UPDATE ON THE SECRET AGENT – After using my Secret Agents in several PBA regionals I can provide some additional information. First, this is NOT a ball that will give you a strong change of direction at the break point. I think this is a good thing because Storm has several balls that do that (SPECIAL AGENT, SHIFT, T-ROAD PEARL, FIRED UP, etc.) and having a ball that makes a smoother move provides another look.
Scuffed up to 1,000 Abralon (or duller) the Secret can handle the heaviest oil, including the 44-foot Shark pattern. I had success with my pin in my grip center Secret on the Shark pattern on the fresh at a recent regional where my Special agents were a little too sharp at the break point to easily control.
Left at 4,000 (or shined) it can be used on the short wet-dry Cheetah pattern. I was pretty much dead and buried at a regional on the Cheetah pattern this summer before switching to my Secret with the pin in my track and putting on a huge rally that left me 4 pins shy of the cut only because of a flush 9-pin and a flush 7-pin on strings in the 10th frame and 11th frame, respectively, of the last two games. While everything else I tried was just going through the pins too hard or blowing up and hitting weakly, that Secret gave me basically the entire lane right of 10-board with fairly good carry. The Secret's smooth move off the break point with that weak pin gave me control with power on that very wet-dry Cheetah pattern.
One other point I need to make is that the pin in my grip center 45-degree drilling DOES work good on house shots. In fact, I have that drilling in a shined up SPECIAL AGENT and it is a monster on house conditions – rolls in the oil and whips back when I swing it. In my T-ROAD PEARL it was too weak for heavy oil in the middle, but in the SPECIAL it works great.
From Storm regional staffer Jeff Richgels:
Storm's latest releases are modified versions of two of their most popular balls featuring the R2S cover that debuted in the Special Agent.
SECRET AGENT - The Secret Agent features the fast-revving EMC core and the new R2S LT Hybrid coverstock. LT stands for "light traction" – it's a light load particle - and Hybrid is for it being part solid and part pearl. It is designed to provide a heavy midlane roll for heavy oil while still making a strong move through the pocket – in other words, control and power for heavy oil conditions. It comes with a smooth 4,000-grit Abralon cover but should be easily tweakable.
I drilled two Secret Agents.
One is with the pin in my track, above and to the left of my middle finger with the CG in my grip center. I have a Vertigo drilled this way that I use quite frequently in PBA regionals on the difficult PBA conditions. The weak pin reduces flare and allows me to get the ball down the lane with relative ease and no sharp change of direction yet the 45 degree drilling still gives me good hit. I rarely can use that Vertigo on fresh oil, though, as it goes too long, so my hope is that a Secret with that drilling will be something I can use on fresh oil that gives me a similar look.
The other is with the pin in my grip center and a 45-degree drilling. This is another good drilling for tough conditions that isn’t much use on house conditions with a huge puddle of oil in the middle of the lane. The look of this drilling is similar to the pin in the track drilling but with an earlier pick-up and a sharper break point. I have a T-Road Pearl (usually hit with 1,000 or 2,000 Abralon) with this drilling that I use a lot in regionals when the lanes transition and am again hoping the Secret will give me a similar look that I can use on fresh oil.
I have only thrown my two Secrets on a fresh house pattern (with a very thin oil) that hooks quite a bit so whether they will work as I hope on PBA patterns will have to wait until my next regionals later in July. But they definitely gave me an earlier hook on the house pattern than the Vertigo and T-Road Pearl. The Secret with the pin in my track allowed me to go fairly straight down the oil/dry line since it made a very controlled move off the end of the oil. The weak pin actually gave a little too much skid when I pulled it into the oil, resulting in 2-pin combo hits. The smooth finish allowed it to retain more power than I expected for a light load particle on the hooking condition. I would bet this will be a great ball for playing an outside shot that isn't hooking too much. The pin in my grip center made a stronger move, as expected, forcing me to move deeper into the oil. It definitely made a stronger move on the fresh than the T-Road Pearl and went through the pins very strong.
I also would predict that with a strong drilling the Secret would be a monster on a heavy oil easy condition.
As far as where the Secret fits in Storm's line, I would put it between the Special Agent and the Double Agent.
I will post more information after I get to use my Secrets on PBA conditions and heavier oil. But it seems clear to me that the Secret is as advertised – a ball unafraid of oil that makes a strong but controlled move at the break point and through the pins. The one thing I have struggled with in PBA regionals this year is the fresh conditions to start and I am really excited to see if these Secrets will help me on the fresh as it looks like they will.
T-ROAD SOLID – The T-Road Solid uses the same core as the popular T-Road Pearl but features a solid R2S cover finished with 1000-grit Abralon. It is designed to cut through heavy oil, with the cover easily tweakable to a smoother finish for medium conditions.
I drilled my T-Road Solid with the pin over my bridge (about 5 inches to my PAP) with a 60 to 75 degree drilling. (I'm not big on measuring to the exact degree.)
Again, I have only bowled on the hooking house pattern noted above. Have to say I was amazed by the reaction I got out of the T-Road Solid. It rolled heavy, but not too early, read the midlane perfectly and made a strong controlled move to the pocket that I would describe as a forward rolling straight line angle with no discernible snap change of direction point. (It reminded me of some of the Charge line balls.) I could miss wide and it came back and mostly retained enough energy to strike. I could get it in and it held easily. I would estimate I threw 12 strikes in about 15 shots and almost all were high flush. To give some perspective, my 1,000 Abralon Special Agent with a similar drilling was blowing up at the break point on this hooking house shot and generally giving me way too much reaction to be usable..
I see the T-Road Solid as being an awesome ball for the wet-dry conditions most bowlers see most of the time, and that I see in a lot of the non-PBA tournaments I bowl in. In fact, I have a feeling it might turn into my benchmark ball for non-PBA competition. And it might be a real good ball for the softer PBA conditions that transition into oil left and dry right.
Again, I will post more information after I get to use my T-Road Solid on PBA conditions later in July.
Edited on 7/4/2007 10:49 AM
Edited on 7/5/2007 8:50 AM
Edited on 8/27/2007 6:47 PM
