH DQG D KDOI 7ZHHQHU ZDV DURXQG ÂżYH DQG 6WURNHU ZDV MXVW XQGHU ÂżYH LQFKHV

7

Torque: The new cover creates a good amount of angle for a ball that comes at a rough ÂżQLVK %RZOHUV ZKR ZDQW H[WUD EDFN HQG FDQ DGG VRPH SROLVK

6FDOH

13 6FDOH

Length: 7KH $QWLFV LV ÂżQLVKHG ZLWK D $EUDORQ ÂżQLVK 7KH URXJKHU XQGHUO\LQJ JULW JRW WKLV EDOO VWDUWHG HDUOLHU WKDQ EDOOV WKDW DUH VWDLU VWHSSHG ZLWK DOO WKH JULWV XS WR

17.5

Back End: 7KH $QWLFV LV RQH RI WKH VWURQJHVW +3 EDOOV IURP &ROXPELD DW WKH EDFN HQG

6FDOH

7KH QHZ FRPELQDWLRQ RI VXUIDFHV IRU WKH ER[ ÂżQLVK KHOSV WKLV EDOO FUHDWH D GLIIHUHQW ORRN RQ the lane.

54

Total Hook: This ball will not cover as many total boards as the Enigma. It has a more long

6FDOH

and strong reaction than the big overall motion from the Enigma and Encounters.

Comments: 7KH $QWLFV XVHV D QHZ FRYHUVWRFN QHZ ÂżQLVKLQJ SURFHVV DQG QHZ FRUH GHVLJQ IRU &ROXPELD All of these elements create a ball that is cleaner through the front and offers a more angular motion than the Encounters. This ball provided us with the best path to the pocket on our heavy test pattern. All the testers saw easy length through the front with good recovery down the lane. When it was fresh, our lower rev testers had to keep their angles straighter through the front to avoid sending the Antics past the breakpoint. Once the pattern EHJDQ WR RSHQ XS KRZHYHU WKHVH WHVWHUV ZHUH DEOH WR KDYH DQ HYHQ EHWWHU UHDFWLRQ 7KH ER[ ÂżQLVK SURYLGHG PRUH VNLG WKDQ WKH :LFNHG (QFRXQWHU DQG (QLJPD RQ WKLV SDWWHUQ 7KH H[WUD OHQJWK LV ZK\ ZH ZHUH VHHLQJ D PRUH continuous move at the back end on this pattern. When we moved to the medium pattern, the lower rev testers KDG D EHWWHU UHDFWLRQ WKDQ &UDQNHU 7KH $QWLFV ZDV URXJK HQRXJK IRU WKHP WR PRYH GHHSHU LQ WKH RLO DQG LW VWLOO KDG D VWURQJ PRYH DW WKH EUHDNSRLQW &UDQNHU KDG WRR PXFK WRWDO KRRN 7KH VDQGHG FRYHU ZDQWHG WR SLFN XS WRR quickly, making the ball hook too early and dive straight onto the headpin. When he got really far left and got WKH EDOO JRLQJ ULJKW WKH VDQGHG FRYHU ORVW WRR PXFK HQHUJ\ DQG UHVXOWHG LQ VRPH Ă&#x20AC;DW KLWV +H DSSOLHG 3RZHU+RXVH )DFWRU\ )LQLVK ZKLFK JDYH KLP D PXFK EHWWHU UHDFWLRQ RQ WKLV SDWWHUQ &UDQNHU KDG D IHZ SUREOHPV RQ WKH VSRUW pattern. The Antics wanted to hook too much when it saw friction at the breakpoint because of his rev rate.

7ZHHQHU DQG 6WURNHU ZHUH DEOH WR XVH WKLV PRWLRQ WR WKHLU DGYDQWDJH RQ WKLV SDWWHUQ &UDQNHU ZHQW GRZQ WR D $EUDQHW VRIW ÂżQLVK WR VPRRWK RXW WKH PRYH RII WKH GU\ 7KH GU\ SDWWHUQ KDG WRR PXFK IULFWLRQ IRU WKH WHVWHUV even after applying polish.

SUMMARY Strengths: The ability the Antics has to hook in the oil, but still offer a big move at the back end are what we liked best. We would have liked to use some pin up layouts to really see what this ball could do.

Weakness: Even though this ball is cleaner through the front than the Enigma, it still needs a good amount of oil up front. Our carry suffered until we found more oil in the heads.

Overall: The Antics takes the overall hooking motion from the Enigma and combines it with the big back end reaction from the original Encounter. Bowlers looking for traction and added back end motion will look no farther than the Antics.

PAGE 34 2 PAGE

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

BALL TALK REVIEWS

ENDLESS NIGHTMARE

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 9.5/9.5/9.5 MEDIUM: 8/7/7 DRY: 4/3/3 SPORT: 8/7/6

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: Class 9 Hybrid Reactive Type: Reactive Hybrid Box Finish: 500/1500 SiaAir Color: Purple/Silver/Yellow Core Density: xx Symmetrical For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.505

RG: The Endless Nightmare uses the same core as the two Nightmares before it and it really

.052

Diff/Flare: 7KH (QGOHVV 1LJKWPDUH FDQ SURGXFH RYHU ÂżYH LQFKHV RI WUDFN Ă&#x20AC;DUH 7KLV FRYHU allows users to get the full potential out of this ball.

7

Scale: 1-10

Torque: Looking at the ball, no one could possibly think it could be as angular as it is. It LV D WHVWDPHQW WR '9 IRU KDYLQJ D EDOO WKDW FDQ EH WKLV URXJK DQG VWLOO EDFN HQG OLNH LW GRHV

10

Length: 1RWZLWKVWDQGLQJ WKH K\EULG FRYHU EHFDXVH RI WKH ÂżQLVK RI WKLV EDOO LW JUDEV WKH

16

Back End: /LNH WKH WRUTXH WKLV QXPEHU LV SUHWW\ KLJK JLYHQ WKH 6LD$LU ÂżQLVK RQ the Endless Nightmare.

55

Total Hook: 7KLV LV HDVLO\ WKH ELJJHVW KRRNLQJ '9 EDOO WR GDWH '9 IDQV ORRNLQJ IRU D true heavy oil ball have it in the Endless Nightmare.

Scale: 1-25

Scale: 1-20

Scale: 1-100

comes to life wrapped in this shell.

ODQH YHU\ HDUO\ 7KLV LV DQ DGGHG EHQHÂżW IRU ERZOHUV RQ KHDY\ YROXPHV RI RLO

Comments: 7KH (QGOHVV 1LJKWPDUH LV WKH WKLUG LQVWDOOPHQW LQ '9 ÂśV 1LJKWPDUH KLJK SHUIRUPDQFH OLQH 7KLV ball uses the same core as the Nightmare and Brutal Nightmare but this time has the Class 9 Hybrid Reactive coverstock. It comes out of the box at a really low combination of 500 and 1500 SiaAir. This ball begged to be thrown on oil so we started on our heavy test pattern. The Endless Nightmare carved this pattern to shreds.

Each tester could easily get to the pocket when it was fresh and it did not take many shots to create a big hook spot. The hybrid cover allowed us to move further left and get it to the spot without losing any hit at the pins.

We could be aggressive on this pattern with our speed and, even on the heavy volume, we could not throw it past the hook. This will be the ball bowlers want in their hands if they have trouble seeing the ball hook. We started okay on our medium pattern, but fairly quickly we had to make some changes to the covers to keep them IURP KRRNLQJ WRR HDUO\ )RU 6WURNHU ZH UDLVHG WKH ÂżQLVK ZLWK D 6LD$LU SDG :KLOH VWLOO KDYLQJ VXUIDFH WKH Endless Nightmare cleared the front of the lane much better and Stroker was back in the pocket. Tweener and &UDQNHU DGGHG 5RXJK %XII ULJKW RQ WRS RI WKH ER[ ÂżQLVK :H VWLOO VDZ OLQHV IURP WKH URXJK ER[ ÂżQLVK EXW WKH EDOO had some shine on it to get it to clear the fronts much better. This surface still gave us enough traction in the oil when we moved deeper into the pattern. This ball was good for Stroker and Tweener on the sport pattern. They were able to overpower this pattern which is something they cannot usually do because of their lower rev rates.

Cranker struggled with the Endless Nightmare picking up too early and diving into the face and had a much EHWWHU UHDFWLRQ ZKHQ KH UDLVHG WKH FRYHU XS ZLWK D 6LD$LU SDG

SUMMARY Strengths: Traction, movement, and lots of hook are the strengths of the Endless Nightmare. Even our lower rev testers had no problems on our heavy test pattern.

Weakness: Like the previous two, this ball was a nightmare to throw on the dry pattern. The ball was dead left off our hand and burned up and went through the pins really poorly when we kept it right of the headpin.

Overall 7KH (QGOHVV 1LJKWPDUH SURYLGHV IRXU WR ÂżYH PRUH ERDUGV RI KRRN WKDQ DQ\ RWKHU KLJK SHUIRUPDQFH '9 ERZOLQJ EDOO 7KH URXJK ÂżQLVKHG FRYHUVWRFN FDQ HDVLO\ KDQGOH DQ\ KLJK YROXPH RLO SDWWHUQ

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 3 35 PAGE

BALL TALK REVIEWS

MARAUDER MUTINY

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 8/8/8.5 MEDIUM: 9.5/9.5/9 DRY: 4/4/3 SPORT: 7/7/7

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: Class 2L Reactive Type: Reactive Hybrid %R[ )LQLVK 6LD$LU 5RXJK %XÌ&#x2020; High Gloss Color: Black Pearl/Neon Orange Core Density: Dual Symmetrical For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.524

RG: The Marauder Mutiny uses the same core as the Marauder and Marauder Madness. This

.050

Diff/Flare: 7KH FRUH Ã&#x20AC;DUHV MXVW DV PXFK DV WKH SUHYLRXV WZR 0DUDXGHUV 7KH ¿YH LQFKHV RI Ã&#x20AC;DUH SRWHQWLDO SURYLGH SOHQW\ RI PRWLRQ IRU DOO VW\OHV

6.5

Scale: 1-10

Torque: 7KH K\EULG FRYHUVWRFN FRPELQHG ZLWK WKH SROLVK RQ WKH FRYHU DFWXDOO\ JDYH XV D VPRRWKHU EUHDNSRLQW WKDQ WKH RWKHU WZR 0DUDXGHUV :KHQ ZH WKUHZ DOO WKUHH RI WKH 0DUDXGHUV DW WKH VDPH VXUIDFH WKH 0XWLQ\ ZDV ULJKW LQ WKH PLGGOH

15

Length: 7KH ER[ ¿QLVK PDNHV WKH 0XWLQ\ EHVW IRU PHGLXP WR PHGLXP KHDY\ YROXPHV RI RLO 7KH SROLVKHG K\EULG FRYHU WDNHV YHU\ ZHOO WR FRYHU FKDQJHV WR DGMXVW WKH OHQJWK

16

Back End: 7KH EDFN HQG UHDFWLRQ RI WKH 0DUDXGHU 0XWLQ\ ZLOO ¿OO DQ\ JDSV XVHUV VHH between the Marauder and the Marauder Madness. The reaction is different for any DV8 release at this price point.

49

Total Hook: 7KH WRWDO KRRN RI WKH 0DUDXGHU 0XWLQ\ DW WKH ER[ ¿QLVK JDYH XV VOLJKWO\ OHVV total hook than the other two Marauders. Bowlers looking for more hook can easily achieve WKLV E\ UHPRYLQJ WKH SROLVKHG ER[ ¿QLVK

Scale: 1-25

Scale: 1-20

Scale: 1-100

core revs up late in the midlane.

Comments: The Marauder Mutiny is the third release in the Marauder line. This ball uses the same Marauder core with a new hybrid coverstock. It gave us the best reaction on our medium test pattern. The Mutiny picked up sooner than the Marauder and was less angular at the breakpoint. The testers were able to camp out in the area they were comfortable because the lane going through transition had a minimal effect on the reaction from WKH 0DUDXGHU 0XWLQ\ :H XVHG WKLV EDOO IRU WKH HQWLUH VHVVLRQ ZLWKRXW DOWHULQJ WKH ER[ ¿QLVK 7KH KHDY\ WHVW SDWWHUQ DOVR SURYLGHG XV ZLWK D SUHWW\ JRRG EDOO UHDFWLRQ :H ZHUH DEOH WR PRYH RXU IHHW ULJKW DQG SOD\ VWUDLJKWHU GRZQ WKH ODQH ZLWK WKLV EDOO :H PDGH D VXUIDFH DGMXVWPHQW WR WKH WHVW EDOOV WR VHH LI ZH FRXOG JHW DQ HYHQ EHWWHU UHDFWLRQ :H DFKLHYHG WKLV E\ XVLQJ D 6LD$LU SDG RQ DOO WKUHH EDOOV 7KH DGGHG VXUIDFH JDYH XV PRUH KRRN on this slicker pattern. The hybrid cover still retained plenty of energy for the breakpoint and back end for us ZLWK WKH URXJKHU VXUIDFH 7KH ER[ ¿QLVK DOVR ZRUNHG ZHOO RQ RXU VSRUW SDWWHUQ 7KH K\EULG FRYHU JDYH XV WKH ULJKW DPRXQW RI VNLG DQG WUDFWLRQ RQ WKLV Ã&#x20AC;DWWHU FRQGLWLRQ :H SOD\HG VWUDLJKWHU DQJOHV DQG KDG D JRRG DPRXQW RI VXFFHVV :H RQFH DJDLQ UHPRYHG WKH SROLVK ZLWK D 6LD$LU SDG 7KLV VXUIDFH FKDQJH DOORZHG XV WR PRYH IDUWKHU OHIW ZKLOH VWLOO JLYLQJ XV WKH VDPH VWUHQJWK DW WKH EUHDNSRLQW 7KH GU\ SDWWHUQ JDYH XV VRPH WURXEOH :H tried to raise the underlying grit before reapplying the polish but we still struggled with the Mutiny wanting to hook too much.

SUMMARY Strengths: The Marauder Mutiny will be useful for a wide variety of bowlers on a wide variety of patterns. The hybrid coverstock is the big selling point.

Weakness: +HDY\ YROXPHV RI RLO ZLOO KDYH ERZOHUV ORRNLQJ WR FKDQJH WKH ER[ ¿QLVK RU JUDEELQJ DQRWKHU EDOO :H KDG PRGHUDWH VXFFHVV RQ the drier pattern.

Overall 7KH 0XWLQ\ ¿OOV WKH JDS LQ WKLV OLQH XS EHWZHHQ WKH 0DUDXGHU DQG WKH 0DUDXGHU 0DGQHVV :KLOH LW LV VOLJKWO\ VPRRWKHU DW WKH EUHDNSRLQW DW WKH ER[ ¿QLVK WKH UHDFWLRQ VKDSH ZLOO DOORZ ERZOHUV WR SOD\ DQ DUHD EHWZHHQ WKH RWKHU WZR 0DUDXGHUV

PAGE 36 4 PAGE

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

BALL TALK REVIEWS

SOURCE

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 5/6/7 MEDIUM: 9.5/9.5/9.5 DRY: 8/8/6 SPORT: 6/6/5

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: XL 2000 Type: Reactive Pearl Box Finish: 800 Abranet, 1000, $EUDORQ Z 3+Ě&#x2020; Color: Black/Purple Core Density: Dual Asymmetrical Enhanced Mass Bias: .013 For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.49

RG: The Source takes the core directly from the Mission. The only difference is the core is

.050

Diff/Flare: 7KH GLIIHUHQWLDO LV ULJKW DW WKH ÂżYH LQFK PDUNHU 7ZHHQHU DQG 6WURNHU ZHUH MXVW

7.5

Scale: 1-10

Torque: The Source is up there with the most angular balls from Ebonite. This ball makes a YHU\ GHÂżQHG PRYH IRU SOD\HUV RI DOO VW\OHV ZKHQ LW VHHV VRPH GU\ ERDUGV

15

Length: The polished pearl cover provides plenty of length. We have come to like balls that

17.5

Scale: 1-20

Back End: 7KH ELJ EDFN HQG PRYH WKH 6RXUFH KDV PDNHV LW D EDOO WKDW LV MXVW IXQ WR WKURZ 6ODS RQ \RXU IDYRULWH OD\RXW DQG JHW UHDG\ WR VWDQG OHIW WKURZ ULJKW DQG ZDWFK LW FRPH EDFN

51

Total Hook: This ball revs up quickly in the front and has plenty of back end motion. The

Scale: 1-25

Scale: 1-100

poured from a black material instead of the traditional brown.

XQGHU ÂżYH LQFKHV ZKLOH &UDQNHU VDZ WKH IXOO SRWHQWLDO IURP WKH 6RXUFH

KDYH D ORZHU ÂżQLVK WKDQ $EUDORQ XQGHU WKH SROLVK

combination of the two allows for a big hook potential.

Comments: 7KH 6RXUFH LV WKH ÂżUVW UHOHDVH IURP WKH QHZO\ UHEUDQGHG (ERQLWH 7KLV EDOO IHDWXUHV WKH ROG VFKRRO â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eâ&#x20AC;? logo that was used in the past instead of the logo Ebonite has been using recently. This ball provides a high performance reaction at the price tag of an upper mid release. This is a result of providing bowlers with the highly successful Mission core shape wrapped in a new XL2000 pearlized coverstock. This ball provides a big skid/snap reaction for bowlers who want to see a check mark shaped reaction down lane. This type of reaction ZDV EHVW IRU XV RQ RXU PHGLXP WHVW SDWWHUQ $OO RI WKH WHVWHUV UHDOO\ HQMR\HG WKH IUHH KRRN WKH\ KDG IURP WKLV EDOO 7KH\ VDZ D ELJ FKDQJH RI GLUHFWLRQ DQG D PDVVLYH EDFN HQG UHDFWLRQ %RZOHUV ZKR OLNH WR VHH WKHLU EDOO Ă&#x20AC;LS RYHU hard at the breakpoint will like the Source as much as we did on medium type conditions. The dry test pattern JDYH XV RXU QH[W EHVW UHDFWLRQ &UDQNHU KDG VRPH SUREOHPV FRQWUROOLQJ WKH EUHDNSRLQW RQ WKLV SDWWHUQ DQG KDG WR UHPRYH WKH SROLVK ZLWK $EUDORQ WR KHOS VPRRWK RXW WKH UHDFWLRQ 7ZHHQHU DQG 6WURNHU ZHUH VWRNHG WKDW WKHLU ball could turn the corner this hard. They liked seeing the big motion they usually do not see from their bowling ball. We had equal struggles on our sport and heavy test patterns. The problem we had on the sport pattern was D TXLFN DQG HDV\ Âż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

SUMMARY Strengths: The back end recovery is what we liked best from the Source. We could get this one back from nearly anywhere on our medium test pattern.

Weakness: ([WUHPHO\ ZHW RU GU\ FRQGLWLRQV ZLOO FDXVH VRPH SUREOHPV IRU WKH 6RXUFH DW WKH ER[ ÂżQLVK 7KLV FRYHU LV GXUDEOH HQRXJK WR WDNH easily to surface changes.

Overall: The Source offers a high performance ball at an upper mid performance price tag from Ebonite. This ball provides excellent back end reaction on medium patterns.

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 5 37 PAGE

BALL TALK REVIEWS

ABSOLUTE CURVE

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 5/6/7 MEDIUM: 9.5/9/9 DRY: 8/7/5 SPORT: 7/7/7

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: H-150 Crossover Reactive Type: Reactive Hybrid Box Finish: 500/500/500 $EUDORQ $EUDQHW Z 3+Ě&#x2020; Color: Black/Orange/Yellow Core Density: Dual Symmetrical For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.48

RG: 7KH $EVROXWH &XUYH IHDWXUHV D QHZ FRUH VKDSH IRU +DPPHU 7KH ORZ 5* VKDSH JHWV WKLV

.048

Diff/Flare: 7KH QHZ )DW 0D[ FRUH VKDSH RIIHUV DURXQG ÂżYH LQFKHV RI Ă&#x20AC;DUH SRWHQWLDO 7KLV LV

7

Torque: This ball was angular at the breakpoint. None of the testers had a problem going away from the headpin with this ball.

6FDOH

15 6FDOH

16.5 6FDOH

50 6FDOH

ball started really quickly.

what allowed us to really open up our medium test pattern.

Length: The cover of this new release puts it right with the Arson Pearl in the length de partment. This ball did not squirt in the oil on the medium pattern like other polished balls sometimes can.

Back End: :H VDZ D VWURQJ PRYH LQ WKH PLGODQH DQG EDFN HQG IURP WKH $EVROXWH &XUYH %RZOHUV ZKR ZDQW WR JR PRUH OHIW WR ULJKW WKURXJK WKH IURQW ZLOO OLNH WKH PRWLRQ WKLV RQH creates.

Total Hook: It was not by much, but the tester where we get these ratings from had the $EVROXWH &XUYH MXVW D WDG ZHDNHU WKDQ WKH $UVRQ +\EULG 7KH RWKHU WHVWHUV WKRXJKW WKDW LW hooked slightly more.

Comments: 7KH $EVROXWH &XUYH LV WKH QHZHVW PLG SULFH UHOHDVH IURP +DPPHU 7KLV EDOO ZLOO JLYH XVHUV D different reaction from the previous Arson series. The Absolute Curve is all new with a new logo pattern for +DPPHU DV ZHOO DV D QHZ FRYHUVWRFN DQG FRUH 2Q DOO WKH QHZ +DPPHU UHOHDVHV WKH +DPPHU ORJR ZLOO EH RQ both sides of the ball, while the ball name will be on the front. Like with most hybrid covered bowling balls, ZH JHW WKH EDFN HQG PRWLRQ RI D SHDUO ZLWKRXW WKH RYHU SXVK LQ WKH RLO WKH\ FDQ VRPHWLPHV FUHDWH :H IRXQG WKLV reaction to be most useful on our medium test pattern. The Absolute Curve let all three testers take advantage of the strong midlane read. The new Fat Max core revs up easily and, combined with the new hybrid cover, allowed for a big move when it saw friction. The testers were not in agreement about how much the ball actually hooked.

7ZHHQHU KDG LW MXVW XQGHU DQ $UVRQ +\EULG ZKLOH &UDQNHU DQG 7ZHHQHU WKRXJKW LW KRRNHG PRUH EHFDXVH RI KRZ PXFK PRWLRQ WKH\ VDZ GRZQ ODQH :KLOH ZH DJUHHG WR GLVDJUHH RQ WKH DPRXQW RI KRRN WKHUH ZDV QR GRXEW WKDW we liked what we saw from the motion and had no reason to touch the cover on this pattern. The dry test pattern DOORZHG 7ZHHQHU DQG 6WURNHU WR PRYH IDUWKHU OHIW DQG EHOO\ WKH EDOO IDUWKHU ULJKW &UDQNHU KDG WRR PXFK KRRN IURP WKLV EDOO RQ WKLV SDWWHUQ +H UHPRYHG WKH SROLVK ZLWK D $EUDORQ SDG EHIRUH UHDSSO\LQJ 3RZHU+RXVH )DFWRU\ )LQLVK 7KH DGGHG OHQJWK KHOSHG KLP VRPH EXW KH VWLOO IRXQG LW GLIÂżFXOW WR FRQWURO WKH EUHDNSRLQW 7KH Absolute Curve will be very useful on medium volume sport patterns like ours. The ball picks up early enough on the lane to provide a consistent read and a powerful back end motion without having a violent reaction to the IULFWLRQ $OO WKUHH WHVWHUV QHHGHG WR UHPRYH WKH SROLVK RQ RXU KHDY\ WHVW SDWWHUQ :H KDG WKH DGGHG VXUIDFH ZH QHHGHG ZKHQ ZH WRRN RII WKH SROLVK ZLWK $EUDORQ IRU 7ZHHQHU DQG 6WURNHU DQG $EUDORQ IRU &UDQNHU

SUMMARY Strengths: The Absolute Curve provides a big amount of performance for the price point. This ball offers the best performance on medium oil.

Weakness: Patterns that are low in volume, short in length, or have a ton of oil will all cause some problems for the Absolute Curve. The cover takes well to changes to help conquer these conditions.

Overall 7KLV EDOO SURYLGHV D WHUULÂżF EDOO PRWLRQ RQ D 7+6 :KHUH RWKHU EDOOV FDQ VWDUW VHHLQJ VRPH RYHU XQGHU WKH $EVROXWH &XUYH FUHDWHV enough hook in the middle, especially for a polished cover.

PAGE 38 6 PAGE

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

BALL TALK REVIEWS

AMP

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 9.5/9.5/9.5 MEDIUM: 8/8/8 DRY: 5/3/3 SPORT: 8/7/7

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: Overdrive Hybrid Reactive Type: Reactive Hybrid Box Finish: 500, 1000 Abralon w/ PowerHouse Clean 'n Sheen Color: Red/Blue Core Density: Dual Asymmetrical Enhanced Mass Bias: .013 For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.49

RG: 7KH $PS XVHV D EUDQG QHZ FRUH VKDSH 7KH 3RZHUVKRW FRUH UHYV XS TXLFNO\ RII WKH

.054

Diff/Flare: 7KH QHZ FRUH VKDSH SURYLGHV D ELJ Ã&#x20AC;DUH SRWHQWLDO :LWK WKH ¿QLVK RI WKLV EDOO LW ZLOO EH HDV\ WR VHH RYHU ¿YH LQFKHV RI Ã&#x20AC;DUH

7.5

Torque: 7KH $PS JDYH XV D ELJ PRYH DW WKH EUHDNSRLQW 7KH K\EULG FRYHUVWRFN ZLWK WKLV ER[ ¿QLVK SURYLGHG PRUH DQJOH WKDQ ZH H[SHFWHG

6FDOH

13

ERZOHU¶V KDQG

6FDOH

Length: 7KH UHLQWURGXFWLRQ RI 3RZHU+RXVH &OHDQ Q 6KHHQ KDV RSHQHG XS PDQ\ QHZ ¿QLVK LQJ SURFHVVHV 7KH ORZHU VDQGLQJ JULW FRYHUHG E\ WKH FRPSRXQG ¿QLVK SURYLGHV OHVV OHQJWK WKDQ EDOOV ¿QLVKHG ZLWK 3RZHU+RXVH )DFWRU\ )LQLVK 3ROLVK

17

Back End: 7KH $PS LV D UHOHDVH ZLWK WUDFWLRQ LQ WKH RLO DQG D ELJ PRYH DW WKH EDFN HQG :H

6FDOH

53 6FDOH

IRXQG WKLV EDOO YDOXDEOH RQ WKH PDMRULW\ RI RXU WHVW SDWWHUQV

Total Hook: 7KH WRWDO KRRN RI WKH $PS ZLOO PDNH LW D JRRG FKRLFH IRU D ZLGH YDULHW\ RI PHGLXP WR KHDY\ SDWWHUQV 6WUDLJKWHU SOD\HUV DOO WKH ZD\ WR WKRVH ZKR OLNH WR PDXO LW DW WKH ERWWRP ZLOO ¿QG D XVH IRU WKH $PS LQ WKHLU DUVHQDO

Comments: 7KH $PS RIIHUV DOO QHZ HOHPHQWV IRU +DPPHU ERZOLQJ ,W XVHV WKH QHZ FRUH VKDSH QDPHG 3RZHUVKRW 7KLV QHZ ORZHU 5* FRUH LV VXUURXQGHG E\ D EUDQG QHZ K\EULG FRYHUVWRFN 7KH 2YHUGULYH +\EULG 5HDFWLYH FRYHUVWRFN FRPHV RXW RI WKH ER[ ZLWK WKH ¿QLVKLQJ SURFHVV RI $EUDORQ DQG WKHQ D FRDW RI 3RZHU+RXVH &OHDQ Q 6KHHQ 7KH VWURQJ FRYHUVWRFN ER[ ¿QLVK DQG FRUH JDYH XV WKH EHVW EDOO UHDFWLRQ RQ RXU KHDY\ WHVW SDWWHUQ 7KLV FRYHU UHDOO\ VKRZHG KRZ VWURQJ LW ZDV RQ WKLV SDWWHUQ ,W LV QRW D UHJXODU RFFXUUHQFH IRU XV WR KDYH HQRXJK WUDFWLRQ RQ WKLV SDWWHUQ IURP EDOOV DW D SROLVKHG RU FRPSRXQGHG ¿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¿QLVK SURYLGHG WKH SHUIHFW DPRXQW RI WUDFWLRQ DQG FRQWURO IRU RXU VSRUW SDWWHUQ 6WURNHU EHQH¿WHG WKH PRVW IURP WKH $PS RQ WKLV SDWWHUQ +H ZDV DEOH WR KDYH DOO NLQGV RI DUHD &UDQNHU DQG 6WURNHU ZHUH QRW IDU EHKLQG DQG DOO WKUHH WHVWHUV DJUHHG WKHUH ZDV QR UHDVRQ WR FKDQJH WKH VXUIDFH IRU WKH VSRUW VKRW 7KH GU\ SDWWHUQ FDXVHG VRPH SUREOHPV EXW WKDW LV ZKHQ \RX ZRXOG ZDQW WR EDOO GRZQ LQWR VRPHWKLQJ WKDW LV QRW GHVLJQHG WR FUHDWH DV PXFK WUDFWLRQ DV WKH $PS GRHV

SUMMARY Strengths: 7KH VKDSH DQG WRWDO PRWLRQ WKH $PS SURYLGHV LV WKH ELJJHVW EHQH¿W 7KH EDOO UHYV XS TXLFNO\ EXW VWRUHV MXVW WKH ULJKW DPRXQW RI HQHUJ\ IRU WKH PLGODQH DQG EDFN HQG Weakness: 2QO\ UHDOO\ VKRUW GU\ SDWWHUQV ZLOO NHHS WKH $PS RXW RI SOD\ 7KDW LV WKH RQO\ ZHDNQHVV ZH VDZ IURP WKLV EDOO Overall 7KH $PS LV WKH ELJJHVW KRRNLQJ RI WKH WKUHH QHZ +DPPHU UHOHDVHV 7KLV LV WKH EDOO RXW RI WKLV VHDVRQ¶V QHZ UHOHDVHV WKDW ZLOO EH IRU KHDYLHU FRQGLWLRQV

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 7 39 PAGE

BALL TALK REVIEWS

SPIKE

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 4/5/7 MEDIUM: 9/9/9.5 DRY: 8/9.5/7 SPORT: 5/6/6

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: GTR III Type: Reactive Pearl Box Finish: 800 Abranet/1000/2000 Abralon w PowerHouse Factory Finish Polish Color: Blue/Orange Core Density: Dual Symmetrical For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.56

RG: The Spike uses a new high RG core shape. Of the three new Hammer releases, this ball

.054

Diff/Flare: 7KH QHZ FRUH RIIHUV D ERDW ORDG RI ÀDUH SRWHQWLDO 7KLV EDOO VDYHV HYHU\WKLQJ LW has for the back part of the lane.

6.5

Torque: The GTR3 coverstock allows the Spike to make up a lot of ground at the back of

Scale: 1-10

the lane. The big move the Spike makes at the breakpoint is continuous through the back end.

16

Scale: 1-25

Length: The polished cover and high RG core easily get this ball down the lane. The Spike provides a motion unlike any other in the Hammer line.

17

Back End: This is what the Spike is all about. Everything it has going for it, from the core

49

Total Hook: The Spike goes the longest before it hooks, so it does not have a whole lot of

Scale: 1-20

Scale: 1-100

gets through the fronts with the most ease.

to the cover, makes it want to have all its motion here.

lane left to do it. This makes it less overall than the AMP and Absolute Curve.

Comments: Everything on the Spike is new for Hammer. Even though the GTR3 cover has been used before, the Spike offers it in a pearlized version and it surrounds a brand new high RG, high differential core shape.

This combination of elements produces a ball that wastes zero energy getting to the breakpoint. A ball with this type of reaction was best for us on our medium test pattern. We liked it there just a tad bit more than on our dry pattern. All three players saw the Spike clear the front with no effort, then make a big turn when it got out of the SDWWHUQ ,W WRRN D IHZ VKRWV WR ¿JXUH RXW RXU DGMXVWPHQW ZDV JRLQJ WR EH LQFKLQJ ULJKW DV WKH RLO EHJDQ WR SXVK down to the back end. Tweener and Stroker moved their feet and eyes a few boards right as the session went on, allowing them to catch more friction to go around the carrydown we had created. Cranker was able to move in with his feet and bust out the big wheel getting it to same spot Tweener and Stroker were throwing. Moving to our dry pattern, it was hard for Tweener to miss. He was able to really jack up his ball speed and throw rockets down the second arrow. Stroker was actually left of him on this pattern, letting the ball push itself down the lane and turn over at the back end. Cranker had the most trouble of the three, as the Spike wanted to hook too much at the back end for him. He removed the polish with a 4000 Abralon pad and tried to roll more up the back of the ball on this pattern. Between changing his release and the surface adjustment, he was able to get to the SRFNHW :H VWUXJJOHG RQ RXU KHDY\ DQG VSRUW SDWWHUQV ZLWK WKH 6SLNH DW WKH ER[ ¿QLVK 6NLG ÀLS UHDFWLRQV DUH QRW something we like to see on either of these, so we roughed up the covers with a 2000 Abralon pad. The surface change gave us more traction in the oil and smoothed out the back end response, giving us a better reaction on both patterns.

SUMMARY Strengths: The Spike’s new core shape provides easy length through the front of the lane on everything we threw it on. The added length was D EHQH¿W DV SDWWHUQV EHJDQ WR WUDQVLWLRQ Weakness: Long oil patterns will make the Spike unpredictable at the breakpoint. We had to remove the polish for our heavy test pattern.

Overall: The new core shape combined with this proven cover provides a new shape to the Hammer line this season. This ball will be the straightest of the new three summer releases.

PAGE 40 8 PAGE

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

BALL TALK REVIEWS

REAX PEARL

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 9.5/9.5/9.5 MEDIUM: 8/6/4 DRY: 3/3/3 SPORT: 7/7/7

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Type: Reactive Pearl Box Finish: 500/4000 SiaAir Color: Black/Red/Yellow Pearl Core Density: Dual Asymmetrical Enhanced Mass Bias: 0.013 For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.49

RG: The Reax Pearl uses the same core shape as the May Reax release and provides the same

.054

Diff/Flare: 7KH FRUH VWLOO SURGXFHV RYHU ÂżYH LQFKHV RI Ă&#x20AC;DUH SRWHQWLDO /LNH ZH QRWLFHG ZLWK WKH 5HD[ 6ROLG RXU Ă&#x20AC;DUH OLQHV ZHUH VSUHDG IDUWKHU DSDUW WKDQ ZLWK VRPH RWKHU SURGXFWV

7.5

Torque: The addition of pearl to the coverstock allows this Reax to pop slightly harder at WKH VSRW 7KH ER[ ÂżQLVK VPRRWKHV RXW WKH UHDFWLRQ VOLJKWO\ PRUH WKDQ D SROLVKHG SHDUO ZRXOG

13

Scale: 1-25

Length: 7KH URXJK ER[ ÂżQLVK JLYHV WKLV EDOO D ORZ OHQJWK UDWLQJ IRU D SHDUO 7KLV LV D SHDUO that has no problem with heavy oil.

16

Back End: $V ZH NHHS PHQWLRQLQJ WKH ER[ ÂżQLVK NLQG RI QHJDWHV HYHU\WKLQJ SHDUOV KDYH

Scale: 1-20

been used for previously. The back end motion is lower than other pearls, but makes up for it in the total amount of hook.

52

Total Hook: The total hook is just under the Reax Solid. Changing the cover on either of these would widen the gap between them.

Scale: 1-10

Scale: 1-100

early revving action in the heads.

Comments: The Reax Pearl is the second release from Radical Bowling Technologies since the move to Brunswick coverstocks and the collaboration of Phil Cardinale and Mo Pinel. The Reax Pearl adds come color WR WKH 5HD[ OLQH XWLOL]LQJ D EODFN UHG DQG \HOORZ YHQHHU WKDW FRPHV DW D 6LD$LU VDQGHG ÂżQLVK 7KH strength of this cover and core gave us our best line to the pocket on the heavy oil test pattern. The testers were able to use the surface to their advantage, playing deeper in the pattern than they could with other pearls. It was YHU\ GLIÂżFXOW IRU DQ\ RI WKH WHVWHUV WR JHW WKH 5HD[ 3HDUO SDVW WKH GHVLUHG EUHDNSRLQW RQ WKLV SDWWHUQ ZLWK WKH OLQHV they had. The surface will really come in handy for low rev players who still want to see some motion at the back HQG 2QO\ 6WURNHU ZDV DEOH WR KDYH VXFFHVV RQ WKH PHGLXP SDWWHUQ DW WKH ER[ ÂżQLVK 7KH RWKHU WZR WHVWHUV VDZ the Reax Pearl hook at their toes and cross over and go in the face shot after shot. Cranker and Tweener added Rough Buff to get the length they needed on this pattern. With the cover change, they were able to get back into the pocket. There is little to no reason to try and make this ball work on short, dry house conditions like our dry test pattern. We raised all three balls to a 4000 SiaAir, applied Rough Buff and High Gloss polish, and even WKHQ VWLOO KDG WRR PXFK KRRN 7KH ER[ ÂżQLVK ZDV EHVW IRU XV RQ RXU VSRUW SDWWHUQ 7KH VDQGHG FRYHU JDYH XV DOO WKH WUDFWLRQ ZH ZDQWHG LQ WKH RLO ZLWKRXW EXUQLQJ XS RQ XV ,W ZDV DOVR D EHQHÂżW WR VPRRWK RXW WKH UHVSRQVH WR the friction once the ball exited the pattern. We think this ball would be just as useful on sport patterns that are even longer with more volume.

SUMMARY Strengths: The Reax Pearl provides hook in the oil because of the sanded cover and combines it with the back end motion of a pearl ball. This ball had no problems on our heavy oil pattern.

Weakness: 7KH URXJK ÂżQLVK RI WKLV DJJUHVVLYH ERZOLQJ EDOO PDNHV LW GLIÂżFXOW WR XVH RQ OLJKWHU RLO SDWWHUQV (YHQ ZKHQ ZH DGGHG SROLVK WR WKH FRYHU WKH VWURQJ FRUH Ă&#x20AC;DUHG WRR PXFK IRU RXU VKRUW GU\ SDWWHUQ Overall: The Reax pearl is just a hair less total hook than the Reax. The pearl added to the cover provides more length, more back end, and just a little less total motion than the Reax.

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 41

BALL TALK REVIEWS

TORRID AFFAIR

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 6/7/7 MEDIUM: 9.5/9/9 DRY: 6/5/5 SPORT: 7/7/7

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Type: Reactive Solid Box Finish: 500/1000/2000 SiaAir/ 5RXJK %XÌ&#x2020; +LJK *ORVV Color: Dark Red/Light Red Solid Core Density: Dual Symmetrical For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.48

RG: 7KH 7RUULG $IIDLU XVHV WKH VDPH FRUH GHVLJQ DV WKH SUHYLRXV UHOHDVH WKH 7RUULG (OLWH

.047

Diff/Flare: 7KH FRUH VKDSH SURYLGHV MXVW XQGHU ¿YH LQFKHV RI Ã&#x20AC;DUH SRWHQWLDO 7KH WHVWHUV

6.5

Torque: 7KLV EDOO LV VWURQJHU DW WKH EUHDNSRLQW WKDQ WKH 7RUULG (OLWH 7KH VWURQJHU FKDQJH RI GLUHFWLRQ LV D ELJ EHQH¿W WR SLQ FDUU\

6FDOH

14.5

7KLV FRUH UHYV XS TXLFNO\ ULJKW RII WKH KDQG

VDZ GLIIHUHQFHV GXH WR WKHLU UHY UDWHV &UDQNHU ZDV FORVH WR ¿YH LQFKHV RI Ã&#x20AC;DUH ZKLOH 6WURNHU DQG 7ZHHQHU ZHUH FORVHU WR IRXU LQFKHV

6FDOH

Length: 7KH ER[ ¿QLVK SURYLGHV QHDUO\ LGHQWLFDO OHQJWK WR WKH (OLWH WKURXJK WKH IURQW RI WKH ODQH 7KH FKDQJH ZH VDZ EHWZHHQ WKH (OLWH DQG WKH $IIDLU ZDV WKH PRYH DW WKH EDFN HQG

16

Back End: 7KH EDFN HQG UHDFWLRQ IURP WKH $IIDLU LV VWURQJHU WKDQ WKH EDFN HQG RI WKH (OLWH

6FDOH

50 6FDOH

$GGLWLRQDOO\ WKH $IIDLU ZLOO EH PRUH FRQWLQXRXV WKDQ WKH (OLWH WKURXJK WKH SLQ GHFN

Total Hook: 7KH WRWDO KRRN LV HDVLO\ PRUH WKDQ ZH KDG VHHQ IURP WKH 7RUULG (OLWH 7KH VROLG FRYHUVWRFN FUHDWHV WUDFWLRQ PRUH HDVLO\ LQ WKH RLO WKDQ WKH FRYHU XVHG RQ WKH SUHYLRXV 7RUULG UHOHDVHV

Comments: 7KH 7RUULG $IIDLU LV WKH ¿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¿QLVK ZH SXVKHG WKH 7RUULG $IIDLU SDVW WKH EUHDNSRLQW ZKHQ ZH JRW IDVW ZLWK RXU EDOO VSHHG 7KH GU\ WHVW SDWWHUQ JDYH XV WRR PXFK KRRN WRR TXLFNO\ :H LQFUHDVHG RXU EDOO VSHHG DQG PDGH VXUH WR PRYH RXU EUHDNSRLQW DV IDU GRZQ WKH ODQH DV ZH FRXOG 2QO\ ERZOHUV RQ WKH ORZHU VLGH RI WKH UHY UDWH VFDOH VKRXOG DWWHPSW WR XVH WKH 7RUULG $IIDLU RQ GULHU FRQGLWLRQV

SUMMARY Strengths: 7KH DGGHG FRQWURO DQG KRRNLQJ PRWLRQ WKH 7RUULG $IIDLU RIIHUV FRPSDUHG WR WKH 7RUULG (OLWH DUH LW ELJJHVW EHQH¿WV 7KH FRYHU WDNHV YHU\ ZHOO WR VXUIDFH FKDQJHV Weakness: 2QO\ H[WUHPHV RI WKH ODQH SDWWHUQ VSHFWUXP ZLOO NHHS WKH 7RUULG $IIDLU LQ WKH EDJ 7KHUH DUH RWKHU EDOOV EHWWHU IRU WKHVH FRQGLWLRQV WKDQ WU\LQJ WR PDNH WKLV RQH ZRUN RQ WKHP Overall 7KH 7RUULG $IIDLU WDNHV WKH 7RUULG (OLWH DQG JLYHV XVHUV PRUH WRWDO KRRN 7KH VROLG FRYHU PRYHV WKH EUHDNSRLQW FORVHU DOORZLQJ IRU D PRUH FRQVLVWHQW PRYH WR WKH SRFNHW

PAGE 42

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

BALL TALK REVIEWS

HY-ROAD PEARL

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 5/7/7 MEDIUM: 9/9/9 DRY: 6/4/3 SPORT: 7/7/7

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: R2S Pearl Reactive Type: Reactive Pearl Box Finish: 1500 grit polish Color: Blue/Purple Core Density: Dual Symmetrical For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.57

RG: The core used in the T-Roads and original Hy-Road is back, surrounded by the R2S

.046

Diff/Flare: 7KH +\ 5RDG 3HDUO RIIHUV MXVW RYHU IRXU DQG D KDOI LQFKHV RI Ă&#x20AC;DUH SRWHQWLDO $OO

7.5

Torque: The Hy-Road Pearl is strong at the breakpoint. We feel this ball is stronger than its predecessors so it can make a move down lane.

15

Length: The Hy-Road Pearl seems to pick up a bit earlier than other polished versions of the R2S pearl cover. This just gave us more total motion.

17

Back End: We just did not see the sharp change of direction we saw from the T-Road Pearl DQG 9LFWRU\ 5RDG 7KH +\ 5RDG 3HDUO LV QR VORXFK DW WKH EDFN HQG EXW LW MXVW VHHPV WKH RWKHU balls we mentioned popped harder.

51

Total Hook: The Hy-Road Pearl makes up for any weakness by easily covering more ERDUGV WKDQ WKH 9LFWRU\ 5RDG DQG 7 5RDG 3HDUO 5 6 VHHPV WR JHW VWURQJ HYHU\ WLPH ZH VHH it on a new release.

Scale: 1-10

Scale: 1-25

Scale: 1-20

Scale: 1-100

3HDUO FRYHU 7KHUH KDYH EHHQ PRGLÂżHG YHUVLRQV XVHG LQ WKH )LUH &URVV DQG 9LFWRU\ 5RDGV

WKUHH WHVWHUV VDZ DURXQG WKH VDPH DPRXQW RI Ă&#x20AC;DUH

Comments: 7KH +\ 5RDG 3HDUO LV WKH ÂżUVW WLPH 6WRUP KDV XVHG WKLV YHUVLRQ RI WKLV FRUH VLQFH WKH RULJLQDO +\ 5RDG 7KH\ KDYH LQYHUWHG LW D IHZ WLPHV LQ WKH &URVVURDG DQG 9LFWRU\ 5RDG 2Q WKH VXFFHVVIXO ÂżYH \HDU UXQ of the original Hy-Road, however, they have used it again, this time in a pearlized coverstock. This ball was best for us on the medium test pattern. We had a ton of hook with this ball, which was a shock to us because we were expecting more of the reaction shape we had seen from the T-Road Pearl. The Hy-Road Pearl started hooking quicker and gave us more total motion than we thought it would. We were able to move farther left and the big KRRNLQJ PRWLRQ IURP WKLV EDOO DOORZHG XV UHFRYHU\ LQ WKH RLO 2XU QH[W EHVW UHDFWLRQ ZDV DFWXDOO\ RQ RXU VSRUW pattern. All three testers were able to take full advantage of the extra hook this ball provided without losing energy in the front. All three testers were able to play a small swing right and the Hy-Road Pearl made it back shot after shot. Because of the added hook, we did not have the ball too angular when it got out of the pattern.

This ball surprised us again by providing a better reaction on the heavy than it did on our dry test pattern. When we think shiny pearl, we think easy length and not enough hook on the slick stuff. Not with the Hy-Road Pearl.

7ZHHQHU DQG &UDQNHU ZHUH ERWK DEOH WR XVH LW DW WKH ER[ ÂżQLVK RQ RXU KHDY\ WHVW SDWWHUQ 6ORZLQJ GRZQ WKHLU EDOO speed and playing closer to the track allowed these testers to get to the pocket on their good shots. Stroker needed some help, but not much, as we just removed the polish by using Stormâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Reacta Scuff on the cover. It removed the polish and easily added the extra hook he needed to get this ball to the pocket.

SUMMARY Strengths: The Hy-Road Pearl is cleaner through the front and has a quicker response to friction than the original Hy-Road. The pearl cover turns the corner much harder than the Hy-Road due to the added energy this ball retains at the breakpoint.

Weakness: As odd as it seems for a polished pearl ball, this ball hooks too much on drier patterns. Balls like the Tropical Breeze will be better on these types of patterns.

Overall: The Hy-Road Pearl might be the strongest shiny pearlized ball on the market. This ball had no problem creating lots of hook and back end on medium patterns.

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 43

BALL TALK REVIEWS

MARVEL-S

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 9.5/9.5/9.5 MEDIUM: 8/8/8 DRY: 5/3/3 SPORT: 7/7/8

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: NRG Solid Reactive Type: Reactive Solid Box Finish: 3000 Abralon Color: Aqua/Green/Black Core Density: Dual Symmetrical For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.48

RG: The Centripetal core is back again at the Master price point. This core has been un-

.050

Diff/Flare: 7KLV FRUH VWLOO RIIHUV ÂżYH LQFKHV RI Ă&#x20AC;DUH SRWHQWLDO :H VDZ FORVH WR WKH VDPH amount of oil rings for all three testers.

7

Scale: 1-10

Torque: We had this being a more rolly type core in all the previous Marvels, even the Marvel Pearl. The addition of the NRG cover provides even more continuation through the pin deck.

11

Scale: 1-25

Length: 7KH JULW ÂżQLVK RQ WKH 0DUYHO 6 JLYHV LW SOHQW\ RI IRRWLQJ LQ WKH RLO 7KLV FRYHU takes easily to changes for bowlers who need more length.

16.5

Back End: As we touched on in the torque section, this ball is no more angular than any of

Scale: 1-20

the previous releases using the Centripetal core. The shape of this ball is a strong, controlled arc through the entire lane.

54

Total Hook: The addition of the NRG cover gives this ball more hook than any of the IQs or Marvels before it.

Scale: 1-100

touched in this line since the Prodigy was introduced with the exceptions of the two IQ Tours.

Comments: Storm once again has brought back a name from the past. We saw this a few months ago in the Thunder line with the release of the Reign of Power after they had returned to the Road names in that line. After the last few releases carrying the IQ! banner, the Marvel name is back once again. This time it has a new trick, WKH DGGLWLRQ RI WKH 15* FRYHUVWRFN 7KLV FRYHU KDG RQO\ EHHQ XVHG LQ WKH 3UHPLHU OLQH UHOHDVHV WKH ÂżUVW EHLQJ the Virtual Gravity Nano. At the time of its release, the Nano had taken over the title of most total hook in our magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history. The addition of this abrasive coverstock to the proven Centripetal core gave us our best match up on the heavy oil test pattern. We saw much more continuation and friction than we had seen from the Marvels and IQ. All three testers were easily able to get to the pocket the entire testing session on these patterns and we had no reason to alter the coverstock. We moved to the medium pattern next and only our lowest rev player was able to keep this ball in the pocket. Tweener and Stroker added a layer of Step 2 compound to their test balls to provide them with extra skid. With the shinier cover, these testers were able to get back to the pocket.

The Marvel-S kept the same motion for all three testers on this pattern, even with the surface adjustments. We really liked this one on our sport pattern. The smooth nature of the Centripetal core provided a consistent motion when the ball came out of the pattern, while the strong cover gave us all the hook we needed in the oil. Our sport pattern is medium in length and this ball would be just as good on some longer patterns as well. We had a poor ball reaction on the short dry test pattern. The Marvel-S was just too much ball for such a short pattern with less volume.

SUMMARY Strengths: The NRG cover wrapped around this core provides a perfect combination of control and hook. This ball showed no signs of slowing down at all at the back end.

Weakness: Only short, dry patterns will be cause for concern for the Marvel-S. We shined them up for our short pattern, but there are other balls that are better for these types of patterns.

Overall: The Marvel-S takes the core from the Marvel and uses the NRG cover from the Virtual Gravity Nano. This ball has more continuation and total hook than the Marvel, Modern Marvel, and IQ.

PAGE 44

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

BALL TALK REVIEWS

505C²

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

2.49

RG: 7KH 6KXWWOH FRUH LV EDFN WKLV WLPH LQ EODFN 7KH QHZ PDWHULDO VOLJKWO\ DOWHUV WKH FRUH

OILY: 4/5/5 MEDIUM: 9.5/9.5/9.5 DRY: 9/9/9 SPORT: 7/7/8

.038

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GENERAL INFO

6 6FDOH

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16 6FDOH

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15

Back End: 7KH VPRRWK UHDFWLRQ WKLV EDOO PDGH JRLQJ GRZQ WKH ODQH VHW LW XS IRU D FRQWUROOHG

Coverstock Name: Gen MC Type: Reactive Pearl Box Finish: 800/1k/2k Abralon w/ PowerHouse Factory Finish Polish Color: Metallic Orange Pearl Core Density: Dual Asymmetrical Enhanced Mass Bias: .005 For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

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45

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SUMMARY Strengths: 7KH SUHGLFWDELOLW\ RI WKLV FRUH FRYHUVWRFN FRPELQDWLRQ ZLOO VKLQH RQ GLI¿FXOW PHGLXP YROXPH SDWWHUQV 7KHUH DUH QR VXUSULVHV KHUH 3RZHU FRQWURO DQG FRQWLQXRXVQHVV DUH ZKDW WKLV EDOO LV DOO DERXW Weakness: 7KLV EDOO ZLOO VWUXJJOH RQ KHDY\ YROXPHV RI RLO 7KH ZHDNHU FRYHU IURP WKH RULJLQDO & PDNHV WKLV EDOO EHWWHU VXLWHG IRU PHGLXP DQG OLJKWHU SDWWHUQV Overall 7KLV LV JRLQJ WR EH WKH EDOO IRU 7UDFN IDQV WR KDYH IRU DQ\ WRXUQDPHQW ,W FDQ ¿QG D OLQH WR WKH SRFNHW ZKHQ QRWKLQJ HOVH GRHV

AUGUST 2013

BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 45

BALL TALK REVIEWS

910A

RATINGS*

*Scale: 1-10 Ratings, drillings and diagrams listed in the following order: Stroker/Tweener/Cranker

OILY: 6/6/7 MEDIUM: 9/9/9 DRY: 7/7/7 SPORT: 6/6/6

GENERAL INFO Coverstock Name: Gen EA (Extreme Angle) Type: Reactive Pearl Box Finish: 500 Abralon/1500 $EUDQHW 6RIW 3+Ì&#x2020; Color: Steel Blue/ Lemon/Sapphire Core Density: Dual Asymmetrical Enhanced Mass Bias: .010 For Lane Conditions and Drillings, Please see Ball Notes at bowlingthismonth.com/ballnotes

2.50

RG: 7KH $ XVHV D EUDQG QHZ FRUH GHVLJQ ,W LV HDV\ WR WHOO ZLWK 7UDFN¶V QDPLQJ SURFHVV

.049

Diff/Flare: 7KLV EDOO FDQ Ã&#x20AC;DUH XS WR ¿YH LQFKHV 2XU WHVWHUV YDULHG EHWZHHQ WKUHH DQG KDOI LQFKHV IRU 6WURNHU WR QHDUO\ ¿YH LQFKHV IRU &UDQNHU

7.5

Torque: 7KH $ LQ WKH QDPH LV IRU DQJXODU DQG WKLV EDOO LV GH¿QLWHO\ WKDW ,W ZDVWHV OLWWOH HQHUJ\ JHWWLQJ WR WKH EUHDNSRLQW

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15

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Length: 7KH SROLVKHG FRYHUVWRFN DOORZV WKH $ WR HDVLO\ VFRRW WR WKH EUHDNSRLQW 7KH ¿QLVK VWLOO SURYLGHV JRRG OHQJWK ZLWKRXW RYHU VNLGGLQJ

17

Back End: 7KLV EDOO LV PDGH IRU EDFN HQG UHDFWLRQ 7KH ELJ PRYH DW WKH EUHDNSRLQW WUDQV

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50 6FDOH

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Total Hook: 7KH ¿QLVKLQJ SURFHVV DOORZV WKH $ WR FRYHU PRUH ERDUGV WKDQ EDOOV ZLWK D KLJKHU VDQGLQJ JULW XQGHU WKH SROLVK %RZOHUV ZLOO HDVLO\ VHH WKH GLIIHUHQFH LQ WRWDO PRYHPHQW RYHU RWKHU $ EDOOV

Comments: 7KH $ LV WKH ODWHVW DGGLWLRQ WR WKH KLJK SHUIRUPDQFH OLQH IRU 7UDFN :H NQRZ E\ WKH QDPH WKDW WKH $ ZLOO XVH D VWURQJ DJJUHVVLYH FRYHUVWRFN ZLWK D VWURQJ FRUH WKDW ZLOO SURYLGH DQ DQJXODU PRWLRQ 7KH QHZ )DFH FRUH LV WKH PHGLXP ORZ 5* FRUH WKDW SRZHUV WKLV EDOO 7KLV QHZ FRUH GHVLJQ LV HQFORVHG E\ WKH *HQ ($ FRYHUVWRFN ZKLFK FRPHV RXW RI WKH ER[ ZLWK D QHZ ¿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¶V OLNLQJ :H UHPRYHG WKH SROLVK ZLWK D $EUDORQ SDG ZKLFK DOORZHG WKHP WR JHW WR WKH SRFNHW ZLWK HDVH 7KH VSRUW SDWWHUQ VDZ RXU $V MXPSLQJ WRR KDUG DW WKH EUHDNSRLQW :H VPRRWKHG RXW WKH UHDFWLRQ E\ WDNLQJ WKH SROLVK RII ZLWK D $EUDORQ :LWK WKH VKLQH UHPRYHG WKH EDOO ZDV OHVV VHQVLWLYH WR WKH RLO DQG ZKLOH LW VWLOO KDG SOHQW\ RI SRS DW WKH EUHDNSRLQW LW ZDV PXFK HDVLHU WR FRQWURO

SUMMARY Strengths: 7KH $ XVHV D QHZ ¿QLVKLQJ SURFHVV IRU 7UDFN 7KLV FRYHU FRUH DQG ¿QLVK UHDOO\ FRPH WR OLIH RQFH WKH ODQHV VWDUW EUHDNLQJ GRZQ Weakness: 2Q IUHVK FRQGLWLRQV WKH $ FDQ SURGXFH VRPH RYHU XQGHU UHDFWLRQV :DLWLQJ IRU WUDQVLWLRQ RU DOWHULQJ WKH VXUIDFH ZHUH RXU EHVW RSWLRQV WR FRPEDW WKH IUHVK Overall 7KH $ LV WKH ODWHVW KLJK SHUIRUPDQFH DGGLWLRQ WR WKH 7UDFN OLQH IRU WKLV VHDVRQ 7KH VNLG Ã&#x20AC;LS PRWLRQ LV D ELJ EHQH¿W IRU DGGHG SLQ FDUU\

PAGE 46

BOWLING THIS MONTH

AUGUST 2013

AUGUST 2013

Advertisers: For information & rates for Bowlers Blvd e-mail btm@bowlingthismonth.com or call 800-282-7043 BOWLING THIS MONTH

PAGE 47