The first thing I need to say is that this review is for the Emerald/Gold pearl Boost, not the Cardinal. The Emerald/Gold was not listed, but since it is a pearl this was the closest one available.
A little about me for comparison purposes. I am a 15-16 mph, 325-350 rpm lefty. My “stock†shot has less than 5 degrees of axis tilt and more than 65 degrees of axis rotation, although I’ve been working on reducing the rotation to provide better back end control. My composite average since 2000 has been 221. When I do reviews, I try to give an honest assessment, and more than the “goes long, hooks hard, greatest ball ever†type. I am not currently a member of any company's staff, so can express my honest opinions.
My league house this year has been giving me fits. It’s a scratch trios league with four games per night. I’d never bowled a league there before, and everything seemed to be either hook off my hand if I went up the lane or not read the lane at all if I gave it room. My average was down about 7 pins and I was looking for a miracle. I decided to try a pearl entry level ball, thinking that with a weak pearl cover and symmetrical core I could keep my angles tight, not have to worry about recovery, and maybe get a little hold area to the inside. I came across an undrilled Emerald/Gold Boost and figured that this checked all the boxes. I drilled it up 45 x 5 x 30. Yes, I know the drilling angle doesn’t mean anything with a symmetrical ball, but I use that as my “standard†symmetrical layout. I didn’t get a chance to practice with it before league night, so I had no idea what to expect.
My first practice shots absolutely shocked me. I was using the “up the back†release I’ve been working on, so axis rotation was around 45 degrees with my usual very low tilt. The ball read the midlane a bit earlier than I would have expected from a polished pearl, and really moved hard off the spot. This was an entry level ball? This was not the “skate through the heads/mids and tip towards the pocket†look I was expecting. It was far stronger than I anticipated. The green and gold bands made it very easy to see when the ball revved up. And the way it went through the pins was unbelievable. The best way I can describe it is that it just ignored the pins completely. There was absolutely no deviation in its path from the breakpoint until it left the pin deck.
For the first game, I was still having a hard time believing what I was seeing and getting the “entry level†designation out of my head. I was keeping my angles pretty much in front of me and counting on the ball holding the line. I finished with a 196 with one split, a solid 7, and two solid 8’s. Not the best start, but I was in love with the way it was going through the pins. I finally accepted that the ball was significantly stronger than it had any right to be, opened my angles some and suddenly had the best look I’ve had all year. The ball recovered beautifully, never once squirted through the breakpoint, and still went through the pins like they weren’t even there, splitting the 8-9 shot after shot. It wasn’t long before guys on the other team and even from neighboring lanes were walking over to the ball return to see what I was throwing. The polished S43 cover did not tear up the oil pattern. Other balls I had used with more surface had caused me to move my feet two arrows over the course of the four games. I kept waiting for the ball to read early and jump, but it just never happened. With the Boost I moved my feet one board near the end of the fourth game when a “half-hit sorta flat 7†made me think I needed just a touch more head oil. I finished with a nice 957 four game set after the 196 start.
My assessment of this ball is that it is a player on any medium condition. Longer patterns will make you tighten your angles some. With shorter patterns, you can open up your angles without worrying that it won't recover. It will. The heavier handed will be able to use this on a fairly wet condition, but I think it will struggle on truly heavy oil unless the pattern is short. I think the back end will still be there, but it may not read early enough.
It still blows my mind that this is a medium differential (0.043) ball with their pearl S43 cover. This would be a weaker cover than anything in their current lineup. With the performance this ball has, it’s hard to imagine what their stronger balls would do. This Boost is the first 900 Global ball I’ve ever thrown. It won’t be the last.
