Hi everyone, here's my review on the Game Time.
See my Profile for my personal Stats.
I got this ball at the True Amateur Tournament in Las Vegas back in February in 2005. Ball is laid out with Pin over my ring finger and cg located in my palm. This layout was chosen, because I wanted an even "Arc-Type," look at the back end.
Layout looks like this...
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--------p---
---O--O---
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----cg----
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-----O----
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Actual Pictures Below...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0703/128177/RamtartsBowlingBalls/xcel3.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/0703/128177/RamtartsBowlingBalls/xcel2.jpgWhen I first got the ball, it was in OOB condition (1000 grit). At the TAT, this ball was very strong on Medium Oil with Out of Bounds from the 8 board to the gutter. With a differential of .50, I shouldnt've been surprised by the backend reaction it had. After polishing the ball up, I saw the true Arc shape reaction on the backend.
I didn't expect much out of this Mid-priced ball from Ebonite. I threw one game with it at the TAT, and now I have about 20 games on it after Polishing it up in the Lustre King. I would have to say this is ball is very versatile. Here is what I experienced on different types of conditions...
Light Oil - Dry LanesThis ball really shines on Light conditions. When polished up, it revs up real nice and saves a lot of energy for the backend. Even with the Arc-Shape reaction, this ball can mix up the pins with the best of them. Lots of messengers and can drive through the pocket real nice.
This ball supposedly is for Heavy Oil, but with the Layout & Cover matchup combined with the .50 differential and Big Weighblock, it's a monster on Lighter conditions!
Medium ConditionsThis ball in a polished state reads Mediums very well. It does need to find some dry/friction. The ball still hits very good as long as you hit the ball when the lanes seem to have more oil. I like this ball on Mediums and is a good first ball out of the bag for the THS.
Heavy ConditionsA couple of weeks ago, our House tried something different. They tried a flatter oil pattern. I don't know how many units of oil they put out there, but my Xcel didn't move much on this condition if that tells you much. You may call me crazy for pulling the Polished Game Time out, but I decided to try it anyways. The ball went fairly straight, but what I liked about it is the way it handled the very little dry back end that was present. With the Arc layout, it did not jump off the dry, but was very smooth. Since I was pointing the ball, I didn't want the ball to get all "Jumpy," once it touched the dry. Needless to say, there were a bunch of corner pins present due to minimal pocket entry angle from a flat oil pattern. With this ball, I did not have a lot of room, I pretty much pointed the ball to the pocket with softer speed. The Polished Cover/Arc-Type layout combo did not give me the opportunity to cover a bunch of boards, but relied mainly on your shotmaking (Something I certainly need to work on hehe).
Ball Flare PotentialWith this type of drilling, I didn't expect much flare, but geez, this thing flared about 5-6 rings! I will get a picture of this during practice or league with an update...
Overall, Ebonite won me over with this ball. I am glad I picked one up at the TAT. Thanks to PBA PRO and Ebonite Staffer Dave Wodka for chatting with me at the tournament, analyzing my game, and laying out my Game Time & Xcel. Also, thanks to Wester Region Pro Paul Smith "The Pizz," for all the advice on the ball. I am thinking about picking another one up in OOB condition with Pin over ring and CG kicked out (4x3 type drilling) to cover medium conditions.
Definatley a Bang for the Buck ball. At $80-$100 bucks before drilling, you can't go wrong.
Hope this helps!
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Ram
S.F. Bay Area, California
