Author Topic: Pro-Pin/Pro CG (Read 9091 times)

Urameshii6 · « **on:** May 01, 2008, 04:57:19 PM »

Hey, is there anyone out there that can give me the lowdown on Pro-Pin and Pro CG bowling balls? I hear from some that there's nothing wrong with them, I hear from others that they're junk, and then I hear from some others that they're better than the "first-quality" balls on the market. Can anyone, especially someone from Storm/Roto-Grip (I mostly see Pro-Pin/CG stuff from those two), help me with this?

Kevspins2 · « **Reply #1 on:** May 02, 2008, 01:11:14 AM »

can't polish a blem, Storm just uses that fancy name for a less then perfect ball. some people like them because you can do "exotic drills" but they are very unpredictable....characteristics will vary from the perfect ball.

blemish....bonanza...pro pin...pro CG....pro tops... a blems is a blem.

first quality specs:
pin 1.5" to 4.5"
top 0oz. to 4oz.

anything else to me is a blem and should be 30 to 40 dollars cheaper, but I wouldnt waste my money on a blem. also... ebay sellers try to hint that their blems are only COLOR blems, give me a break...lets just say...you never get a color blem.

Edited on 5/2/2008 4:15 AM

the pooh · « **Reply #2 on:** May 02, 2008, 01:49:35 AM »

The sellers of these usually won't tell you the exact specs,and you may get one that is difficult or impossible to layout for the reaction you want.Example:you may get a ball that will only layout right handed,what if you are left handed?You are literally tossing the dice when you buy one of these,unless the seller will tell you the specs of YOUR ball you will receive!Often,you can drill the ball but in only one or two ways,or some exotic drilling.

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the pooh

Kevspins2 · « **Reply #3 on:** May 02, 2008, 01:54:41 AM »

pooh hit all the points I forgot to mention, some people swear by them, but most will admit that there is no advantage.

Locke · « **Reply #4 on:** May 02, 2008, 03:56:26 AM »

You can request pin a cg placements on these balls. Don't listen to them. The advantage to both of them is the fact that you can put layouts on them that would usually require a weight hole with out one. They are great and useful. They are first quality. They are also specific limited runs. They are not blems. The only way you can get a blem through pro pin and cg is if it is both. Then you have trouble and then you have an X blem also know as an X comp. These can be very difficult to lay out but no matter what you get on these balls their surface, colors, and cores are 1st quality. If you are looking to put a pin far from the fingers then you want one of these balls. I have a pro cg Cell which has the pin over 3 inchs above the fingers. It doesn't even need a weight hole. Only people who have not tried one off these balls will really think they are blems. I am willing to bet Roger will back me up on this too. Roger?
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Always be sincere, even when you don't mean it

Known Cell pimp

Kevspins2 · « **Reply #5 on:** May 02, 2008, 04:37:41 AM »

the fact of the matter is price... a "limited run", "rare", "unique", "special", "only the pros use these" ball that is 30 dollars cheaper then it's mass produced, normal spec, average joe bowler ball. give me a break, a blem is a blem. pro's like the balls because they get them for free and pros can make anything hook and strike. some people can make them work...but the average bowler with lower revs and speed cannot.

I doubt that storm/roto would sell a first quality ball for 30 dollars cheaper just because it has a 6.5" pin.

www.bowlingball.com
Roto-Grip Illusion - $139.99
Roto-Grip Illusion Pro Pin - $109.99

I just hopped on over to jeff carters website and other then maybe 2 balls that look pro pin/mb his arsenal looks pretty average pin/mb to me.

the balls may be made just like the first quality balls using first quality resin, first quality filler, and first quality cores.....but every other company calls these balls a 2nd.

Edited on 5/2/2008 4:41 AM

n00dlejester · « **Reply #6 on:** May 02, 2008, 07:27:07 AM »

I find a Pro-CG ball to be perfectly fine. I have a more or less Pro CG Storm Paradigm Passion, and I love that thing to death. It needed a weight hole the size of Rhode Island to make it legal, but it rolls smoother than pie. And pie is pretty smooth. Here's a pic: http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc10/n00dlejester/100_1152.jpg

As for pro-pin, if CGNOMADDAH then who cares? Put the weight hole on the P2 of this chart: http://www.morichbowling.com/MosCorner/GradientLineBalanceHole/GradientLineBalanceHole.htm
You'll need that instrument to find a symmetric ball's PSA, but it may be worth it to save a few bucks. Who knows, right?

Mr Straight Ball · « **Reply #7 on:** May 07, 2008, 03:18:22 PM »

"Pro" balls may be a so called blem to some. They are commonly used on tour and that's how the name "Pro" got attached to these balls. The pins is 5" or longer or CG's not in line with the pin and mass bias.
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40 Boards & A Ball
Is your ball ready to cross 40 Boards?
WWW.40BOARDS.COM

...Why doesn't my ball h

k?

shelley · « **Reply #8 on:** May 07, 2008, 03:47:55 PM »

quote:
"Pro" balls may be a so called blem to some. They are commonly used on tour and that's how the name "Pro" got attached to these balls. The pins is 5" or longer or CG's not in line with the pin and mass bias.

They're common on tour because that's as good a place to dump equipment as any (you gotta give out free or low-cost stuff to the pros, might as well give 'em stuff you would toss out anyway). Also, many of the pros use a longer pin-to-PAP and higher placement above the midline. The longer pins let them do that while keeping the CG closer to the midline. They can make the ball move and adjust their release or line to make it work, even with unusual drillings or lousy specs.

And "pro" sounds so much nicer than "blem", doesn't it?

SH

Mighty Buffalo · « **Reply #9 on:** May 08, 2008, 08:10:38 AM »

I want to give my $0.02. I have a pro pin tropical storm and I absolutely love it. The pin was 6.5 to 7 out, and I had it drilled with pin above the fingers. This ball gives me a very predictable reaction, and it fit in my arsenal exactly where I needed it to as a dry lane ball. Another bonus was that I was able to get it NIB off of ebay for about 40 bucks with shipping.

I also have an Attitude Shift that is Pro CG. I have it setup wtih Drilling #2 on teh sheet that you get with the Pro CG balls. It has a small weight hole to bring it back to legal, but again it fits in my lineup as my heavy oil ball, and it was 20 - 30 bucks cheaper than the "normal" Attitude Shift.

The biggest thing to consider when getting one of these is: Can your proshop guy layout the ball properly. If your proshop guy is willing to try something different, you can get a great piece of equipment for a little less money.
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Let in the DOGS - I've got a HAMBONE for them!

To all the haters, get over it!

stormed1 · « **Reply #10 on:** May 08, 2008, 09:59:42 AM »

If your driller has a clue they are usually not a problem to drill. Most have lower top weights so the cg way out of line is not an issue. I just drilled a Gravity Shift for a lefty with a cg that was 4 inches left of in line with a very strong layout in it and only needed a 7/8 hole to make it legal. Most times the shop doesn't want to bother with spending the time to layout and scale before drilling to confirm the ability to drill that layout. I have seen many mismarked cg's from most ball companies and that's why i weigh the ball before laying out to confirm cg location and top weight before laying out and again before drilling. On asymmetrical i just confirm top weight because cg placement only determines weight hole position and size. Confirming cg placement on a symmetrical ball is mainly needed to determine virtual mass bias.

Bowler19525 · « **Reply #11 on:** May 12, 2008, 10:20:13 AM »

The Pro-Pin and Pro-CG balls are definitely first quality and not blems at all. I have a Cell Pro-CG sitting at home, and it does not have an X stamped anywhere on it. The cover and markings have no flaws and is perfect. Additionally, the pin on it is 4"-4.5" and nowhere near the 6.5" limit. It also came with Pro-CG specific drilling instructions. The instructions state that regardless of whether the ball is CG right or CG left, the ball can be drilled for either left handed or right handed bowlers.

Per the Roto-Grip website:

What is an X-Blem? X-Comp? Pro-Pin? Pro-CG?
X-COMPS:

An X-Comp will have an X stamped by the serial number. X-Comps generally have a cosmetic blemish. The Pin distance is in the 2-4â€ only range and top weight is 2-4 ounce range. The reaction of the ball will be the same as a 1st hand quality ball. The package is marked with a small red number that denotes the specific issue.

X-BLEMS (Seconds):

An X-Blem will have an X stamped by the serial number. X-Blems are seconds due to a cosmetic blemish similar to an X-Comp, but the specifications fall out of the 2-4 / 2-4 range. There are a couple of areas that the ball would not meet some first quality manufacturing specifications (i.e. core chip or a mis-used core). The reaction of the ball will be the same as a 1st hand quality ball. The package is marked with a small red number that denotes the specific issue.

PRO-CG:

A Pro-CG is where the CG ends up extremely far left or right of the Pin and MB. If you draw a line from the PIN through the CG and then draw a perpendicular line at the half way point of that line. Go out 2 1/2â€ and then connect the points to create a diamond shape. If the CG is outside that diamond then it is a PRO-CG. This is a first quality ball and lends itself to several special drill options. Please see the enclosed drilling instructions.

PRO-PIN:

A Pro-Pin is where the Pin distance from the CG is 5 â€“ 6 Â½â€ out. Anything more than 6 Â½â€ would be termed an X-Blem. This is a first quality ball and lends itself to several special drill options. Please see the enclosed drilling instructions.

Hogsharley · « **Reply #12 on:** May 12, 2008, 02:10:00 PM »

quote:
Hey, is there anyone out there that can give me the lowdown on Pro-Pin and Pro CG bowling balls? I hear from some that there's nothing wrong with them, I hear from others that they're junk, and then I hear from some others that they're better than the "first-quality" balls on the market. Can anyone, especially someone from Storm/Roto-Grip (I mostly see Pro-Pin/CG stuff from those two), help me with this?

Just ask yourself the most important question of all.

Why do they sell these balls cheaper than a 1st quality ball?

Answer; Because they are not 1st quality and therefore the manufacturer cannot get 1st quality dollars for them. If they were as good as 1st quality, the price would be the same as 1st quality. There is something wrong with the ball that did not pass quality control.
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3 holes of fun!!

Kevspins2 · « **Reply #13 on:** May 12, 2008, 02:15:09 PM »

thankyou Harley, you saved me the trouble.

1MechEng · « **Reply #14 on:** May 12, 2008, 02:23:12 PM »

quote:
Just ask yourself the most important question of all.

Why do they sell these balls cheaper than a 1st quality ball?

Answer; Because they are not 1st quality and therefore the manufacturer cannot get 1st quality dollars for them. If they were as good as 1st quality, the price would be the same as 1st quality. There is something wrong with the ball that did not pass quality control.

I'm not going to comment on Pro-Pin balls, but Pro-CG balls typically require a little more thought than most "normal" balls when laying out and drilling for a standard house bowler.

However, they are not without their own set of advantages as well. Being able to pick up a Pro-CG ball and put on a strong layout (with respect to mass bias location) without having the CG out of the palm (and hence, no weight hole required!) is nice.

But the Pro-CG balls are typically left/right hand specific. For this reason, they are not "universal", and thus can only be sold to a limited subset of bowlers. This is the reason for the price break. (Most pro shops want to stock balls that are not hand specific!).
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Dan
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Engineering * Bowling = a fun and practical application of rotational kinematics.

Bowling Nerd Herd (TM) Member

Author Topic: Pro-Pin/Pro CG (Read 9091 times)

Urameshii6

Pro-Pin/Pro CG

Kevspins2

Re: Pro-Pin/Pro CG

the pooh

Re: Pro-Pin/Pro CG

Kevspins2

Re: Pro-Pin/Pro CG

Locke

Re: Pro-Pin/Pro CG

Kevspins2

Re: Pro-Pin/Pro CG

n00dlejester

Re: Pro-Pin/Pro CG

Mr Straight Ball

Re: Pro-Pin/Pro CG

shelley

Re: Pro-Pin/Pro CG

Mighty Buffalo

Re: Pro-Pin/Pro CG

stormed1

Re: Pro-Pin/Pro CG

Bowler19525

Re: Pro-Pin/Pro CG

Hogsharley

Re: Pro-Pin/Pro CG

Kevspins2

Re: Pro-Pin/Pro CG

1MechEng

Re: Pro-Pin/Pro CG