I have used Special Agent and T-Road Pearl in a couple local tournaments on house conditions, as well as the PBA National Regional Players Invitational in Reno last week.
SPECIAL AGENT - Drilled mine with pin under ring finger about 60 degrees. That is about 4 1/2 inches to PAP for me. Pin is out maybe two inches. Left it box finish and let oil smooth it some. I would say this is the strongest ball Storm has ever made. It rolls through any oil and makes the strongest move in the midlane and backend I've ever seen out of a Storm ball. Breakpoint is sharp but would not call it skid-flip because it does not squirt. Hits the pins very hard - sometimes too hard with solid 9s and ring 10s if the back-ends are real clean. Once they tame down with a little carrydown it really carries well, with lots of 10s dug out and racks splattered. This is definitely my ball of choice for heavier oil - especially if I am looking for something I can throw hard on lots of oil without worrying about it going through the break point. Worked very well on a low volume, tough pattern at the NRPI on the fresh because it let me fire it up the track without worrying about 2-8-10s and washouts. Also a ball I put away once the lanes started drying out because it gets too hard to get it down the lane and retain enough energy. However, with a heavy oil house shot I can stay with it longer by just moving in. Should be an awesome ball for everyone other than those who throw it very slow with a lot of revs.
T-ROAD PEARL - Same as Special Agent, drilled mine with pin under ring finger about 60 degrees. That is about 4 1/2 inches to PAP for me. Pin is out maybe two inches. Left it box finish shiny. I was a lover of the original T-Road Pearl and it seems to be a very good ball once the lanes break down so long as the lanes aren't too wey-dry. Kind of tough to use on fresh oil for my medium ball speed because it is tough to control as it is VERY strong off the breakpoint - until some oil carries down. I think this would be a more versatile ball for me drilled with the pin in a weaker position. Similar to the Domination but more angular. Think it would be a great ball for those with lower revs or high-rev players with good ball speed.
Jeff Richgels, Storm PBA regional staffer
Edited on 12/11/2006 7:55 AM
