I belive I have a Zone Classic green pin since there is a green circle on my ball. This ball has a backend like you would not believe. The ball goes very long and right at the end it just takes off and hits the pocket at a termendous angle. It does need some dry boards in order to have a big backend. When the ball started to hook too much, I could just tilt the ball to the left and give it more side roll to get the ball to slide further down the lane. Brunswick's specs on the ball are right on the money unlike what I've heard people saying about the Smokin Inferno.
I am a tweener. The ball is drilled with the pin between the thumb and finger holes and it is close to the wring finger hole. I got this link from another review, this is the exact same pin location I have in my ball:
http://www.bowlingkingdom.com/persimages/userupload/ZCGP.bmp Sorry, I'm not an expert on pin locations.
Like I said, Brunswick is correct in that it can be used for medium light oil to medium heavy. I would say the ball works best for a tweener but that's just my opinion. When the lanes break down this ball can over react just like any high performance ball and that's where a ball like the Ebonite Tornado comes in or Brunswick Grooves. Adding more side roll can be enough to over come drier lane conditions late in the series as long as there was enough oil to begin with that didn't require side roll. This ball is very versatile in that you can throw just about any line as long as it's there but again, it can over react off the outside dry boards but you'll likely find at least one game where the shot is absolutely perfect for this ball.
This ball can go straight as an arrow through the midlane, if you give it some side roll, and then just take off and destroy all 10 pins. The ball can also hook a little in the midlane if you give it some moderate side roll or a forward roll. The only problem I've had so far is that when you throw the outside line, the ball tends to leave corner pins and sometimes a pocket 7-10. If you keep it inside of the 5 board, you should be just fine, unless you move way left and throw the ball through the oil, out to the dry on the outside, then back in then it shouldn't over react off the dry.
Also the balls seems to handle carry down ok but not great. I haven't had this ball very long but when I have bowled with carry down, it still gives you the backend hit unlike an Ebonite Crossfire would. I do not throw the Crossfire but did throw a Tiger which has the same core and the Tiger had a big backend but lost engery early if the ball rolled too early. The Zone Classic is like a step up from those other balls that go long and a huge backend because it has more continuation. Don't get me wrong, you are still going to lose energy, just not as much.
I have to add one more thing to this review. Here is the best example I can pick out to help you determine whether this is the ball for you. I bowled on fairly heavy oiled lanes last Thursday. If I moved way right I could get the ball to come in but didn't have much room for error. I shot 593. It didn't seem like the kind of condition this ball is good for. The Vapor Zone or Strike Zone would probably have been a better ball. But after the league was over, I bowled on these conditions, I shot 1262 for 5 games and the last 3 games I shot 804!!! So if there is a fairly good emount of oil out there, maybe you could throw your Ultimate Inferno or your Strike Zone the first 2 games, then pull out your Zone Classic. However, most of the time in my fall league, since we're the second shift, the Classic Zone is a better ball to start out with.
The bottom line is, if you're a bowler throwing a ball with a weak backend and you would like to see more hit, this is a great ball to absolutely smash the pocket. But you do need the ball to hit a dry spot on the lane some where.
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Brandon
Owner of a Vertex Mold 1/2 HP.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bowling_tips_group
