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Author Topic: Special Agent  (Read 2502 times)

bowl4jc

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Special Agent
« on: December 11, 2007, 02:49:53 AM »
What conditions is this ball good on

 

micbowl

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Re: Special Agent
« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2007, 11:14:36 AM »
The characteristics of Storm balls are smooth thru the heads and strong ball end. The Special Agent is very similar. It very smooth thru the heads but instead of a strong flip in the back it is a very smooth arch. The carry is pretty good but not exceptional. For a stroker like me this ball will not carry well on heavy oil. But on medium oil it reacts very well. What impresses me the most is the ball is the versatility of the ball. It performs very well on medium dry conditions and eventhough you have to play deeper the ball does not over react or roll out.

Dan Belcher

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Re: Special Agent
« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2007, 11:35:36 AM »
I'll disagree with a bit of what micbowl said.  The ball is excellent on medium to heavy oil, but it's terrible once the lanes start to dry up.  Mine rolls out badly if I put it out into the dry too early, and doesn't generate enough angle playing deep usually to carry well, so it's best to switch to a different ball then.  However, it is a very "rolly" ball.  VERY predictable, and the carry is surprisingly good for that type of reaction.  I've found it's best on higher volume oil patterns and flatter patterns.  Hence, it got a ton of use in my PBA Experience league, but I rarely get to use it on a house shot unfortunately.  The only time I can use it is when they lay down extra oil, or I need to move my breakpoint left to avoid inconsistent reaction in the dry.  That being said, it's one of my favorite balls, I just don't see the right conditions for it very often in regular leagues.

Mr Straight Ball

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Re: Special Agent
« Reply #3 on: December 11, 2007, 02:07:13 PM »
Micbowl, interesting review

Dan's write up is closer BUT I've never seen a Special Agent that does not hit when you play deep. The Special Agent can make the "right angle" from anywhere on the lane. This ball does need to see some oil on the lane to work.
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micbowl

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Re: Special Agent
« Reply #4 on: December 11, 2007, 04:27:18 PM »
I did not say that the Special Agent does not hit when playing deep but I did say is that it does not carry very well for me on heavy oil. When I say heavy oil I do not mean a freshly oiled house shot which is easy to hit. I should have been a little more clear when referring to heavy oil. What I considered heavy oil is something that is more that 45ft of freshly oiled gutter to gutter like the Tournament of Champion oil pattern of 50ft. I bowled in the PBA Experience league and the TC pattern was the most difficult for me to score well. Hitting the pocket was not a problem but carrying the ten pins were. Not many people had much sucess on this pattern. I fare better with the Columbia Action and Storm Paridigm. On the other patterns the Special Agent worked well. But like I said before for me it is a very good ball for medium oil to medium dry.

JMORRIS

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Re: Special Agent
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2007, 11:40:07 AM »
Mine works best on medium/heavy.

It's my go to ball when the backends are tight.

WiscBowler

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Re: Special Agent
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2007, 02:20:48 PM »
My experience is similar to Dan's.  If I hit the dry too early with my Special, it rolls out and leaves 10 pins.  I always find the pocket with it, but I don't always carry well.  When I start leaving 10 pins with it, I switch to a ball that gets down the lane a little better.  It works great on medium to medium/heavy

Dan Belcher

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Re: Special Agent
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2007, 02:27:57 PM »
Amazingly, I've actually seen a higher volume of oil than usual the past couple of weeks in my Tuesday night league.  I've actually had to play the lanes very similar to how I played the PBA Experience shots -- stay pretty direct with slow speed early, ease to the right at first during transition to go around carrydown, then later move left to use some of the dry forming to the right and start picking up speed a little.  So, I've gotten to use my Special Agent all three games both weeks in that league now!  Always a nice treat when I can use that ball.  Shot 708 last week and 695 this week despite a couple stupid open frames and not throwing the ball all that great.  When they're a little oily, the Special Agent is just a beast on light swisher pocket hits.  I never even attempted to face up to solid pocket until the 3rd game because I was getting such great carry off those light hits.  I never left a 7 pin all night, and only a couple of weak 10s.  (Most of the 10 pins I left were from shots I pulled a little left and ended up with a ringing 10)  It's a shame the lanes aren't like this more often -- staying up the back of the ball a little and playing fairly direct or a small swing is my bread and butter!  And the Special Agent loves that kind of shot.

al_g

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Re: Special Agent
« Reply #8 on: December 12, 2007, 03:54:31 PM »
I agree with the majority on what's been said. The Special for me works best on Med/Heavy and can work on Medium conditions as long as you either:
A) Find some oil somewhere so it doesn't read early or burn up
B) Keep your ball speed up

I've had no carry problems playing deep with mine. Maybe carrying deep is more a function of the drilling on the ball, than the ball itself. If I start leaving 10 pins with it it's time to put it away and move down to my Agent or Spit Fire.

On my Thursday night league I can usually throw the Special for 2 games and sometimes the entire night. Our center oils 38-40' but only strips on Mondays so there's not much backend by Thursday night. The Special works really well on this shot for me. I've also had success with it on the PBA Shark pattern.