I just got my 15 lb Total NV drilled up today. I had low expectations, as my driller and I had made pretty radical changes to my grip for this ball, after months of his suggestions and me having to realize that changes had to be made-- so we decided to go from 1/2" reverse pitch and 1/4" lateral away from palm to 0 pitch and 1/8" lateral towards my palm, 1/16" less span.
This is another story altogether, totally unrelated to the ball's performance itself, but I must point out that the change worked, and unexpectantly, without much of a learning curve-- going no reverse kept me much more locked into the ball, without having to using gobs of tape to keep it on my hand (more tape increases the reverse, incidently), and allowed me to relax my hand more, although I will have to continue to work on learning to let the ball swing more freely and not squeeze or muscle at the bottom. Old habits die hard!
Anyhow, thanks much again to Jake at J and J at Fox Bowl, Wheaton, IL (home of 7 time PBA Champ Steve Jaros), who always takes care of me, and makes me feel like family.
Anyways. Onto the Total NV. I decided to get this ball, despite my reservations about the longevity of Ebonite coverstocks, based on watching pros on TV with it, as well as my experience with my friend, Jeff, whose carry, confidence, and average has been improved by throwing the NV. His margin for error with the ball is ridiculous, he carries light shots with it, he trips more 4-7's on high shots than you can shake a stick at, etc. He's much better than me anyways, and am not much for being a copycat, but I figured, if you can' t beat em, join em!
With my faster speed (18-20 mph at pindeck), Jake and I decided on a leverage position, pin under fingers, no weighthole needed. I took it to my usual house, Brunswick synthetics, and got a fresh pair (standard league shot) to bowl on.
All I can say is wow. I have never thrown anything like this ball. For one, I have never thrown anything that made such a drastic, but somehow predictable, move on the backend.
It's hard for me to give an accurate frame of reference, considering the huge help the grip change has been to me as well. But suffice it to say, the backend is harder and more continuous than anything else I've thrown. This is definitely not a ball you need to overpower to get it to hook once it hits dry boards. But curiously, at the same time, the ball is very forgiving. If I tugged it a little, the ball would often hold and trip 4's. If I got it further right than what I wanted, the ball would come screaming back. Light shots carried, very often with a messenger, even if none were needed. The ball seems to thrive in the half pocket. Really light shots often left 9 counts, no mean feat considering that I have much more speed than hand.
In short, it was ridiculous, the ball gave me a lot of room to work with, and carried shots that had no business carrying. Another thing that was nice is that the ball doesn't seem to do much on the front part of the lane, which leads me to believe that I'll be able to throw the ball under a variety of conditions, maybe even in heavy oil.
I just hope it lasts, because I really don't want to throw anything else. I'll probably get another, and try a different layout, to back it up.
I'm no expert, but I bowl enough to highly recommend the Total NV. What a great, great ball.
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Just call me the rifleman... but god help any innocent bystanders!
Anybody got any finesse for sale?
