- About me:
Right handed. 16lb. Power tweener. About 17mph. Higher rev rate. PAP: 5.25” level. Exacticated thumb (slug) and oval grips.
- Layout/Finish:
This particular ball weighed 16lb 2oz, has 3.6” pin and 3.0oz of top weight. The pin to the right of the ring finger with the CG kicked out slightly (we didnt lay it out dual-angle, but eye-balling it, it’s about 40x4.25x45). It was a little over 1oz of positive after drilling, so we put on the PAP. It now has about a 1/2 ounce. Box finish.
- On the lane:
This Big Hurt has been at its best for me on oily to medium conditions. It may not be the “hookingest” ball on the market, but it rolls better and hits better than most of the equipment that hooks more, and it’s definitely one of the better balls on the market… strong enough but controllable enough to compete on wetter/longer patterns.
This ball is smooth and continuous off break point for me, but much more controllable than most of the balls that might hook a little more. It goes a lot longer than it seems like it should, considering it’s a stronger particle. The mid-lane read is good; you can get a good feel for the conditions by watching it roll. So far it’s given me fair warning when it’s time to move (as opposed to the “Strike, Strike, Strike, Big 4” that you see sometimes with strong equipment). It isn’t super strong off the spot, but the move is still decisive and continuous. It hooks and then gets into a strong roll with minimal deflection thru the pins.
On medium to medium-heavy, it rolls and carries great from farther outside (outside of 10), and when it dries out I can move in with this ball so long as the lanes don’t dry up too much. This ball doesn’t like to burn up or roll out. It wants to continue hooking once it catches the dry.
This Big Hurt has also been what I call “user-friendly” when it comes to the release. This ball doesn’t roll drastically different if you tweak your release at the bottom. What you get is a ball that is pretty forgiving when your release isn’t perfect.
So far the box finish has been great on medium to oily conditions and on longer patterns. If I didn’t have other equipment to go to on dryer lanes and/or shorter patterns, this ball would probably work pretty good shined and pin-up (keep in mind I’m a higher rev-rate, avg ball speed guy. Adjust your usage accordingly)
- Dislikes:
The only thing I don’t like about this ball is that I have to put it up when they dry up. It still carries from left of 20 with just enough oil, but if I catch the dry early at all, it wants to do what I got it for… which is hook and continue. On a THS that is breaking down, once you move in, you can miss in and it’s usually fine… but that’s a trade off with not being able to miss right if the outside is really dried up (as opposed to some equipment where you can dump it in the burn and its fine, but you can’t miss in at all).
- Summary:
I would definitely recommend this ball to anyone looking for a ball to throw on medium to oily conditions and/or longer patterns. Low-rev-rate/high-ball-speed folks may want to lay it out stronger and leave some surface on it… high-rev-rate/lower ball-speed folks may want to shine it and lay it out weaker.
Michael York
Lord Field / Lane Masters
Amateur Staff (A1)
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