Well, the long awaited day finally arrived. I picked my BuzzBOMB (BB) up late this afternoon. Out of the box, the ball was 15lbs 3oz, with 3oz of top weight. After much discussion at the shop the other day, we decided to go with a 4 1/2 x 3 3/8 drill. For me, that puts the pin .5" from the ring finger in the 4 O'Clock position, and the CG 2.5" right from the center vertical grip line (strong position).
This is a very aggressive drill, and my starting thoughts were that this pattern might be too strong. Originally, I was thinking about putting the pin at 5-5.5" from my PAP (on the vertical grip line below the fingers), but we decided that since this is going to set up as a heavy oil ball, go with the pin a little closer to the PAP. This takes the pattern very close to what T-GOD has repeatedly recommended as the optimal setup for the BB.
I got on the lanes immediately after the lane guy had stripped and re-oiled the fresh THS shot for the evening leagues. I first threw several shots with my Lane#1 Supernova and Columbia Rival to warm-up and get a benchmark feel for reaction.
OK, now for the initial BB results. At least on a fresh THS off the dry, this ball is very aggressive. Starting outside and sending the ball past the 5 board with a breakpoint at the 3, the ball made a huge recovery back to the pocket. So at this point, I was fairly convinced the ball wasn't the 'dud' a few here had labeled.
After this test, I moved into the vast puddle set up in the middle where I generally don't venture. With the Rival and Supernova, I set up my left foot on 32 on the starting approach, and sent the ball over the 15 at the arrows with predictable results. The Rival labored to make it back, generally leaving washouts. The Supernova, a slightly more aggressive ball, usually made it back enough to leave buckets. The BB on the other hand recovered nicely. I actually left a few stone 9's hitting the pocket from this angle. I'm a medium handed guy, and the BB was clearly opening up the lane for me in a way my other equipment wasn't doing.
I was only able to throw a few games, so this is hardly an exhaustive first test. I have my PBA league with Shark coming up in a few days, so that will offer a more complete evaluation of the ball.
What I did leave with is confidence that the positive evaluations by Buddies and other credible proshops here on ballreviews is real. And that for those who have had BB problems, the issue is either with drill, lack of adequate hand, or possibly (but very improbable) a defective ball. The BuzzBOMB is a very aggressive cover wrapped around a very aggressive core. If the BB is either not set up properly, used on the wrong conditions, or thrown by a bowler without the prerequisite ability, the ball will be unfairly be labeled a dud.
I'm looking forward to throwing the BB on Shark next week. My SCB has been handling the condition well, but my thinking is that the BB might even be better.
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"Sometimes, the best move is the one we don't make"
Edited on 2/29/2008 11:04 PM
