When I first began throwing MOTIV exclusively, the original Ascent Solid was one of the first balls added to my bag. Any competitive bowler can testify and confirm that a light-oil ball is a must for any tournament bag. Naturally, the Ascent found a home within my bag. Unfortunately, the Ascent Solid and I could never match up on the lanes. Despite coming across a beat up and worn down pattern, the slightest deviation in angle would lead to lack of down lane reaction.
Just when I thought the Ascent line was just not for my game, MOTIV had one final word, enter the Ascent Apex. My concerns with backend angle and reaction with a light-oil ball were no more with the introduction of the Fusion XL Pearl Reactive cover stock. On several occasions I have been able to revert to the Ascent Apex to provide me with a very predictable, controllable but yet powerful backend response down lane. A reaction that is priceless when you can almost see sparks as the ball rolls down the lane from the friction! With this amount of friction in mind, don’t be fooled into believing that is only one line\angle that can be played with the Ascent Apex. On the very same lane conditions, I had the choice keeping the shot simple and playing straight up the boards with a slight swing, say a lay down of 7 and allowing the ball to reach the 5th board at about 40 and watch the ball roll right into the pocket high flush. As the heads begin to become troublesome around that starting lay down, I could simply keep the break point the same and move my lay down to say 13, maybe even 15 and still receive a very manageable backend response and carry percentage.
Whenever I’m constructing my bag for an upcoming tournament where I know it may very well turn into a marathon or the pattern is going be of the shorter category, the Ascent Apex and earned its right to be one of the first balls of choice in my bag.
Ryan Wyandt
MOTIV Staff Member
West Lawn, PA
rwyandt869@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter: @rwyandt869
