Well, I finally took the plunge into RotoGrip (as I have a mix of Track, Hammer and Dynothane in my bag) and thanks to the help of AChappy and DP3 I decided to try out two of their particle pearl offerings, the Mystic and Venus. I went with a 4 1/2" cg to PAP distance on the Mystic which put the pin below fingers, 45 degree drilling with a weight hole 2" down on the vertical axis line, I believe 2" deep and the weight hole was 7/8". I left it in box surface for now, but may adjust it after bowling on different conditions. The Venus we did a 5" cg to PAP pin placement which put the pin above the fingers, 45 degree drilling and decided against a weight hole for that one (box surface again).

I bowled 4 games with the two pieces at my pro shop- a 1/2 synthetic 1/2 wood house, tends to play on the medium-light side in terms of oiling with strong backends. I was bowling on leftovers from the day as the league was bowling on the high end of the house and I bowled closer to regular open play. I thought the moves on both balls were very smooth and predictable. The outside 5 boards in this house tend to play erratic so I used 10 as my breakpoint for both balls. I would attack the lanes straighter and more up the back with my Venus (more of a 13-10 move) and get deeper and cover more boards with the Mystic (18-10). I found both balls were very successful when I decided to get around the ball more or throw with a little more speed- still turning the corner well.

I really think both pieces will fit my game well- I'm curious to see how they will work in my Monday wood house which has been very friction sensitive the past few weeks. I'll report more as I get more games on them...

Matt