the closest ones to me that you mentioned are linden and carolier. but linden is ummm blah!
i actually live about 5-10 minutes from linden lanes.
ive seen places sell balls for real cheap but then they charge you a butt load for thumb slugs or grips. and they arent any good so they are obviously trying to get you into the pro shop.
i trust my driller (as a driller) but he also sells stuff. after all he is in buisness to make money not waste his time. I think he is/was trying to tell me that its not worth the price extra when theres so many balls that are cheaper.
that and he claims that lanemasters balls take a lot to resurface them... (may only be true for the older stuff?) but i dought he likes drilling through all that resin
right now im just deciding what direction to go in. one thing that is for sure is i want to stay away from these new backend monster balls. I have enough hand to create angle... leaving 4 or 9 pins isnt much better then leaving 10 pins.
ill have to think about my next purchases... dont want to do what i did last time.