To sum up Brunswick's presentation at their fall pro shop seminars: 2/3 of warrantied bowling balls are due to cracking around the pin (the least dense and weakest part of the bowling ball) when drilled too near the fingers. The Fearless introduces "DOT Technology" pitting the pin on the opposite side of the bowling ball, with a "DOT" marker to denote where the pin would typically be on most traditional bowling balls. This technology allows the finger holes to safely be drilled anywhere on the same hemisphere as the cg and DOT without severely impacting the durability of the bowling ball.
Wanting to take advantage of what was once a risky drill zone (and traditionally void of warranty) I laid my Fearless out 40x4x50 having the top right corner of my ring finger hole grazing the "DOT". This layout is designed to give me a fair bit of roll to help control snappy backends and to keep the ball in play on fresh oil. My intention was to replace my recently cracked Vintage Danger Zone by giving me that early/rolly reaction to stay in play when the backends are inconsistent.
So far, I've used this ball on 3 patterns - 44' Big Ben in mixed league, as well as the 39' Women's US Open and 37' Broadway in my Challenge league.
The first time I used this ball was on the US Women's Open pattern and I had no problem keeping the ball in the pocket. The key for me on this pattern has been to control the back ends as the oil pushes down quite quickly resulting in quick transitions and strange angles. The slower transition from wet to dry allowed me to stick to a small swing to the track, in the pocket and out of trouble even with a low track like mine. My pocket % was exceptional, carry was decent and I avoided the 170/180 games that I was seeing around me.
I've used this ball in my mixed league which is on a slick 44' Big Ben. I typically use high performance balls (Quantum Bias usually being my best look) but I wanted to see what the Fearless could do. The length of the pattern was really an issue as I had trouble getting this ball to corner. An early rolling layout on a relatively early rolling ball meant that balls that met the Bias at the breakpoint would 2 pin and getting right into the friction after the seniors carried the oil down begged for a flat 10. I would either need to add polish, increase my rev rate or go with a longer/taller pin if I expect to get results on this pattern. For these longer/slicker patterns where I want to see more hook and downlane motion, I will stick to my Quantum Bias, Kingpins or even my Method.
These last few weeks I have ripped it up in my Challenge league on 37' Broadway with 991 and 1029 for my 4 games. The slick house + the shorter pattern means that there is a little more hold than one would normally expect from a shorter 4/1 shot and the slickness of the house keeps urethane out of most everybody's hands. I've usually started with my pin down Kingpin Max to both expose the track at 6-7 but also deal with the heavy volume and early transition, but by the end of the first game I find myself tossing the Fearless. The Fearless gives me the same rolly, safe shape but without eating the heads the way the Max does. My pocket % has been very good as has my carry - seeing the 5 push into the 4-7 on thin hits as well as messengers dancing across the deck to go with a lot of balls that drive through the 8-9.
By the end of game 3, I begin to leave weak 10's as I see the ball roll out and that's when it is time to get into my pin Cutting Edge Hybrid and open my angles up a little more.
Compared to other balls in my bag, the Fearless is a few boards weaker than my Method and typically has me inch a board or two right of my Cutting Edge Hybrid due to its more subdued motion down the lane. Compared to other flatter shaped balls, it is still considerably stronger than my BTU or Hooligan Taunt, but a little less than the Freakshow Solid.
I recommend this ball for a variety of reasons:
1) The option to drill in or around what was traditionally the pin will give a lot of bowlers new layout choices and for most players these types of layouts will be great for blending out wet/dry or to be used on fresh or short oiled lanes
2) 4 year manufacturer's warranty
3) Safe, easy to control benchmark reaction. My eye has this ball very similar to the Vintage Danger Zone
