The Golden Jackal. You’ve all read the tech specs so let me get right into my thoughts. I did not get the opportunity to toss the original Jackal so I was really excited to get this ball in my hands. I drilled mine pin above the bridge. This is the same layout I used on my Villain Scorn.
Out the box, this ball was much stronger than I had anticipated. I was bowling on what was left over from league and had to take a good 5 board step left from where I usually start off. In comparison to my Villain Scorn, the Golden Jackal reads a few feet sooner and isn’t as angular off the spot. Overall they covered about the same amount of boards. At this finish, this would be a great ball to start off in league and ball down to something like a Venom Shock or T10.
I decided to sand my Jackal to 1500 and add some polish. I was looking for a bit more bite down lane and for the polish to help if get through the heads. With this set up I found I was able to play much straighter and was able to use the Jackal for a longer period of time before running out of room or carry. In my 3 game practice session, I was able to use the Golden Jackal for all 3 games and only move about 2 boards.
The Golden Jackal is a ball for people looking for something to play in the oil and still have some pop in the backends. Throw a little polish and you have a ball you can use all night in league. In a recent tournament I went straight to a VSP once the lanes started to burn up and found this to be a great 1-2 combo.