Greetings back
I can provide some news/impressions on the Alliance - a friend of mine had one punched up yesterday, when we went together to our pro shop of trust (and I finally got my G-3 Gryphon after 16 months of waiting!).
STRONG piece! Michael Kraemer, the pro shop operator, was told that the Alliance uses the same coverstock as the Cell Pearl, just with a different core, and he considered the Alliance to be a tad stronger overall than the Cell Pearl.
My friend has a PAP of 4" over, +/-0, and plays faster than me, and probably with a bit more revs - I think 15-16mph and 300 RPM. He wanted the ball to be sharp, and for his lower trck the ball was drilled with a 4.5x4.5 layout, the pin would end up above the fingers in the bridge area, the MB stacked (or at 75°, not 100% sure). The CG was set a bit to the right, so a balance hole was needed.
We immediately tested the new balls on a lane for sport bowlers which had already seen some traffic. Not sure about the exact pattern, but it was quite long (I guess 39-41') with a good amount of oil in the middle and less close to the gutter, but no dry buffer zone. Not a cake shot, and nothing to swing the lane.
The Alliance proved to be VERY strong. We did some shots before with familiar balls to get afeeling for the lane, and the balls did only move when played quite close to the gutter, down 10th board.
My friend used a BW Solid with some games on the clock and a 4.5x5 setup on this line before.
On the same line, the Alliance would read the lane 3-4' earlier, and thus hook more - the first 2 shots went into the 1-2 pocket and left 6 and 10.
After adjusting feet 5 boards to the left and the target 3 boards deeper, the Alliance started "marching" for a 242 game out of the box!
Very good continuation, both in the midlane and the back end. Not flippy, rather a strong overall hook despite my friends higher speed, and with tremendous carry. It also looked easy to handle, and it just looks cool (the garvings are not yellow, an impression you get by the catalogue picture, but rather gold sparkle).
Highly recommendable - and a abll if you want to get your gril to want a high end ball. This black/silver/purple beauty has alot of visual (as well as practical) appeal.
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DizzyFugu - Reporting from Germany
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