I have a couple of weeks on my Red Death now so I feel comfortable putting my honest take on the ball into wrods here.
First I have to say that I was VERY hesitant to put holes in this ball....I saw that this ball was supposed to hook and I was having enough trouble keeping my old balls off the nose. So what am I going to do with this thing? Well I went away from the norm...well, MY NORM at least...
Here's some pics of the ball....
http://dougsproshop.net/images/MyArsenal/reddeath1.jpghttp://dougsproshop.net/images/MyArsenal/reddeath2.jpghttp://dougsproshop.net/images/MyArsenal/reddeath3.jpgThis layout registers in at around 6x4-3/4 for me.
I left the ball in box finish to start but quickly found that the box finish gave the ball easy length and a strong arcy backend. The downfall was the ball had to see the bag after about 6-7 frames since I had to be just too perfect with the shot to get the carry.
This week I decided to hit the ball with a slight polish. I took my polishing cloth that i use to apply Lane 1's Sauce, sprayed it with some water and went over the ball for 5 seconds on my spiinner. The ball came out smoother looking but not glossy.
Decided to use the Red Death this week despite the impressive look I got from my Lunatic last week.
The Red Death was up to the challenge. Withthe added polish the ball was much cleaner up front, read the lane about 3 feet later and had a slightly more angular look on the backend. This combination led to a longer useable session as it provided me a bit more room for error. I am not going to figjam the ball but I had my highest game of the last 2 seasons the first game. I ran the front 10 then held the ball in about 2 boards and left a flat 10. Of course I promptly whiffed the 10 pin and shot 288. Game 2 saw the right lane disappear for me while the left lane held up great....struck every ball on the left, spared every ball on the right...199 in game 2. The only move I had to make on the left was a 2 and 1 in the 6th frame. I was all over the right lane and just could not find anything....but then I didn't feel bad. High game for game 2 on our pair was 208 so my 199 was right in the ballpark. Game 3 was a different story. I found the right lane by moving 8 left with my feet and 5 left with my eyes. The left lane gave me carry fits in game 3 with carry. Ended up shooting 194.
So I had 681 which is my high set for the season so far. The Red Death performed very consistently for me all night. I should have put the ball away for game 3 and pulled out something like my Tsunami or even my Pioneer.
I am going to use the ball again Friday night and I'll add my next set of impressions on a different shot.
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Doug Sterner
Doug''s Pro Shop
Owego, NY
http://dougsproshop@aol.com
www.dougsproshop.net
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