Expert: - 12/20/2007

Question
i recently just bought the black widow and did not drill it yet but i see on the box it says under the name reactive: 3-4" what does that mean? is that bad?

Answer
You may be looking at a part of the label that details the distance between the top of the weightblock (the pin) and the center of gravity (heaviest point on the ball).

A 3-4" pin, married with the amount of top weight gives you a combination of elements used to provide specific performance characteristics.

Your question leads me to wonder. It sounds like you may be an Internet ball buyer. The Internet and it's bowling equipment sites sell commodities. Because they have nothing invested in making you a better bowler, their single biggest enticement is price.

Don't misunderstand. My job, in my store, is to make people better bowlers. Unfortunately, unfamiliar, inexperienced bowlers occasionally buy products that are too MUCH, for their abilities. Leading to frustration, and again unfortunately, lack of success and disappointment.

There are NO magic bowling balls. The price of a ball that doesn't work is way to much, no matter how cheap it was.

My intention here, is to use the Internet to educate bowlers, helping make better, more informed decisions. I try to use the very communication tool that moved up to 15% of the worlds bowling balls last year(according to some industry reports). Many high performance category balls seen in pro shops for upwards of $250.00, are now being sold to anybody (they don't care). Where better to discuss the good bad and ugly of an Internet option than right here on the net.

The Internet sellers put on a good face. But bowling balls are precise tools to your environment and your skills. Bowlers that get paid to use a ball (the Pros), or a high level player (maybe looking to get paid) might report wonderful things (because he, the company and his driller know his game, the lane conditions, the specific qualities of the ball) and low and behold the ball works. Matter of fact, I've never seen a bad review (on one of the e-commerce sites).

Sorry about the Rant. Good luck with your Black Widow, have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Bowl well.