Ball: Brunswick Wild RideLayout:Pin 5†from PAP below fingers
45-degree locator line angle
(Dual-angle: 45 by 5†by 70)
XH on VAL, 4†below PAP, 31/32†by 2 1/2†deep
Initial Surface Preparation:Box finish
Purpose:To use on conditions where I need to open up a tighter track, or manage the reaction from front to back. I have been using a Red Zone and an Ultra Zone for this spot. The Red Zone doesn’t run from volume, and is great for opening up the midlane on tighter conditions, but it tends to labor when I have to give up the pocket. The Ultra Zone has a 30-degree PSA layout, and while it is adept at smoothing out the reaction from front to back, it has some difficulty with higher volumes.
Why this ball?Although I do compete occasionally on Sport and other “tougher†lane conditions, the vast majority of the conditions that I see in league and tournament play are house-type patterns. Of this majority, most of the patterns are reasonably fresh and reasonably blended, to where I usually don’t have to give away much of the pocket in order to play for a hard bounce off of the dry. In general, I’ve had success with asymmetrical pieces on this type of condition, as well as on conditions where there is some wet-dry from front to back. Also, if I’m not getting the right reaction, I can usually get a good enough read to where I know which way to go in the arsenal. With its stronger cover, the Wild Ride was a logical choice for this spot in the bag.
Observations:I first threw the Wild Ride in a second-shift league on at a center with fairly new Pro Anvilane. We drew one of the drier pairs, and thus I had to get my feet further left than normal, but the Wild Ride was up to the task. I typically can’t use an asymmetrical ball with a stronger cover on this second-shift condition, as the ball will typically want to burn at the turn. However, the Wild Ride remained clean in front as I moved left, and still retained enough energy to carry the corners. The one issue I had with using this ball on this condition was that it wanted to break the lane down too quickly, thus forcing me to move more frequently than I would have liked. If I were to drill a Wild Ride for this condition, I’d probably want to go with a pin-above layout, and use some polish, so that I could play the lane more left-to-right.
I’ve also thrown the Wild Ride a few times at a center with HPL in front and older wood in back, on a fresh condition where the reaction tends to be very abrupt from front to back. On this condition, the Wild Ride was very impressive, as it navigated the front cleanly, and then picked up the midlane without jumping or skidding, and then was strong in back without being too flippy. I did have to watch the ball speed, though, for if I got too fast, the ball would react too late and leave corners. However, I could get softer with the shot without losing the cleanness in front.
I also used the Wild Ride in a tournament at a center with older Murrey synthetics, on a condition that played like a tube shot in that there was some out of bounds to the outside. When the pattern was fresh, it was imperative that I have control of the break from front to back, and the Wild Ride gave me this control, as it read the lower volume in the track area and started up quickly enough to where I could avoid the out of bounds. As the condition broke down, I was able to make parallel moves, using the oil to the inside to hold the ball, and when I did miss to the right, the ball read enough to recover, but not so much to give me an over-under reaction. For the later blocks, though, the Wild Ride was reacting too strongly to the dry, and I had to put it away.
Conclusions:For me, the Wild Ride combines the best of the Zone Classic and Strike Zone. It stays true through the front part of the lane, and it goes into a strong continuous arc down lane without squirting through the push. Unlike the asymmetrical Zones, the Wild Ride doesn’t seem to flutter in the midlane. However, it does exhibit the same ability as the Zone Classic does of being responsive to changes in my release, and of being able to recover from dry boards when played from multiple angles. So if I’m playing more of a soft-hand stroke and I’m not quite getting enough at the break, I can make a move to the left and put more hand into the shot, and get the added response that I need to increase the carry angle.
The asymmetrical zones tended to have an “inside limitation†for me, as I’d reach a point on the lane from which the ball wouldn’t recover enough to where I could get a consistent look for carry. I haven’t seen this yet with the Wild Ride.
The one drawback that I’ve seen with this ball is that it is not particularly forgiving. If I don’t quite catch the ball at the release point, I can still get away with it to a degree, because of the strength of the cover and core. However, if I hit the ball a little bit too hard, it will respond too quickly to the friction. This really won’t be a problem for me, though, as my intent is to use the Wild Ride on conditions that are tighter from side to side.
NOTE: The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer and not of Brunswick Corporation.
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Ray Salas
Brunswick Amateur Staff
http://www.brunswickbowling.com
