Tweener. PAP 4 3/4 right, 5/8 up. 325 rpm, 17mph.
Drilled my Karma Pearl 5.25" - PAP which put the pin above the bridge, with the cg kicked out about an inch. The intent of this ball was to find a ball to fit between my Solid Karmas and my red/blue Damage with a similar layout. The Karma Pearl and Damage both have a pearl PK18 coverstock, just the Karma Pearl has a different core with a much lower rg.
The Karma Pearl ended up being much more aggressive in the backend than the Damage. As expected, it rolled up a little sooner than the Damage, but when it got to the breakpoint, it just wanted to dive left. On super burn this ball was fine, but it didn't quite have the chops to get really deep. I took it down to 4k to differentiate it from the Damage and it served a bit more of a purpose, but in my opinion is more of a gap ball
I drilled up a second Karma Pearl 4.5" - PAP with the pin down and a 1" pin. It is a little more even than the pin up, and was intended to match up to my Avalanche Green/Blacks. This ball is much more aggressive downlane than the Avalanches are, and again has the potential to lope a little more in the midlane resulting in squirt if you try to swing it. Again, not quite the ball I was hoping for, but I can definitely see it being useful on wooden walls.
When I look at ball reaction I want a finish that matches up to the oil volumes I see on the lanes, plus creatres shapes that I feel that I can repeat leading to good hitting power. The Karma Pearl's high gloss finish suits it for beat up lanes, but the shape I got was too snappy and a bit squirty. The ball really wants to kick left at the breakpoint and for that is a problem because the ball is strong enough to get me in the puddle, will yo yo off the dry but if pulled in the oil does very little. I like smoother shapes, because I think it gives me the greatest chance of getting to the pocket and striking, but this ball in box finish was a bit unpredictable. Without the polish it was a little better, and taking it down to 2k or lower would defeat the purpose of buying this ball because you could just pick up the solid (which is a stronger and more predictable ball).
From my experience, the Karma Pearl in box finish overlaps with the Damage and I like the Damage better because I see more predictability out of the Damage. If you are thinking about sanding the Karma Pearl just go out and buy a solid, it is a really good ball, while the Pearl has been a bit squirty for me.
This ball does flare and finish a lot more than the Avalanche Green/Black (a ball I really liked).
Any questions, send me a message!
Brandon Riley
Brunswick Advisory Staff
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer and not of Brunswick Corporation.
Edited on 12/08/2011 at 1:00 AM
