I wanted to try a Lane 1 ball so I asked around. Stormy Lane, Doug Sterner, Doc Hollywood, T-God, and the village idiot Clump all recommended that I get the Emerald so I did. Ball is 16.1 lbs, 3-4 pin, 3.0 top. Left ball in factory condition then hit it with Storm Xtra shine to give it more polish. Drilled pin above fingers on centerline and cg swung left 3/4 inch so its a lefty drilling, but I am throwing it right handed. Turns out to be a 5 3/4 * 6 drilling.
I tested this ball out on a few different conditions, but first was in league where I shot out of box 732 with games of 248, 246 and 238 and I scored 1 CPL, an Asian chick with enhanced hooters and a backend like JLo. She was wearing a tight strapless low cut top and tight low cut hipster jeans showing her belly button ring so I asked her if she would like to slip into something more comfortable.......my bed! I have to say, this ball sure does help me score! Whoohoooooo!
Ok, back to bowling. Well I have to say that among all of my other balls, this ball gives the most readable reaction that I have ever seen. Its a ball that will tell you what to do and when to do it. For example, if you stay with this ball 1 shot too long, it will flatten out a little on the backend and you know you better move or else you will not carry. I love this outcome. I've had balls that will fake you into staying with the line too long then before you know it, you rang a few 10 pins which cost you sticks. The emerald will tell you immediately how the lane transitions and to the advanced player, this is vital. For the intermediate players if you are having trouble reading lane conditions this Emerald is a ball that will make reading the lanes very easy. Just do what the ball tells you to do and you will score. As such, this ball is a bench mark ball and first ball out of my bag.
This pearl is more of a medium ball for me. I can play it on med-light to med-heavy oil. I do not see any squirt in oil. One thing I notice is that you definitely need head oil with it. If not, put it away, its not a ball for toasted heads. But it reacted exceptionally well in heavy oil and did not squirt as much as I though it would.
The length with the extra polish is right inbetween the Storm Thunder Road Pearl and the Lightning Flash, so without the extra polish I would suspect it would be comparable in length to the Thunder Road Pearl, maybe just a tad earlier than the TRP. The backend of the Emerald is not a snap and not an arc, but more of a strong roll then set which makes it very predictable. But the backend is strong and it will come back from the 1 board if you can put some hand into it. You can easily change its reactions by altering hand positions, which is another thing I like about it. When encountering carrydown all I had to do was tighten up my line and use the carrydown as some hold or get it to the dry sooner and I was back carrying the house. The only thing that will stop this ball is dry heads and no oil in the mids. Other than that, this ball is playable anywhere.
I threw a few shots intentionally light and it carried, then I threw a few intentionally high and it carried also. As long as this ball is rolling into the pocket you will not have any trouble carrying, its a carry monster. But like I said, it does need good head oil and oil in the mids, its not a dry lane ball. If I stayed with my line too long the backend started to flatten out, but with a simple move inside I was back to seeing its backend roll up hard and strong. That's what I mean by this ball tells you what to do and when to do it. For me, since I am a whole lotta man, I could play this ball over 7th arrow out to the 8-10 area and it would still carry and send messengers flying, all you have to do is make sure its rolling into the pocket and it carries everything.
The hit, well this ball carries exceptionally well and if it doesn't, its telling you something and its up to you to make the move or suffer. As such, I will say that this ball is NOT for the person that likes to stand here and throw there. You know that type, the non adjusters who like to play their only line. For them it will be hot and cold. It does have a distinct crack when it hits the pins and I had more than a few people come up to me and ask me what ball I was throwing because of how hard it hits.
All in all, I have to say that this ball is awesome. Reads the lane better than anything else I've thrown. Hits and carries very well, you just have to move when it tells you to move. If there is head oil and some oil in the mids and you can't score with this ball then you don't know how to bowl. Need a ball that reads lane transitions, hits and carries?
?? Get the Emerald.
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pchee2<~~~strokin the ball with cranker revs and spraying the lanes for an average of a buck 62. This guy is full of STUFF!
