Well finally I have the Track Kinetic Pearl drilled and in action. I decided on this ball as I needed a Pearl to combat the inconsistent reaction I was witnessing from my antiquated Track Black Gold Stomp on the typical house shot at Shellharbour Ten Pin Bowl. I received the Track Kinetic Pearl on Wednesday 18th March and have had a long week waiting for the drilling to be done.
I spent a good hour with my new ball driller (I will call him GB for this post) at Shellharbour Ten Pin Bowl going over what I wanted from this ball in comparison to the Track Black Gold Stomp. GB and I bowl in the same scratch league and he has seen the inconsistency in the ball reaction I have been getting on differing lane conditions, and often my inability to adapt, so it was good to know that we both knew what I needed. Interestingly enough we were after the same thing and GB was almost going to buy a Track Kinetic Pearl himself, he ended up with an Ebonite Playmaker.
As always, we started by taking the old ball and working out the details. I must say that the drill I have had for the Track Black Gold Stomp for what seems like an eternity has held up very well, a testament to the work of my previous coach and ball driller. Last week GB debuted a new weapon and I was fortunate enough to find span and finger sizes matched. I was amazed at how comfortable his equipment felt compared to my own. After contemplation I decided that I would try the same finger pitch and span as GB.
Finally after the drilling the first game was a shake down for the comfort of the drill and I also decided to try a few different things before tonights league. Almost everything worked apart from the last two frames where I missed the target and left nasty splits. It did not matter where I stood as long as I hit target it was in (or very near to) the pocket and obtained a good pin action. In the end I ended up with a 179 and confidence that the alterations to the drilling I am accustomed too did not impinge me in any way.
In league I started by standing 35 and shooting across 15 out to 5. The ball loaded up, cruised to about 45 feet and snapped in and would not quit. Ended the game with 7 strikes in a row and a 238. The bright yellow label on the ball stands out noticeably from the purple and black cover stock, and it was good to witness the revs on this ball loading up as it got down the lane. The snap was big and decisive, most of all it was consistent.
In the second game I was trying the same line. The first ball was just plain shitty and I dumped it in the gutter. The next 3 shots went brooky but carried all 10, so after 3 frames I had a spare and 2 strikes. At this point I persisted with the line rather than heed the pretty obvious warning to move. As a result I left quite a few nasty splits, including the 10th frame. Ended up with a 166 and losing the game by about 10 pins to my mum.
In the third game I woke up and moved to 30 and soothing across 10 out to 5. This more direct line returned the ball to the strike force it was in the first game. Ended up throwing a 5 bagger and a 213 game.
So I shot a 199 average for 4 games, my current highest league average is 184 so about 15 pins better. I am very pleased with that and now just have to get used to moving with the reaction, something I have never done well. The ball though has filled me with confidence and has assured me that it was indeed the correct decision to remain with the Track Legion.
). Anyways, the upgrade of the ball should see an improvement in my overall effectiveness. So what is the ball I am upgrading to?
