LAYOUT
Pin Placement = Above Ring Finger
Pin > PAP = 4 1/2
MB > PAP = 4
DUAL ANGLE = 45 x 30

CONDITIONS
39' House Shot & Kegel Route 66


REVIEW
I decided to review this ball a little differently than previous balls.  Usually I give marks and breakpoints, but I wanted to explain the layout and why I chose it based on my experience with the original LINK.

I chose the layout because the core is very tall and promotes length very easily.  Because this is not a high flaring ball I wanted to kick the MB out and go with a little more aggressive pin placement (for me 4 1/2 is strong since my PAP is 5 1/8) to help ensure it picks up off the patterns and doesn't have a tendency to skid too far.  

I say this because the original LINK I drilled was stacked and I had issues getting a consistent reaction because any amount of oil down the lane would cause the ball to wiggle giving me very little room for error.  This forced me to only play the lanes one way which is not what I wanted.

To summarize the layout gives the MISSING LINK a more defined starting point and reduces the balls tendency to squirt past the break-point.  Because the core is stronger than the original LINK it has more recovery and finishes better in the oil.

Obviously the use of this ball is when the pattern is broken down.  I tend to go to this ball when my Shredder is reading the pattern too soon or I am playing a shot that has OB to the right.  The ball allows me to keep a smaller mark to break-point window and because of the layout and extra strength the characteristics of this ball possesses I'm able to hug the oil line with confidence that misses into the oil will still finish.
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Stephen Hahn

Bowl4Money.com - Owner
http://www.bowl4money.com

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Spares Pro Shop - Pro Shop Technician
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Dennis,

Its pretty simple with this bowling ball.  I will admit to making the same mistake that most bowlers probably did with the original LINK and that is to drill it to be a big Skid/Flipper.  Unfortunately, that is not what this ball is built to do.

Here are the specs for a 15lb Missing Link:
RG=2.560, DIFF=0.045, MB=0.006

The RG tells us that it will easily get through the front and middle of the lane.
The DIFF tells us that it will have a medium flare potential.

These two specs and seeing how tall the core is in this ball should tell the bowler/pro shop that unless there are extreme factors in the conditions, this ball is not going to be a BIG SWING ball.  My definition of BIG SWING is playing something like 20 to 10 or 15 to 5.  Now I know that physical games might be able to produce those kinds of angles (my hats off to you), but the majority of players can't do that.

So with that information, I believe it is important that 2 things occur when a bowler or pro shop technician puts a layout on this bowling ball:

1) Consider the conditions that the bowler is requesting this ball for and help them understand (like I hope I've done here) that this ball isn't meant to play big angles unless your physical game allows it.  Most bowlers are going to get this ball as either Entry Level or to combat High Friction conditions.

2) When drilling this ball, my experience has been that because of the tall core, high RG value and medium DIFF, that it is important to throw caution to STACK layouts.  I say this because as your PIN to PAP distances get longer (for me it was when my PIN to PAP layout came close to my PAP distance. ie layout=5" and my PAP=5 1/8").  What I saw from that was the ball got down the lane fine, but if it didn't catch friction it would wiggle.

What I did as you see in my review was to strengthen the pin by going a 1/2" shorter on my Pin to PAP distance and then I kicked the CG/MB out slightly to position the core so that it wouldn't be as sensitive to carry-down.

I hope this helps and its always good to talk to a ball rep, pro shop tech, or come on here to get a better understanding of the dynamics of the bowling ball or reaction you seek.

I do not recommend this ball if you are looking for a big backend reaction.  Look at these balls in the 900 Global/AMF line for that type of reaction:

AMF Shredder 900 Global Break-Point Pearl
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Stephen Hahn

Bowl4Money.com - Owner
http://www.bowl4money.com

Event Calendar:
http://www.bowl4money.com/events.html

Spares Pro Shop - Pro Shop Technician
http://www.sparesproshop.com