LANE CONDITION

Length: 40 ft.


Volume: LIGHT

Type (THS, Sport Pattern etc):

THS


COMMENTS

Likes:Mildest reactive I have found

Dislikes:May actually be too mild for me at factory finish


 Been looking for something to let me play closer to the dry, and handle the burned up heads we see sometimes. Finally settled on a Brunswick Twist.

 This ball, drilled 5 X 3, is really tame. I DID NOT say dead, just really mild/tame in its oil handling ability. If you have oil, you likely will not use it much.

 At 5 X 3, pin up, I get about 1-2 inches of track flare. With the mild cover, and lower flare, it does not make up for release mistakes like lots of others do. You dump it off, top it too much, or get around it early, and your probably going to get more skid and less finish than your hoping for. Happened to me virtually every time I got it off my hand badly.

 Pros:
1. The ball is GORGEOUS. Got the blue/silver, and it is just beautiful.
2. The ball is consistent. Hit oil, it skids. Hit dry, it rolls over and finishes.

Cons:
1. This is NOT your “normal” reactive ball. Really mild. Not for the masses IMHO.
2. Kind of a “throw back” type reaction, from back when you had to use the dry to create the reaction.
3. Probably too mild for most bowlers at its factory finish. Many will need to knock the polish off to get the consistent reaction and performance they’re seeking.

 All in all, very satisfied with the ball. Wasn’t expecting, or wanting, another “over performing” entry level ball. Was looking for a TRUE dry condition ball, and believe me, this is one.

 Heck, I was even shooting tenpins with it.    #Made_every_single_one!

Punched up a Twist (gold/black) 5.25" x 35 degrees (taller pin up) because we have a house in town with a terribly beat up surface dressing low volumes of oil with an old Phoenix lane machine.  Even with Edge series balls I was becoming frustrated with having to stand in front of the ball return in a 3 person league so it was time to get something to help me stand in a more comfortable zone without having to hurl the ball down the lane.

The Twist gives me as much length as any reactive ball that I have ever thrown.  This ball just skates through the fronts but needs to see some very dry boards in order to traction.  My first few shots didn't make it to the pocket as I was expecting the Twist to start up a little sooner.  After bumping a couple of boards to the right, I was all over the pocket without having to increase my ball speed.
In terms of shape, the Twist does not roll up in the front part of the lane the way most other bowling balls do.  The higher rg core causes it to "lope" through the front part of the lane and be quite sensitive to oil.  I don't need to find much oil to prevent the Twist from rolling.  The back end motion on the Twist is what I would put between smooth to moderate.  It turns enough that I can swing it a few boards and it creates enough angle that I can get the 6 pin to slap out the 10.
My best results on the lane have been when staying more parallel with my angles and riding the oil line.  Over playing the condition by opening my angles up too much resulted in poor pin carry and doing so is my fault for trying to make a ball with such a small core do too much.

Compared to other balls in my bag on a dry house pattern, I needed to move my feet 4-5 boards right with the Twist from where I stood with my Alley Cat which has a stronger core and rolls more.  In terms of boards covered the Twist is quite close to my BTU Pearl which is significantly flatter around the corner than the Twist.  The Twist is 2 steps up from throwing plastic.  1 for having a really weak reactive cover and another point for having a small core.  If the lanes are dry enough that the players with soft speed are throwing plastic, then I consider throwing my Twist.

I recommend the Twist for bowlers who are desperate for help getting the ball to slide far enough down the lane before hooking.  This is a ball meant for folks lacking ball speed who would otherwise be overwhelmed by how much their favorite bowling ball is hooking but don't want to sacrifice striking power by throwing plastic.