Expert: - 1/29/2009

Question
QUESTION: I am bowling in a state tournament soon.  One house is wood and the other synthetic.  The wood house appears to be medium oil.  The syntheic house is heavy oil.  I recently bought an Ebinite RXS 3000.  I am averaging about 190 and I love its length and strong back end.  I will use it on the wood surface.  I don't know how it will react on the flooded lanes.  I have an Ebonite Prime Time, a Brunswick Inferno, a Storm Extreme XXX, and an old Proactive 2.0 Navy Quantum that I am considering roughing them up with sand paper to use on the synthetic heavy oil.  Any thoughts on these plans?  I really like the RXS 3000, maybe I could just try speed adjustments.  Which idea seems more plausible?

ANSWER: Bob,
Your Storm Triple Extreme has the core and potential cover to handle heavy oil. Stop into your pro shop and ask the operator (given your speed - something you didn't mention) how rough would he suggest you scuff the ball (or balls) for the expected conditions? Then practice with them, to get a feel for the stronger, earlier reaction.

Layout and current surface will enter into the evaluation potentially, too. A stronger layout may have the Inferno or the Quantum roll stronger. So, have all your equipment rated by the pro shop as to: strength of layout, surface potential (the particle Quantum will roll earlier than the RXS, if the two are even remotely close in layout, even with a surface adjustment to the Ebonite ball), fit and execution potential.

Of the balls you mentioned, the undrilled potential, with out of box surfaces should have the RXS go longest with the arciest reaction, the Prime Time would be next, the Brunswick Inferno then the particle Quantum and lastly (and potentially the earliest and most hook potential) the Triple Exxxtreme.

Now, the older Quantum has lost some surface (it's older, assuming it's got some games on it), and generally the older the ball, the more it has absorbed oil or lost some surface. Your layouts can make a strong ball stronger or weaker. So, you'll need to depend on your operator to evaluate the layouts, surface conditions, and potential and ask them to rate and maybe adjust the surfaces to suit what you might need for the tournament.

I don't have as much info as I'd prefer, but you have my quick and sloppy evaluation. Thanks for the question. Good luck with the tournament.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Finished 62 in doubles and 34 in team. Singles not so well.  Just bought an elite eclipse.  Undrilled how does it compare to the Triple Exxtreme and the Ebonite RXS.  I am having the Eclipse drilled with the drill pattern #2 that is on their website.  Thanks Bob

Answer
Bob,
Not familiar with the Elite Eclipse. The Elite Solar Eclipse looks like an Storm Agent core with similar numbers. Is that the ball?

FYI, Bowler's Paradise(BP) balls (Elite Brand) are private label balls, most using existing Brunswick Technology and surfaces.

Why would you buy a ball with no idea what it will do or without a specific ball motion need to fill?

The Storm Triple Extreme (800 matte finish cover) is an asymmetric core and Ebonite RXS300 (4000 Abralon and polished) contains a symmetric, bottom heavy core.  No idea what the Eclipse cover will do (cover is polished, but they don't say what the surface is finished to before polishing). But, the core is symmetric and the numbers look like a strong flaring ball (.047) while the Triple Exxxtreme is (.055-high) and RXS is .038 - medium. The Radius of Gyration (RG) numbers are all similar (Extreme 2.52, Eclipse 2.56, RXS300 2.58). All the numbers are for #15 balls.

I'd layout the Eclipse to fit between the other balls, as surface and core numbers seem to fit between. Your plan to do a #2, a strong leverage layout, may be fine. Don't know what the layouts are on the other balls and what kind of ball motion you're looking for??? Adjust the surface for what you need.

Nice going at the tournament. Good luck with the new ball. Let me know how it works.